Chapter 89
Count Wolfhaufen wanted mana stones.
More desperately than anyone, because he needed to cure his daughter's illness.
But.
The others seemed to think differently.
"Wouldn't it be better to give up on raiding Dreamland?"
"Dragred's absence is bigger than expected. We've taken over the work he used to do for now, but I think it'll take a long time to get things back to normal."
"A lot of soldiers died this time too. Even if there is a justification for the raid……."
Quite a few vassals opposed the dungeon raid.
The risk was too great.
According to the strategy guide, Dreamland is a dungeon where one mistake means death.
If the raider doesn't have considerable combat power.
They'll be cut down in a single stroke by the dungeon master.
So they have no choice but to invest premium resources.
And the information gained by sacrificing them is manipulated too, so there really was no answer.
Because of the previous failures, the Wolfhaufen estate had lost about a hundred people and
8 knights, and even a dragon, so the loss couldn't be called small.
The death of about a hundred people meant
it had caused economic and psychological harm to hundreds of family members, friends, and so on.
It had also lost human weapons capable of using aura
and dragons, whose power was far greater than those weapons, vanished in an instant.
Their reasons for opposing it were perfectly normal.
Because they shared in the estate's interests.
Peace comes from strength.
To protect those interests, a powerful army was necessary.
They had to be able to protect their property from other plunderers.
Knights are an irreplaceable premium resource.
They were tactical weapons who roamed the battlefield freely and were worth a hundred men each.
That was why raiding the dungeon was difficult.
If a knight died, the loss would fall squarely on them.
That was the opposition's position.
"If we just bring back mana stones, that's enough to solve the problem."
Even so, the count didn't budge.
The count's words also made sense.
Mana stones are treasures worth more than hundreds of knights combined.
Depending on size, they may be worth even more.
Not everyone opposed raiding Dreamland.
High risk, high return.
If they could bring back mana stones as the count said, everything would be solved.
It was practically a gamble.
There were also quite a few vassals who thought it was worth taking the bet.
"Didn't you bring back a great deal of information about Zone 4?"
"There was definitely an accident last time."
"This time, it might be possible."
Meetings were held repeatedly.
Countless possibilities came and went.
In the end, the count won the vassals' agreement.
But he couldn't simply be happy.
Because the biggest wall still remained.
"No."
"……."
"The Winter Wolf Knights have a duty and responsibility to protect the estate. They are not a dungeon raiding force that belongs to you, Count. No matter who you are, unless it's wartime, moving the knights is my responsibility. Please reconsider."
Beluga, the commander of the Winter Wolf Knights.
If he didn't persuade her, he couldn't take the knights into the dungeon.
Because moving the knights was her responsibility.
Beluga understood the count's circumstances well.
She also cared about A.
Even so, Beluga was different from Count Wolfhaufen.
Now was the time to look at the forest, not the trees.
It was a lesson she had learned with her older brother since childhood.
Of course, it'd be good to get mana stones.
But the odds of getting them are slim.
And countless knights would need to be sacrificed in the process.
It was no different from self-destruction.
At the very least, if you're someone responsible for the lives of many people.
You should give up on raiding the dungeon.
You absolutely must.
But.
"I have no intention of reconsidering."
"You must reconsider. For the sake of keeping your position as head of the house, Count."
Her older brother was still being stubborn.
He surely knew what was important.
Beluga looked at the count with cold eyes.
"The reason the previous head gave you that position wasn't so you could offer the estate's wealth and its people up as sacrifices to a dungeon. Please return to being a wise ruler."
Beluga's attitude was unyielding.
She also had no intention of backing down, and kept trying to persuade the count.
"Didn't the spatial school mages who went with you before give up too? Even if you say there's a chance, it's not persuasive."
"……."
"I'm asking you. I've never opposed your opinion this strongly before, have I? I'm sorry for being rude earlier. But then, and now, my thoughts are the same."
"…Beluga."
The count, who had maintained silence, opened his mouth.
"I'm the same too—this is the first time I've been this stubborn, isn't it?"
"……."
"I know. I know. I know better than anyone how dangerous Dreamland is. I was there with the knights in the field—you don't think I wouldn't know that, do you? Why else would I be doing this?"
The count's voice trembled.
Quietly, like grass on a plain swaying in the wind.
"When my wife died, when your sister-in-law died, I had nothing I could do. I could only watch helplessly as she writhed in pain, suffering. And you want me to do that again? To just stand there and watch A die?"
"……."
"There's nothing to be done. You can't go against the will of the God of Oblivion. I have to cherish the estate. I'm the lord of Wolfhaufen, so I have to put the estate's people first. Yes, I know that well enough. Even if you didn't say it, it's a thought so deeply carved into my mind that it comes to me every night. But still, how can a person live rationally all the time?"
Beluga's expression was grim.
It was the first time.
She had seen her older brother show this much emotion.
He looked like someone on the verge of collapse.
