How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 234

Episode 234 – It’s a Hunt (1)

There were many empty warehouses near the Blue Rose.

As Rengua moved away, Kal took the enemy knight into a dark, unlit warehouse.

A space of complete darkness.

He had chosen a place without even a single ray of light to account for Fenry's shadow movent.

Even if one hides their presence and moves, when Fenry Chaser is nearby, one must always be wary of shadows.

He had mories of suffering in the past due to shadow sorcery.

He had learned the weakness and had counterasures, but Kal still disliked the situation.

"Being weak is like a terrible curse."

Kal found the situation laughable.

Despite holding a clear advantage, the mont Rengua left his side, it beca the most dangerous timing.

His own weakness was the only flaw that always held him back, and it was also the reason he had died helplessly in the past.

The power he absolutely needed to obtain if he wanted to take control of this world.

But it was a power not granted to him.

‘Overwhelming strength?’

His craving for power had only grown after returning, but the innate limitations of his frail body were undeniable.

That’s why he had thrown himself entirely into expanding his forces as a substitute.

To make up for the lack of strength with numbers.

"I’ve realized that thod was wrong."

He tried to expand more rapidly and powerfully than anyone else, taking advantage of a regressor’s privileges.

But after suffering a major defeat at ‘his’ hands recently, he ca to understand that his thod had been mistaken.

Ironically, it was because of ‘him’ that he found a new path.

A new path upon which he staked his fate.

But was that new path truly the right one?

Kal couldn’t be sure.

‘And that’s exactly why I’ve beco more certain of it, haven’t I?’

There’s no way ‘he’ would know about this new path Kal himself didn’t fully grasp yet.

Kyaaahhhh!

The screams of won burst from beyond the wall.

It seed Rengua had begun the hunt.

Kal leaned against the dark wall, waiting for news to arrive. Failure wasn’t even a consideration.

As long as Fenry wasn’t present, there was no one here who could stop Rengua.

Monts later, as the sharp scent of blood reached his nose, a familiar voice followed.

"Lord, I’ve returned."

"The Priestess?"

"I’ve brought her."

“Ahk!"

A suppressed groan rang out.

Kal unfolded his arms and had the enemy knight move.

Ffwoosh—

The torch ignited, and in front of his eyes, an elf with disheveled blonde hair was restrained in Rengua’s grip.

Other elves, likely workers from the Blue Rose, had also been dragged in, all seemingly unconscious.

Only Priestess Nella was conscious.

She struggled, and as Kal erged from the darkness, her eyes widened in shock.

"Ka, Kal!? How are you here… kuhk!"

"If you want to keep your neck, shut up until your lord asks."

While Rengua growled lowly, Kal stood in front of Nella.

He looked up at her with dry eyes, and she turned away, stifling a groan.

She was resisting his ntal domination instantly.

At the sight, Kal seized her jaw and forced eye contact.

"So priestesses really are different, huh?"

“Y-You’ll be punished for this… you…”

Perhaps reminded of the other elves who had died protecting her, Nella’s glare was fiercely hostile.

"Punished, huh. Yeah. Maybe I already am. Living again, that is."

".?"

"You know about the ‘research journal’ that Hunt left behind, don’t you? Where is it now?"

Nella remained silent, only glaring at him.

Kal easily read the answer in that silence.

"You do know."

Elves, bound by the power of spoken word, suffer a blow to their very being when they lie.

As a priestess, that restriction would be even more severe.

But that didn’t an Nella would willingly speak.

"Rengua, her mories?"

"…It seems her ntal barrier is thicker than the other elves, probably because she’s a priestess. It’ll take so ti."

"That’s troubleso. This place is too dangerous."

"Then shall we move to another location…?"

"Have you forgotten the objective? I don’t need the priestess. I need the ‘research journal’ in her mind."

Kal glanced at the fallen elves.

"And these?"

"Elves who tried to escape with the priestess. They were all exceptionally beautiful, so I brought them in case they proved useful."

"Good. They’ll be of imdiate use."

At Kal’s signal, Rengua nodded, instantly grasping his lord’s intent.

As Rengua waved his staff, the unconscious elves stirred awake.

They trembled in fear as the enemy knight slowly approached.

Seeing this, Nella caught on and scread out.

“W-Wait!!!"

"The journal?"

"Begin."

"No!"

The enemy knight raised his blade.

Aaaahhh!

The brutal torture began.

As the ones who had been like sisters to her at the Blue Rose were slowly reduced to a miserable state, cracks ford in Nella’s ntal defenses.

Kal stirred her mind further with the Sigil of Allure, while Rengua manipulated her mories—Nella quickly broke down.

Dominic Huaton’s Chira Research Journal.

“I-I’m sorry!?”

The location of the journal, which Arthur had entrusted to her, was extracted from her mory storage.

Nella, who had been screaming, finally collapsed from the ntal shock.

“Where is it??”

"The Blue Rose Inn."

"First, we need to get rid of the watchdogs guarding the house."

By now, Fenry had likely realized the priestess had been kidnapped.

She would want to tear the area apart searching, but with Wiley tying her down, she wouldn’t be able to move freely.

Wiley’s bloom attribute was ‘Wind’.

He was a knight as fast and agile as Fenry herself.

Kal moved his fingers, and the enemy knight lifted Nella onto their back.

Monts later—

KWAANG!!!!

The enemy knight smashed through the warehouse roof and began sprinting across the rooftops.

The noise was loud enough to draw attention—enough to catch Fenry’s focus mid-battle.

"N-Nella!!!!"

Fenry reacted imdiately.

Ignoring the wounds inflicted by Wiley’s blade, she focused solely on pursuing the enemy knight.

But the enemy knight didn’t flee alone—he moved in coordination with Wiley.

