ALL NOVEL
Chapter 77
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 77: Her (2)
***
That didn’t mean Veronica Sánchezz was going along with Damien.
“Oh! I feel a presence there! It’s definitely a thief! I’ll find and kill him!”
“It’s almost dinner time. Shall we catch some prey? How about roasted wild boar?”
“I have something to do! It’s a big one! It seems to be coming out soon!”
She tried to run away by giving various reasons. Every time, she was caught by Damien again.
“Why do you keep catching me!”
“Because you’re weak. Who told you to have knowledge about only killing people?”
“What does killing people have to do with me not being able to escape!”
“You’re still rebellious because you haven’t been properly educated.”
“Ahh… No! I’m fine!”
After getting hit a few more times, she became very humble.
The reason Damien took her with him was to definitely rehabilitate her.
‘That’s what the Personality Corrector does. You can’t let your guard down just because you’ve rehabilitated someone.’
The Personality Corrector had also been accompanying criminals for a while, constantly checking to see if he or she was rehabilitated.
‘If rehabilitation not going to work, I should kill her right away.’
While exploring the Longhost Mountains, he continued to observe Veronica.
“Are you telling me to prepare for camping? I can just sleep on tree branches!”
“I was talking about my sleeping place, not yours!”
“That’s your job!”
“It means reflecting on your mistakes while doing your work.”
“I don’t want to! You do it! I won’t…”
Damien raised his club. She ran to prepare for camping.
‘This is quite comfortable.’
Thanks to Veronica, Damien was able to be freed from annoying tasks.
***
Juan and the mercenaries began preparing for camp.
On one side, they were preparing meals and laying out sleeping bags on the ground.
Juan was in charge of preparing the meals. In addition to the bonfire, he placed an iron pot on it and boiled various ingredients.
He was stirring the thickened vegetables with a ladle.
“Captain, can you give me a moment?”
Bread approached Juan and asked.
“Don’t you see that I’m cooking? Speak here.”
Juan said as he stirred the ingredients with a ladle.
Cooking was all about sincerity. There was no room to leave even for a moment.
“Who is this Victor guy?”
“I don’t know either. It’s our principle not to ask about the personal information of the client.”
There were a few rules among the mercenaries.
One of the most important was that once you’re paid, you’re paid.
It meant not to be curious about the client first.
“Then I’ll change the question. Are knights always so great?”
Bread said with a dreamy face.
“Captain, you’ve experienced it during the day. Everything changed when the Viror gave orders.”
The battle during the day was a fight that Juan’s mercenaries couldn’t win because there were too many thieves.
But as soon as Damien started giving advice, the situation changed.
“That’s not all, He also easily subdued that strange woman.”
Many criminals gathered in the Longhost Mountains.
Among them, the Hedgehog was particularly skilled and was leading a large force by unifying the surrounding thieves.
Especially last year, when two low-class knights who came to suppress the thieves were turned into corpses, it was being passed down among the thieves like a legend.
But Hedgehog was easily killed by that woman.
Even low-level thieves who do not know much about swordsmanship could see the overwhelming difference in skills.
And Damien subdued the woman like a child.
“Captain, since you were a knight trainee, you should know about knights.”
Juan was a knight trainee. He had been trained for about a year, although he was driven out due to lack of talent.
The instructor who taught Juan and the trainees at the time was a junior knight. Sometimes, low-class knights came and taught the trainees.
The low-class knights he saw then…
“There’s no way.”
The knights who taught Juan were just talking nonsense. They were people who disappeared after boasting about themselves, they never taught.
Compared to them, that knight gave necessary advice at the right time.
Just following that advice made their skill improve significantly.
“That knight was a real knight.”
Juan said briefly, looking down at the iron pot.
***
The next day, Damien started traveling again.
Unlike yesterday, they didn’t encounter thieves along the way.
“It seems like the rumor that the Hedgehog died has spread.”
