Chapter 102

Boom—! Kwakwang—!

While the two were still speculating about the identity of the corpse, unaware of the man's actions, several loud explosions were heard from outside the cave, and the sound gradually drew closer.

It seemed like someone fighting monsters was driving them away and approaching this vicinity, and due to that impact, fierce vibrations occurred inside, cracks formed on the ceiling, and rock dust fell from the gaps.

Leonardo glanced up once, then immediately wrapped the corpse he was holding in a cloth and took it. Then, turning his head, he said to the member,

"Let's get out for now."

"Ah, yes!"

The new member, who had been looking at the ceiling with an anxious expression, answered as if he had been waiting.

"Cuff that bastard so he can't move. You have handcuffs, right?"

"Well... I tried to cuff him earlier, but I dropped them because of the explosion...."

Leonardo, who had been gathering things to take out, paused for a moment at that stupid remark and stared at the new member without a word. Although he didn't say it out loud, his gaze seemed to say the world was pathetic, and the new member felt utterly deflated.

In the end, rather than saying something until his mouth hurt, Leonardo strode over to the man.

As he approached, the man let out a yelp and stepped back, but he was caught before he could go far. Then, before the man could react, Leonardo struck the back of his neck hard, knocking him unconscious, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and threw him in front of the squad member, saying,

"You carry him."

Since it was the first time seeing someone knocked unconscious right before his eyes, the member examined the man thrown at his feet with alarm.

"He's not dead, right...?"

"He won't die from that much."

Although Leonardo's nonchalant words somehow made it feel even more disturbing, the new member decided to put aside his worries about the man for now, as getting out of here was the top priority.

Pondering how to move the man, he slung him over his shoulder like carrying a sack. Fortunately, the man had a small build; otherwise, he might have had to drag him.

But from the beginning, there was a rather unpleasant smell, and a rancid odor of not having washed for days wafted up from the man, stinging his nose.

"Ugh...."

Feeling nauseous from it, the new member unconsciously covered his nose and frowned deeply.

Leonardo immediately shouldered the man's bag and moved along the markings left on the wall. Thanks to that, they could avoid getting lost, but the ground was shaking more and more ominously, so they had to hurry. He turned his head back and shouted at the member who was trudging along behind him, as if annoyed.

"If you don't want to die, come quickly!"

"Yes, I'm coming now!"

The new member gave up on breathing through his nose and hurriedly flew, closely following Leonardo, who was already far ahead.

Before long, wind blew in from outside, and the cave entrance leading out came into view. However, perhaps due to the small shockwaves continuously reverberating, the ground seemed a bit more collapsed than when they saw it earlier, looking precarious.

Below was a wide open cliff, and above, a massive rock face that could collapse at any time loomed like a roof, making them weak in the knees. Impressed by Leonardo's unhindered appearance of passing through without hesitation, the new member adjusted his hold on the man once more and followed him as quickly as possible.

But the further they went, the more it felt like the rock face on the ceiling was gradually descending, and it was hard to tell whether they were getting closer or the rock face was approaching.

* * *

Hugo immediately handed the egg brought by Deputy Commander Hastings to an investigator for examination, and then held a brief meeting with the commanders of the 9th Battalion of the Southern Branch to discuss the situation. In the midst of that, Liner Molten, the Commander of the 9th Battalion, raised a question that stabbed at a weakness.

"Even if they carried the egg because it was laid by them, why on earth did they carry away the corpse of our squad member?"

As the gazes of all the commanders focused on him at his words, Liner swept his eyes across those present and continued.

"The creatures seemed to immediately sense that they were at a disadvantage as soon as the reinforcements arrived and showed signs of retreating right away. However, isn't it strange that they carried away the corpse in the midst of fleeing, knowing that our forces would pursue them?"

A momentary silence flowed among the commanders. It was because his words made sense when they mulled it over.

While they were pondering the reason for that, Flynn, who was standing a little distance away, was conversing with a messenger sent from the border zone headquarters on behalf of Hugo. Having received the report, he immediately approached where the commanders were.

As the gazes of the commanders, including the Commander, fell on him, Flynn gave a brief salute and opened his mouth.

"A message just arrived from headquarters. They say that a large stable near the main camp of Parren in the western sector of Elder Millie was attacked by monsters. When discovered at the scene, all the horses in the stable had disappeared, and based on the claw marks left behind, it is highly likely to be the work of Dermocas."

As Flynn reported the details, Liner, the Commander of the 9th Battalion who heard him, muttered with an incredulous face.

"Attacking a stable near the main camp? Those creatures have gotten bold."

At that, Hugo also raised an eyebrow and asked Flynn,

"Near the main camp?"

"Yes, to be precise, it was the most remote among the stables managed by Parren's main camp, but not very far in terms of distance."

"The time of the attack?"

"They are estimating it to be at dawn, but since the sentry guarding the stable was also found dead, it is unknown exactly when the attack occurred. Incidentally, it is said to be the first incident since the army was stationed in the border zone."

Flynn briefly conveyed the information he heard from the messenger. Liner, who had been listening to him, said to Hugo,

"It seems the creatures want an all-out war."

