Chapter 374: PTSD (2)
“Don’t you see anything unnatural or strange?”
“No. I don’t.”
‘Stop it.’
“You can relax, Hyunsung. The command is taking care of what you are worrying about as much as they possibly can.”
“But…”
“It’s understandable, but it’s not good to worry too much.”
“Yes. I understood. But perhaps…”
“Yes.”
“Is the detecting magic…?”
“We’ve already confirmed it, but… I will instruct them to investigate again.”
‘You didn’t understand at all. Fuck.’
I understood that he was worried, but I felt a little tired.
In fact, there’s not much time left to enter.
As we suddenly joined this operation, it is hard enough to pay attention to other parts.
We’re so bust to check even basic things.
Looking at Kim Hyunsung coming every day and saying useless things, it really looked like PTSD.
‘This bastard…’
He was looking openly anxious even now. I didn’t know what made him so nervous, but the expression on his face worsened as time went by.
His expression from yesterday was different from today’s. Even I was affected and thought that we shouldn’t head in like this.
Of course, that didn’t mean that I had delayed the schedule or thought about a different method.
It was a situation where we could be judged to be superior in power, and I knew that it would be disadvantageous if we did not manage to break through.
I could understand Kim Hyunsung, but no matter how I was to think about this, we could not delay it.
It was true that spending time here was abandoning Castle Rock, an important strategic point.
It is no wonder that I turned and glanced at the lovely returner. He wasn’t scared, but he seemed to be more worried about the current situation than anyone else.
I wanted to look into what Kim Hyunsung was thinking.
“We also have to keep in mind the possibility that the wall itself is a trap. There may be some magic in the wall itself, and there is also a possibility that explosive magic is built into the troops protecting the wall…”
‘You mean they would sacrifice such an army?’
“I think internal surveillance should also be a little more thorough. In particular, a little more thorough vigilance against dwarves… It’s a bit abrupt, but the investigation into the plague should also be conducted.”
“You mean the plague?”
‘Why are you improvising about the plague suddenly? Bastard.’
“We also have to consider the probability that the current confrontation has become a mass infection. A type of virus that only infects at close range…”
‘What kind of bullshit is this again?’
The explosive magic was bearable, but with the mass infection that had suddenly popped out, I had no choice but to hold my breath.
According to Kim Hyunsung’s words, the entire army currently blocking us had become a carrier of an unknown virus.
I had no choice but to wonder where this idea had come from. There was no way to make such an inhumane choice, no matter how much of a bastard Jin Qing was.
‘The masked garbage wouldn’t go this far…’
“Aren’t you thinking a little too much about this…?”
In the end, I had to say these words carefully. At this, Hyunsung spoke up once more. The candle was burning at both ends.
“I’m not, Kiyoung-ssi.”
“To sacrifice such troops for a simple trap… It will not be easy even for the Republic.”
“I am not worried about the Republic.”
“What?”
“Jin Qing, he…”
“…”
“I’m worried about Jin Qing. I’m not sure yet, but the devil summoner won’t tell the difference between friend and foe. For the sake of the purpose, he will not choose any means, and he might not care about sacrificing the troops of the Republic or the civilians. You must remember that.”
“What…”
“You should not assume that he is attached to the Republic or any group. You should simply assume that that’s all a device that can protect his body, even those closest to him. He is not a human that considers how much he sacrificed his troops to achieve victory.”
‘This bastard is going too far…’
No matter how trashy trash Jin Qing was, he would not be a human without any blood and tears.
‘Right. He wouldn’t be that much trash.’
“At least you should not assume that humanitarian methods or war laws designated by continental law will be considered. The same goes for women and children. Rather, those who are socially weakened are more likely to be used as long-term means. Please preach to be extra cautious in child soldiers’ case.”
“Yes. O-Okay.”
“Besides, do not touch other supplies or items coming from outside…”
“Okay.”
“You should be even more careful with the supplies used by enemy forces. As soon as the battle is over, used supplies must be disposed of immediately. What I’m saying right now may sound crazy, but you have to be more careful right after the battle is over.”
“Okay, Hyunsung-ssi. I will remember it.”
“…”
“…”
“Thank you, Kiyoung-ssi. Oh… you can continue sleeping… I’m sorry. I suddenly came at dawn.”
“No. No. I’m going to be up early today anyway. And a visit like this is rather nice.”
‘But knock it off.’
It was already the third time today. Once in the afternoon, once before bed, and once in the dawn.
It would be nice to think about it all at once and tell me, but he seemed to remember being backstabbed once every now and then.
It was indeed meaningful to indirectly experience how the masked trash backstabbed him, but I had a guilty conscience for some reason.
Of course, I had nothing to do with the masked garbage, but it was because I felt guilty that I could not protect Hyunsung in the first round.
Hostage play was the default option. I felt like I had heard all sorts of trash behaviors.
If everything Kim Hyunsung told me was what he had experienced, then I thought it was not unreasonable to pay attention like this.
