Chapter 1471. Continental War (51)

‘Okay. This should be enough.’

Of course, it didn’t mean the young ladies could completely capture and take out all the Brigade members. The difference in strength had been considerable from the start, and it was hard to expect the entire tide of battle to turn just because Brush was granted the class called "Devotee of the Black Rose."

Still, for an Epic rank, it was a cost-effective and fairly well-made class, so it was satisfying enough, but the problem was the person using it. Brush was never really skilled in combat to begin with. Even if she were, wouldn’t it still take her quite a bit of time to adapt to a new class?

Of course, it wasn’t just her. It also served as a kind of motivation for the other young ladies.

The best phrase to use to describe the current situation was that things had evened out. Wasn’t it common knowledge that the presence of a priest would make a huge difference in battle?

Unlike the Murder Brigade, who had Sun Hee-Young, the young ladies had limited ways to recover from injuries. They had already reached the limits of what they could restore through cheap potions.

On top of that, Sun Hee-Young was even raising the dead, and for some reason, those corpses seemed capable of using a portion of their original strength.

Fortunately, Lady Brush went through some kind of awakening, so even if she couldn’t carry the fight, she would clearly become a foothold supporting the others. As a bonus, she could handle the undead, too. The young ladies stared at Brush with surprise and nodded once more.

It looked like they thought victory had come to them.

‘My young ladies seem like they're getting pretty carried away.’

To put it bluntly, their faces made it seem like they hadn’t even considered the possibility of defeat. Well, they believed Peneloti was with them, so it was only natural they would look like that, but it still felt like they were placing an almost embarrassing amount of trust in her.

Of course, I wasn’t particularly worried. Normally, excessive confidence tended to have a negative effect in battle, but the young ladies right now weren’t like that.

They were squeezing out every last bit of strength they had and throwing themselves into the fight. It wasn’t arrogance or conceit, but conviction, and that wasn’t the only good sign.

The Brigade members were probably getting headaches by now. There was no real reason for the Brigade to keep this fight going. It was fine as a bit of entertainment at first, but there was no reason to seriously try to kill each other.

Well, perhaps the members wouldn’t mind spending more time here with the young ladies, but at least the ones at the top of the brigade wouldn’t be pleased about how messy things had become.

They'd regret leaving the remaining pieces behind, but there was no reason to keep rolling the dice any further.

At this point, the one most likely to irritate First Ji-Hye was obviously...

‘The troublemaker Jin-Ho hyung.’

Jung Jin-Ho was the one tearing people apart without restraint.

“...”

‘No wonder they cut ties with him...’

He had regrouped with the brigade members a long while ago and was supposed to be carrying out the next operation, but instead, he completely lost his mind and was rampaging like a madman.

It didn’t look like he had any intention of listening to orders and controlling himself. He had utterly smashed the restraints placed on him. He usually followed the leaders’ words, but strictly speaking, they had no way of forcing him to follow their words.

When I remembered that Jung Jin-Ho was the founder of the brigade in the first place, the answer became obvious—the only reason he obeyed their instructions was that he personally considered them reasonable.

The fact that he was now going completely berserk in the middle of the battlefield was practically the same as telling First Ji-Hye that all future operations were canceled.

‘How are we supposed to keep working with a lunatic who'll ruin everything just because he wants a taste of blood?’

Every operation connected to the 4-2 Front, or perhaps even those connected to the 4-1 Front, was scrapped, and it was all because of Jung Jin-Ho’s outburst. Naturally, the backlash reached the Brigade members fighting the young ladies.

I figured they would receive word soon, but what caught my eye instead was Sun Hee-Young staring blankly at one spot.

"The operation is canceled."

"What kind of bullshit is that, Sun Hee-Young?!"

"I’ll need to hear the exact reason again myself, but out of several factors, at least one seems certain."

"And what’s that?!"

"They say the captain is going on a rampage."

"..."

"This is a message from the higher-ups. All units are to retreat and return. There’s no more business on this front. There’s no reason to continue this pointless, meaningless fight. We’ll not move on to the 4-1 Front. It’s been decided to leave that entirely to another captain."

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Damn it! Just give us a little more time! Going now or thirty minutes later is the same anyway! And isn’t Jin Cheong handling the 4-1 Front right now? He can’t manage it alone?!"

"It’s an order from the top."

"Don’t give me that! You’re just ending it like this? What the hell?! And what’s with you crazy twins all of a sudden, where are you going?!"

"They said there’s no more business here."

"Yeah. They said there’s no more business here. We should hurry back. That way, we'll get praised."

"Praise my ass, damn it! What is this? You’re all just ending it like this? Sure, that’s what they said, but you’re just going to leave these rookies here like this? Damn it! Just like this? I can’t accept it! I won’t accept it!"

"Whether you accept it or not isn’t the issue. The decision’s already been made..."

"D-damn it... damn it!"

"We’re moving."

"W-wait... are you all seriously leaving? H-hold on! If we’re retreating, grab the mages first! Get the mages first!!!"

A plain-looking man came into view. He sighed as he pulled the masked woman into his arms.

"

Hoo

... you really are a handful. Well... it was fun for a bit. You guys, too."

"Hey! Don’t grab my waist, you creepy bastard!"

"Hey, didn’t you just say we should secure the mages first? I was only trying to help... I definitely was—

Ah

... but what was your name again?"

"I told you a dozen times to call me Miro!"

