How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 125

Chapter 125 – The Hero’s Ally

“Why isn’t he running away?”

Crux felt a sense of doubt as he observed Lochter’s reaction.

At the sound of the whistle, the slave hunters began to swarm in as if they had been waiting for this exact signal.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of hunters gathered. The area surrounding the Korun River was teeming with hunters.

Even now, more were erging from between the trees, thickening the encirclent. Yet, Lochter rely retreated deeper into the forest without breaking his stance.

Could he be unaware of the situation outside?

Dragging out ti would only work against him.

‘There’s no way he’s aiming for sothing in this situation.’

What could he possibly be planning in a situation where fleeing was the most sensible option? Did he have the confidence that he could break through the encirclent at any mont?

“I’ll just wait and see.”

Crux’s mission wasn’t to kill the target but to keep him contained.

He stationed a few assassins within a ten-ter radius while holding the rest back.

Ten ters.

Those stationed within that range were sacrificial pawns, ant to block any sudden ambush by Lochter. Naturally, resentnt was visible in the assassins’ eyes.

In response to their silent accusations, Crux raised his hand and spoke.

“Do you resent ? This is rely a matter of sequence. Whether you go first or I go later, we’re all here to die anyway, aren’t we?”

At the sight of the brand of the Nest, the assassins’ gazes turned hollow.

Perhaps, as Crux said, dying here would be better. The Nest of the shamans was a hell worse than death itself.

‘I’m different from you.’

Of course, Crux had no intention of being a sacrifice or dying here. He planned to take advantage of this opportunity, prove his worth, and survive.

He had seen how the Lord of Blyer favored Jack and Howell, the twin brothers.

He was confident. And to solidify his position, he needed a scapegoat—Lochter.

Crux continued to watch the standoff in front of him.

He wanted the deadlock to drag on, but as the number of hunters increased rapidly, the atmosphere began to shift.

The number of hunters, which had already surpassed one hundred, was now approaching two hundred.

The hunters began tightening the encirclent around Lochter little by little.

No matter how strong Lochter was, he was still human.

His appearance, worn down from years of running and sporting severe wounds, made him look far from invincible.

One million gold.

The staggering bounty on Lochter’s head ignited the hunters’ eyes with greed.

Still, they didn’t recklessly charge in.

Lochter wasn’t a wolf.

He was a lion.

It seed that the hunters had reached an unspoken agreent, preparing to attack in concert. They understood that hunting him would require cooperation.

“They’re not complete fools.”

Though they had been lured by the bounty of a million gold, many of the hunters had co knowing exactly what kind of opponent they were dealing with. While so were likely random opportunists, there was no shortage of well-prepared hunters in the crowd.

The reason was simple—Lochter was ‘attribute-less.’

“He has no special attributes. Just watch out for his swordsmanship.”

“Look at his condition. He’s exhausted. If we keep pressing him, he won’t hold out much longer.”

“Take out the magic scrolls. Seal his movents.”

He had no area-of-effect skills or deadly techniques.

Moreover, Lochter was the type of man who hated relying on artifacts, claiming they hindered his skill developnt.

A pure physical combatant, a knight who had honed nothing but swordsmanship.

Crux agreed with that assessnt, which was why he had been careful to keep his distance from Lochter.

‘Can these hunters really take down Lochter?’

Though they had numbers on their side, Crux judged it wouldn’t be easy.

Their opponent may have been attribute-less, a five-star knight who relied solely on swordsmanship, but he was famously known as a stubborn and relentless warrior.

A lunatic knight.

“Rip the scrolls!”

“Uaaaaaah!”

“He’s slowed down! Kill him!”

As more hunters poured in, a few among them lost patience and initiated the attack on Lochter.

With one million gold at stake, the increasing number of participants ant a smaller share for each.

Magic exploded from scrolls, swords clashed with swords, and axes t hamrs.

Clang! Clang! Ka-kang!

“Go for his back!”

Boom!

The battlefield resounded with the clashing of tal and bursts of sparks, as hunters charged in like hyenas.

They used curse magic to bind Lochter’s movents, surrounded him, and attacked from all sides. They even hurled throwing weapons and arrows at him whenever they spotted an opening.

The hunters, seasoned in hunting humans, executed a highly coordinated assault.

Lochter flinched for a brief mont under the effect of the curse magic. But it didn’t last long—his face twisted into a ferocious snarl, and he let out a wild roar.

“Graaaah!”

The red-tinged curse shattered like dust, and Lochter began moving amidst the rain of incoming weapons.

“…Kuh!”

“Insane…!”

Blades, axes, and hamrs flew into the air, while daggers and arrows bounced off.

