Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 238

Chapter 238

To put it simply, Alon and his faction successfully pierced through the overwhelming swarm of cultists, arriving at the territory held by their allies.

“Did… did we actually make it back alive?”

“Is it r-real?”

Disbelief rippled through the soldiers as they confirmed the pursuit had ceased.

The trail they had sprinted along in a frenzy remained empty.

All that was left were thousands of footprints.

No cultists screaming in madness while chasing them.

No monsters snarling with hunger.

There was absolutely nothing in sight.

A profound silence descended upon the earth.

The soldiers, staring dazedly at the road to hell they had just escaped, let their weapons slip from their hands—

“We survived—!”

“I can’t believe we escaped that nightmare~!”

They embraced one another, celebrating the miracle of survival.

The euphoria of being alive.

The sheer relief of evasion.

Overwhelmed by hopeful emotions, their collective roar seemed to vibrate through the entire forest.

“Huff, huff—”

Nearby, Penia gasped for air, her tongue lolling out like a canine’s.

Alon, too, exhaled heavily, supporting his weight against a tree.

‘We managed to get out somehow.’

Regaining his composure, Alon surveyed the troops.

There were many survivors.

However, the numbers had naturally dropped starkly compared to when they began their advance.

It was inevitable.

Even though Alon had slaughtered scores of enemies and a single apostle, instilling terror and despair in the foe while inspiring courage in his kin—

The vast disparity in military strength demanded a price in blood.

“……”

A bitter sensation lingered, impossible to shake.

Familiar faces entered Alon’s vision as he scanned the survivors.

Ryanga and Ar, clinging to one another joyfully despite their ragged breathing.

Nangwon and his sister, shedding tears of salvation.

And beside them, Rangban, who had planted his blade in the earth, breathing deeply with a gleam of relief in his eyes.

As Alon stared blankly at the scene—

“……Thank you.”

A quiet voice drifted toward him.

“?”

“…?”

Turning his gaze, Alon saw a young girl bowing low.

She looked familiar—

“……You were the one who collapsed earlier.”

“Yes. If not for you, Lord, I would have perished.”

Alon realized instantly.

She was one of the girls whose life he had just snatched from death.

“I am relieved.”

“Truly, thank you.”

The girl bowed even deeper.

He had only glimpsed her briefly in the chaos while they fled.

Yet Alon remembered her clearly.

Because she was human.

In the forces currently following Alon, having a human in the ranks was a rarity.

“Thank you, Lord!”

“If it weren’t for you, I—”

Soon, one by one, those whom Alon had saved approached, offering their gratitude with reverence and awe.

Alon accepted their thanks, then signaled the group to move again.

They had shaken off the cultists’ tail after breaking the frontlines, but they had not yet merged with the allied forces.

As Alon resumed leading the column, Rangban drew near.

“You mentioned something felt wrong?”

“Yes.”

Rangban’s expression was tight, unlike before.

“We should have sighted the allied defensive lines by now. It is bizarre that the horizon is empty.”

“Is there a chance we navigated incorrectly?”

“No, this is the correct location.”

“Could a mishap have occurred on the allied side… is that it?”

Rangban hesitated for a moment, then spoke:

“It is not impossible that something happened, but I doubt it is catastrophic. If we were facing the worst-case scenario we feared, the cultists would have certainly launched a pursuit party.”

“Then the issue is—”

“It is peculiar that the frontlines have receded this deeply, yet no chase followed. That is the anomaly.”

“……The soldiers rescued from the last sacrificial temple… they were the most recent saves, correct?”

“They said it was about three weeks ago, yes. Even they find this situation odd.”

After a brief pause for thought—

“Regardless, we must press on. We have no other option.”

“Understood.”

Alon decided to continue forward.

Rangban concurred immediately.

The column marched on, determined to reach the allied lines without delay.

About three days elapsed.

In that march—long yet fleeting—Alon realized only one thing.

The allied frontlines, which should definitely exist, were nowhere to be found.

Of course, lacking intel, he had seen nothing definitive.

But circumstantially, it was eerie.

Alon and the soldiers had pierced the cultists’ lines and traveled eastward ever since.

Yet the frontlines never materialized.

Despite that, the Baarma cultists had not sent a single pursuer since Alon’s escape, acting as if the allied defense was still impenetrable.

Naturally, unease began to spread among the soldiers.

“Didn’t they say it takes a week to reach the alliance?”

“At our current speed, we should definitely be there.”

As dusk settled beneath a gray sky, Alon nodded slowly at Rangban’s report.

“Hopefully, we will learn something upon arrival.”

“……I share that sentiment.”

Rangban let out a faint sigh.

“Still, I am certain we will find answers once we link up with the alliance.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. I checked various spots during our eastward passage, and signs of retreat are ubiquitous. I do not know why the cultists are holding back instead of advancing, but……”

He concluded with, “We will know soon.”

Then, a young girl approached Alon.

“Lord, here.”

“Thank you.”

Nod-nod—

As if she had been waiting, the girl handed Alon a sweet potato.