‘So, the entire troop is a virus carrier?’
That wouldn’t happen, but if I really assumed that the plan was going on right now, the masked trash was the biggest son of a bitch in the world and real trash, deliberately sending troops to death.
What was more impressive was that the troops would fight, thinking that they were dying whilst fighting for the country.
‘This is real deception. Deception, I say.’
The thoughts that masked trash Jin Qing planted on them, the cause of the war, and the reason why his camp shouted justice were all just bullshit for a bigger sacrifice.
All of the usual wars went like that, but the idea of deliberately creating carriers and putting them into the war was an unthinkable idea that no one other than a real bastard could do.
Of course, the enemy forces in front of me were not carriers.
“It doesn’t change the fact that he’s going to die, but…”
‘We must keep the minimum principle. Yes, absolutely.’
Anyway, there was some good news.
First, the lovely returner had realized little by little that Jin Qing trash was indeed the masked trash. It seemed that he was still not completely sure, but it was safe to assume that he was almost sure by his reaction.
If he was not worried about that, there was no way he would come and pour out his anxiety several times a day.
‘For now, I can assume that I have stability.’
I had prepared a few more things, just in case, but at this point, I didn’t even need to do anything. In fact, I thought that the job should be done in the other direction.
Assuming that Jin Qing didn’t use wicked tricks, the returner’s gaze may fall out from him. Anything was fine, but such was a thing I wanted to prevent from happening.
It was when I was wondering whether I should show a new self-written play.
“Hmm…”
I heard something from outside. It had been a while since Kim Hyunsung went out.
‘Has it been three hours?’
Unlike what I thought that I would hear a knock on the door right away, the door started to open both suddenly and slowly.
‘Fuck.’
It was natural to feel instantly surprised.
We were on the front line with the enemy, and it wouldn’t be weird for an assassin to come in anytime.
I didn’t know how the hell they had gotten here, but that was not what matters now.
No wonder I had gotten up right away. I put myself on the wall and put my hand right into the bag. What I got had my hand was the Dragon Breath potion.
Cool sweat flowed down my back, and thoughts of all kinds began to pass by. The moment the sweat from my head flowed down the chin and fell, I could see the doll sneaking into the room.
“Hayan?”
“Oh! Oh! Y-Y-Y-You were up.”
What was visible was certainly Jung Hayan. I had to breathe a long sigh.
‘That scared me. Really.’
“What’s up?”
“I-I slept too much… during the day. I couldn’t sleep, so I just… yes… er…”
She looked really embarrassed. Perhaps she was trying to sneak into my room again.
Although I was stunned by her halting, I had to give a small smile after patting her head.
“You should rest a little more.”
“B-B-But, I really can’t sleep.”
“How much has your magic power recovered?”
“It’s hard to say that I have recovered greatly. It seems like I overused it recently, so it’s still only a little…”
“You can’t overuse it this time. You know you have to be out of combat as much as possible?”
“Yes. O-Of course.”
“Unless it’s a really dangerous situation, you’d better not intervene.”
“Okay…”
“Shall we go outside for a minute?”
“Yes!”
I could see her smiling continuously as if she felt good to take a walk together.
‘I was too careless.’
Of course, in the meantime, I had no choice but to focus on self-reflection.
‘I was lucky it was Hayan.’
Of course, an outside intrusion was almost impossible. The World Tree was helping the Kingdom of Eberia.
However, it was not impossible at all. As this was a world that could not be understood by simple common sense, there was no guarantee that if it were an assassin of the level of one of the seats, it would not be penetrated.
‘I guess I have to ask for an escort…’
It was comfortable to move alone, but at least I felt that I needed an escort to buy me time.
As we slowly climbed up the barrier with useless thoughts, a pretty beautiful landscape soon came into sight.
Of course, the walls still stood out today.
‘A few days left?’
No wonder I nodded at the greetings of the guards guarding the barrier. It was then that a loud voice could be heard.
-Surrender.
It was a voice amplified by voice magic.
‘It’s a propaganda activity.’
It was now time to rationalize the war they had waged by playing big voice magic and time to encourage surrender. It was time to criticize the present system and the State and appeal that they were justice.
By analogy, it was like a strategic loudspeaker sent to the enemy.
‘Well, that is also important.’
This was the first time I had heard of it today, but it felt like it was pretty elaborate.
-Dear elves. And I’m also talking to some dwarves. Our anti-State coalition is not your enemy. You are being deceived. We are deceived by the wicked lie of the State that disturbs the continent. I will say it again. Our anti-State coalition is not your enemy. If you do not intervene in the current war, we promise to pull back our troops immediately.
‘Tsk, tsk.’
The way he spit out his words was indeed amusing.
As I muttered unconsciously, I could see Jung Hayan staring at me.
“Well, let’s do some propaganda activities?”
The enemy was obviously unaware that such propaganda was my forte.