What followed was a shower of blood.

One by one, the hunters who blocked Lochter’s path collapsed.

Huff—

Sweat dripped down Lochter’s face as he breathed heavily.

In a low stance, he dashed forward, holding a sword in one hand and its sheath in the other.

When an attack ca his way, he widened his eyes and swung both hands like a madman.

Not a single movent was wasted.

The amount of blood, sweat, and effort Lochter had poured into perfecting his dual-wielding technique was unimaginable.

Crossing his sword and sheath, he executed flawless defense, and the mont his sword glead, hunters fell in droves.

His counterattacks were equally relentless.

Despite his impressive defense, the non-stop assault left noticeable wounds on his body.

“What a monster…”

Crux muttered with a pale expression as he continued to observe Lochter’s battle.

Though his body was covered in blood from increasing wounds, none of them were fatal. And despite appearing fatigued, his movents remained impeccable.

It felt like facing an indestructible wall.

Killing him seed impossible.

Now Crux understood why his orders were to rely delay Lochter, not to hunt him down.

A knight with flawless offense and defense.

It was impossible to capture him through sheer physical force.

They would need overwhelming shamanic power or magic to subdue him.

“Fire! Shoot him!”

“Block him! Damn it…! Aaargh!”

With screams and chaos erupting around him, the encirclent began to break.

Lochter, drenched in blood, charged forward.

His target was… Crux himself.

“…Damn it!”

Crux prepared to detonate his bombs (Booms).

He waited for Lochter to approach, but suddenly, Lochter slowed down, allowing the hunters to close in on him.

As their eyes t, Crux’s face twisted in realization.

“Don’t co any closer!”

He shouted urgently, but it was too late—Lochter and the hunters had already entered the ten-ter range.

Only ten ters.

Lochter’s chilling sword aura could already be felt against Crux’s skin. There was no ti to think about anyone else.

Crux detonated all the nearby bombs and rolled backward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“Kuaaah!”

A chain of explosions erupted, engulfing both Lochter and the hunters. The ground caved in, leaving behind a bloody scene filled with dying hunters coughing up blood.

After a brief mont of silence, Crux counted the remaining assassins who had followed him and spat out a curse.

Half of them were already dead.

If he lost any more n, the mission would be impossible to maintain. Judging that he needed to bolster their ranks, Crux moved toward the cluster of hunters.

Piiik! Piiik!

He blew his whistle two or three more tis, signaling for reinforcents. The sound echoed through the forest, calling out to more hunters. Under normal circumstances, so hunters might have protested at such a reckless call, but none of them had ti to complain.

Their attention was fixated entirely on one thing—the figure stumbling out of the crater left by the explosion.

“It’s him! Quickly!”

“We’ve got him now!”

Lochter staggered out of the pit, his body drenched in blood. His sword was broken, leaving only the sheath clutched tightly in his hand. Blood dripped from his lips as he coughed violently, showing clear signs of exhaustion.

He looked like he had reached his absolute limit.

The hunters, their eyes gleaming with greed, roared with excitent and charged toward him in unison.

Crux simply stood still, watching them rush past.

‘They can’t catch him.’

Despite Lochter’s pitiful appearance, Crux didn’t believe the hunters could capture him. However, he reasoned that if more hunters arrived soon, they could serve as bait to hold Lochter down longer.

Signaling to the remaining assassins, Crux ordered them to aim their crossbows at Lochter.

Now that things appeared favorable, they planned only to keep him in check from a distance.

The assassins moved ahead of Crux and disappeared into the shadows, blending with the trees as they prepared to flank Lochter. anwhile, Crux turned his attention to the fast-moving horde of hunters surging forward.

That mont, when everyone was focused entirely on Lochter…

Sshuk—

“……Ugh!”

A sudden ambush.

A dagger pierced through Crux’s back, shattering his spine. An unbearable heat spread throughout his body, as though his nerves were being scorched by fire. The searing pain immobilized him.

Before he could react, another dagger slashed across his throat, severing his vocal cords.

He couldn’t even scream.

‘Boom… Boom!’

Desperately trying to muster a counterattack, Crux reached out with his mind toward the bombs he had prepared nearby. But before he could snap his fingers to detonate them, another dagger flashed before his eyes.

Sshhk—

“Cr-Crux!”

His outstretched hand fell limp as one of his fingers was severed.

The unbearable pain made his vision blur for a mont, but what truly widened his eyes in shock was the identity of his attacker.

The man standing before him, holding a blood-stained dagger, was soone he recognized all too well.

“It’s been a while… Master.”

“You… You…! Krrgh!”

