How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 140

Episode 140 – Hunt (3)

Elton lay flat on the ground in a spread-eagle position, gasping for breath as soon as Lochter and Karl appeared.

The tension had finally been lifted.

Karl leaned his head over Elton’s face.

“I figured you’d still be alive.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“It’s just a warning—don’t do sothing that reckless again.”

The two exchanged brief smiles. Karl extended his hand, and Elton clasped it, pulling himself to his feet.

Supporting Elton, Karl guided him toward where Nella was waiting.

Elton limped along, glancing toward the still-ongoing battlefield.

He could see Jack now being overwheld by Lochter and Fenry, the two 5-star combatants. It was the complete opposite of the situation earlier, when Jack and Howell had worked together to drive Fenry into a corner.

Though Jack was holding out using the power of his artifacts, he appeared as though he could collapse at any mont.

“I didn’t expect things to turn around like this.”

“It’s all about timing. We didn’t give him a chance to react.”

“Jack will be finished soon, right?”

“We’ll see. Arthur said the odds are fifty-fifty.”

“Huh? Even with those two attacking him, he could still get away?”

“He’s a 5-star user of wind. He might have sothing up his sleeve. More importantly, we’re not in the best condition ourselves.”

“Ah…?”

“Even if we’re not as bad as you, we all need rest. Lochter and that dark elf are in the sa boat. They’re putting pressure on Jack now, but those two must be close to their limits.”

“Then shouldn’t we go help them instead of standing here?”

“I already told you—it’s fifty-fifty with those two. With three of us, it’ll be different.”

As Karl brought Elton closer, Nella, who was waiting atop a tree, waved her hand to signal them over.

Arthur was nowhere to be seen—he had vanished.

“Jack’s going to die no matter what. Arthur moved to eliminate even the smallest chance of his survival.”

“That’s impressive.”

“It is.”

If Karl had joined the fight against Jack, they would have been able to finish him off more easily. However, Arthur had given orders for Karl to handle the injured and prepare to withdraw.

He was thinking ahead, even to what would co after eliminating Jack and Howell.

I thought he was just a lucky guy who sohow managed to survive when we first t…

But as Karl continued to fight alongside Arthur and saw how he thought through every move, he realized sothing.

Arthur Clayton.

The more he worked with him, the more he beca convinced—Arthur had sothing special.

A quality none of them possessed.

What was it?

“Kraaaaah! Die!”

Jack’s desperate roar broke Karl’s train of thought.

A fierce wind gathered around Jack, swirling violently before bursting outward in all directions.

A cluster of wind blades!

A massive number of wind blades filled the air, forcing Lochter and Fenry to retreat while wildly swinging their weapons to defend themselves.

Their bodies were soon covered in small cuts, as if they had been caught in a storm of razors.

This must be the hidden power Arthur ntioned.

Both sides stood still, gasping for breath as they glared at each other.

Jack, now keeping his distance, glared at them with murderous intent while slowly backing away.

“Cowardly bastards! I’ll have my revenge. Just you wait…”

Thud—!

His final words were cut off by a streak of blue light.

Even as his head shattered from the impact of the massive blue arrow, five more arrows followed, piercing Jack’s body relentlessly.

By the ti the barrage ended, Jack’s body looked like shredded paper.

“What a terrifying bastard.”

Karl shook his head as he watched Arthur erge from a distance.

Arthur had waited for the perfect mont—when Jack had expended his strongest technique and was exhausted, and when he was distracted by thoughts of escape.

He had pushed Lochter and Fenry to keep Jack occupied until the mont was right.

A perfect ambush.

The word that ca to Karl’s mind as he looked at Arthur, standing with his pristine bow, was Hunter.

Fenry frowned as she looked down at Jack’s mangled corpse.

For soone who specialized in fighting against other people, Jack had given her one of the toughest fights of her life. He was definitely one of the strongest opponents she had ever faced.

Still—

“What’s with calling us cowards? It’s not like we have any sha to begin with. Besides, you were the one who ganged up on first.”

“You’re right.”

“Have experience with that yourself?”

“I’ve been hunted by over three hundred assassins and bounty hunters combined.”

“Wow, what a total piece of trash.”

Fenry stomped on Jack’s corpse repeatedly, but it wasn’t out of anger—it was to retrieve sothing.

Her eyes lit up as she picked up the ring and crow blade from the remains.

Karl sighed as he watched her.

She never disappoints.

