Chapter 142
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142
“Oh, they’re fighting quite well. Miss Melju, you should watch closely and learn from that. That is the swordsmanship of the man known as the Empire’s ‘Dragon Slayer.’”
“Oh, that human... is quite good at fire magic!”
“No, not the mage. I mean the swordsman.”
“Rene is so moved. For lowly humans, they certainly know a thing or two about romance... A man and a woman relying on each other to fight in a crisis! Love blossoming amidst the battle! What do you think, Lord Swallow?”
“Get me some popcorn.”
“But no matter how I look at it, that sword and armor are highly desirable. I must find an opportunity to acquire them. A Flame Death Knight... Just thinking about it makes my heart race.”
“You don’t have a heart.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Sir Patrick! We can set your body ablaze with fire magic.”
“Rene has oil.”
“That’s just plain arson...”
“I’m siiiick of popcorn.”
“Ah, Lord Swallow! Rene anticipated that and stocked up on plenty of ingredients from the merchant guild. Once you finish the popcorn, I’ll make you Rene’s special healthy porridge!”
“Ah, popcorn is delicious! Melju, please make some more popcorn, quickly!”
“...What on earth is this conversation even about?”
Amidst the bizarre chatter, Bathory let out a deep sigh.
Dungeons were usually quiet when there were no human invasions, so everyone had their own free time. Inevitably, though, they all ended up gathering around Swallow.
At first, Rene and Melju had fought over who would sit on Swallow’s lap, and the noise had traveled so far that Bathory had come to investigate. As a result, Room 4, which Melju was supposed to guard, was now being watched by Bathory’s retainers instead.
Why is the dungeon being run like this? Is this really okay?
“You guys are really like a family.”
“Like a calamity?”
“Your hearing is too sharp, I swear.”
To think everyone feared a man like that, calling him an ancient monster.
Bathory closed her eyes at the pathetic reality, then looked back at the full-body mirror.
“……”
Ah, I shouldn’t have lent it to them. I’m taking it back the moment this war is over.
As they chattered on, the battlefield reflected in the mirror gradually filled with flames.
Only then did their attention slowly return to the mirror. Melju asked Patrick curiously,
“Still, We do not understand. Since their night raid succeeded, should they not be retreating?”
“Well, that is true... but that human must have a plan. The first thing he did upon arriving at the castle was assess the strength of both sides.”
After watching the fierce battle in the mirror a bit longer, Patrick continued.
“And he must have realized.”
That they could not hold off the main Orc army.
“It was a battle that would end the moment the Orcs pushed forward with their sheer numbers. They didn't set up camp and attack immediately, not because they couldn't breach the castle, but because they needed to let their exhausted troops rest after marching all the way here.”
“And while they rested, they probably feigned an attack to test the waters. When defending a castle is this disadvantageous, probing attacks like that are enough to wear down those lowly humans,” Rene chimed in.
From Kart’s perspective, he must have foreseen that the Orcs would invade tomorrow. Therefore, he had to make a desperate move. For a man already agonizing over his options, the situation must have looked like a golden opportunity.
“Judging by his looks, I thought his brain would be pure muscle, but he’s quite the strategist.”
“Well, yes...”
Looking back at the mirror, the battle seemed to be drawing to a close.
Since they were fighting amidst flames, victory and defeat were decided faster than expected.
Gorgo, burning bright red, thrashed in agony and swung his axe wildly. It was Kart’s victory.
“...Or so I’d like to say, but he is still foolish.”
Looking at Kart with pity, Patrick continued.
“Winning here isn’t what’s important. The human underestimated Kurak far too much.”
With the phantom beasts dominating the skies and Kart himself showing his face before the Orc army multiple times, there was no way Kurak didn’t know his identity. He surely knew Kart was the Flame Swordsman.
Word must have reached Kurak’s ears that Kart was near their camp. He would have also seen the pillars of fire rising dozens of meters into the air... and on top of that, the gatekeeper was keeping Kart pinned down in the fire.
