I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 4 - Early Signs of a War Criminal (2/3)

Afterward, the mercenary captain ordered the mercenaries to retreat. The crossbowmen who had been hiding in the forest also came out, and rows of crossbows were aimed at the beastman commander.

Then, the mercenary captain waved his hand, and the crossbow bolts were fired.

However, the stronger a beastman was, the thicker their hide, allowing them to withstand attacks from some ranged weapons.

The beastman captain before him had already reached Tier 5. These crossbow bolts hitting him actually had no effect whatsoever.

The mercenary captain, wearing a helmet, saw this and walked forward alone.

He raised the sword in his hand and pointed it at the beastman leader.

By his stance, it seemed he intended to fight one-on-one.

Beastmen were a race that revered strength. Whether from their racial habits or the current situation, a one-on-one fight was the most advantageous situation for him. Therefore, this action also played right into the beastman commander’s hands. He roared and rushed forward with his massive axe.

Then, looking at the motionless mercenary captain, he brought his axe down.

Just as he thought the other party was frozen with fear at his might, the mercenary captain moved. He sidestepped, dodging the axe’s swing, and the massive axe embedded itself deeply in the ground.

Before the beastman commander could pull out his axe, the mercenary captain kicked the beastman’s arm.

The beastman cried out in pain and released his grip. Without his weapon, the beastman was already doomed to defeat.

Clearly, the mercenary captain was not going to give this beastman a chance to breathe. He swung the longsword in his hand, and a bloody gash appeared on the beastman commander’s neck. Subsequently, his eyes widened in disbelief, and he fell to the ground.

On the other side, the villagers who had witnessed all of this looked at the mercenary captain with expressions of admiration.

After the last beastman fell, the mercenary captain also took off his helmet, revealing blue long hair and a handsome face underneath.

He was Orson’s subordinate, Virgil.

The village girl who had been grabbed by the beastman commander and thrown to the ground earlier had also recovered. Looking at Virgil’s face, the expression in her eyes, besides admiration, also held a hint of fascination.

Indeed, every girl in distress, just before the crisis, would always have her own Prince Charming come to rescue her, wouldn’t she?

Thinking this, the village girl also saw Virgil walking towards her.

She couldn’t help but want to extend her hands to Virgil and shout “I do,” but Virgil walked right past her, going behind her, closer to the villagers by the bonfire.

He untied the villagers, and only then, as if remembering something, he turned around, walked towards the village girl, and untied the ropes on her body.

Indeed, he cared about me. Otherwise, why would he come to help me last? It must be because he wanted to put the person he cared about most last.

Thinking this, the village girl was already contemplating how to spend the rest of her life with Virgil.

“Um...” The village girl lowered her head, blushing, her voice somewhat shy.

“What’s wrong?” Virgil looked at the village girl’s reaction, showing a confused expression.

“Very... very much thank you for your help.” The village girl said this, stood up, bowed to Virgil, and then walked to her grandfather.

Indeed, she couldn’t bring herself to confess to a stranger.

“?” Virgil touched his head, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Subsequently, he turned around and looked at the mercenaries who were cleaning up the battlefield.

After counting the numbers, Virgil nodded.

In this battle, due to the surprise ambush, none of his subordinates were killed. The only ones who were injured were those who fought with the beastman leader earlier, and they only had superficial wounds that would heal with rest.

After some thought, Virgil turned back and walked to the villagers.

“Apologies, we came late and put you in such a dangerous situation,” Virgil said, his tone carrying a hint of apology.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” The old man, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles, who was standing in front of the village girl whom Virgil had just saved, shook his head. “We all thought we were going to die. Thanks to you coming.”

“However, may I ask what happened on the front lines?” The old man then changed the topic.

“Ah? Please ask,” Virgil was a bit surprised but still respectfully prepared to listen to the other party.

“Before, the people from the town above said that it would be best for us to move,” the old man said. “But they also said that our location was not the front line of combat, and the front lines should be able to withstand the beastmen’s attack. Even if they were breached, information would be sent back to help us evacuate.”

“That’s why we stayed in this village. However, we didn’t receive any news, and the beastmen entered our village and tied us up.”

Virgil understood. The old man was blaming the army and officials for not providing adequate notification.

However, it was understandable. After all, the front lines collapsed almost instantly. No one expected the beastmen to exert such immense pressure at the beginning, and they couldn’t react and adjust in time, leading to the beastmen rapidly expanding their gains.

In such a chaotic situation, inadequate notification, leading to the villagers being harmed unknowingly, was not entirely the officials’ fault.

The commanders who failed to adjust and react in time also bore a considerable portion of the responsibility.

“Apologies. Regarding this point, our notification was indeed inadequate, almost causing you to be harmed,” Virgil said this, bowing apologetically to the old man.

“I’m not blaming you. After all, you saved us,” the old man said, sighing. “It’s just that I also experienced the last beastman invasion and know the pattern of beastman attacks.”

“Why did the beastmen advance so quickly this time, in just a few days... Has our Empire really made progress all these years?”

Virgil fell silent upon hearing this.