How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Please, Just Keep Your Mouth Shut

“Thank you.”

As he returned from the river, Lochter placed a clenched fist over his chest and bowed his head respectfully.

Karl scratched the back of his head awkwardly in response to Lochter’s gesture.

Even when surrounded by enemies, even when Karl’s group helped him retrieve his family’s remains, Lochter had never shown any emotion. Yet, for the first ti, he now bowed his head with genuine gratitude.

It was the first ti Karl realized that a simple gesture of thanks could carry such imnse weight.

“As long as I draw breath, I’ll fulfill whatever request you make.”

“I already told you the terms.”

“You an helping you get revenge?”

When Karl nodded heavily, Lochter smiled faintly. Their targets for vengeance might be different, but there was a strange sense of camaraderie in their shared pursuit of revenge.

Revenge?

He would help.

That feeling, he now understood better than anyone.

Lochter extended his hand silently, and Karl, with a smile, clasped it firmly.

“Glad this wasn’t a waste of ti.”

“I’ll do my utmost to assist you. In return... help .”

“You’re not seriously thinking of getting revenge on Blyer, are you?”

When Lochter nodded, Karl shook his head with a troubled expression.

Blyer? Even a mid-tier organization like Crux was barely managing to plot its revenge by borrowing outside strength. But Blyer?

A single command from Blyer’s lord, Kal Blazer, could spell the complete annihilation of Crux. He could wipe them out with nothing more than a gesture slicing across his throat.

“That’s too big a mountain to climb.”

“I won’t ask you to fight on my behalf. If you just continue offering support as you have been, that will suffice.”

“You have a plan?”

“I only just escaped, so of course, I don’t have one. But if I stand my ground and fight, a path will reveal itself.”

“……”

Karl couldn’t find the words to counter him. Lochter was the kind of person who would fight alone if necessary, even if it ant certain death.

‘Is there anyone left who could even support Lochter?’

Karl’s group had spent a long ti hiding in Blyer, waiting for any news of Lochter.

During that ti, they thoroughly investigated the political situation of Blyer, and it beca clear that Lochter had no remaining allies. Every force that could have helped him had already been dismantled or wiped out. It showed just how ruthless and swift Kal Blazer was in eliminating his enemies.

He was rciless when it ca to removing threats.

In short, Karl’s group was all Lochter had left.

Seeing Lochter’s determined eyes, Karl let out a deep sigh.

‘That guy’s words were half right and half wrong.’

Karl thought of Arthur.

He had succeeded in recruiting Lochter, just as Arthur had advised.

And as Elton had assured him, Lochter possessed enough strength to tear down Crux if necessary.

He had gained a sharp sword for revenge, but it was a double-edged one. There were too many risks attached to Lochter.

He was now an enemy of Blyer, with a bounty of one million gold on his head, making him a pri target for skilled slave hunters.

But the bigger problem was—

‘We have nowhere to go.’

Wherever they went, the eyes of hunters were sure to follow. Karl had spent years evading Crux’s pursuit, but now things felt ten tis more dangerous than back then.

Seriously, where were they supposed to go now?

“Let’s figure it out after we get out of here.”

Karl had placed his bet on Arthur’s advice, and it was too late to back out now. Fortunately, for all of Lochter’s downsides, his strengths were equally undeniable.

‘He’s soone whose skill and trustworthiness aren’t in question.’

His face, his actions, and even his gaze told the story of soone you could trust.

Surely it wasn’t just Karl who felt this way.

No, anyone who t Lochter would likely think of him as soone they could rely on. Just as Arthur had predicted, Lochter’s presence could be a powerful draw for people.

‘If we can just get through this crisis, there will definitely be opportunities.’

The problem was whether they could escape. The pressure from Kal’s encirclent was palpable and growing stronger by the mont.

And now—

Karl’s expression began to harden noticeably.

“Master?”

“What’s wrong?”

Lochter, following closely behind, asked when he noticed Karl suddenly coming to a stop.

Elton was also puzzled.

Karl’s specialty was detecting danger.

He had an instinct for choosing the safest route, which was why following him had always been the best option, whether in Blyer or elsewhere.

