Chapter 376
(376) Town in chaos
Translator: Tseirp + Piggy . C
A huge commotion was going on in front of the main gate .
The gate was about to be broken – and it was from the inside .
Curses and angry shouts flew about . I could hardly hear the voices of the guards . The only things I could hear were the voices of the citizens .
“Let us out of here!”
“How can we stay in a town like this!”
“Tie up the guards!”
It was a civil war – No, it was mayhem .
The tipping point was when the frenzy curse was activated in the middle of town and even the city officials were found to have been cursed . There was no knowing when the person next to you or your family would turn into a berserker . That fear turned the people into a mob .
That was what Carol antic.i.p.ated . And it was not something I could stop alone .
I ran up a deserted wall, jumped onto a tree branch and up the wall .
“Who are you!”
“I am Ichinojo, a quasi-baron . ”
The guards saluted me when I showed the quasi-baron badge .
Most guards were commoners . There were no knights with peerage there .
“But why did quasi-baron-sama come to such a place?”
“To monitor the details of this commotion – If nothing happens – if the worst does not happen, then it is fine . ”
“As long as the worst does not happen? – But the gate is about to be broken, it’s already the worst scenario . ”
The guard replied . Was he serious?
Riot . Confusion . Escaping from town .
None of those was the worst outcome . It was not the situation where Carol hoped it was needless worry on end or the worst-case scenario that I feared .
I looked at the distance from the wall . The royal army was still in position surrounding the town . They had not made any moves .
That was extremely ominous .
“Quasi-baron-sama, it is dangerous to look out from the edge . ”
The guard on duty cautioned me .
“ … Are there no soldiers manning the walls? Even though the town is surrounded?”
“Although we are surrounded, they are not the enemy . They are soldiers who fight for the same country – our brethren . ”
“So you still consider them as brethren even though they are pointing their blades at you …”
Is that what they call trust?
To me, I can’t think of it other than that they have been abandoned .
Just a.s.suming the worst was tiring on its own .
I thought to myself as I wiped the sweat off my brow .
On top of the tropical climate of the southern continent, the fervor from the citizens below was causing a palpable heatwave .
“I’ll prepare something cool to drink . ”
“No, there’s no need to . ”
At that moment, cheers came from the citizens .
It looked like they broke through the gate .
The citizens rushed to be the first to exit the gate – then .
“ ─ !”
The royal army fired arrows at once at the citizens that went out .
The worst scenario had happened – the royal army would not allow anybody to leave town .
It had turned into a show of force .
They didn’t expect the soldiers who should be protecting them would fire arrows at them instead . The citizens who left the gate screamed .
I jumped off the walls and stood in front of the citizens .
“Boost Mega Ice!”
I created a huge chunk of ice facing forward and temporarily blocked all the arrows .
At the same time, I cooled down the palpable heat like it was an illusion – or rather, I froze it .
“Everyone, return to the gate now! The royal army truly intends to kill us if we leave!”
My shout was a failure in a way .
The people who were targeted by the arrows rushed to enter the gate but the people from inside who didn’t know the situation were trying to exit .
The gate was not narrow but it was panic within the gate . There was no telling how many people would get trampled to death .
At that moment .
I heard a song coming from somewhere .
That gentle voice entered my ears naturally .
By the time I realized, the people outside and inside the gate started entering the gate after listening to the song .
Then, the singing voice suddenly stopped and the guards who returned to their senses quickly closed the gate and barred it .
What happened?
Also, that song – it felt like I’ve heard it before .
I looked around my surroundings and then looked in the direction I heard the song from .
I saw two shadows move on top of a roof a distance away .
I quickly moved to those shadows .
“I knew it – ”
Haru and Carol were there . Carol was in her adult form .
The song I heard just now – was similar to the song that summoned me to Carol when I first met her .
“Sorry, Ichino-sama . I made an arbitrary decision . ”
Carol said and returned to her usual appearance .
“It was a great help . But that song was?”
“A skill from Succubus Queen – Siren Song . A skill to hypnotize people who hear the song and allure them .
“Siren huh?”
Sirens appear in Greek mythology as sea monsters who use beautiful songs to allure ships and sink them .
In this world, they might not be monsters but demi-humans .
My image of them was something like mermaids with wings .
I see, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the song just now was a siren song judging from the effects .
“But I’m surprised you could transmit your voice from here to the gate . Was that an effect of the Siren Song as well?”
“It was thanks to the Loudspeaker Talisman that Ichino-sama gave me . ”
Carol said and showed me the piece of torn talisman paper that had lost its effect .
“Master was able to antic.i.p.ate this situation and gave Carol the Loudspeaker Talisman . I am full of admiration . ”
Haru was impressed but I had purely mistaken it as the Communication Talisman .
I didn’t even know about the Siren Song skill .
“Are there Sirens in this world?”
“Like the Centaurs, they are a race that once existed . There remain legends about them in various lands but there is no evidence of their current existence . Perhaps they are a sea race with the same power as Carol but can create illusions to hide their appearances . ”
“That might be true . ”
I agreed and nodded .
Then, I looked at the citizens .
The news that the royal army fired arrows at them spread among the citizens . n.o.body tried to leave the town anymore . Well, there might be people who try to slip out through places apart from the main gate that I am not aware of and died .
“Do you think the riots would subside with this?”
“The number of people who try to leave town would decrease . But the public safety in town will deteriorate . ”
“Carol thinks so too . Moreover, most people would distrust others and withdraw into their homes . There’s also the concern of food shortages . The only salvation might be the increased activity of monsters living in the beginner’s dungeon compared to previous years . ”
So the monsters in the beginner’s dungeon were sp.a.w.ning at a rapid rate as well .
It was said that most of the monsters in the beginner’s dungeon were plant-type monsters that drop food ingredients .
Thankfully, there have not been any appearances of monsters with an incomparable rank that we encountered in the intermediate dungeon . At most only rare monsters appeared .
However, this large monster sp.a.w.ning event, the frenzy curse, and the merciless attacks from the royal army .
What was going on with this town?