No different from a condemned man standing before the gallows.
His pitch-black eyes reflected the rot inside him.
"A is my everything. The only trace Anemone and I have left. Anemone asked me to protect A. I don't want to become a worthless man who can't even keep the promise to my late wife. Beluga, please. Please, I'm begging you. Understand my feelings."
The count knelt.
And bowed his head to Beluga.
Beluga bit her lip.
She had known he'd come out like this.
If reason and logic don't work.
The rest is just appealing to emotion, because people are that sort of creature.
Beluga also didn't think A was unimportant.
Because a child is the sort of being you could cherish without ever getting tired of them.
With a bright, cheerful expression.
Saying that once their body was fully healed, they wanted to become a knight like Beluga.
She also hated the idea of such a bright child dying.
Knowing better than anyone what sort of feelings I'm harboring, what expression I'm wearing,
and knowing better than anyone why I'm opposing the raid.
Pathetic.
A truly pathetic man.
Turning his younger sister into the villain.
The worst brother imaginable.
"……."
"I'm sorry."
Beluga, as if she didn't want to hear it,
turned her back on him again.
"This is the last time. This is your last chance. There is no more money, no more lives, and nothing left in Wolfhaufen to waste on escape scrolls. What you're about to do is drag people into hell. Remember that."
"……."
Last try.
The count had secured his last chance.
.
.
.
.
.
Count Wolfhaufen summoned the knights.
And bought scrolls.
Not the spatial school mages who had left previously.
He hired new mages as mercenaries.
And prepared to raid the dungeon.
The pretext was the same this time too.
The North Kingdom.
No, the destruction of Dreamland, which had the potential to become a calamity for the world.
They headed for Frostthorn Mountain.
A tiny slime was watching that scene.
***
Ant Queen : Newbie-nim
Ant Queen : I'm saying this because I'm really worried
Ant Queen : T_T so Count Wolfhaufen had a situation like that after all
Ant Queen : Is there no way I can help by splitting the mana stones I have? T_T
Ant Queen : You didn't think something like this, did you...?
ㄴCowhead : What if I did??
ㄴAnt Queen : I'll call the head mod and have him smack you around
ㄴAnt Queen : and tell him to beat you with a bat, yeah
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Hmm, lol
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Aren't you looking at this through too much of a biased lens??
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Even if Newbie is all that
ㄴThe World Is Cold : he's not some total pushover
ㄴSkeleton Bones : Newbie is already level 124.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : Don't treat him like a kid.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : He's someone who'll handle things well on his own.
ㄴGolem King : But it's a reasonable suspicion.
ㄴGolem King : Honestly, it's a bit worrying.
ㄴGolem King : Show up and explain yourself, yeah.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : If that's the case, we should stop him.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : In the first place, we can't even split mana stones to give them out.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Even if we could split them,
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : why would we give our lives
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : to a complete stranger
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : especially some bastard who's after our lives?
ㄴDIP: Well
ㄴDIP: I can understand the count's motives themselves.
ㄴDIP: But why is he trying to solve it with our lives?
ㄴDIP: What the hell did we even do?
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : What, is the dungeon master some sort of herb?
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : Is it a plant that grows back if you pull out the roots?
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : Honestly, seeing those bastards act like that just pisses me off, fuck.
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : To them, we're not even people.
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : Why are you only now getting pissed about it, lol.
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : Those bastards have always been like that, yeah.
ㄴTV Head : That's pretty damn pathetic.
ㄴTV Head : The more they act like that, the more we need to crush them.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : I agree.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : We need to stomp them so hard they won't dare touch us.
ㄴKongKong : He'll take care of it himself.
ㄴKongKong : Don't worry too much.
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.
.
I stretched.
"Malang. Good work."
"Eek."
It had done a great job as the observer.
I patted Malang over and over.
"So they're coming in after all."
I have no intention of becoming a mandrake or an elixir for the count.
His circumstances are pitiful.
I do feel bad for him.
But still.
You want me to die for my daughter?
Who in this world would die for you?
This isn't even a request.
At the very least, when you draw a sword like that
and try to use my life as a useful tool, well, that's a different matter.
Honestly, that was a bit much.
What I have to do this time isn't all that different.
There's nothing but despair ahead.
I make sure that fact is thoroughly ingrained.
That was the only way I could coexist with this world.
Newbie : Alright, let's go live.
ㄴCowhead : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ㄴCowhead : I've been waiting just for that...
So don't worry too much.
There won't be any mercy.
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【The wave is starting.】
【Intruders are entering.】
【Confirmed intruder count: 13 entities.】
【13 humans.】
The intruders are coming in.
I stared quietly at the monitor.
They look at the poster I put up in front of the spawn area.
5. Beyond this point, only deep nightmares exist. Even after seeing this notice…….
That was my own final warning.
-…….
-Let's go.
They move forward.
Without the slightest hesitation.
What a pity.