Master of the brave.

For the bandit crusade, the location chosen by the adventurers who advanced through the imperial capital, including Abel, was a village like anywhere else called Torque.

From previous raids, it is one of the villages that has been identified that this will be the next place to be targeted.

One adventurer was running through the woods at full speed towards its torque village.

He is an adventurer who was on reconnaissance to his surroundings.

I was only good at reconnaissance, and should have been able to travel quickly with a definite leg lift, even in the woods with poor scaffolding, if normal.

But now, his footsteps were very dangerous.

My feet are taken by the roots and indentations of the trees, and I keep getting up and running desperately.

The rush was diminishing his judgment.

We made some groups between adventurers who specialize in reconnaissance and left the village a few minutes ago.

And was it good luck or bad luck that they, a group of them, were able to realize it?

As I was walking along a narrow path like a beast path in the woods, I was uncomfortably uncomfortable.

If you clear your ears carefully, you'll never hear the rubbing sound of metal in the woods.

I looked at the other partner, sent him a signal, killed the signs, and proceeded in the direction where I heard the sound.

I saw the sight of forest trees spreading beneath a broken cliff.

"Hey, what is it? These guys..."

Reconnaissance in progress.

Even they, who were moving to make as little noise as possible, accidentally groaned.

Men dressed in leather armor, their hair and mustaches stretched all they could.

He has a weapon of thought in his hands and sometimes a humble laugh.

They're probably the bandits.

In number, about a hundred people?

It was on a larger scale than I had assumed, but the more serious problems are not there.

The problem is mixed with them and marched solemnly - a group armed with spears and swords wearing unified metal armor, which suits exactly the word that they are marching.

This is also a hundred person size.

total number, a population of approximately two hundred people.

This is... not some kind of bandit group, isn't it some kind of army?

Approximately thirty adventurers participated in this Bandit Crusade.

It's also quite a battle force with plenty of middle ground.

Even if it was a bandit regiment nearly triple the size of a hundred, it also had wizards, and if they were adventurers with enough collaboration, they should have been able to destroy them without any problems.

But a bunch of metal armor passing under your eyes.

They were decidedly different.

If you look closely, the noticeable nose is slightly different from the imperial.

- Neighbouring country, Kingdom of Petersia!

A warrior runs on their backs when it comes to who they are.

They had also heard the stinking rumors that the Kingdom of Petersia was expanding its armaments.

But even if we were in a state of tension with the Empire, we should not have been in a state of engagement.

Nonetheless, they are breaking into the empire.

Besides, even the Adventurer Guild, which should have some information network, didn't grasp their trends.

If you are a bunch of bandits to the extent that you have grown hair on your amateur, two hundred people are just a tough number, but there's nothing you can't fight about.

But it would be different if there were to be a mixture of as many as a hundred servicemen in that position.

Some of those will definitely be knights.

The knight uses magic almost without exception.

Moreover, their magic was generally stronger than that of adventurers full of civilians.

- All destroyed.

This word turns my head.

Trying to signal your partner to pull out of here in a hurry.

The sight in his eyes as he looked back was that of his partner, who lays an arrow around his temples and falls.

"Gu!"

An arrow pierced his left shoulder trying to rush up and run.

Running desperately in pain.

It was natural if you think about it.

Whatever it is that is just a bunch of bandits, if there is no doubt that a group of metal armor is in the Petersian Army, it is natural to leave as much as a scourge around.

Run desperately using trees and bushes to avoid going as straight as possible.

I definitely have to tell him.

As it is, if we welcome them in the village of their stronghold without knowing their existence, there is surely a future awaiting us in the name of total annihilation.

- Damn it! Killing him.

Keep running in tears.

What was the Imperial Army doing guarding the border?

Although there has been some coup noise, it is only a small part of the story from the perspective of the entire Imperial Army.

The size of the hundred is small as an army, but it is an impossible lapse, such as the intrusion of troops from other countries into their own territory without any information.

