Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival-Chapter 90

Grave Assassination Battle (1) – Madman

“Speaking of which, what was the problem with the monsters in the barony?”

“I never explained that to you before, did I?”

As we approached the barony along the border, I asked some questions, while Viro answered as he sorted out the information he had gathered.

First, for geographical information, there was a huge lake along the border a few days to the west of the Duke of Hilton’s territory. But the problem was not there. The western side of the lake was a buffer zone with the neighboring Kingdom of Sol Horse, and the problem was happening on the road connecting to the Kingdom of Sol Horse, which was located in the marshy area on the north side of the lake.

Although there was no territorial conflict with the neighboring Kingdom of Sol Horse because of the buffer zone of the rocky monster habitat and marshlands, the four kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Condor and the Principality of Iles, as well as Sol Horse, continued to have political disputes over the rights to the Kondo Mine.

That was why intermarriage between royal families was indispensable to gain an advantage in the conflict for the concession, but despite the problems between the nations, the relationship between the peoples had been relatively decent and friendly.

Merchants were active, and since there was a large dungeon nearby on the Sol Horse side, many high-level adventurers with permission came and went.

However, a black beast had been appearing in the wetlands of the buffer zone for some time, and it had begun to attack merchants and adventurers. What was it?

It was an ancient phantom beast – the Coeurl.

According to legend, it was a phantom beast said to have appeared from the other world, with the body of a giant panther and two whip-like whiskers extending from the tips of its ears.

Cunning, cruel, and intelligent, it was a Rank 5 phantom, also known as the Black Destroyer for its mighty power, and was said to rival a dragon in age.

“I see.”

If we were dealing with such a phantom, it made sense that the Duke himself would send out a strike team to gain fame and reputation. Although not as well-known as the dragon, the duke would probably be praised for his bravery if he were able to defeat it.

The size of the Coeurl that had been witnessed suggested that it was still young. Therefore, the duke was also planning to lead a subjugation force to fight it with a hundred of his senior knights, all of which were Rank 3 and above. However, I felt like that move would be nothing more than a suicide attempt since even a young Coeurl were on the same Rank as lower ranking dragons, that were at minimum to be around Rank 6.

Originally, it was mentioned by the witnesses from the village, who found Coeurl, that a black beast appeared in the mountains near the Condo Mine, which was located near our destination, which was then probably verified later.

But…

Why did a Coeurl suddenly started attacking people?

“Grave is hiding not in the city, but near the swampy forests where the phantom beasts appear. There are also Lizardmen, an aquatic subspecies of beast, in the area, but that one would not be a problem. A number of Dark Field agents have been sacrificed to get this information, so let’s settle this before Grave can make his move.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll take care of it, Hihihi.”

Rank 2 or 3 agents would have been killed on sight by Grave, and they would be able to put up a fight. No matter how many lesser soldiers or knights they sent to challenge him, the result would be the same.

If they wanted to defeat Grave with minimal damage, they would have to do it with a small group of elite soldiers.

Other than Feld, one of Viro and Samantha’s companions were said to be a Rank 5 heavy warrior, but if they sent that person to challenge Grave, who was similar to my disposition and was working solo, would easily escape if he knew that he was facing a powerful opponent or a large group.

Considering the fact that they could not surprise Grave by assassination or other means, the strike force must have consisted of a random group of people.

Right now though, I was uncertain if Viro, a Rank 4 player, and me, a Rank 3 member, would be able to defeat Grave, so Viro brought Samantha, a Rank 5 magician to assist us, during the battle and she was also capable of resisting against Melee attacks.

The main tactic this time was for Viro and I to work together to hold Grave off, and then give a heavy blow with Samantha’s magic.

One of the minor problems was Samantha’s sudden outbursts, but she would stop saying stupid stuff when I offered her a large amount of meat dishes that we had taken along from the inn and was stored in my Shadow Storage.

“What if the phantom beast appears?”

“Depends on what the phantom and Grave plan to do, but we’ll try to survive with an aim to retreat at the worst.”

“We would have to do what we could, huh.”

After getting an update from a surviving agent at the infirmary in the baronial city, we made the necessary preparations and headed for the border swamps.

“…”

If I had not taken the oath, I could have left the country, but the oath I took with her was what had made me so strong.

(For her safety, Grave, I will kill you here.)

