How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 115
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 115】
Contrary to expectations, the feared incident did not occur.
The barbarians’ digging stopped just before the research facility entrance was revealed.
Thanks to this, the scout members who had been tensely prepared for death nearly collapsed as their strength drained away.
“What are they doing?”
Carlisle tilted his head as he watched the barbarians’ actions reflected in the magic mirror.
“Ah.”
Kudo nodded knowingly and spoke.
“It seems they’re trying to perform some kind of ritual.”
“A ritual…?”
“Look. It’s a shaman.”
Kudo pointed to the old barbarian shaman in the magic mirror.
In the magic mirror, Erolga, the great mother of the Predator Tribe, was doing something while wearing the distinctive attire of a barbarian shaman.
“It seems they’re thinking of overcoming the situation through a shamanic ritual.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Carlisle recall the cultural characteristics of the barbarians and understand what was happening.
The barbarians were surprisingly religious people, so they tended to rely heavily on their tribal shamans.
“So they’ve determined that the cause of their tribal warriors falling ill is due to supernatural phenomena?”
“Probably so.”
“Heh.”
Carlisle chuckled softly.
If the barbarians had discovered the research facility entrance, it would have been like catching a mouse while backing up a cow.
“Still, she’s probably not completely incompetent. She found our hiding location almost exactly.”
“Wasn’t that coincidence?”
“You shouldn’t underestimate barbarian shamans. Even if they can’t use area magic like the continent’s mages to sweep away enemies all at once, they’re often quite mystical.”
“Hmm.”
“Just in case, it would be better to hold our breath and watch for now.”
“We should. There’s nothing we can do anyway.”
Carlisle’s group watched the barbarians through the magic mirror while holding their breath in extreme tension.
Fortunately, no dangerous situation arose for Carlisle’s group.
“What the hell is that?”
Carlisle frowned as he peered into the magic mirror.
The barbarians butchered three fellow barbarian warriors like livestock, then pushed their corpses into the pit they had just dug.
Then the barbarian shaman muttered something and performed a ritual.
“What the hell are those bastards doing?”
Carlisle spoke with extreme displeasure.
“It’s human sacrifice.”
“Human sacrifice…?”
Carlisle’s face contorted as if he couldn’t understand at all.
“Yes, using people as offerings…”
“I know that much. But they’re allies.”
Carlisle turned his head away from the magic mirror as if he couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
The terrible scenes that occurred during battle weren’t pleasant to watch either, but who would want to see people butchered and dismembered like cattle or pigs?
“Sometimes there are tribes like this.”
“What kind of tribe is that?”
“They offer human sacrifices to their ancestors of warriors they consider weak or incompetent.”
“So they sacrifice their own allies as offerings?”
“It must be their own evil custom.”
Kudo explained the barbarians’ actions with a very appropriate expression.
Evil custom.
If sacrificing allies, fellow tribesmen as offerings wasn’t an evil custom deserving of universal condemnation, then what was?
“Crazy bastards.”
Carlisle shook his head and headed toward his bedroom.
“It doesn’t seem like anything will happen, so I’m going to rest.”
Carlisle had no intention of continuing to watch the barbarians’ antics, so he went into his room.
It was a wise choice.
Continuing to watch such terrible and disgusting scenes would do no good for his mental health.
* * *
After finishing the ritual, Erolga spoke to Asnathal, the chieftain.
“Now that the ritual is complete, the resentment of the evil spirits should be somewhat appeased. So you must give our warriors water boiled with these medicinal herbs.”
Erolga showed Asnathal some strangely shaped medicinal herbs.
“Are you saying that if they drink water boiled with these medicinal herbs, our warriors can overcome the high fever and abdominal pain?”
“That’s right.”
“Wise great mother, thank you so much.”
Asnathal prostrated himself before Erolga.
“This is a humble gift I prepared. Please accept it. It’s my small token of sincerity.”
Asnathal offered Erolga a pouch filled with gold coins.
“Your devotion is truly admirable.”
Erolga smiled broadly with satisfaction.
“But why did you put in so much? It’s too much.”
“Compared to what the great mother has devoted to our tribe, this is nothing. Please accept it comfortably.”
“If you say so, I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“When will our warriors be able to recover?”
“If they drink the water boiled with medicinal herbs and rest well for just a day or two, they’ll regain their former strength.”
“As expected of the great mother!”
Asnathal smiled broadly and repeatedly prostrated himself before Erolga.
“What are you doing! Immediately have the warriors gather the medicinal herbs the great mother taught us about! Hurry!”
“Yes! Chieftain!”
The Predator Tribe warriors left the allied camp to gather medicinal herbs as soon as the order was given.
* * *
Meanwhile, Begman was closely monitoring the Butcher Tribe’s movements through the magic mirror.
“Hmm. Their movements seem somewhat suspicious.”
“Is something wrong?”
“They’ve brought back wicker baskets full of some kind of grass.”
Begman answered Kudo’s question.
“I don’t know what they’re trying to do with all that grass.”
“Let me take a look.”
Then Marder examined the Predator Tribe’s activities more closely through his vision link with Hugin and said.
“They’re boiling the grass and sharing it to drink.”
“They’re sharing boiled grass water to drink?”
“Isn’t it medicinal herbs?”
“That would be troublesome. If they get energetic, it’ll be disadvantageous for our allies.”
Begman’s face scrunched up with concern.
