Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Rebellion (2)
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"Heh heh heh, success! Phew~ When he walked to the bed, I thought it had failed and got scared out of my mind... What a relief... Let's see... Lock these cuffs on his wrists.... Ugh~ What's with this bracelet? It's so uncomfortable having to layer them."
Jake fastened the mana-suppressing handcuffs around Yuno's wrists, then tried to drag him away. But Yuno's body was far too heavy for one man to handle alone, so he simply threw a blanket over him to hide the sight.
He called in his waiting comrades from outside, informed them of the news, then forged an order from the legion commander and brought Creis Baron's entire family—prisoners all—to Yuno's tent.
"Wh... why have you brought us here? The Valkan prince promised our safety..."
Slap!!
"How dare a Theseito whore like you open your mouth? If you don't want to watch your son die, strip right now."
Jake and his men pressed knives to the neck of the baron's only son, a boy no older than ten, and threatened them.
"....Are you planning to break the promise made on your prince's own honor?"
"Heh heh heh, our prince? He's sleeping soundly and won't see a thing... So it doesn't matter."
As Jake spoke, he lifted the blanket to reveal Yuno, lost in deep slumber with cuffs locked around his wrists. Despair washed over the women.
"Heh heh heh, if you lot please us, we'll honor what His Highness promised. No need to worry..."
In the end, Creis Baron's wife, concubine, and daughter had no choice but to spread their legs. The men, slaves to their lust, pounced on them.
Yuno's tent filled with the women's sobs and pained moans, mingled with the men's laughter thick with desire.
But they had no idea that Yuno's superhuman body was already rapidly metabolizing the sleeping drug.
As dawn broke, the three women's bodies were utterly drenched in blood and semen. Front holes weren't enough for them—they violated their rears as well, defiling every orifice. Repeatedly rammed by the men's cocks, the women's holes tore open, blood streaming freely.
"Phew~ I'm sore. It's been ages since I got some action, thanks to that Yuno bastard, and even pulling an all-nighter wasn't enough."
"Heh heh heh, still, it's time to wrap things up. Let's call it."
"Yeah, guess so. From the next conquest onward, we can do whatever we want. We'll hold back today, hahaha!"
They approached the women with swords drawn. Drained of strength, barely able to move, the three could only stare.
"I see... I half-hoped... but you lot would never keep your word.... Hoho, Valkan isn't long for this world either. With nobles this rotten, the pillars will crumble, and the empire's fall is near. Hohohoho!"
Creis Baron's wife left those as her final words before Jake's sword pierced her heart, killing her. The concubine and daughter met the same fate, and the ten-year-old boy died cradled in his mother's arms.
"Tch... Those bitches had decent lower halves... What a shame."
"What can you do? Necessary to convince the legion troops. Let's go! Before it gets brighter, announce they killed Yuno and acclaim you as the new legion commander, right?"
They hurriedly donned their discarded uniforms, preparing to cover their tracks.
And that's when Yuno kicked off the blanket and rose from the bed.
"Yawn~ Ahh, slept great. Guess that drink from Jake did the trick... Hmm? What's that smell?"
Mid-yawn, Yuno caught a strange odor in his tent and looked around.
What entered his eyes were the mangled corpses of Creis Baron's family—the very people he'd guaranteed safety for—and Jake's gang, faces frozen in shock.
"Hmm... Jake? Care to explain? Why are the people I staked my honor to protect dead... and why did you invade my tent to rape them...? You'd better have a good explanation... or I'll tear you all apart."
Fury blazing, Yuno raised his arm to summon his aura blade. But no mana rose. Panicking, he glanced at his arm—and saw unfamiliar cuffs locked there. Jake's gang burst into snickering.
"Ahh~ Heh heh heh, Third Prince... What's wrong? Not going as planned? Hurry and blast us with your aura blade already... Heh heh heh."
"You bastards...."
"Don't worry, Your Highness... We won't kill you just yet. Not until we show Crown Prince the evidence that Third Prince colluded with Theseito to start a rebellion. Heh heh heh."
"Phew... How long have you been plotting this?"
"Ah! For me, it started yesterday when you refused to give me that bitch... But my friends here? Much longer, it seems. Should've accepted my offer, eh? Spare the mercy, and this happens. Heh heh heh."
"Mm~ Got it. Guess I can't show you lot mercy either. Good lesson learned."
"Heh heh, drop the bravado and get quietly into this sack.... Huh?"
Crack, crunch, snap.
Yuno flexed his arms, and the mana-suppressing cuffs tore like paper. His arms were free.
"H-How..."
"Hmph! Think I reached mastery with mana alone? As if this cheap bracelet could hold me... Guess you underestimated masters big time."
Yuno rotated his wrists, loosening stiff joints from his deep sleep, and slowly approached them.
"Come on! Rush me. You said no mercy... but if any of you survive one punch, I'll stake my honor and spare your life. Hah!!"
Boom!
Yuno's fist flew, and the man's head—the one on the far right, slyly gripping his sword—exploded.
