The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

23 – Who’s There~?

“My… my head…”

Casey woke up feeling an intense headache.

“Where am I?”

Despite opening her eyes, all she could see was darkness, as if her face was covered with a thick cloth.

Trying to rise from the ground where she lay, every joint in her body screamed in agony.

Her hands and feet were bound, limiting her movements.

“Forest rascals…”

Casey briefly recalled how she ended up in this dire capture.

She should have been more suspicious of the dwarf who was guiding her.

That cunning Tendrial would not have assigned a mission to his subordinates without any safety measures.

Due to his careless actions, he fell victim to a surprise attack by the forest creatures and had an arrow lodged in his left shoulder.

No matter how skilled a marksman he was, facing a multitude of enemies was a challenging task.

Nevertheless, despite being unaware of attacks coming from all directions, Casey’s pride was hurt not knowing that an enemy was approaching from right behind her.

Due to the nature of her sniper mission, she had trained her senses to a superhuman level to anticipate approaching enemies from behind.

The fact that she had survived until now spoke volumes about the success of her training.

Yet, she was still ambushed so effortlessly from behind.

Thump, thump—

Casey listened intently to the sound of footsteps.

A light and agile sound, unmistakably Tendrial, as she had expected.

“Tendrial…”

“…”

“Let me go… at least let’s have a conversation… Ah!”

Caught off guard while trying to untie her bound legs, Casey tumbled back to the ground.

Pain once again spread throughout her body.

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“Ugh… Why are you doing this? We were supposed to talk!”

Casey felt another rope tying around her leg.

“No! Seriously…”

After a moment, with the sound of the rope being wound around the tree, the bound leg began to be lifted.

“Hey! What are you doing!”

Swish, swish—

While Casey protested, the rope continued to lift her body without any consideration.

“Let me down!!! What are you doing!!! If you need something, just say so!”

Continuing to ascend, her body started floating in the air.

She felt blood rushing to her head.

After going up for a while, it finally stopped.

It seemed to be hanging quite high.

“No…ugh…can…”

Because her body was not intact, just hanging there was consuming a considerable amount of stamina.

“Let me down…”

No one responded to her plea.

As if she were left alone again, only a silent stillness flowed.

“No…”

Casey’s irritation flared.

“Why did you hang me up and leave!!!”

She struggled, but the rope was firmly fixed, and she couldn’t even feel a slight movement.

Only the strength left, with her body swaying back and forth in the air.

“Dizzy…”

…………….

Casey had been hanging upside down for dozens of minutes.

Due to the blood rushing to her head, her legs were losing sensation.

In her semi-conscious state, she heard footsteps again.

Thud, thud –

The same sound as the person who had hung her.

She wanted to speak, but her voice wouldn’t come out.

“Oh… we meet again like this?”

It was a familiar voice.

‘Tendrial…’

“What are you doing here? Casey?”

Tendrial’s teasing voice was getting closer.

Exhausted, Casey gathered strength to open her mouth.

“Sp…speak… just untie me for now…”

“Yeah, sure!”

Thud, thud –

Again, Tendrial’s footsteps echoed.

“Ah! It’s too high, so I’ll cut the rope! Is that okay?”

“…What…”

“I’m going. Be ready-!”

“But…”

Thud-

With the sound of a sharp blade striking wood, the rope snapped.

Casey, now falling from an immeasurable height, curled her body in mid-air to minimize the damage.

Thud-

Casey’s back hit the ground first.

Although she managed to prevent a direct impact on her head, the pain was still intense as her injured body plummeted from a considerable height.

“Ugh…”

Casey couldn’t make a sound, experiencing intense pain as her consciousness gradually blurred.

“Oh my! This is…”

The playful voice of Tendrial faintly echoed.

“This… first, move…”

The sound became even fainter.

Casey lost consciousness again.

***

Wolfgang looked around at the pleasant environment he had created and felt satisfied.

A neat and cozy cabin, transformed from a ruined inn.

Complete privacy protection thanks to the shield of the Holy Sword, ensuring no exposure to the outside world.

A serene and fresh natural environment surrounded by a forest.

“This isn’t bad, right?”

