Chapter 350

The cigarette man was no match for me even when he was alive. Although I showed rough strikes because my mind was urgent, considering I cut off his breath before even passing two hundred exchanges, the hierarchy of our skills is clear.

However, his sword right now is fiercer, and his sixth sense is even more beast-like.

If I hadn’t cut down several Blood Jiangshis in advance, it would have been tricky to face him.

As far as I know, a Blood Jiangshi used the same sword art it did while alive. This is because even if their body becomes faster and fiercer, they cannot comprehend martial principles any further.

So, I too struck out my sword faster, even faster. The cigarette man originally used a fast sword too. So fast did we exchange blows that you had to count to three after our swords touched and separated before you could hear the sound of the swords clashing.

My entire body heated up hotly from continuously releasing sword energy without resting. The hem of my clothes, drenched in sweat, clung damply to my body. I ceaselessly engraved every single one of the cigarette man’s movements in my head.

Perhaps because the cigarette man was holding swords in both hands, an opening rarely appeared in his upper body. Without thinking further, I lowered my body. Rolling on the floor, I slashed his ankle off. I consecutively slashed his other leg largely as well, but it was a bit shallow. This side only got a small wound.

There’s no way a Jiangshi would flinch just because one ankle flew off. The Jiangshi, tilting its body slightly, followed my movements closely as if it had a foot.

Then the guy mimicked me, rolled its body on the floor, and aimed for my ankle. I jumped up and dodged it.

The Central Plains Jiangshis rarely showed a ‘Lazy Donkey Rolling’ technique before both legs were cut off; does this kind of thing also follow habits from their lifetime. It is utterly laughable.

…Habit?

I thrust my sword to the cigarette man’s right. The moment I consecutively aimed only for the longsword held in his right hand, the guy tried to hide the short curved sword held in his left hand. All the swords thrust subsequently were feints. I aimed for the moment the guy unconsciously thrust out his left hand.

Slash. I cut off one arm; I immediately aimed for the other arm. As the guy tried to kick me with his footless leg, I simply stomped down on that thigh and leaped upwards. Because a Blood Jiangshi doesn’t see people with its eyes, it thrust its right arm holding the sword upwards to attack me directly.

Slash. I cut it again; now it’s almost the end. I immediately struck the neck and cut the fallen head in half. The body squirming alive by itself was also cut into four. The group members, who had dispatched the Iron Jiangshis before me, familiarly stuck their swords into the sand and pulled them out. Hugh Benson gestured to me with his chin.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Even after that, protecting the children was entirely handed over to Peter and Elwin.

After encountering Jiangshi groups four more times, Peter, perhaps feeling uncomfortable, begged saying he would fight too. Hugh Benson frowned in annoyance for a moment, then let out a sigh and explained irritably. Just like the day I went to ask him for romance counseling.

“What is the most important thing for us right now.”

“…The important thing? Of course, killing the Jiangshis…”

“Protecting the Prince. But what happens if a tired bastard takes that on.”

“It’s… not okay.”

“Right, keep doing it.”

“Yep.”

Besides that, even though Peter is a bit faint-hearted, he is similar to Hugh Benson in that he has a wide field of vision, and the fact that he can use daggers to defend the surroundings until other group members come close must be the reason he was selected as an escort.

Hugh Benson didn’t explain up to that point. Well, he was a guy who hated talking when he was tired. I just felt sorry for him.

Benjamin, who was also placed in a position to be protected, didn’t step forward saying he would fight this time either. Knowing everyone’s nerves were tightly on edge, Ruben was even careful with the sound of his breathing.

Unlike the two young knights being docilely protected between two Sword Masters, Marianne used magics like Wind Cutter and Recovery from afar to help the group.

******

Like that, another four days passed.

It seemed Elwin had found the right path this time too. Over forty Jiangshis were dawdling at the boundary of the domain, chattering their teeth. The heavily exhausted and panting group members watched that sight, then walked a couple more steps and plopped down.

