Chapter 250: Ignition, Closed Path
Together with a few Leopardkin soldiers, we headed for the left flank.
And on the way to the place where the messenger said he saw “that”……
[Ahh…..]
The messenger stopped in his tracks.
[ ! ]
Seeing what was in the distance, the female Leopardkin beside me gasped.
Covering her own mouth with both hands, she stopped in her tracks.
The gasp she took in———— wasn’t able to make out of her mouth because of the shock she must be feeling now.
[Ahh…… No———- Eh, ahh….. What is that……]
[N- No way…… Don’t tell me……]
[Leopard King-sama…… That is… That is———— What is that……]
Flies……
……Bzzzzz, bzzzzzzzzz……
buzzing…..
……Bzzzzz, bzzzzzzzzz……
around.
[————……………..—————]
Effective.
This sure is effective.
Yes, it’s effective.
Seriously.
…………………..
Whether it’s fear…
Or anger…
If fear can make us lose our will to fight, that’s good for them.
If anger can make us lose our composure——— that’s good for them too.
Either of the results is fine for them.
Well, I see.
That’s right.
This is possible.
They can certainly do this.
As long as they’re willing to do this……
As long as they can make this possible……
As long as they’re aiming for such results……
And so, they did this.
They would go this far huh.
They would even do something like this……
[NIKO-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—————–!]
[……Quick.]
[ ! ]
I turned towards the soldier who’s in charge of emergency treatment.
Then, I held out my hand towards him.
[Scissors.]
[Y- Yes……]
[Everyone!]
Snapping them out of their trance, I called out to them.
[Quickly cut them loose!]
They were walking in groups of dozens or so.
The Dragon Light Army.
Leading their group, Niko, had a board hanging from her neck by a string.
It was as if———– it was a message board.
Her hands were tied, and her feet had weights chained in them.
They were dragging them along with them.
Some of them even had arrows stuck in their bodies.
Others even had daggers.
However———- what was even more horrible than those……
——–were those things that had been st.i.tched on their bodies.
Hands……
Arms……
Tails———-
Perhaps……
Those body parts……
They were from dead Dragonewt soldiers.
Those body parts were dismembered from the corpses.
And those body parts, towards the survivors———–
To their arms……
To their legs……
Inside their mouth……
Somewhere on their body……
With thick threads———— or perhaps, with strings……
They were firmly st.i.tched on their bodies.
Some have had their eyeb.a.l.l.s gouged out……
Some of them even had their eyelids sewn, making them unable to close their eyes.
They were probably aiming for such a state.
That they would go towards the central flank, where Gio and the others were.
Snip!
Making sure that it would affect their wounds, we use our scissors to cut the strings loose.
As we cut them loose, I ascertained something.
[Pigimaru, any presence in the surroundings?]
[Piggiiii!]
It seems like Pigimaru doesn’t sense anyone nearby.
If that’s the case, the enemy probably isn’t nearby.
“Distract them with Niko and the others, and then attack us when an opening appears”
It seemed like———- there was no need for me to worry about that for the moment.
[Pii…… Piigiiiiiiiiiiiii……………]
Pigimaru was shaking with anger.
As they cut them loose from the strings, some of the Leopardkin soldiers were sobbing.
There were some who were vomiting to the side.
Kachin!
[———-Bel… ze… gia…]
Niko had been “biting” on the tail of one of her kin’s tails.
It was like it was used as a mouth gag.
Now, that tail had just been cut loose from her mouth.
With a situation like this, I don’t care whatever name she calls me with.
[What happened?]
[We went after it.]
Kachin!
[The Divine Beast?]
[Some of the Dragon Light Army said “If we can just catch him, we can end this war”…… Ignoring when I stopped them, they went after the Divine Beast. I just couldn’t let them go through with their decisions alone. And thus, this result…… is because of my negligence in failing to ensure that your prior warning was followed…… There shouldn’t have been any reason for us to chase after them.]
Kachin!
She couldn’t abandon them huh.
Looking at her closely, Niko was trembling.
Fear seems to have taken over her body and consciousness.
However, she firmly tried to convey all the information she acquired.
[Fly King…… Can you please not condemn them? They just didn’t want…… for more deaths to occur anymore. They just wanted everything to end here……! That’s also why, I had also——— been part of this too——— ……After all… after all———–]
From the clear, unclouded eyes of her dragonic eyes.
Tears began spilling out……
Four Warlights Kokoroniko Doran.
The way she spoke was that of a warrior.
She has an uncouth temperament.
She is a woman of herculean strength, wielding a greatsword as large as her stature.
But, even if that’s so……
Kachiiiin!
She is still a gentle, vulnerable young woman.
I felt like I had just been made very aware of this.
[It is my decision…… that exposed all my companions in the left flank to danger…… Fuguu…… uuu…… I had managed to make the monster corps evacuate, but the Dragon Light Army…… Sniff…… became tattered…… Uuuugggh…….]
