NOVEL WEB Volume 2 Chapter 38
In the early hours of the morning.
The forum of “The Eternal Pacificus” was still bustling with activity. The news that Anastasia’s strategy might conflict with the time-limited mission issued by the Duke of Borghese spread rapidly across the forum.
Initially, forum user “Wool Ball” revealed that protecting Amarilis and assisting Anna could increase one’s favorability by +1, with the possibility of further increases later. Players were skeptical at first, reluctant to help Anna just because they were told to do so, as it seemed to lack principle.
However, when they found out it was true, players who had previously sworn loyalty to the Duke of Borghese started to defect.
The Duke, in response, urgently increased the rewards. Some guilds, after weighing the pros and cons, remained loyal to him, as the chances of winning rewards from the guild were significantly higher than successfully wooing Anna.
The largest among these guilds was the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps from the Kingdom of Micael, rumored to have once pushed Anna to the brink.
[Dirty Demon King: I’m the man who parties the latest.]
[Anna My Wife: Got screwed by the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps, unbelievable.]
[Pretty Girl Joe B Lolo: Waiting to respawn, sigh.]
[Legend of Link: Does anyone know how Anna is doing?]
[Dirty Demon King: Anna and the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps’ doujinshi, coming right up.]
[Cloud White: Got material for the doujinshi.]
[Jack the Ripper Tom: The Duke’s mission isn’t complete yet, don’t know if the task wasn’t handed in or if Amarilis is still alive.]
[Kamen Rider V3: nmd, wsm.]
[Has Little Smart Won the Championship This Year: My brother is in the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps, he said they lost track of her.]
[Siberian Potato: ???]
[Quick Brother: ?????]
[Cuckoo Bird: ?]
[Emperor of Labor: I almost don’t recognize the question mark anymore.]
[Anna My Wife: Worthy of being my wife.]
[The Treasure Box Event is Toxic: Where is Anna?]
[Has Little Smart Won the Championship This Year: Don’t know, no one has seen Anna now.]
…
In a suburb.
“We lost her… ha…”
“So what are we… exactly…”
“I just can’t understand… how you could be so tough…”
“My hands are numb from fighting…”
“Glory—Together with protection…!”
“Bro, you’re my real brother, please let us go…”
“Turn off the taunting, big brother… We’ll avoid you in the future, okay?”
…
On the edge of a forest.
“We lost her…? Tsk! Retreat!”
“We’re not continuing, Gruman?”
“Fighting you guys is like losing charm points… That’s it for today!”
After saying this, Gruman led the remnants of the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps to retreat. Both sides had a fierce group battle, with casualties on each side.
A member of Anna’s support group asked, worriedly not quite believing.
“Did they really leave? It’s not a trick, is it?”
“Send someone to check the forums… Everyone else, rest here.”
Hohenheim sat on a stone, inclined to believe that Anna had truly escaped. During the “Golden Dawn” period, they had many conflicts with the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps. Knowing Gruman, he was straightforward, so Hohenheim guessed they had indeed lost track of Anna.
But this couldn’t continue… The Black Hawk Mercenary Corps’ numbers were hard to deal with. If it weren’t for the initial blow to their morale causing a drop in attributes, the outcome of this battle would be uncertain.
“Strategist, the leader is asking if we’re done.”
“We’re done, where is he?”
“He said if we can hold them off, it’s fine… If we really couldn’t, to let him know, and he would parachute back immediately.”
“Parachute…?”
Hohenheim pushed up his glasses, surprised.
“Anyway, we’re safe now. Which other officers have been released from jail?”
“Only Faust.”
“Faust… why isn’t he here… I’ll contact him privately.”
Hohenheim then opened his private message function.
“Hey? Faust? Alive? Make a sound if you are.”
“Squeak.”
“Stop joking, where are you? Come and take over my shift.”
“Old Hohen, it’s not that I’m standing you up, I don’t even know where I am.”
“What kind of joke is this, you just want to slack off, like your novel that hasn’t had an ending in three years.”
“The affairs of a scholar, can that be called slacking off? It’s strategic material gathering. To tell you the truth, I was chased by a crazy woman and seem to have fallen into the ‘Dungeon’. I don’t have a
spatial transfer scroll, so I can’t get out, waiting to find an exit.”
“I’ll teach you a method.”
“Old Hohen is reliable, tell me.”
“Is there a wall nearby?”
“Yes.”
“Bang your head against it, knock yourself out. There’s no respawn point in the ‘Dungeon’, wait a day to respawn, get it?”
“Your tactics are so dark…”
…
By a river.
“Huh?”
Although it was unclear what happened, the adventurers of the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps communicated with each other and all chose to retreat.
Trafalgar did his best to block the adventurers of the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps, but as he expected, they also had adventurers skilled in wind elemental magic, and it didn’t take long for many to break through Trafalgar’s defenses.
At least they bought some time, and they also lost their mounts.
Carole’s status on the friend interface was offline, not showing as dead.
Could it be that the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps’ net couldn’t catch Anna and the others?
He decided to ask Carole when she came online. Dragging his tired body, Trafalgar made his way to the nearest town.