Cardboard Houses Do Not Tear

36 – Ignition, Discovery, and Detection (edited version for readability)

Cud.

It’s rattled.

Sagrak.

The sound from the wheels that came from behind has changed.

Finally, all the wagons succeeded in passing through the cleared fields.

“Whoa.”

Lily, who was riding in the last carriage, sighed.

And after confirming that they were all there, the prianian squad leader opened his mouth.

“Last check. The direction of movement is left, center, and right, and the deployment will be made by six people, two for each direction.”

We decided to move from the center. To prepare for unforeseen situations.

After re-publishing her instructions for a long time, she finished her words.

“Any questions?”

Prianian Squad Leader asked for the last time, and seventeen circles were drawn in the darkness.

The meaning of the hand signal raised by rolling up the fingers was the same for adventurers and vigilantes as for us.

She said holding up a torch.

“Ignition.”

Only the sound of the flint being fired was audible.

Chic.

Chic.

Hey, do something for me.

Quiet.

Huwaak.

Twelve torches were lit.

And only the sound of wheels splitting in three directions spread.

Better.

Said Jack, who was driving the wagon, clutching his nose.

“Damn it. It smells awful.”

“Noisy. Drive the wagon well.”

“You can block even a nose, I’m holding the reins so I’ll take it all.”

The guy grunted, but tried to get the wagon as close to the tree as possible.

I was frightened and stopped.

“Hey, if you put oil on the wheels, we’ll be f*cked too. Drop it.”

“I was just saying that it was too far away.”

“You have to know how to be a good person. Let’s take care of ourselves and be neat and sensible. Friend.”

“Did you drive the wagon in the dark? One requirement is too many.”

“Me? That? Why?”

I have one more thing to say.

“That’s the vigilante’s job.”

“Damn it. I can’t see anything.”

To the extent that he grumbled, it was understandable that the mountain, covered in darkness, showed nothing.

Of course, the one-horse carriage—a modified cabbage cart—was still burning with torches hung on either side.

But the light source made it impossible to see in the lingering darkness in the distance.

Even in the dark, when I really wanted to turn on the high beams, all I could do was go to the border of the sandbar with a shortbow.

While I was on guard for such a long time, Jack called me in a low voice.

“Hey. Unlucky guy over there.”

I also whispered.

“Tell me, John.”

“Half way through the forest. It’s time to go back.”

“Already?”

“There are more and more stones on the floor.”

The sound of a stone being stepped on came from the wheel.

The village chief, who has lived around here all his life, did not have a map.

That’s why he said there was only one thing he could tell us.

-Don’t go more than halfway through the forest. Beyond that, there are many roads that are difficult for wagons to travel on and become dangerous.

Remembering that warning, we had no choice but to listen to Jack.

“Let’s go back.”

The order of the prianian squad leader was given, and I went through the side of the cart with my scabbard. Hit it

As promised, the carriage in the distance turned and we turned around as well.

***

As the wagon turned again and moved forward, it was not only the weight of the oil bottle that became lighter.

“Yes. Do you handle bows too? I hurt my arm doing it wrong.”

I thought that the fact that the weight of the baby’s mouth was lightened completely relieved tension.

“When you caught your daughter in the corner of the warehouse, I caught the bow on the battlefield, my friend. Be quiet and drive the horse.”

“That’s f*cking f*cking.”

Beans, beans from the side. There was a sound. It meant to be quiet.

As usual, we shut up again.

And after a while.

Tong.

Tong.

Tong.

Somewhere, an eerie signal hinted at an emergency.

It was a wagon with Betty and Mark, who were traveling in the same direction as us.

Turning my head to the right, I saw them making a sharp turn to the right, even making a sound.

“……!”

“Why are those crazy people doing that all of a sudden?”

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Jack’s voice, which had been speaking with a grin, suddenly began to fill with annoyance.

“It’s not long until the wooden fence, ha. Really.”

Ignoring her murmurs of her jack, I asked her.

“Squad leader. What should I do?”

“Wait a minute. What are you talking about over there?”

Everybody shut up and listened.

Then the shouts coming from the side of the carriage, which was gradually moving away, could be heard even more clearly.

“E-Milli!!”

