Surviving in the Trash Hell Game by Tossing a Coin

Chapter 8 - Reblen Village (2)

The state of the village was a dreadful sight.

The quiet chatter the residents had created just a moment ago was gone without a trace.

Every single one of the dozen or so buildings in the village was engulfed in flames.

The night sky, which should have been dark, was turning crimson red.

It was because the conflagration, ignited by human malice, was blazing.

Also, pitifully, none of the villagers could stop the village from burning.

A little over twenty villagers were lined up in three rows, on their knees.

They were bowing their heads towards the ruffians who were wrecking the village.

“Hand over the money right now, the money!!”

“The tribute payment is short, isn't it!!”

Numbering more than half the villagers.

About a dozen ruffians, dressed in uniform brown attire.

They were indiscriminately smashing the village's sculptures and buildings with axes, swords, and hammers.

Even as their homes and memories were being destroyed, the reason they couldn't step forward was simple.

It was because they didn't know when those weapons might turn on them.

It was because they had no power to stop them.

And the ruffians knew the villagers' plight and their own situation all too well.

“Hey, Village Chief! If I gave you two whole weeks, you should have prepared it, hey!!”

The bald man, who appeared to be the boss, suddenly raised his voice.

He then grabbed the collar of the old man kneeling at the very front of the villagers and dragged him out.

“Heo-eok!”

“Don’t just sit there, answer me, answer!!”

The village chief, dragged out powerlessly and thrown to the ground, could naturally do nothing.

Only grab the boss' pant leg and beg.

“Please, just spare us this once!”

“Let go. You're getting it dirty.”

“If you spare us this once, we will surely prepare it! If we lose this place, we have nowhere to go!”

Reblen Village was a sanctuary built with years of effort.

The only shelter created by those who couldn't fight, such as the disabled, the elderly, and children.

If they lost this place, the villagers, who had been pushed to the frontier due to their lack of power, had nowhere else to go.

Either die by the hands of ruffians like them, or die by creatures like the Dark Dogs.

The village chief grabbed the boss' left leg and pleaded, almost weeping.

The villagers could only clench their teeth in helplessness.

However, it wasn't that the boss and the ruffians didn't know this.

No, it was because they knew that they were exploiting that desperation to the very end.

The boss simply scoffed once.

“Keuak!”

Then he raised his weaponless left hand and struck the village chief's face squarely.

The village chief let out a weak scream and was sent sprawling.

“I told you, right? The only reason I could protect you was because of the money.”

The boss, smiling vilely, made a circle with his index finger and thumb.

Money.

The protection money they demanded in exchange for protecting them from Dark Dogs or ruffians.

The amount of protection money they demanded wasn't much different from the amount demanded from a ‘small village’.

Since they had to receive money too, it was only natural.

However, this was a village close to a shelter, built by dozens of people for whom labor was difficult or impossible.

Interaction with other villages was difficult, and even going to the market was dangerous.

In the first place, it was difficult to even produce items to take to the market.

Until now, they had struggled to prepare it to survive, but this time, due to various unforeseen events, even that was difficult.

And even in those difficult times, they eventually came and demanded protection money like this.

The result was now.

“But you say you won’t pay the money… what can I do.”

After saying that, the boss looked around at the trembling villagers one by one.

People who ducked their heads low and avoided his gaze so as not to suffer the same fate as the village chief.

The boss grinned as he looked at them, then.

“Don’t resent me too much. Even a king has to do what he must to rule.”

“Kkeueo-eo-eo-eok….”

He spun the sword in his hand and stomped on the village chief's head.

He enjoyed the groans as he ground the village chief’s head with his heel.

In that moment.

“Stop it!”

Someone courageously stepped forward.

It was not an adult, nor an elder.

It was just a girl who looked to be a middle schooler, or at most a high schooler.

She rose from her spot with her tightly clenched fists trembling, and shouted as she approached the boss.

“In, in the first place, that’s an unreasonable amount! And we never asked you to protect us!”

“What did you say?”

Her voice was trembling and couldn't form properly, but her will to resist was firm.

At the sight of the girl who had bravely stepped forward, the boss, far from flinching.

Instead, he just scoffed.

“Leave at once! If you don’t leave….”

“If we don’t leave, what are you going to do?”

Then he gripped the sword he had been spinning in a reverse grip and strode towards the girl.

The girl let out a hic sound and took small steps backward.

“Wh-what do you mean, what will you….”

“Hm? Our little baby, why don't you try saying it?”

And that sight was enough to satisfy the boss' sadism.

When the girl tripped on a stone and fell, the boss, not missing the opportunity, approached her.

