Chương 70: Exfiltration

"So how do I-?" My hand touches the glass ball, and the surroundings switch. Brax is gone. The cold grey of system cobblestone is replaced with an open, blue sky and wooden houses. Stale, stagnant air is replaced by the smell of grass and smoke. The temperature instantly rises by ten degrees. Looking up, I see a pale, white sun shining down on my face. White? The system screen immediately flashes in my face.

[Primary Objective: Prevent the deaths of at least 90% of the villagers] [Secondary Objective: Prevent the death of all villagers] [Time remaining: 0. 2 Cycles] The text changes after a second of delay. [Time remaining: 0. 199 Cycles] A shrill scream echoes out from behind me. Jumping out of my skin, I turn around. A woman in her forties stares at me, wearing a crude dress/apron combo. A clothesline stretches between the houses behind her, and she holds a basket of laundry.

"Uh, hello?" I awkwardly raise my hand to wave.

"Eoc! Eoc! Eriks kra Aonick!" She yells, rounding a corner and running away hysterically. Chime [Intelligent Universal Translator] [Language deciphered: Eurikan] Well, that was strange. I do a quick turn and scan the area again. Between two houses in a sort of alleyway, a tall wall made of logs stands a dozen feet behind them, about ten feet tall. Not too different from the tutorial encampments. The tan-colored dirt ground tells me this area isn't too developed.

Cautiously, I step from between the houses to the open area on the other side. The village opens up into a wide, empty area, set directly in the center of the village. A taller stone building stands on one side, with three dozen more cabins spread around the area, covered with thatched roofs. Unlike the tutorial, everything seems natural instead of structured and fabricated. Quite a few scattered people look over curiously at me, likely drawn by the screaming. … I have no idea what I'm doing.

The system says I'm dealing with invaders, but everything seems pretty calm right now. At least, it seems to know I'm in a village, so I don't think it made a mistake. Again, I awkwardly wave to everyone watching.

"Hello! Didn't mean to disturb you!" Without anyone responding or reaching out, I just stand there. A few more people appear from inside houses and around corners, likely wondering about the commotion. After a moment, I start walking toward the stone building. Finding a figure of authority is probably the best first step. Halfway there, I hear voices to my left. The woman is back, dragging a man in leather armor by the wrist, with three more in the same armor behind her.

All of them have spears peeking over their shoulders.

"There he is! He tried to kill me!" She speaks with all the rage of someone who got their order wrong at a fast-food restaurant. My eye widens at the blatant lie. Shit, is my arrival screwed already?

"Mrs. Kendrick, I don't think anyone is trying to kill you." The man she's pulling says in a tired voice. His eyes scan my face, then flick to the arsenal of weapons on my back. With a straightened posture, he narrows his eyes and speaks decisively.

"Formation A!" The woman backs up, alarmed by the sudden movement. All four soldiers pull their spears from their backs and spread out to surround me. With one hand, I draw the massive axe from my back. At the motion, the soldiers' eyes track the weapon, nervously halting their approach. Identify Living Being. [Guardsman (Corkson Glash) lv. 16] [Highest stat: Strength] [Lowest stat: Intelligence] [Spearman (Eron Rim) lv. 18] [Highest stat: Strength] [Lowest stat: Wisdom] [Warrior (Yannish Glash) lv. 13] [Highest stat: Strength] [Lowest stat: Intelligence] [Highest skill: Powerful swing] [Guardsman (Taroc Jax) lv. 27] [Highest stat: Strength] [Lowest stat: Intelligence] Oh? That's new. Looks like division between tiers matters as much as levels in Identify Living Being.

"I'm not here to fight, but I will defend myself." I say, stone-faced. Three soldiers glance at the man the woman was pulling, who is also the highest-levelled among them. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Taroc. With stubble covering his chin, he appears at least ten years older than those behind him.

"If so, then why not use the gate?" He asks suspiciously. I sigh. Time to rely on my old friend, bullshittery. With both hands, I re-fasten the axe to my back.

"I've been sent to warn you. There will be an attack soon." The soldiers' eyes widen at the statement, but Taroc doesn't budge.

"Still, you should have used the gate. How do I know you don't lie?" Crap, the system says there will be an attack, but I have no idea when. Or from where. One Mind/Two Bodies My mind churns, thinking of an answer.

"My friend saw it. I have no proof, but I promise you no harm." I speak sincerely. Taroc's face scrunches. After a few seconds of internal debate, he speaks.

"Yannish, get Kranon." The youngest of the group looks over at him with a blank face.

"Now!" Taroc yells. The poor soldier flinches and turns on his feet, running toward a gate a couple hundred feet away. Taroc speaks, staring into my eyes.

"Where did you come from?" I shrug.

"North."

"Which village?"

"If it's all the same to you, I'll wait for Kranon. I don't want to repeat myself later." That'll give me more time to think of an excuse. Kranon is probably the chief or something, he might be a bit friendlier. A minute passes, and Taroc continues to stare me down. Perhaps it's an intimidation tactic. Casually, I slip my hand into my pocket and grip my only rune while whistling. I create the formation, completing it until it locks into place with a satisfying click.

A soft grinding emanates as a pillar of stone slowly grows behind me. The soldiers focus on it, tensing. Casually, I sit down.

"Nice place you have here. Very calm. Very peaceful."