"Next! Who's it gonna be? Come all at once, whatever!"
Despite Yuno's taunt, Jake's gang just trembled. Yuno closed in steadily.
"Pl-Please forgive us, Your Highness!! Greed blinded us—we made a mistake!!"
"Mercy, Your Highness!! Please... spare our lives..."
They dropped their swords and knelt, begging.
"Hm? You committed regicide attempt, mutiny in the ranks, disobeying orders in wartime—crimes of the highest order—and expect to live? Like I said, survive one punch and you're spared. Get up, all of you."
"Y-Your Highness! If you kill us, our families won't stand idle!!"
"R-Right! We admit our grave fault, so we'll reflect and stay quiet from now on. So... Gah!!"
Yuno, listening, snorted once, then grabbed the mouth of the loudest one up front. He slowly pried it open.
"Ah~ So noisy. Didn't hear me? Survive one punch, you live. That's your only way out. So come on, rush me."
"Heh heh... Y-Your Hi... Heh heh... Gaaahhh!!"
Rip, crunch.
The man's jaw tore free from his face. Yuno kicked the writhing, agonized body into a corner, then summoned aura to his hand.
"If you don't rush in the next three seconds, I'll shred you all with aura. Three... two...."
"Gaaahhh!!"
"Kill him!!!"
Terror overwhelming them, Jake's four remaining men snatched fallen swords and charged Yuno in panic.
"What? This is swinging a sword? My mage sister could do better."
Yuno dodged and mocked without countering. The noise drew startled guards rushing in. Seeing Jake's gang swinging at Prince Yuno—the legion commander—they recoiled in horror.
"Legion troops, listen! These men just attempted superior officer murder and regicide. By my authority as legion commander, I execute them on the spot. Any objections?"
Yuno bellowed with mana-amplified voice to the gathered soldiers, announcing the facts. They roared in unison.
"Execution! Execution!! Execution!!"
"Then as legion commander, I'll carry it out myself. Criminal Fabian Spence. Crimes: regicide attempt, superior officer murder attempt, mutiny, wartime disobedience. Sentence: death!"
Boom!
One punch from Yuno exploded the head of a man panting from exhausted swings.
"Criminal Eric Weldrich. Crimes: same. Sentence: death!"
Boom!
Another head burst, followed by the third in quick succession.
"You're the last, Jake. You were my adjutant, at least... Last words?"
"Y-Your Highness... I only served you that drugged drink... Then they tempted me.... Mercy, please."
"Hmm~ Not convincing. While I execute that jawless roller over there, think of a better excuse."
As Yuno raised his hand to smash the jawless man's head, Jake lunged from behind.
"Die!!"
Clang!!
"Huh? Blocked it??"
No way a mid-tier knight like Jake could ambush a master like Yuno. He casually swatted the sword aside. Yet Jake grinned brightly. Yuno frowned.
"Hm? Jake? Why the smile?"
"Your Highness! Didn't you stake your honor that if we blocked even one punch, you'd spare us?"
I trust you know how weighty a royal's honor is!"
Yuno grinned just as wide.
"Yeah! I know... How heavy a royal promise weighs. But you bastards dumped mine in the gutter. So right now... I have no honor. Heh heh heh heh."
Jake's face drained of color.
"Criminal Jake Hazelmeier. Crimes: regicide attempt, superior officer murder attempt, mutiny, wartime disobedience, wartime rape, civilian murder. Sentence: death!"
Splat!! Rip!!
Unlike the others, Yuno didn't explode Jake's head. He seized the body and tore off limbs one by one.
"Gaaahhhh!! Why... why.... I'm ughhh!!"
Jake screamed in agony, protesting. Yuno replied calmly.
"The others? Never trusted 'em anyway.... But you backstabbed me? And you're the ringleader who sullied my honor. Fitting punishment."
"When they learn... you killed me this cruelly.... My family... won't stay silent..."
"Hah... What can a count's house do? Think Hazelmeier Count will step up for his second son tangled in mutiny? One wrong move, and the whole house gets wiped."
"Th-That's... grrrgh."
"Guards!! Tie this one's body to a pole in the camp center—show the severity of military law! And tourniquet the stumps so he doesn't die easy!"
Seeing bandages wrap his gushing stumps, Jake despaired.
Three hours after being hoisted, he breathed his last amid excruciating pain.
Gazing at Jake's fate, Yuno ordered the soldiers to handle Creis Baron's family's corpses with utmost respect.
"I'm sorry. My carelessness meant I couldn't keep the promise on my honor. But I swear to myself this won't happen again. Creis Baron."
He also commanded a proper funeral for Creis Baron himself—who had committed suicide as surrender's price—apologizing quietly before his body alongside the family.
Though it was his first kill, the intense rage had blunted any great shock, unlike Katrin Aragon's warning.
Seeing off Creis's family, Yuno felt war's brutality anew and vowed to minimize non-combatant deaths in any war he joined from now on.