Chapter 706: An Unavoidable Trap (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 706: An Unavoidable Trap (5)
“…Are you saying the damage to the Empire is really that severe?”
Casimir’s voice trembled as he spoke. He had just received the latest report from Jet.
Even Jet found the numbers written on the page hard to believe.
Approximately 30,000 military personnel—including knights and mages—were dead.
Civilian casualties were nearing 800,000 according to the current tallies, and over 50,000 commoners and nobles had been taken prisoner.
Jin and his companions pressed their hands to their foreheads as they reviewed the grim statistics.
It had only been three days since the army of Chaos, led by Dipus, struck the territories of the temporary alliance.
In just three days, an unfathomable number of innocent people had been slaughtered or dragged away to Huphester.
The numbers on the report felt utterly surreal.
“They say this is the result of barely holding them back, all thanks to the technology and equipment recently provided by Lord Quaul and Sir Amela. Without that… it would have been even more catastrophic, Your Highness,” Jet said, his voice heavy.
Three days ago.
It wasn't just Dipus and Joshua attacking the Lutero Magic Federation and the Empire.
Lionel, Stam, and the unidentified knights of the ‘Mausoleum’ had struck the human world at the exact same time.
The Land of the Beastmen, Kinzelo’s domain, fared no differently.
That region was relatively better off thanks to Orgal responding with dimensional shifts through the Steel Gate, but over five thousand beastmen and Cold Jo had still been captured.
“Is the reason why only we weren't attacked… still unknown?”
As Lata pointed out, Tikan was the only member of the alliance that hadn't been struck.
“It might be a ploy to break the solidarity of our temporary alliance.”
“Or perhaps they found striking Tikan too burdensome. Even in the Federation, when they attacked the Drakka headquarters, they only hovered around the perimeter. If their goal is mass slaughter and securing hostages to generate despair, this place isn't suitable.”
Unlike the small island nation of Tikan, the territories of the other allies were vast.
That was why they hadn't been able to respond properly to the Evil God’s sudden invasion. The enemy would strike near the Drakka headquarters, suddenly appear in the Milkun Kingdom, or attack near the Yuka Yuka Market before instantly shifting to the opposite side of the Mitra Great Desert.
“…Or perhaps they simply think of us as the delicious morsel saved for the end of the meal.”
As Jin spoke, all eyes turned toward him.
“The number of prisoners taken from the lands of the Empire, Zipple, and Kinzelo alone reaches eighty thousand. Our Barmul Alliance has no choice but to go to Huphester to rescue them. Rosa is likely planning to harvest despair by watching us suffer when we do. That’s what I suspect.”
On the magic map created by Veradin, the spots of despair were growing.
This phenomenon wasn't limited to the regions directly hit by the army of Chaos.
Due to this incident, the fear of the general public—which had been weighing heavily on the entire world since the battle against Gliek—had grown uncontrollably.
Refugees were appearing everywhere. Even commoners were fleeing the Drakka headquarters, which had previously been considered the safest land, so the state of other regions went without saying.
The sanctuary they all sought was Tikan.
The terrified crowds simply refused to believe the alliance's explanations that Tikan was by no means a safe zone.
“If Young Master Jin’s prediction is correct… the Evil God and the four Flagbearers must be waiting for us, having dug an unavoidable trap.”
The order of the world was collapsing.
The alliance now had to show the people the truth. They had to prove that they possessed enough power to oppose the Evil God.
They had to go to Huphester, rescue the captives, and eliminate the invaders.
Otherwise, the fear and despair blanketing the world would continue to multiply, and all of it would be fed into the Evil God’s completion.
“Oh, isn't that Zephyrin?”
“The Young Patriarch of Zipple has come with her as well.”
Lata pointed out the window.
A Steel Gate had just formed in the distant air, and Zephyrin and Veradin emerged from it together. They headed straight for the meeting room.
While Veradin wore his usual calm expression, Zephyrin looked incredibly haggard.
She had been helping Orgal protect the entirety of the Land of the Beastmen and had just finished scouting the vicinity of Richelton before arriving in Tikan.
“Ah, to work me like this the moment our master regains a bit of strength… You’re definitely going to hell when you die, Sir Jin.”
Scouting Richelton had been Jin’s suggestion. Since Orgal possessed the best mobility among the allies—as well as the knowledge and power to respond to any unexpected variables—it was only right that he handled the reconnaissance.
“Why didn't Orgal come himself?”
“Are you serious right now? He sent me instead because he’s exhausted from working like a dog until just a moment ago! Even in the midst of all that, he made sure the Zipple side didn't waste travel time by bringing Young Master Veradin along, so you should be grateful.”
“I am. Tell Orgal I said thanks when you return.”
When Jin readily expressed his gratitude, Zephyrin blinked in surprise. She had fully expected him to make some sarcastic remark about how it was a burden they had to solve together anyway.
“The sun must be rising in the west today.”
