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The idiots who were the first to follow me shouted. The others agreed as they raised their cups.

 

I had no idea why they did this. But it made me feel warm inside. And I was sure that it wasn’t because of the drink.

 

I had no choice then…

 

“Alright. We’ll attack the village on the other side of the mountain tomorrow!”

“Yes!”

“I can’t wait to kill again.”

“Keep the women alive!”

“We’ll eat their cattle!”

“Perhaps we should sleep now so we can get up early?”

 

It was decided. We would all live as bandits. They were all ruffians, but I thought I could trust them… Really, I had no choice.

 

I drained the rest of my cup and walked over to my tent.

 

That’s when I heard a voice that made me stop in my tracks.

 

“Hey, that…”

“Something is running towards us!”

 

What? The military?

 

No, he wasn’t looking at the base of the mountain. He was looking south, along the surface. There was a full moon out tonight, which offered plenty of light. But all I could see was dust clouds rising into the air.

 

“I-I don’t know…what is that!?”

“Ju-just take out your swords!”

“And bring the spears!”

 

Things became frantic in an instant. The others ran and grabbed their weapons. Our base was a temporary one, and there were no barricades. What was there, were a few boulders and rough tents.

 

“Get out of my way.”

“Boss!”

 

I picked up a telescope I had stolen when fleeing the city and looked into it. I was desperate to know what it was that was causing the dust clouds.

The thing beyond the lens was…

 

“Th-that…!”

 

I saw the man and woman who had wrecked our lives. And they were now rushing towards us with a horde of monsters trailing them.

 

“What…how!?”

 

Our eyes seemed to meet. How good was his eyesight…! He was even waving at us. Was it mockery!?

 

“No. That doesn’t matter!”

 

I shook my head and dismissed such thoughts.

 

“We have to run! A horde of monsters is heading towards us!!”

“Wh-what!”

“Damn it. We’ve already run so far…!”

“Boss! Can’t you kill them!?”

 

While they appeared to be on the verge of tears, most of them were still gripping their weapons tightly. I shook my head.

 

“Not with those numbers. Pack our things and…huh?”

 

I turned to give the order to the man who was standing next to me. I could hardly believe my eyes.

 

The dark-haired man flew in as if sliding on air. The next thing I knew, both of my comrade’s legs had been severed.

 

“Huh? Uh…my legs… AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

 

He noticed a second after the fact and crumbled to the ground in screams of agony. The others hardly understood what had happened as they stared at him in shock.

But I had seen it happen. That Adventurer who had destroyed the bandits’ hold on Nicora.

 

The wet sound of blood splattering on the ground caused us all to turn our heads. He was standing there. Looking at us.

 

“Sorry. But I’m gonna need you all to be bait.”

 

The Adventurer. Asagi Kamiyashiro. And with that, our deaths were announced.

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