Chapter 563: The Hero Climaxes in Defeat Again Today[R-18] (50)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 563: The Hero Climaxes in Defeat Again Today[R-18] (50)
I stood atop the ruined temple on the mountain's peak and looked down. The Kairosen camp was still in an uproar. Lights flickered wildly, and a mixture of screams and shouts seeped into my ears.
“I told them to assassinate them quietly… I knew this would happen.”
I had sent Bi-yeon along, but judging by the chaos I could see from a distance, they were committing a massacre, not an assassination.
Marienne, standing beside me, asked quietly, “Master, what are your orders?”
“We have no choice. We’ll have to attack now, while they’re in disarray. Marienne, you move separately, as we discussed.”
“As you command.”
Without hesitation, Marienne drew her sword. The steel, bathed in moonlight, gave off a cold glint. As she bent her knees, ready to spring forward at any moment, I reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
“Wait.”
She looked at me, puzzled. I lifted a helmet and placed it on her head myself. Fastening the chinstrap with a metallic click, I said, “You need to wear your helmet. It’ll be a pain if someone sees your face.”
“…My apologies. It’s become a habit not to wear it.”
I tapped her helmet lightly with my palm.
“Go and support Ha-young. Just in case.”
“Yes.”
“Move out.”
The moment I finished speaking, she launched herself toward the enemy camp like the wind. Her shadow cut through the moonlight and vanished.
I immediately descended the mountain. Spread before me in the darkness was an army of ten thousand.
I stopped and slowly raised my right hand, pointing to the sky. Then, I roared with all my might.
“Elites of Alcladion!”
Every eye in the army snapped to me. The soldiers’ eyes burned with a fiery passion.
“The scum of Kairosen have dared to defile our lands!”
Armor and spears rattled, the soldiers’ fury spreading like a palpable vibration.
“Tonight, we will show them! We will show those who dared to make an enemy of us what kind of end awaits them—!”
I drew my sword and raised it high into the sky. The cold, sharp glint of steel mixed with the moonlight, flashing as if to illuminate the entire battlefield.
“It’s time for a cleanup! Kill every last one of the Kairosen dogs!”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!”
The soldiers’ roar shook the Baldrak Mountain Range.
*
Lucy poked the body of the demon lying on the ground, its limbs severed, with the tip of a tree branch.
“So weak~ Sooo weak~”
She teased him with a playful laugh, as if humming a tune.
“What was it you said to us? Oh, right! ‘To ask the 49th ranked demon about strength… how cute, yet rude.’ Puhahaha! Ah, it’s so funny I could die laughing.”
Barqued gasped for breath, his eyes filled with humiliation and despair as he muttered, “Kugh… Kill me…!”
“Nope. You have to be dragged before Papa to spill everything you know.”
Just then, the sound of slow footsteps approached from behind.
“Lucy. Should we be heading back soon?”
Sora said as she walked over. A hint of bloodlust still lingered in her voice, but it was already returning to its usual gentle tone.
“I guess so.”
Lucy shrugged and kicked Barqued’s head with the tip of her boot.
“He’s seriously pathetic, though. He’s ranked 49th, and this is all he’s got? I can’t even imagine how weak the demons above him must be.”
Barqued gritted his teeth, his face a bloody mess, and muttered, “…How dare you… you lowly creatures…”
“Lowly?”
Lucy’s smiling eyes instantly turned cold.
“Milky Boy. This bastard’s picking a fight again.”
“Just ignore him. It’s your loss if you react to every little thing.”
Lucy pouted but didn’t bother Barqued any further. Instead, she glanced around and grumbled, “Papa told us to handle this quietly… Did we get a little too carried away?”
The area was a vision of hell. The ground was shattered to pieces, and thousands of corpses were piled in pools of blood. Black smoke still rose from the dying embers of fires.
“Well, can’t be helped. Dad will understand,” Sora murmured calmly, planting the greatsword she had slung over her shoulder into the ground.
“So, how are we going to carry this guy?”
As Lucy tilted her head, Sora replied as if it were obvious.
“You’re carrying him, of course.”
“Hey, you want me to touch this filthy thing?”
“I can’t. I have to ride on your back.”
“……”
The two sisters’ gazes locked onto each other. The air grew tense.
“It’s a showdown, Milky Boy!”
“You’ve got some nerve challenging me, you flat-chested shrimp!”
Lucy and Sora clenched their fists at the same time. Then they shouted.
“Rock!”
“Paper!”
““Scissors!””
Both hands shot out at the same time. And…
“…It’s a draw?”
They both gritted their teeth and got into position again.
“Alright, this time it’s for real!”
“The loser has to carry that thing without another word, deal?”
The blood-soaked demon let out a miserable groan, but the two sisters paid him no mind.
*
Meanwhile, inside the Kairosen command tent, it was a scene of utter carnage.
Blood and guts were mixed together, soaking the floor, and the corpses of nobles and officers were strewn about in grotesque shapes. Only one person, Leonir, remained, kneeling on the ground. His shoulders heaved violently, his armor was corroded and melted in places, and severe burn marks covered his arms and face.
“Hehe… You’re pretty tough, old man.”
Jin Ha-young stood in the center of the tent, sweeping back her damp blue hair with a smile. At her feet, a blue liquid writhed and slithered like living tentacles.
