NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 44
Crawling.
Pitter patter.
Fearing that they might get caught by the archers guarding the surveillance tower with their eyes wide open (or maybe not), the five heroes sneaked around, hiding behind trees, then rocks, and sometimes even crawling on the ground.
Anyway, with physical abilities surpassing those of humans, they swiftly moved forward to the Pocoron pasture.
At this point, their movements resembled those of seasoned thieves more than heroes!
Of course, they were not using any stealth or disguise skills at all.
– What are they doing…?
A sigh escaped Arc, who was observing this scene from an omniscient gamer perspective.
But his voice did not reach the thieves.
Thus, led by a flashy knight in an almost disproportionate bikini that felt slightly out of place in this world, they advanced rapidly.
“Is this enough?”
“Shh. Saha, keep your voice down a bit. We might get caught.”
Whispering.
The thieves, having arrived at the enormous fence surrounding the Pocoron pasture, exchanged glances.
Finally.
“Huh!”
Even though she lowered her voice as much as she could, a shout still leaked out.
Boom!
With Saha’s strength capable of shattering rocks, she tossed Ari into the pasture.
With a light thud, her landing echoed.
A sturdy rope made by braiding the tails of the Lankin tribe flew over the fence with grace.
As Yo-hena, who preferred to jump over the fence rather than being thrown, climbed up the rope, Tynia and Lumi soared into the sky one after the other.
Lumi successfully landed gracefully, but…
“Yikes!”
The short devil managed to scream slightly as she failed to land properly.
“Pocoo?”
The Pocoron chewing grass nearby tilted its head at the unfamiliar sound.
However, since Pocoron wasn’t quite intelligent enough to distinguish between the Lankin, Mages, and the like, it immediately buried its head back into the ground, munching away at the tender grass.
“Phew.”
“Tynia, be careful.”
Whispering.
Lumi whispered, blowing a gentle breeze into Tynia’s ear.
Eventually, Yo-hena peered over the fence.
Although she was a precious saint raised with care, she had the courage to at least scale a low wall.
With a clean touch, she landed neatly on the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Saha also came crashing down like a shooting star.
Thief party, assemble.
* * *
As I tore my gaze away from the smartphone screen that felt like it could give me a headache, an even more terrifying and horrific reality awaited me.
“Is this… food?”
“Of course.”
Looking at Renatel, who shot me a look as if to ask if there was a problem, I broke out in a cold sweat.
What’s going on?
Am I perhaps a prisoner?
Is this what they feed prisoners?
Thinking these things, I looked around the table.
Renatel and her friends, the residents of Dream Nut Hill, were eating deliciously, and greedily gulping down the food.
Could it be something tasty?
I tentatively sampled a little with my spoon.
“Ugh.”
A thick vegetable porridge (no rice, just grass).
And right then, detestable, foul-smelling meat pieces, seemingly cooked without removing the blood, attacked my taste buds.
“What’s wrong? Is it not to your taste?”
Even if I wanted to scold them for serving such slop as food, I kept my expression neutral while putting another spoonful of the visual and tasty collaboration of bad food into my mouth.
Is this the average Lankin’s diet?
Lumi would just eat anything that came her way. Is that the average beastman diet?
But since I was a guest, I couldn’t fuss about food, so I forced another spoonful into my mouth.
“How can human men eat so elegantly…?”
“Grr, grrrr…”
Ignoring the sounds in my ears, I took another bite.
Thus, I endured this torturous meal with extraordinary patience, maintaining my facial expressions as best as I could.
“Dessert is here!”
Finally, the chef that Dream Nut Hill prides itself on, was it Estelle or something? One of the Lankin brought in a dressing-less, pure salad.
“Ugh.”
I grabbed the back of my neck.
This is hell…
Peeking under the table to check my smartphone again.
“…?”
What the hell.
What are those kids doing?
Did a riding system appear without me knowing?
They were riding large, round, big-eyed creatures, zipping around excitedly, just like I’d seen when they kidnapped me.
But the background looked familiar.
“Renatel! The Pocorons have escaped!”
“What?!”
It looked strangely similar to the scenery of the Dream Nut Hill I had just watched.
“And there are intruders! An intruder is charging while riding a Pocoron!”
