Chapter 74

In the third-floor study of the Mondor Manor, a battle was taking place between the five adventurers of "Dancing Sword" and the undead soldiers.

The room was in chaos.

Desks were overturned, papers scattered on the floor, and corpses lay sprawled on top of them.

Lord Mondor stood at the back of the room, sheltered by Fand, a large man with short red hair, who was the assistant guild master.

"Rooooo!"

Fand swung his axe from side to side.

Three adventurers who had turned into undead, approaching closely, were deeply slashed on their foreheads, crowns, and temples, their brains spilling out as they collapsed on the spot.

"Dancing Sword" was one of the top candidate guilds in the city of Baraila.

Their skills were far superior to those of ordinary adventurers.

Fand, who served as Yunos' assistant, was capable of handling multiple ordinary undead.

However, Fand's movements suddenly slowed.

His gaze was fixed on the three fallen undead.

Beylisa of the "Red Rat Gang" lay with unfocused eyes and a lolling tongue, Fluke of the "Badge of Valor" with a crushed face that was barely recognizable, and Fluke's best friend, Marsis, with his head cleanly split in two.

All three were people Fand knew by name and face.

Fand, who was easy-going, patient, and sensible, often attended negotiations and information exchanges with other guilds.

Thus, he had a wide network and was good at remembering faces.

In this case, however, it was this very ability that was hindering him.

"An opening, there it is!"

A tall man with bandages wrapped around various parts of his body kicked Fand with great force.

Fand's massive body was sent flying into the air. He managed to land, but the part where he was kicked had his clothes torn and blood flowing.

"Excuse me, I have long nails, you see."

The unnaturally tall man laughed.

Not only his height, but his legs and arms were so long that they looked out of place at first glance, making him an unusual human.

Fand couldn't tell if the man was human or an undead created by manipulating a corpse.

Among the undead soldiers, the man's movements were far too agile.

"Monster... If Master Yunos returns, you will be..."

Fand panted, muttering.

"Not a monster, no no no... Indeed, seventy percent of my body is grafted flesh, but thirty percent is still the original, original! How rude, how rude! This 'Stitched Broomney,' the greatest insult, hah!"

The man calling himself Broomney bent his long arms, clutched his head, and wailed, his body shaking.

His robe fell off, revealing a bald, scarred head.

His eyes were as lifeless as a corpse's, cold and detached despite his passionate movements.

Lord Mondor watched the exchange with a complex mix of emotions.

Yunos had already abandoned the city of Baraila and fled.

From the situation, it was clear that Yunos had left without informing his subordinates of "Dancing Sword," but the timing to inform them had been completely lost.

Moreover, if the "Dancing Sword" adventurers knew about Yunos and their fighting skills were dulled, it seemed that not only Lord Mondor's death but also the annihilation of the "Dancing Sword" adventurers present would be inevitable.

"Mangee-sama is also heading this way, hah. You will all suffer a fate worse than death, hah."

Broomney, taking advantage of his reach, lunged at Fand, who was armed with a weapon.

Fand parried with the edge of his axe and pushed back.

The sensation of cutting through rotten flesh.

A reddish-brown, mysterious fluid leaked from Broomney's arm, but it wasn't severed.

Fand's axe was designed more for blunt force than sharpness, functioning as a bludgeon.

Even with this in mind, Broomney's arm was too sturdy.

Not only was it not severed, but there was no sensation of breaking bone.

From the feel of it, Fand assumed Broomney's flesh was rubber-like.

Broomney's entire body seemed to be a thick, flexible whip specialized in absorbing impact.

Thus, Fand, unable to cut Broomney's flesh, had no clear way to deal with him.

Even if he could smash Broomney's brain through the scalp, it seemed unlikely that Broomney would give him the opportunity to press the axe against his head and swing it.

Broomney swung his long arm down.

This simple movement, due to his reach, was terrifying.

The arm stretched slightly as it swung, grazing Fand's jaw, which should have been out of reach.

A part of Fand's jaw skin was easily peeled off. If it had been a bit deeper, it would have scraped the bone, causing such intense pain that he wouldn't have been able to stand.

"Die, die, die, die!"

Broomney's arms swung down in rapid succession at Fand.

Fand tried to parry with the side of his axe, but the force was too heavy.

He received the first, second, and third blows in the same stance. The fourth blow, slightly angled differently from the previous attacks, aimed to slip past Fand's guard.

"Master Yunos... I've come this far..."

At that moment, Broomney suddenly turned and put some distance between himself and Fand.

He had heard the sound of an arrow slicing through the air toward him.

Turning his body, Broomney caught the arrow with his abnormally long fingers.

