How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 40

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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 40】

Tracking an enemy commander whose life or death was unknown was certainly a reckless operation.

Going outside the fortress when there might be a second enemy attack or potential ambushes was an extremely dangerous action.

However, if it was Bjornsen, he was worth taking the risk.

At least that’s what Carlisle thought.

The scout members were half-blinded by their thirst for revenge anyway.

“However, there’s a condition.”

“Please tell us.”

“Since this is a dangerous operation, absolutely don’t overdo it. I don’t want to see another scout member die while trying to avenge Derek.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.”

Begman spoke firmly to Helen’s request, as if telling her not to worry.

“Private Carlisle.”

“Yes, Sir Helen.”

“Make sure to thoroughly guard the surroundings with that Inheritance Sword. Your Inheritance Sword…”

Helen stopped mid-sentence and corrected her statement.

“No, I’ll trust you. Protect your comrades from unseen threats with that ability of yours.”

“…!”

Carlisle was slightly surprised when Helen made a statement acknowledging him.

To think that Helen, who had despised him so much, would say such a thing…

“Go quickly. I hate to admit it, but what the scout comrades need right now is your ability.”

“Understood.”

Carlisle moved toward the scout members.

‘Heh.’

Carlisle chuckled softly at a sudden thought.

‘To think I’d be going to kill someone.’

Carlisle found this aspect of himself unfamiliar.

Until now, he had only fought enemies who attacked first in order to survive, but now wasn’t he trying to hunt down and kill Bjornsen to the end?

‘Is this the kind of person I have to become to survive in this world?’

With that thought, Carlisle left the fortress with the scout members.

* * *

The scout unit went to where Bjornsen was expected to have fallen and searched the area.

“Rookie?”

“It’s safe.”

Carlisle answered Begman’s question.

Since Grimgand was quiet, there seemed to be no barbarians lying in ambush nearby.

Thanks to this, Carlisle and the scouts could proceed with their search operation with peace of mind.

“Over here.”

Kudo discovered a large crater and called together the scattered scout members.

The crater was clearly created when Bjornsen crashed, and bloodstains were vivid.

“The rookie was right. Since there’s no corpse, he didn’t die.”

Begman frowned.

“Here, footprints.”

Marder, skilled in search and reconnaissance as befitting a hunter, discovered footprints that appeared to be Bjornsen’s.

“Since there are no other footprints around, he clearly escaped alone without receiving help from allies.”

“That makes sense. This place is somewhat distant from the barbarians’ camp.”

Begman nodded as if agreeing with Marder’s opinion.

“Since he’s alive, he would have moved to rendezvous with his allies. So we’ll chase him down before then and avenge Derek.”

“Yes.”

The scout members answered in unison.

“This way.”

Marder led the scout members from the front.

Like a hunter who had been tracking prey since childhood as naturally as eating, he skillfully found traces of Bjornsen.

But even such a skilled Marder hit a snag…

“Damn.”

Marder made a troubled expression.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“The bloodstains have disappeared.”

“What about footprints?”

“None.”

At Begman’s question, Marder pointed to a footprint that was dug about 10 centimeters deep.

“…He’s not a grasshopper.”

Begman’s face contorted with frustration.

Looking at the footprint, it clearly seemed to be traces of casting Thunder Leap.

“Based on the direction of the footprint, it seems to be that way, but it’s such a dense area that I’m not sure if we can find footprints. With the bloodstains gone and no moonlight, further tracking will be impossible.”

“Damn it.”

Begman ground his teeth.

To think they’d lose Bjornsen here after going through the trouble of getting operation approval…

“Damn it! Can’t we just keep chasing? If we let him escape like this, Derek won’t be able to rest in peace even in death.”

Wilson exploded in anger.

“I want to do that too, but we’ve essentially lost his trail, so we can’t take on the risk.”

“Captain!”

“There will be another opportunity later.”

Then.

“What if there was a way to continue chasing him?”

Carlisle stepped forward.

“A way?”

“The earth will tell us. Where he went.”

Carlisle showed the Whisper of Earth on his left wrist.

“Is that really true?”

“You saw how the fortress entrance turned into a swamp.”

“Ah!”

“Using this bracelet, we should be able to continue tracking him. My sword will warn us of any potential threats, so let’s go a bit further.”

“Hmm.”

Begman listened to Carlisle’s words and pondered for a moment, then soon nodded.

“Fine, I’ll trust you.”

“Yes.”

Carlisle immediately infused mana into the Whisper of Earth.

Soon, a figure of Bjornsen made of dirt appeared, then kicked off the ground and leaped powerfully into the air.

Memory of Earth.

It was the very magic that Evangeline had used during Carlisle’s trial.

“Let’s go.”

Carlisle moved toward the direction where Bjornsen’s figure had leaped.

“Rookie, you take the lead. Can you handle it?”

“I’ll try.”

Normally, Marder would naturally become the vanguard and scout for search and reconnaissance to lead the scout unit, but in the current situation, it was natural for Carlisle, who could use Memory of Earth, to take the lead.

“This way.”

Carlisle led the scout unit.

‘There’s a high chance he didn’t go far. He can’t cast Thunder Leap indefinitely.’

[Thunder Leap] was a skill that consumed a tremendous amount of mana.

Bjornsen had cast [Thunder Leap] three times tonight, so his mana must have been depleted by now.

A 4-star Barbarian Warrior could use [Thunder Leap] at most three times in a short period.