But now—

“Damn it... what’s going on?”

Karl paced back and forth, looking visibly agitated. He couldn’t seem to decide on a direction.

No matter which way he turned, he felt a prickling at the back of his head, and his chest tightened with unease.

This sensation...

It was the sa feeling he had when Crux’s master had tried to blow him up with a Boom curse. Whichever way they went, death awaited them.

Standing still in place, Karl cursed under his breath.

“We’re screwed... Sothing’s gone terribly wrong. Where did we ss up?”

He scanned the sky, but there were no signals or visible signs of trouble.

In fact, the pouring rain should have been advantageous for them. Yet sothing had changed.

When they had taken down the scouting party earlier, their route had seed safe. But now, it felt like a death trap.

Karl quickly ran through countless past experiences in his mind before arriving at a conclusion.

‘The enemy has sohow figured out our entire route.’

It was a ridiculous assumption, but it was the only explanation that made sense for the current situation.

Karl trusted his instincts.

The enemy had so way of tracking their movents.

He needed to take that into account as they moved forward.

Having made his decision, Karl sprinted toward the nearby forest.

Lochter followed closely behind, asking, “Have we been discovered?”

“I don’t know. But sothing feels very wrong. It’s like the enemy could appear at any mont.”

Drawing a dagger, Karl spoke quickly.

Seeing this, the others also drew their weapons, understanding that a fight was inevitable.

“What do we do if the enemy shows up?”

“We take them out as quickly as possible and charge in that direction.”

“We’re going to run toward the enemy?”

“Exactly.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s the best way to break through their encirclent.”

Lochter frowned slightly at the absurd answer. He had never heard such a ridiculous strategy before.

“In my experience, this approach gives us the highest chance of survival. Trust .”

“Any other plans?”

“If I had one, I’d have punched myself in the mouth already.”

Lochter nodded and stuck close to Karl. If they wanted to eliminate the enemies quickly, he needed to be at the front.

Taking a deep breath, Lochter began preparing for battle.

***

“W-wait a second.”

As we trudged through the muddy ground, Nella suddenly grabbed my sleeve.

It wasn’t intentional, but when her wet body brushed against my arm, I felt the soft sensation of her skin.

Wait, that wasn’t... her chest, right?

Why the hell am I thinking about this right now?

Shaking my head to dispel the thought, I felt Nella urgently tap my shoulder and whisper into my ear.

“It’s here.”

“Huh? Here? Oh, don’t tell …”

Nella looked up at the sky.

Then, she pulled out a twig, a Divine Na tool, from her pouch. It glowed with a radiant light.

It was unmistakably the light of a Divine Na.

When I looked at her in disbelief, she nodded enthusiastically.

“It’s just as you said. It’s the new bearer of a Divine Na.”

She looked incredibly excited, as if everything I had predicted was coming true. I had ntioned earlier that I had a bad feeling and that sothing big might happen—and sure enough, it did.

Damn it.

I was right, but there was nothing to celebrate.

“Can you determine the direction?”

“It’s downstream of the Korun River, over there.”

Nella pointed in a specific direction.

“How long can you keep track of it?”

“Judging by the lingering aura of the awakening, I’d say about half a day.”

“…Half a day. That ans Arcane will notice too, right?”

“Of course. He’s far more skilled than I am.”

I exhaled deeply.

“Damn it. This is driving crazy.”

Lochter, you stubborn bastard. If only you had awakened one day later. Why did you have to awaken now, throwing everything into chaos?

“Nella.”

At my call, Banri, who had been busy scouting above Nella’s head, shook its head side to side.

“Nothing? Really?”

“Banri says not to ask twice.”

“…Fine.”

I had asked Banri to check for any signs of the dark shamans lurking nearby. We had abandoned our carriage after noticing that more and more pursuers were tracking us.

But just a mont ago, all traces of those pursuers had suddenly disappeared.

It must have been due to the massacre order we heard over the communication crystal.

“Did they all move toward the Korun River?”

“Isn’t that fortunate for us?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t tell if this is a blessing or a curse.”