“Not going to talk?”

“Euk…!”

“If you don't, I’ll cut you?”

He leaned his upper body down and pressed the blade right above her left eye.

And without waiting, just as he was about to slash the blade across.

It was that moment.

All of a sudden, a large stone struck the boss in the face.

“Kraaack!!”

Unable to withstand the impact, the boss grabbed his face and fell to the ground.

“Leader!”

“Which bastard was it!”

The ruffians glared, trying to find the source of the stone that had flown from the air.

Fortunately for them, the owner who threw the stone immediately revealed themselves.

Only two people stepped forward, moving the girl behind them.

Pitch-black hair. Pitch-black eyes. A man wearing an ordinary windbreaker.

And a woman with red hair, wearing quite a dazzling outfit.

“What, who are you people!”

One of the ruffians fearlessly walked towards them, axe in hand.

No, he tried to walk.

“Stop!”

The boss shouted to stop the ruffian, then lowered the hand that had been clutching his face.

His instincts were warning him.

He knew from the advice he heard from his boss' leader.

To always be wary of those dressed in pointlessly ordinary clothes, or in flashy outfits.

Either a madman who had no qualms about dressing like that, or a strong person.

It was bound to be one of the two.

But that was all. He couldn't run away because his subordinates were watching.

So the boss put on a bluff, spinning his weapon.

“I’ll kill you if you don't get lost right now.”

And even at that bluff.

Naturally, the two of them didn't flinch at all.

***

A quest window appeared before the Captain.

A quest to suppress the fire in that village, ‘Reblen Village’.

The Captain sighed at the penalty, which was once again marked as unknown.

But that was all.

“Let's go, Maletta!”

“Okay, Captain!”

Leaving behind the meaning that he had accepted the quest, I followed the Captain who led the way.

The village was certainly on fire, but we still didn't know what the cause was.

It could have been a simple accident, or it could have been a fire set by the villagers as they left.

But the voices we could hear from afar were enough to leave us with conviction.

Sharp voices and the sound of someone being beaten mercilessly.

A youthful voice resisting, and a voice threatening even that.

“Shit. Why'd you have to go and bully the weak and elderly right in front of my eyes. Making a quest pop up.”

The Captain, who had clicked his tongue with a tsk, simply threw the coin, got a fire-extinguishing bomb, and hid it in his coat.

Then, holding a stone, he ran straight ahead.

“Kraaack!!”

And then he threw the stone at the bastard's face hard enough to make a cracking sound.

Furthermore, he didn't miss the opening when the leader fell and the bandits surrounded him to protect him.

“It’s okay, we came to save you!”

“Th-thank you….”

“Here, go hide! We’ll take care of this in a moment!”

After quickly helping the pitifully trembling girl up and patting her on the back to send her away, I immediately ran to the Captain's side and stood there.

“I’ll kill you if you don't get lost right now.”

The bald man, who seemed to be the leader, pointed the tip of his sword at us.

To be precise, he aimed the sword at the Captain, who looked slightly weaker.

“I was trying to be cautious, but there's no need to hear any more.”

However, the Captain, seeming unusually angry, folded his arms and muttered lowly.

It was a declaration of war.

“You guys need a good beating.”

A declaration of war that he would judge them completely as enemies.

“Ha! Listening to you talk, you brats who I don't even know where you crawled out from!”

Naturally, the threat didn't reach them.

“To crawl into the jaws of death, you foolish bastards! Men, surround them!!”

The leader, who had scoffed, gave an order to his subordinates.

As ordered, about a dozen men surrounded us.

Seeing that all the subordinates were holding iron weapons like swords, daggers, axes, and so on.

They seemed to be people who knew how to fight, at the very least.

Perhaps they were even ‘mercenaries’ recognized by the association.

“I am Barkan of the 7th Grade! I will tear you to shreds and kill you!”

My guess was correct.

The man who identified himself as Barkan called himself 7th Grade.

Thanks to that, I could understand why people couldn't resist even when he was committing such atrocities.

7th Grade.

A grade that ordinary people could not even approach.

A superman who could break trees with brute force and whose running speed was nearly twice that of an adult male.

It would have been difficult for this village, which had no combat personnel such as the elderly, to resist.

In a way, it was natural that they couldn't say anything even when being plundered like this.

But.

There is no reason for me to be scared of the likes of you.

The Captain’s other self and the strongest mercenary of the mercenary corps.

A ‘survivor’ who survived the first battlefield, and a ‘contributor’ who broke through the Green Labyrinth.

