Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 157

Ellen suspected everything she saw. All I wanted was to find a place with light and quickly get some rest, but Ellen’s first thought had been to question why there was only one light visible.

It was probably because she’d constantly heard from Artorius that if one’s senses were not sharp, surviving as an adventurer would be difficult.

One had to guard oneself against both monsters and people. The clumsy ones would always be made to pay some sort of price. The three of us left the path and approached Klitz Point.

Unlike the relatively safe Saints Point, there was a palisade erected around Klitz Point. It seemed like it was there to prevent any possible raids.

The pouring rain and darkness severely limited our visibility, but they also hid us from any potential enemies.

Soon, we were able to reach the palisade.

“Can you hear anything?” Ellen asked me as we stopped in front of the palisade, thinking of my enhanced hearing.

However, even with enhanced hearing, all I could hear was the sound of the rain.

“The sound of the rain is too loud. I can’t hear anything.”

We needed to try to catch any sound coming from the only building with the lights on, but nothing could be heard through the noise of the rain. It was also quite a distance away. Ellen nodded in understanding, then took off her poncho and backpack.

“Miss Rellia. Please wait here. Reinhart and I will go check it out.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Eleris asked, sounding worried, but Ellen nodded.

I followed Ellen’s lead and took off my poncho and backpack as well, lightening my load.

The palisade was roughly three meters high.

With a thud, Ellen drove her knife into the middle of the palisade. After applying considerable force a few more times, she drove the knife into the wood, up to the handle.

“Let’s step on this and get over.”

“Alright.”

The idea was to use the knife handle as a step and leap over the palisade. Normally, this would have been impossible, but my physical abilities had now evolved to the extent that such feats were easily manageable.

Swoosh!

In one swift motion, Ellen stepped on the knife handle, grabbed the sharpened part of the palisade like a handle, and flipped over it.

We did not know what was waiting for us on the other side.

A fight could break out any moment.

Since Ellen had already jumped over, Eleris quietly held my hand.

She didn’t say anything, but I could tell what she was thinking well enough.

Swish!

I too, just like Ellen, stepped on the knife handle and leaped over the palisade.

The rainy conditions were more of an advantage for us. The noise we made was likely to go unheard by any unintended ears.

However, the darkness made it difficult to discern objects that were not close to us. All that was visible was the lit interior of a building at the center of Klitz Point.

We did not approach that building immediately.

“Let’s move slowly.”

“Alright.”

Ellen and I moved forward, keeping low to the ground. Even in the dark, there were places that were more shadowed, and we moved bit by bit, taking advantage of this deeper darkness.

Sssshhh...

Rustle... Rustle...

As we moved slowly, a sound cut through the noise of the rain. I wasn’t sure if it was only audible to my enhanced hearing, but when I grabbed Ellen, who had begun to move instinctively, she immediately stopped.

—Damn it... why does it have to rain so much...

I could hear someone grumbling.

It was a person.

After the person passed by, I whispered to Ellen, “It’s a person.”

“...”

That explained why most of the buildings in Klitz Point were not lit up.

A person walking in the rain, without any light.

I was nowhere near convinced that it was safe. In fact, it only seemed more suspicious. Ellen, who was now considering even more caution, whispered in my ear, “Let’s not go near that side yet.”

She was indicating the only building with light. It seemed that Ellen wanted to check the buildings without lights instead. Since we couldn’t properly see who was wandering around where, Ellen and I moved slowly, taking our time.

We eventually found ourselves against the wall of one of the darkened buildings.

“Through the window, not the door,” Ellen whispered shortly, and we circled around the building wall until we found a closed window.

Ellen carefully opened the window from the outside. Fortunately, it was not locked.

There were no lights in the interior. Ellen grabbed the window frame and climbed inside, and I followed her.

And, as soon as we got over, although we couldn’t see anything, we instantly realized everything.

“Gasp!”

“Heup!”

Reflexively, we covered each other’s mouths.

Not our own mouths, but each other’s.

We were both perfectly fine, but were worried that the other might scream. Realizing we had the same thought, we slowly removed our hands from each other’s mouths.

The reason was simple.

Even if we couldn’t see, we could still sense things.

“This...”

I nodded in the darkness.

“It’s the smell of blood.”

It was a familiar scent.

The same smell had pervaded the Demon King’s castle, with its mutilated dead bodies.

***

Inside the building, we could see nothing.

There was no sign of anyone, but the smell of blood wafted through the air. Even without visual confirmation, it was evident.

It wasn’t as though someone had bled a little.

There had to be bodies. And not just one or two, but a significant number, enough to give off such a strong stench of blood. I had smelled this type of scent before, and was pretty certain that it was impossible for just one or two bodies to produce such a strong smell of blood.

“There are bodies, and many of them,” I whispered

Ellen nodded. “Yeah.”

