Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 169: Prelude

Listening to Linus’s urgent words, Bob and I immediately rushed out of the tent. The moment I stepped outside, chaos unfolded around us. Soldiers were moving everywhere, some marching toward the camp entrance with weapons in hand, others hauling heavy supplies onto the lined-up transport carriages.

"Let’s go. Reid wants us at the entrance," Linus said as he took the lead. We followed closely, weaving through the frantic activity until familiar faces came into view. Several guild members had already gathered near the makeshift entrance gate set up on the open field beside the soldiers.

"Where were you guys? We were looking for you," Maya called out the moment she spotted us. Bob and I quickly took our place behind her and Evelyn, who was making the final adjustments to her bow. William, Selene, and Lunar were also present, standing in a tight formation separate from the soldiers to our right.

"Sorry, we were just resting," I replied to Maya. Meanwhile, Bob was glancing around like he lost something, though knowing him, he was probably just looking for someone to mock.

"Where did that arrogant useless guy go? Don’t tell me he already chickened out?" Bob snorted.

"If you mean Lee, he was injured and excluded from this mission. Mark was also reassigned to guard the base with the others," Selene answered calmly.

Only then did I notice her gloves, different from the fiery red pair she usually wore. These were a deep forest green with faint runic patterns woven across the knuckles.

Selene saw my gaze and lifted her hands with a proud smile. "These are new. A gift from the Guildmaster for reaching Rank B. I can’t wait to test them out in real combat."

Thump!

She punched her right hand into her left palm, grinning in anticipation. It seemed she was ready for battle.

The chatter among the people suddenly stopped as Reymond walked forward, accompanied by Reid, Guildmaster Mirinda, Beltimore, and his knight, Sir Saul.

All the soldiers stood straight on standby, eyes focused on their princes.

"As all of you already know, our beloved princess has been kidnapped by our enemies. This is a grave crime, and we will make sure we deliver punishment to those behind it. As of now, we have received intel that all the monsters are gathering near the mayor’s mansion, and we are certain my sister, Princess Reika, is there. That is where we will rally. Remember, this will be a major battle, and I am sure we will be outnumbered. But fear not! We will show them that quantity means nothing. It is quality and spirit that matter!"

"Yeah!" All the soldiers raised their weapons into the air as their spirits burned with determination, fueled by Reymond’s fiery words.

"Yeah!" Even Bob was affected.

After that, Prince Reid proceeded with the battle objectives. Our plan was to raid the mansion manor, save the princess, slay the culprit, and destroy the Kaosliths, all in one full swoop. Sounded straightforward and easy. But everyone here knew we had a mighty task in our hands.

And the key personnel in this attack were me, Bob, Linus, and Reymond, who were given the top-priority mission: to save the princess. Even though I had just met her, somehow I felt something in my heart. She must be very scared right now, surrounded by enemies.

I grasped my fists tightly as the figure of that playful masked man, Azul, appeared in my mind. That bastard! I would make sure he paid for it and erase that playful tone of his. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After that, all the participants of the battle moved toward the mansion. The soldiers were in front, led by Prince Reymond and Reid on their horses. As for the adventurer group, Mirinda herself led us at the rear.

The mansion was approximately fifteen minutes away under normal circumstances, but as we passed through debris and parts of collapsed buildings, it took longer than expected. And what was strange, we didn’t encounter even a single monster.

"They must all be gathered at the mansion," Maya said. Her words sent a shiver down my spine.

"But to be able to control all those monsters, and also the Kaoslith... that Azul guy, he’s definitely not a normal person," Evelyn said, her eyes sharp and alert. Her hands stayed ready on her bow, an arrow already nocked. Everyone else stayed quiet. Each of us focused on what we would soon face.

Soon, we arrived at what looked like the mansion’s gate. It had a tall entrance adorned with delicate animal heads resembling deer, and inside was a fairly huge field filled with trees, flowers, and bushes. Most of them already trampled by the footsteps of monsters. The gate itself was only half-standing now.

This mayor’s living place is pretty big, to be honest.

Then I saw it. A few hundred meters ahead of our group, a massive gathering of monsters, some on the ground, some in the air. They clearly noticed our presence, but they didn’t attack, as if someone had ordered them to wait. And as expected, their numbers were three or four times larger than ours.

Our group, consisting of nearly two hundred soldiers and about ten adventurers, was already on alert. The soldiers didn’t look scared, firmly gripping their weapons. They must have experienced situations like this before.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Reymond jumped down from his horse and immediately charged toward the monster swarm. Reid tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Reid then pulled his horse around and faced our adventurer group, his eyes locking directly onto me.

"Go! You three! Go with him! We’ll be right behind you!" he shouted.

And immediately, my heartbeat spiked as if a sudden rush of adrenaline burst through my veins. The soldiers instantly parted, making a path for us. Mirinda looked at me, Bob, and Linus.

"All the best, you three."

William and the others offered us quick words of good luck. Without waiting any longer, the three of us sprinted forward as fast as we could, passing through the line of soldiers.

I took a quick glance at Reid, who looked straight at me and nodded. I nodded back, then rushed forward, trailing behind Bob and Linus who were already ahead as we charged straight toward the monsters.