The youngest to officially be 3rd Grade, and unofficially 2nd Grade.

The Grim Reaper of Hongyeom.

“Maletta.”

I, who was all that, heard a command from the one who led me down that path of glory for the first time in a truly long while.

A command heard not through a screen, but with an actual voice.

At the command whispered in my ear, I felt alive.

And because of that, I resolved to never miss this chance.

“Front line, Counter Stance.”

Counter Stance.

A skill that completely protects one person in the rear by casting a shield on them.

Then, you take half of the impact directed at the target, and you can ‘store’ the other half of the damage to return it.

The very first skill I learned from the Captain.

“Yeah, got it.”

As ordered, I placed my hand on the Captain's shoulder.

A very tiny flame, visible only to me, flared up and vanished.

This flame seeped into the Captain's body, a means to transfer the damage to me.

“Leader, only that bitch seems strong. That guy's weapon and clothes are shabby.”

“Ha! Looks like he's trying to show off the expensive hireling he bought.”

Naturally, they didn't think much of it.

The subordinates openly chattered, as if for me to hear, as I took out my scythe to attack.

There was no reason for me to react to such a low-level provocation.

I simply held my scythe and took an attack stance.

“Tch, attack all at once!!”

As if they couldn't stand the sight, the subordinates rushed at the Captain all at once.

A dozen or so blades flew, aiming for the Captain’s head, torso, and legs.

Naturally.

The Captain did not dodge the attack, his hands in his pockets.

Also.

Naturally, he didn't get a single scratch.

And.

At the same time as that.

“Go, Maletta. Don't hold back.”

The Captain's next order came down.

“I'll show you why you grew up without being loved by your leader.”

There were no Dark Dogs, no penalties.

There wasn't a single reason to hesitate.

So I simply, with the giant scythe.

Drew a circle, and swung.

I swung it without cutting anyone with the blade, just swinging.

I swung it, filled with the damage they had inflicted on the Captain.

Then, from the trajectory the blade had cut, a huge flame erupted.

“Kraaaaaaaack!! L-Leader!!”

“The flames, heoo-eok!!”

The subordinates, unable to bear the heat, screamed violently and fell.

Some rolled around to put out the flames, some screamed, and some fainted.

“Keuk, such cheap tricks…!!”

Only Barkan endured even as his body burned, as if to prove he was 7th Grade.

And as if to prove he was the leader, he ignited his will to resist, and rushed towards the Captain, bringing his blade down.

“You're the leader, aren't you!!”

But.

The one you ‘dare’ to try and kill now.

Is our Captain.

I didn't know if he was aiming for the moment Counter Stance wore off, or if he just thought it was an opening and rushed in.

But there's no way I wouldn't have been prepared for such a petty move.

“Yeah, I'm the Captain!”

I took my hand out of my pocket and threw the fire-extinguishing bomb straight at Barkan’s face.

With a pop, white powder erupted.

“Uwaaah, keoheok, keuhaak!!”

Barkan, covering his face, began to scream in pain and roll around on the ground.

He must have been in so much pain that he even threw away his weapon and raised his voice as if the world was ending.

“My eyes, my eyyyyyyyes!!”

But it's just what he deserved.

After picking up his sword, I placed my foot on the chest of the rolling Barkan.

I aim the blade at his face, just as he did earlier.

“D-damn it, I thought there wouldn't be any strong guys like you in this area…!”

Barkan, who somehow managed to wipe the powder from his face and tried to maintain his composure.

Of course, I had no intention of tolerating his bluff.

“This is what you've been doing all this time. So it’s okay if it happens to you, right?”

“Hiiik!”

The tables had completely turned.

His subordinates were neutralized, and Barkan was being stepped on, his life threatened.

You were so full of yourselves earlier because it was just the two of us.

If you had any discerning eye at all, you would have fled with your tails between your legs the moment you saw Maletta.

“Please spare me just once, I beg you…!”

Barkan wasn't stupid enough to not understand the predicament he was in.

He just put his hands together and begged profusely.

The sight of him begging us for mercy, when he hadn't spared the village chief when he did the same, was disgusting.

“Captain, should I kill him?”

“Killing him is a bit much, and there's a better way than that.”

And it was the same for Maletta.

Maletta tried to step forward in my place to get her hands dirty.

To prevent future trouble, and also considering my current emotions, that was naturally the right thing to do.

But my thoughts were a little different.

Their weapons and armor have a lot of valuable things.

It couldn't be called a lot of money, but it would surely be used as useful funds for the village.

This isn't forgiveness.

It's just that the direction of revenge was different.

“Hand over everything you have.”