Juan said as he climbed the mountain.
“He died with a single blow from that woman, but the Hedgehog was quite notorious in the Longhost Mountains.”
Since a strong guy died, the guys below would take care of themselves.
Thanks to that, Damien reached deep into the Longhost Mountains without fighting once.
He was resting for a moment. Damien sat down and spread out the map.
“Water.”
Damien reached out his hand and said. Then Veronica held out a water bottle as if she had eaten shit.
“You… you treat me like a maid… Do you think I’ll stay still forever…!”
Damien slowly picked up the club he had set aside and she fled in a panic.
Damien sipped the water and examined the map.
He had obtained memories of the hideout from the captain of the mercenaries, but there were many uncertainties. Therefore, he had to keep checking the map.
“Victor, do you think we should go further inside?”
“Yes.”
Juan’s expression hardened at Damien’s answer.
“Hmm… Victor, it’s dangerous to go further. The inside is called forbidden and even thieves avoid it.”
“Forbidden?”
“No one who has gone inside has come back alive. Not even knights like the Hedgehog.”
Juan’s words made Damien smile instead.
It was evidence that he had found the right place.
“I have business inside. If you think it’s dangerous, you don’t have to follow me anymore.”
After resting, Damien and the mercenaries moved back inside.
“Ca, Captain, don’t you feel a bit cold?”
One of the mercenaries said as they went further inside. It was Bob, the biggest one.
“I feel a bit chilly too.”
“Something’s weird in this hot weather.”
Not only Bob but also other mercenaries complained of strange symptoms.
“You guys are weak. Hey, did you see that? That’s what weakness is, I’m not weak!”
On the other hand, Veronica was still energetic.
‘It seems like a curse has been cast over the entire region.’
The reason they complained of the cold was because of the curse.
The curse of weakness was constantly bothering the mercenaries. It was clear that it was a curse set up by Yulan to prevent outsiders from invading.
As we went deeper inside, the curse seemed to get stronger and stronger.
The reason this place came to be known as the forbidden zone seemed to be because of this curse.
Damien utilized the Authority of Greed. As he used this power, the curse that had been lingering around him began to dissipate.
“Huh? Suddenly, I feel more comfortable.”
“The weather suddenly feels warmer.”
The mercenaries’ expressions brightened.
‘However, it’s a bit worrying that even the low-class ones haven’t come back after entering this place.’
Unlike the mercenaries, Veronica was a low-class knight who was not affected by the curse at all.
That meant there was something separate that could kill the low-class.
When Damien was pondering, something began to reveal itself in front of him.
A half-rotten body, a rusty sergeant’s weapon, slow movements.
“Z, zombie! It’s a zombie!”
Juan shouted in confusion. The mercenaries quickly drew their weapons.
A zombie referred to a corpse that moved due to dark magic, and even though it was a low-level undead, it wasn’t particularly dangerous.
“Captain! It’s not just one or two of them!”
The problem was the numbers. Suddenly, more than dozens of zombies surrounded the group.
It seemed that all the mercenaries who had entered the forbidden area and died had turned into zombies.
“It’s a perfect situation to gain experience.”
The mercenaries were surprised at Damien’s words and looked at him. Damien jumped onto a nearby branch and said.
“What’s wrong? Go fight. If you think you’re going to die, don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
At Damien’s words, the mercenaries rushed out, crying and grinding their teeth.
“Gather here! Fight with taking the cover of the trees! Don’t be afraid, they’re slow!”
Juan and the mercenaries tried to fight as they usually did but Damien started advising them.
“Staying in one place against zombies is akin to suicide. Keep moving and fight! Push them back!”
The mercenaries immediately changed their strategy as Damien had said.
The shield-bearing mercenaries cleared the way, and the spear-bearing mercenaries restrained the zombies.
“Should I go and help?”
Veronica, who had also climbed up the tree, asked Damien.
“There’s someone you need to deal with.”
