I initially thought the defense war would end even if I just moved my fingers from the back, but when I realized I was going through hardships despite being in the back, I couldn’t help but be upset.

Even though the situation seemed to be improving, I couldn’t relax. The situation may be going back to what we had planned, but there was still a lot of uncertainty. The western wall that was supposed to collapse and the existence of the legendary-ranked raid monster known as Cha Hee-Ra were the reasons for the uncertainty. Considering that it had been some time since the baby’s first howling, and the existing troops were holding up pretty well, I realized that there was a high chance the defense war would end without any hiccups. The castle wall where Kim Hyun-Sung would go would certainly have their morale boosted as well.

‘However…’

Thinking about the worst-case scenario was the right thing to do because war was unpredictable. After all, the worst-case scenario happened with Cha Hee-Ra, and the baby’s howl.

‘The more insurance you have, the better.’

To resolve this crisis, I had to think constantly, and since there was a limit to what I could do, I had to keep thinking about the cards I could use.

When I looked back while gulping, the battle of the monsters was still in progress, and even though Xiaolin was strong, I finally understood why she said she wasn’t confident about killing Cha Hee-Ra. Her legendary-ranked whip, Urd, was strong, and every time she used it, it destroyed the smaller buildings with a loud whipping noise. But after the first surprise attack, Cha Hee-Ra didn’t allow a second attack to land on her.

“Grrrr!”

Cha Hee-Ra moved one step ahead of the explosion, and the way she kept dodging didn’t make her seem like someone whose agility was 90. She could only move that fast, as she was no longer conscious, and all that remained in her were her instincts. Even though I was watching her, she was just…

‘...using her senses.’

Her senses and instincts, to be exact. It wasn’t something someone could achieve through training, and just like Jung Ha-Yan, Cha Hee-Ra was also a genius. I was sure it would be faster to find someone without special talents at her level, but among them, Cha Hee-Ra was definitely out of the ordinary.

Xiaolin tried to tie her down while maintaining her distance, but a beast released from its cage wouldn’t follow its trainer. I could see so many life-threatening situations even from the sidelines.

‘She’s not bad...’

It wouldn’t be so bad if Cha Hee-Ra ended up ripping Xiaolin to pieces right before the duration of her habit ran out, but if she did end up dying, then there had been no point calling her over here.

‘Hold out a bit longer, you bitch!’

Unlike my thoughts, it seemed like Cha Hee-Ra was allowing her to keep her distance. The existence of magic could offset the weapon’s flaw a bit, but it wouldn’t change the fact that it was still a whip. Xiaolin was at a disadvantage, especially when fighting against a close-range specialist like Cha Hee-Ra. The beast chased its owner who was trying to run away, and when Cha Hee-Ra was about to penetrate her chest, I saw Xiaolin throwing her whip to the side. After getting into a strange pose, she hit Cha Hee-Ra’s arm before elbowing her in the abdomen.

‘Martial arts?’

She must have used a lot of her strength, as the way Cha Hee-Ra flew away seemed pretty unrealistic.

‘Shit… she even knows martial arts…’

It was a well-known prejudice that people who usually wielded weapons were weak in close combat. Considering that, my reaction was natural.

‘Why is she so strong?’

He was still growing, but even the great Kim Hyun-Sung struggled against Cha Hee-Ra.

Xiaolin could be categorized as strong because not only did she have a legendary-ranked medium-to-long range weapon, but she was also proficient in close combat. Her stats were a bit lacking, but I wanted to give more points to Xiaolin than to the late Ito Sota, as she could keep up with Cha Hee-Ra.

That must’ve only been my personal opinion because despite injuring Cha Hee-Ra, Xiaolin didn’t seem happy. Cha Hee-Ra must have landed in a weapons shop because when I followed Xiaolin’s gaze, I saw the red beast holding two cheap weapons. Now that I thought about it…

‘This is my first time seeing Cha Hee-Ra use a weapon…’

Despite acquiring advanced dual weapon knowledge, I didn’t know why she wasn’t using any weapon, but anyway, it was undeniable that the situation had changed a bit. The person with a weapon had the advantage, and since Xiaolin knew that, she seemed nervous. I started to get worried for her.

“What if she ends up dying?”

I started talking to myself, but I heard someone answering my question.

“It’ll be dangerous. She’s definitely strong, but—”

“You scared me!” I yelped.

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing. You came faster than I expected,” I commented.

Behind me was the Red Mercenary Group member Kim Hyun-Sung had sent, and when I looked at them, they started talking, “I only brought five members with me because the troops at the wall still need our support. I was told there was something we had to do here, and I have an idea as to why we were sent here.”

“The woman wielding the whip is currently stopping Hee-Ra noona, so I would like you to watch to make sure nothing serious happens. I was getting worried that she might get hurt…” I explained.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that, but… protecting the master is our job, so we’ll gladly follow your order. What about that woman?” they asked.

“I know her subordinates are around, and there were about five of them. They seem like they’re from the Republic, but since she agreed to cooperate with us, please watch over her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Just make sure she doesn’t die before Hee-Ra noona calms down…” I responded.

