Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 72

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Vote for your knight!
Chapter 72
Joan stood at the center, launching into an impassioned speech.
“We’re in luck. We can just spend the night in that cave over there.”
(Joan speaking brightly)
(But then!)
“No. We need to dig a pit and sleep in it, taking turns on watch.”
(Joan’s expression contorts at Arsen Tan’s assertion)
“We don’t have a shovel. How are we supposed to dig a pit?”
“We can dig with whatever other weapons we have.”
“I didn’t hand-pick knights just because they had digging tools. Besides, the ground here is hard — if we’re not careful, we could damage our weapons. And we have a cave in our sector anyway. Let’s sleep there.”
“…….”
“A mission to fight enemies will definitely come down soon. We should preserve our weapons for that. Besides, we have a cave in our territory. Let’s use it.”
(Everyone just exchanges glances, saying nothing)
(Then Travis Zicon opens his mouth!)
“Yeah, let’s do that. Everyone stop arguing and go with what Joan says.”
(At his words, Joan nods as though she’d been waiting for this)
“We’ll build a big fire in front of the cave. Enemies hate fire, so they won’t approach the cave.”
“…….”
“Don’t worry. Everyone just trust me.”
And then the feed cut off.
In the end, Joan’s faulty judgment and stubborn inflexibility led to the total annihilation of her squad.
“What happened to the captured knights?” Kusto asked.
Kusto had posed the question.
“They all returned to the Capital.”
This meant there would be no hostage rescue operation this time.
Once eliminated, it was over.
In other words, Joan’s squad couldn’t even gather enough material to be broadcast.
“Well then, everyone — let’s eat first! A full belly gives us energy to carry out the next mission, yes? I’ll announce the second mission after that!”
With those words, Eagle soared high into the sky.
“I don’t know if I can get food down.”
“The next mission sounds like it’ll be much harder.”
“Let’s just focus on surviving.”
Everyone left their concerns and well-wishes, then returned to their respective sectors.
* * *
Whoosh! Thwack!
The chickens that had been darting about fell one after another, their necks caught in the Bola.
“Thanks to Morris, we’re eating chicken tonight.”
David spoke as he gathered the caught chickens.
“And we save arrows too.”
Morris said this with evident pride.
As he said, without the Bola, they would have had to waste precious arrows hunting the animals.
Kusto and Morris dressed the chickens they’d brought back.
Their techniques differed, but both were skilled.
“Kusto, didn’t you say you’d never hunted before?”
Morris asked.
“During my time in slavery, I butchered plenty of meat from my master’s hunts.”
“Ah…….”
Morris fell quiet.
Kusto chuckled and spoke.
“There’s no need to get so solemn about my slave days — especially not in front of a man who still bears the slave mark.”
“You’re, you’re right?”
Morris answered brightly, as if he’d been waiting for permission.
This lighter side suited him much better.
In any case, unlike yesterday, David’s team feasted on chicken.
“Wow, the juices……!”
“The meat is so tender. It just keeps going into my mouth.”
Kusto and Morris watched this scene with satisfaction.
They felt like fathers feeding their own children.
“We don’t know what the next mission will be, so everyone should eat their fill now.”
“Seeing Joan’s team get wiped out last night, this next mission won’t be any easier.”
David and Pierre said.
Fortunately, beyond the Bolas that Morris had made for each of them, they also had Pierre’s “new” Whip.
In terms of offensive power, they could be considered stronger than any other team.
Of course, whether it would prove effective in the second mission remained to be seen.
Then it happened.
A whistling sound came from the sky, and a bird dropped a single Card.
It was a Card inscribed with the next mission.
* * *
Meanwhile, Killian’s team was also having their first meal of the day.
Like yesterday, they caught fish while also gathering clams.
They couldn’t place too much burden on Deni alone.
The fish strung on branches released a golden, savory aroma.
As the clams, which had been tightly shut, slowly opened in the heat and began to bubble and sizzle, they forgot all about the temperature and started eating.
