Chapter 99: Chapter 098

It was hard playing the villain but it was the only way Henry could think of. He didn’t know any other way to extract information from the human girl in front of him. He could just be nice and get her trust but who knew how long that would take. The rifts would not wait for him to collect all the information before they reappeared. The next rift might bring more than just a small part of adventurers. Hell, Henry shuddered at the thought of a Slayer emerging from the rift.

“Here’s how it’s going to be, you will tell me what I want to know and you get to escape from here in one piece. Are we clear on the terms?”

The girl swallowed a lump in her throat. “How do I know I can trust you?” she asked with a shivering voice.

Henry chuckled inwardly. “You don’t but if you are uncooperative, your demise is a guarantee. It wouldn’t hurt your chance to answer my questions now, would it?”

“...What do you want to know?” the girl said after a brief moment of silence had passed.

Henry let his grin show and inched closer to the girl. “For starters, may I know your name?”

“A-Alayne…”

“Just Alayne?”

The girl showed a fleeting moment of confusion before nodding.

“No family name?”

She frowned bewilderedly. “I’m not highborn. Of course, I won’t have.”

“Okay… What are you?”

“What am I?”

“As in your profession. Are you perhaps an adventurer?”

“I do not know what’s an adventurer but if it’s my profession you’re referring to, I am a hunter. A monster hunter, to be exact.”

Henry nodded slowly. His grin widened. “You hunt monsters like me for money… Why?”

Alayne’s bewildered frown deepened. “Because monsters are a threat to humans, that’s why. If we the monsters be, they will overflow from their habitats and pour into the villages, towns, and even cities.”

“Alright… Next question. Where are you from?”

“G-Gretten.”

“Is that a town or the name of a nation?”

“It’s a town in the southern parts of the Argon Kingdom.”

“Argon Kingdom… And where is this Argon Kingdom using Ulrum as the centre point?”

“U-Ulrum…? If it’s Ulrum… I believe Argon Kingdom neighbours it— Wait. Don’t tell me… Is this forest… Ulrum?”

“Yes, it is.”

Alayne’s face immediately paled, even more than before. “Novum forgive me… What have we done…” The shivering in her voice became more apparent than before. The way she mumbled the same words incoherently made Henry think that she had committed a grave sin or something.

“I know I said you shouldn’t be here but… being in Ulrum is not some grave offence, is it?”

“Grave offence? It’s more than that. Ulrum is home to a great number of monsters. The four tribes that resided in Ulrum are the only reason these monsters never crossed into the Argon Kingdom. The tribes here are cruel to any humans who dare to tread into Ulrum. The king had made a pact with the Lavan tribe. As long as the humans stay away from Ulrum, the tribes will never unleash the monsters upon the kingdom.”

It was Henry’s turn to frown. Though he didn’t hear the full story from Iluna, he was sure this wasn’t how the story went. Ulrum did have a great number of monsters but not to the point that it could easily overwhelm a town unless it was an extremely small town. Even so, there were the Slayers. He couldn’t claim to know full well about the tribes’ intentions but they didn’t seem like individuals who would kill a human trespasser in cold blood.

Whichever the truth might be, Henry was convinced the humans had twisted the truth into a narrative that benefited them the most and suited their convenience.

After Henry asked those basic and introductory questions, he began diving into the more profound questions such as the battle strength of the kingdom and the size of their army. But with Alayne being a mere intermediate hunter of commoner origins, Henry couldn’t get much out of her. The kingdom had a large army, enough to crush two small kingdoms at once, that was the extent of her knowledge.

At first, Henry doubted Alayne at first but he became convinced when she burst into tears after he threatened to inject venom into her and gave her an agonising death. Obviously, it was just a bluff but he could feel the disapproving gazes penetrating him from behind. Sarynn and Yula had been watching over the interrogation in silence from behind.

Whose side are you two on?

Though Alayne wasn’t helpful in ascertaining the kingdom’s strength, Henry did hear a few interesting tidbits from her. The Slayers were only stationed in villages, towns, or cities that greatly contributed to the nation’s fund or development, such as a village with a mine that was the main source of the kingdom’s silver.

Also, the other interesting news was about a supposed demon that possessed the form of a beautiful woman with pale skin and silver hair. Apparently, this demon had caused quite a stir across the kingdom by wreaking havoc on the towns and villages that were of great importance. Rumour has it that this demon had even begun amassing an army of monsters. A nationwide bounty had been issued for the capture or subjugation of this Demon.

Henry sighed and rubbed his forehead when he heard this.

Goddamn it, Vishara… What the hell are you doing?

Henry hoped that this trouble would not spread to Ulrum but he knew deep down, it was just a matter of time before the humans began putting the blame on the Lavans and forcing them to help. He wished dearly that he would be wrong.

Silence loomed between the two as Henry hung his head, contemplating the new information he just received. He glanced behind his shoulders, asking for the two’s opinion with just his glance alone.

Sarynn returned a confused gaze that seemed to say “what are you looking at me for?”. Yula shook her head and smiled in response. “I’ll leave everything up to you,” her expression seemed to say.

