>As the werewolf corpses were all carted away, I had no way of knowing their exact death count but it must"ve at least crossed the 50% mark.
Soon, Violet Snow came back from her vigil and I had a discussion partner once more. "In your opinion, what"s our next course of action?"
Come to think of it, the whole reason we came here was to recruit the dogmen. But after arriving, we found that the dogmen were already spoken for. Even now, I still didn"t even know if they were alive or not. Not only that, we ended up fighting the werewolves for no reason. What"s worse was that we didn"t even win…
Regarding my habit of shirking responsibility whenever I"ve met with adversity, she was, to say the least, unhappy about it. She blandly threw these words at me: "You decide."
"Then...should we follow them?"
"Do you have a deathwish?"
"...not reallly, I"m just sort of curious."
"Ah huh." She turned around and left in the opposite direction.
"Hey, don"t leave, I was just kidding..."
After finally coaxing her back, I could only smile wryly at her as I continued our discussion. " About that werewolf, what tier do you think she"s at?"
"Four-star." Without any hesitation in her voice, that was the snow-white puppy"s answer. "To be able to take on my magic head on, she must"ve have at least been four-star."
"Four-star huh...why is she still here then?
"Who knows, four-star counts as the highest combat strength sustainable within the Prison of the Dead, perhaps she doesn"t wish to leave." She paused for a moment before continuing with furrowed brows: " It could also be that the demonic werewolves have a strong sense of community and thus she couldn"t bear to leave by herself…"
Judging by words, four-stars were the strongest powers in the Prison of the Dead. It might just be like what she said: better to be the head of a chicken than to be the tail of a phoenix. Is it truly better to be a small fish in the vast exciting world or is it better to be a big fish in this G.o.d forsaken place? The answer was a pretty tough one.
"Let"s put aside this question for now. Have you heard of this person called Mo En?" The name "Mo En" had been on my mind all this while, after all, this was the name that ended up saving me. That silver furred werewolf probably thought that I was connected to that name which also means that she was concerned about this name.
Either way, this was a name I couldn"t afford to ignore.
"No." Violet Snow shook her. "I"ve never heard of that name. Perhaps my level is simply too low or perhaps we just haven"t been in here long enough."
Just by looking at her, I could tell that she was extremely young, it wasn"t strange for her to not know of some matters.
"Since we can"t advance, we just have to check out the other areas. Who knows, we might just find another source of reinforcements." Just as we started discussing this, I heard a commotion arising from my subordinates.
The roars of Baccarel echoed across the bony hallways as he ordered the half-orcs into formation. The devils seemed to be readying themselves as well under the command of One-eye. The h.e.l.lhounds didn"t have much to prepare and so rushed to the devils at the first opportunity.
As for the cause of this ruckus, it was a humanoid silhouette which seemed really familiar...that v-shaped tuft of silver fur...sh**, what is she doing back here…
Standing in front of her was One-eye, the commander of my armies. Next to him, her figure looked even more slender despite her towering height of three meters. That figure is such a violation of the rules...wait, now"s not the time to admire the beauty of the human figure.
"You...why did you come back?"
Sister...why did you have to come back? Are you trying to drive us into a corner!
Truth be told, I was extremely scared right now, scared that this uppity fellow was back to capture me. Even with all these henchmen protecting me, I didn"t feel the least bit safe. Just thinking about her overwhelming speed gave me a headache...I want that speed too…
"I have a matter that requires you, come over here." That was definitely a female"s voice. Even though her valorous behavior had dulled this significantly, her voice still had the qualities of a lady...an extremely attractive lady. That giant black wolf head however...it"s just a little too much for me…
"There"s no way I"m going over. I dare you to come over and catch me if you can." Do you think I"m stupid enough to fall for such a ruse?
Seeing my defiant att.i.tude, she immediately lost her patience and said: "Devil, my patience is limited, you better get a move on it."
"Come get me then!" Once a man says he won"t go over, he won"t go over.
"Stubborn fellow…"
Just as she was about to act on that dare, Violet Snow kicked my shins with her tiny little paws. "I suggest you listen to her, if she really wants to capture you, you can"t avoid her. It"s only a matter of whether she has to expend that much more effort. If you aren"t lucky, she might just decide to kill you instead."
"..." Hey, I"m still your teammate you know, are there any teammates like you who look down on their team members...
Of course, this was all just in my head. Her words after all, made sense. If a four-star demonic werewolf wanted to capture me, there was no way this ragtag bunch of potatoes could stop her, even with Violet Snow aiding them.
Fine fine, anyway I"m not exactly a man right now either. There shouldn"t be any problem with just having a chat. Just as I started walking towards her, No.3 and Big 4 immediately stepped out and blocked me. They looked at me with a mortified expression and said: " Master, please escape. Even if it means that we have to die, we will buy time for your escape."
