Although he looked tired, he wasn’t unsteady on his feet. He really did have that much energy left.
“That’s…very impressive.”
“All of my daily running is paying off.”
Zig’s training had helped him countless times in the past, but today he really appreciated it. He was grateful for the teachers who beat the habit into him, as well as himself for not slacking off.
“So how are we carrying him?”
“I’ll take him. I threw my sword away, anyway.”
Someone had to manually carry Leslie, since a dolly was not available.
Radian had thrown away his sword earlier because it weighed him down, so he took the responsibility on his own shoulders. He was just as exhausted as the rest of his party but was willing to do it for his comrade.
“Oh, I can carry him for you if you want.”
“Oh no, I’d feel bad letting a mage do physical labor…”
Radian refused Siasha’s offer, but then saw how she had already repurposed an earthen shield for Leslie to lay on. Granted, it wasn’t the safest platform to carry someone with broken ribs, but Radian bowed deeply to the woman who looked younger than him.
“Thank you!”
“He is in good hands.”
The group carried on to the rendezvous point while looking out for possible threats.
Norton took the lead with Radian and Nora at his side. Zig was at the rear, while Siasha and Leslie were in the middle of the formation.
Suddenly, Zig called out to Nora. “By the way, how old are you?”
“How out of the blue… I’m nineteen.”
“Nice.”
Zig pumped his fist into the air without changing his expression. He wasn’t going to ask everyone for their age during the rescue operation, but the fact that he had secured a high value target cheered him up.
“Oh, I see…”
However, the others took it the wrong way, ignorant of Zig’s contract. Nora sighed and shrugged.
“I guess once or twice is fine… You did save my life, after all.”
Nora didn’t look too shabby. She had a decently nice body too. She was used to male adventurers looking at her that way. Radian winced as the atmosphere became more awkward but said nothing.
Zig was only asking since Kirk would pay him more for younger adventurers, but he wasn’t about to refuse a reward if offered. He had been pent up lately and wasn’t thinking straight.
“Huh, I didn’t mean it that way…but I suppose—”
“What’s this, Zig?” Siasha said. “Are you trying to double dip on your rewards? That will not do.”
“The guild is already paying me for rescuing you, but I will accept your gratitude.”
Siasha turned toward him with a glare. Zig peered through her flowing black hair—doing his best to ignore her gaze—and promptly refused Nora’s offer.
Nora and the others immediately understood the power dynamics between the two. From that point on, they diverted all their inquiries to Siasha instead of Zig.
Back at the rendezvous point, adventurers had been brought in and were being treated one after another.
“We need some help here! The bleeding is bad! Real bad!”
“All right, this one’s done. Take him away!”
“We don’t have enough medicine. Anyone with mana left over, come over here and heal him! But be sure to have enough energy for yourselves so you can make the walk home.”
“It hurts? Then you’re fine. You can still walk if you can feel pain. Get going!”
Some were examining the injured and the extent of their wounds, while others were treating them. Still more people were carrying those who were too injured to walk.
Having set up camp, the adventurers were buzzing with energy.
There were a few stray blade bees and monstrosities, but nothing the adventurers couldn’t handle. Other monstrosities began to show up, perhaps because the blade bee swarm had been diverted earlier. However, as the rescue operation went on, medicine was beginning to run out.
“I think now’s a good time to call it,” a man carrying a crossbow pointed out to Sibasikul’s acting commander as more injured were carried away.
“How’s the operation looking?”
The commander gave it some thought before asking the scout about their current situation.
“Fifty survivors. Twenty confirmed dead. If we count the three who showed up earlier, that’s seventy-three confirmed adventurers, dead and alive.”
“That’s ten less than the information we got.”
The scout grimaced as he delivered the news. “Probably got carried off to the nest. A lot of bodies were mutilated beyond recognition.”
He had seen some blade bees cut up their prey into more manageable pieces while he was searching for survivors. The missing adventurers probably shared the same fate. Neatly preserved corpses were few and far between, and he could only confirm victims’ identities if their heads were intact.
“That’s a lot of deaths.”
“Can’t be helped. Considering all that’s happened, we’ve saved a lot.”
Twenty confirmed dead with ten missing and presumed dead.
Not many on the grand scale of things, but thirty was a lot of lives. Even if adventurers were used to facing death on a daily basis, the fear of it never went away.
After offering a silent prayer for the fallen, the acting commander turned and raised his voice.
“We’re withdrawing once the search team comes back! Get ready!”
Some complained at the order, but the adventurers got to work. They focused their attention on the most injured and helped the ones with more minor injuries back on their feet.
“What about Norton?” the scout asked, drawing attention to the elephant in the room.
It went without saying that the acting commander was worried about him too, but prioritizing his own comrades over the job would set a bad example for the others.
“This is a rescue operation. Norton’s an adventurer,” he said, failing to keep a straight face. “He knew the risks going in.”
The acting commander clenched his fist and looked down bitterly.
“Excellent decision making… But can’t you be a little bit more worried about me?”
“Huh?!”
He turned around toward the source of the new voice. His familiar comrade stood there, raising his hand in greeting with the three adventurers in tow.
“Norton! You’re alive!”
“Looks like it. I was ready to die but somehow survived. All I did was run, though.”
Norton’s comrades approached him. After celebrating their friend’s good health, they filled him in on the situation.
As they wrapped up, an adventurer called out to them, confirming that they were ready to go.
“You take care of the rest. I’m not cut out for this stuff.”
“I disagree. Good job out there today.”
Norton threw a joke at the former acting commander before getting back to work.
“We’re going home now but don’t get careless! Our work doesn’t end until we’re back at the guild. If you die a silly death, you’re not getting paid!”
Under Norton’s orders, the rescue team returned to the guild.
Perhaps it was because some time had passed since the nest was hit and the main threat had been dispatched, but the buzzing sound of wings in the forest was much quieter compared to when they first arrived.
The rescue team’s retreat was going smoothly, since many injured had already been carried off and an escape route secured.
The adventurers carefully walked through the forest, huddling around the injured.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Leslie had been moved to a stretcher-dolly that Radian was manning, so Siasha decided to ask him a question, since she had nothing better to do.
“Ask away.”
“So, who was the fool who fired that spell at the nest?”
Zig put his hand to his forehead at the insensitive inquiry, but it was too late.
The air grew tense immediately. Siasha’s innocent question carried heavy implications. Thirty people had died because of the stray spell.