He keeps running at a glance.

Fortunately, there was nothing like an arrow being shot at after that.

I was anxious at my feet in a hurry, but it may still be because I am running faster than most humans.

Some anxiety was removed from confidence in the feet in the woods, but still the fear of chase from behind was great.

He hadn't noticed.

That his pursuers are also trained to operate adequately in places with poor scaffolding as scouts.

And to be kept alive on purpose to make them work directions to their base -.

In the heart of the village of Torque, a large building is built there, which serves as a rally point for the village to be used for festivals and other purposes.

The adventurers who visited this bandit crusade rented this place from the villagers and used it.

That said, they were basically camping around the cabin and letting women adventurers and those who stood on the night shift stay in the cabin as a priority because they were not all big enough to stay.

Now in that cabin, the adventurers who took part in this bandit crusade gathered, and the villagers of Torque stared anxiously at them by winding the cabin away.

Sitting at their center is Riggs, the leader of this Federation of Adventurers.

Before him, an adventurer who had just returned from reconnaissance had reported the sight he had seen and the death of his companion while being treated for an arrow wound on his shoulder.

"... Petersian Army"

Everyone was out of line.

It is an unexpected enemy.

Even they, usually cheerful and powerful, were uniformly silent and anxious to ask about the complexion of their companions around them.

Eventually, the scout's report ends and the gaze of the adventurers around them gathers to their leader, Riggs.

Riggs sat around wearing an agara and arm wrap, his eyes closed and he listened to the report in silence.

"Hey, what are you gonna do? Riggs"

Riggs finally opened his eyes when those who cut the paralysis and raised their voices began to emerge to their leaders who think in silence.

We have to get out of here.

The faces gathered here are breathtaking for that one word.

Nevertheless, there is an atmosphere somewhere convincing, partly because it was predictable.

Up to this point, they have conducted various downchecks on the crusading bandits.

We visited the villages that had been damaged and the places where there had been caravan raids, and investigated them with care.

One strange point after another came up as I looked into it.

The people of the villages and caravans attacked have been killed without exception.

The raid lasted a small period and the area under damage was extensive.

Many times the army of the Empire has organized crusades, but all of them have ended up empty-handed.

But if the Petersian army were to be involved, I guess this would be the result of some sort of military action.

There are many things that don't fall in your heart...

As the assembled adventurers expressed their support for Riggs' decision to flee -

"Wait a minute!

Riggs turns his attention to those whose voices have risen.

It was Abel in the corner of the room where the adventurers gathered.

"Running away, don't you even fight? Mr. Riggs."

"You think you can win? If you think, you don't grow up to be an adventurer. We'll die soon. We just have a future ahead of us."

Riggs pointing it out in a cold voice.

To the words, Abel glanced up for a moment but still looked straight into Riggs' eyes.

"What happens to the people in this village if we run away? They can't fight. They're gonna kill you, aren't they?

"I guess. That's why we need you to run away. Come on, we don't have time. We're gonna get ready to run!

Riggs slaps one hand.

When the adventurers snorted hard at the words, they rose up and walked out of the shed.

"Hey, wait for me. Sure, we're working out a lot. Maybe we can get away with this. But what about the villagers? Hey, man?

Talk to the senior adventurers who seem busy starting to move, but they just leave with nothing but their own luggage without grinning or slapping Abel on the shoulder.

Only at some point did Riggs and a few female adventurers remain inside the cabin, and two adventurers to the same extent as Abel ran out.

The two runaways didn't seem to know what to do with just that one word of Riggs, like the other veteran adventurers, not because they remember questions like Abel did, but because they were just left here within a clump.

Riggs gestures at them to get together.

"Well, you guys are ready to flee this village. Really fast, huh? I've said it many times, but I don't have time."

"Mr. Riggs, what do the villagers do?

"That's why I told you to get away with it, right?

"If it's just us, maybe we can get away. But I don't think the villagers can get away without us fighting!

