Chapter 129: 128 ‘This time, no blame-shifting’ (ninth release, asking for subscriptions and monthly tickets!)
With Beddo’s suicide, the ordeal for the escort squad finally came to an end.
Ultimately, every member of the Old Demon Clan Faction was wiped out, Beddo died, and even Killian was assassinated, along with numerous Knights and Adventurers. While the escort squad survived, it certainly counted as a heavy loss.
Afterwards, everyone tidied up the battlefield and counted the casualties.
“This time, we were a total of one hundred and seventeen people, and we lost a full eighty-four.”
“Among these eighty-four, seventy-nine were Knights from the Knight Order, and the remaining five were Adventurers.”
“Setting aside the Knights, among the Adventurers, four were members of Alis’s Team, and one was from Leon’s Team.”
“Unfortunately, Magre is dead. Although his body wasn’t found, unless there’s a surprise turn of events, it’s more likely that his corpse was just obliterated, rather than him having luckily escaped.”
At the center of the camp, Beren solemnly presided over such a discussion.
The companions included everyone from Vivian’s Team, a few from Alis’s Team, as well as Leon and Udilis.
Of course, Shane was also here.
But, wondering whether it was an illusion or not, Shane always felt there was a subtly awkward distance between himself and the others.
Shane really wanted to bring this up, but he had no chance to do so, only muttering to himself and staying aside, quietly waiting for the discussion to proceed.
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And hearing Beren’s words, no matter what the others thought, the faces of Leon and Udilis were filled with somberness.
“That guy actually has…”
The expressions on the faces of Leon and Udilis were quite grim.
But perhaps they should rejoice at disaster, right?
Because the reason Leon and Udilis looked so upset was entirely because they had underestimated the nature of this commission.
Including Magre and his father, those related to Leon’s Team believed that this task was the kind that was alarming but not dangerous, assuming that simply by accompanying the team to escort Killian to the Royal Capital, they could readily gain the merits without incident.
In their eyes, this mission was all about the benefits and not about significant risk; instead, the rewards would be plenty.
Who could have expected that under the assault of the Old Demon Clan Faction, not only did the escort squad suffer such casualties, but Magre never returned?
How could the faces of Leon and Udilis appear pleasant?
Especially Leon, who originally wanted to ride on Magre’s coattails for this mission, to seize huge benefits and even, through using Magre as a conduit, to make contact with Magre’s sister, achieving his own unspeakable goals.
But now, with Magre dead, Leon not only failed to gain any benefit but might also face retribution from the Fritter family, making life difficult for him in the days ahead.
Of course, Beren wasn’t going to have an easy time either.
This mission was partly his planning, and now that it had failed and incurred such losses, Beren was unlikely to escape blame.
At the very least, those Nobles from the domains who learned of the matter would undoubtedly target him.
Beren, in order to not let the merits be taken by other towns and without requesting external support, stubbornly planned this operation alone, originally to reverse the tide and dispel the external criticisms of his unfitness as Knight Captain. Now, instead, he had given his detractors ammunition, and it was impossible for him not to be targeted.
It’s believable that upon learning of this matter, the Nobles within Marquis Mula’s Domain would start clamoring again, suggesting that Beren is unfit to be Knight Captain.
This left Beren in a very bad mood, and his face didn’t look any better than that of Leon and Udilis.
Suddenly, Beren, Leon, and Udilis collectively cast a veiled gaze upon Shane.
Shane noticed their stares and responded with a smile.
“Do you have any questions?”
Shane asked in a cordial manner.
Seeing Shane’s friendly smile, the faces of Beren, Leon, and Udilis all turned green.
Clearly, all three recalled Beddo’s fate, as well as Killian’s, and were thoroughly afraid of Shane, the chief culprit.
However, the reason the three glanced at Shane was not without reason.
“So you three are basically saying that if I hadn’t proposed to take down the entire Old Demon Clan Faction in one fell swoop, you wouldn’t have suffered such a loss, is that it?”
Shane said with a smirk, leaving the three speechless with the piercing truth of their thoughts.
In other words, that indeed was what the three had been thinking.
“If that’s the case, then I have something to say as well,”
Shane spoke unhurriedly.
“If I hadn’t subdued Killian, you wouldn’t have had this opportunity to vie for credit. Since that’s the case, shouldn’t you also blame me? Tell me that I shouldn’t have subdued Killian, so that you wouldn’t be blinded by the prospect of benefits and plot this operation?”
With that one statement, Beren and his companions were once again rendered speechless.
The implication behind Shane’s words was clear: the root cause was their own greed.
Shane had initially acted against Killian merely out of a mood, never once thinking about seeking any credit afterwards. In the end, it was Beren and the others who dragged him into this affair.
“There were many proper ways to handle this matter in the first place, but you stubbornly refused to use them, only wanting to carry out risk-free actions for your own profit, like criminals who want to rob without being put on the wanted list. Where in the world do you find such good fortune?”
“Before everything started, you only thought about yourselves, so naturally, you should bear the consequences yourselves. We’re all adults here, you don’t need me to teach you such basic logic, do you?”
These words were indeed sharp.
Especially for Beren, a noble, it was somewhat humiliating to be lectured by an Adventurer, and a younger one at that.
However, Beren didn’t want to offend Shane, and since they indeed had sought to take credit from Shane, they had no one to blame for Shane’s subsequent actions.
“Then at least please tell us one thing,”
Beren composed himself and looked at Shane.
“Who exactly are you? Are you really just a rookie Adventurer?”
Beren finally asked the question.
All eyes immediately converged on Shane.
This included the members of Vivian’s Team, as well.
But Shane remained quite composed.
“I truly am just a rookie Adventurer, no doubt about it,”
Shane affirmed very confidently.
This was indeed a fact.
Not to mention his time as an Adventurer, even the length of Shane’s stay in this world didn’t amount to a full month yet.
Therefore, Shane truly was a newbie, without question.
Beren furrowed his brow.
Seeing this, Shane immediately prepared to display the myriad of blame-shifting techniques he had devised.
However, at this moment, Vivian suddenly spoke up.
“Sometimes, showing a part of your strength is also a necessary condition for surviving in this world, Shane.”
Vivian said this statement and stared intently at Shane.
Shane suddenly stopped his prepared speech, looking into Vivian’s gaze with an initial start, then fell silent.
After a long pause, Shane sighed.
This time, no more blame-shifting.