Chapter 152.2

Chapter 152.2 \n<h1>Chapter 152 The End and The Beginning</h1>\n\n　It was a perfect and splendid move. It was no mere coincidence that the Barrel Bandit Group was able to repulse the Gladys Knights Order, who were famous for their power, time and time again.

　Barrel Bandit Group has no mercy. The Barrels allow everything. Looting, killing, and raping.　Their freed desires have been sharpened under a strong Leader, and they are now boasting a morale and a leadership that is unmatched by any regular army.

　The leader of the Barrel Bandit Group, Jeffroy Barrel, sat on a huge barrel, the symbol of their group, while quietly quivering with a sensation of elation that he hadn’t felt recently.　One of my men, a man armed with light armor, came trotting over me and gave me a brief report.

“Oyaji, we deployed the bulkhead.” (Light armor bandit)

“Aaah, well done.” (Jeffroy Barrel)

“But was it alright? We’ve covered a lot of ground, so there’s hardly any left.” (Light armor bandit)

“It was a valuable Relic…… But, it was unavoidable. We can’t let them escape in the off chance. We are bandits. We bet everything when we came here.” (Jeffroy Barrel)

“Y-yes.” (Light armor bandit)

　It had cost us a lot. The Relic that creates bulkheads at will was a consumable item, and although we had attacked numerous cities and merchants, we were still unable to acquire a similar item.

　But even so, if I can get the head of a Level 8, then it will be worth using it. I won’t spare anything to do it.　If I could bury 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》, the one who had slaughtered several illegal magic organizations and large-scale bandit groups, then the name of Barrels will be known throughout the underworld and we will be known as the strongest.

　On the other hand, failure is unacceptable. We mobilized almost all of our members. We have invested most of our resources, including purchasing powerful poisons and mythical flying beasts from a Magic organization. On the off-chance that we lose, the Barrel Bandit Group who had spent twenty years to accumulate their strength would be destroyed.

“Have you finished questioning 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 friends?” (Jeffroy Barrel)

“No. The only thing they said was that he was a dark-haired man ―― They didn’t give up any important information. All that came out of their mouth was screams and words adulating us.” (Light armor bandit)

　Jeffroy’s black eyes narrowed slightly towards his subordinate who was having a devious laugh.\n

　This is Jeffroy Barrel’s gamble of a lifetime.

　At first, Jeffroy wasn’t aiming for 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 head.　When he received information from his subordinate who had infiltrated the Gladys Knights Order, that a nomination request to defeat them had been issued to 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》, he was planning to quickly withdraw from the territory and move to another country.　Level 8 Hunters are monsters. Jeffroy is also confident in his strength and many of his subordinates have been training on a regular basis.　If you include his leadership, they have the power to rival Gladys’ army, but a high-level Hunter is a mighty warrior. I don’t intend to lose, but the risk was too great to go head-to-head against him.

　It was during our withdrawal from Gladys territory that I changed my mind ―― It all started when we encountered two travelers while we were crossing the mountain inconspicuously.

　When Jeffroy attacked them and easily captured them, they identified themselves as Members of 《Strange Grief (Nageki no Borei)》. 

　It was the name of 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 Party.

　It would be a lie if I say I didn’t expect them. Barrels started to withdraw after he had heard about the nomination request made to 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》. The timing was too perfect for it to be a lie and very few people knew that 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 was heading to Gladys territory.

　The two men were reasonably strong. At the very least, they had more abilities than mid-level Hunters.　But even so, they were only strong enough to defeat Jeffroy if he was by himself.

　When Jeffroy realized this, greed began to grow in his mind.

　I can ―― Take 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 head.

　Originally, I already had some doubts. 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 had made a lot of achievements and his foresight was well known, but there was almost no information about his fighting techniques.　For someone like Jeffroy who had traveled through many countries, seen and heard information about various Hunters, there was a massive feeling of incongruity.　Rumors will always spread. No matter how much you try to hide it, power and strength aren’t something that can be hidden.

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　Isn’t he, in fact not very strong? Jeffroy’s suspicion turned into conviction when he captured 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 companions.

　In addition, if all of his Party Members weren’t present, now would be the perfect time for the Barrels to go for it. \n　Carefully, but sometimes forcefully. You need to forcibly create merit in order to make a name for yourself.

　They surrounded the city and took it over. They took a large number of hostages, and even took on a powerful Hunter who happened to be there, with a surprise attack and dealt him a deep injury.　So far, no major unexpected events occurred. All that was left to do was to take 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 head.

　No reinforcements will come for them. Even if they did, they would have to come with a force greater than the regular army if they wanted to beat the Barrels. 

　And by the time they are ready, the Barrels will have already taken 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 head and will be celebrating in another country far away from here, with all their loot.

 

“Oyaji, a Party of Hunters is about to enter the city. What should we do? It’s a group of four people, and I heard that there is someone that seemed reasonably strong with them.” (Bandit 1)

　With a frown on his face, one of my men came to report.　The gate has already fallen into our grasp, all the officials, from officials who were in charge of letting people enter the city to the city guards, have been replaced with members who excel in covert operations.

　It was bad timing. Hunter is a powerful enemy but at the same time a lucrative prey.　Normally, we would have let them into the city and killed them when we saw an opening, but now we have other fish to fry.

“…… Tsk, I am pressing against a Level 8, okay? I don’t have time to worry about it right now. Just give them a good reason and send them away without making a fuss.” (Jeffroy Barrel)

“Understood.” (Bandit 1)

　My subordinate hurriedly went back towards the gate.　I don’t have time to spare with them. Even for the Barrels, we have never taken over a city this large before.

“Oï, they are still not done yet? Send someone to check over! Remember that the more time you take to take his head, the less time you will have to pillage the city!” (Jeffroy Barrel)

“It seemed that the powerful one we poisoned before came back and is giving them a hard time. No one seems to have died yet, but five guys have already been taken down! Now we are sending people to attack them from the back.” (Bandit 2)

\n　And from far above that, a dull-colored helmet was quietly looking down at Jeffroy.