Chương 257: Chapter 255 – Orc Siege Aftermath.

"So… what are my options?"

"Well, we could try to hide or just run. I don't think they can catch us on top of Gealm." Replied the voice of Alexander within his armor.

"Hmm… what do you think, Aburdon?" Rusty asked his second guide as they deliberated.

"Why don't we poison the water supply? They will be too busy to notice our little transgression."

"Are you insane?"

"No, just logical, my dear hero!" Rusty listened to both of his guides and, as always, the decision was up to him. Poisoning the entire city to divide the humanoid forces did not sound like a good idea. The children he protected still needed that water to survive so he would be just making it worse for everyone here.

'Will they really imprison me?' The siege was over, but now he had to face the aftermath of his decision. Everyone he cared about was safe, yet he was unsure what the knights would do about his attempt to escape. His new mercenary leader had said she would handle it, but she was not exactly reliable. He stood atop the battered wall while torchlight flickered in the middle of the night. The battle had begun near sunset and lasted until early morning.

It was still a few hours before sunrise, but the orcs had already retreated. Their group was recovering. Some adventurers slumped against the wall, sleeping in awkward positions, while others tried to steady their nerves. A few glanced his way, as if they wanted to speak but were too hesitant. Then he saw the group of three he recognized approaching him. Their leader, Oliver, raised a hand.

"Mister Edmund, you saved us." Rusty turned to the young man. His armor was dented and streaked black with soot from the blasts. Orcish blood clung to the edge of his halberd but also had begun to dry on his armor. Oliver looked almost elated, perhaps because he had survived the ordeal. Behind him stood two young women, one fidgeting and the other visibly excited.

"How did you get so strong, Mister Edmund? Are those enchantments on your armor? You did not have them before." Rika, the group's archer, spoke while the other girl remained quiet. Rusty did not really want to talk, but he was unsure what else to do. He could return to the southern wall, yet he worried the knights might accuse him of hiding and coming out once everything was over. It was better to stay here, where there were many witnesses to what he had done.

The adventurers and guards nearby seemed glad to have him, and he hoped the guard captain would put in a few good words for him when the time came.

"It was nothing…" He replied with clear fatigue, aware that people were watching him. What he had displayed was far beyond what ordinary humanoids could manage. They still relied on stamina, something he, as living armor, did not need.

"Nothing? You tore through D-rank orcs like they were goblins. And what was that explosion? Some kind of high tier fire magic?" Oliver blinked, clearly unsatisfied with that answer.

"Something like that."

"That must have cost a fortune!"

"Um… no. I just found it in one of the dungeons, but I'm out now…" Rusty lied without hesitation, already uneasy about where this might lead. There were no shops nearby that sold anything close to what he had just used. Mages were rare, and craftsmen capable of creating powerful magical items were even rarer. The explosions came from his Body of Twilight and the volatile reaction between the light and dark elements he wielded.

He had learned how to trigger them as one time blasts, but he could not yet reproduce the effect for others through enchantments. The last thing he needed was people asking questions or expecting him to craft something he could not. Worse still, if anyone discovered he could use both light and dark magic, suspicion would follow. That was not an ability any humanoid was known to possess.

"Oh? You found something like that in a dungeon?" Rika's eyes sparkled as she stepped closer, but Rusty only shook his head.

"It was from another dungeon I cleared before coming to this city…"

"Really? And you used it to help us? You have my deepest respect, Mister Edmund!" Oliver bowed deeply. A few nearby adventurers and guards caught part of the exchange, and word spread quickly. Soon, voices rose around them.

"Edmund. Edmund. Edmund." The chant rolled along the battered wall. A handful of exhausted guards began it, then adventurers joined in, striking spear shafts against stone in rhythm. The sound carried into the night as more voices took it up. Rusty had not expected praise, and he had not acted for their sake, but to them he looked like a savior.

"Edmund!" As the chanting grew louder, the person he had been dreading finally appeared. It was the knight stationed at the southern gate, the same one whose orders he had ignored to come here. The moment of reckoning had arrived, and Rusty was already scanning for an escape route.

'I can always get a new head and change my armor…' Even if he became a fugitive, it would not mean he could never return. A new face and identity would not be difficult to arrange. He still had his secondary persona as a blacksmith, ready to take over. The paperwork had already been prepared under Aburdon's guidance. If he had to leave, the Oswald identity would retain the rights to his home, and he could continue living here, just not as Edmund.

"Get down here now!" The knight approached with several guards at his back, anger plain on his face. The nearby adventurers, the guards, and even the captain looked on in confusion, unsure of what was about to happen.

"What is this about? This man helped us greatly. Is there a problem, Sir Knight?" The knights ranked above the guards and their leaders, but they were not part of the same chain of command. The guards answered to their own commander, the one Rusty had met before, not to nobles or knights directly. To them, Rusty was still the man who had saved their lives, and that created a sense of debt. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

A small commotion broke out as Rusty climbed down from the wall and approached the shouting knight. By the time he reached them, the knight and the guard captain were already arguing.

"There is a problem. This mercenary abandoned his assigned post."

"Abandoned?" The guard captain looked genuinely surprised.

"He was not ordered to help us by you?"

"No. He abandoned his post, as I have said."

"So you were not even planning to help us, and he came on his own?" The knight seemed taken aback by the reaction. He clearly had not expected the guard captain to side with Rusty. Around them, guards and adventurers who usually distrusted each other appeared to agree on one thing. Without Rusty, both groups would have been overrun by the orcs.

"Edmund saved us. Go screw yourself!"

"Yeah, screw you! You wanted to let us die?" The shouting shattered what little discipline remained among the exhausted defenders, and more voices quickly joined in.