She truly lived up to her reputation as Donri Chaser, the gold-chasing elf.

“You’re planning to take everything for yourself?”

“I did all the work, didn’t I?”

“I’m the one who landed the final blow.”

“Co on, finishing blow doesn’t count.”

Karl glanced at Lochter, hoping for so backup, but Lochter rely blinked and looked back at him without a word.

He seed completely indifferent—his deanor scread of soone who had lived his entire life as a thick-headed knight.

This is when you’re supposed to demand a share, you know.

“Nella ntioned that all artifacts have curses on them, so only the original owners can use them.”

Kal had cursed every artifact he collected. Since he employed nurous dark shamans, he had the ans to do so. Releasing the curses required an enormous amount of rare materials, so most of the artifacts were left as they were since it wasn’t worth the cost.

But the twins’ artifacts were different.

“I know that. But these ones look special enough to justify the cost of removing the curse.”

“Do you know any dark shamans who could help?”

“No. I’ll just hold onto them for now.”

Seeing Fenry’s interest shift toward Howell’s belongings, Karl felt a sense of relief.

He had seen Karl collecting his share of the spoils. Lochter’s personality was easy to grasp, and Karl seed to have a knack for negotiation—thankfully, things wouldn’t get ssy.

“Let’s handle healing first.”

Their brief respite had co to an end.

Karl led the group under the tree where Nella was waiting. She imdiately got to work, tending to their wounds.

While observing the group being treated, Arthur fell into thought.

Everything had gone according to plan so far.

Jack and Howell had been eliminated—a huge accomplishnt.

The problem was what ca next.

They had to escape this place, but no clever solution ca to mind.

The Golden Doll Constructs will show up soon.

Before hunting down Jack and Howell, he and Lochter had done their best to lure the constructs far away.

By exploiting the constructs’ tendency to relentlessly pursue their targets, they had ensured that the constructs would target them instead of anyone else.

However, monts ago, one construct had already appeared—aning the others would soon follow.

These constructs would chase their targets to the death. With the Blyer army blocking all exits, there was no clear way out.

In their current condition, fighting the Golden Doll Constructs was not an option.

Lochter, Fenry, Karl, Elton—everyone was exhausted.

The constructs were immune to pain and incredibly durable. Even Lochter would struggle to destroy one quickly, and if a chaotic lee broke out, casualties were inevitable.

If only we had soone with light-elent abilities, we could turn this situation around.

Arthur glanced up at the moonlight shining down through the trees, frustration gnawing at him.

But the frustration didn’t last long.

There was only one way out, no matter how he looked at it.

“Are you talking about those constructs? The ones that attacked earlier?”

“The construct changed its target to you because you attacked it. They were originally coming for .”

“…What?”

They were engineered to bring death in exchange for death.

Their sole objective was to kill their designated targets—Arthur and Lochter.

“Let’s split up.”

Arthur decided to divide the group.

Though they were a formidable team when together, in their current state, sticking together would only lead to soone dying.

Nella and Elton were at the greatest risk. Nella’s combat ability was a hindrance in this situation, and Elton was too badly injured to move without assistance.

If weaker mbers stayed, others would be forced to protect them, which would divide their attention and reduce their chances of survival.

In this case, splitting up was the safest course of action.

“If we force Nella to keep taking risks, it might spark resentnt from the Black Rose faction later on…”

Nella wasn’t just any mber of the Black Rose—she was their spiritual leader. If she continued to be thrown into dangerous situations, it could create hidden tensions. Fenry, for example, might start voicing her dissatisfaction.

Reluctantly, Arthur decided it was best to let them go.

“Fenry, take Nella and head back.”

“To Beneta?”

“Yes. Can you manage that?”

“If it’s just the two of us, it’s possible.”

They weren’t targets, and Kal would be more focused on Arthur and Lochter, so he wouldn’t bother chasing Nella and Fenry. With Fenry’s shadow magic, they could slip past the Blyer army guarding the periter.

The only problem was Elton.

However, the person who saw them off wasn’t Elton—it was Karl.

With a serious expression, Karl nodded as he tightly clenched his lips.

“Make sure you survive.”

“Where are we supposed to go? Do you have a place in mind where we can regroup?”

Since the Golden Doll Constructs were only targeting Arthur and Lochter, it made sense for the two of them to move separately.

That would have been the original plan.

But Karl was a special case.

“Nella, before you leave, there’s sothing you should know.”

“What is it?”

