A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

After much effort, Bray found a place to put his belongings, found a set of casual clothes, and put them on.

Bray sniffed the clothes.

"There shouldn't be any problem..."

We can only pray that the original owner didn't have any hidden illnesses. If they did...

Bray shuddered.

"Then I'm really unlucky."

Once the supplies had been mostly collected, Bray decided to leave the ruins.

But not now, the sun has already set.

This is the time when monsters and wild beasts roam.

Bray didn't think he would become stronger after watching a major battle...

An F-rank mercenary can't even beat a slime.

After eating almost all of his food, Bray realized he still didn't have any tools on him.

There wasn't even a single rope or anything like that.

"This is really troublesome."

Scratching his head, Bray looked dejected.

However, we still need to keep searching.

Just as Bray was about to step out to find his tools, he suddenly felt a chill on his ankle, as if something had grabbed him.

Bray opened his right eye wide and saw a hand grabbing his foot.

"Help me..."

The hoarse voice made Bray pause for a moment.

A man wearing an iron helmet, whose face was obscured, lay on the ground.

This person is still alive.

However, Bray sighed and broke free from the man's grasp.

"Help me..."

With a hoarse voice, he repeated his plea for help.

The bloodless hand kept pounding the ground, trying to bring me back.

When they were initially searching for supplies in Bray, they were also looking for survivors.

However, Bray later abandoned this idea.

Because there are many people still clinging to life, but none of them can be saved.

Everyone's body was strangely mutilated.

Bray was the only lucky one; he only lost an eye.

But others weren't so lucky, or perhaps there were others as lucky as Bray, but Bray didn't find them.

How can a mutilated body be considered bizarre?

For example, the person calling for help now has their lower body detached and is several meters away.

Blood was still gushing out, but the person could still move.

Moreover, it looks like they've been holding on for several hours.

To be in this state, clinging to life for hours, is simply—

curse.

Only when he thought about this did Bray feel lucky.

Bray also understood that it was because of this curse that he could still survive despite bleeding like this.

But Bray knew very well that this situation would not last forever.

Because the blood was still flowing from his eye socket.

Perhaps I won't live much longer.

"I'm sorry, I can't save you."

"Help!!!! Help me!!!"

Ignoring the piercing screams, Bray staggered away.

Bray wanted to save this person, but that was all he wanted to do.

Bray was neither a clergyman nor a doctor, and he didn't have any first aid equipment.

Even if you bandage this person up, it won't help.

They couldn't be saved; that's the cruel reality.

A few seconds later, the person who had called for help went silent.

Bray froze when he heard the sound of someone falling to the ground behind him.

Then they continued walking.

Behind him lay countless mutilated corpses lying on the ground, buried under rubble.

Night gradually fell.

The ruins, which were once filled with groans, are now silent.

The silence was terrifying.

“It’s much better now than all the groans,” Bray said with a wry smile.

The absence of groans speaks volumes.

But he was not dead yet.

Bray crawled into the old prison and found some stones to block the entrance.

"..." Bray touched a cold corpse.

Goodnight, jailer.

Bray closed his right eye, while his left eye, now devoid of its ball, gazed at the dark prison.

I thought of the countless people who had perished in the fortress at that moment.

Garuda's words echoed in Bray's mind.

— "Black iron ants".

Looking at it now, it really does look like an ant.

So fragile, it was destroyed in an instant.

It's all because of the appearance of the so-called "Bronze type".

The casualties were not caused by the aftermath of the battle.

Very few people actually died in that battle.

An ant crawled onto Bray's arm.

Bray, who had intended to crush the ant, stopped.

"Go to sleep."

These were truly disastrous days. During the day, birds soared in the sky.

“dong”

Bray had originally planned to kick away the stone blocking the gap, but it seemed that Bray had overestimated his current physical strength.

"dongdong!!!!"

With great effort, Bray finally managed to push all the stones away.

Emerging from prison, Bray was blinded by the long-awaited sunlight.

"... "

Bray never imagined that he would one day be unable to stand the sun.

Bray unfolded the parchment Barossa had given him and stared at it silently.

A piece of parchment without any text or pattern, its meaning unclear.

However, Bray still put the parchment back in his pocket.

Today, Bray can be said to have no destination.

Should I go back to the town I was in before and continue taking on quests to earn money?

Bray suddenly didn't want to do that anymore.

There was no reason, it was just that Bray was still recovering from the huge shock he had recently received.

After a while, Bray might want to continue being an adventurer.

After all, Bray needed to earn money to support his sister's education, and survival also required money.

In conclusion, Bray still had to continue working.

But at the very least, right now Bray doesn't want to go to the guild to get quests.

"No matter how you look at it, they're my savior..."

Convincing himself in this way, Bray set himself a goal.

He handed the parchment to the caretaker of Clinton's suburban cemetery.

However... how should I put it, the combination of a cemetery and a gravedigger is really not a likable combination.

Bray left the ruined fortress and began his journey.

"Although I don't know which way Clinton will go, good luck to him."

Bray tried to cheer himself up without any enthusiasm.

Then, as I walked, I got dizzy.

---

"..." Bremer sat up silently.

Bray is now in a carriage.

Bray fainted, probably from excessive blood loss.

As mentioned before, even with continuous blood loss, the area around the eye socket won't kill Bray outright.

However, anemia can still cause dizziness.

As for the underlying principles, I have absolutely no idea.

Bray glanced around, then his heart sank.

This carriage…

A noble lady's carriage? Wrong.

The merchant guild lady's carriage? Wrong.

This is the bandits' carriage.

Why? Because Bray is currently tied up.

"Brothers, I have no money on me. I wonder if you could let me go?" Bray whispered to a fat bandit next to him.

"I knew you were broke." The robber looked at Bray with disdain.

"Ahem... Well, I'm a man, with no money and no looks..." Bray chuckled awkwardly.

"I have no idea why the boss suddenly wants to arrest you!!!" the fat bandit roared.

"Shut up! You pig!!!" The bandit driving the carriage turned around and yelled at the fat bandit.