Chapter 70

Just like everyone else his age, Add’s first memory was of a road where he stood alone, surrounded by the corpses of monsters. He didn’t know where things had gone wrong, but he was an orphan, and etched into his body were the poses of swordsmanship taught by someone he didn’t remember.

His first monster hunt that he could remember was when he was only six years old.

The next year, he killed a lower-tier mutant, and by the time he was nine, he even hunted a marauder—albeit the weakest kind.

He aimlessly wandered around, killing creatures like mutants and monsters. After eliminating such beasts, those he had helped rewarded him with stolen goods or food.

“Thanks to you, we were able to save our lives.”

“Our son returned safely because of you, Add-sama!”

As time passed and life stabilized, Add never let go of this work. Not only was it the only thing he knew how to do, but he also enjoyed hearing the gratitude of the people after finishing a task.

“Our village’s hero!”

Among countless praises, the word “hero” stood out as the most satisfying.

“Add-sama descended from the heavens like a hero…”

“You’re my hero.”

“I want to become a hero like Add-sama when I grow up.”

Add, a vagrant who knew nothing but his name, found meaning in life as a drifter without a hometown or parents.

“I want to become a hero!”

Add, intoxicated by the word “hero,” eventually began declaring his ambition to become one.

No one criticized him for so casually using the word “hero.” He had talent, and he foolishly risked his life for complete strangers.

It didn’t take long for Add to hear rumors about the Sword Saint and his party members. Bearing the title “general,” leading many soldiers, and constantly achieving great feats, they became a significant goal for Add.

When Rex suggested he join the military, Add didn’t hesitate—there was no particular reason to refuse, especially since following Rex meant even as a novice, he would get the chance to protect “the general.”

If he could witness the battles of the heroes firsthand, he would get closer to them.

Believing he could truly become a real hero one step at a time, Add held no doubts.

And indeed, when he witnessed the boy with white hair riding a spirit and navigating the battlefield today, he truly felt he had reached the place he’d long dreamed of.

At last, he was in a position to watch the genuine battles of the heroes.

And he believed the day he himself would become a “real hero” would soon arrive—before this moment.

“Damn it, turn to the right!”

“Don’t try to fight them all! Leave the rest to the lieutenant! Focus on breaking through the southern path! Attack the beings in front of you!”

His feet were constantly sinking into the thick mud.

The blood-drenched massive arm reached out for its second victim. The monstrous sound of the huge mutant shook his entire body. The field of vision obscured by the mask was extremely uncomfortable, and Add couldn’t suppress the urge to rip it off. Eventually, he tore the mask away.

Toxic air seeped into his lungs, and the poison traveling through his bloodstream felt like it was rotting every inch of his flesh.

Kaboom!

The vibration rippled through the mud where Add was stuck.

In the blink of an eye, another person was killed.

There was no time for deliberation, no time to think. Pulling out the enormous greatsword from his back that was proportionate to his own size, Add kicked off from the mud holding him and ran forward.

Kaboom!

An enormous reverberation sounded from behind.

Menes was keeping three enormous mutants at bay while the soldiers focused on the creatures to the south. As he skillfully dodged all their attacks and continuously fired arrows, the sight stirred Add’s heart, making it ache with the desire to offer support.

‘Get a grip. Killing the southern one will create an escape route for the lieutenant. Believe in the lieutenant. For now, there’s nothing else to do but trust him.’

Clenching his teeth, Add slammed his foot forcefully into the ground. Chunks of mud splattered everywhere, but not a tremble could be found in Add’s stance.

Crack!

Add’s massive greatsword flew through the air and slashed down onto the mutant’s arm that was supporting its body. It felt like striking steel. The massive blade barely pierced the skin and tore through flesh, but it didn’t reach the tough bones.

Add quickly pulled the sword back out.

The blinded mutant swung its arm wildly.

Once, twice, and thrice.

The wild flailing of that arm was accompanied by an immense windstorm, and the mud that held Add’s feet captive twirled and scattered.

Add quickly ducked down.

Fortunately, the monstrous arm failed to even graze him. He’d had some luck.

“AAAAHHHH!”

From behind him, a roar that bordered on a scream resonated. A soldier wielding two longswords leapt high into the air, kicking off the mud. His jump was akin to a leviathan, as he charged toward the massive mutant’s forehead.

Rising high against the backdrop of storm clouds, his image was no less than the silhouette of a hero.

