My World is... (4)
Kyle had also arrived at the dwarf residential area he was assigned to.
However, the dwarven residential district was quite large. He waited in anticipation of where the enemies would invade from, but it was difficult to pinpoint the exact location.
Unfortunately, the spot Kyle had been waiting at and the spot where the enemies actually appeared were slightly different.
Dark, who had been sent out to scout, rushed back and shouted.
"Damn it! Those bastards came in weirdly! They're already fighting with the dwarves!"
"Ah, this is bad."
Kyle frowned.
He had to persuade the dwarves to escape as quickly as possible. But if they were already in battle, that would be much more difficult.
Just as Kyle predicted, the dwarves were already fighting the enemies with fierce determination on their faces.
"You bastards! Do you know where you are?!"
"Push them all back, now!"
"Don't be afraid! We can win this!"
The dwarves shouted violently as they charged into the enemies again and again.
Their momentum pierced the sky, and on their faces was the bold spirit of warriors.
But Kyle's expression hardened as he watched them.
No matter how he looked at it, they didn't stand a chance. The power gap was overwhelming.
And yet, the dwarves were still throwing themselves into battle, swinging their weapons.
"Uwoaaaaaaah!"
"We can't fall back now!"
"Get the children out of here, now!"
It didn't take long for Kyle to realize why they were risking their lives to fight.
He bit his lip as he watched dwarves fleeing in the opposite direction.
"Damn it... this was the place, huh."
Countless dwarf children were desperately fleeing.
Like the elves, dwarves had a communal childcare system. Adult dwarves were too busy with their duties as warriors and blacksmiths.
In Valskrum, some residential areas were where parents with children lived together, to effectively raise and educate them.
And the elderly warriors or retired blacksmiths were usually the ones taking care of the children.
Kyle had heard as much. And now, he realized this was one of those residential areas.
"Don't fall back!"
"If we retreat, the children won't get away!"
"Hold out to the end and keep fighting!"
It was only natural that the dwarves were charging at the enemies without regard for their lives.
Not only the parents of the children, but even those unrelated by blood were the same. They were throwing their lives away to protect the future of Valskrum.
'Why was I assigned to this area?!'
Feeling like he was going insane, Kyle raised the metal rod toward the giant sand wall.
"Ghislain!"
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
It was a little late, but the magic released from the metal rod was more than enough to draw attention.
While everyone was startled by the sudden magic, Kyle shouted loudly.
"Run now! We need to regroup at the royal capital! Everyone is gathering and fighting there!"
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaang!
Kyle scattered magic all around, repeating the same message again and again.
But the dwarves didn't listen. No—rather, they couldn't follow it.
GRAAAAAAAH!
The dwarves were already mixed up with the monsters in a chaotic melee. Even if they wanted to pull out, they couldn't.
Kyle, too, couldn't use the metal rod where the dwarves and monsters were tangled together.
He could only use it on the monsters that broke through the dwarves' formation.
Kwang! Kwaaang! Kwang!
Kyle spared no magic to save even one more dwarf. The more he did, the faster the metal rods were destroyed.
"Quickly! Hand it over!"
The nearby mercenaries handed him their metal rods.
Kyle bore the recoil of the magic with his whole body, using them nonstop.
This hadn't been the original plan. The rods were meant to be used for stalling while the dwarves escaped.
But given the situation, he couldn't afford to save them.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaaang!
Kyle shot magic at every spot the enemies came from.
He wished he could keep doing this, but unfortunately, there was a limit to how many metal rods they had.
Because he had used them faster and more frequently than his comrades in other directions, he quickly ran out of them.
"Damn it!"
The enemies at the front were almost entirely annihilated thanks to Ghislain's powerful magic.
Especially the giant sand wall, which had been hit multiple times, couldn't withstand it any longer and finally collapsed.
But from behind, monsters continued to pour in endlessly.
'What do I do?'
Kyle looked around. The situation was hopeless.
The dwarves who had been fighting from the start were already nearly wiped out. Even so, they hadn't retreated.
The children who were fleeing were inevitably slow. Elderly dwarves carrying newborns were the same.