Of course, if he had mana recovery potions, that would be a different story, but while Barbarians knew how to process Magic Stones to make dyes, they lacked the knowledge to make potions.

At least, that was what Carlisle’s knowledge told him.

* * *

Thud!

Bjornsen slumped against a large tree and leaned his back against it.

“Huff, huff!”

Bjornsen continuously exhaled rough breaths, panting heavily.

He had been running with all his might for nearly two hours, and his breath had reached his chin.

“I almost really died. Huff, huff.”

Bjornsen muttered to himself as if it was a stroke of luck.

Bjornsen’s outward appearance looked perfectly fine.

Thanks to [Primordial Vitality], all his wounds had healed.

The problem was his stamina.

He had consumed too much energy on regeneration, causing his stamina to reach its limit.

Even a 4-star Barbarian Warrior with [Primordial Vitality] engraved had clear limits.

Honestly speaking, Bjornsen didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger right now.

If he encountered the continent people, that is, enemies, he would be helplessly defeated.

“But at least I saved my life. Huff, huff.”

Despite his depleted stamina, Bjornsen was confident of his survival.

Why?

Because the situation made it unlikely for enemies to pursue him.

Moreover, hadn’t he squeezed out his last strength to cast a final [Thunder Leap] to confuse their tracking?

Even if enemies were pursuing him, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was no possibility they would chase him to such a densely forested area on this deep night.

‘I’ll rest a bit and then return to the tribe.’

Bjornsen was planning to do just that when he took out jerky from the pouch at his waist to chew on.

Swoooosh!

“…!”

An arrow that flew from somewhere struck where Bjornsen’s head had been.

If he hadn’t reacted in time, it would have surely pierced through his skull.

“Damn it!”

Just as Bjornsen, who had shown lightning-fast reflexes, jumped up to flee.

Thunk!

An arrow that flew from a completely different direction struck Bjornsen’s right thigh.

“Grgh!”

Bjornsen let out a groan and slumped down.

Swoosh!

Thunk!

The third arrow pierced through Bjornsen’s left knee joint this time.

“Damn it all…!”

Even in this situation, Bjornsen tried to move his limping steps, but even the strongest Barbarian Warrior had limits.

Thud!

Bjornsen fell down disgracefully.

Even his thick thighs and calves could no longer support his body.

And starting from that moment, arrows flew in without pause.

Swoosh, swoooosh!

Thunk, thunk, thuunk, thunk… thuunk!

Bjornsen became a pincushion in an instant.

In just a few seconds, dozens of arrows flew and stuck into Bjornsen’s entire body.

Bjornsen could never get up again.

He had no stamina or mana left to activate [Primordial Vitality].

“Stop… that’s enough… isn’t this… sufficient…?”

Bjornsen, who had become a hedgehog, spoke toward the direction the arrows had come from.

Rustle, swoosh.

His enemies, the Scout Members of Bowden Fortress, revealed themselves one by one.

And soon they surrounded Bjornsen.

“You bastard!”

An excited Wilson drew his dagger and approached Bjornsen.

As always, he was clearly planning to scalp Bjornsen.

“Wait.”

Carlisle blocked the excited Wilson’s path.

“Hey, won’t you move aside?”

“It would be troublesome if you send him off like that.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“We should do the same to him.”

Carlisle pointed at something with his finger.

There stood a large rock that looked like it weighed several hundred kilograms.

“A rock…?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“You haven’t forgotten Private Derek’s final moments already, have you.”

“Derek’s final moments… Ah.”

Wilson understood Carlisle’s meaning and nodded.

How did Derek die?

Wasn’t he crushed to death by Bjornsen who had cast [Thunder Leap]?

“Even when killing, wouldn’t it be better to kill him the same way? I think Private Derek would be satisfied with that.”

“Hmm.”

Wilson stroked his beard, seemingly deeply troubled by Carlisle’s words.

“The rookie is right.”

Begman expressed agreement with Carlisle’s opinion.

“What do you all think?”

Nod nod.

The Scout Members also nodded their heads as if they agreed.

“Bring the rock.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The Scout Members joined forces to lift the large rock.

“You… are you Sigmund?”

Bjornsen looked straight at Carlisle and asked.

Though still inexperienced, he judged that the young soldier who had faced him as an equal was most likely Sigmund.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“What does that mean?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

Bjornsen frowned at Carlisle’s ambiguous answer.

But he didn’t give up.

“Young soldier… what is… *cough*! your name… My name is… son of Draktar… Bjornsen… I wish to know the name of the warrior who killed me. Only then, in the Hall of Warriors… Valhalla…”

The Barbarians had a culture that placed importance on knowing the name of the one who killed them.

They believed that the stronger and more renowned their killer was, the higher their status would be in the Afterlife.

Absurdly, this recognition even applied retroactively – even if killed by a mere soldier, if that soldier later gained fame, they would acknowledge that as well.

“Tell me… your name.”

“I don’t have a name to give to the likes of you.”

“…!”

“You seem to be seriously mistaken, but you’re not going to Valhalla. You didn’t die fighting – you died running away like a locust.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Even in death, you’ll be mocked. As someone who died cowardly while fleeing. Forget about going to Valhalla – you won’t even be treated as a warrior in the World of the Dead.”

“…How cruel.”

“What do you expect from an enemy? Did you think I’d let you close your eyes peacefully?”

“That’s…”

“Just die.”

Thoom!

The rock crushed Bjornsen.

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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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