His voice was chilling, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent. It was a killing intent stemming from guilt over the deaths of the 9th Battalion members under his command and anger towards the creatures. Given the circumstances, it would be more difficult to maintain composure, but Hugo, sensing that he had become impatient, shook his head.

"It's too early to make a hasty judgment."

"But there are more than a couple of points that don't make sense if the creatures went all the way near the main camp just to obtain food. Aren't their prey scattered all over this peninsula? Yet, not only did they approach the army's main camp and hunt the horses, but they also swarmed in and killed our squad members—."

"Excuse me, Commander."

Charlotte, the deputy commander, briefly interrupted Liner's words as he seemed ready to immediately engage in an all-out war with the creatures. It was to calm her superior. At Charlotte's action, Liner also realized that he had become excessively agitated during the meeting and stopped talking.

Flynn, who had come to report the situation, watched the 9th Battalion Commander's reaction for a moment, then swallowed the rest of what he was about to say. He felt that if he spoke up here, he would only further fuel the commander's anger.

Hugo stared at Liner like that for a while, then checked the watch on his wrist and said,

"Let's take a short break and resume the meeting."

Although the meeting hadn't been very long, the commanders were a bit puzzled by his words to take a break and reconvene. However, Liner realized that the Council Commander was indirectly ordering him to rest.

"...Understood."

With his answer, the meeting was temporarily adjourned.

As the gathered individuals dispersed, Hugo also moved a short distance away from the meeting place. Then, he gestured to Flynn, who was standing blankly, to come closer.

Flynn glanced around a bit, then cautiously approached Hugo. As he came near, Hugo didn't beat around the bush and asked Flynn straight away,

"What's the situation?"

At Hugo's question, Flynn answered with a dissatisfied face,

"First of all, they say there have been no particular movements. No noticeable actions either."

"...I see."

"Commander, please don't send me alone for this kind of thing. Do you know how nervous I was, worrying about getting caught?"

Although Flynn complained, Hugo looked at him with an indifferent face and said,

"There's no guarantee that they haven't planted someone on that side, so if we consider the possibility, you're the only suitable person."

Hearing Hugo's words that he was the only fit for the task, Flynn felt a bit pleased, but soon found himself simple-minded and bitterly scratched the back of his head.

Seeing him trying hard to pull down the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise, Hugo turned his gaze to the 9th Battalion Commander sitting far away to cool his head and opened his mouth,

"Flynn, what do you think the current situation means?"

"Pardon? What situation are you referring to?"

"I'm asking what you think about this situation where the Dermocas, who had no distinct movements, suddenly appear in large numbers and run rampant."

At the abruptly changed topic, Flynn followed the end of Hugo's gaze. Then, discovering the 9th Battalion Commander there, he vaguely grasped the intention behind the Commander's question.

It seemed he had noticed that Flynn couldn't say what he wanted to during the meeting because he was mindful of the 9th Battalion Commander's mood, even though he thought he hadn't shown it.

Realizing that he was giving him a chance to speak, Flynn unhesitatingly brought up the words he had quietly swallowed earlier.

"Commander Molten seemed to think that the creatures wanted an all-out war, but my thoughts were the opposite. Rather, it seemed like they were trying to cleverly get on our nerves while avoiding an all-out confrontation."

Hugo, who had his gaze on the 9th Battalion Commander, turned his head at Flynn's words and asked again,

"What made you think that?"

"Uh... You mentioned before that when the Central Branch procession had just entered the peninsula not long ago, Dermocas appeared at dawn and Leonardo dealt with them, right?"

At the abruptly mentioned name, Hugo's eyebrows moved slightly.

"Right."

"At that time, the place where the Dermocas appeared was the opposite peak of where the base camp was located, and it was quite a distance away. If the creatures' purpose was to attack, I think they would have directly raided the base camp instead of revealing themselves on the opposite side."

Flynn conveyed in detail the things he had been speculating.

"Therefore, I believe the creatures came for reconnaissance rather than an attack at that time, and when most of the reconnaissance team was taken out by Leonardo, they judged it to be dangerous and didn't appear in front of the Central Branch procession afterward. To avoid the high risk of an all-out war."

Indeed, although the path they had moved along afterward was a route frequented by Dermocas, the creatures hadn't been seen for a while to the point of being considered strange.

Hugo nodded as if it made sense while retracing the path they had come so far. Gaining confidence from that, Flynn added and continued,

"But I felt that the recent increase in the frequency of attacks and the creatures deliberately targeting Parren's main camp vicinity and our Council members when there were few people was like them continuously exposing themselves to provoke and enrage the humans."

"..."

"And as if dealing a decisive blow, they carried away the squad member's corpse to make the pursuit team chase after them. Would the intelligent creatures really not have anticipated that? I think they intentionally orchestrated this situation. And this pattern also felt like something I've seen a lot. It's similar to..."

Flynn, who had been speaking well, suddenly stopped and looked up at Hugo. He seemed to be contemplating whether to add the last words or not. Hugo, who had been staring at him intently, spoke as if telling him to continue,

"Similar to?"

As Hugo waited for him to speak, Flynn, who had been hesitating a bit, carefully opened his mouth,

"Similar to… when Leonardo was deliberately trying to lure the Council?"