436 Part 2
“That man might be able to do something and make everything work out somehow. However, I don’t feel that way.”
The first time they met, Kurono was a rank 1 adventurer that wore a white shirt, pants, and an eyepatch on his left eye. The next time they met, he was a self-proclaimed rank 3 adventurer.
Now, he had become a rank 5 adventurer and was called the Hero of Iskia.
Once again, Zack felt that he had made an acquaintance with an outrageous person. Perhaps Kurono could defeat Rudra. According to his manner of speaking, his overwhelming true ability was recognized fairly and squarely.
“T-that’s true … that could be the case ….”
In his current situation, Zack could not immediately decide to change side and betray Kurono’s current enemy, the Crusaders. After contemplating for a moment, he came to conclude that he would not betray them. Becoming Kurono’s enemy was so terrifying that it swayed his resolve at first.
“Huh?! What are you guys talking about?”
As usual, Gardin was yelling vigorously.
This guy would have lost to Kurono, but it did not take away his optimism and high spirits. No, maybe he could easily pass through there. Oddly, Zack was confident that his imagination was near the mark.
“That guy! Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to get us some credits?!”
“… By the way, didn’t you want to be a Spada Knight?”
“No! I wanted to be the strongest knight!”
A five-year-old screamed those words in some back alley with a wooden stick in one hand would have made it a very funny scene.
“Yes, yes, well, please do your best to beat the enemy.”
“Hey, even if you didn’t tell me to, this Master Gardin here will beat the shit out of those shrimps!”
After Gardin declared his determination, a louder voice echoed across the battlefield.
“Listen! The glorious Spada knights! We will be entering the dead zone from now on!”
Apparently, the vice-captain of the Gladiators was giving a clear command for his men who were confused by the sudden situation.
The content of his command was simple and clear: kill the sorcerer who created this barrier to dispel it.
“— If we fail, the enemy will surge into the inner citadel! Listen up! We have to stop them here no matter what! I won’t tolerate any failures! Don’t yield! Show the pride of Spada knights, right here, right now! Long live Spada!”
The cheers of the knights were far from indicating determination. I could not imitate it very well.
“Listen, adventurers! You have no obligations to obey orders or be loyal to the king. But now there’s no escape from here! It’s good enough if you can make our enemies quiver. It’s even better if you have the courage to wield your blades to the incoming enemy! I’m not forcing anyone to fight. But for those who will, follow me!!”
The commanding voice of the vice-captain was powerful. In fact, the vast majority of adventurers were also screaming their war cry.
“Yeah! It’s finally my turn for the spotlight!!”
I couldn’t agree with Gardin in welcoming the enemy assault. I wasn’t motivated by the vice-captain’s speech either.
“Dammit … there’s no other choice but to do it ….”
There was no escape. Because of that, I had no other choice but to toughen it up and jump into the dead zone.
“Hmm, I think you’ll have enough bloody today, princess.”
While muttering, Rudra was stroking the handle of his sword. He seemed to have a lot of fun for some reason.
Somehow I feel like I’m the only one worried about losing my life. Have I gone crazy …? No, this is a scary situation.
While rethinking that, Zack reluctantly readied his battleax.
“— ‘Plasma Blaster’, launch!”
Then, after the excessively dazzling signal to assault, the adventurers rushed across the castle wall.
“— Whoa!! This is impossible. I can’t go on anymore!!”
A strong skinhead man was reversing the stairs across the castle wall as if his pants were on fire. Normally, he would have escaped by then, but there were adventurers alongside him that could not be abandoned.
Apparently, he participated in the assault, but could not break through the enemy lines and fell victim to the enemy’s counterattack. Looking at his battered and bloody state, it would have been unfair to call him stupid for being defeated by the enemy. Rather, he had done pretty well hanging tough up until now.
The magical staircase was formed by the transparent barrier, and looking down would give anyone a fright. Taking the next step up the staircase would make anyone wary, even if acrophobia was not a problem, because it was so transparent that the next step could be a void.
He was desperately fleeing and vigorously climbing the staircase, ignoring the fear of falling.
“Hold up, you baldy!”
“I’ll kill you, you heretic bastard!!”
A large number of infantrymen with white equipment were rushing after him. The tips of their spears were grazing his behind. He would have not feel comfortable living.
He threw his battleax downstairs and shot a Grenade Burst amid the dramatic and teary-eyed escape.
“Shit, dammit — whoaaa!!”
While screaming wildly, the skinhead adventurer collapsed in front of him due to the blast from the explosion behind him.
The blast managed to take out only the enemies. The cursing Crusader infantry were burned by the black flames into silence.
“Hey, are you okay?! Hurry and get up!”
Even dozens of people were killed, more reinforcements would come later. If he did not mobilize fast, he would be assaulted by the spears again.
Fortunately, the tough adventurer quickly stood up and ran toward me.
“Thank you! I was saved, Mr. Kurono!”
“Oh, you are ….”