Chapter 375

——A difference of nearly twice the number of people.

When William James Moriarty saw the news, he almost felt a chill running down his spine - there was no doubt that he was worried about the safety of Sherlock Holmes.

——We must think of a solution.

Driven by this motivation, William James Moriarty rushed out of the door of his residence again.

At the same time, in the town of Vermissa, Pennsylvania, a guard dressed as a druid also brought back the news that the number of the Dead Kooks reached more than a hundred people to the tavern.

"My eyesight is very good, and I can see it clearly," Druid replied to Sherlock Holmes. "My surveillance is in the northern canyon about 15 miles from here... Even if we take into account the rest time of the horses and the destruction of the bridge, we can reach here in 32 hours at that marching speed."

"…It's okay, don't panic."

Sherlock Holmes' words were more for himself than for anyone else - but Kirshtalia, who was sitting at the bar with his back to the crowd and shaking his glass, made a proposal in the style of Robin Hood at this moment.

"There are two options now." The green-caped archer, with his back to everyone, spoke slowly and put the two options in front of everyone. "The first is to stick to the 'war' plan prepared before, continue training, and prepare more traps - even if the enemy's number doubles, you are still not without the possibility of victory."

"After all, there are still 32 hours left and you can be better prepared than you are now."

"As for the other proposal..." Kirshtalia turned around and smiled at Billy the Kid standing next to Holmes, "I heard that someone here uses the name 'Billy the Kid'. Since we are going to fight side by side, it is better to introduce myself for the first time - my name is Robin Hood."

"I told you at the beginning, didn't I? I'm better at using a bow and arrow than a gun."

"...This is not Sherwood Forest in England." The British detective reminded the archer while biting his cigarette, "Besides, in an age of hot weapons, what can cold weapons do?"

"In fact, I am good at bows and arrows... only compared to pistols." Kirshtalia drank his beer slowly while saying a plan that was bound to be rejected by Sherlock Holmes. "I am a guy who will do anything to win. I am good at stealth, conspiracy, and poison arrows. I am not that thief."

"And if we want to stop this war - that is, to save this land... the simplest solution is to kill McGinty directly, right?"

"32 hours is more than enough time for an assassination that was carried out on impulse."

Sherlock Holmes certainly knew how many people a single person could kill in 32 hours - because the time William James Moriarty had previously used to kill nobles in London was actually quite short, and those nobles who valued their lives were equipped with a large number of guards...

It's just that these nobles were finally dealt with by William James Moriarty with a single sword strike.

"Killing to stop killing is not feasible." As Kirshtalia expected, Sherlock Holmes rejected Kirshtalia's proposal with a cold face, "You might as well spend this time with the townspeople to set traps - I remember that your traps are very good, right? Besides, hiring a hundred mercenaries is not a difficult task for me."

"The guy who can make a man like you say such a thing must be a person who keeps weaving webs like a spider and controls all changes within the spider's thread." Kirshtalia jumped off his seat, walked out of the tavern, and waved to Sherlock Holmes with his back. "Well, goodbye - I'll go see if there are any changes I can make to the trap array."

On the other side, William James Moriarty stood in front of a mansion with drawn curtains in Manhattan and knocked on the door nervously. However, the act of removing the bandage before leaving the house made William James Moriarty realize the "miracle" that the gift had brought to him. So, William James Moriarty, who was supposed to go straight to the horse rental point, finally chose to say hello to his creditor before leaving New York.

"There is a price to pay for asking a witch for help, but you have already given your soul to me, right?" Lansermello, leaning on the sofa, looked lazily at William James Moriarty who stood in front of him again, "You have nothing now, and you don't have anything that can be used as collateral--"

"So, what would I pay for that tie clip?" William James Moriarty interrupted Lansomello with a confident smile. "What would I pay for the miracle that healed my eyes?"

"..." Lansemero was choked by the loophole pointed out by William James Moriarty, and could only change the subject stiffly, "What are you here to discuss?"

"The soul you are going to take is not just mine—" William James Moriarty lowered his eyes and looked at Lansemero calmly, "Then, if I bring you other people's souls, can you give me some small miracles in advance to protect their lives?"

