Chapter 56: Achievement Quest

“Those humans, you mean to say, they are still alive!?” The blond knight seems to be a to-the-point type.

“Indeed, they are,” I revealed. “I haven’t killed them as of yet.” I added as an afterthought.

“Who are you exactly?” The blond knight could no longer keep his calm. After having gone through so much, he was at his limit. He could no longer keep his calm. Not when some mysterious voice claims that his subordinates were still alive.

The blond knight might have reached his breaking point. But that didn’t concern me.

“I am just a monster with a bit of intelligence. You don’t need to concern with me.” I was having fun being mysterious, to be honest. I decided to play this part in the future. But first, I should finish this transaction.

“Now, tell me, will you help me or not?”

The blond knight fell into deep contemplation. He didn’t relax his guard, and neither did he loosened his grip on his sword. On the other hand, that other knight had already done a short work out of half-dead Lumina. Had the blond knight not stopped him, he would have pummelled her to death.

“Its already too late to help you.” The blond knight sighed and started, “the mercenaries are waiting for the daybreak at the foot of the mountain. The moment the sun rises, they will launch the raid.”

I heart sank. I felt like falling to a pit of ice. My spine chilled, and my back oozed cold sweat despite not having sweat glands. At the same time, I felt like slapping my previous self for being too coward.

This trouble was really not worth it.

“Is it that nothing can be done anymore? Human, you are well known for your intelligence, can you give me a way out?” I asked, hopefully.

“I am really sorry. I can’t do anything to help you.” The blond knight apologized, which didn’t make me feel relaxed at all. But, he had more to add, so I silently listened.

“But, I can give you an idea and a promise,” He said solemnly.

“What promise?” I asked back, feeling curious.

“If you really have my subordinates, I can fight by your side against those humans.” His vow surprised me to an extent. I felt suspicious. Is this person really this righteous?

Perhaps he was, but I am not about bet on some ‘what ifs’.

“Human, I am not dumb. Tell me, what are you planning?”

“Haha.” He laughed deprecatingly. I felt a hint of solitude and anger in that laugh. Of course, those weren't directed at me. “What I want, you ask! I want to kill a certain person who will join this group. I want to take advantage of the confusion when you clash with those mercenaries to kill that man.”

“Who is it?” I felt a certain sense of dread from this proposal. I had this feeling that If I agree without thinking, then an unimaginable calamity would befall on me and everyone around me. Even when I was facing that goblin lord, I didn’t have this type of dread in my heart.

Monsters’ had sharper senses than humans. They can feel dread coming from miles away. Not to mention, as a Dream weaver, I had a certain connection with the Oneiric world. My sixth senses towards danger and the future were pretty accurate.

“Does it matter?” The knight narrowed his eyes and asked back. He couldn’t see us, but I can see him as clearly as the day.

Why is that?

It was because of my passive ability Shadow Meld.

Making me invisible was only the tip of the iceberg. This passive has many more useful applications that weren’t listed. For example, it can mess up with detection type skills, making it hard for people to find me.

And therefore, even with his over the top detection skills, the knight couldn’t find me.

“Of course it matters,” I retorted. “If I remember correctly, you are talking about some prince back then. Don’t tell me you want to take advantage of the fight to kill him?”

“How did you know about that?” The blond knight was startled. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open. Hmph, did he think that I wouldn’t know his plan? But in reality, I was also surprised. I didn’t know I would really hit home with the truth.

“I heard you guys talking,” I said and then continued, “Human, don’t take me for a fool. If you kill him inside this place, the king will definitely come with his full army and kill us all.”

“You…” The knight was silent for a while before sighing. I saw a look of resignation on his face, coupled with a bit of astonishment as well. “Alright. I will make it look like it's done by a human. What do you think?”

“It's okay then.” I agreed since I don’t have any other way either.

“Okay. Now for the advice, the mercenaries are a loosely tied group that only cares about money and nothing else. But, they value their lives even more. Kill too many in a short time, and they will automatically lose confidence.” The blond knight said, making me think of that possibility.

That aside, his insistence on killing the prince gave me an idea. Since he was trying to use our situation to do the deed, why can’t I do the same?

“Good, I like your advice,” I said, feeling relieved as I got a possible solution to this calamity.

After promising him to let his friends go and warning him to not leave the forest, I left them alone. At the same time, I ordered Urt to have a few goblins on the lookout of those guys. If they dared to step out of the forest before the army arrives, they have to kill them at all costs.

Normally, juvenile goblins were no match for those trained knights. But, the current them were no different from wounded dogs. They were hurt both physically and emotionally and would pose no threat to a mass-ganking strategy of goblins.

…

That night we had a meeting where I explained the situation to the new orc lord and let him chose what he wants to do. Unexpectedly, he threw back the question to me with a curt ‘I will follow what you arrange for us’ and sat silently through the whole meeting.

Did he think that I am omniscient and omnipotent?

Although I wasn’t happy, it also gave me a leeway to act freely.

What surprised me however was something else. It was one of the orc elders, a relatively young elder compared to the rest. He gave a solution that left me speechless for half of the meeting.

“Why don’t we direct those natural goblins to attack them?”

Those were his exact words. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t think of that before. Maybe, I was too tense or maybe, I wasn’t fit to be a leader, but such a simple solution eluded me until one of the monsters said it.

As such, after the meeting, everyone left to prepare for the inevitable clash for survival the following day. I packed all the useful materials of goblin lord into a sack, and fastened it nice and tight. Urt was tasked with carrying it on his back the whole time. I won't feel safe by leaving it with anyone else.

Like that, the morning came, bringing with it an atmosphere of dread and seriousness. An absolute silence lingered throughout the camp as if the clam before the storm. Unfortunately, that blond knight didn’t listen to my advice and tried to leave the forest.

I had him captured and chained to a wall inside the snake pit. They will be my future test subjects if we win this war.

In case we couldn’t win this war, I also had a contingency plan. Although it will be a bit risky, still it was better than getting wiped out.

Though I hope we don’t have to resort to that.

“Are you nervous?” Looking at Logier’s shaking left hand, I couldn’t help but ask. Like humans, monsters also feel emotions like fear, nervousness, etc. In this regard, they were no different than humans.

“Hmm. I am going to fight with powerful humans.” He mumbled and then clenched his fist, showing a very humanisque emotion on his face, “I am excited to test my strength against the powerful human warriors.”

“Are you?” I couldn’t help but laugh. To my side, Urt, holding a metal shield and long sword, with a bag strapped to his back, shifted. Although he didn’t show it, I could feel his sneer at Logier.

It seems he disdained Logier’s nervousness.

Behind me, the new orc lord stood with a stoic expression. He wore a metal breastplate, shoulder, and arm guards. The amors look a few sizes-small on his stocky body. These items belonged to the knights we captured last night.

Since they were our prisoners now, why shouldn’t we make use of these?

Suddenly my vision blurred as a string of characters floated in my eye.

You have unlocked an Achievement Quest.

Achievement Quest 2: Reap what you sow.

Your actions in the past resulted in a butterfly effect that created fatal trouble for you. To prove your worth you must survive this calamity, and learn from your wrongdoings.

Quest Objective:

Survive until the daybreak.

Reward(s):

Title Effect Instant Evolution.

Remark: Just survive until night.