Big 4"s knuckles turned pink as he gripped down on his bone sword. In a grave voice, he said: "Master, please bestow upon me the chance to serve you."
"...just forget it. This opponent isn"t someone we can take on even if you risk your life." I beckoned for a female devil with a wave of my hand. "Look after it." I instructed her as I gently handed over the devil egg.
"Master…"They were on the verge of saying something but instead were ignored.
"To think that, I would one day be forced into this situation." I laughed bitterly as I looked up at the bony white ceiling. "Why am I so unlucky...I just want to go home a little earlier...oh, that"s right, if I...if something were to happen to me, you guys should follow Violet Snow…"
"Instead of bemoaning your fate, perhaps you should spend more time thinking of a solution." As she said this, I felt something soft stamp down on my feet, followed by her deadpan voice echoing in my ears, "As for writing a will, that can wait till you are actually on the verge of dying."
From the looks of it, the little puppy wants to follow me? And, what"s with that sorrowful look you"re giving me? Don"t tell me you really see me as a person heading to his death?
"Master."
"Mhm?"
Just as I stepped in front of Baccarel, the ordinary looking half-orc called out to me, I paused for a moment as I turned to him. However, all I saw was him raising his hand and pointing in the direction of the silver furred werewolf: "Charge! For the Master!!"
"For the Master!!"
Without waiting for my command, the half-orcs suddenly broke into a charge. As his burly figure rushed off, he left behind a sentence: "Master, please escape…"
"Hey, wait a moment...everyone get back here! This is an order!" The half-orcs actually attacked out of their own volition in order to protect me...even though they know that they won"t last that long, but they still did it without any hesitation...these guys...must they really make me cry before they"re happy.
The half-orcs didn"t listen to my command and continued charging. Perhaps to them, this was the most advantageous move they could make for me and so they did it without even giving me a chance to object to it.
Unfortunately, the result of this blind charge was a swift and decisive one. In just a few moves, the silver furred werewolf defeated the entire squad within seconds. Having lost her patience, she ploughed through the obstacles in front of her and leaped right to me.
Before I could even register her proximity, her razor sharp claws reached out and grasped my exposed neck.
"Now, can we have a talk?" Her voice, icy and impatient, clearly irked by my previous display of resistance.
"Baccarel, just stop. You all are brave warriors but this battle is already over. There"s no need for you guys to act now." In the face of such overwhelming strength, what else could I do except smile bitterly?
"Master, it"s our fault for being incompetent." He said through gritted teeth before retreating, his eyes all the while fixed on me. To the honorable half-orcs, having their Master threatened in such a manner was an insult to them. However, it was their fault for being weak and so they could only swallow this shame.
In such a life or death situation, there was no longer a need to hold back. Even though I had only heard of this name once, there was no other option left to me, even if that option was nothing but a bluff.
Never in my life had I ever wished so much for the gift of the gab. Unfortunately for me, I was nothing but an otaku, persuasion was definitely not one of the skills I had on my character screen.
"With the way you"re treating me, aren"t you afraid that Mo En will hold grudge against you?"
"Why must I be afraid of someone at the same level as me? If it wasn"t for the fact that he has so many devils, I wouldn"t even give him a second thought." Her claws closed in on my neck, immediately I was struck with a hot piercing sensation as I felt my skin break.
Her lupine head leaned in and gave me a sniff before continuing, disdain dripping from her words: " You"re just a mere devil, there"s no way Mo En would kick up a fuss over you. Besides, I don"t smell his scent on you so there"s no way you"re his woman."
"Huh?"
"Don"t lie to me, you aren"t even his woman to begin with! There"s no scent of a male devil on you!"
"What the heck! Exactly how do I look like a woman?! You need to get your eyes checked! No matter how you look at me, I"m a bonafide man!" My temper erupted instinctively upon mentioning this taboo subject. Even if it means risking my life, there"s some dignity that must be protected at all costs.
Why does everyone treat me as a female devil, this brother is a sage of the highest order!
"Well, isn"t your temper something, at least in terms of bravery I"ll acknowledge you."
Her claws tightened even further. Instantly, my mind was struck with the overbearing sense of pain. In that moment, I truly felt the reaper"s scythe on my neck.
Even though I had already gone through reincarnation twice, there"s no guarantee of a third time. Besides, will I even have the same strength as I have now? Will I even be able to stay in the western human realms?
If I can"t meet with her, what"s the point of all my toiling? I want to see Nicole again...so much…
"Hmm, you scare that easily?"
Upon noticing my stunned look, she broke into a grin as if she was mocking my lack of mental fort.i.tude. Or perhaps she was merely laughing at herself for pushing things too far.
It was at this moment that Violet Snow spoke up, shifting the focus of the silver furred werewolf off of me and onto her. "Powerful and respected werewolf, I request for a negotiation on equal footing."
"Equal? Brat, let me have a sniff and see who you are."