The Hunting Dog and the Mad Dog (1)
Clank. Clank.
Every time the knights in heavy plate armor moved, metallic clinks echoed from the joints of their armor. The blue-maned lion emblem etched on their breastplates revealed to the Valua Kingdom forces that these knights advancing with majestic strides belonged to the Rocksfield family.
"Report the situation."
A middle-aged man removed his helmet and summoned his adjutants. He had a sharply refined face, exuding a weighty presence and an air of dignified charisma that dominated the room. Troyed Rocksfield. Head of the Rocksfield family, second of the Kingdom's Seven Swords, and father to Allen Rocksfield. He was also the field commander deployed to suppress the rebellion.
"The mayor was assassinated, and the governor's residence and city hall were seized, leading to the fall of Tarbr to the rebels. A small number of soldiers are holding them off, but it's not enough."
"We'll charge in and retake the city. Tell them to open the gates and fall back to the sides when we approach."
"Yes, sir!"
After issuing the order to his adjutant, Troyed prepared a special assault with his loyal, fearless knights to reclaim the city from the citizen militia. The standard-bearers raised their flags high. The blue-maned lion banner fluttered boldly, announcing the arrival of the Rocksfield family to the rebels. Then, with his ranks fully formed, Troyed ordered a charge without retreat.
"They've murdered officials appointed by the royal family and raised arms against the kingdom. They are no longer loyal subjects of Valua. We cannot tolerate their disruption of the kingdom's laws any longer. The Rocksfield family will execute the royal decree and deliver justice's iron fist upon these rebels!!"
With the roar of the blue lion, sleek and ferocious beasts launched their assault. The horses neighed fiercely. Knights armed with cold steel, burning hearts, patriotism, and loyalty poured through the gates into Tarbr. They lowered their sharp blades. Crossing the streets, they mercilessly swung at any citizens blocking their path. The citizen militia, armed with crude weapons and farming tools, was ruthlessly trampled by the well-trained Rocksfield knights.
"Aaaagh!"
"R-Rocksfield!"
"You scum will face heaven's wrath...! The Valua Kingdom will fall!"
Poverty and hunger, oppression and injustice, exploitation and economic hardship. The citizen militia had taken up arms for a slightly better world, one free of starvation—but they fell beneath the knights' blades.
"Those who defy the royal family face only death."
In the process of retaking Tarbr city hall and subduing the militia, the Rocksfield Knights unleashed merciless slaughter and violence. But Troyed did not stop them. Instead, he ordered his adjutants to suppress the rebels even more harshly. They burned entire buildings where the militia had barricaded themselves for street fights and pursued the fleeing rebels to the end, annihilating them. Their ruthless extermination of the enemy to fulfill the royal command was truly like hunting dogs.
"Lord Sermes and Lord Gubelas are securing the city, while Lord Berban is pursuing the escaped remnants."
Sermes. Gubelas. Berban. The three brothers, known as the Rocksfield family's three hunting dogs, were Troyed's cherished sons. And they were Allen Rocksfield's older brothers.
"My lord!"
A herald in a breastplate emblazoned with the Rocksfield emblem arrived. With urgent news to deliver, he dismounted swiftly and approached with quick steps, delivering the report in a breathless voice.
"Rebellion! The rebels have seized Lulrd. The royal family has ordered you to subjugate them immediately."
"Lulrd..."
The herald's news stunned not only Troyed but also the listening adjutants. Lulrd was very close by. If they marched now, they could reach it in half a day. Nothing surprising there. The problem was that Lulrd was near the border adjacent to the Liberia Elf Kingdom.
Mobilizing a large force to attack Lulrd would naturally provoke a reaction from the Liberia Elf Kingdom.
"If only the young lady were here..."
One of the adjutants muttered. Troyed let out a low groan and shook his head.
"If Allen were by my side, we'd have retaken Tarbr and assaulted Lulrd by now. Allen is one of the top geniuses among the Rocksfield knights. And a natural-born fighter. Even if the rebels numbered in the hundreds of thousands, Allen could suppress them."
Troyed praised his only daughter lavishly, highly evaluating her abilities and qualities. He trusted his three sons, of course, but his youngest daughter Allen's prowess was so extraordinarily immense that he exalted the Rocksfield mad dog with near-fanatical faith.
"But Allen is in the Liberia Elf Kingdom now. Complaining won't bring her back."
"Those wicked elves must be holding the young lady captive!"
"Do you truly believe elves could forcibly hold Allen?"
"...N-No, but..."
Allen Rocksfield was a savage, ferocious beast that could never be tamed. Mad dog. Those who witnessed her cruelty and violence said, "A mad dog was born in the hunting dog family." Troyed did not deny it. It was the unvarnished truth. Even as her father, she was a monster beyond control. The only one who had tamed that monster was her swordsmanship instructor, Yushin Gilliard.