"Ah, yes, right. I’ll remember it clearly. Miss Miro."

"Yeah, right. You’ll forget again in a few minutes anyway... A-anyway, you lot better remember this too! Don’t think this is the end! I’ll show you what real magic is next time!"

"Could you stay still for a moment? Miss... Miro?"

‘Those two kind of have good chemistry.’

The battle was practically over. I expected it, but still...

Our young ladies didn’t seem to have any intention of chasing them. Many thoughts were probably running through their heads, whether chasing the Brigade was the right choice or whether they ought to keep holding onto their desire for revenge.

Of course, their resentment and hatred toward the Brigade didn't actually vanish.

Lady Paint alone was glaring at their retreating backs. The others were no different. It looked like they still wanted to chase them to the very end, but for now, they seemed to have decided that confronting them wasn’t the right call here.

First of all, Peneloti’s sudden voice calmed some of their anger, and secondly, they realized that there were more important things left to do, and it was all thanks to the voice telling them to light it up together.

Even so, the unsettled atmosphere didn’t clear up. Pastel was still calling out Peneloti’s name, and the others also seemed to be waiting, hoping to hear her voice again.

Even though each of them had already spoken with her once, they kept waiting for another message from her. I thought saying a few more words could help motivate them, but I couldn’t keep spending time on them forever. Even so...

‘Yeah... I should at least say something.’

[Creating a Legendary Forced Quest.]

[Always Together! (0/1)]

[Delivering the Legendary quest to Pastel and the eighteen noble ladies.]

"Yes... Peneloti. Always together."

"Always... together..."

"Always together!

Heuuuk... heuk...

"

"

Heuuuuuuung...

"

‘It is kind of a touching moment.’

For no particular reason, I found myself quietly watching them.

[Creating a Legendary Forced Quest.]

[Always Together! (0/1)]

[Delivering the Legendary quest to Pastel and the eighteen noble ladies.]

"Yeah! Yeah! Peneloti.

Heuk... heuk...

always together!"

"Yeah."

"Yeah!"

"Yeah... yeah..."

I saw them standing there, wiping away their tears and snot. Compared to how they used to look as noble ladies, it was a ridiculous sight, but somehow, they also seemed more mature than before.

The way they hesitated to take a step told me that they vaguely understood the fact that once they left this place, they wouldn’t hear Peneloti’s voice anymore.

They weren’t talking to each other, yet all of them were reluctant to move.

Just then, someone brushed past the young ladies. She took heavy steps and stomped forward.

‘Brush.’

"Let’s go.

The girl who was always the last to move was the first to step forward this time.

"We have to light the way."

"..."

"..."

Palette nodded at her words and put a cigarette between her lips. It was her usual look, but there was a bit more resolve in her eyes.

"Yeah, let’s head out."

Lady Paint rubbed her tear-streaked eyes with her dirty hand and forced herself to move. Since she had always been the one to bring up the hardest topic, she looked as if a weight had finally been lifted off her chest. The guilt buried in her subconscious hadn’t disappeared completely, but the gloom over her face seemed at least a little lighter.

"Always together."

Pastel still couldn't move.

"Heuk...

heuuuk

... always...

sob!"

She stayed frozen in place, staring up at the sky and crying like a child, but I figured that wouldn’t last long. Lady Paint was already slowly walking toward her. I could also see Paint hesitantly reaching out a hand to Pastel.

For her, it had to have taken an incredible amount of courage. Even though they had fought together and had come to understand each other a little, that alone could never make up for all the misunderstandings that had been piling up over four years.

Even so, Paint looked at Pastel with trembling eyes and hands. Seeing her hesitate to fully offer that hand, I had no choice but to give her back one more gentle push.

[Creating a Legendary Forced Quest.]

[Always Together! (0/1)]

[Delivering the Legendary quest to Pastel and the eighteen noble ladies.]

‘Ah, just make up already.’

As expected, Pastel grabbed Paint’s outstretched hand.

"Peneloti...

heuuuuuk... heuk...!

"

Before long, I could see the young ladies gathering together in one spot. For a moment, it looked like they were hatching some kind of plot, but since things seemed more or less settled, I turned my gaze elsewhere.

Kim Hyun-Sung was still walking the battlefield of the 4-1 Front, while Lee Chang-Ryeol was watching him. Sung Ji-Hoon had finally met up with Ryu Han, and when I looked back at the young ladies again...

‘Wait, where did everyone go?’

All I saw was an empty clearing. It seemed that they had already headed back to the battlefield while I was looking away. though it hardly counted as a substitute, they had left behind something that caught my eye.

Before I knew it, I found myself reading the words carved into a rock.

[The twenty noble ladies who fought to light the way.]

‘You’re not noble ladies anymore. And you didn’t fight to light the way, you fought for revenge...’

“Paint, Brush... Hamgardia. Pastel...”

“...”

“Palette, Rainelpia. Rusvilla...”

“...”

“And...”

“...”

“Together with Aina Peneloti.”

It seemed they intended to carry on the tradition after all.

“...”

The corner of my lips lifted for a moment, and then my eyes shifted toward the 4-2 Front, where Sung Ji-Hoon was located. However, my legs moved quickly toward the 4-1 Front, where Kim Hyun-Sung stood.

‘I just need to deal with Ji-Hoon.’

I saw the Holy Sword Hero cross blades with Ryu Han.