“What the—”
…
No way.
Watching Renatel and her friends hurriedly leave their seats, I felt a cold sweat trickle down my back.
* * *
“Kya-ha-ha! Go, Pococo!”
“Pococo!”
The Pocoron heist and riot operation was a grand success.
Today’s MVP is Tynia.
She just dashed into a field where the Pocorons were lying on their backs basking in the sun and unleashed a spell.
“Pococo!”
“Pococo!”
In an instant, the sleepy Pocorons’ eyes turned red as they flipped over.
They started poking each other with their beaks, rubbing together as if they were trying to capture hidden bugs in their feathers.
The moment Tynia’s skill duration ended.
Why they had fought was a mystery lost on their fresh minds!
But they had fought!
Thus, they were angry!
Fueled by this chain of events, the Pocorons began to squeal angrily.
Saha, dispatched as a special forces member, smashed down the fence with a hammer engulfed in flames.
This provided a visual stimulus and physically created an opening.
“Poco!”
“Pococococ!”
The sound of the violent clash naturally grabbed the attention of the Pocorons.
Therefore.
Thump thump thump.
Thud thud thud thud thud──!
The furious Pocorons began to rampage wildly, escaping the pasture one by one.
“Now’s the time!”
Thieves, who had climbed onto the backs of Pocorons they had previously subjugated, trailed behind the fleeing Pocorons naturally.
As they watched the Lankin pouring out of the fortress, they gauged their angles.
“Now!”
Seizing the opportunity of their divided attention, they charged directly into the open gates of the fortress.
“Should we shoot?”
“Then our Pocorons will get hurt…!”
Pocorons are both a means of transportation and hostages.
The archers in the surveillance tower didn’t even dare to draw their bows.
Thus, the heroes, now evolved into a lawless party, began to wreak havoc inside the Dream Nut Hill.
“Poco! That way!”
“Pococo!”
When Lumi, leading the charge, pointed the direction.
Lumi’s Pocoron gallantly crossed the street.
Of course, it was inevitable that minor damages occurred during this process.
It wasn’t something the heroes did.
It was what the Pocorons did.
And.
“Arc!”
“Juin!”
“Huh, master, h-huh…! My face is half gone…!”
Finally.
Far away at the top of a rather sturdy and luxurious wooden building.
A seer who looked at them affectionately caught the attention of the lawless party.
Immediately.
Lumi launched!
“Kon!”
With a light step on Pocoron’s back, Lumi jumped and spun three times in the air like a bullet, and then—
Thud!
She landed right next to Arc.
“What are you doing—ugh!”
“Juin! I’ll protect you now!”
And with that, she body-slammed Arc, shouldering him like a sack, before returning to the Pocoron’s back at lightning speed.
Although it was a very basic and simple action for a hero’s physique,
“Grrr…”
“Juin! Just hold on a little longer!”
It was an unbearable speed and mass for the frail physical constitution of the seer.
Weakly, Arc collapsed and fainted.
In that instant, the possibility of forming an alliance with the Lankin dissipated like bubbles.
Witnessing Lumi’s reckless act, the thieves, or rather the heroes exclaimed,
“Nice! Lumi!”
“Lumi! Go for it!”
They cheered.
“Hey, don’t come any closer! This time I’ll really shoot! I’ll shoot for real!”
While suppressing the Lankin’s approach with warning shots.
“Without harming the beastmen… without harming the beastmen…”
In a bit of added mercy, the saint generously bestowed the blessings of the goddess to both the enemies and allies alike, fearing that the Lankin might die.
A sacred light flickered and glistened over the bodies of the Lankin thrown by Pocoron.
Thus, as time passed with this give-and-take—
[Floor 16 of the Tower of Wishes – Great Forest: Lankin’s Area Zone 5 Clear!]
Once more, the seer returned to the party.
While the heroes remained oblivious, a clear message appeared before Arc’s closed eyes.
[The seer is unconscious.]
[Automatically returning outside the tower in 10 seconds.]
According to the tower’s strict assessment of Arc’s condition.
Swish. Swish. Boom.
The hero party finally retrieved Arc and was able to escape outside the tower.
Although it may not be called a happy ending.