Read Novel Full Chapter 24 & 25
Here’s the chapter, enjoy~
Chapter 24 – Brute Gun
I pushed the gas pedal all the way down to 120km/h, which was close to the limit for driving on flat but bumpy soil. The dented suspension bounced as it bottomed out, and the car creaked violently.
I don’t care if this car breaks down or not; as long as we make it in time, that’s all that matters.
“I can see it. That’s her!”
A small figure came running out of a break in the forest. I can’t tell if it’s an elf or not. The figure was limping and holding one arm as if wounded.
I saw three lightly armored cavalrymen running after the figure. They were slowly encircling her, holding their spears and shouting something to their companions. It was obvious that their goal was to torment the fleeing elf child. There was no weapon in their hands. They must have thought that they could kill her at any time and that they would not have to worry about getting hurt if she fought back.
The grinning face tightened as they looked at us.
“Bear!”
While honking the horn, I passed through the middle of the enemy with the momentum of hooking a horse. It’s just a poor idea to hit a horse because it will probably break the car’s body.
Oh well. The cavalry had scattered and taken their distance, so I had achieved my goal.
“Milka! This way, run!”
There was no response from the elf as if she had run out of energy and strength. As soon as I stopped the car, Myrril ran out the door. She forcefully drags the slumped elf child up, lifts her on her shoulders, and instantly rushes into the car.
“Okay, Yoshua, let’s go… whoa!”
“Mugiiii!”
A spear pierces the accordion door that has just been closed. Myrril, who was trying to protect her, threw the elf onto the floor and covered her, and the elf looked up at her with red, resentful eyes as if she were suffocating.
It was a close call. Aside from the car’s body, you will not be safe if you get hit by it.
“Are you trying to run away, you filthy subhuman!”
“Don’t hide in that strange vehicle; come out!”
“No, I think it’s best for you to hide in plain sight, subhuman.”
“Hey, give us the kid, and I’ll spare your life! That kid’s ours, and I still haven’t plunged my spear into her yet!”
Outside the car, a sneering laugh echoed. A coward who can only bully the weak is talking nonsense.
“Yoshua, our first priority is to get out of here!”
“Is that kid okay?”
“Oh? Yeah, no problem. She has some wounds, but they’re not serious.”
“Okay. Well then, just give me a minute.”
I moved the car into reverse and opened the door on the side blind to the cavalry. With the engine running, I show Myrril the open/close switch.
“When I get out, close the door using this one. When you do that, take care of the kid.”
“Hey, wait up. Don’t take unnecessary risks just because of your feelings.”
“Oh… No, they’re scouts, right? We can’t let them leave unharmed.”
“You just thought of that, didn’t you?”
Yeah, I think they already know. Well, I guess they do. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Myrril.
If she really stops me, I might waver a bit.
“Ah, geez… it can’t be helped. Don’t let your guard down, okay?”
“Don’t worry. As long as I can see them, I’m fine.”
Seeing me come down, the cavalrymen began to grin again. Two of them were holding hand spears, and the other one had let go of his spear, so he slowly drew his sword from his waist.
“Wow, he looks like a human.”
“Isn’t it possible that his parents mixed with subhumans? If so, it’s rare. It might fetch a good price if we sell him.”
“I’m not joking; I don’t want a subhuman man. I’d rather have the kid from earlier.”
The man who drew his sword, perhaps underestimating that I was unarmed, swung it wide and closed in on me.
“Di…”
Maybe he was going to continue with ‘e’, but I pulled a huge pistol-like thing out of my storage and point it right at the cavalryman’s nose. It was an extra service item I had just received from Simon. It’s probably a cheap gun, but it’s pretty handy. …It should be.
There is a thunderous sound, and the cavalryman freezes, missing everything above his mouth. His lower jaw shivered, his tongue darted, and he tumbled from his horse. In the background, I see two horsemen with their mouths open and their eyes wide.
Wow… what a mess. I’ll do my best not to use it as much as possible.
After shooting the gun myself, I was amazed at the power of the gun in my hand.
It’s a sawed-off shotgun made by Simon. It’s a simple shotgun with two barrels lined up horizontally with the floor and barrel cut down to the size of a large handgun.
Even in my former world, this kind of gun is only made by criminals, and of course, it is illegal in normal countries. In fact, this gun has no use except for criminals.
Since there is no aperture in the barrel to control the dispersion of the shotgun shells, the shotgun shells suddenly spread over a wide area. While the effective range is devastatingly low, the damage to the enemy in close quarters is as bad as a machine gun.
It’s like a beehive with one shot. It has a two-shot capacity, though.
“What are you going to do with me now?”
I shot the cavalryman in the stomach as they came to their senses at my voice and tried to lift their spears unsteadily. This is the man who proclaimed that he would spear the elf kid ― and he would do it with something other than a spear.
I would not kill him just like that. At best, he should struggle and die in the field.
He rolled and screamed, and his pleas for mercy, inaudible to God or to me, soon dwindled. The shotgun wounds seemed to be more deadly than I thought.
I don’t check to see if he’s dead. It’s impossible to fight back anyway, and there’s no way he’ll make it back alive.