A beastkin girl with large ears resembling Seolrang’s, she toyed with her fluffy tail while staring fixedly at Alon.

Feeling a silent pressure to consume it immediately, Alon took a bite of the sweet potato, recalling her name.

‘Ria, was it?’

She was among the group he saved alongside the human girl three days ago during the breakthrough.

As if to repay the favor, the girl delivered a sweet potato at every meal.

She brought only one each time.

However, the number of sweet potatoes Alon ended up consuming per meal was nearly four.

No, it actually exceeded four.

Despite the food shortage, Alon had been eating quite abundantly of late.

There were two reasons for this, and one of them was—

“Ah! You were faster!”

“It was my turn!”

“That’s outrageous~!”

“…….”

—because the children were all racing to bring sweet potatoes to him.

Ryanga and Nangwon clenched their fists in frustration.

The girl Alon had saved earlier and Ar let out quiet sighs.

Observing all this, Alon once again accepted the food the children offered today.

……Honestly, it would have been manageable if it ended there.

…“I brought this food from over there—”

“It is fine.”

“No, it is not! The Lord must remain healthy!”

“Please don’t make us look like ungrateful fools~!”

The problem was, he had to eat other foods as well.

“Then I shall enjoy it with gratitude.”

“No……!”

The soldiers bowed repeatedly as they backed away.

In the wake of their retreat, a mountain of fruit had piled up alongside the four sweet potatoes.

This was the reason he was forced to overeat rather than simply eating well.

“……It is truly a vast amount no matter when I see it, Marquis.”

“Seriously, Godfather…….”

Penia and Rine, sitting beside him, shook their heads in exasperation.

Alon also let out a quiet sigh.

The soldiers’ worship had begun ever since he broke through the frontlines three days ago.

It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but it was certainly burdensome.

Even now, for instance—

Though the soldiers who brought the food appeared to have left—

In reality, they were hiding at a distance, secretly watching to see when Alon would eat their offerings.

Because of that—

‘I really hope we arrive soon……’

Alon continued to stuff sweet potatoes and fruit into his mouth.

……The sweet potatoes were delicious, though.

And then, roughly a day later—

Alon arrived at ‘Dalma’, the location just preceding the allied stronghold, and the very place Ryanga had asked to visit upon their first meeting.

Dalma looked almost exactly as Alon had predicted.

The village was a ruin.

The houses had likely been torched, now reduced to heaps of ash and charred wood.

The fields were coated in gray dust.

Here and there, bloodstains, broken farming tools, and crumbled walls were scattered across the area.

It was nearly identical to the mental image Alon held of a village ravaged by attack.

However, one detail defied his expectations.

The corpses amassed in the village square.

Even Alon’s usually emotionless face twisted into a grimace.

The sight was that horrific.

Even Alon, who had witnessed countless dead, nearly gagged.

“Urk—”

“Goddamn—”

He heard the soldiers murmuring near his ears.

And then—

“…Eh?”

Ryanga’s voice, once so spirited, rang out.

It sounded fragile—like a glass orb on the verge of shattering.

Yutia Bludia.

She stared blankly up at the night sky.

The Milky Way was stunning.

So beautiful that anyone would agree, if asked.

Yet there was no emotion in Yutia’s expression as she gazed at it.

Her lips were pressed into a flat line.

The only emotion visible on her face was indifference.

Still, Yutia continued to look at the Milky Way.

As if trying to etch its image into her crimson eyes.

At that moment—

Tap—

A very faint sound was heard.

A soft, barely audible tap.

Without shifting her posture, Yutia turned toward the source of the sound.

There stood Seolrang.

Seolrang’s face was angled downward, hidden from view.

But Yutia didn’t need to see her face to understand her emotions.

Because what Seolrang was feeling now was something Yutia knew intimately herself.

Nevertheless, Yutia spoke calmly.

“Seolrang, I am sure I told you not to abandon your post without cause.”

A monotone voice.

A voice Seolrang feared.

Yet despite that clear warning—

“You heard it, didn’t you?”

Seolrang asked back, without a trace of fear.

Rather—

“…Huh? Tell me, Yutia. You received the report, right? Then why did you order us to stay put?”

She was dripping with simmering fury.

“Why are you so calm? You heard the report, didn’t you? Master… is dead…… Master died, you know? We have to get revenge. On those things called Agu… right?”

Even as Seolrang’s voice overflowed with killing intent—

“Seolrang, calm down.”

Yutia only spoke with serenity.

After a moment of silence, Seolrang finally said—

“……Master is pitiful.”

She blurted it out.

“…What?”

“Master cared about you, Yutia… always. Whether present or absent.”

“……”

“But you didn’t.”

Before they knew it, Seolrang had lifted her head.

Her eyes, swollen from crying so much, were filled with betrayal and hostility.

“That is why Master is pitiful.”

The words were spat out like venom.

In the heavy silence—

The previously expressionless Yutia—

“Hah.”

—suddenly let out a chuckle.

A small, bitter laugh.

And then—

“……It seems some discipline is in order, Seolrang.”

Yutia raised her index finger.

With a face full of fury, unlike anything she had ever shown before.