The forest was too quiet.
At first we encountered only a single slime, the weakest monster.
Since it wasn’t even worth going out of our way to kill it, we ignored it.
「Another one? There are quite a few of them.」
As if due to a sudden mass outbreak, there were slimes all over the place. Nevertheless, regardless of their numbers, mere slimes couldn’t pose any danger, so we pressed forward.
But no matter where we went it was nothing but slimes as far as the eye can see. It was way too abnormal.
「Is there a stampede happening? Let’s incinerate them with magic.」
「Gather them up and dispose of them all at once. Surround them from the sides.」
There were so many of them that it became impossible to ignore. Even slimes could be dangerous if attacked in such numbers all at once.
Just as we commenced action, thinking that even if it’s a stampede if it’s only slimes then it should be fine, they appeared.
Horde of slimes covering all of the forest. A sea of slimes that made it impossible to even see the trees.
This battalion, the main force of this operation, consists of six companies and several auxiliary groups, this large force of more than three thousand soldiers scattered through the area is surrounded on all sides.
「Defense! Take a defensive formation, sweep them with mage units, just focus on decreasing their numbers first.」
「Scatter poison, downwind alone is fine. Just focus on reducing their numbers.」
「T-They started moving. Magic Wall is being eaten?」
「Anti-Monster Weapons don’t work either, Flames are being eaten too!」
Mage units’ attacks have no effect, the same goes for arrows and spears too. And we are now completely surrounded with no way to escape.
「None of the magic tools are working on them, poisons are useless too.」
「Shit, so it’s a swarm of unique specimens. Anyway, let’s break through and escape. With those numbers they will eat us all.」
The elites of Merchant Confederation’s army and first-rate adventurers are being eaten one after another by slimes. There is no other choice but to abandon them to escape.
I can’t help them, but on my own I can get away. I’ve been through hell more than once, defeating my share of monsters.
Even if I’m in the position of a commanding officer at the moment, I’m originally an S-rank adventurer. Moreover, my equipment is different from others.
However, not only are there too many of them, if I tried to make my escape it would be… Am I being guided to this area? I can’t sense anyone behind me anymore, they were wiped out this fast?
Ahead stood one slime.
Only one.
But it was different. Even so, I’m a former S-rank Adventurer, after my health declined I was picked by the army where I learned techniques for killing people too. And with the bloody money that I earned I even purchased equipment with special effects. And all of the vast experience that I accumulated after countless battles is telling me, it’s strong.
This is the first time that I’ve ever thought of a monster as scary since encountering that dungeon master. I’ve lost all of my comrades to it and had to retire as an adventurer, but to think there was an even crazier monster out there.
Well, you reap what you sow, it’s too late to turn back now, huh. After all, having ruined myself with alcohol and drowning in debt I joined the military and killed, raped, and burned quite a lot until now.
「Looks like there is no other path but to kill it.」
(Jiggle Jiggle)
I’m definitely going to die here.
If so, time for the last resort. Pulling the medicine from the hidden pocket at the back of the collar I swallow it.
It’s a drug with a shady history which shortens lifespan and causes side effects for the rest of the life, but it gives an explosive boost to stats. Some say that if only for a short while it can give even several-dozen-fold increase, so I either have to kill it at once or make my escape.
I lived by the sword, my life went crazy after I lost my comrades, but even so, what I pursued was the sword, and yet my last opponent is a slime, huh.
This has to be divine punishment.
Defeating a dungeon master I was sung as a hero, even though I couldn’t protect even my closest comrades, I was treated as a hero. After that I lived a life that strayed from the proper path, losing sight of what is important, and finally, its end is upon me.
By now my soul is so tainted that there is no hope for me to go to the same place as my comrades. But from the beginning to my end, the sword is all I have. The rest I lost back then.
I slowly take a stance.
The round slime that was hopping in place began shaking and then greatly stretching.
Are those limbs? A mimicry? A humanoid. Is that a human? It’s gradually turning into a humanoid shape, but it was way too beautiful to call that a human.
（……）
A sword.
It swung the sword, so my end will come by the sword too.
At the end of my garbage-like life, what I saw was one divine stroke of the sword at the very height of swordsmanship, made by a peerless beauty.
A single stroke that I pursued with such yearning and admiration before I lost sight of everything.
・
・
・
Gathering together we scan the area with 『Search』but it doesn’t pick up any enemies, the beastmen are cautious and don’t show up either, animal ears…
Gathering corpses of beastmen we dig a hole, the only thing to do left is simply bury them. For gravestones we just left the stones there too.
I’m sure they would hate being buried by humans or having tombstones put up by them. I’m sure they have nothing but hatred for humans..
We merely offer a short prayer, hoping for their happiness in the next world, and bow our heads in respect.
This should be a noticeable blow to the Confederation’s war potential. Judging by the strength of the main body of this force it might’ve been their main troops. Moreover, even the mercenary units had a proper command, even the village raiding squads that we swept had equipment with skills and high level escorts. Losing that force should have significantly diminished their war potential. In total, there should’ve been more than ten thousand of them, so it was a huge blow. It is because beastmen warriors gave their lives to protect others that the remaining villages survived, that the others weren’t driven away as slaves.
Now they’ll have to think twice before attacking the beastmen country.
(Bounce Bounce)
This is no place for humans. At the moment the beastmen are fearfully cautious, but we are still being observed from a distance.
Having their homes burned and close ones killed, there is no way they can trust humans at this point, even ones who approach with friendly intentions.
We came all the way to another world, but it seems animal ears are out of reach. Let’s go back.
「Kakizaki-kun, are you guys fine with going back too?」
「「「Yeah.」」」
After bidding one last farewell to the dead we head for the Kingdom.
Even with their villages burned, even with resisting warriors being killed, the men still tried to save women and children, jumping into a trap and getting killed.
Very unlike us who continuously kept running, hiding, and resigning. The beastmen warriors fought to protect even at the cost of their lives.
That is courage, something we don’t have. We only kept making excuses, that it’s reckless, that it’s pointless, that it can only have a reverse effect, never able to bring ourselves to do the same.
And they laughed at it as they killed them. Mocking even the bravery with which beastmen gave away their lives they sneered at it.
That’s why we snapped, we didn’t care about fear or guilt anymore, and simply couldn’t forgive, overflowing with hate.
And we killed them. We killed all of them.
And I finally understood. I always thought that we obtained defensive skills out of fear.
We thought that we are being protected by Cheat Skills because we are weak.
But it was because we were angry, because we hated it, because it was so vexing, miserable, sad, and empty.
Those weren’t the skills to protect, those were skills to vent anger.
Let’s go back, after all, if there was a meaning to us coming here, then those skills are necessary. Everyone is waiting for us there.
(Jiggle Jiggle)
Coming to this world, we, who never could find a place where we could belong, finally found a place to go back to.
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