◈ 277. [Free Exploration] Enemy of Enemy (2)
There was another familiar person among the rescued NPCs.
“majesty!”
A large man wearing a jackal mask came running towards me. A smile spread across my face when I recognized the other person.
“Jackal!”
The NPC boss of District 5 Dungeon [Flaming Colosseum].
It was Jackal, the gladiator king I met before Stage 5.
“You were alive!”
“If Your Highness hadn’t come to rescue me, I would have died. All of these are Your Highness’ silver balls.”
As soon as I came in front of me, the jackal lay down on the floor.
“Receive me! Eulacha!”
I covered my mouth and laughed. It was nice to see his respectful yet flirtatious demeanor.
I read him and talked about his current situation.
After being defeated in battle by Selendion’s vampire corps.
While waiting for me at the ruined Colosseum and restoring my strength, I was attacked by Lunared’s werewolf army and brought here.
‘Why did I only get beaten up by the nightmare corps commanders?’
In other words, even though he only met two nightmare corps commanders, he was still alive like this, so it can be said that he proved how strong a jackal is.
When I comforted him in that way, the jackal immediately denied it.
“No, I was sorted out. what.”
“Sequencing?”
“Should I say that I clearly felt that I was stronger than some of the boss-level monsters in this town, but I wasn’t good enough for the nightmare corps commanders… .”
The jackal waved his hands, saying that he was very shattered.
“Even that, the Colosseum, the home base, has been completely destroyed… … Looks like it’s time to go back to being an ordinary adventurer jackal.”
The base is also destroyed and the power is lost. Naturally, the boss correction also disappears.
Now, he was a jackal who had come down to the level of a slightly stronger NPC adventurer.
I smiled at the jackal who grumbled that he seemed to have lost some muscles.
“Anyway, where do you live to see it?”
“sure. Even if you roll in dog poop, this life is better… … No, this is a hellish dungeon.”
I chuckled at him who was joking around cheerfully.
“Jackal. Then, if you have nothing else to do, could you help me out for a minute?”
Surprised, the Jackal jumped up from his seat and shouted.
“Of course, Your Highness! Please do anything! This jackal’s life is already yours!”
***
Returned to base camp.
[Wolf’s Den] He could have attacked the dungeon more, but the priority was to recover the rescued prisoners in a safe place.
When they returned to the base camp with dozens of NPCs, the empty base camp immediately began to liven up.
“Aigoo~ All the idiots who left the house are back.”
Coco’s old woman saw this and giggled. I quietly approached Grandma Coco and handed her the pouch.
“What is this?”
“This is the item you requested. Materials for building a teleport gate.”
We’ve rescued the prisoners and we’ve got all the materials to build the teleport gate.
You’ve finished two side quests in one trip this journey.
Grandma Coco, who was humorously glancing at me smiling, smirked.
“It’s quite a bit of a young prince who’s been flipping back. The work is like lightning.”
“I hope the gate construction will be like lightning, Grandma.”
“Don’t worry. I am also in a hurry.”
Sharing the quick quick-spirit with Coco Granny made me feel happy inside.
Do you have Koreans among your ancestors? … ?
After finishing the conversation with Coco Granny, I turned around and saw NPCs all over the base camp looking for their places and repairing damaged buildings and huts.
The Punishment Unit and the Shadow Unit were helping with that.
Quylan and God Hand, and Jackal and Belldandi.
The four of them were standing and talking to each other.
‘Come to think of it, the jackal also has a strange connection with our party members.’
Jackal is from the beast tribe. Here, he was an agent of the intelligence department, which could be called the predecessor of the Aegis task force.
It is related to both the punishment unit and the shadow unit.
“… .”
The hardships of the different races living in the human world will only be understood by each other.
Leaving them to talk among themselves, I stepped back.
“Tttttttt~! Oh, you’re sore.”
Coming out of the base camp, stretching and catching my breath,
“Ash.”
A soft female voice was heard.
When I turned around, a white-haired woman wearing a ragged robe was slowly approaching me.
“Looks like it went smoothly.”
A soft smile appeared on the woman’s face. I smiled face to face.
“cotton!”
The dungeon merchant NPC was unknown.
Moo-myeong walked gently and nodded as if she was relieved to see the other NPCs in the base camp.
“I’m glad that everyone seems to be okay.”
“He’s fine after being held captive by monsters for so long.”
I swallowed my words when I saw the nameless blood on my hair and the hem of my robe with ugly knife marks.
“Right… Did you attack the Plague Army?”
Somehow, something was strange.
The rescue operation would have been much more difficult if Raven and the main body of the Plague Corps were guarding the wolf’s den together.
There was no trace of their legion, and only Raven’s alter ego appeared. Thanks to this, I was able to successfully rescue the prisoner easily.
It makes sense when someone attacks their stronghold and leaves to defend it.
If so, are you still anonymous?
“right. I raided their stronghold.”
Anonymous nodded his head and slowly looked back.
“But I didn’t do it alone.”
that buck that buck
Someone walked out of the darkness behind the obscurity. My eyes widened as I recognized the opponent.
“you… !”
The man who came out of the shadows was dressed in a black minstrel outfit with a long conical hat.
A white smiley mask on the face.
A long gray flute in hand.
Upon realizing the identity of the opponent, I spat out in surprise.
“’The Pied Piper’… … !”
“Didn’t you say your full name in the past, Ash?”
