Chapter 89: Azuna

“Hold your ground! Unit 3, step back.”

“Roger!”

“I think we should circle it. Captain—”

“No! Keep your distance.”

A group of around fifty men were battling a horde of monsters before them.

The scent of blood had filled the area, belonging to both the monsters and humans.

That wasn’t all.

Around a hundred other people were watching the battle, their hearts beating faster as they saw the fight before them.

These were ordinary people, with some of them being Iron Core, but having no experience in combat.

Not that they needed such experience.

All of these hundred men and women were miners, who were currently paid to perform their task in this place.

Looking around, they were surrounded by huge trees on all sides.

The miners had never dared to come to such places on their own, but their current employers had required them to do so.

This forest was none other than one of the most dangerous places in the world.

The Great Forest of Azuna.

It was a playground for monsters.

Till date, the Azuna Forest had remained inhabitable due to the population of monsters here. Its climate and the mana density had allowed the monsters to proliferate rapidly.

There had been some expeditions in the past to reduce the monster population, but after some trial and error, the major powerhouses of the world had deemed this place unfit for any kind of civilisation.

The cost to subjugate every monster in the vicinity was far greater than the profits that could be derived.

At first, hearing the place they were about to visit had made many of the miners refuse the proposal, but the pay was very good.

Not only good, but it could be considered elite pay compared to what they usually received for such tasks.

Also, their new employers guaranteed that this job would go on for quite a while, so they had no need to search for new work.

And they had also been promised the welfare of their children in their absence.

Though all these benefits felt suspicious, the people who were desperate enough couldn’t refuse the offer.

So most of them had come here, but now, seeing the battle before them, they were re-evaluating their choices.

“Captain, we need reinforcements. This damn hell isn’t easy for some mere fifty men.”

“Is that so? Then how about asking the boss?”

“Tsk. On the right!”

Clank.

The monster’s claw glided against the sword.

No. 586 was frustrated.

He, along with fifty other intermediate numbers, was dispatched here to escort a group of miners for mining some unique ore…

Or that was what the higher-ups had informed them.

The reinforcements were expected to arrive within a day or two… But now it had been three days since they had entered the forest.

They had been battling non-stop, killing one monster after the other, but still hadn’t reached the desired location.

No. 586 found the situation to be ridiculous. How did the higher-ups even know there was some mine here?

It wasn’t like mines popped out of nowhere, so why hadn’t this one been discovered yet?

Also, he was curious about what ore they had to mine, for the organization to invest such resources in its search.

Thinking about the organization that he had joined, No. 586 paused for a second.

He had been falsely convicted of the murder of a noble highborn, and that had led him to be discharged from the military while being sentenced to life imprisonment.

Finding the treatment unjust, 586 had fled from jail while killing a few guards.

Though he was falsely accused of the crimes before… killing the guards had surely made him a wanted criminal.

And now, instead of running for his life every now and then, he had taken upon himself the job of a contracted assassin.

No. 586 had since then become famous in his line of work, having killed many prominent figures in the Veltran Empire.

Still, the authorities had always been on his tail, and on one unfortunate day, his base was raided.

Though No. 586 was a strong Silver 2 ranker, he couldn’t possibly defeat so many people who had been sent after him.

But on his run, luck had blessed him.

No. 586 had stumbled across some agents of a secretive organisation who were willing to help him, given that he joined them.

586 wasn’t stupid. He could tell that these people hadn’t met him out of sheer coincidence, but had already researched his entire background.

Though he had his suspicions, the situation wasn’t exactly favourable for him.

So he joined hands with them and was saved from the authorities.

Since then, he had to drop his name and go by a number that was assigned to him based on his combat abilities.

That was the day he had become No. 586.

When he joined D.X., he thought it was some ragtag group of criminals, but he was soon proved entirely wrong.

This was a full-fledged organization with a hierarchy spanning to the highest core ranks that people had ever achieved.

Even the boss of the current expedition team was a Gold 1 ranker.

Boom.

Clank.

Splurt!

“Oyy! That was my kill.”

“I see.”

“…”

“Cover me.”

586 had once been sent to an area near the Ares Mountains to transport some commodities, as there had been some problem with the teleportation passage.

Arriving at the base, 586 had been amazed by the level of technology that was utilized there.

As he was a simple escort, after delivering the goods, he had to report back to his own branch.

While leaving the base, 586 had caught a glimpse of one of the scientists who was working there.

And…

Though 586 had no thoughts about leaving the organization—

Since that day, he hadn’t even thought of doing anything else without the permission of his higher-ups.

And who in their right mind would think of betraying something that could even employ—

The Mad Alchemist?!

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