"You're a mage?" Taroc asks, with far less bravado in his voice than before.

"Among other things, yes." I turn to hear a crowd of footsteps behind me. Yannish is back, with thirteen leather-bound soldiers following him. A single man walks at the front, chain mail and studded leather signifying his ranking.

"What's this I hear about an intruder?" He asks, looking right at me. Identify Living Being. [Guardsman Captain (Kranon Bigsty) lv. 36] [Highest stat: Endurance] [Lowest stat: Wisdom] [Identify Living Being(lv. 11) > (lv. 12)] Ah, another endurance enjoyer. How nice. I stand with a smile and a slight bow, sticking my hand out.

"Good to meet you. My name's Kevin." He chuckles and takes my hand, shaking it.

"Taroc, are you sure he didn't come through the south gate?" Taroc sheathes his weapon and salutes with his fist to his heart.

"Yes sir! I've been manning the south gate as ordered for the past ten mini-cycles!" Kranon sighs.

"Lighten up, Taroc." He gestures to me.

"Kevin is clearly an amiable man." He walks up without a worry and pats me on the shoulder.

"Let's talk about this at the town hall and get you a drink. We don't get visitors often." My shoulders relax.

"That sounds great, thank you." Kranon turns and nods to Taroc. With another salute, Taroc leaves, taking all but five of the soldiers with him. Kranon and I start walking, but I don't miss how the soldiers slowly spread out around me, trying to be inconspicuous. Just in case, I keep mana bubbling at the edge of my skin in case I need to activate my gauntlets. We reach the stone building quickly, and he invites me inside. Inside are two wooden benches surrounding a coffee table.

He gestures to one side while he sits on the other. The soldiers also move into the room, taking up positions around Kranon. Kranon leans forward.

"So, Kevin. It's quite a distance to the closest settlement. Care to tell me why a mage is here, purposefully avoiding the gates? You have all my guards whipped into a frenzy, concerned about an attack of some sort." I lean forward as well.

"It's the truth, Kranon. I would have preferred to use the gate, but the specialists at the capital don't seem to be up to par." His brows furrow, expression becoming more serious.

"The capital? You're from the capital?" I nod, becoming just as serious.

"Yes."

"Why was there no messenger?"

"Not enough time."

"Did you not bring a message?" Kranon raises an eyebrow. My head shakes.

"I did not. They did not deem it necessary." Pure confusion spreads across his face.

"It's protocol. Even in emergencies, the ranking officer would have you bring a written message. Is the situation dire?" I open my mouth to speak, but he interrupts me. Suspicion fills his eyes.

"Since you're from the capital, do you mind if I see your crest?" Fuck.

"Yes, about that…" The door slams open, and Taroc rushes in, his stony expression replaced with alarm. Both Kranon and I turn to him, along with every soldier in the room. He salutes as quickly as possible.

"Sir! Horde spotted! From the south!" Kranon jumps to his feet in an instant.

"How many?"

"Yammie said two-hundred." Kranon's expression darkens.

"Where is it headed?"

"Here, sir. Directly here." … The mood sinks with an almost tangible weight. In a burst of motion, everyone in the room rushes out, leaving me alone. I look around the empty room, lingering on the open door. Damn. They forgot about me quickly. With nothing to do, I stand and exit the room as well. Kranon and his squad jog through the center of the village to a certain gate. He yells for people to get in their homes and to lock the doors. After carefully making sure no one is watching, I whisper.

"Kevin, move perfectly." My legs bend, and I shoot forward. It doesn't take long before I make it to the back of the squad. Everyone shifts up a set of stairs that leads to an overlook of the wall. Overall, there are about thirty soldiers. From what I saw, they make up at least a quarter of the village's population. This must be a village that expects regular attacks. I'm the last one to make it to the top of the scaffolding.

"-ed for a total of two-hundred." Kranon finishes. Gasps and groans of despair rise from the soldiers. On one side, Kranon and Taroc stand, with the other soldiers listening on the other.

"As such, we will need volunteers to defend the gate." The platform goes silent. Dread weighs on the soldiers' faces, while Kranon wears an expression of grim resolve. After a few seconds, he speaks again.

"I need at least fifteen volunteers, or I will order-""Okay. I'll go." Everyone turns to look at me.

"You said there are two-hundred, right? What level are they?" Kranon looks surprised, then nods.

"They mostly fluctuate between tier two, level twelve and eighteen." I let out a long sigh. I should be able to handle that. The average level of the people here is around sixteen. Against the monsters, who are virtually an average of level thirty, they stand no chance. It's about the same level as the cannon-fodder in the stone brick encampments in the dungeon, and I had no trouble with them.

"What are these things, anyway?"

"They didn't tell you at the capital?" Kranon asks. At the mention of the capital, the faces of the soldiers light up.

"Eh," I shrug.

"I probably wasn't listening." He looks at me like I'm an idiot before turning back to the soldiers.

"Well, that's one. We still need fourteen more." Crap, I need to prevent even a single death if I want both objectives. There's no way I'm going to be able to protect fourteen people in the face of hundreds. With the level difference, wouldn't he just be sending the others to their deaths?

"I'll go alone." Blood rushes to my face as they all turn to me once again. Stating something like that so brazenly makes shame run down my spine. Before Kranon can speak, I send mana through the back of my gauntlets, causing them to melt and extend.