Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Sons of the Wilderness (7)
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The subjugation force busily exterminated the demons and cleaned up the aftermath.
There wasn't much to salvage directly from the demons' corpses, as they had been burned from root to tip. Still, they discovered an unexpected spoil of war right there on the spot.
The thorns that Kadim had diligently sliced off.
"Captain, take a look at this!"
Puuk—!
One soldier gripped it like a spear and stabbed the dirt ground. The soft soil instantly hardened into wood. It was slower than when the demon had been alive, but the effect was identical.
Not every thorn retained the 'woodification' effect. Only a few of the longer-cut ones did. Even so, there were so many to begin with that they managed to gather about a dozen usable ones. Kadim, leaning obliquely against a wooden backrest made from tree branches, nodded toward them.
"Leave one stalk here in front of me, and pack the rest away separately for whenever you need them."
"Yes, sir! Understood, Captain!"
The soldiers moved with sparkling eyes and brisk efficiency. Kadim let out a hollow chuckle. He had no idea when he'd become 'Captain.'
This time, the warrior who had lost an arm, Perun, stepped forward. His severed arm was tightly wrapped in cloth for first aid. He stared at the thorn in front of him with a momentary flicker of unease but soon shook it off and addressed Kadim.
"Great brother, I've come to ask about our plans going forward. With the demon subjugated, are we heading back to the defensive outpost now?"
"...Who said the subjugation's over?"
Perun jerked his head up in shock.
"You don't mean... this demon wasn't the 'central demon'?"
"..."
Kadim stretched his crackling muscles and rose to his feet. Then he gazed off toward the eastern fields in the distance.
He hadn't fully registered it during the battle. But now that the upper demon was dead and its demonic energy dispersed, it was clear. The demonic aura pierced his skin like a spear tip now, not just an awl. Staring at it felt like his vision would drown in darkness.
The massive blood bag that had drawn him here was still alive and kicking.
Kadim turned to the armless warrior and said,
"You take the subjugation force back to the outpost."
"...Huh?"
"The next demon we'll face will be far stronger than this one. It might wield irresistible power or abilities that defy common sense. Armless warriors and ragtag soldiers would just get in the way. Head back to the defensive outpost and help hold the line there."
"..."
Perun's lips twitched. Kadim's words were logical. But the boiling ambition in his heart for meaningful combat refused to accept them. Even if it was a futile protest, he was about to voice some persuasion.
But just as he opened his mouth, a commotion erupted from the demon's corpse.
"Wh-what!?"
"Huh? What the—where'd it go?"
The flustered shouts of soldiers. Kadim and Perun paused their conversation and approached. The Atalain warriors rushed over as one. Everyone who witnessed the scene was equally baffled.
The massive demon corpse had vanished entirely. All that remained was a single thin sapling like a switch.
Kadim furrowed his brow and questioned the soldier who had shouted first.
"What happened?"
"W-well... To prove we took down the demon, we need to bring back its horn, right? So this guy and I were cutting off the horn when... the body just vanished completely. Leaving only this wooden scrap..."
Perun examined the wood closely for a moment. Then he stepped forward and said,
"Looks like a 'golden ironwood' sapling. It's barely grown at all. Thin trunk, short length, shallow roots, and..."
"..."
"...no horn."
A meaningful glint entered Perun's eyes. A flash of insight streaked through Kadim's mind like lightning.
Circumstantially, this sapling seemed to be the demon's true form. It made no sense. How could this spindly, hornless sapling transform into such a massive, ferocious tree, burn to a crisp, and revert to its original shape?
But it wasn't impossible. With a 'demon' wielding inexplicable powers involved, even things impossible in this world could happen.
'No way... it didn't take the blood with it when it reverted, did it?'
Kadim checked the vial in his pocket. Fortunately, the demon's blood was still there. It seemed only the intact parts reverted.
Perun, who had seen the demon firsthand, reached a similar conclusion. He saw this as an opportunity. He approached Kadim and earnestly pleaded,
"Brother, if the next demon wields powers that defy common sense as you say, even your might alone might not suffice. We might need brains to devise better strategies—or at least arrow fodder to buy time while you do."
"..."
"My brothers and I will take that role. We'll gladly embrace death if commanded. We're not here to brawl meaninglessly on the dirt—we want to fight longer in this 'meaningful battlefield.' If our strength falls short, we'll even welcome the 'miracles of Atala'..."
Kadim looked down at the warrior. Losing one arm wouldn't break an Atalain's spirit. His dark eyes burned with resolve to throw himself into the fire, even if it meant perishing.
The ten Atalain warriors who had heard the situation late nodded in agreement with Perun without hesitation. The twenty-five relief army soldiers, unaware of the details, nodded along anyway.
"..."
However.
Kadim rejected their resolve.
"Everyone, go back."
"..."
"'Meaningful battlefields' aren't only here."
The mercenary leading the subjugation force issued a firm command.
"Go aid the battle at the defensive outpost. Without help, it'll surely fall to the demons. Then your great city will become the next battlefield."
"..."
"You'll also find a merchant named Duncan there. My guide on this journey, but he lacks the strength to protect himself yet. Look after him on your way."
The warriors fell silent. Perun's eyes twitched. Then he lifted his gaze defiantly for one last retort.
"I understand what you're saying. I know you're more than capable of facing the great evil alone. But as I said, what if we face a problem raw power can't solve? We'll surely be of help then..."
Kadim cut him off with a savage grin.
"There's no problem in this world that can't be solved with strength."
"..."
"Especially when it comes to crushing filthy demons."
A chilling shiver ran through them. Perun could muster no more rebuttals. He could only gaze up in awe at this berserk warrior who had reached unfathomable heights.
