150. Carving the Flesh. And Picking Up the Dickhead (2)
Though he had been demoted to commoner status, he was once royalty they had served. And wasn't the Rocksfield family the clan that had sworn ironclad loyalty to the Valua royal house? Any member of the Rocksfield family would have protected Alpons to the bitter end, even if he was a fallen prince reduced to peasantry.
Of course, that had absolutely nothing to do with Allen.
"Die! Die! DIIIEEE!!"
The mad dog who had mounted the piggish prince—now transformed from obese slob to scrawny commie—rained down blows with fists dripping gore.
Thud! Splat, smack-smack!!
It was the sound of leather being pummeled. A noise that wouldn't even come from pounding a sandbag echoed dozens of times from the former prince.
"Hey, hey. Ease up, or you'll actually kill him."
Yushin placed a hand on Allen's shoulder as he spoke. She shot back without missing a beat.
"Wasn't I supposed to kill him?"
"...Well, yeah, but."
No sooner had Yushin finished than Allen resumed her halted punches, slamming into Alpons. But he didn't die. Even after taking hits from fists that could snuff out grotesque monsters in a single blow, Alpons clung to life. He was hacking up blood, gasping like he was on death's door—but still breathing.
Because Allen was holding back her strength. Not out of mercy for him, of course. It was pure sadistic malice, the intent to toy with him a bit longer before finishing him off.
"Wait, for real—he's gonna die."
This time, Yushin intervened as Allen reared back to smash the second prince's precious family jewels. Thanks to Yushin, the near-castrated Alpons—face a bloody pulp—managed a ragged breath, his lifeline extended.
As Allen grumbled about why he'd stopped her, Yushin replied.
"Kills the fun if he croaks too quick."
"Oh."
After pulling Allen back for a moment, Yushin leaned in close to the dazed, battered Alpons.
"Came for some bread and now you're headed to the afterlife. Ain't that just how it goes? Think of all those fine soldiers who lost their lives thanks to your dipshit orders—this is mercy by comparison."
"Gack... Urk, hack-hack!!"
Yushin reached out and clamped his throat. One squeeze, and the prince's neck would snap like a twig.
"I'll let you get in some last words."
He loosened his grip just enough. Alpons hacked and coughed several times before managing to speak.
"Y-Yushin Gilliard! I heard you refused repatriation to the kingdom and joined the elves to slay the Raging Flames Demon King! Th-That means... you've sided with the Liberia Elf Kingdom!"
"What, you gonna blame me now? Who the hell pushed us into elf territory in the first place?"
"N-No, that's not it... I just want to request political asylum in the Liberia Elf Kingdom!"
"Asylum? You?"
"Getting all the way to Lurd was all for defecting to the elves!"
It was getting more absurd by the second. He'd spared the chicken-necked fool for a dying declaration, only for him to spew bullshit and waste time.
"You, who waged repeated wars against the Liberia Elf Kingdom, want asylum there? They'd brand you a war criminal and execute you on sight."
"I-I have vital intel in exchange for political asylum!"
"Spill it."
"Ahem! It's... uh."
"Keep your trap shut, and I'll unleash the rabid dog again."
"N-No! Fine, I'll talk!"
Alpons bellowed. As Allen—the one who'd turned him into minced meat—stepped forward, terror twisted his battered face.
"Katrin... Valua's first princess is plotting to kidnap elves from the Libria Peninsula! I was gonna rat her out!"
"What, the princess suddenly got the hots for slender elves or something?"
Yushin echoed the words of a certain dual-wielder as he name-dropped Princess Katrin. Alpons bared his teeth.
"You... know nothing!"
The Katrin Yushin knew was a refined beauty, graced with culture and charisma. She treated nobles with benevolence and aided her brother the crown prince in bestowing mercy on the people. The idea that such a gentle princess was scheming elf abductions sounded like utter nonsense.
A fairy-tale princess who adored cute animals—tied to elf kidnappings? Impossible.
"Bullshit."
Yushin raised his hand high. Alpons blurted desperately.
"I-It's true! She's commanding slave hunters across Valua and beyond! I'm bargaining that intel for a deal with the Liberia Elf Kingdom!"
"How do you know all this so well?"
"Th-That's..."