For whatever reason, a massacre had occurred in Klitz Point. And it was highly likely that the culprits were in the only building with lights.

Or, it could be that the massacre had occurred, and the people holed up in the building were survivors. Even without discussing it, the possibilities were abundantly clear.

“Let’s go back outside. We can’t see anything in here.”

The interior of the building was much darker than outside, and if we wandered around the building like this, we would just end up stepping on bodies by mistake.

Ellen and I exited through the same window from which we had entered.

For some reason, a massacre had taken place in Klitz Point. Presumably, the buildings without lights had bodies inside.

Who were the people in the only building with light?

“They didn’t even bury the bodies,” Ellen whispered, having sorted out her thoughts.

The bodies, left unattended inside the buildings, indicated that whoever they were, they weren’t exactly considerate towards the dead. If these were survivors of an unexpected attack, wouldn’t they have at least gathered the bodies up and taken care of them?

“Bandits or robbers... it seems like the work of that kind,” Ellen said.

Her suspicion seemed plausible.

A group of bandits or a gang of robbers...

If they had raided this base, Klitz Point, then it was plausible that they were also the reason why contact with Altz Point and the bases beyond it had been lost.

If the ones who had pillaged Altz Point had moved up to Klitz Point, it would also make sense why there was no news of the adventurers who had gone south to uncover the truth behind the collapse of Altz Point.

The adventurers would have passed through Klitz Point to reach Altz Point.

They would have either encountered the gang of robbers who had already taken over Klitz Point and were killed, or been killed by those moving north from Altz Point.

The adventurers, looking for supplies, had entered Klitz Point, unaware that it had been taken over.

Their bodies were abandoned in the darkened buildings after they were killed.

Adventurers, who did not move in large groups but in small teams, would have been unable to oppose such a band of marauders.

Klitz Point had been occupied by bandits.

This naturally led to another worrisome thought.

“Wait... then what happens when the supply caravan arrives?”

I could feel Ellen freeze.

These bandits would rejoice that they’d hit the jackpot if the supply caravan entered Klitz Point, and they would kill everyone and loot the supplies.

A massacre had already happened, but another one was imminent. The supply caravan was guarded, of course, but it was clear that a significant battle would occur.

“We need to get this information out,” Ellen said in a subdued voice.

I agreed.

—Hey! Move it, hurry up!

Suddenly, loud voices came through the rain.

People were coming out of the lit building. Ellen and I pressed our bodies against a wall, in a blind spot, and observed what they were doing.

A large number of people were coming out with lanterns attached to their waists.

“What are they trying to do...?”

The people who poured out of the building began to disperse in an orderly manner, and we crouched down even lower.

Bang!

The door of the building we had entered earlier on was flung open. Fortunately, we were close to the palisade that ran around the base, so the men didn’t come towards us.

I focused, enhancing my hearing.

It wasn’t just one person who had entered the building, but a group of them. The sound of their footsteps proved that.

—Ugh, what a smell.

—Do you really think cleaning this up will fix it? The smell’s going to linger no matter what we do.

—Hey, I’m not the boss here. We just clean it up because we’re told to.

—What about the bloodstains?

—They told us to cover it up with carpet or leather or something.

.

.

The group seemed to be moving to deal with the bodies. They were close enough that Ellen could hear what they were talking about.

—Is the supply caravan really departing tomorrow, in all this rain?

At those words, Ellen and I couldn’t help but feel our hearts sink.

—Even if it’s delayed, they’ll come eventually. If it’s late, the smell will dissipate, and we’ll have more time to erase the traces, isn’t that good?

—That makes sense.

These men already knew that the supply caravan was departing. That explained why they were hastily cleaning up the bodies.

They planned to act as if nothing had happened, and then, while the supply caravan was resting at Klitz Point, they would take the opportunity to kill the escorts.

—If we pin it on the demons, we might be able to do this a few more times in the future.

—Do more of what? Aren’t you planning on retiring? I’m out after this one. We’ll make a tidy sum out of this one.

—You’re so modest, aren’t you?

They weren’t bandits or robbers.

This was a group of adventurers, planning to loot the guild’s supplies.

They continued their casual discussion while moving the bodies.

***

Ellen and I exited Klitz Point and returned to where Eleris was waiting.

The more we heard, the more unbelievable the facts became.

Ellen and I led Eleris silently away from Klitz Point, to a spot further off.

Having taken off our raincoats, our bodies were already soaked through.

“What happened?”

“... It’s complicated,” Ellen replied after some hesitation.

Klitz Point was occupied by an unidentified group of people, and all the original inhabitants of Klitz Point had been murdered.

We initially believed that they were bandits, but they turned out to be adventurers who had banded together, becoming a gang of robbers.

“Th-That means that the supply caravan that’s arriving soon is in danger, then.”