“Huh? What? What? You? You?”
Damien raised his finger and pointed it somewhere. Behind the zombie horde, a monstrous figure revealed itself.
-Uwaaah!
Troll.
However, it was no ordinary troll. It had two heads and four arms.
There was no way there could be a troll like that. Upon closer inspection, there was a seam-like thing in the center of its body.
It was a flesh golem.
Judging by the familiar feeling, it seemed to be something created by Corpseplay.
‘Now it’s certain that there’s a warehouse of Yulan.’
That flesh golem was the evidence that Yulan’s secret warehouse was here.
“Wow, it looks strange. I’ll kill it right away!”
“Huh? You should hear the explanation first…”
“No need!”
Veronica wielded her twin swords and charged at the flesh golem. Damien clicked his tongue.
‘He’s not as easy as he looks.’
It’s the Yulan’s secret warehouse. It was unlikely that the Corpseplay had created it carelessly.
“Die! Die!”
She swung her swords in anger. The sharp blades of the twin swords stabbed into the flesh golem’s arm.
The flesh golem’s flesh was easily cut. But as time went on, its speed slowed down and eventually stopped.
“Huh? Huh?”
Her aura was so sharp that it could cut through a person’s body down to the bone and muscle.
The flesh golem’s arms were thick, but it was strange that they couldn’t be cut off and stopped.
-Uwaaah!
The flesh golem attempted to swing its fist at Veronica. She dodged backward without a chance to draw her sword.
“What, what is it? Why, why won’t it cut?”
It seemed to be her first encounter with such an event. Veronica Sánchezz struggled to shake off her bewilderment.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but… if it doesn’t work once, then keep doing it until it does!”
Veronica handed her another sword that had fallen to the ground, one previously used by a zombie.
She swiftly moved to start hacking at the flesh golem, causing numerous wounds to appear on its body.
However, before long, her movements noticeably slowed down.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
Exhausted, Veronica began to pant heavily.
It was clearly strange. Low-class knights like her shouldn’t tire so quickly.
‘That flesh golem has the ability to absorb an opponent’s mana.’
That explained why she would tire quickly and struggle against it every time she hit it with her aura.
The reason her sword couldn’t penetrate deeply at first seemed to be due to the sudden absorption of mana, causing her aura to disappear.
‘It’s hard to defeat it by using aura directly. So I prepared such a trick.’
A mage’s strength is not as good as a knight’s, but their cunning surpasses it.
But Veronica Sánchez had a big disadvantage.
She was only used to cutting people.
“Ugh, ugh! Help me! Help me!”
Eventually, Veronica’s mana was almost depleted. She began to run away from the flesh golem’s attacks.
Damien clicked his tongue and drew his sword. Then he stood in front of the flesh golem.
-Uwaaah!
The flesh golem screamed and swung its fist. Veronica shouted at the sight.
“Hey! Be careful! There’s something off about it! My aura isn’t effective!”
Damien avoided the flesh golem’s fist and swung his sword twice. The thick wrist was cut off and fell to the ground.
“…Huh?”
Veronica was greatly surprised at the sight of the troll’s wrist being cut off with a sword that wasn’t infused with aura.
-Uwaaah!
Since the flesh golem couldn’t feel pain, it didn’t care that its wrist had been cut off and rushed forward.
Damien held his sword with both hands and swung it twice. Two deep gashes crossed on the flesh golem’s torso.
Eventually, the flesh golem’s body split and collapsed to the ground.
“……”
Veronica’s mouth gradually fell open at the sight.
“Get some rest.”
After a brief remark, Damien ran towards Juan’s mercenary group.
She stared back and forth between the Flesh Golem and Damien for a long moment.
***
Damien continued to assist Juan’s mercenary group to exterminate the zombie horde.
He didn’t directly engage but provided advice to the group, helping them gain experience.
After a fierce battle, the group gathered in one place to rest.
“Thanks to you, we’re survived again.”
