(101)
＜ 16. Prisoner and Hero (8) ＞
The warlock’s barrier was shattered in the aftermath of Marco’s blow. After crushing another flesh golem without difficulty, Marco walked slowly in front of the warlock .
A warlock who sweats and memorizes all sorts of curse spells. However, none of Marco’s spells penetrated the silver armor and did no damage to Marco. Marco raised his hammer and uttered a word as if to chew it down .
“ You who blasphemed the dead with your wicked black magic will forever wander in the darkness where the sun never rises .”
Kwajik !
The black magician who once drove Marco into the pit of despair died under his hammer transformed into a hero .
After everything was done, Andrea and Marco went back up the hill. Since their appearance has changed beyond recognition, Trisha and Emilia only noticed that the man standing next to Andrea was Marco when they saw the hammer .
“… what happened, what the hell? That huge hammer…was Marco-san summoning you ?”
Andrea nods at Trisha’s question. She noticed that Andrea had enhanced ‘Summon Marco’ .
Behind them, realizing that the battle was over, Helios’ soldiers were rushing in. The eyes of the soldiers were wet with pure admiration. Emilia was also similar to them .
“ Mr. Marco, that’s amazing …”
Marco lifted his faceplate and gave an awkward smile. Somewhat embarrassed. It was a look that caused a gap with the heavily armed figure as if he would beat anything to death without remorse. Trisha has become a complicated and delicate face that doesn’t know what to say .
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Now that the core forces, including the warlocks, are dead, clearing out the remaining remnants will be a piece of cake. Andrea decided to advance towards Nelas’s garrison as it was while she was away. Following his instructions, the soldiers prepared to leave in perfect order .
But while the others did, Trisha glanced at Marco, still feeling confused. Tricia, who had been agonizing for a while, eventually approached Andrea .
“ Andrea, let’s talk for a minute .”
The two of them got out to the back for a while and distanced themselves from the group. Trisha wanted to think about it for a long time, and then confessed to Andrea what she was thinking about .
“ Andrea, Mr. Marco…. The other day, the blacksmith said that if you strengthen something… you might have a problem with your personality or personality. Are there any signs of that ?”
Andrea realized why Tricia was so anxious. On the surface, it’s probably because if he loses his humanity, he won’t harm his comrades. However, a more private reason was hidden inside .
If her personality had changed, maybe her thoughts about her daughter… in other words, her thoughts about herself might have changed. Tricia still couldn’t fully regard Marco as her father, but she was afraid that her feelings for her would change .
But that was a misfortune. Because Andrea has directly asked what kind of image Marco regards as ideal, and has seen it. Andrea told me that Marco’s personality wouldn’t have changed. Dorian adds words that mean that his inner side has become more mature .
“ Tricia, the fundamental reason Marco was able to become so strong wasn’t because he used the power of reinforcement .”
“…?”
“ The decision to go to meet her daughter as a father who is not ashamed of herself, not to do anything to meet her. That decision made Marco stronger .”
Tricia shuts her mouth after hearing that. An oppressive current flowed. Trisha blinked slowly and stared at the floor for a while .
An indescribable, overwhelming feeling. Memories of days gone by when I lost my mother and father and thought I was abandoned in the world passed by. Andrea didn’t say anything, waiting for Tricia’s emotions to settle .
Finally, Trisha raised her head. Stealing the reddened tears with his sleeve. Andrea turned her head away as if she hadn’t seen anything .
“ Come on, Trisha. Marco and the priest will be waiting for you .”
Tricia nodded. The two slowly made their way towards the party .
*
Marcus, the centurion of the Helios army, paced around the barracks nervously. It has been four days since the mercenaries and soldiers introduced by Bishop Dominic left the camp. With four days worth of food, it was time to return to the garrison .
He thought that whoever returned only soldiers or mercenaries would come back a little earlier. I was about to get information about how the mercenary of Nelas who made a contract with the devil summoned an outrageous monster .
Who the hell can defeat a giant golem made of corpses? It was clear that the mercenaries would face death if they faced the warlock. Even if he survived and raised his performance, it would have been enough to kill only mercenaries and ordinary soldiers, not those who signed a contract with the devil .
In fact, that was also Marcus’ wish. The gold nuggets that Bishop Dominic sent via messenger arrived last night .
Brilliantly unmatched color. These gold nuggets were originally intended as a reward for mercenaries who excelled in military service, but Marcus had a different plan .
‘··· This gold should be used to purchase supplies. The upper level cut off support and abandoned us, so this is the only way to feed the troops. If Bishop Dominic later finds out about this, he will be furious, but… It’s more important to live and see .’
Unless one side is annihilated, the confrontation on the plains of Campus will undoubtedly be prolonged. Marcus had not the slightest idea that the mercenaries would annihilate the enemy army. On the contrary, he was only concerned about how he would later make an excuse to Bishop Dominic .
“ Centurion! The soldiers who went with the mercenaries have returned .”
A soldier who delivers the news just in time. Seeing that they returned alive, it seemed that the mercenaries had not encountered the warlock. Marcus ordered them into the barracks .
However, before the mercenaries entered the barracks and said anything, they set down a large chest at their feet. When asked what Marcus is, Andrea tells her to open it. After confirming the identity of the contents as instructed, Marcus’ eyes widened .
