Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Luxurious Enemy
“Come on! Run faster! Those who show weakness are the ones who get targeted!”
With Gorirashia barking at us, we sprinted under a hail of arrows and stones down the alley. We had to reach the house ahead and take control of the inside…!
“Whoa, it’s a civilian from the human race! What do we do?!”
Suddenly, a human doll jumped out from the alley in a begging posture. I slashed it with my spear and kept running.
Thanks to the magic restriction, the power of the projectiles was significantly diminished; however, a direct hit to the eyes or face would be dangerous. If I got distracted by those flying objects and neglected my footing—
“YAAAAAAHH!”
Zuboo! Albar fell into a pitfall with a scream.
“Ignore him! If you stop there, it’ll be exactly what the enemies want! Prioritize taking down the enemies first! The fool caught in the trap has to get out on his own!”
“GAH! My ankle, my ANKLE!”
Albar, stuck and shouting, apparently got caught in a combo of a pitfall and a bear trap—no matter how good his boots and greaves were, the ankle joint is vulnerable. The bear trap was aimed right there.
Leaving Albar, who was taking a beating from the stones, we stormed into the house.
“GUWAHHHH!”
Inside the dim room, Oke Knight was launched sideways by a log swinging like a pendulum after he missed seeing the wire. Oke collided with the wall and spat out blood. Some sharp iron spikes had embedded into him from the log—
“Dammit!”
Shouting, but also keeping a keen eye on the ground, Seire Knight charged upstairs. He kicked down the door, paused to watch out for traps, and raced up the stairs—
“Upp….”
—just when he did, the first step turned out to be a pitfall, swallowing his torso. The spiked rollers on either side ripped into his unarmored lower body and sides, leaving him unable to even scream, just with a face like, “I’m going to die…”
“I’m the one who has to heal you, you idiot—!”
I cursed as I left Seire behind and climbed the stairs.
Damn, another wire? How annoying; it’s going to drop from the ceiling, here it comes! And right after dodging, there’s a pitfall! This is infuriatingly well thought out! If they had the spare time to set up such elaborate traps in a mere house, they wouldn’t struggle in actual combat…!!
I nullified and dodged the assorted nasty traps while subduing the enemy soldiers who were hiding upstairs.
And then—time for some enjoyable healing.
“You guys… enough already… learn a bit…”
I took a break from the training and voiced my grievances while being pampered by Liliana.
It’s acceptable that the training is tough; it’s natural to get injured in the process.
But getting caught in traps too often, you three fools…!!
“I’m sorry…”
The three idiots, Albar, and the others, looked dejected as they had no words to say.
“How come you can dodge everything, Your Highness…?”
“Instinct.”
I couldn’t really say it was due to my past life experience, so I answered bluntly. Albar and the others exchanged perplexed looks.
However, I couldn’t really speak too authoritatively either. The disguise of being a Night Elf was so convincing that it was hard to tell at a glance; in the end, I was just guessing, “Could it be here?”
“By the way, you guys, in real combat, all of those spikes and blades are going to be covered in shit, you know. Even if the wounds heal, you’ll suffer for a long time when you get back.”
I told Gorirashia, and the three idiots fell deeper into despair.
Teleport spells can transfer wounds and damaged areas, but they can’t detoxify or dispel curses. If toxins remain in the body, you might feel better for a moment, but you’ll just get sick again. Each time, it would require re-casting the teleport spell, which is a heavy burden.
I never thought our “Angry Shit-Smeared” strategy would deal such a blow to the Demon Lord Kingdom…
However, flipping it around, it means that by plentifully preparing substitutes from the human race, it’s possible to hold out until the toxins are gone.
In the end, the ones who have to be sacrificial are the humans. Damn it!!!
“…I’m sorry for being useless. But isn’t it a bit unfair that we always have to be the vanguard?!”
—As I was getting frustrated, Albar snapped at Kuvirtar.
“Don’t get the wrong idea.”
But Kuvirtar and his subordinates were coldly unfazed.
“Your role is to clear the way. Discovering and disabling traps is also your duty. We have a more important mission of protecting His Highness in case of emergencies.”
Then, Kuvirtar glanced at the various traps with a disdainful snort.
“—We won’t get caught in such trivial traps. It’s precisely because you are inexperienced that we are allowing you to accumulate experience. Or what? You plan to whine after getting caught in real combat? That would be quite the joke…”
Kuvirtar and his subordinates clearly smirked at the three fools. Kuvirtar always showed a serious and courteous demeanor towards me, so this arrogant behavior characteristic of demons felt fresh.
Grrr… they couldn’t argue back.
“—That said, merely saying it won’t lead to understanding. Let me show you the difference in experience, young ones.”
With that, Kuvirtar took the lead.
“Hmph.”