Juan said while drinking water. If Damien hadn’t given advice again this time, they would have been in a dangerous situation once again.
“But why is that woman so quiet?”
Juan pointed to Veronica and asked. Since the fight with the flesh golem, she had been staring into space without saying a word.
“It seems she has something on her mind.”
Damien said nonchalantly.
“By the way… what exactly are you looking for in the mountains? It doesn’t seem like you’re just looking for simple treasure, considering the undead are involved.”
No matter how taciturn Juan was, he couldn’t help but ask questions in this situation.
Undead were not easily seen monsters. Unlike monsters, they were only created by dark magic.
Damien pondered for a moment.
Although Juan tended to be tight-lipped, it was dangerous to speak honestly in this situation.
In times like these, showing rather than convincing was more effective.
Damien opened a spatial ring. Juan’s eyes widened at the sight of the phenomenon he had never seen before.
“W-what’s that? A-are you, by any chance, a mage?”
“It’s just a magical artifact, calm down.”
Damien took out the Holy Sword from the spatial ring. When he drew the Holy Sword, a bright light burst forth.
Everyone bathed in the light experienced a miraculous surge in their health. Surprised by the phenomenon, Juan said, “D-Divine power…? A-are you… a paladin?”
“I’m not a paladin. Instead, I received the Holy Sword from the church.”
At Damien’s words, Juan looked at him with a mixture of awe and reverence.
“Now I see, you must be an ally of the church… I understand now why you came to the Longhost Mountains. You came to deal with the undead.”
Juan nodded his head and understood.
“I hope you kept my presence here a secret. It’s a secret mission, you know.”
“I’ll keep it a secret. No one can interfere with the Church’s grand plan.”
Juan crossed his arms and nodded softly.
***
“I have to go in alone from here.”
As the break was ended, Damien said to the mercenary group.
“What do you mean? We’ll go with you.”
“I’m not telling you to go back. I mean, stay here and wait. It won’t take long, so don’t bother setting up camp.”
Juan hesitated. To such Juan, Damien said,
“It’s a request as a client.”
“…I understand.”
The proper attitude of a mercenary is not to interfere unnecessarily. Juan had no choice but to accept Damien’s request.
“Hey.”
Damien approached Veronica. She looked at Damien with a blank face.
“I’ll go in and come back soon. You stay here and guard the mercenaries.”
Veronica nodded. It was a reaction like a broken machine.
Leaving the group behind, Damien entered the valley.
He encountered a few more undead on the way, but it wasn’t a big problem.
Eventually, Damien stopped in front of a cliff.
“It’s definitely here… What was the pattern?”
Damien released a bit of dark mana from the bracelet and drew a few patterns.
Then the cliff disappeared, revealing a large cave.
“I found it.”
Damien entered the cave. As soon as Damien entered, the illusion covered the cave again.
***
Damien continued to walk deeper into the cave. After a while, a wide hall appeared. In the hall, two flesh golems were bowing their heads.
‘They made more trolls just like the one outside.’
As Damien moved towards the center of the hall, the flesh golems suddenly raised their heads.
-Unauthenticated magic pattern detected.
-Intruder identified. Exclude according to security procedure.
Suddenly, bones and armor fell from the ceiling. The bones intertwined and formed a human skeleton.
Skeletons.
Dark magic utilizes human souls by binding them to bones to use as soldiers. It was also a representative of the dark magic of the necromancy sect.
“As expected, the inside is also prepared to deal with intruders.”
Damien was about to draw his sword but put it back and instead opened a spatial ring.
From it, he took out a leather bag and opened it. Inside, pitch-black darkness was writhing.
“Come out.”
Something emerged from the darkness.
An androgynous appearance that was hard to identify the gender.
A petite body that was below average.
A strange atmosphere that felt unfamiliar.
“Miya, let’s see your skills.”
At Damien’s words, Miya laughed fiercely.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]