With a polite yet mocking tone, the man introduced himself.

“Allow to reintroduce myself. I am Karl Bastain.”

As soon as Karl finished speaking, a few hunters who had been charging past suddenly turned and lunged at Crux, as though embracing him. In their hands glead cold, deadly daggers.

Puuk! Puuk! Puuk!

“……!”

Daggers pierced Crux’s chest, abdon, thighs, shoulders, and sides. His entire body was stabbed multiple tis in rapid succession.

It all happened in an instant.

Whether the daggers were laced with poison or not, Crux found himself unable to move. No, he didn’t even feel pain anymore.

Despite the fact that blood was pouring from his body at a frightening rate, he absurdly thought he might still survive.

“Still relying on bombs to sacrifice your subordinates and save yourself, huh? You haven’t changed a bit.”

“…S-spare…”

“Is that your final request?”

Karl raised his dagger.

Even on the verge of enacting his long-sought revenge, his expression remained calm and indifferent.

Oddly enough, it felt aningless.

At this point, the revenge he had lived for no longer gave him any satisfaction. Instead, the face of soone else appeared in his mind—Lochter Felice.

The man who had thrown away his own safety to help him.

Turning to Lochter, Karl raised his voice and shouted.

“Run, my lord!”

Even before Karl’s words faded, Lochter had already started moving. The hunters attempted to give chase, but the assassins, realizing Karl’s presence, redirected their focus toward him.

Now!

“Vanish with your precious bombs.”

Karl plunged his dagger into Crux’s forehead.

With a swift twist of the blade, Crux’s life ended in an instant.

And then, an earth-shaking explosion erupted behind Karl.

BOOOOOM!!!!

“Wha…!”

“Kuaaagh!”

Explosions rippled through the forest, tearing apart everything in their path. Every assassin carrying a bomb was caught in the blast, and the forest was left in ruins, a charred wasteland of destruction.

More than half of the hunters were wiped out in the blast.

Pulling the dagger out of Crux’s forehead, Karl turned to his subordinates and issued a command.

“Save Lochter—no, save our lord.”

Without hesitation, Karl’s subordinates, except for Elton, rushed off in the direction Lochter had fled.

In the wrecked forest, Karl and Elton stood alone amidst the devastation.

Karl gazed down at Crux’s lifeless body with a blank expression.

“I never thought I’d run into him here.”

“Perhaps it was fate’s way of telling you to forget revenge and find a new path.”

The fallen master Crux, a man Karl had once risked everything for, now seed utterly insignificant. So aningless that even Karl’s own past, in which he had staked everything on revenge, felt laughably petty.

Now that his revenge was complete, nothing remained.

Turning away from Crux’s corpse, Karl cast aside the emotions he had harbored for so long. Strangely enough, as those feelings faded, a smile naturally appeared on his face.

At that mont,

“……?”

Karl sensed a sudden change in his body.

He had long ago lost one arm, and despite countless years of effort, he had failed to reach the rank of a four-star knight. Yet now, an unknown surge of energy coursed through him, filling every part of his being.

“C-Congratulations, Master!” Elton exclaid, eyes wide with amazent.

“Was it… always this simple?” Karl murmured, dumbfounded.

Only now did he realize that it had been his closed heart, filled with hatred and vengeance, that had hindered his growth all along.

He had finally ascended to four stars.

Karl and Elton turned their gaze toward the direction where Lochter had disappeared.

Lochter Felice.

The foolish man who had risked his life to help Karl achieve his revenge.

“I didn’t expect him to survive all that,” Elton said, still amazed.

“He possesses a potential far beyond what we ever imagined,” Karl replied calmly.

“Are you truly planning to serve him as your lord?”

“I already made a promise. From now on, we will serve Lochter as our lord.”

“I see.”

“Do you have any complaints? If so, speak now.”

“I have none.”

Elton, who had often been teased by Karl for being more suited to a knight than an assassin, simply grinned. He quietly fidgeted with his dagger, seemingly excited about what lay ahead.

A new destiny awaited.

Serving Lochter, not from the shadows, but in the open light.

“I guess we’ll help Lord Lochter take down Blyer.”

“But first, we have to make sure our lord stays alive, don’t we?”

“…Let’s go. Quickly!”

Karl and Elton dashed into the forest, following Lochter’s trail.

The forest, devastated by the earlier explosion, now revealed the open sky, previously obscured by thick treetops.

Kukukung!

As they disappeared into the wrecked forest, a grand, resounding call echoed from the sky above.

[Karl Bastain – Hero’s Ally (Perception)]

Beneath the azure flas, a new divine presence revealed itself.