No one stopped the mercenaries’ disgraceful behavior. Glaring at the Jiangshis, Hugh Benson opened his canteen and was about to pour it over his head… but Elwin snatched it away. It’s right to refrain from using water recklessly in the desert. Hugh Benson, his eyes glaring fiercely, snatched the canteen back from Elwin’s hand and poured it over his head.

“What?! We’re going to the Oasis now anyway.”

“Mm.”

“Fuck, I thought I was going to die from sleepiness…”

At the sound of Hugh Benson’s muttering, Giselle, who was lying flat on the floor, propped her body up and swayed.

“…Can I sleep…?”

“Where those things can’t be seen. It’ll give you bad dreams.”

“Yeep.”

So, in the third Oasis’s domain, we pitched our tents without going deep inside. Still, thanks to Marianne, who had occasionally sat on her camel and closed her eyes, casting Clean magic feeling sorry for everyone, it was nice to sleep fluffily.

Instead of closing my eyes, I did Qi Cultivation first.

It was the first time since my past life that I continued a battle until my Dantian was this empty. Moreover, because the guys we were facing were those guys, a strange déjà vu arose, and I became even more careful with my behavior, terrified I might unknowingly show a rough attitude to the children.

After finishing Qi Cultivation, I hung the cauldron from the morning and made sure to eat a proper meal first. Even while scooping up stew, a few showed themselves nodding off. I subtly checked Hugh Benson’s mood without realizing it, but he slurped down his share of stew and declared.

“Let’s sleep during the day today.”

“…Are we, allowed to?”

“Fuck, we stayed up all night for a week, so it’s okay to sleep all day for one day. Who knows what kind of fucking hardship we’ll have to do next.”

Fortunately, because we hadn’t taken down the tents, the mercenaries could also go straight to sleep without any trouble.

Wondering if I should do Qi Cultivation again, I was sitting right there next to the bonfire when Ruben pulled my sleeve.

“…Mm?”

“Because I don’t have a pillow…”

“Ah.”

If he doesn’t have a pillow… That won’t do; I stood up docilely. The fact that the sleeping bags the group brought had a plushly raised head part so a pillow wasn’t necessary only came to mind after I offered my arm as a pillow to the child.

How can I be this out of my mind even if I’m out of my mind? It seems I was very tired too.

Still, since I’m lying down, let’s at least take a nap, I thought and closed my eyes. Because Ruben hugged my waist and stuck close, I thought I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but that wasn’t the case. How sweetly I slept, when I woke up after a deep sleep, it was already midday.

Thinking ‘Should I get up’, I stopped, seeing Ruben fast asleep with his forehead pressed against my upper chest.

I didn’t want to wake the already sensitive child, I just slightly lifted my head and scanned the surroundings. I closed my eyes to sense presences too.

All eleven group members were nearby. Among them, seven including Ruben and me were lying inside the tent, and four were outside. The ones outside are Benjamin, Elwin, Hugh, Leon…. So, it’s these four.

Lying down, I absentmindedly tried to figure out what they were doing.

Thanks to the tent being thin and the distance being close, I could clearly see what they were doing just by reading their presences. Benjamin was pestering Elwin and learning swordsmanship; Leon was occasionally laughing and chiming in, and Hugh Benson was roasting something on a fire lit with magic firewood.

…He must have been very frustrated that he couldn’t do his share and was protected.

Anew, it’s funny and cute. I subtly lowered my gaze and quietly examined the completely exhausted and fast asleep Ruben’s face. Even those strong-boned guys must have been tired and scared, so how scared must this delicate child have been. Entrusting him to someone else’s hands and coming a long way makes my heart ache again.

Listening to Leon’s laughter, Benjamin’s shouting sounds, and the wind sounds Elwin made occasionally heard from outside the tent, I swept Ruben’s milky white cheek with my fingertips. It was extremely fascinating that he had such a clear face like milk even after receiving so much sunlight.