Betty’s shouts echoed through the woods, and were no longer heard.

Dagdak, dagdak.

Dagdak,

Multiple…

Jack murmured as the loud sound of hooves receded.

“If it’s Emily, I’ll offer the Pattons’ daughter.”

There was no more irritation in his voice.

I looked at the prianian squad leader and asked.

“Squad leader. What should I do.”

She gave the order right away.

“First of all, we set fire to the wood. Because the monsters that might be around can be headed that way with the gong you heard earlier.”

I nodded and asked again.

“What should I do next?”

Are you applying or returning?

Jack who grasped the meaning started to get angry.

“What crazy talk! Of course I’m going to help-“

Cut off Jack, and she made her decision.

“I’m going to help.”

Rest.

I answered by setting fire to the wood I had just sprinkled oil on.

“I will. Jack, did you hear me?”

As always, it was nice to be able to work in a way that puts my mind at least.

***

In the middle of the dark forest, even a small light was easily observed.

That’s why Jack’s wagon continued to run without stopping, and the rustling of the leaves was now heard like the sound of the wind.

“Jack! Will there be a road later if we go that way?”

Jack answered my question.

“I don’t know! But if we don’t go soon, Emily and all of us will be burned to death!”

When we looked back the way we had come, a small scarlet pillar opened a gap in the middle of the blackout.

What is needed to widen that gap is dead trees, oxygen, and time.

“f*ck, run faster!”

“You don’t have to.”

With those words, the speed of the wagon gradually slowed down, and it arrived at an empty lot.

“Because it looks like it is here.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve said it, I’m ashamed of people.”

In a huge clearing in the middle of the forest, a wagon pulled by Betty, Mark, and one of the vigilantes was parked.

“Fortunately, he came.”

Marc got off the carriage and said, extending his long-sleeved robe in front of him.

“I didn’t think the three of us could solve it.”

Something was swarming in the clearing.

Looking at the squeak, a bunch of goblins, what are those guys?

“What are those two guys?”

“Trolls.”

Damn it. I’ve never caught a troll, and there are way too many goblins.

I asked with a sigh.

“Mark. Are you sure Emily is in there?”

“Do you see the torn corpse of a woman wrapped around something in a crevice over there?”

Mark answered quietly.

To my eyes, I saw something dark red through a crack in the rock.

“I see it.”

“It’s behind me. Previously, I shouted for help, but both sides of us and the monster discovered it.”

He said calmly.

“I think we deserve the adventure.”

“I’m a mercenary, so I don’t take risks, and I don’t do extra overtime.”

“We’re about to rush.”

Mark ignored my words, he just said what he had to say.

“Do you have other plans?”

“Because what I am good at is the other way around. Then save Emily while we do something.”

“What do you need?”

“There’s an oil jar and something that doesn’t splash with a wooden fence first.”

“Good.”

After receiving the jar of oil from Mark, I spoke to the prianian squad leader.

“Squad leader, please get off the wagon.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I will do what I did before.”

As she got off the wagon, she now instructed Jack.

“Jack, move the wagon around the rim.”

“What are you going to do?”

I lifted the jar of oil. I was still flirting.

“To set a fire so that bastards don’t run away.”

“Then we die.”

“I’m not dying here.”

At Jack’s words, I said with a smile.

“We save Emily before the fire consumes us all, and we jump.”

Then he nodded and took the reins, and I opened the lid of the jar of oil.

“Wow!!”

As Jack pulled the reins, the horses began to gallop again, and they drew closer to us.

Ker-Aak!

aaa!!

As soon as they saw us riding in the wagon, the monsters shouted and Mark and his party started running forward.

Doo-doo-doo!!

“Tread faster!”

“What are you stepping on, you madman!”

The process of going around the clearing was like going through a huge wave tunnel, and we had to get out before we were swept away by them.

So it was natural for the green wave to come towards us, and it was my job to solve it.

“Cherry!!”

“G-House! Shoot that bastard on the right!!”

A guy started coming closer.

I stopped the oil jar, which I had been emptying continuously, for a while, then picked up the shortbow that was rolling next to me and shot it..

Tung!

“Kerruk!”