Wolfgang put his hand on his waist and opened his chest.

His shoulders straightened.

“Streya, what do you think?”

Ghost nodded as if agreeing.

“Jong-ah. I think it’s time to rest.”

Wolfgang lay on the grass, closed his eyes, and felt the cool breeze brushing his cheeks while the warm sunlight gently touched his face.

It was a sense of peace he hadn’t felt in a long time.

During the war, every time he closed his eyes to sleep, dreadful sounds echoed around him.

The sharp claws of demons piercing armor, the sound of flesh tearing apart, newly arrived soldiers succumbing to panic and screaming like beasts, the sound of skin sizzling, and the screams of those massacred in Pine Wells—all reached his ears.

But now, it was quiet.

Amidst the peaceful silence, the only sounds were the rustle of leaves as they brushed against each other in the wind.

It was the most beautiful and serene harmony played by the forest.

Only now, Wolfgang realized that their screams had finally ceased.

It was a moment when sleep, which had felt so comforting, descended upon him.

Thunk—

“…”

A muffled shot rang out from the direction of the woods.

From the type of sound, it was a rifle used by sniper squads.

Wolfgang tried hard to ignore it, striving to fall asleep.

Thunk—

“…Damn it.”

Once again, the same muffled shot echoed from the depths of the forest.

Sluggishly, sleep was retreating, waving its hand from a far-off distance.

Just before falling asleep, Wolfgang’s mind was gradually clearing.

Cursing, Wolfgang pushed himself up from the grass.

“For the love of… Let’s get going.”

He wore an annoyed expression, then climbed onto Ghost’s back.

“Let’s go hunt down those damn nuisances disturbing our short-lived peace.”

As if anticipating those words, Ghost snorted and bolted towards the woods.

“It’s gunfire, isn’t it? I knew the commander was here.”

Thunk—Thunk—

Not long after entering the woods, the same shots echoed once more.

As he ran closer to the source, Wolfgang saw Casey engaged in combat with other species in the distance.

“Of course.”

Wolfgang halted, then made a ring shape with his right hand and pressed it against his right eye.

It was one of Wolfgang’s unique abilities, acting as a substitute for a scope.

He could now see Casey’s battle in more detail than before.

The bodies that appeared to have been knocked down were scattered on the floor.

“It seems like at least one dwarf and one orc are dead…”

Wolfgang could immediately discern who Casey was fighting by the corpses, all of which had the same tattoo on their forearms.

“Forest, how on earth did they get out?”

As the commander who had led the operation against the criminal organization, Wolfgang found it even more perplexing.

“Wow. Did our queen really release them just to catch me? There’s really no answer.”

Since it was unlikely that they escaped on their own, Wolfgang was convinced that the Forest Gang members, who were imprisoned in Terosa, were directly released by someone higher up in Terosa.

“Tendrial must be in command… Have they been officially incorporated into Terosa’s regular army…? If not, did Tendrial already collude with the queen and stage a rebellion-like escape…? But why are they fighting? They’re on the same side, aren’t they?”

Wolfgang was unaware that one of the main causes of their conflict was the box he had stolen.

For whatever reason, Wolfgang couldn’t help but smile as signs of internal division became apparent.

“Uh…Wolfgang?”

An elf, who had been watching the fight between traitors, emerged from the bushes holding a crossbow, surprised.

“Huh? What’s this? Just die.”

Wolfgang rushed at the elf and strangled him.

In an instant, the elf’s neck bone broke, and he became a lifeless corpse.

Confirming the severed airway, Wolfgang released his hand from the elf’s neck.

Judging by the direction of the arrow flying towards Casey, Wolfgang was certain that this guy had shot it.

Wolfgang hid in the bushes and observed Casey’s condition.

She had managed to stand up after burning the tree spirit and was staggering.

“It was fine when she wasn’t visible, but seeing her sticking her face out like that is really annoying.”

For a moment, Wolfgang, who felt heat on the traitor’s face, had an impulse to make her feel a little pain.

“Do I really need to endure it?”

Unable to endure, Wolfgang loaded an arrow into the crossbow held by the elf and aimed at the struggling Casey.

“Farewell, Casey.”