Chapter 375: A Disaster that Stroke the Ears

What came from the gate of Arche, the royal capital, was demonic nature. Along with that demonic nature stood a group of imprisoned humans. Men and women were not separated, and they walked with weak steps. Their appearance was varied.

This scene was far from being enjoyable. Some of them had lost an arm. Others had wounds wrapped in bandages. Nobody was unharmed.

Many of them were soldiers, those who tried to wield their spears and shields with bravery to protect the royal capital. A handful of those soldiers, unfortunately, were captured without being killed.

Magical beasts surrounded them and dragged them along. They were so large and tall that humans had to look up. Even the relatively small ones had a physique one size above that of an adult man.

Every human being had a certain premonition.

They were about to die. Despite their wounds and their broken morale, their insight was still intact. After all, the human compatriots who were dragged along with those demonic beings had never returned.

When they realized it, they felt a tension that made them tremble. They wanted to get down on their knees. Everyone had those thoughts, but even so, no one screamed and cried.

Both men and women were soldiers of the Gharast Kingdom’s National Army. Among them, those who stopped their feet and resisted the demonic nature were citizens. Some of them acted bravely even though they were common folk.

However, it was different for those soldiers. It was their pride. One could call it human dignity. Even though their chests were crushed by the cold premonition of death, the light of dignity kept them upright.

The thread of tension seemed to burst every time they took a step forward. Their hearts were pumping blood all over their bodies more than necessary. Even their breaths emitted a strange heat. They didn’t want to think about the time ahead.

The magical beast Kobolt, who walked in front of the imprisoned humans, spoke with its strange cat-looking face. A pale fairy-like thing was flying by its side, concealed.

「It’s my third time. I’m getting tired of this. But I have to abide by this rule, so listen.」

For the soldiers, there was no surprise that these magical beasts showed intelligence and twisted words. They had experienced it several times before while being prisoners of war, though they didn’t get used to it. It felt like they were having a bad dream when a cat spoke with words.

The fairy-looking thing beside Kobolt shined its dull light, still concealed.

「If you pledge your allegiance to us now, and obey us, our Lord will forgive you. What will you do?」

Kobolt spoke as if it didn’t really matter. He asked that question with an irritating tone, as if he weren’t interested in the answer. He was probably tired.

It couldn’t be helped. Whether it was a human or a demonic being, it was natural to feel boredom if you were forced to watch the same scene over and over again.

This was the third time for Kobolt to see this. A relatively large woman who was standing nearby spoke to him.

「No, are you kidding me? Can’t you see what you’ve done to my homeland! How could I accept you monsters to carry away with your evil deeds. One day His Majesty the King will come to take your heads. Remember who will beg for life at that time!」

She looked like a superior person. There weren’t many people who could speak so boldly even though they were on the verge of death. This wasn’t an exception.

“I see”, said Kobolt while widening his pupils.

「Is that so? Brave one. You certainly have a tough spirit. But in the end, even a person like you will cry and beg for forgiveness, saying, “Please stop. I’m sorry.” Don’t you agree?」

The cat-looking face bore his fangs in front of the woman. Not like a threat, but like a smile. It was pure mockery. His pompous behavior was irritating.

「Let me tell you first. You and the others. You didn’t die fighting bravely, you died as scared little beings. That’s what they’re saying. As a punishment, your family will be disgraced and killed, cursing you as they die.」

Kobolt didn’t reject the hardening eyes of the woman and the surrounding soldiers. Despite being a little tired of this task, Kobolt still liked this moment so much that it made him shudder. It was as if those humans’ solidly built resolve got shaken from the ground up.

They clearly understood. Many of their families were still in the royal capital. If they stood up against their captors, the family they couldn’t protect would naturally die.

Killed, raped, or enslaved. That’s usually how a fallen city ended. How could they prepare themselves for that outcome?

However, sometimes their preparation gave them a short moment of prowess. Even so, the human spirit was not that strong. They couldn’t endure for long. Kobolt knew that well.

Kobolt’s demonic nature gurgled and laughed in its own way.

「If you have a husband, I will eat his intestines alive until he dies. If you have a daughter, she will conceive a child through rape. Is the Kobolt genes good for your grandson? Or do you prefer another magical beast’s genes? I’ll let you decide.」

That was probably the limit. The woman roared upon hearing Kobolt’s cruel remarks and swung her arms. She was defeated on the spot, but it was still better than nothing.

She would definitely die. A death with a tragic fate. But still, it was better than being confronted with such a miserable reality.

However, she didn’t die immediately.

The same went for the surrounding soldiers. The magical beasts cut off their legs, devoured their arms, and ripped out their eyes. They were treated like toys and played with. However, they didn’t die. Actually, they couldn’t kill them instantly. It was the order of their master, the magical devilish being.

「You guys, it would’ve been better if you died in battle. If you did that, you would’ve died easily as you wished. 」

「Ah…Aaaaa, aaaaaa!? 」

No talk, no response. There was only a surplus of screams. It rang as Kobolt’s sharp fingers pierced the woman’s eyes.

