The Raid Has Only Just Begin

Nearby cave.

Led by Chigi, we entered the cave that had already turned into a shelter by then. We were welcomed by sheep cat of various ages who looked up to us with nervous looks and stiff faces.

Shar had yet to return to us. Meaning that this matter was far from over.

When I stepped out in front of Chigi,

「Everyone who raided our village has already died. We won the first round!」

I took a deep breath and declared our victory.

A short silence followed my speech, and then an explosion of cheers.

The sheep cats embraced each other to express their happiness.

「BUT, THEIR LEADER IS STILL SOMEWHERE OUT THERE! SAVE YOUR JOY AND CELEBRATION FOR LATER! DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN, THE REAL BATTLE IS RIGHT AFTER THIS!」

I raised my voice, wearing a solemn face.

「But, Chigi-sama, it went according to the plan, right? All those humans are dead, right?」

An old woman asked that simple question while throwing a glance toward me.

It seems this old woman still thinks that I'm against killing my fellow humans. Too bad for her, I wasn't such a pure and naive person. Reason being I didn't even feel a shred of guilt even after killing those thieves by my own hands. Rather, What I'm most worried about right now was――

「Yes, those raiders have already died. But, this is far from over.」

The elders caught their breath when they heard Chigi's reply.

I see, Chigi had the same opinion as me huh.

「Why? Most of their member have already been killed, right?」

The red haired, cat-faced girl with a bob cut asked Chigi with a frown on her face.

「Indeed, but Shar hasn't returned to us. In short――」

Chigi paused for a moment. Maybe he didn't wish to express his concern too. He felt that It would be great if this was the end of their raid.

But, there was still the mastermind behind this incident left. I had no idea about the objective of the mastermind of this incident but, seeing that Shar has yet to return, there's a high possibility that they have yet to give up.

「Are you referring to the Mastermind that Gil talked about?」

Chato asked me quietly.

「Correct.」

Chato stared at me for a while but,

「Oi, prepare the defenses of this cave immediately!」

He left immediately and shouted at the armed, young sheep cat.

「Gil, Thanks for your help in the previous battle. And sorry for my impoliteness until now.」

Chato bowed to me, which caused quite a bit of commotion. Human aside, he did it toward me, a prisoner.

「Don't worry about it. Moreover, we really can't let our guard down.」

Honestly, someone of Chigi's position aside, if our positions were switched, I would do the same. Rather, Chigi and co who trusted me so much after this matter had shown that they're good people.

「I'm going to draft another plan. Sorry but please tell me all you know about this area. And how should we move next?」

「Currently, they have lost most of their combat force. Next is an all out way. Those guys most likely arrived at the same conclusion. That's why――」

「Can't we use another trap?」

「Uhm, maybe.」

If this wasn't the end of the battle, it means that those thieves had yet to use their trump card. If I was the leader of those thieves, I would keep my trump card for the last moment. Shar wouldn't return unless we made them give up.

「All out, is it? But, it mean you still got another plan, right?」

I nodded and,

「Next, we're going to make the full use of our advantage.」

I told them so, fully convinced of the incoming second round of battle.

「Advantage?」

「Yes, to be honest, this cave is ill suited for defense. Because they can easily beat us by smoking in this cave. But we're lucky since they won't do that.」

「Is it related to their goal?」

「Yes. Their goal is to capture you guys, the sheep cat. That's why they won't kill you guys. That's our biggest advantage over them.」

Though I still had no idea about the goal of the mastermind, the goal of those thieves was much simpler. Capture the sheep cat and sell them as slaves. That's why they wouldn't dare to hurt the sheep cat, their commodity.

「I understand. We'll do as you say. Now, what are you going to do next?」

""

Hearing Chigi's question,

「Chigi-sama, are you insane!? He might be the spy of our enemy!」

The red haired girl with bob cut closing in at Chigi with pale face but,

「If Gil is truly their spy, he won't go as far as annihilating the entire main force of our enemy. Moreover, he's our last hope.」

Chigi approached me, and cut the rope tying my wrists with the spear in his right hand.

「WAH!?」

The red haired girl with a bob cut shouted, her mouth flapping non stop.

「Are you sure about setting me free like this?」

「You said it yourself right? We've no way out of this situation. This is just my intuition but, I keep getting this feeling that we won't be able to get out of this predicament without your power.」

Chigi turned around to looking at few men of sheep cat who came with me to scout the area and,

「You guys had already seen his prowess with your own eyes, right? Tell me about your opinion?」

He asked for their opinion.

「We agree with you, we won't stand a chance against an enemy who can come with such foul plan.」

The black haired youth of sheep cat agreed.

「Yeah. Not that we've any other choice. But, it doesn't change the fact that we can't trust him yet. Shall we send him into jail again after this matter is resolved?」

A brawny middle aged man with a cat face followed the fashion while glaring at me.

「Do as you wish. Not that I want to escape frm this place.」

「What are you going to do, everyone!」

The red haired girl with bob cut shouted with an impatient voice but an old woman seized her hand and shook her head, signaling the girl to give up.

After a brief silence, the red haired girl stomped her way into the inner part of the cave. The other sheep cat who also disagreed with Chigi's opinion did the same.

「Eh, are you sure?」

「Yeah. Either way, if Shar doesn't come back, we're still going to be destroyed by the force of the demon race who started their invasion to the south. Our current priority is to protect the village.」

The other sheep cats were at loss for words upon hearing Chigi's remark.

They must've detested the fact that they had to follow the instructions of me, a human. From the red haired girl's point of view, their reaction was justified. And yet, now they even freed me. It was enough to corner Chigi and co.

「I understand. Now let's talk about the details of the plan to exterminate the rest of them. We're racing against time so I wish that everyone did their part of the job efficiently.」

The next moment I opened my mouth was the start of the final defense battle.