Realizing she couldn’t rescue Nella alone, Fenry sounded a signal.

BEEEEEP!!

At her signal,

Crash! Crash!

Rose warriors who had been fiercely resisting at the inn suddenly poured out through the windows.

They were moving to rescue the priestess, following Fenry’s lead.

Though the base had been taken by the enemy, Fenry prioritized Nella over territory.

As they rapidly distanced themselves from the Blue Rose, the building fell into the knights’ control.

When Kal and Rengua entered the Blue Rose, the knights greeted them with respect.

All around, elven corpses and knight corpses lay strewn across the passageways.

The remnants of a fierce battle.

"Rengua."

"I’ll guide you."

Rengua took a marble and led the way up the stairs.

Kal ordered the remaining knights to guard the area and followed behind.

First floor, second floor, third… fifth.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, Rengua swiftly turned down a right-side corridor.

Soon, he opened a door at the end—not to a room, but to a worn staircase.

Climbing it, a secret room was revealed.

Fenry’s office.

Rengua entered and whispered in awe.

"Oh! This is a huge amount!"

In a corner of the room, crates piled high with gold coins glead.

Who would’ve thought the elves possessed so much gold? If they took all of it, it would be a massive boon.

But unlike Rengua, Kal showed no particular reaction to the gold.

"Bring only the small boxes. Leave the large ones behind."

"B-But..."

"Is gold more precious than your life?"

"…Forgive ."

"The journal?"

"Over there."

Rengua pushed aside the wall behind the chair and retrieved a leather-bound book.

Kal quickly flipped through the pages after receiving it.

Fixing on a certain page, he read familiar words aloud.

[A Hundred Hearts, Arena Huaton]

A thod for creating a body compatible with the heart of an Absolute Being.

"Found it."

Kal smiled with satisfaction, baring his teeth.

Kal’s group leapt over the city walls.

With many knights carrying small gold-filled crates on their shoulders, the clinking of coins echoed as they climbed—but Kal paid it no mind.

All the troops defending Beneta were currently focused on the ruined outer wall, the lord’s castle, and Priestess Nella.

No one was left to stop Kal’s group.

Roughly half of the 150 elite knights had survived this battle.

As they crossed the wall, Kal looked up at the night sky.

A sharp crescent moon greeted him.

Judging by its position, dawn was near.

‘Has a whole day passed?’

It seed like they had made it out just in ti.

A few days ago, Kal had confird Hunt’s elite forces gathering at Elletor’s fortress.

If they moved in earnest, they could reach Beneta in a day.

That was why Kal had moved quickly—encountering Hunt here would be a problem.

He needed to finish the job and reunite with the main force before then for safety.

Hiiing—!

They descended the wall and boarded the prepared wagon.

Kal, seated inside, observed Beneta’s situation.

"Any word from the Shamans?"

"Nothing unusual. Everything appears to be proceeding as planned."

The Shamans’ role was to inflict maximum damage from within the broken walls.

They didn’t care how many allies or enemies died.

Their main objective was to fill the Dagger of the Dead with as many souls as possible.

‘Harkman… still not yet?’

Through the enemy knight stationed near Harkman, he assessed the situation at the lord’s castle.

To collapse Beneta, they had to break through the first outer wall, the second inner city, and the third—the lord’s castle.

Harkman was currently stalled at the passage connected to the city’s core.

A massive iron gate blocked the way, but it wasn’t just any ordinary iron gate.

It had been forged by Dwarves with serious intent—ordinary thods wouldn’t break it.

Most would exhaust themselves before even cracking it.

But the opponent this ti wasn’t average.

‘With Harkman’s Steel Attribute, it should be enough to break it, right?’

If they could breach the gate and enter before Hunt arrived, they could definitely eliminate Dorneth.

Even within the sa tier, there were clear power differences between those from Hell Gri and those from the Tobaron region.

"If news of Dorneth’s death spreads before Hunt’s main force arrives, Beneta will fall."

Until then, Fenry—who could beco a variable—needed to be restrained.

Kal gently closed his eyes, checking the enemy knight’s condition.

No notable injuries yet.

Wiley was doing a better job restraining Fenry than expected.

Since the knight had Nella as a hostage, Fenry couldn’t recklessly attack and was only approaching cautiously.

In fact, Wiley’s fierce assault was leaving more wounds on her by the minute, and seeing her covered in blood stirred Kal’s greed.

"Should I eliminate her?"

No.

He already had the journal he’d aid for.

Kal resisted the temptation and was satisfied with just buying ti.

He wanted to keep Wiley alive and bring him back if possible.

The Black Roses had the area surrounded, cutting off escape routes, but as long as the priestess was in the enemy knight’s hands, they couldn’t act rashly.

At this rate, they could destroy Beneta completely.

As he leaned in the carriage and monitored the situation through the enemy knight’s senses—

“…Hmm?"

Kal furrowed his brow and shut his eyes tightly.

A small black dot appeared in the enhanced vision of the enemy knight.

Sothing was charging toward them from the front.

Incredibly fast.

An arrow?

It was still at a dodgeable distance, so he observed.

But then the black dot elongated like a streak.

“…!”

Kal suddenly stood.

It wasn’t an arrow.

This was…!

"A fist?!"

In the blink of an eye, the black dot transford into a human figure.

He had never seen a charge at such speed before.

And that familiar silhouette that suddenly closed the distance—

A face twisted with fury.

It was him!

"Kal!!!!!"

"Alex!"

The mont Kal clenched his fist and sprang to his feet—

KWAANG!!!!

“Kugh!”

A blow like his head was exploding slamd into him, snapping his neck back.

“L-Lord!”

Before he could even properly react, the enemy knight’s head exploded.