“ It is the neck of Nelas centurions. A total of three units were destroyed. As promised, he also killed the warlock who made a pact with the devil. I didn’t cut the head because my head was crushed and I wouldn’t recognize it anyway, but the soldiers who went with us will testify .”
Marcus looks at Andrea, then inside the chest, then at Andrea again. I was dumbfounded. In the face of words that are hard to accept as truth and evidence proving that those words are true, common sense and reality have caused a violent clash .
According to the author, the Helios army only had to occupy the Campus Plain. To say that only four mercenaries had resolved a standoff that had lasted over a year was news that was too absurd to be used as a novel .
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No matter how much time passes, Marcus cannot close his wide-open mouth. When he showed no signs of coming to his senses, Andrea continued what he was saying .
“ What is that… Do you think you’ve posted an outstanding major? Is n’t there a reward sent by that bishop ?”
Compensation in the
‘ war of power’ is usually received directly from the client, but in the case where the client is not in the local area, there are cases in which it is received through an agent. Andrea predicted that the bishop’s reward would have been delivered to Marcus by now .
The prediction wasn’t wrong, but Marcus hesitated and couldn’t open his mouth easily. Andrea quickly realized why. Andrea frowns narrowly and fiddles with her gauntlets .
“… unless you want to increase the weight of that chest, you’d better not think about taking away the reward .”
Hearing the bloody threat, Marcus’ complexion turned pale. If I had said that when we first met, I would have laughed at him, but seeing and hearing the achievements he had made, it was a threat that I couldn’t possibly pass away .
Marcus had no choice but to take out the six gold nuggets he had hidden. Andrea held out her hand proudly and snapped her finger. However, Marcus couldn’t pass it easily and continued to hesitate .
Markus, who gets a savage glare and speaks in a crawling voice .
” That’s a really shameless request, but mercenary-sama… Could you lend our troops just one nugget of gold? As you can see from the outside, supplies are cut off right now, and all the members of the unit are in a position to starve. I will pay you back later, no matter what .”
“ If you know it’s a shameless request, don’t do it. What should I trust and lend a gold nugget to a guy I’ve never seen before ?”
“ All, of course I will write an IOU. If you come to Chengdu after the war, I will pay you back with interest. So please . . .”
Let alone the saints, it was a debt that could not be returned even if it was paid here some time later. Because Andrea and the others had to leave the battlefield of the ‘World War’. Originally, Andrea had planned to never give the gold to the centurion no matter what he said .
But suddenly, a tingling sensation burrows into my brain. I can’t change fate, but I’ve come up with a plan that will bring great comfort to someone. Andrea decided to use this gold for more value than just taking it .
“ Okay, lend me. However… there is one condition .”
*
Bruno just blinked his eyes in a daze, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. I knew it would look stupid, but I couldn’t help but ask .
“ Yes ?”
“ Don’t make me say it twice. You are all over the world .”
Marcus speaks in a weary tone. Even after hearing it twice, Bruno still doubted his ears .
“ Yeah, but why …?”
“ Don’t ask why. Because it’s a military secret . ”
“… no matter how much …”
” If you ask me one more time, I’m sure you’re willing to re-enlist .”
Then Bruno shut his mouth. It was a word that was too effective to make it quiet. Marcus sighed deeply and started filling out the documents proving Bruno’s discharge .
“ Take this. It’s a full-time payment .”
After completing the paperwork, Marcus handed the half-nuggets of gold to Bruno along with the documents. It was an unprecedented amount of money .
“ Um, why is the discharge money so large, Centurion ?”
“… If you ask the reason for this one more time, I won’t give it to you .”
silence. Afterwards, Bruno accepted the battlefield and gold without saying anything. After leaving the barracks, he crossed the garrison, receiving the gazes of his comrades who were full of envy and envy. It still didn’t feel real. The feeling of floating in the air about half a span .
And as soon as he came out of the garrison, he was confronted by someone waiting for him .
A mercenary armed with silver armor and a large hammer. A person who accomplished incredible feats with unbelievable force. Bruno just noticed that what happened to him was related to this mercenary .
“… why did you do this to me ?”
“…”
Marco silently looked at his past self. The wind from the plains caressed the blades of grass, and the natural sunlight fell evenly over the two of them. Marco barely opens his mouth just before sinking into longing for the past .
“ There is no reason. If this is luck with a reason, there must be a reason for all the cruel misfortunes in the world. There is just something I want to ask you .”
“… what is that ?”
“ Don’t live for yourself who only thinks of your family. It can be mistaken that it is the only way to serve them, but in fact, it is more important to be myself who can stand proudly in front of them. I came a long way back before realizing this. And again . . .”
Marco takes a deep breath, suppresses his emotions, and continues his speech .
“ When you return to your hometown, don’t hold back telling your wife and daughter that you love them .”
After saying that, Marco turned his back on his past self and went back to his friends who were watching from afar. The past recedes away with every step, every step. Although it is a futile wish, I hope that my family will be happy in this world .
Zira Bruno, who left just as he was about to say thanks, ended up not being able to ask him anything. Bruno cannot take his eyes off the departed mercenary until it becomes a small dot on the far horizon .
Even if it was full of unknown things, he had a hunch that he would never forget the good fortune that had befallen him and this strange encounter. for a
very long time ＜ 16. Prisoner and Hero (8) ＞ End
Nobody expected for this guy to develop that much, right? Kinda feels like the whole story is about Marco.