──Pi-roon!
As we were heading toward the campsite, an electronic sound echoed in my mind.
──You’ve passed eleven thousand! Nice and steady. Keep it up!
Shut up! Seriously, I wish there were a mute function!
Hm? The reward money is skyrocketing. Does that mean someone’s being attacked by a horde?!
「Takato!? What’s wrong?!」
When I suddenly stopped, Bisha became alert and scanned the surroundings, and the dwarves followed her lead.
「A goblin horde has appeared somewhere. With how fast this is increasing… could it be Kainzel-san’s group?」
This kind of spike wouldn’t happen without exterminators, and there’s no way rewards could come in this quickly without firearms. Kainzel-san and Ladarion must be using the MINIMI.
「For now, let’s hurry to the campsite.」
It was about thirty minutes away, so we moved at a brisk pace. I instructed Bisha and the others to rest once we arrived and entered Home.
All the MINIMI box magazines were gone, and a large number of assault rifle magazines had also been used up.
I quickly bought twenty more box magazines and stuffed empty P90 magazines and ammunition into my work bag when Miriel came in.
「Did something happen?!」
Before I could say anything, Miriel sensed that something was wrong. She’s sharp.
「There’s a large-scale battle happening on Kainzel-san’s side. Check the tablet. What’s the amount at?」
She reached for a nearby tablet and looked at the increasing reward, clearly surprised.
「It had dropped below three million, but now it’s over five million.」
「One million of that is from what we eliminated. That was probably a detached unit. There were three Hoglus, higher species.」
「There were three to four hundred of them?」
She’s quick with calculations too.
「Yeah. I also sensed something else. We’ll head back to Rihar Town for now, and tomorrow morning we’ll take a different route to Milond Fort.」
「I’ll go too.」
「No, Miriel, stay at the mansion. This might not just be a diversion. If something happens at the outpost or Milond Fort, respond to it.」
I want her to stay in Home, but now that her leg is healed, she probably won’t accept that anymore. Sigh… maybe I need to consider a fourth person?
「Have the staff load the P90 magazines and take care of the gun maintenance. Also, prepare food that can be eaten immediately.」
「U-Understood」
「Thanks. When Ladarion returns, have her record the situation.」
I bought a voice recorder for communication purposes.
I switched to the Benelli M4 loadout, grabbed some food and water, and went outside.
「Bisha, do you still have the stamina left?」
「Of course! I can run all day!」
「Run to Rihar Town, report what happened to the guild branch, and ask the branch chief to secure lodging. Make sure we can rest as soon as we arrive.」
Rather than pushing forward for three days through danger, it’s better to go back one day and take the better two-day route.
「Got it! You guys, take care of Takato」
「Yeah, leave it to us」
Satisfied, Bisha nodded and ran off energetically.
「Eat, take a short rest, then we head back to Rihar Town. No breaks. We arrive before it gets dark」
It will be a forced march, but this is the time for it. I’ll reward the dwarves later. For now, I had them push themselves.
Honestly, dwarves have monstrous stamina. Even while recovering with water, I’m already exhausted, yet they’re not even out of breath.
「As long as we eat properly, we can exert many times the stamina and strength of humans」
Though, they said they can’t run fast.
「That’s what you call racial traits. No creature is perfect」
There are strengths and weaknesses. It’s obvious, but if you don’t understand that, it creates friction. I need to learn more about dwarves.
That can wait. Right now, the priority is reaching Milond Fort as quickly as possible.
Thanks to our effort, we arrived at Rihar Town before dark. Bisha, the branch chief, and several adventurers came to greet us.
「Here, water」
I took the plastic bottle she handed me and poured it over my head. I drank too much, and my side hurts. My body is burning. My legs won’t move. I feel like I’m going to throw up…
「Takato, go back to Home. Have Miriel cast a healing spell on you」
I couldn’t do anything like this, so I followed Bisha’s words and entered Home.
「Takato-san!?」
Luckily, Miriel was there and cast a healing spell on me. Phew.
「…T-That helped. Thanks…」
That useless goddess pushed me up two stages, and I thought I had trained well, but it seems I’m still far from enough. Maybe relying on the Pioneer too much is the problem.
「Please don’t push yourself」
「I needed to hurry, even if it meant pushing myself. Has Ladarion arrived?」
「Yes. It seems the Demon King’s army has begun its attack」
The Demon King’s army, huh. That’s outside my scope…
「How many?」
「Enough to surround the fort. Mostly goblins, with about twenty percent Mokudan, and Maagu scattered among them」
TN: Should be mogutan and maanu but let’s leave it be.
If it’s the same scale as Miroid Fort, there should be at least two thousand.
「Have they confirmed who’s leading them?」
「It appears to be an intelligent goblin wearing armor」
So, it’s not Misaro of the Demon Flute. Another goblin-human hybrid?
「Have you informed Cyrus-san?」
「Yes. But since it’s sudden, it may take time to gather troops」
Troops, meaning vagrants, right? There’s no way they can be moved all the way to Miroid Fort. In reality, we’ll have to deal with this using whoever is already there.
「I’ll go as well」
Miriel looked at me with eyes that wouldn’t back down. Trying to persuade her would be pointless.
「If you come, bring numbers. Gather the giants, the remaining dwarves, and the adventurers into a unit, and lead them as the captain」
They say committing forces in small increments is a bad move. I don’t know why, but that’s what people say, so I’ll follow it.
「Understood. So please don’t overdo it」
I didn’t answer and went outside.
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