And as soon as training resumed, he stepped forward with magical energy infused in his step.
Instantly, stone spears erupted from all over the cobblestones, collectively shattering the various traps nearby.
“……Um, is this training really necessary?”
Seire Knight hesitantly asked.
Albar and Oke had expressions that seemed to say, “Isn’t it just fine to let him handle everything by himself?”
“It’s necessary. If I fall for some reason, you all will have to get through on your own.”
Kuvirtar delivered a serious and logical punch.
Well, that’s true. There’s no magic involved in such traps, so unlike curses, you can’t detect them with magical power. Kuvirtar removed them all with magic, but he’d located the traps with his own eyes…
“You all are concentrating too much in one spot. Don’t be overly afraid of traps; broaden your field of vision—”
Kuvirtar began lecturing the three fools. All in all, he wasn’t entirely unsympathetic…
Thus, we pressed on, tired and worn out.
Honestly, actual combat traps aren’t concentrated to this extent! The side setting them up doesn’t have this kind of leisure!!
“In other words, those who underwent this training will find actual combat feel easier.”
Infuriating, but true. Moreover, goblins and beastmen, along with the daytime combat team, would likely help clear the way or get caught in traps to nullify them.
I had heard that the usage fees for this training ground are high, but traps don’t come for free either. With this level of quality, of course they’d charge money…!!
“Alright, keep running! There’s still more to come!”
As Gorirashia cheerfully urged us on, we went about subduing the city.
Nullifying traps, cutting down the enemy soldiers role-playing as beastmen, smashing the human dolls—
There was so much to do, and it was tough.
My senses began to dull. Colors faded from my vision.
It had been a while since I had felt this. Being pushed to the limit with constant fighting…
When was the last time? Just before reaching the Demon Lord’s throne room, when I fought with the royal guards…?
With that thought lingering in the back of my mind.
As I ran through the alley, I aimed to pierce one of the human dolls with my spear—
—I locked eyes with that doll.
“P-please help! Don’t kill me!”
It was a woman.
A young human woman, dressed in filthy clothes, utterly unremarkable.
“Please! I didn’t do anything wrong—!!”
Desperately bowing and pleading for her life, I instinctively froze my hand, legs, and thoughts.
“… No! Side!”
I couldn’t even respond to Antendeixis’s warning in time.
“There!”
With a thunderous crash, the wall beside me shattered, and a war hammer struck my side.
An astounding impact struck me, and I felt the unpleasant sensation of my ribs breaking altogether—excruciating pain—
“Gah—”
Air burst from my lungs, and I collapsed to the ground, unable to breathe.
“Haha, a foolish demon fell for it!”
Swinging the war hammer and laughing like an idiot was—Legorius in armor.
“Oh boy, I said it before, didn’t I?”
Gorirashia sighed in exasperation.
“Gori, sis… this is…”
“A live human civilian. Didn’t I tell you? We use them as bait to set traps.”
My hair was yanked as I was forcibly dragged up. Ouch…!
“And remember what I said? What to do when a civilian flies into your sight?”
…Stop it.
“I’ll do this!!”
Stop—!!
Without hesitation, Gorirashia swung her sword.
“Augh!”
The woman fell, cut in half, spewing blood.
Her face, now turned aside, with fully opened pupils—
Looked at me with sorrowful eyes.
“Ahh, what a waste!”
Seire Knight, who had been watching from afar, yelled impulsively.
“Oh. Oops, I forgot she could be used for healing…”
Gorirashia stuck her tongue out and scratched her head.
“Zilba’s healing is so convenient that I lost track. It’s a luxury of a tale.”
“Instructor, what about this human woman…? Isn’t she too young to just throw away?”
Oke Knight asked curiously.
“Apparently, she’s stone-cold, so she doesn’t bear children, hence she’s been redirected for healing.”
“Oh, I see…”
Oke Knight nodded in understanding.
All I could do was stare blankly at the corpse.
Such… such a pointless death exists.
Amidst the calm and composed atmosphere surrounding us, I felt utterly abandoned.
…No, there was one.
Only Albar Aoril had an indescribable expression on his face—
“…”
“Now, you should heal too. The training isn’t over yet.”
Gorirashia gave a light pat on my head.
Something sparked inside me, but I held it back. Desperately suppressed it.
Focusing on the pain from my ribs, I managed to distract myself.
Real murderous intent would be bad.
It would be disastrous against this woman…!!
“Uwaaa!!”
Liliana rushed over, licked my wounds, healing me. The pain gradually faded away, and I could breathe easier.
But—
“Kyuuun…”
Next, Liliana licked the cheek of the woman who had fallen beside me and let out a sad whimper, her ears drooping.
No matter how much healing power she poured in, it wouldn’t help.
She’s already beyond healing.