The fairy-looking thing was swaying in the death snow while looking at this scene.

—

「…It’s terrible. It’s been like this lately. They’re impatient and often use cruel tricks.」

The old man said, showing his tongue while suppressing the area around his earlobes. The scream that had also been ringing in my ears finally left my earlobes.

Eldith opened her mouth with a greatly distorted expression. She seemed to be skeptic.

「We can see them as if they’re nearby. Carrying voices and illusions on the wind is the specialty of the spirited arts.」

What of it? All it showed was a grotesque scene. I couldn’t hear other sounds while that scream was in my ears. My back tooth, which I had been gritting without knowing it, hurt slightly. My vision was blurry, perhaps shaken by that voice.

「I…see…The spirited arts can also be used like this. With this, we can see the people of the royal capital lose their vitality day by day. 」

Matia spoke with a bitter expression on her pale-looking face.

Of course. Anyone would go insane if they continued to hear the screams of the people until they were hanged to death. Not just common folks, but also the soldiers.

Speaking of which, I heard that the soldiers in this fortress were part of the national army. Those out there belonged to the same organization, received the same training, and maybe even forged relationships.

Of course, they wouldn’t be sane if they kept hearing the last painful breaths of their comrades.

It was the worst feeling ever. It had been a while since this happened. Even the depths of the earth would provide a better prison. I let out a deep sigh. I felt my mouth so hot.

「So…why are we just watching? Is there some reason? 」

Matia professed those words. Of course, they were imitating an invitation by killing those people before our eyes. They were waiting impatiently for us to crawl out of the fortress. They were waiting for the moment where we couldn’t stand it anymore. Actually, stepping out to fight wasn’t that outrageous since it was a common action during war time.

Fighting on plains was much easier than dealing with opponents barricaded in fortresses. That was the reason why they resorted to a test of patience.

But from what I had heard, there were only a few hundred magical beasts at most. If that was true, the old man Richard would’ve calmly attacked them without their invitation.

…If the enemy was normal, so to speak. His white beard swayed beyond my sight.

「Yes, there’s a reason. I know the soldiers are dying in vain, Holy Saint of the Heraldic Order. In fact, when those demonic beasts attacked the royal capital, our army greatly exceeded theirs in numbers and weapons.」

A suitable national army against the herd of magical beasts. A protection worthy of the royal capital.

But it was useless in the end.

The old man explained without stirring his mouth. There was a deep, quiet fury in his voice that I had never heard before. I couldn’t see it in his expression. But right now, I could feel that the old man was certainly carrying emotions that couldn’t be put into words.

「…A magical devilish being. There’s a demonic creature with that name. It is said that the royal capital fell because of that one.」

Adjutant Neymar, who was standing by the old man, said in a quiet voice. I felt like something was boiling in her voice. It seemed that everyone had the same unbearable emotion.

A magical devilish being…In other words, the original. It was a devil creature that increased the power of fellow demonic beings. It was the proof of their existence, an ominous miracle that far surpassed magic and military power.

In the past, many heroes and brave men died because of it. It was the same with the Defender Valerie. I didn’t even have to ask how much of a threat it was.

「In front of that devil, the earth is creaking, and the soldiers are dying. I can’t understand its power with logic or magic theory…Let me say this. That’s a being whose force is beyond our comprehension.」

The ground on which they stood got shaken, and the soldiers were swung around by an incomprehensible force. Its true identity was still unknown.

I see, even just listening to it made me loathe it. I didn’t know much about that being, but all I knew was that I didn’t want to confront it with half-hearted feelings.

At least, if we could attack with a large army, our opponent wouldn’t have the opportunity to outwit us. Even so, given our current position, wouldn’t it be the worst invitation?

I sighed from the depths of my lungs. Emotions were unbearably moving around in my chest, and I couldn’t find a way to place them. That’s how I felt. I gritted the chewing tobacco without knowing it.

「So, old man. 」

I spoke while breathing out. A peculiar smell rushed through my nostrils. Old man Richard’s deep eyes looked my way. I lifted my cheeks and continued with my words.

「I don’t think we’ll be barricading ourselves until the end of the death snow, right? This strategy is a bit sloppy and won’t lead us anywhere.」

The old man showed his teeth and moved his throat after hearing my words. It even looked like he was smiling.

「You’re an idiot. What are you saying? You have not forgotten about the Kingdom in the last few years you were away, have you?」

Who was this old man talking to? He had really mellowed.

The royal capital was the place where I grew up and ran around in the back streets. The alleys and the dirty places. I even knew where the sewers were. It was all in my head. The memory of that miserable part of my life was still alive.

Yes, everything.

I gritted my teeth while lifting my cheeks. That old man had exactly the same expression on his face.

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Ohhh, it seems we’ll have a very interesting strategy. 🙂

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