“Are you going to let me go now?” the girl asked timidly.

Henry smirked. “Why should I?”

The girl raised her brows high in terror and shock. “B-but you said—”

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“I said it won’t hurt your chances. I didn’t promise you anything.”

Alayne’s eyes wandered to the left, gazing at the corner where her bow and the rest of her equipment were.

“I won’t do that if I were you,” Henry warned her with a stern voice that instantly chilled her bones.

Alayne nodded and erased all notions of escaping.

“How are the hunters like?” Henry asked.

“W-what do you mean?”

“I mean their personalities, their characters, their strengths, anything about them. Generally speaking.”

“Hunters don’t fall into just one general category. Hunters varied in characters and strength.”

“Are you saying not all hunters hunt monsters purely for the sake of money?”

“Most of us do but… some do it for glory, some do it as their life purpose, some do it… out of boredom. The last group are mostly nobles.”

“What about your friends who abandoned you? What kind of hunters are they?”

Alayne's shoulders jumped upon remembering her companions. They were no strangers. They were people she had spent three years fighting alongside each other. They had been through thick and thin together. She would have never believed it if someone told her these companions of hers would abandon her in the most critical moments. Perhaps they wouldn’t have but time changed all. It was foolish of her to believe they were still the same honourable and trustworthy companions she once knew.

“I don’t know anymore…” Alayne admitted with a scowl.

“Do you feel like taking revenge on them?”

Alayne chuckled weekly. “Revenge? What good would that do? I doubt I would even be leaving this forest alive. And given their level of strength, I don’t believe they would last for a single day. The borders are controlled by the savage Lavans. Even if they did make it through the forest, the Lavans would surely…” Her voice trailed off.

“Hmm… What if I tell you the Lavans are the brutes or savages you believe them to be?”

“What?” Alayne’s eyes widened. “That’s absurd… That’s a lie.”

“Why would I? What would I gain from lying to you?”

“Are you saying that we have been lied to by the government all along?”

“Perhaps. Maybe they did lie to you or maybe it’s just some sort of misunderstanding. But the point is, the Lavans aren’t the monsters you believe them to be. Should your companions stumble upon the Lavans, they would not be killed. They would be handed over to the humans.”

Alayne scoffed. “Why would those Demi-humans do such a thing?”

Henry sighed. “Because the Lavans are not the mindless bloodthirsty your government says they are. In other words, your backstabbing companions will continue to live their lives as they always have while you are… stuck in Ulrum.”

Alayne’s face distorted with anger as she clenched her fist tightly. “Those bastards… They get to live free while I…” As if remembering her circumstances, her anger disappeared and fear took the reins. “Are you going to kill me?”

“I’m not going to.”

She stared at Henry blankly.

“What’s with that stare? You don’t believe me?”

“...I’m not sure what or who I believe anymore. If you’re not going to kill me, then why don’t you just let me go?”

“And where will you go? You said it yourself, your companions won’t last a day in this forest. What makes you think that you would do any better?”

“Because I have experience of surviving in a place that was infested with bloodthirsty monsters. I survived by skillfully avoiding the monsters’ notice. As for those two, they know only how to attack straight on when they encounter a monster. But… I suppose you’re right. This is Ulrum… the monsters here are fiercer and more ferocious than all the other monsters in other places.”

Though Henry hadn’t seen much of what Alayne was capable of, he didn’t doubt the ferocity of Ulrum’s creatures and monsters. He had only survived thus far due to his nigh impenetrable skin. It would take the strength and skills of Rayne in her prime to wade through Ulrum unscathed. Seeing how the hunters were instantly thrown into disarray, he reckoned their strength was not even a fifth of Rayne in her prime.

And those were just half of the problem. There was also the problem of food and water. They wouldn’t be able to hunt properly with all the dangerous monsters lurking about. They could eat the fruits scattered across the forest but most of them were poisonous. As for water, not even Henry himself would tread near deep ponds or rivers unless he had Sarynn accompanying him.

The more Henry thought about it, the slimmer the chance those two seemed to have of escaping Ulrum with their lives. Unless of course, the Lavans stumbled upon them and decided to help them. From what he heard about the Lavans’ relationship with the humans, they would most likely just deport the two from Ulrum lest they give humans more reason to invade them.

“Well, now that you are aware of the dangers of Ulrum, if you still insist on wandering this forest alone, I would not stop you. Just… don’t expect me to help you the second time. So, what’s your answer?”

Alayne cast her gaze down. She fiddled with her thumbs. Her scowl deepened as time passed. But then, her brows were raised along with her gaze. “Why did you save me in the first place?”

“Information.”

Alayne chuckled wryly. “Then you should have saved the other two. They know more about the kingdom’s army strength than me since they dreamed of becoming a knight one of these days.”

“Even so, I still would have saved you instead of them.”

“And why is that?”

Sarynn was stifling a laugh behind Henry while Yula had an exasperated smile.

“Because you’re a woman and I had taken a liking to you.”

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