In a low-pitched voice he hadn’t heard in a long time, the man spoke his name again.
“I want you to call me ‘Crown’.”
***
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this.”
The piper man… … Crown said in a low, relaxed voice.
I clicked my tongue in amazement. It’s been a while.
The last time I saw it was when I was ‘killing’ this bastard and his men who were occupying the base camp here before the start of Stage 5.
“You really are alive.”
“I told you. Death is not permitted here in the Lake Kingdom.”
A self-deprecating laugh emanated from his mask.
“Crawling like worms, undead in the dark here forever, is all we can do.”
“… But it doesn’t look like you’re just crawling, right?”
I saw Crown’s bare skin uncovered by clothing.
The whole body is covered with blisters and rashes. As if the materialized plague had been covered all over the body.
“Did you attack the Plague Corps too?”
“… .”
“This is unexpected. I thought you belonged to the Nightmare Corps all this time.”
The same goes for intruding in Stage 2. Like taking over the base camp and trying to kill us.
Since they were 100% hostile NPC forces, I thought they were on the same side as the Nightmare Corps. wasn’t it?
“I? Are you the same as those monsters?”
Inside the mask, Crown’s eyes flashed eerily.
“Don’t talk, player.”
“… .”
“I am a person from the Lake Kingdom. The last court musician, court jester, and court wizard.”
The hand holding the flute was tightly clasped.
“All I want is for my country to regain its light… . He’s willing to work with nightmares if need be for him. And if need be, it can just give you nightmares.”
Growling Crown turned his gaze to the side. There was an unknown person standing there, expressionless.
“This time, by coincidence, our objectives overlapped with this ‘watchman’. So we attacked the Plague Legion together… … Somehow, it seems to have benefited you as well.”
As I listened to the story, I shrugged.
“In short, this time we were enemies of enemies.”
I met Crown face to face and tried to speak as kindly as possible.
“Can’t we stay like that in the future, Crown? There is no reason for enemies of enemies to cut each other.”
Seriously.
I don’t want to be hostile to the crown and its subordinates, who are resurrected even if they are killed.
They’re not the ones I like, but I’m tired of fighting those who don’t die. Even more so unless the Crown belongs to the Nightmare Corps.
but.
“An enemy of an enemy… Right. You might see our relationship that way.”
Crown shook his head and murmured, glaring at me coldly.
“But Ash. don’t give me any advice The enemy of an enemy is never a friend.”
“… .”
“I accidentally helped you this time, but next time I might look for an opportunity to kill you again.”
As expected, I can’t appease, but a completely hostile NPC… … .
Crown, who had been staring at me bitterly while licking his lips, put on his conical hat.
“Somehow, you’ve reached the heart of the Lake Kingdom, Ash.”
“okay. And I will go deeper.”
deepest.
Towards the lake kingdom royal castle where the final stage is located.
Towards the clear, towards the ending… … I will walk into this darkness without rest.
“However, the deep part of the Lake Kingdom is a demonic realm that is different from the hell you have been through.”
Crown staggered and stepped back.
Blood dripped from his decaying body, but he didn’t care.
“I’m not going to tell you not to get in trouble. It’s past the stage of hearing that.”
“Then what are you trying to say?”
“… If you want to come in any longer than this, you better be prepared and come in.”
“What resolution? Are you ready to kill me one more time?”
Although he grinned at him like that, Crown calmly gave advice.
“You are prepared to become a monster yourself.”
“… .”
“Adventurers who went deep into the depths always had one of two endings.”
Crown staggered and began to walk back into the darkness.
“Die as a human or survive as a monster.”
“… .”
“This is advice from the heart, young prince. It is also a final warning. it’s not too late for you yet Forget about the darkness at the bottom of the lake here and live a blessed life on earth.”
that buck that buck
Crown disappeared into the darkness again. I was staring at the back of it.
“… .”
Suddenly Nietzsche’s famous quote came to mind.
Those who fight monsters must be careful not to become monsters during the fight.
For if you look long into the abyss, the abyss will also look into you.
“You really scare newbies… … .”
Clenching my fists, I curled up and smiled.
I made up my mind to walk the path I had chosen.
No matter what you say or do, it won’t stop. never.
“… ash.”
Then, unknown called me. I suppressed my sharpened heart and looked back at her. why?
Nameless grinned under the hood of his robe.
“Rescuing the kidnapped friends this time is something I have been trying to do, but I haven’t been able to do it because I lack the strength. But you made it.”
At first, Lunared Raven Salome… … Together, three Nightmare Corps commanders kidnapped those prisoners and occupied the wolf’s den.
Rescue alone would have been difficult even for an unknown person in the world.
However, when Lunared died during the last defense and Salome was left alone while Nameless and Crown separated Raven.
Fortunately, I was able to go in and successfully rescue the prisoners. So, strictly speaking, I didn’t even do everything.
He tried to give credit to the nameless by saying this,
“So it’s hard to say that it’s a reward… .”
Chow!
Moo-myeong took out a seat board from his bosom and spread it on the floor, then took out several items and began to place them on the seat board.
In front of me with my mouth wide open, Moo-myeong spread both hands out.
“It’s been a while since I served. Come on, take your pick.”
“Is it true-!”
Dungeon Merchant NPC Sprinkle an unknown great blood item for free! Part 2!
All kinds of brilliant golden equipment flashed on the stalls.
In front of the moving newbie caring service, I ended up shedding tears. This is the true Old Bee!