Leonir barely managed to lift his head and glare at her.
“Kugh… What… is your objective…?”
Ha-young tilted her head, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“Hmm~ That’s a secret.”
“If you won’t answer… I’ll make you answer.”
Ha-young narrowed her eyes, then smiled.
“Heeh~ So you still have the energy to stand?”
Her arm began to transform, elongating into the shape of a sharp scythe.
But at that moment—
CRASH!!
Something fell from the top of the tent and embedded itself deep in the ground. Smoke billowed out, and from within, a blood-soaked man let out a groan.
Leonir’s eyes widened as he shouted, “The Hero?!”
Ha-young tilted her head and looked down at him.
“Oh? That was the Hero? He’s more… disappointing than I thought.”
As she muttered this, a teal-colored wind began to gather beside her, gradually forming a human silhouette. Soon, the wind condensed into the form of a woman, and Bi-yeon, her face hidden by a black mask, appeared.
“You’re here, sis?” Ha-young waved playfully.
“…Ha-young. Why aren’t you wearing your mask?”
“Ah! I forgot!”
Bi-yeon sighed and shook her head.
“Honestly… you couldn’t be anyone but Jin Seo-yun’s daughters, always making a scene at the most crucial moments.”
“Hehe~”
Ha-young laughed foolishly and scratched her head.
“Laughing like that won’t help you when Jin Seo-yun scolds you.”
“Hmph~ Sis, you’re so mean~”
Ha-young let her arms hang limp, pouting as if she’d been wronged.
Bi-yeon sighed and gestured with her hand, as if gathering the wind swirling around them.
“Enough playing around. Let’s get going. Seo-yun will be here soon.”
Ha-young pouted and looked down at Leonir, who was still kneeling and gasping for breath.
“But sis, what about the guys with demonic energy?”
“Marienne is taking care of them. For now, we just need to stick to the plan.”
Ha-young stuck out her lip, looking displeased, but soon nodded. She then walked over to Leonir and gave him a playful smile.
“You know, old man, you were pretty fun~ You’re the first human who’s lasted this long against me.”
Ha-young waved playfully and turned away.
Leonir forced his bloodied face up, glaring at her with eyes that seemed to weep tears of blood.
“You… bastards… I’ll make sure…”
But before he could finish, the presence of the two women vanished before his eyes like smoke.
All that remained was the collapsed tent and the stench of corpses.
“Kugh…”
Leonir’s vision wavered. The rage and obsession in his eyes burned until the very end, but his torn body could no longer hold out.
Finally, he pitched forward and collapsed onto the cold ground.
*
When I arrived at the center of the Kairosen camp, Marienne dragged two men before me.
“Master, I’ve captured two black mages who were hiding in the Kairosen camp.”
“Well done.”
I gave her a brief word of praise and turned my gaze to our surroundings. The camp was already in ruins. Thanks to Bi-yeon and Ha-young’s rampage, the battle had ended anticlimactically. The grand army of fifty thousand had crumbled like a sandcastle the moment its command structure collapsed.
“My Lord Marquis!”
Just then, a group of knights dragged over two more prisoners. They were unconscious, bloodied, and sprawled on the ground.
“We’ve captured the Kairosen commander, Leonir, and… a man presumed to be the Hero.”
I glanced down at the two unconscious men for a moment before giving the knights an order.
“Put them in restraints and take them to the fortress. The moment they wake, I will interrogate them myself.”
“Yes, sir!”
After confirming that the knights were taking the prisoners away, I turned back to Marienne.
“Marienne, take three thousand cavalry and move to the location of the Kairosen rear guard that Sora and Lucy wiped out. Recover all the spoils and resources there.”
“Understood.”
Marienne replied and left immediately. I took one last look at the burning camp and the battlefield littered with corpses, then turned my horse around.
This should be a sufficient conclusion.
As the light of dawn began to break, we returned to the Baldrak Fortress.
The fortress was already filled with cheers. The soldiers welcomed us as if we were living legends, and Logard ran up to me, his face filled with emotion, and knelt.
“Your Excellency! A great victory!”
“You’ve done well, too.”
I helped him to his feet and walked into the fortress.
In the center of the strategy room, maps and reports were scattered everywhere. The nobles, their faces flushed with excitement, reported the results, and Logard stepped forward, his voice filled with awe.
“Our forces have sustained almost no casualties. I don’t know what kind of miracle you performed, Your Excellency, but… this is without a doubt a great victory that will go down in history.”
I crossed my arms and looked at him for a moment, then chuckled and shook my head.
“That’s enough fuss. The war isn’t over yet.”
My gaze shifted to the map, to the heart of Kaisern marked with a red flag.
“Logard, you are in charge of the fortress’s defense. This is a strategic point on the border. If we show any weakness, the enemy or other factions might try to take advantage. Be thoroughly prepared.”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“And reorganize the army at once. I will personally lead our forces and devour all of Kairosen’s now-empty territory.”
A stir went through the strategy room.
The eyes of the nobles, who had spent years repeatedly losing and reclaiming territory from Kairosen, now glinted with the certainty that this was their chance. At the prospect of a massive territorial expansion, their faces filled with excitement and greed.
One noble mustered the courage to ask, “When… do you plan to march?”
I slowly rose from my seat, looked down at them all, and answered resolutely.
“We will march as soon as the army is ready.”