Eleris was horrified to hear that a massacre had already occurred and seemed shocked by the thought of what was lying in wait for the supply caravan.

“They already knew that a supply caravan transporting supplies would be coming.”

These men had predicted the Adventurers’ Guild’s movements.

They anticipated that the guild would invest in supplies to rebuild the Altz Point base, and planned to seize those supplies for themselves.

They even intended to disguise the total annihilation of the supply caravan and Klitz Point as the work of demons. They might even try to pull off similar schemes several more times.

If their plan succeeded, the actual deeds of these adventurers-turned-robbers would stay undiscovered. These men could calmly continue their adventuring facade, grab a significant profit, and then disappear.

They had the choice to continue being adventurers or not.

The fact that these people had massacred countless others would remain hidden beneath the surface.

“No way... that can’t be...”

Eleris was so shocked that she couldn’t even close her mouth.

“It seems the other adventurers who had entered Klitz Point and who were not part of their group were killed.”

The reason they were lurking in the dark was likely to identify adventurers who were coming in that were not part of their gang. If Ellen hadn’t sensed something was off earlier, we might have unsuspectingly stumbled into a fight with this adventurers-turned-robbers gang.

But the problem wasn’t just the supply caravan.

These men were currently occupying a transit point, and were undoubtedly killing people who were trying to return from Altz Points 1, 2, and 3 as well. That’s why no one had returned from those three isolated points.

Eleris seemed to be contemplating whether to part ways with us and take matters into her hands. However, without my command, she wouldn’t act.

We did not know the total number of robbers occupying Klitz Point, but I estimated that there were at least twenty of them.

“There are two options,” Ellen said, calmly summarizing her thoughts. “One is for us to take action ourselves, and the other is to go back and inform the supply caravan.”

“... Take action ourselves?”

“Yes. It’s risky, though.”

Ellen was considering the option of entering the robbers’ den directly and wiping them all out.

Certainly, Ellen could potentially handle it. However, this wouldn’t just be her first time killing someone; it would amount to a mass slaughter. Whether Ellen could truly live with that was uncertain.

Even with Eleris’s assistance, a single mistake could mean death.

“Going back and informing the supply caravan seems to be the best option,” Ellen added.

Of course, she was aware of the risk involved. At this point, heading back to alert them was the safest plan.

“But... Do you remember the list?”

“... Right.”

Hugson had filled the escort with newcomers to increase his share of the loot.

They were all complete novices. If a fight broke out in Klitz Point, they would be killed with little effort. Even in the best-case scenario, they might all flee.

On the other hand, while we did not know the skill level of the adventurers in Klitz Point, they were familiar with murder. They were the ones having casual conversations while moving bodies.

“Do we really need to... take the risk?”

Eleris seemed somewhat opposed to the idea of taking direct action.

Setting everything else aside, it seemed she was reluctant about the possibility of committing murder ourselves.

“If news of this spreads, the fear it instills could lead to the supply caravan being disbanded.”

While Hugson might not care, the novices who believed they were simply heading down to Altz Point could panic at the mention of waiting bandits and might not even take part in the mission, choosing to flee instead. The supply caravan would have to be disbanded.

I couldn’t help but feel perplexed at Ellen’s words.

“If the supply caravan disbands, then we can’t really do anything about—Oh, wait a minute. The supplies.”

Something hit me as I spoke.

The mission of this supply caravan was not only the reconstruction of Altz Point, but also to deliver crucial supplies, including food, to the isolated bases further out. This was why there was a massive amount of supplies in the caravan.

If the supply caravan disbanded, the adventurers at the three forward points might starve to death.

Ellen was looking at the bigger picture.

Returning to inform the supply caravan was the safer option, but it would further delay the supplies from reaching those isolated points, points that might still be safe. The guild’s forces would mobilize if they learned about a massacre, but that would require the news to be reported all the way back to the Egxian Forward Base.

“Furthermore, if they know their situation has been compromised, they might scatter and return to Saints Point individually, leaving no evidence of anything.”

Scattered, they were just adventurers, but together, they were a gang of robbers. With no witnesses, it would be impossible to prove their criminal activities.

Even though we had heard their voices, that was all we managed. We had no idea who exactly those people were.

It was a stark reminder that this was a lawless land, and that everyone was an enemy to each other.

In the end, taking direct action ourselves was the best option.

Making the decision was easy, but what followed would not be.

Both Ellen and I would have to kill people. Directly, and with our own hands.

Whether they deserved to die or not wasn’t the crucial part. Whether I could bear the burden of it myself was an entirely different matter.

However, we couldn’t keep putting it off indefinitely.

A day would come when I’d have to stain my hands with blood. I didn’t believe we could get through this story without such occurrences.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Yeah.”

If it was an experience we inevitably had to go through, it was better to get accustomed to it sooner rather than later.