Chapter 72
Talleon returned to his seat with the carrier pigeon.
“Here it is.”
Joshua took the carrier pigeon and imdiately checked the note.
It was news that a swarm had appeared at the tower as well.
It was sothing he’d expected.
Once a swarm occurred, it was an event that happened in multiple locations simultaneously.
Before leaving the tower, he’d already taken asures by consulting with Rodwell in advance.
‘I’ve obtained everything I could get from the tower.’
Moving hideouts was a common occurrence in survival gas.
The farm had fulfilled its role.
He’d built a relationship with Rodwell and got his hands on the knight order's treasure.
Now was the timing to leave that place and move to a new settlent.
He’d already decided on the location.
The preparations that needed to be done before going were also steadily underway.
“What does it say?”
“It seems a problem occurred at the tower.”
“Is it serious?”
“Well, I’ll have to go there to find out.”
Talleon looked at him with an anxious complexion.
“Do we have to go back imdiately?”
Leo asked.
“Yes.”
“What do you plan to do with the survivors we rescued?”
“I can't take them to the tower. I plan to go explain that point to them.”
Leaving his companions behind, he headed toward the group of survivors who’d escaped.
the knight who was by their side greeted him.
“Thank you. We wouldn't have been able to get out if not for you.”
“How is the damage situation?”
“There are injured people, but they're okay. Everyone is safe.”
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
The knight shook his head with a dark expression.
“There’s no plan. We intended to hold out longer in this place.”
“If there’s no place to take shelter, try going to Saint Stalia. I heard they're gathering people there.”
“Without Sir Derek?”
“That man is dead.”
The knight's eyes widened.
“I killed him.”
“What do you an?”
“He’d beco a zombie. Serena was in a dangerous situation, so there was no other way.”
The knight staggered.
The news of the leader he’d searched for so desperately returned as death.
“You did? Then he must’ve been an ordinary zombie I suppose?”
“No, he was a variant.”
“What! Then how did you survive?”
“He wasn't in perfect condition. I won because of that.”
The knight sent a suspicious gaze but soon withdrew it.
An area impossible for a student.
The boy in front of him had proven too much to simply dismiss it like that.
“Thank you for letting know. If you hadn't told , I would’ve wasted ti on useless things.”
“And I’ll be taking Adela and Serena with .”
The knight hesitated and couldn't answer imdiately.
The two of them were talents too precious to give up.
One was an expert in detection magic, and the other handled the Water attribute.
They possessed essential elents for survival.
“I understand. Everyone would’ve been dead at anyway if not for you. Whatever you want, we have no reason to stop you.”
“Thank you.”
Joshua cast his gaze past the knight.
The survivors were gathered together and trembling.
“What do you plan to do with them?”
The knight's brow furrowed.
He felt a certain intention within the question.
“You think we’re going to abandon them?”
“There are many mouths to feed, while food and water are limited after all.”
“I’m sorry, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't know what will happen in this kind of situation.”
Joshua picked out soone from among the trembling survivors.
The boy Serena had tried to save had returned to his parents' arms.
The boy survived, but it was unknown if he’d continue to survive hereafter.
“I’ll try to make an effort.”
“I’m counting on you.”
After receiving the greeting, he returned to his companions.
Adela and Serena.
The atmosphere brightened just by the fact that those two had been added.
They laughed and chatted while discussing what happened inside as the topic.
“I’m telling you, against Derek, I froze his legs, Luna went bam! and Joshua finished it off!”
“Don't make such a fuss.”
When Adela went on about her heroic tale, Leo showed a blunt reaction.
“I have experience hunting variants too.”
“What kind was it?”
“That bear we t in the eting place forest. Was its na Urgon?”
“I think Derek was much stronger than that bear.”
“You wouldn't be able to say that if you’d watched that bastard up close.”
“Then we can just ask which side is stronger.”
Adela and Leo’s gazes turned toward Joshua at the sa ti.
He let out a sigh.
Both of them were characters with a strong competitive streak.
“Derek was stronger.”
“See!”
“However, if you ask whose contribution was greater in taking down the enemy between the two, it would be Leo.”
Leo clenched his fist like a person who’d grasped victory.
Adela sent a dissatisfied gaze.
Stimulating the competitive spirit of these two was one of the tasks for the future.
“Do you an my magic is inferior to Leonard’s swordsmanship?”
“I didn't an it that way.”
“Then what!”
“It’s the difference in the roles assigned. Since Leo was the vanguard in that battle, I have to give him a higher score than rear support.”
Adela put on a sulky expression, but he paid no attention to it.
