"Jyrgil, where the hell are you?!"
In an instant the roar of the giant man's laughter filled my head.
[Hahaha! Where else? I'm at the frontline. That is where true warriors should go!]
I quickly surveyed the field beyond the southern walls, intensifying my vision spell.
Fortuned favored me since I managed to quickly find a yellowish dot right at the cluster of greens advancing to the city.
"Jyrgil, you're supposed to guard the walls! You won't do any good wasting yourself fighting all three thousand goblins at once!"
[Shut up, you witch! I won't stay on the walls and wait the enemies like a coward!]
"You'll die if you keep fighting in the frontline. There're too many of them. You'll be wiped out along with the Loro soldiers."
I insisted him despite his strong objection and disregard.
But he only replied with even louder voice.
[I said shut up! You don't get to tell me what to do anymore!]
I could hear goblins screaming and ogres roaring around him.
Jyrgil's axe could be heard swinging erratically, making constant noise of flesh being torn and churned.
[You think I'm weak, don't you? Well I will show just how wrong you are! I'll fight in the frontline and survive! I'll kill all these monsters! You just wait and see!]
I could not help but sigh at his words.
He had made his choice.
Nothing I say would get through to him.
"Suit yourself. For your own sake, those words you proclaimed had better be true."
I spoke to him before disconnecting.
Jyrgil throwing himself to the frontline was such a blunder on his part.
He would surely die if he stayed there, and the monsters he killed would not really make much of a difference from the thousands that would be ready to replace the lost numbers.
We could no longer count on him for our strategy to defend the statue.
However, the Quintal Trial was just beginning and I still needed to keep track on how both Party 2 and 3 were doing on their side of the walls throughout the mission.
With Jyrgil on the frontline, I had no way of communicating with the rest of Party 3 on the southern wall.
I supposed it was also my blunder for keeping Jyrgil as their party leader. Or even letting him participate in the Quintal Trial at all.
One fatal blunder on my part which would be followed by more in the future.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, sooner than I would anticipated.
If only we could replace Jyrgil as party leader, handing over the communication blessing to someone else.
Ashta would be a fine replacement.
Yes, she would be. I wished she could replace the rogue.
Right as I thought of it, a window appeared in front of me.
[Serafina (★★★★) proposes a change of party leadership.]
['Party 3': 'Jyrgil (★★★)' -> 'Ashta (★★)']
[Accept?]
[Yes / No]
A window presenting an option.
But no matter what I did to it, nothing happened.
It must be the same kind as when we were requesting those throwing spears in the fifth floor.
This particular window was addressed to master.
And just as I thought, one of the option turned brighter without me doing anything to it.
[Serafina (★★★★) proposes a change of party leadership.]
['Party 3': 'Jyrgil (★★★)' -> 'Ashta (★★)']
[Accept?]
[Yes (selected) / No]
The window then vanished after the decision was made.
Given what I just saw, I put my fingers to the back of my ear and imagined a certain archer in Party 3.
"Ashta, can you hear me?"
[Huh? Serafina? Is that you?]
She asked confusingly.
"Yes, it's me. Listen, you're now the leader of Party 3."
[What?! But what about Jyrgil?]
"He has no use of the position if he doesn't stick with his comrades."
[Heh! As soon as that lunatic heard the soldiers shouting, he sprinted toward the gates and ditched us while saying, "Fuck off, losers!"]
I did not find her words hard to believe.
"Jyrgil aside, you're now in charge of keeping the southern wall secured. You know how to use the communication blessing, right?"
[Yeah, I know. You told all of us back then at the lodging.]
"Talk to me or Zecht if anything happens. We need to stay in touch and be alert of everything that's happening throughout the Quintal Trial."
[Understood!]
Ashta replied obediently.
Now the communication line with Party 3 was restored, it was time I focused myself back to my party's objective.
Understanding my intention ahead of time, my comrades were already waiting for me by the eastern gates.
"What happened?"
Jonah asked as I approached them.
They must had seen me talking to the party leaders earlier.
Seeing his and the others' concerned faces, they were probably worried of my conversation with Jyrgil.
"Party 2 is fine. As for Party 3, Ashta has replaced Jyrgil as party leader."
"Why? What happened to Jyrgil?"
Trudy asked, though she did not seem to mind with the change.
"Jyrgil did not follow the plan. He stormed over the walls and charged to the southern frontline by himself."
My words did not surprise any of them.
Apparently my comrades had expected Jyrgil would do something like this.
All they gave as a response was either a click of their tongue or an exasperated sigh.
"Despite what happened to Party 3, we still have our own objective to fulfill. Let's depart!"
I instructed my party.
We assumed our charging formation.
Jonah and Shanny in the front. Trudy behind them. While Darius and I followed closely from the rear, with the veteran archer being on the furthest back.
I poured my colorless mist of mana again and set it off toward the mountain trail ahead.
After taking a couple of dozens steps, my sensing field detected abnormalities.
Snouted heads. Machetes. Crossbows. Four-legged creatures. One giant.
As expected, more obstacles were standing in our way.
I warned my comrades of enemies ahead. They immediately readied their weapons.
Once we made a sharp turn, we finally caught sight of our next roadblock.
[Goblin Rider Lv.10 x52]
[Ogre Lv.17 x1]