It was the first such feeling since meeting their 'great warrior' leader.
Golden Highway Ninth Checkpoint Defense Line.
The Galentana relief army soldiers were locked in fierce combat with hordes of black monsters swarming them.
"Damn it all, may the City of Knowledge prosper endlessly!"
"Die, you little runt bastards with balls the size of mung beans!!"
- Kieeek, kieeeek!
An eye-reddened goblin swung its club. The soldier blocked with his shield and thrust his sword, impaling the goblin. A fang wolf lunged, tearing into the soldier's side. Another soldier's mace smashed the wolf's head to pulp.
Kwa-jik!
- Hweeeek!
"Gah! Kuaaaaaah!!"
A kobold buried its pickaxe in that soldier's spine. Archers beyond the earthen wall loosed arrows at the kobolds. Orcs hurled rocks over the wall with all their might. Cavalry charged, trampling the orcs under hooves.
Kwaduk, kwaduk—
- Shiiik, shiiiik!!
An endless melee of devouring and being devoured. Soldiers and monsters tangled together, thrashing savagely with blades, claws, arrowheads, and teeth. Each time one succeeded, brutal casualties followed without fail.
Skulls crushed with temples caved in, eyes popping out; twisted bones piercing skin; arterial sprays from stabs; frantic binding of split bellies to hold in guts... The merciless scales of war tipped neither way, merely piling up meaningless corpses.
Then, a heavy weight tipped the monsters' side.
"Demon!! A demon's appeared!!!"
"...!!!"
The desperate cry from the front. Soldiers' faces paled like corpses. The monsters, sensing victory, rampaged with renewed vigor.
- Kuwooo, kwooo!!!
- Kieeeeek!!
Guard Captain Yulitan, who had been commanding the soldiers, hurriedly climbed the watchtower beyond the barricade. When he demanded details on the demons, the sentry stammered,
"Th-three of them. Each with a single horn on their heads. It looks like... three mid-tier demons..."
"What? Damn it, what the hell does that mean? Move!"
Yulitan peered out himself and realized his subordinate was painfully honest. A groan escaped him. It would've been better if this kid was a liar.
One mid-tier demon alone turned the tide heavily against them. Even sending every remaining soldier might barely suffice for that. Three at once? It was divine providence for a massacre.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
"Kuaaaaaah!!"
Shadows deepened under Yulitan's sunken eyes. Frontline soldiers were already being swept away, others retreating in panic. The watching sentry asked anxiously,
"Wh-what do we do, Captain? Issue the retreat order?"
"..."
Suddenly, faces from the subjugation force he'd sent off days ago flashed through Yulitan's mind.
The valiant Atalain warriors from the Galentana council, or that brutal mercenary called the 'Demon Slayer' or whatever... If even one had stayed, they could've handled a few demons... He should've delayed their departure...
"Hic! D-demons appeared? For real?"
A frightened voice interrupted. Yulitan's gaze turned inward to the outpost.
"..."
Unfortunately, the only outsider left was that scrawny, dim-looking merchant. Sending him against demons might be less useful than training ants to bite heels.
"C-Captain! Order now..."
"...Prioritize rear over front—pull the soldiers back. We abandon the outpost and withdraw before the demons reach us."
"...!"
Yielding this final bastion meant turning Galentana—where countless citizens and families resided—into a demon warzone.
It was unavoidable. But knowing that didn't make it acceptable. The flag bearers receiving the order hesitated, unable to raise their poles.
Suddenly, the sentry shouted excitedly.
"Captain! Someone's charging the demons from the front! Not one of ours!"
"...Huh?"
"Whoa! A demon's head got severed! He's rushing another! Wh-what? Another one's down!"
"...What?"
Finally, the kid's lying. Or insane. Or possessed.
Even as he thought that, Yulitan shoved the sentry aside and scanned the front. Incredibly, it wasn't a lie this time either. An unidentified giant was breaking through the monster encirclement, slaughtering demons one by one.
And the giant wasn't alone. A horde of reinforcements followed. They carved into the lines like a hot knife through butter, sweeping away the demons' surrounding monsters.
The moment the giant cleaved the last demon in half, the tide fully turned.
The reinforcements and soldiers easily annihilated the now-leaderless, milling monster horde. The remaining beasts fled, ending the battle in a decisive relief army victory.
The outpost froze in shock and awe. Even seeing and hearing it firsthand, no one could believe it. Soldiers, hearts still pounding, could only invoke the alliance's founder by habit.
"My god, Remillion..."
"Remillion..."
"In the world, Remillion... What is this..."
The sentry recovered first. He asked Yulitan,
"Captain...? Those warriors—they're all Atalains, right? Could the subjugation force be back already?"
"..."
Yulitan first thought so too.
Such massive builds and feats weren't common. Hard to imagine anyone but that blood-soaked mercenary. The trailing reinforcements must be the Atalain warriors who'd gone with him...
But upon closer inspection, Yulitan realized it couldn't be.
"No... not the subjugation force. That mercenary didn't wield a huge black axe like that. And there weren't that many Atalains..."
"Th-then who the hell are they?"
"...Beats me."
The intruders were slowly approaching the outpost. They weren't enemies, but anxiety was inevitable. Facing monsters that soloed three mid-tier demons, plus their Atalain entourage—who could permit such unknown forces to approach?
It was needless worry.
Gazing down at the giant before the barricade, Yulitan's sunken eyes bulged. First time seeing him in person, but he knew who it was. Few in the alliance wouldn't recognize that helmet's owner.
"You're... No, why are you here...?"
"..."
The giant gripped his axe haft, staring up steadily at the watchtower.
Beneath the helmet crowned with ivory horns, eyes blazing like an enraged bull gleamed chillingly.