The wagon swayed, but judging from the distance, it was a hit no matter where I fired.

Seventh.

“Don’t be scared, run a little faster!”

“Kirat!”

The hooves sounded faster.

And the droplets of oil falling to the ground were scattered and scattered.

“Almost done!! Start a fire!!”

As soon as I heard Jack’s signal, I quickly threw the torch out of the wagon.

With a whooshing sound, the fire slowly began to spread from behind.

“Kiaaa!!”

The ring of fire began to completely envelop the clearing, killing a few unlucky goblins together.

After arriving back at where we started, I caught my breath and looked at the rock on which the red body from earlier was hanging.

Seeing a figure carrying something on his back, Mark seems to have succeeded in rescuing Emily with his teeth.

“Fortunately-“

“I’m not happy.”

Jack said, shaking his head.

“Paul is dead. Those people are dangerous too.”

Since the clearing was engulfed in fire, it was easier to see than before, and I was able to see the situation more clearly.

That’s why the current situation is more serious than I thought.

I saw blood dripping from Mark’s face after he had managed to defeat a troll, and a little later I saw Betty with a baby named Emily on her back.

And the vigilante Paul, whom Jack had just spoken about, was already half-broken and stomping on the ground.

“Big!!”

As I said before, there wasn’t just one troll.

I saw Mark, who was holding the mace, straighten his posture again.

I had to help them.

“Damn it.”

I hurriedly searched the quiver, but the shortbow’s arrows had long been used up.

Serung.

I got off the wagon and pulled out a Selendian.

At least in this situation, I can’t just watch it.

“Jack, I’m waiting in the back. So that I can run away right away.”

Jack is no help. It would be more comfortable for me to go alone.

Perhaps he understood what I was saying, he didn’t say anything.

“I’m almost out of bolts.”

After saying that, Priianian’s squad leader was removing the bolt from the goblin next to him.

I asked quietly.

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“How many feet are left?”

“Five feet.”

“Save it.”

After she nodded, I ran towards Mark.

Shhh!

“Keruk!”

The twenty-seventh.

The goblins who couldn’t escape the flames kept running towards me.

I swung it once more, and luckily three of them were cut out.

The thirtieth.

The forest fire was getting worse.

They were dyed more and more red, and I began to struggle even more to survive.

There was no time to control his breathing.

In my field of vision, the red lines just cut through the green.

“Hold on!”

Thirty-third.

Card win!

Stuck close to the goblin and entangled the spear.

The sky with one sack lifted up soon turned into a net.

And finally.

Like the three musketeers, the four spearmen’s spears were entangled in one place in the air,

Chack!

At the same time, the neck was blown off.

Only the sound of groaning and clattering announced the end of them.

Thirty-seventh.

The dry grass crumbled at the tip of my toes, which shook and shook.

But he still didn’t stop walking and swinging.

“Keruk…”

“Kerreuk.”

They started backing away as if they were overpowered by me.

The road opened little by little, and behind my back was a spear, and a stone blade did not come flying.

That was a good sign.

But my eyes started to itch, and it was terribly hot because I was wearing a Gambison.

The eyes, which seemed to be slowly shifting out of focus, showed the battle in the distance, albeit faintly.

“Big!!”

Trolls were self-centered and quick.

Thump!

In other words, it’s slow right now, and the monsters around him have all turned into mash goblins for a long time.

Fortunately, Mark’s party, the target that made him do that sh*t, is still alive.

It was nice to know they were alive, but we still have a long way to go.

I had to be a little more diligent to clear the road.

At that time, I heard a sound next to me.

“Ker…”

As I turned around for a moment, I saw a goblin who was fiddling around and aiming at me. The others were already taking a few steps away from him.

Seeing that I was the only one next to me, I must have been unable to move because my feet were stiff.

The thickness of the spear he was holding, and the condition was not bad. It was suitable for javelin use.

“Kek?”

“Let’s borrow some.”

I borrowed a spear from him, grabbed it, and aimed it at the troll’s back.

I held my breath and waited for a while.

Then my already narrow field of vision narrowed even more, and my muscles tightened.

But I couldn’t stumble in the situation where they were intimidated by me, so I gritted my teeth and endured.

