Rachel's face hardened as she saw Chad's cruel smile. At the entrance of the village, other pioneers were lined up on both sides, as if they were surrounding Rachel and her companions.
"...We leveled up quite a bit. But what's going on here?" Rachel asked.
"What do you an, what's going on?" Chad replied.
"Why are you all out here like this? Is it so kind of welcoming party?"
Trying to act confident, Rachel spoke, and Chad smirked.
"A welcoming party? You could call it that. After all, today is the day we welco the first traitor of our territory."
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Rachel asked.
"Hey, Rodri. Get over here."
At Chad's words, Rodri, who had been hiding, stepped forward. Rodri opened his mouth in front of the shocked group.
"That girl has been plotting with that guy. They were saying they both don't like their territories, but this one is better, so they should take out the leader and share the spoils together."
"What...!"
It wasn't entirely wrong, but it was clearly a suggestion that had been rejected. Yet he spoke as if she had accepted it.
"I never agreed to that!" Rachel protested.
"Shut up."
Before she could argue, Chad coldly interrupted. When Rachel turned to glare at Chad, she froze. It wasn't the expression of soone genuinely angry but soone pretending to be. It seed like he wanted to convince all the pioneers that he had been completely betrayed.
'Ah, I see.'
Suddenly, everything made sense. To Chad, whether or not what was said was true didn't matter. In fact, he needed to make Rachel a traitor. Only by doing so could he deal with her without causing other pioneers to protest, and also justify future invasions.
"Rachel, I never expected you to betray ," Chad said.
"I didn't betray you, and I can explain, but you won't listen, will you?" Rachel replied.
"Nothing is more foolish than listening to a traitor's words."
"Bullshit. You just don't want to explain."
"Seize her."
Ignoring her, Chad gave his command. As the pioneers surrounded her, Rachel gripped her weapon.
"Why don't you just put down your weapon?" Chad suggested.
"Why would I?" Rachel responded.
"Because it looks like you're the only one prepared to die."
Rachel flinched and turned around. She saw the terrified faces of her companions. None of them were even thinking about fighting.
Grinding her teeth, Rachel threw her weapon away.
"You aren't planning on killing them too, right?" she asked.
"I never planned on killing you either."
Chad spoke with a satisfied smile.
"Why waste sothing valuable? If it can be used, it should be used."
No matter how well a plan is crafted, unexpected events can turn everything upside down in an instant, much like the current situation Justin found himself in.
"Wow, he actually ca? Guess he wasn't lying," a man's obnoxious laughter reached Justin's ears, and he blinked.
Surrounding Justin were nineteen pioneers, and kneeling before them were Rachel and her companions, groaning in pain.
Justin stared at them in silence for a mont, then scratched his head.
"Could soone explain what's going on here?" Justin asked.
"What's there to explain? You've been caught, idiot."
The one who answered, grinning, was Rodri, standing next to Chad.
Now, Justin understood everything.
Rodri must have been hiding and eavesdropping on them and then ran straight to tell Chad. The gnoll habitat was indeed the perfect place to hide. If one hid well enough in the grass, they could stay right under soone's nose without being seen. And now, Rachel had ended up in this state, falsely accused of being a traitor. It seed like she had been taken as a hostage before dealing with Justin.
"Just to clarify, is that guy who's acting all arrogant supposed to be the leader?" Justin asked.
"That's right. I'm Chad. I heard you were planning to take out and take over the territory."
"That was the plan. But Rachel opposed it, so it was put off," Justin replied, shrugging.
Chad's eyes twitched. It seed Justin's relaxed attitude annoyed him.
"You're awfully calm," Chad said.
"Should he be trembling with fear?" Justin retorted.
"Of course. Otherwise, everyone here will die because of you."
Chad snapped his fingers, and his n drew their weapons. They were ready to kill the hostages at any mont.
Justin clicked his tongue and looked at Chad.
"Does Chad think hostages will work on him?" Justin asked.
"Whether it works or not, it's worth a try. If it does, it's a windfall."
Despite his brutish appearance, Chad was quite cunning.
Justin folded his arms and t Chad's gaze.
"Out of courtesy, what does Chad want?" Justin asked.
"It's simple. Drop your weapon and get on the ground. Hands clasped behind your head."
It was an impossible request, one that Justin had no intention of fulfilling.
When Justin nodded, Rachel, who must have misunderstood, shouted.
"Don't do it, Justin!"
"Shut up!"
"You don't need to do this because of us! Forget about us and attack!"
"Shut up, I said!"
Chad, angry, grabbed Rachel's head and tried to slam it into the ground.
Justin raised his hand and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Gladly!"
"Tsk, I should've... Wait, what did you say?"
Chad blinked, realizing Justin's response was slightly different from what he expected.
Justin shouted again, clearly so Chad could understand.
"Rachel, he will gladly do as she says! To abandon one's comrades without hesitation when told to is true loyalty! He will not be the scum who betrays a comrade's wish!"
"...What?"
"Everyone, ignore the hostages and prepare for battle! Cursed Lightning!"
Crackle!
"Aaaaah!"
"Ughhhhh!"
Without hesitation, Justin extended his hand, and violet lightning shot out. It struck the seven hostages and eight of the other pioneers, drawing horrific screams from both sides.
A few seconds later, when the lightning subsided, the hostages had all collapsed on the ground.
Chad, who had used another pioneer as a shield to avoid the attack, looked at the convulsing Rachel, drooling, and scread.
"This crazy bastard!"
"Who's the idiot now, moron?"
Chad should not have tried a hostage situation in the first place.
Justin casually raised his middle finger and shouted.
"Black Missile."
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