"He came when no one else did."

"Where were the knights when the wall was breaking?"

"You call this abandonment? He did your job for you!" Rusty was taken aback by the reactions. His reasons for helping had been selfish. He wanted to gain levels and protect his lair from the orcs. He did not truly care about these people. Still, their defense of him was impossible to ignore.

"Silence!" The knight's expression darkened with anger.

"I am not here to debate military discipline with common soldiers." The guard captain folded his arms and looked away. A new figure approached, clad in higher quality armor, and she was not alone.

"Then perhaps you should debate with me." A muscular woman with dark skin stepped forward, a claw-shaped bruise visible on her cheek. Several guards followed behind her, likely returning from their posts now that the orcs had retreated.

"Guard Commander Arlin? What are you doing here?" The surprises continued. Rusty recognized her immediately. He had met the guard commander, Arlin, briefly after the previous orc attack, and now she stood before him again. To make matters more complicated, he also spotted his new mercenary leader nearby, waving at him with a wide, carefree grin.

"I told you I would handle it, Second!" Rusty did not wave back. Instead, he focused on Arlin and the knight, who was now grinding his teeth in frustration. The knight held no high rank, and in this situation, the guard commander clearly carried more authority.

'Does Galiena know Arlin?' He wondered. The woman was new to the city, yet it seemed she had not arrived without connections. Galiena strode forward while the knight and the guard commander faced off. She did not seem interested in their argument, but rather in what Rusty was doing.

"So, did you get your children to safety, Second?"

"Yes. There were a few orcs around my home, but I made it in time."

"That's great!" Galiena smacked the back of Rusty's armor a few times with a grin, then the two of them turned their attention to the knight and Arlin. The man straightened, though he was still shorter than the woman standing before him.

"This mercenary deserted a direct assignment in the middle of an active siege. That alone warrants punishment." Arlin stared at him as if he had said something deeply foolish.

"And if he had obeyed you, from what I gather, everyone on this wall would be dead, and we would now be clearing orcs out of the city." The silence that followed was heavy. The knight opened his mouth, but no words came. He glanced around at the injured mercenaries and the exhausted guards, at the damage and the sheer number of human and orc corpses. It quickly became obvious that what the woman said was true.

"…He still needs to be punished for disobeying."

"Don't worry, the Steel Wolf mercenaries will take care of that!" Galiena called from the side. Rusty looked at her.

"Steel Wolf mercenaries?"

"Yes. I have decided on the name. They told me that after this mission was over, I could."

"I see…" Before the knight could protest, Commander Arlin cut him off.

"What she said. The mercenaries will handle their own discipline. Go back to your noble and inform them that we held the wall with minimal casualties." The knight did not look pleased, but he seemed unwilling to argue further. Too many people were watching, and the more he spoke, the worse it became for him.

"You cannot simply decide that on your own." Arlin stepped closer until he had to tilt his head up to meet her gaze.

"I already did." The guards behind her shifted, hands resting on their pommels. It was not an open threat, but the meaning was clear. The discussion had ended before he fully realized it. For a moment, no one moved. Then the knight exhaled through his nose.

"Fine. Have it your way, Guard Commander…" It was clear he was unhappy and would likely report this to his superior. Rusty watched as the knight and his men moved away. Once they were gone, the adventurers and guards broke into cheers.

"Are you sure that was wise, Guard Commander?" Rusty stepped forward to ask Arlin.

"Do not worry. That man will not report this incident. Those people do not really care. If he tries, he will only be punished for failing to keep order among his own troops."

"Oh?" Rusty was not sure why she was so confident, but she clearly did not expect the knight to make a fuss.

"Hah, those guys are full of hot air!"

"Are you sure, boss? Is this really fine?" He was speaking to the new mercenary leader, who had recently renamed the group from Black Hounds to Steel Wolves.

"Yes, do not worry about it!" Galiena slapped his back a few more times. Somehow, it seemed he had gotten away with it. If what they said was true, the knight would not report the incident, and Rusty would be free to roam the settlement as before. Still, he would not escape consequences entirely.

"This is going to mean more paperwork for me…" Arlin turned from the retreating knight and looked Rusty up and down. Her gaze was intense, and it was clear she suspected something.

"Mister Edmund, please behave yourself from now on."

"I will."

"Good. And Galiena, try to control your men."

"Haha, do not worry about it!"

"That is exactly why I do worry…" Arlin rolled her eyes, then glanced at Rusty again. She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but after noticing Galiena's foolish grin, her expression fell and she turned away.

"I still have much work to do. Keep the walls secure, and if no orcs appear, I expect a full report on my desk by noon."

"Ehh? You know I am not good at that."

"You wanted to be a mercenary leader. Leaders have responsibilities."

"But…" Before Galiena could continue, Arlin turned on her heel and walked away.

"We are done here."

'Humanoids can be strange.' Rusty thought, watching the grown woman behave like a child under his care back in his lair. She even stuck out her tongue at the guard commander, then quickly composed herself when Arlin glanced back.

"Bah… this is all your fault, Second!" She finally turned to him to complain.

"Ah, I know. As your punishment, you will write that report!"

"You want me to write it for you?"

"Exactly!" Galiena pointed at Rusty as if she had solved a difficult problem.

"You are smart. You know all the big words. I will just sign it, so bring it to me later."

"If you say so…" He did not feel like arguing. After all, he had caused the situation himself, and this was not much of a punishment. With that, the second orc siege came to an end, though it left him with many questions and a growing sense of unease. The monsters were planning something, and he could not help but wonder if their next assault would be far more dangerous.