Chapter 77 (1/2)

Chapter 77: Attacking After Discovery

They found the bandits’ camp unexpectedly easily.

It was because they didn’t try to hide themselves in the first place.

When he thought about it, a band of two hundred or so ex mercenaries who became bandits already sounded like a threat, but its power could be equal to an army, so Loren guessed they thought that nothing other than a gigantic army would be a threat to them.

“I was the one who suspected this, but this is quite a sight.”

An area that they arrived at after a minute of walking from the remains of the town.

In the middle of a clear, flat area, men who seemed to be bandits, were camping there with bonfires lit, and as Loren had just said, it wasn’t a group that could be touched with halfhearted determination.

“They do as they want, but I guess they aren’t thoughtless either.”

Lapis said in an annoying voice as they peeked out from a small depression in the ground a distance away from the camp, where its lights wouldn’t find them.

Since they had enough power to win against almost any opponent head on, what they needed to be careful against was ambushes, and staying in the middle of clear land was the best way to do so rather than stay in a place that shielded their view.

Loren didn’t know if they chose the place with that thought in mind, but Lapis said that moving based on the assumption that they did posed less danger.

“It would be better to assume that they are somewhat smart, rather than assuming they are idiots.”

“That’s fine, but can we even move in on that?”

If they tried to get near from their current location, they would immediately be spotted by the bandits on watch.

Even if they were to form a plan, the surrounding was just flat land, with nothing that they could use to their advantage.

Loren had indeed been a skilled and experienced mercenary, and although he somewhat thought so himself, he wasn’t as arrogant as to think that he could march against a hundred, two hundred enemies and come back out alive.

“We can’t use the classic fire or water attacks. We can’t set a trap large enough for those numbers either.”

“Loren you seem to know a lot about those kinds of things.”

“I’ve attacked and been attacked like that, so. But this time both ways won’t work.”

There wasn’t anything around them they could set fire on, nor rivers or swamps to draw water from.

Flat plains didn’t benefit attacking nor defending, but that was the same for the enemy as well.

If the gap in power was hopelessly large, there was no way to fill it.

“Let’s see. I could use a large-scale magic and force fully annihilate them.”

“You could use such a spell?”

“Who do you think I am? Even though I don’t have my limbs and eyes, I’m still a powerful demon. And currently I’ve retrieved my left arm.”

Lapis said as she twirled her left hand, but Loren couldn’t really believe her.

He knew that powerful magicians could use spells that could turn the tides of a battle, but a spell that could annihilate two hundred enemies seemed like something from a fairy tale.

“Of course, there’ll be a price, so I’d like to avoid using them if I could. So, could I ask you something Loren?”

Since they were huddled together in a small depression, Lapis could stare into Loren’s eyes from a close distance.

Loren could see her looking at him in the dark of the night, with the light from the camp barely reaching them, because of Shayna, who was inside him, but her straight gaze made him think that she saw right through him.

“I would like you to present every single card we could use, but what do you think?”

Inside Loren, or inside his astral rather, which was his spiritual body, was a girl named Shayna that had been turned into the highest ranking undead called a No Life King in a previous job, but Loren hadn’t explained that to Lapis yet.

He had been saved by her powers many times already, so it was safe to assume that Lapis knew about it, but she was playing dumb until Loren decided to tell her himself.

Loren guessed that since she was currently asking for an explanation, she was either relying on its powers, or there was no other option.

“I know you can’t help but be wary of me. I understand that I’m a person that you can’t be wary enough of. It’s kind of sad, but…”

“Umm…well…you know…”

As her face really clouded in sadness, Loren felt guilty about hiding things from her.

“But from our current situation, I would like you to give me information, but how do you feel?”

‘Onii-san, shouldn’t we just be honest and tell her? It’s a bit painful to leave Onee-san an outcast like this.’

It seemed that Shayna felt the same way as Loren did.

As Shayna sent her thought to him, he thought that this would be the best timing to tell Lapis, so he decided to do so.

“About Shayna, who we couldn’t save on our previous job.”

“I see. Would it be safe to assume that you’re ready to tell me?”

Lapis interrupted Loren, who had started to talk, and Loren nodded, surprised at her question, confirming that she was correct.

“Then let me guess. Shayna’s astral is living inside Loren’s astral. It’s impossible to tell since she usually uses your astral as a cloak, but if she excites her astral, she can use a part of her powers as a No Life King, am I correct?”

“You already know everything.”

Loren sighed that she already knew everything, but Lapis told him with a serious look on her face.

“Guessing the truth and asking for confirmation are two different things.”

“You can’t see Shayna?”

Lapis shook her head at Loren’s question.

“I can’t. Feeling a strange presence and feeling that it was similar to the No Life King that I’ve seen before raised my suspicions. Seeing the powers activate turned it into conviction.”

“That’s still pretty incredible.”

“Thank you. And now, we can finally set up a plan.”

Lapis smiled and put her hand on Loren’s shoulder as she said so.

Loren didn’t understand what she meant by that, but then Lapis told him casually.

“So, Loren, please go attack the camp.”