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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter 27 - First Mission! (4)
The gate was as dangerous as it was useful.
One wrong move and a limb could be torn off.
When something went wrong, it led to full-blown disasters.
That's why the emergency system was developed.
It was designed to reroute travelers to the nearest safe location if the gate suddenly lost mana flow or became unstable.
The catch? That safe place could be the edge of a sheer cliff or the bottom of the ocean.
In other words, total random chaos.
“Urgh—gah, my insides feel like they’ve flipped...”
Clyden leaned against a large tree, trying to settle his churning stomach while mentally piecing the situation together.
They'd finished dinner at the restaurant and had gone back to their rooms to rest.
The hotel manager came in and politely asked them to leave, saying that all the other guests had checked out because of him.
The group tried to find another place to stay but the gossip had spread.
Every single inn turned them away.
They had no choice but to move to the east and rest there.
Clyden was riding the gate while everyone else gave him looks that could kill.
“Tch... I remember everything up to that point…”
The gate had been a whole new experience for Clyden.
The senses were alive, but a white light appeared and wrapped around him from his fingertips to his toes, and his body slowly disappeared.
It was amazing.
The body that had been gently dispersing felt like someone had suddenly grabbed him and sucked him in, and he lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of a dense forest.
“Are you alright?”
Eres looked at him with concern.
Clyden who barely managed to pull himself together, staggered to his feet.
“Ugh… What the hell just happened?”
“I think the gate’s emergency system activated.”
“Emergency system? What’s that?”
“It’s a system built into the gate. It kicks in when the gate becomes unstable during
Transit and redirect us somewhere safe.”
“Well, why’d it suddenly activate? The gate was working fine!”
“That, I’m not sure…”
“Hmph! This is all your fault, Sergeant!”
Lydis glared at Clyden and shouted furiously.
Clyden groaned and grabbed at his hair, muttering under his breath.
“That’s Right, It’s all my fault. Everything’s my fault.”
“You ugh!”
“We should check the area first. Private Kaysis isn’t with us, he must’ve gotten dropped somewhere else.”
Eres quickly changed the subject before Lydis and Clyden could start fighting again.
“Tch! That damn recruit! He’s already causing problems!”
“I’ll go look for him. You two should rest for now.”
“Wait, let’s sort out where we are first. Any idea where we landed?”
“No, sir. The emergency system transports us to the safest nearby location, so we’re somewhere in the east but with all this forest it’s impossible to know exactly where.”
“Fine. Let’s see what we have on us.”
“Sir?”
“Ah, before we leave the forest, let’s check all the items we have and come up with a plan.”
“Uh… well.”
“What? Don’t tell me we’ve got nothing?”
“Um… all our gear was with Private Kaysis.”
“Wow. So now that you’ve had a few decent meals, you dump everything on the youngest?”
“No, sir!”
“Ugh… Eres, let’s have a meaningful conversation once we get out of this damn situation. For now, go find the youngest.”
“Yes, sir!”
Eres hurried off into the woods in search of Kaysis, leaving only Lydis and Clyden behind.
The two sat in heavy silence, awkwardness settling like a thick fog.
‘Come to think of it, this is the first time it’s just the two of us.’
However, he had no intention of using this opportunity to approach Lydis.
Suddenly, a roaring sound was heard from somewhere far away.
Clyden decided to strike up some small talk.
Might as well kill time.
“Uh, Lieutenant?”
“What is it, Sergeant?”
Lydis answered without even looking at him, her voice cold and clipped.
At that sight, he felt upset and raised his voice without realizing it.
“Oh! When someone talks to you, the least you can do is look at them! You act like you’re too good to even see me.”
“Hmph! And what makes you think you can raise your voice?”
“Well then, what exactly did I do wrong?”
“If you hadn’t gotten us kicked out of the hotel, none of this would’ve happened. What was that nonsense at the gate?”
“First you touch the magic circle like a kid in a candy store and then you rub it with your foot to see if it would come off. Who does that?!”
“What? I was curious! It looked interesting! Are you seriously picking a fight over that?
Wait, you’re saying this whole situation is my fault now?”
“Hmph! There’s a high chance it is! Why else would a military-grade gate supposedly the safest in the Empire malfunction only when we’re using it?”
“You’ve got some nerve, lady! If you’d just stayed in your fancy mansion, none of us would be here! You’re the one who came to the army and started dragging everyone down!”
“Hmph! So I should’ve just stood by while a certain sergeant bullied my little brother?”
“Oh please! That sibling complex of yours, it’s practically a mental illness!”
“Eek! Don’t call it that!”
“Why not? What else do you call a sibling complex if not a sibling complex? You don’t want to be called a bro-con, but you are one so—”
“If you’ve got a better word than bro-con then by all means tell me! I’ll use that instead!
Anything for you, miss bro-con!”
“I said stop calling me that, you jerk!”
“Ohooo~ There she goes! Getting all fired up? What, you wanna settle this the old-fashioned way? No ranks, just fists!”
Lydis and Clyden were now nose to nose, growling at each other like two wolves about to tear each other apart.
Just as their rage reached its peak, something shifted in the air.
They both sensed it.
Lydis turned her head slightly.
“Goblins!”
She drew her sword in an instant, eyes scanning the forest.
Goblins of small stature, dirty brown skin, ugly protrusions, and greedy expressions suddenly surrounded Lydis and Clyden.
“Damn… there’s too many.”
Lydis’s expression darkened.