Watching the child like that for a long time, I became drowsy again, so I closed my eyes and asked for sleep.

Thanks to repeating eating and sleeping, eating and sleeping for a whole day like that, everyone regained their energy.

Thus, the second week of December, Saturday.

To replenish water, we rode the camels for the first time in a very long while when going to find the water source in the middle of the Oasis’s domain. The camels, which had barely, barely held on while receiving Recovery a couple of times almost every day, perhaps thanks to having slept deeply and woken up, were overflowing with energy in every step.

It wasn’t only the camels that were energetic. Among the group members, the one who seemed the most energetic was Marianne. The girl stuck her camel right next to Elwin’s and chattered with a momentum like she would grab his collar.

“Are oracles one-way? Call Oasis, tell him to push away all the Jiangshis right now.”

“…That is.”

“Can we not call him once we arrive at the water source now? Senior, don’t you believe in other gods? Call the Sun God here, just tell them all to come. Tell them we’ll listen to their story.”

“…Mm.”

“Aaaack! Just tell them to cooome!”

However, there was no god at the water source we arrived at either.

There was only a single lake, exactly half the size of the Oasis where we met the Third God, but still looking large compared to other oases, lying there. A few human-sized lizards were splashing around and drinking water at the water’s edge, rolling their large eyes and checking the mood.

Since it is normal for oases to commonly have a few Undines, we watched the Sylphs that came with us and the Undines holding hands and chatting. All group members lent a hand and filled the empty canteens. Empty bubbles bubbled up from the tilted canteens.

We drank cold water for the first time in a long while, and also washed our faces refreshingly.

It was an atmosphere where everyone sat appropriately scattered and rested.

For some reason, Ruben went to Hugh’s side instead of mine, lowered his voice, and asked something. Seeing his fingertips scratching the floor, it seems they are mixing in writing to communicate. Wondering what on earth they were talking about so secretly, I quietly watched that side. Hugh Benson responded moving only his lips soundlessly, and after the two communicated in writing for a long time.

The two called the rest of the group together.

For some reason, Hugh Benson had an even more fatigued face than usual. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He swept his face a couple of times, then gestured for Leon to come a bit closer. Wondering if he was going to whisper something, Leon tried to unfasten and put down the axe he was carrying on his back. Hugh Benson shook his head sideways.

“No, bring that here.”

“Pardon? Uh…. This?”

“Yeah. Let’s do the axe divination just one more time.”

“…Pardon?”

“If the one who told us to come here is that god or whatever, fuck, let’s pester him to come out to meet us. I don’t know if this will work or not, but let’s try it for now.”

…Did Ruben suggest such a thing?

Full of wonder, I examined the child. While everyone was in a daze, Ruben let out a dry cough, with an embarrassed look. He learned a useless habit from me. Feeling like a dry cough was about to come out of me too for no reason, I suppressed it firmly and held it in.

The corners of Ruben’s eyes are also reddish, and the rims of his ears are also red. His shy appearance was so cute I couldn’t take my eyes off him. So, I watched Ruben with my eyes, and listened to Leon’s voice with my ears.

“Uh… How… to do it?”

“Before, you just stood it up, prayed a bit, and let go, right? Let’s do it exactly the same. Instead, fuck, think a bit about ‘Is this path right’, ‘Are we really going there’, things like that.”

“Ah, yes…”

Leon stood up, half-doubting. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The other guys who were sitting also picked themselves up, stood in a circle looking at the axe. It felt like playing children’s house, but I too closed my eyes and clasped my hands together.

I muttered in my heart.

You who are looking for us right now, if you are listening, please clear away those wretched Jiangshi bastards a bit.

Perhaps because I suffered considerably, the words didn’t come out nicely. It was also partly because I was half-doubting whether someone called a god could hear if I did this. However, since they say words are different between ‘Ah’ and ‘Oh’, I thought for a moment, straightened my mindset, and repeated politely.

God of the Sun, please punish those terrible demon bastards a bit.