The Support Ate it All

Chapter 154: No.471 Great Eagle Escort Mission (4)

-Whistle—!

A sharp whistle pierced the air.

Immediately, the men in black stopped their attack and retreated before they soon vanished from the scene like the diminishing tide.

“Whew…”

“Damn it…”

Everyone collapsed onto the ground and let out heavy sighs.

Their sighs were a mix of relief for the brief break and lamentation knowing it wouldn’t last long.

Ratty wiped the blood off his dual swords and spoke.

“I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened.”

After intense battles that risked their lives, the fight would end as soon as Go Hyeon-woo took down a squad leader of the men in black.

And just when the escorts and Ronin thought they could catch their breath, the battle would start again.

This has been repeated countless times up to now.

The attacks which began when the sun was high had continued through the dusk, midnight, and now into the pale blue dawn.

No one had eaten or slept properly, so everyone’s condition was terrible.

In the midst of this, Woeful may have felt the need to eat something during this break and stuffed jerky into his mouth.

Then he asked while chewing aggressively,

“Don’t those guys ever sleep?”

“They probably do, but they are from the Demonic Cult after all.”

The King of Hell Squad was, after all, a fighting group of the Demonic Cult.

The escorts must have been thoroughly trained from the beginning to be able to overcome all kinds of adverse conditions, so what’s the big deal about not being able to sleep or eat for a few days?

On the other hand, the Ronins had lived freely and as they pleased, without being tied down by anything.

So, the same adverse conditions hit them harder.

Moreover, though it wasn’t mentioned to avoid lowering morale,

We are undergoing a war of attrition.

The defense on our side was unexpectedly solid.

Go Hyeon-woo who was a master far beyond the King of Hell Squad’s expectations was here, and each Ronin was also quite skilled.

This was because the escort agency had brought only the strongest in this mission.

After several clashes, the King of Hell Squad seemed to have concluded that a frontal assault would not lead to victory.

Hence, they resorted to a war of attrition with multiple groups taking turns to harass the convoy.

This gradual accumulation of small damages, like clothes soaking in a drizzle, was the current situation.

A Ronin watching the rear sighed and muttered,

“They’re coming again…”

His voice was low, maybe because he no longer had the strength to shout.

Everyone probably felt the same but they couldn’t afford to give up their lives.

Although they were struggling, they each held their weapons tightly.

And once again, the King of Hell Squad attacked.

---

“Ahhh!”

Someone’s desperate scream echoed.

When I turned my gaze to the source of the scream, I saw a Ronin clutching his arm.

His forearm had been deeply pierced by a King of Hell Squad member’s sword.

Injuries are starting to appear.

Although everyone had accumulated minor injuries from continuous skirmishes, they were only superficial wounds that bled a little.

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This was the first Ronin to be injured to the point of being nearly unable to fight.

“Ahh!”

In the next attack, another Ronin had a long cut carved into his thigh.

Though it didn’t hinder his ability to swing his sword, he now had to limp.

With each successive attack, the injured Ronin became three, five, seven…

And the number kept increasing like a growing snowball.

Everyone’s stamina was already at its limit and with fewer people able to fight, the damage was inevitably getting worse and worse.

And there would be more injuries to come.

Moreover, there was another big problem,

We’re being slowed down.

Taking care of the injured had also slowed down the convoy’s speed.

Everyone realized this and the injured themselves were no exception.

Eventually, the injured people gathered together in a corner and began discussing something with their faces close together.

Their faces grew increasingly grim but they eventually seemed to reach some sort of agreement.

One of them spoke to head guard Kang as a representative.

“Head guard Kang.”

“What is it?”

“It seems this is the end for us. Go on ahead.”

Head guard Kang’s face hardened.

“What do you mean?”

“We will stay behind to buy some time. If we drop out, the convoy can move faster.”

“That’s not possible. How can we leave the injured behind like this?”

Head guard Kang tried to dissuade them but the injured Ronins had already made up their mind.

“It’s not that we don’t value our lives. But if we continue like this, we’ll all die anyway. Someone has to survive, don’t you agree?”

“…”

“The destination isn’t far. We hope you’ll make the wise choice for the convoy.”

Just like he said, the destination was close.

Of the three passes the convoy had to cross, we had already crossed two and were more than halfway through the third.

If we abandoned the injured and moved a bit faster, we could make it.

Meanwhile, I thought to myself,

This seems like the right moment to intervene.

The atmosphere seemed ripe enough.

So I raised my hand abruptly.

“I will stay behind as well.”

“!?”

“…?”

Everyone was surprised and turned their attention to me.

I had been nothing more than a background character during this entire escort mission, so it was unexpected for me to suddenly declare that I would stay behind with the injured.

This time, it was the injured Ronins who tried to dissuade me.

“What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

“Why would you throw your life away for no reason?”

However, there was a clear reason why I raised my hand.

I explained in a calm tone.

