After passing through the dark forest, Belthazar the Almighty and the assassins he led were finally able to take a breather. They were moving along the remaining human villages.
There were more beasts now in the plains near the fortress and there were even some new kinds living in the forest.
Them being able to go through that was due to Belthazar’s precise orders and their skill.
“It’s still some ways before we can reach the closest village.” Belthazar said as he looked at the map, at which the nearly 10 adventurers nodded.
Belthazar was a careful man. He did not immediately make his move after seeing the village and instead patiently observed the situation.
Unfortunately, there were those who criticized his conduct for cowardice. The young adventurers in particular were exhausted from walking without rest through the forest and wanted to rest at the village as soon as possible.
They were in hostile lands, so naturally, they couldn’t light a fire. They needed to conserve their supplies, so they also couldn’t eat or drink as much as they wished. On top of that, there were monsters crawling everywhere.
Given such conditions, it would be stranger if their mental health did not deteriorate.
Although they have been moving while resting alternatingly, the dissatisfaction of the young adventurers went to their leader, Belthazar. But they were aware of Belthazar’s strength – after all, they had all seen how that cheeky adventurer was done in before departing – so no one dared to say anything.
Be that as it may, those that were dissatisfied were dissatisfied and there was no changing that.
They have already entered goblin territory. But while the goblins may have conquered the villages, they were – in the end – only goblins. No matter how many of them there were, it didn’t really matter.
The goblins they could imagine were at most normals or rares without any leadership or any equipment. An existence even less than that of bandits.
Because of that they could not fathom why Belthazar would need to act so carefully. They were only fighting goblins, why go through so much trouble?
As for Gowen’s defeat? That was obviously only because of his incompetence. At the very least, they believed that.
None of the adventurers had the guts to say their dissatisfaction out loud, but Belthazar still felt it, so he proposed this to them.
“Why don’t we go our separate ways from here?”
It may have seemed like a proposition, but it was really an order.
“Those who are unsatisfied with the way I do things, those who want to go on their own to keep their achievements to themselves, and those who want to go with a different group, please feel free to go. I’d also like to keep my achievements to myself, after all.”
After that Belthazar took his spear and his luggage with him and left the adventurers.
“If you run to the fortress, someone will probably help you. It’s only a few days’ distance if you run, so if you’re luck is good, you’ll probably make it.”