“Was there any success with the Richelton reconnaissance?” Jin asked.
“Well, just as you predicted, all the human prisoners are being gathered in Richelton.”
“How are the prisoners being treated?”
“The usual. Being whipped, dragged off somewhere. Master said it looked like they were being subjected to some kind of torture in turns.”
“Torture… I see.”
“It wasn't like all the captured prisoners were being tortured at once. The Chaos forces would take groups of as few as thirty or as many as a hundred into a certain building. They’d wait about two hours before taking the next group.”
“Are they increasing the level of despair by torturing and killing thirty to a hundred people during those two hours?”
“I wouldn't know that much. But Young Master Veradin here seemed to have an idea after hearing about it.”
As Zephyrin finished speaking, Veradin unfurled a map.
Perhaps because the residual energy of the Sun God couldn't be used properly in Tikan, the map appeared much fainter and more unstable than when they had viewed it at Drakka.
“Everyone, take a look at Richelton.”
Veradin pointed to the location with his finger.
“Jin, I’ve been observing the map ever since that day. I looked at Richelton specifically… and as you can all see now, the spots of despair are actually getting smaller.”
Jin and Veradin had naturally expected the spots of despair in Richelton to grow larger and darker after the mass abductions.
However, what Veradin confirmed was the exact opposite. Every time prisoners arrived at Richelton, the spots actually grew fainter.
“But this phenomenon changes on a daily basis,” Veradin continued. “It shrinks for one day, and the next day it grows again, but the concentration is always deeper than the day before. Do you know what this means?”
“It means they are giving them hope and then plunging them back into despair.”
“Exactly. The Garden of Swords is likely performing something akin to mind control on thirty to a hundred prisoners every two hours. First, they give them hope, then they shatter it. In this way, they are maximizing the despair they can extract from the prisoners.”
“Zephyrin, is Richelton the only place where you and Orgal confirmed a suspected torture site?”
“Yes. No prisoners were going anywhere other than Richelton.”
“On my map as well, there were no regions other than Richelton where the total amount of Chaos suddenly spiked,” Veradin added. “Though there was a general increase overall.”
“It’s become clearer then,” Jin said. “The entire alliance must organize its forces and head to Richelton as quickly as possible.”
“I suppose so. But you said as quickly as possible. When are you thinking?”
“Within two days. No, tomorrow if possible.”
At Jin’s answer, Veradin and Zephyrin shrugged their shoulders simultaneously.
“Two days, or even tomorrow? That’s too fast,” Veradin said. “Don't we need to watch the situation a bit longer? We need to prepare for a trap as well. Even if it’s an obvious one that we have no choice but to fall into.”
“I agree, Sir Jin,” Zephyrin chimed in. “The army of Chaos has stopped its raids on the human world for now, but we don't know when they’ll appear again.”
“Of course, since we can't predict the cycle of the Chaos army’s large-scale teleportation invasions, I don't mean we should wait forever,” Veradin continued. “But I think it would be best to observe the trend for at least fifteen days.”
Jin shook his head as he looked at the two of them.
“No. The reason the Evil God has stopped the invasion for now was confirmed just before you arrived. While you were scouting and checking the map, we weren't just sitting around twiddling our thumbs either…”
*
The top floor of Richelton Castle.
Ilina was breaking into a cold sweat as she pressed her hands against various parts of Dipus’s upper body. It looked as if she were forcibly trying to stop him from bleeding out.
[Damn it! If even you act like this, what am I supposed to do? Joshua, that idiot, is more than enough failure for one person.]
At Ilina’s angry voice, Dipus snorted.
[Do not shift the blame to me, Prophet. If you had known information about this fire in advance, this setback would never have happened.]
Fire.
The Eternal Fire clinging to Dipus’s body had still not gone out. It was continuously consuming his flesh.
Ilina had come here from the Garden of Swords three days ago specifically to extinguish it.
Yet, even for Ilina, the fire was impossible to put out.
[Furthermore, you’ve been wasting your time for days after coming here, claiming you’d extinguish it,] Dipus mocked.
[Listen, Dipus Runcandel. Completely removing this fire is impossible unless the Patriarch steps in personally—]
Rosa was currently unable to move, as she was busy absorbing despair.
[Hah, forget it. Arguing with you is merely an act of disrespect toward the Patriarch. At any rate, the fire is calming down a bit now, so it will be resolved soon. The invasion stopped because of this… so be careful from now on. The despair that was supposed to reach the Patriarch is less than scheduled.]
[The parasite clinging to Mother is acting quite bold. Tell me, are you aware that a Hister checked the dimensional gate remaining in the Scholl Principality earlier and then left?]
Ilina’s eyes widened at Dipus’s words.
[What do you mean…?]
[The Hister must have figured out the reason we stopped the invasion and returned… You should think carefully about whether you truly have the right to call Joshua incompetent while you remained completely oblivious to that fact.]