Riggs remembers when he was driving out on Abel, who hung himself with a bright red face.

Back then I thought I could do anything.

If I say so, it's just a heroic aspiration on not understanding the situation, and clearly a bad aspiration on the job where the exchange of life takes place: the adventurer.

Of course, it is the path that everyone passes if they are young people who aspire to be adventurers.

And without dying prematurely, if you're lucky enough to survive and have enough experience, you become a brilliant adventurer.

So...

"Who said we wouldn't fight?

"Huh?"

Now I realize that my feelings are only heroic aspirations, this runaway adventurer boy must also one day be a brilliant adventurer.

"Only the villagers and you and then the women run away. The rest of the adventurers will fight them."

"Huh? Huh?

Abel blinked her eyes when she couldn't understand what she had been told and the momentum she had just gained had disappeared.

Riggs grins when he sees how it goes.

This bandit crusade mission, to be honest, I wasn't going to face this much.

I was prepared for some scale, but I was still calculating the margin to the extent that I could think of bringing in an immature adventurer to gain experience.

But the situation sucks.

If I were to choose the best hand I could take in it, this was all I had.

- What, in the end, I'm a hero aspiration, too?

Riggs grinning inside.

Well, they're the ones who wanted to be adventurers.

That all the fellow adventurers who are now preparing to fight with Riggs' intentions had the same heroic aspirations.

"I'll fight too!

- Really, you can't laugh about this guy.

Riggs yelled in a harsh voice as he hid his heart from Abel as he stared at him.

"It's a foot job. And I'm not just gonna miss it."

And Riggs gives instructions again.

"You guys run to the city of Nest. If your legs run now, they should arrive after noon. So explain the situation to the soldiers. There's an army of Petersians lurking."

Nodding, the female adventurers who immediately begin to pack their bags.

They are also experienced adventurers.

I don't think I've been kept away from danger because I mean women.

They understood the importance of communicating information well.

Besides, you should be back here either way as a guide.

Fighting is fine then.

By giving him the task of communicating the information, Riggs gave him an excuse to escape.

There's got to be nothing like coming back here caught in a bad heroic aspiration with this.

The female adventurers head out in a hurry of two runaway adventurers.

And Abel. He tries to get out the same way, even though he's not convinced he can't take part in the fight.

"Abel, you run to the Empire City."

"Why, I'm the only Empire!?

The Empire will take a week to run on a horse from here.

Even Nest will be able to join the battle with the soldiers he has joined.

But if you run to the Imperial City, you won't make it to the battle.

"You're the only one I have. I can't believe that's all Petersian troops are invading me. So we need to keep the center informed."

"So why me?

"You'd tell Winn, wouldn't you?

A young knightly aspiring boy.

Being Abel's lover, he is a cadet.

If it does his word, it could reach the center as well.

Most importantly, Riggs' true intent is to pass it on to Leticia.

Leticia herself will not be able to move in the position of a brave man, but if it is a request from her by the Duke's Lady, the central Imperial Army, with a heavy waist, should also have to put its main waist in.

"So hurry up"

"But Mr. Riggs and the others..."

"Come on, you think we're gonna die easy? Don't lick me, okay? We've still fought more vicious demons than humans. Besides, the sooner you hurry, the better chance we'll have of helping."

"Mr. Riggs...... I believe you!

Cursing so fucking small, Abel rushes out.

Staring at that back, Riggs smiled small.

My legs are shaking.

My heart was pulsating about Ursai.

Definitely, I die.

Definitely.

But still...

But they won't kill you.

Let it keep rising to the end.

Somehow, there's a girl who did it up close.

It's not our ratio that's put us in a desperate situation.

But she lives through it and returns, trying to get happiness with her own thinkers.

Compared to what Letty's been doing, it's no big deal about this level of crisis we're in.

"All right, I'll do it!

Riggs raises his temper voice.

As I echoed that, the other adventurers also said, 'Oh!' And he raised his temper.