I point my gun at the last one, who is pale and shaking. It’s a horizontal double-barreled shotgun, so there are no more bullets, but there’s no way he can tell.
“After the count of ten, I’m going to shoot you. Run for your life. Whether you survive or not depends on you and… your horse’s efforts. …10”
I look quietly at the cavalryman who has turned his horse around to escape.
“Nine.”
I’ve seen this kind of thing in the movies. My actions were those of a villain, though.
“…8, …7, …6, …5, …4, …3.”
The cavalryman who was frantically driving his horse was a scout and was quite good with the reins. He’s quickly breaking the distance and is about to enter the shadows of the forest.
“…2, …1, …OK, it’s time.”
I don’t know if he can hear me, but I announce and fire one single shot from my AKM.
After a brief pause, the cavalryman tilted, and the horse fell, rolled over, and stopped moving.
Chapter 25 – Small Pitfall
“This guy is terrible.”
“Ah?”
“He took my prey, messed it up, shoved it in some weird thing, and swung it around.”
That was the first thing Milka-chan said as we drove back to the Casemaian defense line.
This guy she was referring to was me.
It’s true that we drove home on a bumpy road, so the little elf was like a pinball in the car. It’s also true that I killed the cavalryman by making mincemeat out of them with shotgun bullets. Half the reason I did that was to save you (the other half was a personal grudge), though.
Don’t point at me with your eyes like you’re looking at a dog that’s behaving badly. I’m going to cry, and you’re going to have a 34-year-old on the ground thrashing around and crying.
Before I could retort, Milka was slapped on the back of the head by the elf man.
“That hurts! What are you doing, Conell?”
He’s the same elf that told us that Milka was missing. I wonder if this is the same elf that told us the war was starting.
Conell, was it? I learned it, but it’s probably useless. I’m not sure I’d be able to distinguish him if he got mixed up with the other elves.
“Apologies for your rudeness.”
“To him?”
“Of course. …But first, did you thank him properly?”
“Thank him? For what?”
The elf girl, who was slapped again, looked at me with a grudge.
I don’t know. The reason for this is because she disregarded the advice to hold on to the car and bounced around. She got mad at me for opening the wound, but that’s because she refused to put on her seatbelt.
When we got back to a safe place, I realized that we should have just transferred to the edge of the plain. I’m not going to worry too much about consuming magic power now that there’s still time before the battle. Well, it’s too late now.
“The war is about to start, and you didn’t come back, you bothered the busy adults to search for you, and you even had to fight with the cavalry that chased you.”
“I-I could have defeated those people by myself!”
He slapped her again. Stop it. That kid’s brain is going to be destroyed. Even if it’s just that, she’s kind of an idiot.
“You say you were able to defeat it, Milka, but what’s your weapon?”
“No, I don’t have one right now… but! That’s because!”
“If Yoshua and Myrril hadn’t gone to save you, you’d be dead.”
She was slapped again. She clenched her teeth as she turned her head and clenched her hands to hold back her tears, shaking with anger, frustration, embarrassment, or whatever. Yeah. I understand. There’s something about that kind of non-negotiable, non-apology feeling you get when you’re that age.
That’s fine, but don’t look at me, little elf. You’re being beaten up because of your bad attitude and mouth, not because of my orders or responsibility.
“Alright, that’s enough. You are not to be sent into battle with us. And you will not have the elves’ weapons.”
“…!!!”
Milka tried to argue with Conell, but she was frightened by the cold eyes and the killing intent that she found in him and held her tongue. The face of a handsome gentleman who is really angry is quite frightening.
“Because I took the liberty of going on a reconnaissance mission? Because I didn’t show these guys any affection? For that alone…”
“That’s the problem before that. You can’t be trusted.”
“!”
She looked more frightened than shocked. Milka’s eyes looked red and blurred again. The color and the light were much stronger than before.
…Red?
“You have no respect for your comrades, and you have no intention of apologizing for the trouble you’ve caused. Your incompetence is dragging people down and putting many of them in danger. Who would want to fight with a fellow like that?”
“…!”
“You can just die on your own, but don’t drag my… our precious friends into it.”
The taciturn elf’s sudden tsundere turn did not please me either. Milka ran away, and Myrril followed her.
I was left behind with the handsome elf, and I had a bad premonition.
No, not a premonition, exactly. It was a conviction based on skill. An ability that I’m sure I’ve acquired through my improved status. It wasn’t gospel for me; it was probably a curse.
“Conell, right? Can I ask you something?”
“Anything?”
“Do you remember what you were telling us about the color of Milka’s eyes?”
“…? Blue. You’ve seen it. That’s the blood of the Northern Elves. It’s rare around here.”
“Are there any subhumans with red eyes?”
“I’ve heard that there are human rabbit people in the northern continent. We have no contact with them because of the ocean between us.”
The depths of my stomach grow heavy. A malicious observer, that’s what it is. The eyes of those with malicious or hostile intentions are visible in red. I also saw a faint green horizontal line above Conell’s head. I knew it was an HP bar, damn it.
I think Milka’s was red, too.
“…Okay. So, one more thing. That girl, have you noticed anything different since Milka came here?”
Conell’s complexion changed.