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***

In a deep marshy forest, the beast questioned its own existence.

It did not remember when he was born. But ever since he came into this world, the beast had been a strong being.

The world was infested with creatures called man.

Man feared the beast because it was too weak. Man was too fragile for the beast. The beast was not interested in the man who was too delicate to be meat.

Man was weak in power and weak in mind. That was why they were armed with cleverness and wisdom, fearing the beast. The beast was not interested and tolerated it generously.

One day, however, a man appeared in the mountain where the beast lived and spread a strange-smelling poison around it.

The beast became angry. The man was vulnerable and devious.

However, the man was seemingly so powerful as an individual that even the beast was unable to kill it, and it escaped to a nearby human village.

I realized that I had been lured out when a group of people carrying cargo in the damp land attacked me when I appeared.

The beast was not interested in the people, but it was not so forgiving as to let an attacker go unchecked.

The Beast did not distinguish between people very well. Still, the people who attacked it seemed a little different from the people who poisoned it in the first place, but the beast was so angry that it killed them all.

Stupid, small, and vulnerable, man was a creature that irritated the beast most.

The beast began to attack the humans who were close to the individual passing through this place, to kill the foolish human individual who had lured him out.

***

A man was sitting on a large rock above a marshy swamp with his eyes closed.

“…”

Grave realized that he was a cold-hearted madman.

To set this country right and make it normal, we needed the power of a strong royal family. How could we do that? The answer was always in the simplest place.

Kill everything that stood in his way. If someone threatened the king, kill them.

He did not care who the Ruler would be, and he simply believed that as long as the stability of a righteous royal family was preserved, it would lead to the happiness of the people.

But to do so, he would not take the roundabout measures he had taken in the past.

However, he would not be reckless as he had been in the past.

To lead this world correctly, he had come to believe that he must fulfill his purpose without dying.

I would kill any nobleman who got in my way. If necessary, I would kill even royalty.

He learned from the dangerous maid girl he killed in the past that he had to cling to his goal and live, regardless of the means he would have to do to achieve it.

It was because of that battle that Grave stopped being obsessed with the proper means to attain his goal.

At that time, he thought it was best to kill the girl who had approached the princess, but in retrospect, he sometimes wondered if she was the only one who could have been his successor.

To achieve his goal, he devised several schemes and had placed traps in various locations.

For one such attempt, to kill the Duke of Hilton, Grave relied on uncertain information to lure a dangerous mountain-dwelling monster into a human village.

The success rate was not high, but failure would not hurt.

There were not that many adventurers in this kingdom who could defeat a Rank 5 monster, and even fewer who could deal with a high-ranking beast while fighting inside a forest. And when it came to phantom beasts, most people would even be hesitant to face it.

That was why the duke thought it would be a good idea to send out a team of senior knights, which were nothing but tiger cubs, to deal with the threat. If this worked as he had planned, he would be able to assassinate the duke, who would by then be left without any proper guards after exhausting his soldiers to fight the beast, especially if the Duke foolishly led the attack.

So Grave decided to stay near this forest and wait for the duke to come to be killed.

He incited the phantom beast to give up on returning home, and kept it in close proximity, while making it attack merchants and adventurers passing along the road so that the duke would have no choice but to subjugate it.

But uninvited challengers had appeared before the Duke arrived. It was a coincidence that they were able to locate him first, but with Grave’s current abilities, the result would still be the same, or so he thought.

The man in the lead, walking in the forest along the road, was a familiar face, Viro of [Rainbow Sword], a Rank 5 adventurer party with ties to Dark Field.

Their leader was a dwarf, a heavy warrior, but he was not among the present members, simply because they predicted that Grave would run away if he was with them.

“But it’s that person, huh, how should I deal with this?”

But he was not the same person as when Viro had known him. Depending on how he fought, He was confident that he could assassinate the members of Rainbow Sword if it was a one-on-one fight.

But there were no absolutes in battle. If he wanted to be safe, he could lead them towards the phantom beast and kill them. If the Rainbow Sword was at full strength, there was a good chance that the phantom beast would be killed instead, but if they were at least weakened or reduced by that battle, then he would be able to manage the fight.

However, Grave decided to deal with them himself, but then he recognized the girl walking at the tail end of the line, and a twisted glee spread on his mouth.

“You’re alive, Aria!”