Seeker 349

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Chapter 349. An Unexpected Situation

"Five in front, seven on the left, four on the right—sixteen presences in total! They're closing in, prepare for battle!"

The warning came from a female adventurer dressed in black.

The surrounding adventurers who heard her words couldn't immediately grasp what she'd said.

Reguld was among them.

"H-Hey, Adela... what kind of joke is that...?"

"...I don't know. It'd be better if it's a group of monsters other than Owlbears."

The leader of the Crimson Axe, who was asked, also had sweat dripping from his forehead.

From the front, left, and right, a total of sixteen presences were approaching.

He didn't want to consider the possibility that all sixteen were Owlbears.

Owlbears are monsters that even a full A-rank party struggles to handle just two of.

Even assuming the three-member Daichi's Spear could hold their own, facing sixteen Owlbears with three A-rank parties in a raid was impossible.

Even during the Owlbear Carnival, the most encountered at one time was six.

This current raid quest had already matched that record.

So, it just couldn't be true.

Those sixteen presences had to be from something weaker than Owlbears.

Reguld thought so.

No, he hoped so.

But—

"F-Five Owlbears in front! You’ve got to be kidding!"

Someone among the adventurers shouted.

In the direction of the road, a bit away from their campsite, large bear-like figures began to appear one by one.

From the woods to the side, five in total emerged.

Just seeing so many massive bodies together was alarming in itself.

"There's Owlbears on the right too!"

"Left as well! There are a lot!"

Other adventurers cried out in near panic.

Fear spread rapidly among them.

"R-Reguld... are we... going to be wiped out...?"

It was Emilia, the female spear-wielding adventurer from the "Wild Fang" party, who asked in a trembling voice.

Reguld couldn't immediately respond to that.

Because he was thinking the same thing.

Then, a thought of 'escape' crossed his mind.

But just then, the client's shouting voice rang out.

"Hey, adventurers, you must protect my carriage and goods! This is an unexpected situation, I'll pay three times the reward! So protect my wealth, understood!"

The client Marcus seemed quite flustered as well.

Reguld shouted back.

"Don't be ridiculous! Just because you throw money at us doesn’t mean more power shows up! If it's impossible, it's impossible!"

"Then, what do you propose we do!"

"We have to abandon the carriage and goods and run! You can't take wealth with you if you're dead!"

"This isn't a joke! That’s a breach of contract!"

"In an unexpected situation like this, contracts don't mean crap! Damn it, there's no time for this!"

As they argued, the Owlbear group drew closer.

Reguld began formulating an escape plan in his mind.

How could they escape from the swift Owlbears?

Running on foot might even get an adventurer caught.

Regular folks would definitely be overtaken.

Maybe they could unhitch the horses from the carriage, and Marcus and his servants could escape on those, but—

In any case, it seemed nearly impossible for everyone to escape.

How many could actually get away safely?

Reguld, gripping his greatsword, glanced at Adela, who was struggling to issue orders to the members of the Crimson Axe.

He had only gotten close to her recently.

They had hit it off in a tavern by chance, and ended up at an inn together.

He hadn't thought too much about the future at the time, but Reguld wasn’t an irresponsible or insincere man.

Now, he was even considering the future, and had discussed it with Adela.

But now, this happens.

As an adventurer, he had always been prepared to die one day, but why now, did he want to curse.

"Adela! I'll buy us some time somehow! You take the others and run!"

"Wha—!? Don't be ridiculous, Reguld! If you're staying behind, so am I!"

Adela’s response to Reguld’s declaration was a flat refusal.

Oh right, she was that kind of person, Reguld thought with a wry smile.

Even if he insisted, she probably wouldn’t listen.

"Tch, fine. Then let’s get the others out! We'll unhitch the horses from the carriage—"

As Reguld was about to explain his revised plan, it happened.

The leader of Daichi's Spear, who had been conversing with his two teammates, suddenly spoke up.

"Um, excuse me. I think we can do it."

"Do what exactly!"

With every second counting, now what?

Unable to hold back his frustration, Reguld yelled back.

But the leader of Daichi's Spear calmly responded.

"I think we can fight and win. The three of us will take down the seven on the left and the five in front. The rest of you handle the four on the right."

""...Huh?""

The voices of astonishment came from the other two party leaders, Reguld and Adela.