Enjoying the joy after the escape ended here.
‘Plan A is now impossible if the tower was attacked.’
Plan A was a strategy to keep staying at the tower and grow their power.
Harvesting supplies through the foothold that was the farm.
He’d intended to barter the harvested items while interacting with the rchant guild.
It was impossible now.
Rodwell had left, and it was only a matter of ti before the farm was destroyed.
[Clever] argued for Plan B.
‘Plan B, then.’
Vilne.
It was a village run by a guild.
It was a thod of taking a rest and building experience over there.
[Steady Nerves], [Clever], and he himself held a discussion.
The conclusion was decided quickly.
“……First, I’ll explain the current circumstances to you all.”
* * *
A week had passed since the events in the mine were finished.
Leonard was in the middle of climbing a hill with his subordinates.
The boys following behind ruminated on the story Joshua had told them.
-The tower has collapsed. Rodwell has already left that place, and what remains is a wave of zombies.
They’d lost the hideout where they’d survived for several months.
Fear wriggled from the bottom of their emotions.
Joshua explained that it was part of the plan.
“Is it really true?”
Talleon asked.
“What?”
“Sir Joshua’s story that the tower has collapsed.”
“We’ll find out soon.”
As they climbed the uphill path, they saw smoke rising from a place not far away.
It was the tower.
Zombies surrounded the vicinity and constantly pounded on the outer walls of the building.
The shrieks and stench of the creatures were vividly felt even from this distance.
“It feels like looking at the mine entrance.”
It was exactly as Joshua had told them.
While admiring his prediction, he was also afraid on the other hand.
Every situation fit together too perfectly.
To the point that he wondered if Joshua was manipulating things from behind.
“Are you guys okay?”
Leo looked at the two boys.
They were holding up better than he’d thought.
“Before we ca to the tower, we stayed at the dormitory. It was a decent place, but we have experience of having to abandon it because we ran out of food. I thought then. That there would be no permanent hideout in this situation.”
Gavinu replied while distorting his expression.
Talleon, who was beside him, was feeling a similar sentint.
“You’ve beco an old soul. Were you influenced by that bastard?”
“How about you, Captain?”
“? I just want to beat that bastard. Because that bastard wouldn't bat an eye at a sight like that.”
Gavinu shook his head as if it were hard to understand.
“Let’s see, the tower has turned into a sea of fire, and as for our farm area.”
Leo was faithful to the role he’d been assigned.
Joshua ordered him to look around the nearby village along with the tower's situation.
“It seems there aren't many zombies over there?”
“Yes, I don't know the reason, but it seems those bastards have all sward to the tower.”
“Good, I’m going down to report.”
When he returned to the group, preparation for the al was in full swing.
Perhaps because the number of people had increased, it was convenient in this aspect.
“What’s the situation?”
Adela asked.
Leo waved his hand with a reluctant expression.
“There’s an order to reporting.”
“Ha, how absurd! It’s a fact everyone will find out anyway. Do you have to insist on that?”
“Rule’s a rule.”
“So that’s how you're going to play? I won't tell you either if I find out sothing.”
“Suit yourself.”
Avoiding her as she poured out her irritability, he sat down across from Joshua, who was leaning against a tree.
Joshua handed him a sweet potato roasted in the bonfire.
“You were right. The tower has fallen.”
“Yep.”
“Is this also really an extension of the plan?”
“Why, are you anxious?”
“It would be a lie to say I’m not. The tower is a decent facility, and more than anything, I’m worried about Rose.”
“Rose?”
“The egg you gave . The na of the chick that hatched from it.”
Joshua put on a look of distaste.
“I told you not to pour affection into livestock.”
“Isn't one bird okay?”
“The number isn't what's important.”
“What a cold bastard.”
“More importantly, how is the tower's vicinity?”
“Sure enough, it’s as you said. The zombies all sward to the tower, so other places looked okay.”
“Right.”
Just before Rodwell left.
Joshua asked him to ring the bell hanging at the top of the tower.
Once activated, the bell was set to ring repeatedly over ti.
The current ti was nine o'clock.
Three hours from now, the bell would ring again.
He intended to use that ti as an opportunity to enter the farm.
‘Shall I make so preparations before going in.’
[Current coins held: 340]
Coins obtained as a reward for wiping out the zombies in the mine.
Through these, there was an item to purchase from the shop.
[Subspace Imbuing Magic Tool - 300 Coins]
[Purchase has been completed.]
The item obtained through the system fell into his palm.
It was a rock engraved with runes.
He dropped the rock into the backpack he was using.