"Allen joined forces with Yushin in the Liberia Elf Kingdom to subjugate the Raging Flames Demon King. I can't condone her betraying her country and family... but as a father, I'm proud."
The news that Yushin Gilliard, the Holy Empire's Diablo Slayer, had subjugated the Raging Flames Demon King had reached the Valua Kingdom in detail. And that his own daughter, Allen Rocksfield, had made a decisive contribution alongside Yushin. Since she had gone missing during the Urhel negotiations with no word of her fate, Troyed was overjoyed to hear it.
"Allen is the Rocksfield family's proudest knight. Wherever she is, whoever she's with... I believe she's safe. As long as she possesses the power left by our ancestors, no one can defeat her."
Troyed ended the conversation, expressing strong conviction in his daughter.
* * *
To the elves, their kin had suffered at the hands of filthy humans. The most horrific experience, one that would never fade, not even in their dying moments. Hatred and resentment toward humans. And rage. The fierce flames born of negative emotions endlessly scorched her heart.
Liana, having witnessed her kin's wretched, broken forms, harbored resentment and hatred beyond measure.
"What're you doing, spacing out?"
A black-haired man approached the silver-haired sword instructor, who gripped her sword hilt with trembling hands of fury. Yushin Gilliard, the hero who had subjugated Sabnack and saved the Liberia Elf Kingdom, made his appearance.
Seeing Yushin appear suddenly, Liana stared blankly, unable to hide her bewilderment. Why had Yushin shown up in the Akiteon Mountains all of a sudden? She was so stunned she almost disbelieved the sight before her.
"Didn't you have academy classes today? Alonne was pretty bummed. Graduation exam's right around the corner, and her main instructor's off doing a side gig. Total lack of responsibility as an educator."
"Yushin? Why are you here...?"
"Just felt like I had to come."
The place where Liana stood was Urhel village—or rather, the ruins where it once stood. The site of Ardena and Allen's decisive battle, now mainly used as a gathering spot for elf rangers. Temporary structures dotted the estimated former village site.
"Oh, right! The graduation exam!"
"You just now realize?"
"Alonne must be looking for you! She said she was gonna teach a secret technique today!"
"It's fine since I'm teaching her. Way better than your lame secret moves anyway."
"I'm her main instructor!"
At Yushin's snarky tone, Liana bristled and yelled back, clenching her fists with an indignant scowl. Glaring at him with narrowed eyes and grinding her teeth, she felt the hatred and rage blazing in her heart settle like a calm lake. The negative emotions that had numbed her reason melted away like snow before a spring breeze.
"Eek!"
Liana bit her lip, her pale cheeks flushing red. The stark shift in emotions left her confused. After a moment of turmoil, she defined Yushin Gilliard as a 'human who can be trusted'. Like the vile slave hunters, but trustworthy. Because he was their savior. Reaching that thought, Liana muttered that she didn't need to hate all humans and reflected on her foolish impulse.
"You must know everything by now since you're here. Rangers patrolling the Akiteon Mountains were kidnapped by slave hunters but barely escaped alive."
"...Slave hunters, huh. Targeting the Akiteon Mountains in elf territory, and rangers at that. What kinda scum are they? Definitely not your average thugs."
"They're interrogating the apparent leader right now."
Liana nodded toward a temporary building, indicating where the slave hunter was held. They were interrogating him—more like torturing, really. To repay even a fraction of the pain and suffering her kin endured, they tormented him mercilessly.
"You didn't have to come all this way."
"Yeah. Why'd I overreact like that?"
Yushin glanced at Ardena talking with the rangers and muttered. It wasn't something he needed to come for. No real reason to get involved, and being here didn't seem to help much. Yushin had come to the Akiteon Mountains with Ardena purely on instinct. A prickling hunch had spurred his steps. Being the instinctive type who followed his gut, he'd ended up here.
"Ardena's gonna chew me out later."
"Why?"
"You don't need to know. Just that a lot's happened between me and Ardena."
Fearful of repercussions, Yushin shrugged with a troubled look.
Yushin spoke again.
"That's Valua Kingdom over there, right?"
East of the Liberia Elf Kingdom, the Akiteon Mountains marked the border—so crossing them led straight into Valua territory. Yushin muttered it casually, but Liana reacted with visible shock and wariness.
"Why?"
"You bastard! Planning to use Senior Ardena's feelings to escape to Valua, aren't you?!"
"Nah. If I wanted, I could've groped those udder-like tits of yours like dough and then bolted."
"Shut up! Pervert!"
At Yushin's usual insulting sexual harassment, Liana recoiled, calling him an irredeemable creep right in front of her.