“Maybe it’s because we’re so hungry, but this tastes better than the expensive food back home.”
Rafael, despite his gentle appearance, chewed the clam vigorously as he spoke.
After filling their bellies, a Card fell to them as well.
Dmitri rushed over and snatched the falling Card.
Then everyone crowded around the Card.

“Escape Items… Theft War?”
Dmitri flipped the Card over and found a Map on its back.
It was the same Map they had been given at the start.
The difference was that the locations of Escape Items and a Key were marked on it.
The faces of the team members darkened as they studied the Map.
“The Escape Items are hidden in a Bunker near the Beach, but the Key to that Bunker is in the middle of Enemy Territory.”
Dmitri said with a grim expression.
“We just need to get the Key before sunset.”
Killian said.
Dmitri, who had been lost in thought, finally spoke.
“But not everyone needs to go after the Key.”
“What do you mean?”
Pavel asked.
Dmitri lifted his head.
“This evaluation is won by whichever team has the most Survivors remaining. If, by some misfortune, we all go after the Key and get wiped out, our team is finished.”
“That’s true.”
Deni nodded in agreement.
“I think it’s best if Antre and Rafael stay near the Bunker and wait for the theft team to arrive.”
Antre Mashu and Rafael were each knights who had chosen shovels.
They had no weapons to fight with.
Of course, there was the spear Killian had made for them yesterday, but it was only a temporary weapon.
“But…!”
“All right. I’ll wait near the Bunker. Don’t get hurt, and come back quickly.”
Unlike Antre, who protested with wounded pride, Rafael agreed readily.
He had not forgotten that this was a team competition.
The most important objective was survival.
As much survival as possible.
If individuals prioritized their own greed over that, they would all fail together.
“Rafael, I…”
“Antre, listen to me.”
As Rafael soothed him, Antre soon agreed. There was something strangely persuasive about Rafael’s quiet, gentle voice.
‘I’m glad Antre accepted it.’
Dmitri reckoned he had at least secured two survivors.
‘For now, anyway.’
* * *
Unlike Killian’s team, David’s team decided that all members would participate in the theft operation.
They had realized that the destructive power of the Bolas Morris had made was better than expected.
They made several Bolas, fastened them to their waists, and entered the forest.
The bright sun poured light even into the densely wooded forest.
“Oh, there! Spring water!”
Olivier spotted the flowing stream and rushed toward it.
The knights submerged their unwashed bodies in the water.
Their wet clothes dried quickly as they walked.
The temperature was perfectly warm.
“The weather is beautiful.”
“What if we actually pull off the mission this easily?”
Olivier and Morris exchanged words with easy laughter.
“Quiet. We’re near enemy territory now.”
David cautioned them.
Everyone tensed, crouching slightly as they moved forward in silence.
“!”
David, walking at the front, spotted them first.
Countless Homunculi lay scattered before them.
They sprawled across the ground like discarded dolls.
As if they could only awaken under the cover of darkness.
The knights carefully skirted the creatures, heading toward the location marked on the map—where the key lay.
As long as there was light, they would remain dormant.
The key was in the Cave, according to the map.
The map indicated the key’s location was in the Cave.
‘So the key is in there,’ David thought silently as he continued forward.
He moved without sound when the wind suddenly shifted.
A cold gust swept across them.
Goosebumps rose on exposed skin from the frigid air.
Kusto lifted his head, seized by foreboding.
The sky had darkened.
Clouds were gathering overhead.
‘Surely not……’
Pitter, pit-pit-pitter……
Rain.
As the dark clouds descended, the sky plunged into shadow in moments.
The sunlight that had filtered through the leaves vanished, and the forest was swallowed by darkness.
“Damn it.”
Kusto bit his lip.
If they stayed exposed like this, they’d be discovered—and it would be catastrophic.
The mission had seemed far too easy from the start.
Then it happened.
Crack!
“Ahh!”
Clover, who had been walking behind, cried out in alarm.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————