As the light from the backpack spread, the bottom disappeared and a pitch black hole was seen.
[Subspace Backpack]
[Storage is possible regardless of the number within the limit of 200KG.]
Only two inventory slots were insufficient as storage space to complete this plan.
There were many things he had to pack.
It wasn't just the chickens he’d left at the farm.
The direction the zombies had swept through.
There was sothing he had his eye on in the place they’d turned into a wasteland.
[Did you just enchant that?]
Serena talked to him with her notebook and pen.
She was the type who was sensitive to mana reactions.
“Yes.”
[If it’s enchanting, it’s magic that even Templar (5) grades say is tricky.]
“Don't tell other people.”
[Okay!]
Serena's lips twitched as if she were happy.
“Aside from that, is your voice not coming out again?”
[Yes, but don't worry. I’ve seen hope. I’ll be able to recover.]
“Okay.”
The trauma that tornted her was still going strong.
But he’d given her an opportunity to overco it.
If she succeeded in unburdening herself, Serena would undoubtedly beco an essential person for survival.
Everyone moved busily with al preparation.
Today's nu was soup made by boiling potatoes.
“Do you think Sir Rodwell is okay?”
Tania, who was eating, spoke up.
“Yes, the other survivors will all be safe too.”
“What happened to the radish field or the treasures that were sleeping in the knight order's basent?”
“He must’ve taken them all. Even though he looks sly, he has a ticulous personality.”
“Do you know where they went?”
“I told them to make the vicinity of Saint Stalia their new residence. We plan to go that way too.”
Adela tilted her head.
“If you plan to go to Stalia, why did you co to the tower? The direction is different.”
“To be precise, I an we’ll go later. We’re going to stop by another place before then.”
“Where?”
“For now, it’s Dormitory 2. Because there’s an item to pack over there.”
“The vicinity here all seed like a wasteland. Will there be anything left even if we go there?”
“What’s visible isn't everything.”
Adela looked around.
Everyone seed used to this flow as they focused on their al.
“The feeling that only he knows sothing is unpleasant. Can this guy really be trusted?”
Leo shrugged his shoulders.
It was a strange situation for the two new arrivals, but it was familiar to the others.
“You saw it too. How he found the pulley that even the knights didn't know about at once.”
“……Ah, that happened, yeah.”
“I’ll get my hands on that brain soday too.”
“Your written exams were always a failure though.”
“The brain used in actual combat is different from the study brain.”
“Hmm~”
Joshua was nonchalant even amidst this conversation.
He finished his al first and stood up from his seat.
“Let’s go to the farm once the al is finished. Luna, I’d like you to open the path.”
Luna nodded.
The knight unit was physically exhausted.
On the other hand, she, being a dragon, still had leeway.
“Is Luna leading the way? Wouldn't it be too dangerous?”
Tania asked with a worried voice.
“Joshua, didn't you tell them? About Luna.”
Adela looked this way.
“No, but I guess it’s okay to tell them now.”
He’d shown her true identity to Adela and Serena.
He’d taken her along even when fighting Derek.
He thought it was a matter that couldn't be kept hidden forever.
“Tania, you don't know what Luna’s true appearance is, do you?”
“Pardon? Her true appearance?”
“That child is a dragon.”
The boys and girls who didn't know Luna’s identity looked at her with surprised eyes.
As attention was focused on her.
Luna hung her head, unable to bear the embarrassnt.
Tania gave a thin smile and then approached and hugged her tightly.
“I felt a sowhat mysterious atmosphere from the mont I first saw her. I thought she was a genius because she understood everything as soon as I taught her, but she was a dragon huh.”
“S-Sister, please stop.”
“Don't worry, Luna! I don't care at all even if you aren't human. Rather, I like you even more since you're a dragon.”
“Uaaa, Brother. Please stop Sister.”
“You must be happy to have such a good person as a sister.”
Luna was released from her only after receiving a lot of affection for a long ti.
“Therefore, don't worry about Luna and , and I’d like you all to go to the place I ntioned.”
“Where should we go?”
“Dormitory 2.”
Dormitory 2 was a place they had to stop by before going to Vilne.
To obtain the items needed in Vilne, it was necessary to take the items sleeping there.
“If it’s Dormitory 2, wasn't it one of the facilities where the 7th years resided? Is there sothing over there?”
“Yes.”
They wouldn't know.
That Dormitory 2 at the ti the swarm appeared was a hot place they absolutely had to stop by.
Mana stones.
Ore with unique properties that could contain mana.
That was sleeping in Dormitory 2.
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