Why can't humans do it too?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The flying pebbles that streaked through the air struck Suer's back, making his already pale face even paler, and leaving numerous cuts on his back from the shards.

These...monsters!

Cursing silently in his heart, Suer struggled to crawl forward, gripping every protrusion on the ground—he was really about to collapse, he longed to sleep, and he longed for a bowl of hot soup to warm his cold body.

Suer's vision was gradually dimming.

Then he saw it.

That most familiar figure crawling out from among the uneven stones.

"Hey, I've come to pick you up."

As if greeting someone warmly upon waking up in the morning, Lennie stood there raising his hand and grinning foolishly.

“…Are you an idiot?” he muttered softly. Suer simply stopped raising his head and relaxed on the ground. He could still hear Leni rushing over in a panic, thinking something had happened when he suddenly lay down.

Even though he was so exhausted that he was about to faint at any moment, Suer felt a warm current flowing through his body. Although it didn't bring him any more strength, it was enough to warm his numb hands and feet.

"Come on."

There was no time for further discussion, and the two finished their brief exchange.

"Oh, right, once we're safe, you'd better apologize to me properly for calling me an idiot!" With Suer's arm around his neck, Lennie pushed the two of them forward, his carefree nature making him unable to resist a small protest against the nagging he had just heard.

But no answer was received.

Because his weight was on Lennie's side, he had a moment to turn around and saw the guy—the white-furred guy with wolf ears who was swooping down in the air.

The cruel claws were reaching out in this direction, their exposed canines still stained with traces of blood; to touch them would tear them apart.

Lennie also sensed something was wrong and hurriedly tried to support Sull to avoid it, but Sull pushed him away violently. The two people who were so close seemed to be fighting, and everything seemed to freeze at this moment.

Bang! ! !

A vast expanse of white, the buzzing sound that filled his mind—for a moment, only this one sound remained in Suer's world.

It was as if a red-hot iron spoon had been scooping into butter, gently and softly, without any resistance. Sull clearly saw that when the white-haired orc's fingertips brushed against Lennie's arm, the flesh there was easily peeled off, as if a piece of blood-red tofu had been scooped out.

Before the deafening roar and the deafening sound of Asano Shirasu being struck by the pursuing Orks had even spread through the air, Sull and Lennie were already flying off the cliff in each other's arms.

This is the greatest blessing of the day.

They are still alive, even if only for this moment.

Chapter Fourteen: Negation

Tumbling, bumping, and crashing, all Sull could do was hold on tightly to Lennie, preventing the two from separating as they rolled down the slope.

After the initial numbness, the area on his arm where flesh had been lost finally began to throb with pain. Lennie groaned belatedly, the pain beyond what he could suppress by clenching his teeth. Amidst the dust kicked up, the two who had fallen off the cliff finally came to a stop—the only saving grace was that it wasn't a vertical cliff, otherwise they might have lost their lives on the spot from the direct fall.

"That way! Go that way!" Suppressing the urge to vomit, Lenny shakily got up, glanced around at his surroundings, and then forcefully stuffed his robe into the hole dug into his arm to stop the bleeding. His hair was already soaked with sweat, and large beads of sweat kept streaming down his forehead.

"Apply the herbs first!" Suer's hands were trembling uncontrollably. He picked up the herb bag that had fallen from Lennie's arms and wanted to stop Lennie's bleeding as soon as possible, but the next second Lennie grabbed his hand roughly.

“快走！快！”

After a brief hesitation, the clanging of metal and the roaring above their heads showed no signs of abating. Sur even heard new howls coming from elsewhere—the orcish reinforcements!

"Give me a hand," there was no time to waste here. As he spoke, Sul took a deep breath and turned his arm, which had been dislocated by the white-haired orc, toward Lennie. Lennie understood what he meant, and despite the pain, he grabbed Sul's arm and pushed it upward with all his might.

Click!

"Ugh!!"

Even though he had been prepared, the pain still made Suer cry out briefly. In a sense, it was like calling for a miracle. His body regained its strength, enough to help him and Lennie escape the area.

Suer never wanted to die, and the hope of life lay ahead!

The two silent figures leaned on each other, swaying as they made their way across the towering rocks. Lenny, who was usually so talkative that he couldn't help but chatter, remained completely silent. He didn't tell Sue that he seemed to be getting used to the pain, and even felt as if he hadn't been injured at all.

"Go, go to the front, to that hidden place, that's all we need to go," Lennie's voice gradually weakened. At first, he was the one supporting Sull, but now it was Sull supporting him.

"Don't talk, hang in there, Lenny," he comforted Lenny through gritted teeth. The sweat on his body was constantly drawing away his body heat as it came into contact with the cold wind blowing through the air, but it seemed to be enough.

After crossing the huge rock above, Sull saw several familiar figures who had noticed his and Lennie's approach and were shouting something as they came closer.

They are safe.

--------------

Lenny's condition was critical; he had lost too much blood, and the robe he used to cover his wounds was soaked with blood in most of it. As a result, the group had to quickly change Lenny's clothes and then move to another location.

Fortunately, even though they had only harvested less than a third of the herbs, it was enough to stop Leni's bleeding. It was no longer the time to consider future planting.

While quickly eating to replenish his strength, Suer listened quietly as Lennie boasted about his 'great adventure.' His face was completely drained of color, as pale as a corpse, and his breathing was rapid. Yet, he was speaking with great enthusiasm. If his physical condition hadn't prevented it, Suer had no doubt that this man could have jumped up on the spot and recreated the scene himself.