“Your intention of sacrificing yourself for the sake of the mission is commendable. But think about it. How much time can a few of you realistically buy?”

These were injured people who could barely contribute to the battle anymore.

Even if they fought to the death, could they buy us even the time it takes to drink a glass of water?

The likelihood of it being a pointless sacrifice was extremely high.

If we wanted to buy time, more people needed to stay behind.

“…”

“…”

When they realized that fact, everyone in the place just watched each other nervously.

Staying behind meant almost certain death, so who would readily volunteer?

Yet there were those who raised their hands without hesitation.

“Alright, we’ll stay too.”

“Since Brother Kim is staying, we can’t just leave to save ourselves.”

It was the reliable brothers, Ratty and Woeful.

A few more Ronins including the mantis-looking Ronin raised their hands, but their numbers were not many.

Then, unexpectedly, another figure raised his hand.

“I’ll stay too.”

It was head guard Jo.

This made head guard Kang who was already struggling to keep up with the situation even more flustered.

“Are you serious?”

Head guard Jo sighed deeply and his face darkened.

“This is largely my fault. When the head warned us, we should have taken a long detour… My stubbornness led to this.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, please let me take responsibility.”

As head guard Jo continued to insist strongly, head guard Kang could no longer dissuade him.

In the end, those who stayed were the injured, me, Ratty and Woeful, a few other Ronins, and head guard Jo along with his followers.

Together, we numbered a little over twenty.

“…”

We all silently watched the retreating figures of the carriages.

And when they had become small dots in the distance, we turned our backs and faced forward.

Unlike the previous attacks, the men in black uniforms advanced as if they were an army marching forward.

Their numbers proved that the previous battles had been mere skirmishes since their numbers now were several times greater than before.

As they steadily approached and stopped at a certain distance from us, a middle-aged man in black stepped forward.

Vice commander of the King of Hell Squad.

He glanced at us briefly and his eyes gleamed with interest.

“It seems there are only a few injured, yet so many of you remain? You have incredible courage.”

“…”

“In recognition of that courage, I shall grant you a painless death.”

The vice commander gave his order.

“Execute them all.”

Sssss…

A sound like a snake slithering across the ground echoed through the area.

The men in black began to pick up speed and closed the distance.

As everyone tensed up in extreme anticipation of the clash.

Suddenly, I spun around and shouted.

“Behind!!”

“!?”

Everyone reflexively turned to look behind them.

And what they saw were head guard Jo and the escorts who were stationed at the rear swinging their swords towards us.

Clang, clang,

Ratty hurriedly crossed his dual swords to block head guard Jo’s blade.

“What are you doing…?”

However, no matter how one thought about it, the situation was all too clear.

Having been caught trying to launch a surprise attack from behind, there was only one conclusion.

“Is this a betrayal!”

“Betrayal? No.”

Head guard Jo smirked wickedly.

Soon, a sinister energy began to emanate from his entire body.

“I was always a demon. I was simply faithful to the role I was given.”

“…!”

“Hehe, what a pity. If it weren’t for that guy, you would have died without even knowing how.”

“Ugh…”

Ratty was barely managing to fend off head guard Jo’s continued attacks.

At a time when we needed to unite, head guard Jo and the escorts revealed themselves to be members of the Demonic Cult.

As we struggled to fend off their attacks, the King of Hell Squad continued to close in on us moment by moment.

Was it a coincidence? In the midst of such an urgent battle, Ratty and Woeful’s eyes turned to me at the same time.

And at the same time, a puzzled expression appeared on their faces. Probably because I looked too calm for the situation.

I bowed deeply to the two of them.

“Thank you for trusting and following me, brothers.”

“Young brother Kim?”

“From now on, leave it to me.”

I turned my back on them and walked leisurely toward the approaching King of Hell Squad.

Then I pointed forward with Root.

[Activate ‘Amplification’]

[The rank of ‘Twister’ increases. (C±>A+)]

Whooooosh—

The wind imbued with physical force gathered in one place and formed a huge whirlwind.

“……!”

“……!”

The men in black desperately tried to escape the whirlwind, but they were helplessly dragged in by the relentless gusts of wind.

The men in black gradually gathered into one place.

And now that I was facing them, I clenched my other hand tightly and crimson flames erupted from it.

Soon, I pulled back my burning fist as if drawing a bowstring, then thrust it forward with all my might.

Boom!

The ensuing firestorm engulfed the men in black trapped in the whirlwind.

A moment later, when the firestorm subsided, all that remained was a deep crater along its path and flames still burning within it.

“What, what is this?”

“How could this be?”

Everyone was in utter shock and just stared blankly at the devastation before them.

Among them, the most astonished was probably the vice commander of the King of Hell Squad.

He had barely escaped the whirlwind with his life and seemed to recognize someone from witnessing my skill.

“…Flame Emperor!”

I blew out the remaining embers on my fingertips and shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m not that guy.”