Chapter 24: Massacre of the Rat Camp

“What is your leader's name?” Kana asked.

“Leader? The leader is just called Leader,” the sharp-eared ratman replied while crying out in pain.

Hearing this, Kana felt somewhat helpless. “How tall is he?”

“That tall!” The rat made an exaggerated gesture.

Kana applied pressure with his foot.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”

“That tall! That tall!”

After a loud shriek, the rat pointed toward Kana's shoulder.

“Is there a mark on his tail?”

“A mark?”

*Sigh, I overestimated your level of culture.*

“A pattern. Is there a pattern?”

The rat nodded hurriedly. “There is one like this.”

He extended his slender fingers to cross them in an 'X' pattern.

Looking at this pattern, Kana couldn't help but pause to think.

He changed the subject and asked, “How many of you are there? How many rats?”

The rat held up his fingers to gesture a few times, but finally shook his head in terror and panic. “Can't count, can't count!”

Kana could understand this, so in an act of mercy, he did not press further.

Instead, he asked what they were currently doing and continued to ask several more questions before finally releasing his foot.

The rat immediately grabbed his tail, frantically blowing on it and rubbing it.

“Alright, you can go.”

Upon hearing this, the sharp-eared ratman scrambled onto all fours and ran outside immediately, showing no intention of staying.

He didn't even seem surprised that Kana was actually letting him go.

The hunters and soldiers glanced at Kana.

*He actually let the enemy go...*

In their hearts, they cursed Kana for being foolish and naive.

Unexpectedly, Kana remained expressionless and waved his hand forward.

“Go, we follow him.”

Only then did the soldiers and hunters pause for a moment, thinking, *So that's how it is.*

*His Highness the Prince is truly clever.*

They quickly moved forward, trailing far behind the rat.

“Follow the path he takes. Do not wander around the surroundings, and do not scatter,” Kana commanded.

Black couldn't help but speak up. “Your Highness, gathering together in a forest makes us easy targets for ambushes. It would be better to spread out a bit; those rats know this place better than we do.”

“Follow my orders. Now, move quickly, don't lose him.”

Seeing Kana insist on this, Black could only sigh helplessly and could do nothing but stay fully alert to prevent any accidents.

They had barely followed for a few hundred meters when George instinctively wanted to spread out to scout the surrounding environment.

Just as he took two steps, Kana, who was walking behind him, lunged forward and forcefully pulled him back.

Under George's bewildered and panicked gaze, Kana cursed, “Idiot, did you not hear my command? Can't you even play 'Eagle Catches Chicks'? If you don't listen to the commander's orders, you'll—”

Kana suddenly stopped talking.

He had subconsciously brought his "gamer" mindset into his real-world state.

Losing patience with the people in front of him, he simply picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it toward the direction George was about to step. It landed only two or three steps away from where he stood.

As the stone struck, a simple trap was instantly triggered.

A leg fell right into it, which was rigged with wooden spikes coated in filth.

If a foot landed there, even if they didn't become disabled on the spot, that leg would be gone for good.

Watching this scene, George's eyes widened, and the others gasped in collective shock.

Black understood immediately why Kana had issued that command.

He quickly turned to Kana and bowed deeply. “My apologies, Your Highness. I questioned your command just now.”

George also hurriedly knelt on one knee. “Thank you for saving my life, Your Highness, I...”

Kana interrupted them directly. “We can talk about this later. We're about to lose them.”

The group snapped back to reality, quickly formed a line, and hurried to follow the distant rat's trail.

Kana lagged slightly behind, walking beside Black. “Don't blame yourself for what happened just now. You gave the kind of advice a knight should give. Next time I am commanding, I hope you give me more confidence. I'm not as bad as you imagine, am I?”

After saying this, Kana smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and quickened his pace.

Black stood frozen for a moment, falling behind and ending up at the rear.

Coming to his senses, a slightly guilty smile appeared on his face, and he hurried to catch up with Kana's back.

Alireis glanced at Black and silently followed beside Kana.

...

Inside the rat camp.

The rats were still busy with their tasks, digging and moving earth to build the camp; they intended to turn this place into a rat nest.

Many rats were even preparing food.

Their nest was almost complete, and they even had a female rat captive. Although her fur and ears were different, it didn't matter; they didn't care about such things. The priority was to breed offspring and expand their population.

There was also a human.

Tonight would be a grand feast for the rats.

The feast and the completion of the nest were a double blessing.

The joyful atmosphere in the rat camp had been lasting for quite some time.

At that moment.

A rat scurried in quickly from the outside.

This rat had friction wounds on its tail; one could tell at a glance it was the one Kana had interrogated.

“Leader! There are humans! And iron-humans! They are very powerful!”

The rat's voice instantly startled the entire camp.

The tall ratman called "Leader" pinned the rat down.

“Speak slowly! Speak clearly!” His voice was high-pitched and carried a hint of uncontrollable panic.

*Whoosh!*

However, before the rat could continue, an arrow flew from the distance, striking the rat and piercing him through on the spot.

The tall rat, who had just been about to speak with him, dissipated on the spot following a burst of black smoke.

“Dead rat! A dead rat!”

“Run! Run!”

“...The Big-Guy Army is here!”

The rats' cries became increasingly absurd, causing the entire camp to fall into a state of panic.

The camp descended into total chaos.

Kana led his men directly into the fray.

“Attack! Watch the shadows! Kill all these rats! Be ruthless—these rats all deserve to die. They are nothing but cowardly trash!”

Several soldiers charged out with their weapons, accompanied by roars and strange cries—techniques Kana had just taught them.

It worked perfectly. The sudden attack left the rats completely disoriented.

The soldiers felt a surge of joy; His Highness the Prince was truly formidable.

They thrust their spears.

With so many rats scurrying about, a few random thrusts were enough to impale a rat.

For a time, there was almost no resistance, turning the encounter into a one-sided massacre.

“Rats! Pick up your weapons! Kill them! We outnumber them!”

A high-pitched voice came from somewhere, causing some of the panicked rats to steady themselves.

“Yes, yes! We outnumber them!”

“Swords up! Swords up!”

That was how ratmen were; they were easily influenced by the emotions and words of their companions.

(End of Chapter)