"...I understand." Lansemero stood up and used his magic to condense a pile of parchment contracts and handed them to William James Moriarty. "Then, I will give the contracts to you to be responsible for - each contract has a corresponding name, and I will give you part of my power to protect the lives of others."

"Until the planet is destroyed, you will work tirelessly as my protector - don't regret it easily, okay?"

The next morning, McGinty, the leader of the Cruel Party, and his men arrived near the town of Vermissa.

"Let's get started. Leave no one behind."

"It's a perfect battle plan. Break it down into smaller pieces and defeat them one by one." Holmes praised another battle plan of his own in the library, and reviewed with Kirshtalia what he had to do in this war. "First, let them think that the main gate is heavily guarded and difficult to break through, so they choose to disperse actively; then use the alleys as the official battlefield... The townspeople are more familiar with the roads in the town than outsiders, so street fighting is a good choice."

"But McGinty is not stupid." Kirshtalia jumped onto the roof and pulled the bowstring. "He will definitely find out that there is no mine at the main gate - whether he forces his men to go through the maze set by Sherlock or uses some other means... considering the current situation is extremely favorable to the townspeople, he will find out the problem soon."

"But it would be easy for you to pretend there is a mine there, right?" Holmes asked Kirshtalia.

"...I'm not a scum like Beryl who would kill even those who have surrendered." Kirshtalia silently watched as McGinty forced a man to walk naked into a field that was only covered with a layer of soil to pretend to be minefields. She clenched the bow in her hand, "Damn it, it's going to be a frontal battle next, and the enemy's number far exceeds ours..."

"Hurry up! Let's go to our last base, the tavern!" Kirshtalia rushed several townspeople hiding behind counters and tables out through the back door, while drawing his gun to fire back at the mercenaries who were shooting directly from outside the door. "If you die here, you will really have nothing! Do you want McGinty to get your land so easily!?!"

"I'm Robin Hood after all. No one is better than me at stalling for time, right?"

After everyone escaped, Kirshtalia coughed weakly twice amid the hail of bullets.

——『I’ll leave it to you from now on, Mr. Holmes.』

The protective magic left by the magician can block two rounds of volleys.

Holmes, who has taken control of his body from Kirshtalia, is planning his next move. Most of the town’s bases have been lost, but that guy will definitely not let his old enemy, Holmes, die easily, so there is no need to worry about hiring mercenaries. Even if Robin Hood disappears for a while, it will not cause the front line to collapse...

"But, after all, if all McGinty wants is the land—"

"That means - all of these buildings can be destroyed!!!"

"PARROT RIFLE!!!" someone shouted from the other side of town, "McGinty has a PARROT RIFLE!!!"

"Ha... I should have thought of it earlier." Holmes sneered unhappily, "That guy didn't just throw the problem to Mr. Wadham, he clearly handed the problem directly to Holmes (me) to deal with! Damn, it turned out to be a Parrott rifled cannon - wait, this time's job... turns out to be saving people."

On the only bell tower in the town, a gunman who called himself GOOD NIGHT was aiming the cannon ammunition, and this bell tower had also been aimed at by McGinty's turret.

"But it would be too foolish to rescue people under bombardment."

"So, let me use the magician's method to add a little surprise to that bullet." Holmes chuckled and set his sights on McGinty's cannon position. "Let us begin - the range of gunpowder explosion is very large, especially the explosion caused by the shells used to load cannons... This is common sense, my dear friend -"

『Elementary My Dear』

——That’s the spot, it must be right!

GOOD NIGHT on the clock tower had sharp eyes. He adjusted the muzzle of his gun slightly as if he had just received an epiphany, and then pulled the trigger.

"GOOD NIGHT 'ends here'."

The massive explosion engulfed the artillery position, and even McGinty, who was supervising the battle near the artillery position, was melted in the dazzling flames.

"The story of "Uncanny Valley" ends here. Good Night has become a living legend, and the people of Vermissa have protected their land..." William smiled and closed the book in his hand, looking at his growing number of cohabitants. "Of course, the most important thing is-"

"Crime Lord William James Moriarty embarks on a journey of atonement while alive, and returns to London, England with the famous detective Sherlock Holmes."