He was shocked.

The arrow had been aimed at the gap in their battle, and the archer had read his movements perfectly.

This indicated that the archer had completely anticipated Broomney's quick movements.

"...Interesting, interesting. To read this Broomney's movements...! To challenge me again, hah..."

As Broomney showed interest in the archer, a sharp pain pierced his abdomen.

There were two arrows. One had flown parallel to the other, hidden in its shadow, and pierced Broomney's abdomen.

It was an impossible speed and accuracy of rapid fire.

The arrow calmly targeted Broomney's vital points.

"Kill, kill..."

Three arrows pierced Broomney's neck in a vertical line as he groaned from internal organ damage.

Broomney's tall body folded unnaturally and fell to the floor.

"You, you... who are you..."

At the entrance to the study, Robin Hood stood calmly.

The shock was greater for the "Dancing Sword" adventurers and Lord Mondor than for the mindless undead.

"...Are you here to take my head? To kill me with your own hands before the undead do?"

Lord Mondor glared at Robin Hood, gritting his teeth.

Robin Hood glared back, silent.

"Why, why are you here! Of all times, to appear now!"

The female adventurer Talmia, with a voice full of shock and disgust, spoke.

Talmia's knife skills dulled, and her blade was deflected by an undead soldier's sword.

"Damn...!"

At that moment, an arrow cleanly pierced the brain of the undead soldier facing Talmia.

It was clearly a helping hand.

"Why...!"

Subsequently, arrows were fired with pinpoint accuracy, felling the undead soldiers without much resistance.

Robin Hood entered the study, now quiet with the fallen undead.

From the perspective of the "Dancing Sword" adventurers, Robin Hood's actions were clearly contradictory.

After all, Robin Hood had even killed their comrades during a "Dancing Sword" mission.

He was a top-tier expert, a broken hero, and the worst kind of madman.

Now, he was clearly supporting the lord, who was supposed to be his target, and the people he had once attacked.

Even as an ally, it was unacceptable.

From Robin Hood's perspective, there was no longer a reason to kill the "Dancing Sword" adventurers.

Robin Hood had no qualms about taking the lives of "Dancing Sword" adventurers, who were Yunos' subordinates, to give Yunos a despair similar to his own, even if they were almost unrelated.

He hated Yunos so much for taking everything from him.

He wanted to return at least a fraction of the pain of seeing his trusted comrades belittled and killed.

However, Yunos had no such feelings.

But when it came to settling the score with Yunos, Robin Hood had lost the reason to target the "Dancing Sword" adventurers upon learning that Yunos saw them only as tools.

The sense of loss Robin Hood wanted to inflict on Yunos was not just the loss of a convenient tool.

Still, Robin Hood understood that by taking the lives of others on a whim, he was degrading himself to the same level as Yunos.

He had no intention of pretending to be a hero again.

"Have you heard the rumors? About the broken hero who sides with the losing side?"

Robin Hood smiled, twisting his lips, and flicked a gold coin from his pocket with his finger.

"I can't kill you now. You're not a worthy opponent to prove my superiority. For today, I'll support you. It should be a relief, my lord, right?"

"...You, you bastard, how dare you!"

One of the "Dancing Sword" adventurers stepped forward, sword drawn, to confront Robin Hood.

Fand stopped him.

"...He's not someone we can trust or forgive. But if we fight Robin Hood now, we'll all be wiped out. I understand your feelings, but please hold back. We have to rely on his whims."

"Fand... but..."

"Master Yunos is nowhere to be found. The worst-case scenario is possible. I understand your concerns, but for now, follow my lead."

Upon hearing Yunos' name, a ripple of emotion passed through Robin Hood's mind.

But he kept it hidden, maintaining a neutral expression.

"Hehehehe... Which one is Yunos, I wonder?"

A hoarse voice came from the doorway.

A grotesque old man with pale skin, an unusually long head with several lumps, and a bald, hideous appearance appeared.

Behind him were five undead soldiers.

Among them was a man with narrow eyes and long hair.

His eyeballs were blood-red, and a deep arrow was embedded in his back. This was Yunos, the guild master of "Dancing Sword," who had turned into an undead.

Seeing this, the "Dancing Sword" adventurers and Lord Mondor froze.

Only Robin Hood stared at the undead Yunos with a cold, detached gaze, regretting not more thoroughly damaging the body when he had the chance.

"With Broomney out of the way, this Robin Hood seems to be a somewhat entertaining toy. Hehehehe."

The grotesque old man, one of the Eight Sages known as the "Flute-Playing Demon," Mangee, found the body of his fallen subordinate and laughed joyfully.