In my hand was a small crystal orb, and various conversations continued to flow from it.

We had managed to get our hands on one of the shamans’ wide-range communication devices.

Banri had snatched it while playing around in the carriage. When I questioned it, Banri claid it was because the shiny orb had caught its eye.

‘A shiny orb. The communication crystal was active. Soone must have received information about us.’

These wide-range communication devices were exclusive to the Mage Tower. Since the Mage Tower was a highly secretive organization, they didn’t casually share their technology.

‘Damn it. So my Divine Na information is worth that much, huh?’

Kal must have exploited my Divine Na information to its fullest.

That’s why we were now drenched and trudging through muddy terrain.

Our identities had been exposed.

‘Like master, like spirit, huh.’

Both Banri and its master had a weakness for shiny things.

If I had known this earlier, I could have co up with a different plan, but it was too late now.

With Kal’s forces spread throughout Blyer and ready to mobilize at his command, we were facing the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, Banri had brought the communication crystal. At least we could keep track of the enemy’s movents.

“What do we do now?”

“It looks like Kal is setting a trap.”

“Huh? A trap? For who…?”

“For .”

“For you, Arthur?”

“They’re using Lochter as bait to lure out.”

The na Alex Marcia had co up multiple tis in the communication crystal, confirming that Kal was aware of my presence.

By piecing together the information being revealed, Kal had likely deduced my objective and was concentrating all his forces on Lochter.

They had figured out my intent to rescue him.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes. Very.”

“Should we look for another way?”

“No. It’s too late for that.”

I shook my head firmly.

Giving Kal more ti was not an option.

If I lost Lochter, the entire plan would fall apart.

Facing Kal head-on would be mutually destructive. Just as Arena and Beneta had perished while the massacre carried on, if Kal and Beneta were to fall, another power would soon co for Tobaron.

“We’ll figure it out on the move.”

That wasn’t acceptable.

For now, we needed Lochter to survive.

Pushing through the heavy rain, I focused on the communication crystal.

The shamans’ voices continued to flow steadily.

[The scout unit of the hunting hound division is stationed downstream.]

[We’ve arrived at the Korun River. We’ll start searching from the upper stream.]

[Then we’ll take the middle section.]

[It’s hard to track traces in this rain. We’ll split the Van Dykes to cover more ground.]

So far, there was no ntion of Lochter.

Was Arcane not with Kal?

Whatever the reason, if Arcane was nearby, the information would soon reach us.

‘Can we get there before the hunting hounds?’

I ford a ntal image of the enemy’s forces based on the communication.

The shamans’ nest.

Slave hunters.

And the hunting hound division.

The shamans and slave hunters weren’t much of a concern, no matter how many there were.

But the hunting hound division was troubling.

They were specialized in relentless pursuit and were already stationed near the lower reaches of the Korun River.

If they caught us, they would likely try to stall for ti, allowing the shamans and slave hunters to arrive, which would turn this into a guaranteed death scenario.

This was a race against ti.

We needed to get Lochter out before they sprang their trap.

“Where are they?”

“This way!”

Nella pointed in a direction, and we sprinted through the dense forest as fast as we could.

Soon—

Swoooosh―

Amidst the pouring rain, the faint sound of rushing water reached us from afar.

The Korun River was near. From the start, we had been aiming for the lower reaches.

Banri sent a signal.

There were shamans nearby.

We couldn’t afford to be discovered.

If they shifted their focus to us, things would get complicated.

We took a long detour through the forest, circling around the lower reaches of the Korun River.

‘Lochter won’t go down easily.’

No matter who caught him, Lochter Felice had the skill to hold out, even under pressure.

Plus, with the downpour nullifying Jack and Howell’s abilities, now was the perfect ti to escape.

However, there was one thing I was most concerned about.

I focused intently on the voices coming from the communication crystal, tension mounting.

Don’t speak.

Don’t speak.

‘Damn it! Please, just keep your mouth shut!!’

The massacre commander, Kal.

Every ti that bastard uttered a word, the situation shifted dramatically.

He was an unpredictable force, and I couldn’t guess what he might do next.