BOOM!

And the next moment, that hero disappeared without a trace.

The mutant’s enormous hand crushed the charging soldier like a small water balloon.

“…”

Add felt two emotions simultaneously.

The first was fear, and the second was confusion.

The mutant had precisely caught the soldier in mid-air. It was as if it could see. But its eyes had been completely destroyed by the lieutenant’s arrows.

Could it have a hidden eye?

No, that seemed unlikely.

When attacking Add, the mutant had swung its arms wildly, as though it couldn’t see.

The mutant’s eyes were clearly gone. So how did it manage to know the soldier’s precise location and crush him?

Before his thoughts could be resolved, someone else roared and charged at the beast.

“Shit, you son of a bitch!”

It was a soldier with a thin and sharp sword.

He leaped onto the mutant’s bloodied fist that was still oozing blood and clawed at its skin while racing toward its forehead.

Kaboom!

The mutant lifted the arm it was using to support its body and slammed it down onto the other arm. It was like the motion of swatting a mosquito that had landed to suck blood.

Crack!

Add’s blade hadn’t penetrated this far, but a massive bone protruded beneath the mutant’s arm. In its forceful attempt to strike its arm down, the mutant ended up breaking its own arm.

Streams of poisonous blood spurted out of the broken arm.

None of it splattered onto Add. He had been lucky again.

Then, the bulky leviathan-like body plummeted toward the ground.

This dim-witted mutant had lifted both arms off the ground in an attempt to grab the soldier leaping onto its arm.

It was a matter of course that the giant body, losing its support, would fall.

Kaboom!

The body weighing dozens of tons plunged deep into the mud. The mutant flailed its arms in an attempt to free itself from the mud; its arms were smeared with bright red blood.

“…”

The blood of the soldiers splattered Add’s cheek.

“…”

Add’s heart raced.

He felt bewildered.

How was this blind monster able to swing its arms so accurately?

How had he survived when so many other soldiers had died uselessly?

“Damn it!”

Before Add could find the answers, another blade flew toward the forehead of the mutant lying on the ground. It was a different soldier who had rushed forward in place of Add, frozen by questions in his mind.

The slender blade pierced the mutant’s tough forehead skin and split open the flesh. The blade was embedded up to its hilt, but it was far from reaching the skull.

The soldier who thrust the blade continued to reach in with his hand through the torn skin.

The blade was still far from reaching the skull.

The soldier continued, reaching deeper and deeper into the split skin of the mutant. When his hand couldn’t reach, he inserted his shoulder, and soon his entire body was shoved in.

Green poison covered the soldier’s body, and the pain of being melted alive immediately took him over.

Zzziiiiik…

The body of the soldier, who had stabbed the blade into the mutant’s forehead, was covered in poison. His leather armor melted away and blended with his skin.

“Shit, shit, SHIT!”

A scream of pain resonated. The soldier’s speech grew slurred as his body soaked in the poisonous liquid. Even through extreme pain, he did not loosen his grip on the blade.

Instead, the soldier shoved the thin sharp blade even deeper into the body…

Soon, the screams from inside the creature’s cracked skin stopped.

“…”

Despair.

There was no time for such emotions.

“…screams, roars.”

Why was this blind monster able to precisely sense soldiers’ locations?

Faint clues crossed Add’s mind.

“…”

Lifting his large greatsword, Add stepped out of the muddy ground.

Adrenaline flooded his brain. His hands and legs trembled.

Add gripped his sword tightly and advanced step by step while holding his breath.

Whoosh!

The mutant’s wildly swinging arm narrowly brushed past Add’s hair. If he hadn’t been lucky, his head might have been torn off.

Before Add’s eyes, a wound left by a valiant soldier came into view.

The mutant was still flailing both arms on the muddy ground, trying to lift up its sunken monstrous body.

Add quietly approached the mutant, carrying his sword.

In the center of its massive forehead, a prominent scar from the blade could be seen. Around the scar, drops of red blood from the valiant soldier stained the area.

“…If I insert my blade into this gap, will this monster die? Some mutants don’t even have weak spots.”

His mind raced.

“What’s the probability that the brain is in this gap between eyebrows? Or does it even have a brain?”

Pointless questions flooded his mind.

However, besides inserting the blade into this massive wound left by the previous warrior, Add had no other choice.

“…”

While holding his breath, Add inserted his blade forward into the wound.

