Chapter 81

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As expected, the battle ended in victory for the expedition force.

No matter how unimaginable the regenerative powers of the mutations were, they couldn’t win against elites armed with aura-imbued swords and spears, various magic, and overwhelming firepower from guns.

The atmosphere among the expedition force after winning their first battle was generally cheerful.

Except for one place.

Bang!

“What exactly are you all trying to do here?”

Oswald’s angry outburst.

While there weren’t many people in the entire city who could face the anger of this leader of the six families head-on, the people in the tent merely showed slightly uncomfortable expressions rather than trembling in fear or displaying the disgrace of groveling on the ground.

The reason was simple.

Those present here were precisely those few people who could face Oswald’s anger head-on.

“I don’t understand why you’re angry when we didn’t even lose.”

A dwarf with a beard reaching his chest.

When Azern, representing Iron Giant, spoke with a gruff expression, those around him nodded in agreement with his opinion.

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“Of course I’m asking because I don’t know. Why are you angry when we won? Don’t tell me we should have lost?”

“Winning was expected! The problem is the casualties! One Gigant completely destroyed! Two severely damaged! 38 injured! 11 dead! You think this is normal?”

Nearly five times numerical superiority, carefully selected elite troops, overwhelming firepower, diverse equipment.

Objectively calculated, they could have achieved victory with extremely minor casualties or without spilling a single drop of blood, yet they suffered ridiculous losses with fifty casualties and three damaged Gigants.

The reason this happened was simple.

The mages and archers who should have unleashed overwhelming firepower conserved their mana and ammunition, the Gigants that should have blocked the enemy’s charge without sparing themselves subtly retreated, and the knights and warriors who should have actively dealt with enemies that infiltrated their lines only engaged those that directly attacked them or were nearby.

“Everyone needs to wake up. This is a crucial expedition with the fate of the entire city at stake. Think about the greater cause!”

Though they temporarily joined hands under the great cause of discovering uncontaminated land, the five factions only viewed each other as potential competitors, never as trustworthy allies.

Each force, reaching the rational conclusion that actively engaging would only expose their capabilities and increase casualties, didn’t properly commit to the battle, resulting in the entire expedition force fighting inefficiently.

It was natural for Oswald to be angry.

If there was one minor issue, it was that the six families weren’t free from that same criticism.

“You speak well. Someone might think only the six families fought actively? You didn’t fight properly either!”

At Azern’s pointed remark, Oswald cleared his throat and said,

“Ahem, the six families aren’t in a position to fight leisurely. Even just considering our Arkon family warriors, they need to use potions to fight at full power, but we’re not in a situation where we can receive supplies, are we? What’s wrong with trying to minimize potion usage in battles that aren’t dangerous, since we might not be able to fight at full power when we really need to if we use potions in every battle? Isn’t that rational judgment?”

“Bullshit. By that logic, we’re being rational too! There are limits to field maintenance! With limited parts and materials, and not knowing when the expedition will end, isn’t it natural to reduce strain on the Gigants?”

As soon as Azern finished speaking, representatives from other forces also began explaining why they couldn’t actively engage in battle.

“As everyone knows, research shows that contamination progresses faster when using and recovering large amounts of magical power in a short time. One sacred medicine per day isn’t enough to suppress the contamination of mages fighting at full power.”

“Even veteran mercenaries and hunters can’t recklessly charge at unknown enemies. Moreover, against monsters – we haven’t fought anything but humans and ainzu for the past hundred years, so we need some time to adapt before fighting properly.” [note]TLN: I’m having a trouble translating ainzu/아인종. It’s either “ainzu,” “ain race,” or “sub-race”[/note]

“We, the Sewer, aren’t a standardized group like you all. With individual skills, weapons, and professions all varying widely, our performance is bound to be poor in group warfare. You can understand that, right?”

They say there’s no grave without excuses, but these excuses were something else.

Faced with the combo flowing smoothly from the Nature’s Rest, the Mercenary, and the Sewer, Oswald finally exploded.

“You call those excuses? Are you saying we should give two bottles of sacred medicine to each mage?”

“I never said that. And why are you only targeting us? Wasn’t most of the damage caused because the Mercenary didn’t properly protect others?”

“We participated as the Mercenary organization, not hired by any one force. We have no obligation to protect others. If we’re talking about fundamental causes, I think the Iron Giant bears greater responsibility for allowing the orcs to break through.”

“We tried our best! The breaches were all the Sewer’s Vulcan’s fault! His non-standard modified Gigant charging ahead alone disrupted our formation!”

