Easy Raid (2)
Volcanic Golem.
No, should I say Chimera?
Those investigated by the Mercenary Guild eventually concluded that it was a synthetic monster.
Even so, it wasn’t that important to me.
Anyway, he was originally asleep in the ground, not knowing when he would wake up. It’s said to be at least hundreds of years, but wouldn’t it be a good game compared to my life?
The one who had been asleep for such a long time naturally wouldn’t have woken up for a long time.
However, they found traces of mining from its body to the inside of the volcano. It was tantamount to proof that someone intentionally woke him up.
Of course, I already knew that, and I definitely knew who the culprit was.
The Dark Truth Church.
Seeing as they are a nuisance to the world, there are so many places where they touch things here and there.
“Let’s start here.”
At my words, the five children jumped off the carriage as if they were one body, and scattered in all directions at Rowen’s hand signal.
Without giving further instructions, I leaned against the wagon with my arms crossed and calmly watched the moving children.
Currently, this is the place where there is a large hole drilled by a volcano, no, a chimera.
Since the mercenary guild had already completed an investigation, evidence of artificial intervention was discovered, and all traces of this area were swept away.
At first glance, it seems like a meaningless search, but the important thing is that it was a few days after the investigation was over.
“I found it, mister.”
“Tell Rowen, not me.”
“Oops, Captain, I found it.”
First of all, Frederick called the children together by saying that, and the children gathered in one place talked while looking at the traces Frederick had found.
I didn’t bother to see it, but I could tell that it was a trace of the Dark Truth Church even without looking at it.
They must have forcibly awakened the Chimera for some reason.
It seems like they can’t handle it, so they hid themselves and reappeared here after the mercenary guild swept through them once.
No organization can just leave those who return empty-handed, so shouldn’t there be something to rescue them.
And it was after the children were clearly trained to be able to trace the traces.
“Frederick leads the way, and Delon follows, looking behind him for any signs he may have missed. Claire and Nora go with vigilance on the left and right.”
Rowen skillfully gave instructions, and the children started moving in perfect order.
Since they had been told not to use their abilities yet, the children were only relying on their sixth sense to track them, and Rowen, who had an overwhelming perspective, didn’t bother to help.
Nonetheless, the children continued their pursuit smoothly, as if showing the results of their training.
I was pulling the wagon some distance away, making an extra check for any threats the children might have missed.
“… … !”
And at one point, Frederick, who was leading, raised a fist and signaled to stop.
The children, who stopped all at once, followed the direction Frederick pointed out and soon began to move a little sideways from the direction they were heading.
As I approached, there were traces of many people or animals that seemed to have passed by often.
I decided to take a detour because I could face someone.
If it goes like this… … .
Following him, I traced my memory and estimated the distance. When I saw a nearby stream, I let go of my horse and put a sack of beans next to it.
“Lore, I will come tomorrow, so please wait here. If something happens, run away.”
“Purrule.”
I wondered if he would understand, but since he was smart, it would be fine.
It was good for both of us to leave it this way, as dragging the wagon further in was bound to attract attention.
Since the carriage was left behind, I started to follow the children with peace of mind, hiding my presence as much as possible.
They told me not to care about me and keep track, and the kids were doing well, but I still wanted to make the situation perfect.
Contrary to the little worries, the children calmly continued the pursuit, and at the same time, it was perfect to reduce their traces to a minimum.
I didn’t know you could do it so perfectly.
Even so, they were still inexperienced children.
Although a little worried, the children proceeded cautiously, remaining vigilant, stopping at one point, climbing a small hill, and settling down in a slightly higher area.
The children were talking in low voices while staring at one place.
“how is it? I found it?”
“Yes, uncle. There is an entrance over there. It seems to be disguised, but I saw someone who had just entered.”
As Claire said, in the direction we were looking, we could see traces of buildings subtly revealed through the bushes.
In addition, there was a road that people passed by in front of it.
This place was not easy to find even if anyone tried to find it, so it seemed that they left such traces nearby. It was understandable how complacent they were when they didn’t even put up a guard.
I was stupid enough to be afraid that someone might not be a follower of the dark lord. If you want to hide, you have to make sure you don’t get caught by someone like me.
I took my eyes off there and looked at Rowen and spoke to him.
“Then what do you want to do now?”
Rowen seemed to think for a moment, then gave an answer.
“Once you step back, you have a detailed plan and you do the maintenance until the start of the operation.”
As soon as I nodded, Rowen immediately ordered the children to evacuate, and the children left the place in perfect order and moved away from their temple.
Since we hadn’t planned a proper raid yet, it was important to stay unnoticed by them.
The eyes of the children who retreated like that and turned to the temple one by one… … It was just terrifyingly cold.
The children who settled in a suitable vacant lot gathered in a circle and made plans while expressing various opinions.
“What about just going from the front?”
“I know how many people are inside.”
“Then, it’s essential to do reconnaissance first.”
