Chapter 73

Happy New Year!

I hope you have a great year ahead!

And I apologize for the delayed greeting and update!

"Thank you all. I'll take it from here."

With those words, I held the relief that the townspeople were safe and the gratitude I felt towards the adventurers.

To be honest, I hadn't expected Mane and the other adventurers to stay in this place.

I had seen Mane and the others getting along with the townspeople, but deep down, I still thought they would leave the townspeople behind and run away in a crisis.

But that turned out to be just my own assumption.

Mane and the others, despite being battered and bruised, still charged towards the hobgoblins, proving me wrong more eloquently than any words could.

"I have to apologize to Mane and the others later."

I whispered this with a smile, thinking that I should talk to Mane and the others more.

And to do that, I first needed to eliminate the enemy in front of me.

"So, let's finish this quickly."

The hobgoblins, still in a state of confusion from my sudden appearance, had not yet fully recovered.

Before they could realize I was a threat, I took a step forward.

"Kee!"

The dagger, empowered by overwhelming physical enhancement, sliced through the neck of one hobgoblin.

"Be careful..."

Only then did one of the hobgoblins recognize me as a threat and try to issue a warning, but it was cut off mid-sentence.

Before it could finish, I had already slit its throat with my dagger.

Two hobgoblins were killed in an instant.

"Surround and crush him!"

Only then did the hobgoblins realize I was a formidable opponent and began to move to surround me, using their numbers to their advantage.

It was a classic and effective strategy.

However, it was not enough to bridge the overwhelming gap in strength between me and the hobgoblins.

A single swing of my dagger incapacitated multiple hobgoblins.

"It's like they're here to be killed."

"Kee!?"

The hobgoblins' movements slowed as they saw their comrades killed in an instant.

They finally understood that reaching the townspeople was impossible.

"Target the other humans!"

In the next moment, the hobgoblins, who had been so fixated on the townspeople, turned and ran.

Their target was now the injured adventurers.

The hobgoblins, realizing they couldn't kill the townspeople, had changed their target to the adventurers.

While the adventurers were not as helpless as the townspeople, if the hobgoblins attacked them all at once, there would be significant casualties.

The adventurers, who had been protecting the townspeople from the hobgoblins, were already exhausted.

However, I was not shaken by this scene.

"Unfortunately, I know this trick."

I calmly readied my dagger, aimed at the backs of the hobgoblins facing me.

I was confident I could kill the hobgoblins before they reached the adventurers.

"That's..."

At that moment, I noticed someone with blue hair charging towards me with all their might.

Recognizing who it was, I smiled and relaxed my stance, confident that I no longer needed to intervene.

My prediction was not wrong.

"Ha!"

"Kee!?"

Without paying any attention to the stunned adventurers, the person who had rushed between Mane and the hobgoblins kicked several hobgoblins away with a single move.

"What!?"

Even the adventurers, who had been saved, were still trying to understand what had happened.

Among them, the blue-haired girl, Narsena, turned to me and bowed apologetically.

"Sorry, sir. I'm late..."

I shook my head, indicating that I didn't mind.

"I understand. There was trouble at the guild."

Narsena smiled slightly and turned back to face the hobgoblins.

The hobgoblins, now surrounded by Narsena and me, were visibly shaken.

"Once this is over, I'll tell you everything I know!"

Within seconds, the hobgoblins were eliminated.

◇◆◇

"The adventurer guild is in chaos. It seems the branch manager and the high-ranking guild staff have disappeared."

After the hobgoblins were eliminated, I listened to Narsena while treating the injured adventurers.

To be honest, I didn't have a good feeling about the branch manager of this guild, and I wasn't expecting much.

But disappearing in this situation was too much.

"...Are you saying that even the high-ranking guild staff, like Hansum, have disappeared?"

Hansum was the guild staff member who had been deceived by the Disaster Wolves.

I knew Hansum had considerable strength, so I didn't expect him to be scared off.

"Right now, there's no point in dwelling on the people who fled... What about the other guild staff?"

"They all stayed. Even the top adventurers who had close ties with the guild were left behind. ...It would have been better to take them with us."

Narsena's face showed obvious fatigue, and I understood what had happened at the guild.

Adventurers, especially the stronger ones, are often stubborn and can cause problems without considering the situation.

Narsena, one of the few people who could control them, must have been overworked.

"...You must be exhausted. To think they would still act recklessly in this situation."

"Some adventurers were even planning to take advantage of the chaos. If Laila wasn't there, I think there would have been fights among the adventurers..."

"...Huh."

I realized I would have to deal with the adventurers who would likely act recklessly, and my head started to hurt.

I couldn't afford to alienate the valuable adventurers, especially when the situation was unclear.

"Especially in this situation..."

Looking at the injured adventurers from the town, I muttered.

Since the town started bringing in materials, Mane and the other town adventurers had grown at an abnormal rate.

A group of hobgoblins, so strong that it would take ten low-level warrior adventurers or five mid-level ones to defeat, had been held off by this number of adventurers.

This was clear evidence of their growth.

...That's why the loss of the town adventurers was a significant blow to our fighting strength.

Thanks to my treatment, none of the adventurers had died.

However, with only me, the number of combat-ready adventurers was less than half.

Moreover, the healers were exhausted, and most of the healing potions were used up.

In this state, we couldn't expect even half the usual fighting strength.

"...At least, if I could make this usable by regular healers..."

Looking at the magic item I had created to enhance healing magic, I couldn't help but say this.

This item allowed even a simple "Heal" to cure severe injuries and could be thrown to heal people at a distance.

However, it required both mana and ki to activate, and only I could use it.

If other healers could use this magic item, I could have asked other adventurers to help heal the town adventurers, but in the current situation, they wouldn't do it.

In this situation, the adventurers in the town would act to survive.

"...At least, if they could unite for now..."

I said this, knowing it was unlikely, but only because I was certain the threat was not over.

I didn't think the hobgoblin attack was the end.

From what Narsena said, the hobgoblins were no longer in the labyrinth city, and Mane and the others believed the battle was over.

Yet, I still felt a chill, telling me that nothing was over.

...But even my caution was naive in the face of reality.

"Sir, monsters are coming!"

"...What?"

Suddenly, Narsena issued a warning.

Her serious expression made me follow her gaze, but all I saw was the wall surrounding the labyrinth city, with no sign of hobgoblins.

Just as I was about to ask Narsena what she meant, a panicked Ziek ran in.

"New enemies, the orcs are coming!"

"–What!?"

The abnormal strength of the hobgoblins, which had thrown the labyrinth city into chaos.

...I was about to realize that this was just the beginning.

...I was busy and tired during the New Year, so the update was delayed. I'm really sorry!

I hope to update earlier next time... (wishful thinking)

Even so, I hope you have a great year ahead!