Did it feel no pain? The mutant showed no reaction. Only green blood trickled out.

Add continued, gradually tilting the blade sideways. A thin crack in the massive sword’s breadth widened.

…Through the crack, not too deep in, the decomposing corpse of the soldier and the thin blade could be seen.

Add swung the blade sideways.

Immediately, chunks of flesh tore apart, and blood spurted out.

The massive mutant kept flailing to lift its body out of the muddy ground.

“This mutant doesn’t feel pain. This was evident when it kept its eyes open even after being struck by arrows.”

A massive cavity appeared before Add’s eyes. Poison-laden blood dripped from the ceiling, pooling green puddles beneath his feet.

“The reason this monster could still sense our precise positions despite losing its sight was due to the roars. If we stay silent, the monster won’t detect us.”

Add quickly entered the cavity and proceeded to further cut the flesh.

“It’s simpler than I thought, if only I’m careful about noise.”

As toxic blood dripped from the ceiling, melting the skin on Add’s shoulders and arms, he suppressed a groan.

Soon, the skull was revealed, and without hesitation, Add stabbed his blade into it.

A brain, befitting the creature’s massive size, almost as large as a house, was exposed. Where should he cut this brain to kill the monster? There was no time to ponder.

Crack!

Without delay, Add started hacking the massive brain with the wide blade of his greatsword. Similar to a jellyfish pierced with a blade, a liquid oozed from the brain, and it slowly deflated like a balloon.

Kaboom!

The giant arm fell to the ground lifelessly.

“…”

Holding his breath, Add emerged from the mutant’s body. Breathing the polluted air inside could easily poison and rot his lungs.

“These things don’t feel pain! Their vision is ruined, and sound…”

Gasping for air as soon as he emerged, Add spoke. This monster’s weakness that he’d discovered had to be communicated to the surviving soldiers.

“…only be careful…”

But there was no one left to hear his words. Corpses, organs, and dismembered arms and legs were all that remained, buried in the mud.

“…Well done, private. That was an excellent insight.”

Through the smoke, a cold and monotone voice echoed. The only mark on the red-robed mage’s body was some mud.

“Time to move. More mutants may come soon. There’s a chance of a marauder’s arrival, too. We need to return to the base as quickly as possible.”

Bell immediately walked towards the south, not sparing a glance at the remaining figures on the battlefield.

“…What about the others?”

Ignoring Add’s question, Bell continued moving. The chaos necessitated escaping as quickly as possible from the scene of conflict.

Add glanced around the battlefield blankly. The pain from his melting skin was overshadowed by the overwhelming silence.

There was nothing left.

In the places the mutant’s monstrous hand had swept through, only dust and mud remained. Broken remnants of buildings and splinters of metal that had been lodged in the ground were now buried deep beneath the surface.

It took more than a minute for Add to realize that nothing around him remained.

He couldn’t comprehend it. His mind struggled to process the reality of the surroundings.

“…”

An empty void filled Add’s heart when he gained his senses. He slowly scanned the battlefield, searching for the elven lieutenant who had faced three massive mutants alone.

The elf had his lower body and upper body torn apart, his entire figure green from the poison.

The monsters lying beside him had countless arrows lodged in their bodies, and from the holes, toxic venom that resembled blood oozed out.

…During the time Add and the other soldiers fought to kill one mutant at the cost of their lives, the elven lieutenant seems to have defeated all three mutants single-handedly.

“We should recover the bodies at least…”

Everyone who fell here were brave warriors who never lost their spirit even in death. They were noble souls who could throw away their lives for a righteous cause, the very heroes who saved others and lived to fight another day.

They should not be discarded as nameless lumps of meat in this dirty and wretched battlefield.

“Identifying individual bodies won’t be possible in such a situation. In such cases, it might be better for the families not to recover the bodies.”

Bell, who had already walked far ahead, told Add, who was aimlessly poking at the ground with his sword, in a cold tone.

The ringing in Add’s ears tore away at his sense.

“…”

Add said nothing, simply staring at Bell’s indifferent figure walking away.

How could he remain so detached? Watching his subordinates die before his very eyes and still do nothing? Is he even human?

The countless questions swirling in his mind felt like they were tearing it apart. He felt pain—his hands, his arms, even his head began to ache.

The hand gripping the greatsword began to shake, causing Add to drop the thick and heavy iron hunk.

The massive greatsword—roughly the size of a human torso—was abandoned on the battlefield.