Chapter 205 - Midnight War (2/2)

“Hmm….! Mmmm…mm…mmm…gg… it is not bad!”

The others looked intrigued, so I offered them some bread too. They copied Daniela and bit into the bread. Then their eyes widened and they looked at each other before taking another bite and then another. Perhaps it was too good for words…I was quite happy to see it.

I sipped on some fruit wine and watched them eat. It really was fun to eat with others like this… No, I wasn’t great in larger, noisier places, but this was a nice way to have dinner. It would be even better if there was another cook whose food I could compare mine too.

Well, we would arrive in the imperial capital tomorrow. Vellefrost, the imperial capital of the Empire of Flugelnia. What kind of place would it be? Now, I heard about sweets and parades, but nothing we had seen up until now suggested those things. Perhaps it was a culture that was still spreading. Either that or Daniela’s information was wrong.

In any case, we’d have the pleasure of discovering the truth soon enough. It was decided that Daniela and the driver would take turns on the watch tonight, and so I went off to bed. Well, we were in such a large camp. Surely no monsters would dare come close…

“Asagi! Asagi, wake up!!”

“Huh!?”

My world spun.

I fell onto my nose before frantically peeling myself off of the floor. Apparently, someone had pulled my sheet from under me.

“What!?”

“Monsters! It is blood apes!!”

“Are you kidding me!!?”

I couldn’t help but shout. Those damned, bloody apes. Blood apes. My most hated monsters. Ambushes and Presence Block. And they came in such large numbers. I hate them.

I unsheathed Glampanzer and rushed out of the tent. The campsite was already a battlefield. I could hear the shrieking of the apes and the curses of the Adventurers as they fought.

“This looks bad.”

“Hah! Do not just stand there, Asagi!”

Daniela shouted as she thrust her rapier between a blood ape’s eyes. Ugh. And we’re so close to the capital… This huge tree had all the appearance of a tranquil resting spot, but it had really just been a bloody nest.

“Damn you all!!”

“Aye, that is the spirit!”

I swung my sword with rage and a blood ape’s head flew into the air. Then I generated an ice sword with my free hand and slashed at the closest monster. I couldn’t use Icicle Inverse or Frostheim when there were so many people around. Even Legs of the God Wolf would be too dangerous. This was not good. Just the thought of having to slowly cut through them one at a time made me want to vomit. No one got away with disturbing my sleep. You damned apes!

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Finally, the sun showed its face.

Finally. The sun. Showed. Its face.

“…I’m gonna throw up.”

“Me too…”

Without sleep, without rest, we continued until the battle was over. Everyone was either staring at the ground or the sky. It was the sky for me.

“Mister Asagi… You’re safe…”

“Yeah. You too, Mister…”

“Yes. There was a commotion and I was told to evacuate…”

The Adventurers had led the merchants into a tent where they were shut in until morning. Those who could not fight had to stay still. I wouldn’t have minded joining them…

“Stil.. this is quite the sight…”

Mister said weakly. Adventurers sat, hugging their swords. Others lay spread-eagled on the ground. Some leaned against the tree. And even now, there were some who remained alert.

But all of them were covered in blood. And the ground was littered with so many blood ape corpses that it was difficult to walk.

“They counted about five hundred earlier.”

“Five hundred…”

There were about fifty of us Adventurers, which meant that each had killed nearly ten… It didn’t really meet our salary. In fact, I was sure I had killed over twenty. I stopped counting after that…

“And about six Adventurers were caught off-guard and were killed.”

“I see…”

Deaths… Well, it was such a chaotic battle. I could not be surprised by the outcome. Luckily the four of our company were all safe. Still…this had been a rough morning. Or night.

We would have to bury the dead first. This was what I assumed, but no one moved.

The morning sun was shining down on the wet pools of blood. And yet no one rose to their feet.