“Because he was in a disadvantageous position, he made a poor judgment. I suppose you could say he got too greedy.”
“Greedy?”
“He left the castle without its commander for too long, didn’t he?”
Patrick chuckled mockingly. Melju and Rene stared at the battlefield in the mirror with serious expressions.
Leaving the burning camp behind, the Orc army began to swarm toward the castle.
*
The dragon’s flames engulfed the area, incinerating every enemy they touched.
Thud!
Only after Gorgo’s charred corpse collapsed to its knees did Kart flick the blood off his sword.
“Haah, haah.”
He had won.
He had sustained minor wounds, but nothing fatal. Rainmay’s support magic had played a huge role. When Kart looked at Rainmay, she smiled back at him, panting heavily.
Though her once-pretty face was blistered with burns from casting fire spells so recklessly, she still smiled.
“...This is normal. A `<Cure>` will heal it, so don’t worry.”
Kart forced a smile in return.
Once the flames cleared completely, the sounds of the world rushed in. Only then did they become aware of their surroundings.
Kart and Rainmay warily scanned the area. Having achieved their objective, all that was left was to return. They just had to evade the rushing enemies and escape—
“...What?”
It was then that he realized something was terribly wrong.
Orcs were a race with a deep sense of camaraderie. Since he had burned down their camp, they should have lost their minds and charged at him.
Yet, not a single Orc could be seen nearby. The only things cast in the moonlight were the shadows of lush grass and trees.
Kart raised his head and looked up at the sky.
“The phantom beasts...”
They should have been screeching loudly, glaring down at him from above. Instead, they were visible in the far distance.
...They were tearing down the castle walls.
Listening closely, he could hear the battle cries of the Orcs. In his panic, his eyes darted around wildly until he spotted a few Orcs belatedly scrambling out of the camp.
They, too, were running fully armed.
Toward the castle.
“Ah... No...”
—The things he had failed to see, hidden behind the wall of flames.
Boom, boom.
He heard the sound of the castle walls collapsing under the boulders dropped by the phantom beasts. Staring blankly at the castle, Kart dashed forward as if possessed.
Rainmay barely managed to grab his hand, and by the time they arrived at the castle using a series of teleportation spells, smoke was already rising from various parts of the fortress.
Battle cries and screams rained down from all directions.
On one side, soldiers were being told to fight; on another, they were told to retreat. No one was giving proper orders, and no one was listening to them.
Orcs stormed the ranks of those ordered to fight, and screams echoed—most of them human.
Among those fighting back were his comrades from the subjugation squad. Though each of them was a match for a hundred, fighting off dozens of Orcs even while surrounded, they were ultimately overwhelmed by sheer numbers and collapsed miserably.
It was utter pandemonium.
“Damn it! Dammit!!”
Kart cut down the Orcs rushing at him as he ran wildly through the chaotic streets.
The officers were supposed to have magic tools that allowed them to track each other’s locations for smooth communication. But he could only sense the energy of a single one. That meant all the other magic tools had been destroyed... and the officers who had gone to kill the traitor were all dead.
The only officer whose energy he could still feel was in the Lord’s room.
Slaying every Orc in his path, Kart burst into the castle and kicked the door open.
“Cap... tain.”
There lay his dying comrade.
And there stood the traitor, who had just finished killing him.
The traitor was Jil, a girl with blue hair.
“Run... away...”
An explosion echoed in the distance, briefly illuminating the room.
In the corner, the Lord’s corpse lay slumped over.
With a final plea to run, his comrade drew his last breath.
Amidst the chaos, Kart could be certain of one thing.
She was on an entirely different level from the other paladins.
* * *
The stench of death hung heavy throughout the castle.
Lacking the time to search every house, Kurak had ordered his forces to set fire to every area except the food storehouses.
The indigo sky was dyed black with smoke that seemed to burn one’s very soul. Humans who had been hiding silently in their basements suffocated to death without a chance to even scream.
The surviving soldiers tried to mount a resistance, but they soon realized it was futile and began to fall back, again and again.
The humans were pushed back.