'No...'
They had bought some time, but at this rate, the enemies would soon catch up.
The biggest threat was still the priests and dark mages of the Salvation Church, observing from the rear.
Though they had withdrawn, surprised by the sudden magic, they would move as soon as they realized Kyle could no longer use magic.
"Sir! We have to go now!"
"We're out of metal rods!"
"Vice-captain! If we delay any longer, the enemies will catch up!"
The mercenaries urged Kyle. There was nothing more he could do here.
Kyle bit his lip over and over. In truth, the mercenaries were right.
There weren't many dwarves still fighting. They had barely survived thanks to Kyle.
But they couldn't run even if they wanted to. If they fled, the children would be caught.
One dwarf raised his weapon again and shouted.
"Hold out no matter what! Even a little more time is precious!"
"Yeah! If we die, we die here!"
"We have to save the fleeing children!"
They cried out as they rushed again at the oncoming enemies.
Kyle couldn't stop them.
Even if all the magic he had poured out ended up being for nothing, he didn't blame them.
The dwarves were simply doing what they had to do.
"Sir! Please, let's go!"
A mercenary grabbed Kyle's arm.
It was time to run.
Now that the dwarves were buying a bit of time, it was the only chance to escape.
If they delayed further, even they wouldn't be able to get away.
Kyle bit his lip.
'I know.'
Escaping here was the right thing to do.
Even Ghislain had said to do only what he could, and then run.
And yet, his feet wouldn't move. It was hard to turn his back and flee alone, leaving behind the dying dwarves and the fleeing children.
Then, a blood-soaked dwarf spoke to Kyle.
"I don't know who you are, but thank you for helping. Now go. Quickly."
With his blood-covered face, the dwarf gave a faint grin and added,
"This is dwarf business. I don't want an unrelated human dying here."
"......."
"What you've done so far is more than enough, so go. We'll do what we must."
With that, the dwarf grasped his weapon again and charged back into battle.
His limping figure kept tugging at Kyle's gaze.
That sight—of them trying to fight even in such a state—felt like a blade piercing Kyle's heart.
Even Dark, who had been observing the area from the sky, hurriedly swooped down and shouted.
"This place is lost! The operation's a failure! We have to retreat!"
Kyle said nothing.
He kept his eyes on the dwarves collapsing ahead, and after a moment, he finally spoke.
"You guys go, and help the children escape."
"Sir! I'm telling you, the enemies are swarming in! Even if we help, they'll catch up soon!"
"Now! Carry the children who are falling behind if you have to, just go with them!"
"What about you?!"
"I'll hold the enemies back. Just go. Don't make this more complicated."
Dark shouted in disbelief at his words.
"Hey! Are you insane? Have you lost it? You think you're the protagonist or something? You suck at fighting!"
"Just go already! Help the children escape!"
With Kyle pressing them, the mercenaries had no choice but to retreat.
To be honest, with so few of them, helping the children wouldn't make much of a difference. It might've been better to just die fighting here.
But Kyle sent them away to save their lives.
If he could somehow hold the enemies here and buy some time, then maybe everyone could survive.
Of course, Dark threw a fit over that reckless plan.
"You idiot! How are you going to stop all those enemies?!"
".......I don't know."
"What?"
"I said I don't know!"
"You crazy bastard! What the hell are you thinking?!"
"Either way, someone has to buy time until the children escape!"
"But with your skill level, it's impossible! You'll just die! Don't you get that you can't die?!"
"..."
"You stubborn fool! Do you really not understand how important your life is? You're the companion of the hero and the saintess who will save the world! You have to survive, so we can win the war against the Demon Realm and save the world!"
"......"
"If you die, who knows how the future will change! That's why you have to run! That's why the master told you to escape! So the timeline stays intact!"
"........"
Kyle listened silently as Dark's words came pouring out in rapid succession.
Like Yulian, he didn't really believe that he would save the world.
Even if those words were true... right now, he just couldn't bring himself to follow Dark's reasoning.
Kyle slowly opened his mouth.
"You said... I'm supposed to save the world, right?"
"Yeah! You're way more amazing than you think!"