“Reconnaissance, I will… … .”
“Your uncle told me not to use my abilities this time, but are you okay?”
The look of the children talking for quite a long time was very serious.
Ever since the day I disguised myself as a member of the Dark Truth Church and raided, I often showed that expression during training and combat.
I thought I was good at taking on the villain on purpose because I felt like I was able to put my mind together.
After such a lengthy discussion, Rowen spoke to me as the representative.
“I decided to go scouting tonight. We intend to unite together and dig up their temple.”
“Reconnaissance only? Any other plans?”
“We still don’t know the size of the temple, their number or strength. Because no matter what plan you make, you never know if it will work.”
I nodded and looked around at the children.
“Good job. Always keep in mind that the more surprise attackers, the more they must act based on solid information.”
“yes!”
Approaching the children who answered in unison, took a piece of paper from the bag and spread it in the center.
The children who saw it naturally widened their eyes and turned their gaze back to me.
“It is the inside map of the temple over there. The approximate number of people residing there, as well as the number of believers, priests, and dark knights, were written down. Make a plan based on this.”
The children, who looked surprised, soon returned to their serious faces, staring at the map as if they were staring at it, and organized their thoughts for a while.
Then, as before, we actively exchanged opinions with each other.
However, unlike before, the time to talk continued to grow longer, and opinions were not narrowed down to one.
In the end, their words gradually dwindled, and as at the beginning, each was lost in his own thoughts.
Then, suddenly, Delan looked up and asked cautiously.
“Maybe, can I use my abilities now?”
The children clearly realized their strength and limitations, perhaps because they had accumulated a sense of battle through the battle with monsters.
That’s why he should have realized that this raid would be impossible without using his abilities.
Seeing the children’s begging eyes, I said calmly with a stern expression on my face.
“Your abilities are special, but… … But you can’t rely on that ability for everything. Even if you couldn’t use your ability in real battle, would you regret it saying “If only I had the ability”? If you guys had polished Grandpa Hazel’s skills enough, you could have killed them one by one from the outskirts and annihilated them without anyone noticing. yes?”
“… … yes.”
To my words, the children answered in a slightly subdued voice.
The structure of the temple here wasn’t too complicated, and there were plenty of corners where you could sneak around or hide a corpse.
It was literally a place where if an assassin could enter, it could be dealt with without leaving a single witness.
However, the children’s skills were still insufficient for that, and there was also a risk of being caught.
No matter how much you’ve experienced real battles with monsters, killing people is another matter.
To be honest, I still didn’t want these kids to kill people.
One day, he would kill those belonging to the Church of the Dark Truth for revenge, but he was thinking that it was too early for now.
The children who had been silent for a while looked at the map again, and silence fell for a while.
Then Rowen, who barely lifted his head, looked at me, hesitated for a moment, and then spat out a word.
“… … I will ask Uncle for help.”
At that, the children looked at Rowen, wanting to be okay with that, and I was still looking into Rowen’s eyes with my arms crossed.
After a while, I smiled and nodded.
“That is the right decision. If only you guys aren’t enough for the operation, get help from Grandpa Hazel if you can’t. I said I would help you avenge it, so I can help with any of these things.”
At my words, the children looked at each other for a while, then looked at me and nodded.
I approached them, sat down on the floor, and put my finger on the drawing of the temple.
“And even if you don’t use your abilities, there’s nothing you can do. For example, attracting and processing some personnel, and additionally processing those who came to find their whereabouts. It will take some time, but you can do it without using your abilities. It’s just impossible to annihilate them this way.”
The children nodded to the strategy I mentioned, and we talked for a while about how to lure those inside.
He nodded as he watched the children grow in real time, then opened his mouth again.
“But I won’t be using this method today. Right now, I’m aiming for a speedy battle. News from this side should reach their other branches as soon as possible.”
I didn’t want to tell the Dark Truth Church about our existence and purpose yet.
Since the power of the children was not properly established, I had to give them time to prepare for defense as late as possible.
In that sense, the temple they were attacking now had to be struck.
I explained the plan to the children, and Frederick raised his hand before he finished explaining.
“In this case, aren’t we just playing a supporting role? So, are we not fighting?”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean to make you guys fight today.”
Frederick had an expression of blatant disappointment at my answer, and the other children also expressed deep regret, although not to that extent.
After seeing such children once, I opened my mouth again.
“You say you’ve fought monsters, but fighting people is different. So make sure you know what the atmosphere is like on the battlefield while taking a tour.”
I had no intention of telling the kids to kill people.
However, it was necessary to show clearly at least once what kind of process and results it brings.
Only then will the children be able to feel for sure about killing people.
Everyone nodded and answered my words, swallowing their regrets, and I continued to add detailed explanations along with the strategy.
After that final explanation, I turned to look at Rowen.
“Rowen, I have a special request for you.”
“… … Yes, anything is fine.”
I decided to give Rowen a special mission.