“It wasn’t just where Vulcan was that got breached, was it? Orcs broke through in other areas too, so blaming us is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“If this is how it’s going to be, let’s just quit everything!”

The situation was five minutes away from complete disaster.

The meeting, proceeding in an unbelievably emotional and disorderly manner for a discussion between leaders representing each force, finally ended around midnight.

“Sigh, watching these idiots who don’t even know how delicate Gigants are running their mouths makes my blood boil. I need to drink heavily tonight.”

“If it’s not too presumptuous, could I join you for a drink?”

“Who is it?”

“It’s me. We greeted each other this morning – surely you haven’t forgotten already?”

Azern, who had raised his voice at the sudden uninvited guest, showed a deflated expression after seeing the person’s face.

“The youngster called Kuzan or whatever. What do you want?”

“Exactly what I said. I thought I’d ask for a drink.”

“Follow me.”

An unexpected request and ready acceptance.

Taking the unscheduled guest to his tent, Azern set down two mugs of beer on the table and spoke.

“So what proposal has the Sewer sent you with?”

Yuseong’s eyes gleamed at Azern’s immediate penetrating question.

He had expected a simple-minded dwarf like Vulcan and thought reaching an agreement would be difficult – it was a pleasant miscalculation.

“I’d like the Sewer and the Iron Giant to form a secret alliance.”

“Aren’t we already in an alliance?”

“The alliance I’m talking about isn’t like the current one where we only cooperate on the surface, but a true alliance where we share the same fate. Until the expedition ends – what do you think?”

“I refuse. In the current situation, there’s nothing to gain from forming an alliance.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because cooperation is happening, however awkwardly. In this situation, openly taking sides will only result in greater losses.”

Though it wasn’t proper cooperation, it was still better than nothing.

If some forces openly formed alliances to reduce their casualties in this situation, the remaining forces would immediately form their own alliance, resulting in the expedition force splitting in two.

Even a three-year-old child knows which is better between everyone fighting together, however awkwardly, and fighting divided in two.

Like the saying about protruding stones getting hammered, none of the five forces wanted to stand out in the current situation.

Yuseong, who obviously knew this, smiled faintly and said,

“What I suggested isn’t something that would be visible, but a secret alliance that no one should know about or find out about. It’s just an alliance to prepare for contingencies – if the expedition proceeds and ends normally like now, our relationship would never be revealed to the world.”

“Contingencies?”

“Such as internal strife, for instance.”

“Ha! Internal strife? Nonsense.”

“We’re talking about uncontaminated land. Something valuable enough that the leaders and executives of the five factions personally led their elites on this expedition. Do you really think nothing will happen when we find that land? That everyone will fairly divide the rights and benefits to the land? With this much military power gathered?”

When Yuseong made a cutting motion across his throat, Azern swallowed hard.

“This isn’t underground. It’s a dangerous world where mutation monsters roam. If something happens, as long as we coordinate our stories, the chances of those below discovering the truth…”

“That’s enough. An alliance to prepare for contingencies, huh.”

After stroking his beard for a while, Azern spoke with a serious expression.

“If you meet one condition, we can form an alliance.”

“What’s the condition?”

“The Gigant that Vulcan created. Tyrant, was it? I want information about that machine.”

“…”

“Ahem, I simply can’t contain my curiosity. How did he create a monster more than twice the size of a standard Gigant? Output, weight, joint stress, operation – there must have been countless problems to solve. And above all, those arms! What function did he add to create such an appearance? Until I find out…”

“I’ll let you know.”

“Shouldn’t you ask Vulcan first? Can you decide that on your own?”

“Well, Vulcan won’t refuse.”

“No way. Do you know how sensitive he is about his work? He left the Iron Giant and joined the Sewer because he didn’t want to share his research. He won’t give it up so easily.”

“That’s for me to handle. I’ll consider us allies once I bring you the information about Tyrant.”

Leaving behind a dumbfounded Azern, Yuseong stepped outside and raised the corners of his mouth while looking at the sky.

‘This is exactly like a group project.’

Everyone knew the current situation was inefficient and needed improvement.

However, no one wanted to take on the role of group project leader.

Why bother stepping up when the reward would be the same whether you work hard or not?

In this situation, fighting hard would only benefit others.

Even before fighting the orcs – more precisely, from the moment he sold the map cut into several pieces – Yuseong had vaguely anticipated this would happen.

He was just a bit surprised by how perfectly it matched his expectations.

‘Well, now that I’ve successfully formed an alliance with the Iron Giant…’

After briefly looking around, Yuseong began walking toward neither his own tent nor Vulcan’s, but somewhere else entirely.

‘Shall I go form alliances with the remaining forces?’