Dimensional Merchant: Starting With 100 Stat Points-Chapter 130: What Comes After

The soldiers scrambled into position, shields locking in a shaky line, while the adventurers took their places behind them.

Rowan raised his one good hand, his mana swirling within him. Wade stepped forward, gripping Toothpick tight.

The injured were at the rear, those who couldn’t fight sitting or lying in wagons, their faces pale but alert. A few tried to rise, but others pulled them back down, telling them to stay put.

Five of the boars angled to where Rowan and Wade were standing with other adventurers.

A few seconds later, they hit like a storm.

The first slammed into the shield line, sending men sprawling. Shields cracked, and the sound of impact echoed across the field.

Wade rushed forward, intercepting the second boar before it could break through. He swung Toothpick, striking its shoulder. The weapon rebounded with a ringing clang.

Wade ducked under a sweeping tusk and swung again, this time catching the beast’s front knee.

The blow landed true, and the boar bellowed, stumbling. He followed with a brutal overhead strike from the hammer end, crushing its skull.

Another boar barreled into the fray, tossing a soldier aside like a ragdoll. Rowan cast a burst of wind, knocking the creature off balance long enough for another adventurer to hack through its throat.

The air was soon filled with roars, screams, and the clash of metal. The smell of blood and burnt flesh hung thick as spells erupted, with flashes of fire and arcs of lightning tearing across the dirt.

One of the boars broke through the line, charging straight for the wagons where the wounded lay.

"Stop it!" Wade roared, sprinting after it.

He teleported mid-run, appearing right in front of the creature. It lowered its tusks, aiming for his chest.

"Not this time."

He thrust his left hand forward, summoning Basic Ward. The translucent barrier flickered into existence just as the boar hit.

The impact cracked the shield, forcing Wade back several steps, boots digging trenches into the dirt.

Fireburst!

Flames exploded from his right hand, washing over the boar’s face. The creature screamed, its hide glowing red from the heat.

Wade dropped the barrier and brought Toothpick down with both hands, the hammer end slamming into the creature’s burning head.

The boar crashed to the ground, twitching once before going still.

He barely had a second to breathe before another came charging.

Rowan shouted, "Down!" and Wade ducked.

A burst of stone spikes erupted from the earth, impaling the boar mid-charge. Its momentum carried it a few more feet before it collapsed in a heap.

"Two left!" Rowan yelled, sweat pouring down his face.

Wade turned. The remaining pair were tearing through the defenders on the left flank. A fire mage was tossed into the air, landing with a sickening thud.

Wade sprinted towards them, activating Chain Step. His body blurred, closing the distance in a heartbeat. The nearest boar turned toward him, tusks coated in blood.

He met it head-on.

Toothpick swung in a wide arc, connecting with the creature’s jaw. Bone and metal shattered under the impact.

The boar shrieked, stumbling. Wade followed up with another swing to the head.

The weapon bit deep, cracking its skull. The boar toppled, thrashing before slumping, dead.

The final one, the largest of the herd, was locked in battle with a group of soldiers. Its tusks caught one in the gut, lifting him before throwing his body aside.

Wade teleported again, appearing behind the beast. He swung his hammer high and brought it crashing down on its spine. The beast roared in pain, turning on him with fury.

Rowan, from across the field, summoned one last burst of wind. It slammed into the creature’s side, staggering it.

Wade took the opening, activating Fireburst one last time, flames wreathing Toothpick in light.

He leapt, driving the weapon down between the creature’s eyes.

The explosion that followed blew dirt and blood in every direction. When the smoke cleared, the giant boar lay motionless, its hide cracked and glowing.

Silence fell over the field.

The last of the herd was dead.

Wade exhaled slowly, lowering Toothpick. Around him, the surviving soldiers and adventurers stood panting, leaning on their weapons.

The other adventurers had also defeated their boars.

Rowan was visibly annoyed as he wiped sweat and dirt from his brow.

"Damn beasts," he muttered, glaring at the carcasses of the fallen boars. "They’re from the scattered remnants of the horde."

Wade turned towards him, catching his breath. "You mean a lot of the horde escaped?"

Rowan nodded his head, kicking one of the dead boars lightly. "Yeah."

"When the Tyrant fell, the monsters lost their command. The smart ones fled. Now they’re roaming the countryside without direction, attacking anything that moves."

He sighed. "The guild’s going to be posting beast-hunting quests for months."

Wade frowned. "So the war didn’t end it."

Rowan let out a humorless chuckle. "Wars never really end. They just change shape."

"The horde might be broken, but the survivors will terrorize villages, farms, and trade roads. Adventurers will clean it up piece by piece, same as always. And of course, the guilds get to enjoy the benefits. Just another kind of business."

He said the last words bitterly, and Wade couldn’t blame him. After all they’d been through, the thought of diving right back into guild work made his stomach twist.

The cleanup teams began burning the corpses. Black smoke curled into the pale sky, carrying the heavy scent of charred flesh.

With the immediate danger gone, the column re-formed, the soldiers and adventurers resuming their slow trek.

The days that followed were long and quiet.

They marched under the sun by day and slept beneath the cold stars by night.

Conversations were few. The survivors had spoken enough in the camps, and shared enough grief. Now, there was only silence and the sound of their boots on the road.

Rowan, ever the one to break silence when it grew too heavy, occasionally spoke of Hiving.

About how the guild would hold a memorial, and how the merchants would already be raising prices, knowing the soldiers were returning with coin in hand.

"Everything goes back to normal," he said one night, his voice low, "even when it shouldn’t."

Wade didn’t reply. He just stared into the fire, the glow reflecting in his tired eyes.

Four days later, as dawn crept over the horizon, a familiar silhouette rose in the distance.

The walls of Hiving came into view.

After shedding blood in the name of guilds that didn’t care one whit about them, they were finally home.