VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere-Chapter 107: Destroying Troops

With Testament’s death, the Raid Boss Field has been lifted. Once again, the scent of battle and the sound of cheers fill the air.

I immediately use a [Revival Potion] on the party member who died protecting Alex.

It’s starting to look like my stock is getting dangerously low…

That said, I still have about ten left.

I won’t be using any more beyond this point.

I want to save some for Liora and the [Independent Alliance], as well as the 7th Assault Squad. It’s only fair to prioritize people I know over complete strangers.

After all, treating friends and strangers the same is actually unfair.

Ignoring the time spent together is the same as treating close friends poorly. So, there’s nothing unjust about my actions.

With that excuse in mind, I resumed my healing duties.

Now then, about the battle situation—it’s absolutely terrible.

Seems the army was in shambles while Alex was gone. It was his full-party buffs and leadership that held things together.

There appear to have been heavy casualties.

Alex has resumed command. He mutters coldly to boost morale:

"The enemy’s core force—the demon-blood dragon Testament—has been slain. They have lost their dragon. The enemy’s strength is on the verge of collapse. Now that I’m here, victory will inevitably follow."

Alex’s words carry power thanks to his skill. Despite the overwhelming disadvantage, the human forces are rallying.

Honestly, from the rear lines, it still looks like we’re losing.

Clearing his throat, Alex speaks only to us,

"As a large-scale military operation, this battle is already won. All that remains is to retreat."

"But we’re losing."

"…It’s not something to tell a child, but your morale will affect future outcomes, so I’ll explain."

What Alex began to share was the true aim of this operation.

Apparently, the moment we failed to attack during daylight, defeat was inevitable. However, as a fallback, Alex managed to capture a spirit user among the enemy’s prisoners.

To vampires, food means human beings.

There are about 20,000 vampires in total. To sustain them, they need a massive number of humans. Alex used the captured spirit user to poison the wells in enemy territory.

This means the "humans in enemy territory" will die from water poisoning.

Without food, the vampires will quickly dwindle in number.

"So, we’re about to retreat. This will weaken their army. We’ll surround them loosely and crush them with the next attack."

Vampires can only feed on the blood of living humans.

As long as we keep fighting as soldiers, we won’t easily become their food. It might not be immediate, but the vampire army is effectively on the verge of collapse.

Though it’s unfortunate for the humans within enemy lines… there’s nothing we can do.

However, Alex furrows his brow:

"Yoyo… that one is different. Theoretically, she can’t be killed by numbers. Only an overwhelming individual can defeat her. What do you say, Liora?"

"Say what?"

"Can you kill Vampire Queen Yoyo Yggdrasil?"

"If God says so, I’ll do it."

"Hmm."

This battle feels like a draw.

The human forces took devastating losses, and the vampires likely can’t maintain their military structure. Of course, if they go for a desperate last push and crush our reserves, the vampires might still have a chance.

Now the only question is whether Yoyo lives or dies.

Alex removes his monocle and narrows his eyes. A cold, analytical gaze.

"If you’re going to break through… I’ll delay the retreat to use the army as bait. If you can take down Yoyo, the sacrifice will be worth it. Well?"

"I see…"

I murmured quietly.

This is a huge responsibility. Honestly, I don’t want to accept. I have no intention of losing Liora, not even a silver of her hair—but giving up the option to retreat is painful.

Even up until now, we’ve been very cautious about how we retreat.

Because I tend to operate alone, I asked the 7th Assault Squad to secure a "retreat route for Liora." That’s how important retreating was.

But if we accept this mission, retreat will no longer be an option.

As I weigh every possible risk in my mind, Jackjack suddenly gasps and sprints off. Where is he going?

Following with my eyes… he’s heading toward the route Liora was supposed to use for retreat.

"We didn’t inform Jackjack, but…"

"Captain Liora! Are you back!? Emergency!"

A summoned butterfly from Penny—who didn’t participate in the Raid Boss Field—flies in frantically with a message. It’s rare for Penny to be this flustered.

Liora nods.

"What is it?"

"Vampire Queen Yoyo has entered the retreat route guarded by the 7th Assault Squad. Alone. The squad is likely annihilated."

"!?"

Liora takes off running.

▽

At the place we arrived… were two corpses.

Several minutes had already passed since death. My degraded revival potion couldn’t bring them back.

Liora collapsed to her knees before Zerak’s body, as if her legs had lost all strength.

She muttered powerlessly in shock…

"Zerach… Gano."

The corpse with a pierced chest was that of the boy soldier, Zerach. With a smile tinged with fear still on his face, he had collapsed to the ground, his heart crushed.

Gano had lost an arm and his head.

The untended campfire crackled, as if clapping mockingly—ridiculing Liora for not arriving in time.

Liora scooped up sand and threw it over the fire, extinguishing it. She then asked the butterfly,

"Where are Sister and Mya?"

"I couldn’t pursue them since we couldn’t afford to be discovered by summoned beasts. Their whereabouts are unknown. But if my prediction is right, one of them is likely dead."

"I see."

Liora struck the ground with her fist.

Though not skilled in hand-to-hand combat, she ended up injuring herself. But thanks to her [Regeneration], the wound quickly healed.

However, the emotional wound—the pain of losing her comrades—could not be mended.

"…God."

"Is this your first time losing comrades, Liora?"

"Will Zerach and Gano be able to go to God…?"

"Yes, rest assured, Liora. But as long as you’re alive, you will be separated from them. That is what death is."

Liora stood there dazed.

Though she had killed many—brutally, coldly, and without mercy—Liora was still just a little girl. Unlike us adults, she couldn’t live in a wholly rational way.

Even so—

Wobbling, Liora stood up. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her military uniform and returned to her usual expressionless face.

"If you’re weak in battle, you die… Death is a mercy equally granted to the human race… so I forgive Zerach and Gano for being weak."

To be honest, I never know what words to say at times like this. Even when Nicole—the only friend, the only person I could call an acquaintance—died, I didn’t shed a single tear.

I just accepted death.

To expect that from a childlike Liora is cruel. Even if she is an AI, she is a highly advanced one.

Not knowing what else to say, I stayed silent.

However—

"Liora, Mya and Sister Lidis are still fleeing. Let’s go support them immediately."

"…Yes, God!"

Liora hugged me tightly and then dashed off at incredible speed.

▼

After finding the corpse of Sister Lidis, we reunited with Mya. As a hunter, Mya was covered head to toe in mud.

Her hunter’s outfit was torn by branches and leaves, and she was bleeding lightly all over. freewёbnoνel.com

"So it was Sister Lidis, huh… I tried not to lure them too far apart on purpose…" Mya hung her head. "If the healer dies, it’s all over… Even if the archer’s still standing…"

"It’s fine."

Liora answered curtly.

"It’s fine because we weren’t wiped out."

"…I’m sorry, Captain Liora. We were too weak."

"The enemy was just clever and strong."

"Yes, ma’am. But still, why were we targeted by the enemy commander in the first place? And in the depths of this forest, no less… Even if they wanted to block your retreat path, this seems like overkill."

"To kill all of you."

"Huh? Honestly, we’re just small fry, you know? We weren’t even involved in the operation."

As Mya tilted her head, the summoner Penny spoke through the butterfly.

"About that—my butterfly recorded everything. It’s technically enemy intel, so do you want to check it out? If it’s too much, we can skip it, though~"

"Show me."

"Alright then, I’ll play the footage now~"

Penny’s butterfly dropped an item—a pale blue crystal. It seemed that by pouring magic into it, they could view the scenes witnessed by the butterfly.

We began to watch the events that led to Zerach and the others’ deaths.