Shino, Alpha, Beta, and Delta gathered where Gamma was waiting with the transport.
Shino used his mana to encase the billion Zeny, securing the massive haul onto the carriage.
“Alpha, Beta, Gamma—you three go first.
Delta and I will stay behind to hold the line.” “Since they wanted to play dirty first, they shouldn’t blame us for hitting back twice as hard!” Shino hadn’t intended to rob anyone, but since the authorities had tried to steal their hard-earned money, he saw no reason to be polite.
“Phantom, I will guard this billion Zeny with my life!” Alpha promised solemnly.
Once the three girls had departed with the carriage, Shino kept the invisible mana barrier active.
“Delta, use your nose.
See if there are any survivors.” Delta sniffed the air, her ears twitching.
“There really is someone still alive!
Master, you’re amazing!
You actually guessed there was a survivor!” Delta led Shino toward the densest pile of corpses.
She moved to finish off the person playing dead, but Shino held her back.
“Delta, you need to be more obedient.
No killing without an explicit order.” “Understood!” “Remember what I say today: if you act without orders, your punishment will be a whole day without food.” “Eeeh?!
Can’t we change the punishment?” Delta whined, wagging her tail nervously.
“How about you punish Delta by making her have Master’s babies instead?” Shino promptly delivered a sharp finger-flick to her forehead.
“In your dreams!” Delta rubbed her head, looking pained and aggrieved.
“But back in my old tribe, when a woman made a mistake, she was punished by being given to someone else to have their babies!” she explained defensively.
“This tribe isn’t your old tribe.
My word is the law here.” “Delta understands, Master!” Shino looked down at a “corpse” buried under several other bodies.
“How much longer do you plan on playing dead?” He used his slime sword to flip the top bodies aside.
The survivor Delta had scented had a massive, gaping wound right through his chest where his heart should be.
“Keep faking it and I’ll just hack you to pieces,” Shino said.
The body remained motionless.
*Did Delta make a mistake?
Whatever, I’ll just cut him.* Shino swung his blade down.
Sensing lethal intent, the “corpse” suddenly rolled away with surprising agility.
Shino studied the man.
“Wait, aren’t you the one Delta killed first?
Delta, you said you pierced his heart.
How is he still alive?” “That’s because my heart is on the right side of my chest!” the Royal Guard Captain snarled, standing up and glaring at the two of them.
Suddenly, the sound of rhythmic thumping reached their ears.
“You’re dead meat!” the Captain cackled.
As he spoke, the birds in the distant forest took flight in a panicked swarm.
Shino looked toward the horizon.
Thousands of armored soldiers on horseback were galloping toward them.
Shino snapped his fingers, momentarily deactivating the barrier.
The thousands of soldiers swarmed in, completely surrounding Shino and Delta.
“These are the Magic-Armored Knights of our nation!
Their armor has extreme resistance to the slashes of magic swordsmen!” the Captain boasted.
Shino snapped his fingers again.
The mana barrier surged back to life, trapping everyone inside with them.
“Delta, it’s time for a slaughter.
Kill everyone except that half-dead guy on the ground.
Leave him for questioning.” “Delta understands!” Shino stepped away from the center of the clearing.
He didn’t care for the smell of excessive gore.
What followed was not a battle, but a systematic massacre.
The Magic-Armored Knights were indeed a nightmare for ordinary magic swordsmen, but against Delta, their armor might as well have been made of paper.
Delta tore through steel and flesh alike with every swipe of her claws.
The soldiers’ counterattacks couldn’t even graze her.
It was like a wolf entering a pen of sheep; it was pure, unadulterated predation.
Half an hour later, a blood-drenched Delta trotted back to Shino’s side.
“Master, they’re all dealt with.
Except for that one guy.” “Drag him over.
I have questions.” “You got it!” By the time Delta dragged the Captain over, the man had completely lost his mind.
“This is a dream…
it’s all fake…
fake, fake, fake…” he repeated like a broken record.
“Stop faking madness, or I’ll kill you,” Shino threatened.
The man didn’t react.
Shino severed the man’s limbs, but he remained in his catatonic state.
Shino had wanted to find out exactly which high-ranking official had ordered the double-cross to seize the Zeny, but it seemed he wouldn’t get his answer today.
“Delta, finish him off.
Then go find a river, wash that blood off, and catch up with us.” “Understood!” Delta used her keen nose to find the nearest stream to clean herself.
Meanwhile, Shino went back along the path Alpha had taken.
He used his mana to meticulously erase all wheel ruts and signs of the carriage’s passage.
He wasn’t afraid of trouble, but he certainly didn’t enjoy it.
It was better to avoid unnecessary complications entirely.
Eventually, Shino and Delta caught up with Alpha’s group.
On the return journey, they only encountered three groups of bandits; since they had cleared the path on the way there, the road was significantly quieter.
Check out other works!