"I know I'm amazing. There aren't many cool guys like me. I'm even stronger than Yulian."
"Then just escape! Think about the rest after you run!"
Instead of answering, Kyle dropped his scabbard to the ground.
Throwing away the scabbard meant he was ready to fight to the death.
Knowing this, Dark's eyes flared.
"You... you really plan to die here?"
Looking at the furious Dark, Kyle replied.
"Saving the world... that's a noble and cool thing. If that's really true, I'd like to do that too."
A small smile formed on his lips.
"But I'm not the only one who can save the world, right?"
"What?"
"There's Yulian, and Deneb, and Astion. There's also Erenes, and Lionel too. Ghislain... well, I don't know if he'll stick around till then."
"You, what the hell are you saying...."
Kyle looked back and let out a short laugh.
"But... right now, the only one who can save those children is me."
"You..."
"Leave saving the world to those guys. I'll save the people I can right now."
Tear!
Kyle ripped his own clothes. Then, he tightly wrapped the torn cloth around his hand and sword.
It was a vow that until his wrist was cut off, he wouldn't let go of his sword.
"Whew..."
With a resolute expression, he took a breath and surveyed the battlefield. There was no hesitation left in his eyes.
Even as dwarves died in front of him, he didn't move.
'There's no point in helping them now.'
It would be better to let them buy even a little more time out front.
From now on, he had to fight not with emotions, but with calm calculations and strategy.
That was the only way he could save the children fleeing.
The few remaining dwarves began to fall one by one, screaming.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Damn you monsters! Our king won't let this go!"
"Let's keep fighting even in hell!"
With desperate howls, the dwarves swung their weapons as many times as they could.
Kyle engraved their final resistance into his eyes.
At the same time, he began analyzing the monsters' movements, formulating how he would fight.
Watching Kyle, Dark let out a short laugh of disbelief.
"You're kind of like Kaor and Alpoi, but also completely different."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're stupid... but cool."
"I've always been cool."
"Yeah, well, even if you're an idiot who wants to die, I can't just let you die. I'll help you fight."
"How?"
"It'll take a lot of strength to hold this battlefield alone. I'll turn into a horse, so ride me and move around."
Dark had fought in countless battles with Ghislain. Thanks to that experience, he knew exactly how to fight effectively now.
Kyle asked with curiosity.
"You're not going to carry me away and run, are you? That'd be pretty shady."
"Well, if it gets dangerous, maybe I will. But not yet, so don't worry."
Dark's body, once that of a sparrow, began to swell, and soon transformed into a magnificent horse wreathed in blue energy.
Seeing it, Kyle was slightly surprised.
"I knew you could transform, but I didn't know you could look this cool."
"This is the form of the horse Idun used to ride. Its name is Koko. Alpoi rides it now."
"Not the coolest name."
"Get on. Let's move fast."
As Kyle was about to climb onto Dark, he paused and asked,
"Can you turn into anything else?"
"Sure. Why?"
"Then become a really big, cool wolf."
"A wolf?"
"Yeah. That kind of thing is awesome, right? Every guy dreams of it at least once."
At that, Dark smirked.
"You... you've got some romance in you."
Immediately, Dark transformed into a giant wolf. Of course, he even formed a saddle and reins for Kyle to ride more comfortably.
Kyle's eyes sparkled when he saw the form.
His expression was full of glee—it was clearly to his liking.
"Up we go!"
Kyle climbed onto Dark's back, bouncing a few times to get into position.
"Nice, real comfy. Alright, shall we go now?"
"Of course, bro. Let's show them what we've got."
GROOOOOOAAAAR!
All the dwarves who had been fighting ahead had now fallen.
Now, the horde of monsters began charging toward the direction where the children were fleeing.
And then…
Kyle and Dark boldly charged straight at them.
[You can buy paid chapters or support me on any platform below:
☕ Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/punisher87
💎 Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/reaper87
🔥 Patreon: patreon.com/Punisher87translation
📘 Payhip Store: payhip.com/revengerscans
For latest Updates Visit Official Website: https://revengernovel.com/
Choose the platform that works best for your country. Thank you for your support!]