“Huap!”

When I thought I had properly aimed, I fired a spear with my foot stepping forward.

Hey!

“Big.”

The troll withstood the javelin lightly, and began to look this way.

“……”

There was silence for a while.

‘f*ck.’

The moment I felt that I was screwed, I immediately did two things.

Pak!

“Kerruk!”

First, I pushed the goblin guy whose spear had been taken away with all my might.

Cheolpudak.

And before I could see it fall, I quickly went to a nearby rock and crouched down.

Are you sure?

The troll’s questioning cries came from beyond the rock.

I watched his actions with only my eyes slightly exposed.

The troll howled as if he wanted to know who had landed him in a rear-end collision.

The goblins weren’t smart enough to understand the troll’s words.

But he was wise enough to know the meaning behind that voice, and they gradually parted ways.

Keruk, Kerrureuk.

Beyond the green waves that parted like a miracle of Moses, a goblin lay on its face in a daze.

They quickly succeeded in pinpointing the culprit (not the one) who threw the spear.

And seeing that desolate figure, the guy quietly bent down and picked up a spear that couldn’t pierce his skin.

“……”

And then I looked at the goblin lying on the ground in the distance, then looked at the window again.

“Ke, Kerreuk?”

The poor goblin made excuses with gestures.

“Keruk!”

It’s not him.

“Kekekereuk, kkereureuk!!”

That damn human did it.

But the distant judge could not hear his defense.

It was because there was no interpreter among the monsters.

That’s why the troll was the only goblin that didn’t hold a spear or stone, and only saw the gestures of the goblin.

Yes, just a look.

And after a while.

“Awesome!!!”

The one with low-dimensional intelligence, who finally realized that the stone blade was the weapon of the goblins and that the criminal was in front of him, began to rage.

If there were no boulders next to me and the troll had super-intelligent intelligence, his wrath would have been directed at me.

It was truly luck.

“Big!!”

―Quaaang!

“Keruaak!!”

And in exchange for some scratches, he threw rocks around him at the goblins.

He was a man who knew how to give words back what he had received in return.

Kooung!

“Keew!!”

With each throw, close to three to five were swept away, and they were literally in a frenzy.

But from around the time when about five stones flew in, they didn’t just watch them die.

Keruaag!!!

One howled, and a green wave washed over the troll like a tide.

“Big!!”

The troll started playing his paddle, swinging his limbs excitedly.

Mark, who was standing in the back, had long since escaped his attention.

It was an opportunity.

―Kwaaang!

After avoiding the stones, I waved to Mark and his party.

Fortunately, we managed to drive the wagon out of the clearing while the trolls fought the goblins.

***

After getting out of the clearing, we decided to take a short break on the mountain road to the wooden fence.

It was because everyone was exhausted or exhausted from the preceding battle.

But Emily’s condition was quite serious.

So, Jack first put her in her wagon and moved to her village.

“Be careful, Jack.”

“See you later.”

All right.

Multiple…

As the carriage pulled away, Mark shook hands.

“Thank you.”

“Not much to say.”

I thoughtlessly squeezed his hand with my left hand.

And in his chain gauntlets, something slipped slightly.

Mark said with a smile.

“If it wasn’t for you, I would have been in big trouble.”

“Please thank the leader of the prianian squad.”

Mark smiled silently and let go of his hand.

“Okay. Let’s rest a little longer and move on.”

With that, he headed towards the carriage.

And.

“Huh?”

I noticed something had fallen to the floor where he had been standing before.

Fire was everywhere, and it was visible because it was as bright as daytime.

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I accidentally picked it up and slowly brought it in front of my eyes.

It is.

It was a corroded metal ring.

“……”

I was suddenly anxious.

So, very slowly, I spread out the hand that shook his hand.

My leather gloves were clumped with rust powder that had been crumbled by my grip and mixed with my blood.

With normal rust, iron powder does not come out to this extent.

At this level, it reminded me of iron with caustic.

“…Mark.”

Stand tall.

The guy who was going first heard me and stopped.

“Why but.”

“Let us ask you one thing.”

“……”

Mark didn’t answer anything.

So I opened my mouth.

“Did you do all of this bullsh*t?”