If she were alone, she would have been able to somehow deal with them and escape.
However with Clyden, it was difficult to escape.
After a moment’s hesitation, she turned to him with a serious look.
“Sergeant. I’ll hold them off. Retreat while I’m distracting them!”
Clyden chuckled and stepped forward protectively.
“Now’s not the time for jokes, Lieutenant.”
“What? This isn’t a—”
“I know my body and believe me, there’s no way I’m getting far on foot without getting caught. You’ve got a better chance than I do. I’ll hold them off for a bit. You make a run for it.”
“Sergeant.”
Lydis looked at him with a strange emotion flickering in her eyes.
“What’s this? Did you fall for my cool appearance? Ah, the curse of being too popular. Sadly, I already have a…”
“What?! Who said I...”
“Go already.”
“Hmph. Too late for that now.”
Lydis gripped her sword tighter, glaring at the goblins closing in from all sides.
They were outnumbered.
It wasn’t just a handful anymore, it was a full-blown horde and their eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
Clyden narrowed his eyes.
“Huh. I think we’ve officially entered a life or death crisis.”
“Sergeant! Survive until Eres gets back! Haaah!”
Lydis charged into the mass of goblins.
“Tch! Always so hotheaded. Bring it on! Let me show you what I learned back on dog-beating day!”
Clyden followed her into the chaos, swinging his sword wildly.
Goblins were the weakest class of monsters individually but a horde of them makes up for it.
Any soldier knows that no matter how skilled you are but numbers will wear you down.
Lydis fought like a whirlwind, cutting through the swarm with precision.
Clyden mostly flailed his sword around to keep the goblins at bay.
“Bwahaha! Come on, let’s dance! Hrk!”
Clyden charged at one of the goblins.
As the goblin dodged slightly to the side, the sword hit the ground and shattered.
“Ah, damn it all! Rokin! You’re a dead man when we get back to base!”
Clyden forgot all about Rokin warning him the sword was near its limit.
In that brief pause, a goblin charged and smacked his left shin with a spiked club.
“Gaaah!”
“Sergeant!”
Lydis slashed her way toward him with a furious flurry of blows.
“You okay?!”
“Guh… worry about yourself, ma’am! Damn leg’s gone limp like it got hit by a twig.”
“It’s a paralysis poison! Goblin stingers! Be careful!”
“Could’ve mentioned that before they smacked me.”
Lydis stood her ground over Clyden, fending off the goblins with fierce strikes.
Once the goblins realized they were losing too many, they backed off.
Goblins pulled out long blowpipes from their pouches.
She dodged the first few darts. Even managed to block a couple.
They started slipping through the cracks in her armor.
After being hit by the paralyzing needles several times, she dropped to her knees.
“Damn it…”
One of the darts had struck right at her wrist. Her arm wouldn’t move properly anymore.
Clyden watched as goblins crept closer, their ugly little eyes gleaming with triumph.
He let out a long sigh.
“So this is it, the tragic end of a glorious life. I gotta spend my final moments with her?”
“What did you just say?!”
Lydis shot him a look that could melt steel.
“Hehe… you know, it wasn’t all bad, kid.”
“Don’t call me kid!”
“Come on, let’s not split hairs right before the end.”
“I had fun too, Sergeant.”
“Kekk! You can't die quietly!”
Clyden dragged his barely functional leg and ran toward the goblins.
Lydis tightened her grip on her sword and prepared to stand beside him.
“Yowch! The hell, this little freak bit me?!”
One goblin had latched onto Clyden’s left arm.
Clyden flailed his arm wildly.
“You wanna bite? Fine! Let’s bite!”
He lunged his mouth clamping down on the goblin’s neck like a starving beast.
There was a horrible crunch and a spray of foul-smelling green blood exploded across his face.
“Pleh! Ugh, that is disgusting!”
Both Lydis and the goblins froze.
Who bites a monster?!
To Lydis… it was horrifying.
To the goblins… it was genuinely shocking.
Clyden spat again and wiped his mouth, glaring at them with a twisted grin.
His face was smeared with sweat and dirt, his hair a wild mess, and green blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Clyden's eyes were glowing red with madness.
The goblins took a step back.
“Hehehe! Just one of you. I’m taking at least one with me to the grave.”
They were more likely to attack in overwhelming numbers but now faced with this savage human who had bitten their kind, they were too afraid to approach.
The goblins scattered in all directions, abandoning their prey.
"Hehehe, scared? What’s wrong?!"
Clyden laughed in a mocking voice.
His laughter echoed through the woods as the goblins fled in panic.
Lydis slowly turned to face him, stunned by what she had just witnessed,
"Did… did we survive?"
“Don’t come any closer!”
Lydis took a few steps back while her face twisted in horror.
“Oh? What’s this? You’re turning away from me now? The great Imperial sergeant just saved the day! How about a little applause? Haha!”
Clyden puffing out his chest in a self-satisfied manner, laughed loudly.
Lydis couldn’t bring herself to laugh or even respond with the usual sarcasm.
Her eyes were wide with disbelief.
A human biting a goblin? A monster at that? She could barely wrap her head around it.
‘Will people believe me if I say this happened?’
‘No way, right? I can hardly believe it myself. But if Clyden says it, people might believe it…’
Clyden continued to laugh proudly, standing tall like a conqueror.
Suddenly, the bushes rustled behind them.
If the goblins had returned, they were in for a dire fate this time.
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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