Pushed back endlessly.
“The civilians are the priority. Buy time.”
Kart had requested that protecting the fleeing citizens be the absolute priority. Rainmay, too, had strained every nerve to fulfill that request.
Even so, it was virtually impossible for her alone to evacuate thousands of people from the castle.
The best she could do was set up magic traps throughout the town to slow the advance of the Orcs, who were flooding in like a high tide.
In reality, evacuating them was the task assigned to the remaining subjugation squad members.
Please, please let them be safe.
After a quick report to the remaining squad members, Rainmay raced toward the Lord’s room where Kart was.
As she ran, her hair tie snapped, and her red hair flew wildly behind her. She bit her lip at the ominous sign.
She felt a deep sense of unease.
The Captain said the traitor led an A-rank subjugation squad...
The officers of the Nixir Red Dragon Subjugation Squad were the Empire's finest elites—S-rank powerhouses, paragons among their peers, standing at the very peak.
It was hard enough to believe they would lose to an A-rank squad, but to be completely wiped out with only one survivor? How was she supposed to make sense of it?
Whoosh!
Turning a corner and sprinting down the corridor, she saw the area near the Lord’s room glowing red in the distance. It was the light of flames.
Rainmay quickened her pace.
When she finally threw open the door and rushed inside,
“Captain!”
it was already over.
—Kart was collapsed on the floor.
Blood seeped from the gaps in his red armor. Traces of a fierce battle were everywhere.
“……Rainmay.”
At the sound of her voice, Kart slightly raised his head. Fortunately, he seemed to be conscious.
Only after confirming his safety did Rainmay look up.
Standing a short distance away was the traitor, clad in strange, silver-white armor.
Judging by the state of the room, there had been a violent clash, yet the traitor was completely unscathed. Not a single scratch marred her face or armor. Even though the room was filled with sweltering heat, there wasn’t a trace of soot on her skin.
“What touching camaraderie. It’s quite moving.”
The traitor offered a thin smile the moment she saw Rainmay. It was the kind of smile Ar often wore, one that instantly branded her a hypocrite. It was pure mockery; she was looking down on them.
As Rainmay’s expression contorted and she raised her staff,
“Don’t... fight.”
Kart painfully reached out and grabbed her ankle.
“She is not an opponent you can defeat.”
—Kart was a man who rarely spoke of impossibility. He hated the word more than anyone. Yet, he was saying so now with absolute conviction.
“Run away. Go to another territory immediately and tell Ar what happened. The enemy colluding with them is the Papal Faction... Those crazy bastards claiming to be paladins are all...”
He coughed up blood.
“...all traitors. They must all be killed.”
“How can I run away and leave you and our comrades behind, Captain?!”
“You’re not running away.”
Kart pushed himself off the floor and barely managed to stand. The effort sent waves of pain through him, causing him to stagger repeatedly.
“Sir Kart, you are truly marvelous. I believe you’ve collapsed at least six times... Is this the legendary ‘unyielding will’ of warriors?”
Ignoring the paladin’s hypocritical praise, Kart continued.
“You are laying the foundation for our counterattack.”
Staring at Kart, Rainmay frantically spammed `<Cure>`.
Once he was barely able to steady himself with the help of the magic, Kart raised his sword once more.
“Oh dear.”
As Kart pointed his sword at the paladin, she chuckled playfully, her expression brimming with composure.
“Well, feel free to spread the word. I don’t know how to chase after a fleeing mage anyway. In fact, I plan to show mercy to her in accordance with God’s will. There is something I need her to deliver to Riaze.”
“....”
“Actually, when Felstein fell, I was planning to contact Riaze. But those stupid Orcs went and smashed all the communication tools. They truly are an unsalvageable race. There’s just no cooperating with them.”
Rainmay swallowed hard.
She had assumed an alliance between the Papal Faction and the Orcs would be rock-solid, but hearing the paladin’s words, that didn’t seem to be the case at all...
As if completely unconcerned about spilling information, the paladin took a few steps closer and continued.