Chapter 71

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the commoners,” he admitted, his voice low and bitter. “I just… don’t want to die.”

That was the truth—he hadn’t come crawling here for anyone else but himself.

If the other pioneers had discovered their village, they wouldn’t just take control of the settlement. They’d slaughter him and his crew without hesitation, maybe even before they had a chance to beg.

“That’s why I came here first… To offer you everything—my land, my people—just to stay alive.”

With that, Nox pressed his forehead to the ground, groveling without any shred of dignity left. His crew, equally broken, followed suit, bowing deeply in unison.

Justin stared silently for a long moment, his gaze cold and unreadable. The silence stretched long enough for Nox to begin trembling again.

“Uh… H-Hey, uh, are you going to…”

“Where’s the meeting spot?”

Nox’s head snapped up, eyes wide with hope.

“I-It’s near the hill zone… A little past the gnoll territory. I can lead you there if you want!”

“I didn’t ask for a tour guide,” Justin replied flatly. “I just asked so I could avoid the place.”

“W-What? No, but—”

The sudden indifference sent a wave of panic across Nox’s face. The obvious desperation in his reaction nearly made Justin chuckle.

“This bastard thought I’d fight his battle for him.”

Still, he decided to play along.

“I’m kidding. Of course, we’ll strike first,” Justin said casually. “If those guys are scum, it’s better to deal with them now before they become a real problem.”

“Y-Yes! Exactly!”

Nox let out a shaky sigh of relief.

“Just wait here,” Justin ordered. “We’ll handle it ourselves. You’re not fighting; just point us in the right direction.”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

As he turned away, Rachel tugged on his sleeve, her voice quiet and full of doubt.

“Oppa, are you really planning to fight them because of what he said?”

“Why not? He’s a bastard, sure, but those other guys sound even worse.”

“It’s just… It all feels so suspicious.”

“Of course, it’s suspicious. He’s definitely hiding something,” Justin said, his tone dropping lower. “But two things are probably true: One, their location’s been exposed. Two, an invasion is likely coming.”

“And that’s enough reason to strike first,” he thought grimly. “Especially if we plan to take their territory eventually anyway.”

“But… What if the other pioneers are actually decent people?”

“Decent people don’t go around uncovering enemy settlements unless they plan to attack.”

At that, Rachel fell silent, unable to argue the logic.

“Let’s just see for ourselves. If they’re trash like he says, we fight. If not… we’ll talk.”

Though, let’s be honest, Justin added silently, that’s probably not going to happen.

“Why are we still tied up?”

Sweat dripped down Nox’s forehead as he tried to mask his rising panic.

“I thought… we were going to fight together?”

Justin’s smirk was enough to freeze any hope left in him.

“I don’t trust you.”

“But—five of you against twelve of them? They might have reinforcements!”

“Not your problem,” Justin replied, adjusting his gear casually. “We’ll handle it.”

The truth was, even if they untied him, the last thing Justin wanted was dead weight or betrayal mid-battle. This wasn’t a monster hunt—this was a real fight against other pioneers. Mistakes would be punished with death.

“You just stay put and keep your mouth shut,” Justin thought, eyes narrowing. “We’ll free you if things go south—but I doubt we’ll need to.”

They moved swiftly through the gnoll territory, cutting down the weak monsters with ease. Every kill left Nox slack-jawed in disbelief.

“Y-You’re really strong…”

“Of course,” Justin sneered. “Did you think we were on the same level as you?”

Red-faced, Nox wisely kept his mouth shut after that.

Eventually, they arrived at the meeting spot—a clearing surrounded by three hills.

Just as expected, twelve pioneers were already waiting.

“Good. No reinforcements.”

The enemy group stirred as soon as they spotted movement, their leader barking orders.

“Hey, you bastards! Why’re you just showing up now? You were supposed to be here half an hour early! If you want to live—wait, what the hell…?”

His eyes locked on Nox’s crew—tied up.

Before confusion could turn into action, Justin stepped forward, grabbing Nox by the collar and yanking him forward.

“Guess what? This idiot tried to set us up, but we caught him first. He wanted to hand us over to you—thought you’d take care of us for him.”

“…!?”

The leader’s face twisted in disgust.

“Fucking useless. Should’ve killed him the moment I had the chance.”

That was all the confirmation Justin needed.

He met Nox’s horrified eyes, voice dripping with cold amusement.

“You didn’t think I’d figure it out, did you?”

“Wh-What…?”
Nox’s voice trembled as he asked the question, as if he truly couldn’t understand how his intentions had been discovered.

A faint smirk tugged at Justin’s lips as he offered the answer, his tone laced with quiet amusement.
“Because your excuse was pathetic, that’s why.”

“What?”

“You said they spared you because there was no one else to manage the territory? Do you seriously expect anyone to believe that? The moment they learned where your territory was, you were as good as caught.”

A youngman couldn’t leave their territory. Step outside, and they’d be slaughtered by the monsters that lurked beyond the borders. It didn’t matter if the territory was left unattended—once its location was exposed, it was already as good as lost. Whoever discovered it could return later at their convenience and seize it without any resistance.

In that scenario, Nox and his crew had no further value.

“Besides,” Justin continued, voice low but cutting, “did you even manage the territory in the first place? More likely, you spent your time indulging in tyranny. What a joke.”

“B-But the traps!” Nox stammered, his panic starting to seep through. “They needed a man for the traps… I was supposed to set them up—!”

“And that’s where your story falls apart,” Justin cut in coldly. “Why would they leave something that important to someone like you? They’d entrust it to someone reliable, not a snake who can’t even spin a convincing lie.”