Alpons trailed off evasively at Yushin's question, trying to dodge. That alone confirmed it: before his demotion from prince to peasant, he'd been in cahoots with Katrin somehow.
Now it clicked why Alpons had stirred up the military and pushed so hard for war with the elves. The Valua prince and princess were in it together.
"I-I had no choice but to join her!"
"Right."
Yushin gave a deadpan look at Alpons's frantic cry. The second-rate wastrel claiming he'd only tagged along out of fear of his little sister? Laughable.
Not only was Katrin's alleged plot unbelievable, but Alpons's words rang utterly false. Yushin knew little of the royal family's schemes, and Alpons's desperate info-dump felt off.
"Think about it from my side. Why should I buy your crap? The Katrin I know is a sweet, kind princess. You slandering her with lies?"
"You really know nothing! That bitch is a demon! No—crueler than any devil! The elves she's slaughtered... you couldn't count them!"
Hmm. Not bad for a fresh lie.
Bloody and writhing on the dirt, Alpons protested his innocence, insisting it was all truth.
"And my brother too...!"
"The crown prince?"
"He planned the war from the start—not me! I just followed orders! I swear on the gods, everything I've said is true!"
"You don't even go to church."
"Th-That's true, but...!"
Yushin sighed deeply at the terrified, jaw-chattering Alpons and released him. He stood up and turned to Allen.
"Thinking of keeping him alive a bit longer. What do you say?"
"Just kill him. Doesn't seem useful anyway. If he's bugging you, I'll do it."
"Still got more to squeeze out of him."
They needed to bolt from Lurd fast. Plenty of citizens had overheard Alpons's ravings. An angry mob might come swarming. Yushin figured sticking around was a bad idea, and Allen nodded in agreement.
"Prince, you're coming with us."
Yushin said, tapping his sword hilt.
The biggest hurdle in suppressing the citizen militia was plummeting morale and a flood of deserters. They had to fix it somehow. But that was no easy task.
The Vintz Knights, dispatched by royal order, had disbanded right before the crackdown. The same went for other units on different fronts.
"You've done splendidly, men! I salute your feats—piles of enemy corpses, rivers of their blood!"
A man threw his arms wide and bellowed. His refined golden hair swept back, clad in elegant attire unfit for the blood-soaked battlefield, he shouted to the gore-splattered soldiers.
'Ruthless bastard. Buried every last one without mercy.'
'Tiberius family? Never heard of 'em. Where'd this guy come from? Gotta be royal dispatch...'
The aides behind him eyed him with deep suspicion.
A noble officer dispatched by the royals. Claiming to be Count of the Tiberius family, he'd flashed a royal edict and stripped the field commander of authority. Stepping in as the new leader, Count Tiberius had led the army to victory, defying the aides' grim predictions.
'How the hell did a ragtag bunch of deserters pull that off...'
'Things stabilized after Tiberius arrived. No martial law, no deserter hunts—how?'
It was like magic. A demoralized mob of deserters had overnight become elite troops, one against a thousand.
Veteran aides knew it defied reason. How could bottomed-out soldiers turn into fearless warriors overnight?
They'd seen troops charge citizens despite sword gashes and spear wounds, delivering final blows. The mystery only deepened.
"Guh!"
One soldier in the front ranks spewed blood and collapsed. But none around him flinched at their comrade's death. They just stared ahead, faces blank as if drugged.
A chill ran through the aides at the sight.
'Heard other fronts got royal dispatches as new commanders too...'
'Where are these nobodies from? I've seen countless battlefields—never heard these names.'
The aides harbored grave doubts. But they had no way to probe. The new commander was undeniably royal-sent. And since his arrival, they'd racked up victories against the militia. For the kingdom's forces, reeling from defeats, it was a godsend.
The tide, tilting toward the citizens, had flipped dramatically with these royal officers.
"Everyone looks so grim. Shouldn't we celebrate this hard-won victory?"
Count Tiberius remarked. The stone-faced aides forced smiles and nods.
"Let's have a modest banquet tonight. All must attend."
He proposed a feast to mark the win. Though reluctant, the aides couldn't refuse. And the morning after, those who'd doubted the royal officer ended up just like the entranced soldiers—souls utterly lost.
The aide who'd suspected even Count Tiberius fell first in the next battle, his budding suspicions crushed without mercy.