“…Sul? Sul!”

Sull vaguely heard himself being called, and he quickly raised his head to look at Lennie—Lennie's lips were moving constantly.

"Pfft, so this is how you lured the Oaks here?" Sull asked quietly, then saw Lennie's smugly smiling face again. This would be a source of pride for him for the rest of his life.

“There’s nothing we can do. Our demon language isn’t as good as yours, Sull and Riku’s. Not everyone can master several languages ​​like you,” Lennie sighed dramatically. “But I only need to remember a few special words, hehe.”

"Those Orks were indeed looking for Orcs, so as long as they hid in the direction leading to where you were captured and called out 'Orcs' a few times in the Demon language, those not-so-bright but incredibly perceptive Orks actually found out where the Orcs were."

"Yeah, yeah, to be honest, my back was so nervous I was drenched in sweat. I bet those orcs definitely spotted me, but as expected, they only care about the orcs compared to us."

"Oh! I'll have a lot to talk about when we get back to the village. I'm already looking forward to it, hahaha."

"..."

The small cave suddenly became noisy. After calming down, Suer's companions were incredibly excited about what had just happened—they had successfully tricked the demons and beastmen for the first time!

But compared to these things, what Suer cared about more was something else entirely.

Even if it's incredibly cruel and ungrateful for him to say such things, but...

"Thank you everyone, thank you for coming back to save me," Suer suddenly said, his gaze falling on each and every one of them, on these most lovable people who believed in him and were willing to die for him. If it weren't for them, he probably would have already died at the hands of that orc.

He was still able to breathe the cold air, see the color of the sky, and eat enough food to fill his stomach, all thanks to their life-risking rescue. Although everyone spoke of it so casually, as if it were just pouring a glass of water, how could Su'er believe it? How could risking one's life to lure the demons in that direction be a simple matter?

They truly teetered on the brink of death and came back.

The warm feeling of being loved still lingered in Suer's heart. If he hadn't been trying so hard to suppress it, he probably would have burst into tears. This feeling of happiness from being loved, and the deepest gratitude in his heart for Lennie, for Bull, for Gado, for Mori, for everything they had done—but was it really right?

One person's life versus four people's lives.

Why, why break the rules that everyone has already set out?

why?

Why turn around and save the life of someone who survived by sacrificing the lives of others according to the rules, and who should also be sacrificed here according to the rules?

Suer's throat was stinging.

This is not fair.

Chapter Fifteen: The Ironclad Rules That Must Be Upheld

It is neither fair nor permissible, so... it must be nipped in the bud.

In such a chaotic and unrestrained era, a rule that sustains everyone's survival must never be broken.

no matter who.

The entire cave suddenly shook, and some dust and pebbles fell around the group, some even hitting them, but everyone remained motionless—they all knew about the existence of that rule and what they had done.

Every individual exists for the sake of the whole and must work for the sake of the whole. Personal feelings cannot be taken into consideration. Only by making full and reasonable use of every individual can humanity band together to survive in such a world. For this reason, it is necessary to sacrifice one person to save two others and to give up the minority for the survival of the majority.

All those grand principles about human rights and how life cannot be measured in this way are utterly meaningless. The greatest value and the most important meaning is that more people survive after making sacrifices.

Beautiful words cannot save lives.

This is the rule, and it is also the biggest reason why the settlement where Suer is now located has achieved the proud result of not losing a single person due to illness or food shortages for five whole years, except for the normal outings to collect supplies, and has been able to develop thrivingly.

To achieve such a feat in such a world and environment is nothing short of miraculous!

Everything depends on these rules, these inviolable ironclad principles.

Suer hated it immensely, but had to admit that it was the right ironclad rule.

silence.

"...Haha, it looks like there's a fierce fight outside," Mori said, scratching his head awkwardly, sensing the heavy atmosphere. "Also, Suer, you didn't need to say that. You've done so much for us, so it's only right that we do this. We can't just stand by and watch you die like this, can we?"

"That's it, we all agree with Lenny's plan!"

"Everyone's back alive now! It couldn't be better."

Not dwelling on those words, Suer belatedly turned his head to glance at the direction of the cave entrance, then lowered his head again the next second. If he didn't, the tears that were about to burst from his eyes would probably be seen.

"Is it very noisy outside?" Su Er asked quietly, calming his breathing.

"Huh? It's huge. And there are roars from the Orks and shouts from the Orcs. They must be fighting with reinforcements. The battlefield looks wide. It's been going on for a long time... By the way, Sul, didn't you hear anything before?" said the brown-haired young man, Bull, asking curiously.

"I see..." Without answering Bull's question, Sur just muttered to himself softly.

He understood.

"But didn't I already order you to run away? Take the herbs you've gathered and go back to the camp."

Cruel words swirled in Suer's mouth, yet he uttered them softly without hesitation.

"Why go and lure the demons? What if you all die there...?"

Such high-risk and high-loss behavior must never be allowed to happen again, therefore, it must happen right here...

To those who have just risked their lives to save their own...

“There are very few adults left in the settlement who are capable of going out to gather supplies. If you all suffer losses here as well… then we will… then we will lose five…”

Suer's words were already broken and he could barely continue. Each word was squeezed out from between his tightly clenched teeth, filled with struggle—he hated himself for having to do these things.

There was no need to worry about her tears being seen anymore, because her choked voice had already betrayed her.

“That orc didn’t attack immediately, and I was the only one who could talk to him and stall him. It’s enough that you survived after losing me.”

"One life versus four lives."

"So, next time..."