“Karl can still be tracked.”

“…That’s unfortunate.”

“…Huh?”

Karl frowned in confusion, looking at Arthur as if asking what he ant. Arthur quietly moved Elton aside and patted Karl on the shoulder.

“Karl’s coming with us.”

“…What the fuck are you talking about?”

Karl’s expression turned fierce.

But Arthur had no choice. If Karl stayed with Elton, it would only put Elton in greater danger. As long as Karl’s location could be tracked, Kal would continue to send pursuers after him.

Being a master of divine power ca with its own set of problems—it attracted relentless pursuit.

“You’ve felt like soone was following you lately, haven’t you? Like sothing was constantly watching you?”

As Arthur calmly explained the situation, Karl’s mouth slowly fell open in shock.

Leaving the stunned Karl behind, Arthur approached Elton, who asked, “So, where am I supposed to go?”

“Where are your allies waiting?”

“There’s a rendezvous point. It’s not far.”

“Then head there.”

Just then—

Grrrrraaagh—

A grotesque howl echoed through the darkness.

The sound was getting closer.

Karl snapped out of his daze and began scanning the surroundings warily, while Arthur urgently turned to Fenry.

“Fenry!”

“Save your goodbyes. We’ll settle things when you get back.”

“And don’t forget—you promised pancakes!”

At Fenry’s signal, Banri briefly looked at Arthur, then waved a small hand before wrapping Fenry and Nella in shadows and sinking into the ground.

The two of them were gone.

Only Elton remained.

Without hesitation, they started running.

The rustling forest around them felt like the constructs could burst out at any mont.

As they ran, Arthur spoke to Elton about the plan.

“Take your allies and head to Blyer.”

“…What??”

“Huh?!”

Everyone looked at Arthur as if he had gone mad.

Blyer?

They had just fought to the death to escape from Blyer, and now he was telling them to go back in?

Karl let out a bitter laugh.

“Are you out of your mind? You want us to go back there?”

“For now, Blyer is the only place we can go.”

“What about Beneta? We can head there.”

“If we go to Beneta, it’ll be war.”

“…What??”

“There’s a Blyer army stationed at the border. If we try to break through, Kal will mobilize his forces. Lochter is like a thorn in Kal’s side.”

“You’re saying Blyer’s army will invade Beneta?”

“They could declare war and demand Lochter in exchange. That’ll leave us in a checkmate.”

“So, you’re saying we’re fleeing to Blyer instead?”

At Lochter’s question, Arthur shook his head.

Fleeing?

Why would he flee?

“Who said anything about running?”

“Then what are you talking about?”

“Are you just going to let them keep hitting us? If we’ve been hit, it’s only right to hit them back.”

“Hit them back?”

Arthur looked at Karl and Lochter as he spoke.

“Blyer is empty right now.”

He had a plan.

But before they could execute that plan, they first needed to survive Kal’s pursuit.

The reason Karl couldn’t go straight to Blyer was because Kal could track him using divine power. That was also why Karl had to stay with Arthur and Lochter.

There was no ti to explain further.

“Elton, do you trust ?”

“…I trust you.”

Elton owed Arthur his life after their previous encounter in Laup Forest. If he couldn’t trust Arthur, who else could he trust?

“Then trust and go now!”

“Understood.”

“Hurry! They’re getting close!”

Elton nodded heavily and quickly disappeared into the dark forest.

Though his staggering movents worried Arthur, with all the attention focused on himself and Lochter, Elton should be able to escape safely.

Watching Elton disappear into the distance, Karl let out a bitter laugh.

“Never thought I’d be jealous of Elton.”

“You need to stay sharp. It’s about to get real now.”

Karl turned toward Arthur, silently staring at him before slowly opening his mouth.

“So, what do we do now?”

“The sa thing we’ve been doing.”

“Running?”

“No. Surviving.”

Hearing that, Karl and Lochter chuckled and began running ahead of him.

Arthur stared at their backs for a mont, then casually threw out a suggestion.

“You two, interested in joining Hunt?”

“In a situation where we could die at any mont?”

“If you’re dead, you won’t be able to take the offer, will you?”

“What kind of ridiculous logic is that?”

“Take it or leave it.”

“Who said I didn’t want in?”

At Karl’s answer, Arthur smiled broadly. Lochter remained silent, but judging by his deanor, it seed he was on board as well.

The mbers of Hunt:

Karl Bastain.

Lochter Felice.

For now, it was the three of them.