Kachin!
[And the ones who did this was the Sixth———– The 6th Cavalry huh.]
[Sniff…… Yeah. They call themselves the 11th Cavalry…… but the information we received was false. The squad number was unidentifiable…… However, while they were doing…… “this”, they called themselves the Sixth…… When we realized it…… before we knew it…… we were surrounded…… Before we knew it…… we were trampled down…… Before we knew it……]
[Niko.]
Kachin!
[What happened to you this time was the worst.]
[…………………]
[It was the worst but———-]
Kachin!
I cut off the final string.
[From the bottom of my heart, I’m just glad you’re alive.]
……………………….
…………………..
………………
………..
——–
—————, ………………
—————————
———————————-, ——————————
………………….The 6th Cavalry.
▽
Any parts that had been st.i.tched on their bodies were removed.
The hand restraints and the leg weights were also removed.
Next, we gave them as much first aid as possible.
However, I think it would be better if they get further treatment from the rear.
We don’t have enough people to carry the wounded Dragonewt soldiers though.
Thus, I sent out a messenger to call for a.s.sistance.
The Dragonkin soldiers were receiving simple treatment at the moment.
Meanwhile, the Leopardkin soldiers seemed to be in shock.
There were even some of them that had lost their will to fight.
Perhaps, the stimulus was too much for the people of the Faraway Country.
[…………………….]
Alone, I checked the board.
No one was talking to me.
It doesn’t seem like they would even approach me.
Not minding them, I turned my attention to this board that was hanging on Niko’s neck……
One of the things written on it was a message to the rest of the cavalry.
In short……
“This group is a warning to the enemy, don’t touch them.”
Even if the other cavalry found them on the way here……
That they shouldn’t kill Niko and the others while they’re in this state.
In addition, it also included a recommendation of surrender.
A recommendation of surrender to the Faraway Country.
It was written with beautiful handwriting.
Rather than having an official feel to it, it was like a stiff, formal composition.
But halfway through, the writing became blatantly messy.
The stiffness disappeared from the text, and on the contrary, the letters danced wildly.
It was as if…… they got bored with writing all this stiff composition halfway through.
“No matter where you run, we will hunt you down! We will hunt you until you beg me to kill you! No matter where you run! No matter where you hide! Your only path here is to kill all your beloved or just kill yourself! And when that time comes, we will be in youuuuuuur care!”
It doesn’t sound like this is written by a sane person.
No———– Perhaps, I might be looking at this differently.
This might have been written in such a way as to make the reader feel repulsed.
To make the reader feel afraid……
To make the reader feel angry……
It may be said that this is a well thought-out composition that aims for such psychological effects.
[……………………]
This is difficult to understand.
If they just captured Niko and the others alive……
They could have used them to lure us in.
If they’re going to spare the lives of their hostages…… They could have done this.
However, they did not.
They didn’t use such a pragmatic tactic.
What is the meaning of their actions?
They simply wanted to do it.
This is just something they wanted to do.
They took priority in doing this.
It would have been more effective to use them as a hostage.
However, the Sixth chose to induce psychological effects on our side instead.
They let them go to incite us.
They chose to satisfy their own s.a.d.i.s.tic minds first and foremost.
That’s the only way I can see this situation.
In addition……
I can feel absolute confidence from them.
I think———– this is different from pride.
It was as if they were stating an open fact.
As if saying that they don’t need to take any clever measures like making use of hostages……
No matter what, the Six Kings will win.
That’s why they went through with this evil hobby that eschews practicality.
They decided to go through this.
And they succeeded.
That psychological effect they are aiming for.
Agitating one’s emotions, they certainly make people angry and lose their composure.
Yeah——– It’s working.
It’s really working.
In fact, I couldn’t conceal the rage emitting from within me as I stood here.
Even the surrounding Leopardkin soldiers can sense it.
I could feel my allies getting nervous and anxious because of this rage.
As the person who should have been bringing everyone together and giving them orders, I’m disqualified.
Having a personality like this———- makes me disqualified.
However……
Even if that’s so……
From what I see……
There’s no way a human won’t seethe in anger after seeing what happened here.
Putting aside whether letting myself get angry at this is right or wrong……
I just don’t like this.
Putting it simply, their means, it made me extremely uncomfortable.
That’s all there is to it.
Ahh, I can’t help it……
I just don’t like this.
[………………..]
I see, Is that how it is, 6th Cavalry?
Then……
I will hunt you down———–
————-until you beg me to kill you.
Gathering my thoughts, I took a deep breath.
Then, I beckoned a Leopardkin soldier with my finger.
[Ahh————- Hahh! You called me!?]
[Call my Deputy here.]
I’ll make sure———— that you no longer have any paths left to go to.
[We’ll destroy the Sixth Cavalry.]