“We need to move up the timing of our attack. We can’t give them time to recover.”
Kudo spoke urgently.
“You’re right. We need to attack quickly. Marder.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Begman turned to look at Marder.
“Quickly send a letter to Sir Helen. Tell her we don’t have time. We need to attack them within two days at the latest.”
“Understood.”
Marder called Hugin over, tied a message note to its ankle, and sent it flying to Helen.
“We’ll have to pray our allied forces arrive on time.”
Carlisle, who was passing by, overheard the scout members’ conversation and casually threw in a comment.
“Right, our allies need to arrive on time. That way we can easily get out of here too.”
“Let’s wait and see. Unless the higher command are fools, they won’t miss such a golden opportunity.”
“Tsk. You only think that way because you haven’t served in the military long enough.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What do I mean? I mean you’re still green behind the ears.”
“…?”
“Do you think the military operates as a logical, rational organization?”
“Well… no, it doesn’t.”
“Not only is the military like that, but war never goes according to plan.”
“Is there something you’re worried about?”
“Nothing in particular. I’m just saying I can’t guarantee things won’t go wrong.”
“Hmm.”
“Don’t worry about it. Once we’ve made a plan, we just need to execute it. If things go wrong, we’ll think about it then.”
“That’s true.”
Carlisle nodded and agreed with Begman’s opinion.
A few hours later.
“Reinforcements are coming!”
Marder read the message note and shouted loudly.
“Ooh!”
“Finally!”
Bright smiles bloomed on the faces of the scout members who had been dying.
The stench inside the research laboratory was overwhelming, and methane gas was slowly starting to build up, making it nearly impossible to endure any longer.
“When do they say?”
“Tomorrow at dawn?”
“That’s great. We just need to hold out for one more day.”
Carlisle also looked relieved.
“Ah, Corporal Marder.”
“Hmm?”
“Could I borrow that friend for a moment?”
“This guy?”
Marder pointed to Hugin sitting on his shoulder.
“Are you trying to send a letter somewhere?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead.”
Marder let Carlisle use Hugin without much thought.
“Who are you sending it to?”
“It’s a personal letter, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“You bastard, you’re not writing a love letter in this situation, are you?”
Begman sent him a suspicious look, but Carlisle cleanly ignored it and wrote something down on a message note.
“You can find them, right?”
“Coo coo!”
“Alright, be careful on your way.”
Flap!
Hugin left the research laboratory with Carlisle’s message note tied to its ankle.
“We just need to hold out for one more day.”
“Right, that’s all.”
“Should we do a separate operation too?”
“What kind of operation?”
“Couldn’t we quietly take care of the enemy’s key commanders before our allies charge in? No matter how barbaric they are, they’ll be in chaos without their commanders.”
“…!”
The scout members’ eyes lit up at Carlisle’s suggestion.
Assassinate the enemy’s key commanders before our allies’ large-scale offensive begins?
It sounded easy, but it was far from an easy operation.
The barbarians weren’t fools either, so they wouldn’t be unprepared for assassination attempts.
But if they succeeded, the effect would be certain.
Though it was dangerous…
“It seems possible.”
Kudo agreed with Carlisle’s opinion.
“The hardest part of an assassination operation is infiltration, right? But we…
“We’ve already infiltrated.”
Begman continued Kudo’s words.
“So you’re saying it’s worth trying since the hardest part is already solved?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Hmm.”
Begman pondered for a moment.
Even though they had already infiltrated, assassination was never an easy mission.
There was a reason professional assassins existed.
“What the hell, let’s do it. We’re supposed to be a scout unit, so we can’t just sit around doing nothing until our allies come to rescue us. We’ve had our fill of easy times, it’s about time we earned our keep.”
As Begman hesitated, Wilson offered his opinion.
“Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? Hehe.”
Russell also expressed his agreement.
“….”
Privates Adrian and Lieutenant Melvin, who had no voice in the matter, just blinked and watched the scout members’ reactions.
“Let’s just do it.”
Carlisle persuaded Begman once more.
“There’s no reason not to.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“When has it ever not been dangerous?”
“Hmm.”
Begman pondered a bit more before speaking.
“Alright, let’s try it.”
When Begman made his decision, life returned to the eyes of the scout members who had been dying.
They had been cooped up in the research laboratory for so long that they were desperate for fresh air, and their bodies were itching for action.
“Alright everyone, gather around.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The scout members gathered around Begman.
* * *
The next night.
Carlisle’s group quietly slipped out of the research laboratory just after midnight.
The new recruits Adrian and Lieutenant Melvin remained at the research laboratory.
The scout unit wasn’t foolish enough to deploy those who were anxiously unreliable even in small-scale combat into an assassination operation due to their lack of experience.
Beatrice, the creation of the mage Antiros, also remained at the research laboratory.
They couldn’t ask her to kill someone when she knew nothing about the ways of the world.
“Move quietly. Never overextend yourselves. If you think you’ll be discovered, don’t do anything. Understood?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Let’s meet again alive.”
With Begman’s final words, Carlisle’s group scattered all at once and moved toward their respective targets.
‘What a perfect night for killing people.’
Carlisle thought this as he moved forward.
There was no moonlight, thick fog had settled, and a light drizzle was falling.
On a night like this, no matter how well one kept watch, it would be impossible to easily detect enemy infiltration.
From an attacking standpoint, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was no better environment than this.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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