“I understand. It’s not easy to stop the master when she’s in that condition, so it would be best to support that woman until the master regains consciousness. I’m a bit relieved, though. Fortunately, she didn’t go to the city where people are, and if it weren’t for that woman, there would’ve been a big accident. She hasn’t been like that recently…” the member remarked.

‘I can’t say that I’m the reason why...’

“Has she ever gone berserk like that before?” I asked.

“She has gone berserk many times not too long after she arrived on the continent, and once after she created the Red Mercenary Guild. Of course, she wasn’t like this back then…” they replied.

“Back then?”

“I recall her attacking both her enemies and allies, but now, she’s able to differentiate between the two, so that’s a relief…”

If I ended up in that kind of situation, I would make sure to leave Castle Rock.

I was also curious about the castle walls, so the Red Mercenary Guild member answered when I asked them.

“I see. Oh, how is the defense war looking?”

“It’s fine. A legendary named monster did appear, but they’re a bit passive.”

“Ah ha…”

“Epic-ranked monsters and lower ranked monsters have been appearing at the castle walls, but the named monster hasn't directly attacked the walls yet. If the named monster decides to charge in, then we’re going to take a lot of damage, but since the mages have been saving their mana since the previous encounter, we shouldn’t have a problem with the defense war. Killing the monsters at the first wall all at once had been effective…”

I nodded lightly. It was surprising that the named monster wasn’t attacking just yet, but other than that, everything was going as planned. Actually, it was easy to figure out why the monster wasn’t attacking yet. It would be strange if I didn’t smile in this situation.

‘I should be able to move more freely now…’

It turned out that I had made the right choice in preparing this insurance.

“How’s the west wall looking?” I asked.

“There haven't been any problems there, either. There were some casualties, but the reserve forces were able to fill those spots… but compared to the other castle walls, it lacks firepower… Is there a problem at the west wall?” they asked.

“No, I think it’ll be fine. If the situation becomes problematic, you can evacuate to the east,” I told them.

“Understood…”

“Is there anyone here that can cast voice amplification magic?” I asked.

“Yes… I can.”

I could tell that our regressor was being considerate because even though the Red Mercenary Guild lacked a mage unit, he still sent a mage to me.

‘Nice…’

“Excluding the one mage, the remaining can carry out the task I had explained earlier. Once Hee-Ra noona calms down…”

“There won’t be any other side effects. She’ll return to her normal self,” a member answered.

“That’s a relief. Then, I’ll give the signal,” I told them.

“What kind of signal?” they asked.

“You can hear it from Hee-Ra noona. I’ll be heading to the Small Stone Guild’s Guildhouse right now. I should be safe, so there’s no need to escort me,” I told them.

“Please take at least one person with you…” they suggested.

They seemed very worried about my safety. I was sure it was because of Cha Hee-Ra’s order, but I was still thankful for their concerns. When I nodded quietly, a warrior and a mage grouped up with me.

‘Only 15 minutes left…’

I felt good since Miss Xiaolin was fighting hard for me, and I was able to watch their fight and move safely at the same time. I felt comfortable knowing that I had people protecting me.

Before leaving, the mage of the Red Mercenary Guild activated a simple illusion spell just in case we got caught by Cha Hee-Ra, but she was no longer paying attention to me.

There were still explosions and roars all over the place when we silently left, but overall, I felt at ease and significantly better.

‘The puzzle pieces are coming together…’

When I started running, the scenery slowly started to change.

I was sure Cha Hee-Ra had forgotten about my presence, as she was too busy fighting Xiaolin, but she must’ve gotten angry when she realized I wasn’t there anymore since an even louder explosion rang out. But I couldn’t worry about that for now…

‘10 minutes left…’

“Are you able to run while carrying me?” I asked.

“Of course...”

I felt bad for the warrior I was going to physically burden, but this was going to let me get there a lot faster. Since the Small Stone Guild’s Guildhouse was far from the western area, it would take a while.

‘Two minutes left…’

Kim Hyun-Sung would have already arrived at the guild house, but since the warrior had invested in endurance and strength instead of agility, this speed could be considered decent for him. When the scenery changed once again, I noticed the lovely Red Mercenary Guild occupying the Small Stone Guild’s Guildhouse.

Cha Hee-Ra noona must’ve regained her consciousness, as the explosions disappeared. Moments later, I thought I heard Cha Hee-Ra’s scream, but it would be better to pretend that I didn’t hear anything.

When we got closer to the guild house, one of the members came to meet me and I started talking to them, “You’re here.”

“Oh, Mr. Lee Ki-Young.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes, but what brings you here…” they asked.

“The monster’s baby that has just hatched is here, right?” I asked.

I kind of felt like trash doing this, but this was the most efficient way of doing things.

The Red Mercenary Guild members hesitantly brought out the baby. It somewhat looked like a dragon, but it had no wings. To be precise, something was attached to its forelimbs, but it wasn’t designed to fly. Well, it didn’t matter how the baby looked.

When I took off the baby’s muzzle, the baby’s sad cries filled the city.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”

Booooom!

The baby’s mother destroyed the west wall and looked right in my direction.

“You can stare at me all you want! Hahahaha!”