106 Beginning of War
At the same time, an abnormal situation was occurring at 【Xaos】. Armored troops broke inside the country and began to cast spells everywhere. As buildings had been damaged from these attacks, people were desperately trying to escape in the midst of the chaos caused by the sudden a.s.sault.
It went without saying that the soldiers in charge of defending the country went to repel the attack, but the difference in numbers and strength was overwhelming. And above all-.
“W-What in the h.e.l.l are they doing here!?”(Soldier A)
“Where in the h.e.l.l did all of them come from. There is just so many of them!?”(Soldier B)
The soldiers were completely confused. The ones who were attacking their country were a force clearly commanded with great leaders.h.i.+p. And, above all else, the ones attacking them were the 『Gabranth』.
Since the bridge between the Gabranth Continent (which the 『Evila』 refer to as the Beast Territory) and the Demon World was destroyed by the Demon Lord, there shouldn’t have been a way for them to enter the Evila Continent. However, in the case of powerful individuals, they would certainly be able to find a way to cross the sea in order to make their way here.
However, with these numbers, it was as if their entire military force was partic.i.p.ating in the a.s.sault, or so the 『Evila』 had judged, even though they believed such a feat was impossible. Everyone was confused, it was unbelievable that they made it all the way over here..
This 【Xaos】 is a country where many villages and towns have been concentrated. When compared to other kingdoms, the magnitude of the capital was clearly ma.s.sive. The country that seemed to spread out from the Demon Lord’s Castle as the centre, as if enclosing said castle, was roughly divided into five parts: the west district, south district, east district, north district, and the central district. Each respective section was comprised of multiple towns that were founded by the various 『Evila』 races.
And currently, at the place in the west district where the 『Evila』 referred to as the 『Feathered One』 were gathering-
“Nyow (now), time to let loose.” (???)
A figure that looked like an anthropomorphic black panther flashed their sharp eyes at the enemy, as if marking them as one’s prey. Their smiling expression was filled with ferocity so eerie, it evoked fear in all those who saw it.
“Oi oi, Crouch. Leave some for me, alright?” (???)
There was the one who called out to the Black Panther Crouch; he was none other than the second prince of 【Pa.s.sion】 Lenion King, whose face also bore a savage smile while he glared at the Evila.
“Roger, nya. Then, how about half of them, nya?” (Crouch)
“No, 7:3 in my favor.” (Lenion)
“Muu… Lenion-sama is so unfair, nya. I want to kill them too, nya.” (Crouch)
They appeared to be sulking, as if in a bad mood. Although this appearance could be considered rather cute if they were a normal female, as the subject was Crouch, the eeriness only increased.
“A~a~a, I get it, I get it. Then how bout we make it a game of who can kill the most?” (Lenion)
“Funya! I’m in, nya!” (Crouch)
As they said that, the two of them unleashed their bloodl.u.s.t towards the soldiers who were simply staring at them, dumbfounded. The ones that received the bloodthirst head-on unconsciously trembled, feeling a premonition of death from the difference in their levels.
On the other side, in the east district, large numbers of monsters were rampaging. This was Crouch’s handiwork. During the earlier confrontation with the 『Evila』, Crouch had made many monsters appear from their shadow. Currently, they were once again using strong monsters as p.a.w.ns.
Since the monsters had died once, their skin, unlike normal monsters, had been subject to corrosion. It was as if they had been turned into zombie-like beings. Even so, their strength was not inferior compared to when they were alive. In addition, as they were made to feel no pain, they had been turned into extremely troublesome foes.
Furthermore, since there were monsters of Ranks S and SS mixed in, even the 『Evila』 who possessed exceptionally high magic power would have trouble dealing with them. On top of all that, their enemy was not just a singular monster, but a countless number of them, the numbers were so abundant that it would cause one to fall into despair.
In addition to this, possibly due to possessing thoughts of not wanting to cause extensive damage to the country with the use of magic, they were prevented from using their power to the fullest. Regardless, the monsters mercilessly destroyed the surroundings.
A single 『Evila』 child had failed to flee and was about to be attacked by a monster. Although the soldiers had all shouted “Nooo!”, as the gap between them was too large, the soldiers were powerless to save them. As everyone was about to give up-
Dogon!
Suddenly, something from the sky crashed on top of the monster. It fainted in agony as it suffered a huge blow to its back. Following this, the thing that had fallen grabbed the monster by the tail and vigorously threw it away.
“Listen, you fools! Don’t hold back! Deal with them using your full power!” (???)
The one who said that was the 《Rank 4》 of the Demon Lord’s Private Corps 《Cruel》, Ornoth. The soldiers’ faces brightened to Ornoth’s presence.
“If this goes on, the country will get destroyed! Remember your pride as 『Evila』 and greet them with your best! You got that!?” (Ornoth)
Ornoth’s deep voice pleasantly resounded through the surroundings. Everyone’s morale was uplifted by hearing his voice quaking the atmosphere.
“Uoooooooooooh!” (Soldiers)
Everyone was completely different from before as they started to attack the monsters without restraint. Upon seeing that, Ornoth gave an approving nod before he approached the child.
“It’s dangerous here. Run away quickly.” (Ornoth)
“U-un.” (Child) [Un – yes, nod]
The child fled the area with small brisk footsteps as Ornoth leaped onto the roof of a nearby building to survey the area. There was smoke and fire rising up in several places, roars were heard reverberating as they payed no heed to the screams of the people. Ornoth could only grit his teeth at the scene in front of him.
“Ku……Aquinas’ fear was spot on, huh. But to think it would turn out like thi……then the conference…” (Ornoth)
Aquinas had a bad feeling about things in the country and so he requested for his friend, Ornoth, to return to the country. Although he felt admiration towards Aquinas’s clairvoyance, he still couldn’t help but have doubts about how the 『Gabranth』 had brought their military all the way here.
“No, I should get the situation under control before solving that mystery.” (Ornoth)
With the main force of the Evila currently away from the country, Ornoth had already come to the conclusion that his actions would be crucial here.
This is war. Therefore, there had to be a commander leading the war. If the commander was defeated, then, at the very least, the opposing troops’ morale would fall. However, each district would be expected to have its own commander. He felt that he should put a stop the ones that would be the most troublesome first.
While Ornoth was thinking this, he calmly observed the area with Sharp eyes.
“…..They are!?” (Ornoth)
Ornoth was surprised by the scene that he had witnessed. However, as he had determined that it was the location where he should head to, he moved towards it.
The four heroes were still trying to gasp the current sight in front of them.
『Gabranth』 soldiers swung mercilessly at the backs of the fleeing 『Evila』. One of them was laughing while they continued to stab a woman who was screaming and crying. Skulls were crushed by the beastmen’s superior physical strength. A person, who had both arms sliced off, attempted to run away to save their own life, but no sooner were they hunted down and beheaded.
No matter where one looked, everything was painted with blood; The surroundings smelled of nothing but smoke and blood; Rolling heads and piled corpses littered the ground. Seeing this scene straight from h.e.l.l, one of the heroes, Aoyama Tais.h.i.+, muttered in a tiny voice.
“Wha……what isn’t this……i-isn’t this going too far?” (Tais.h.i.+)
Tais.h.i.+’s face was pale and stiff at the surreal scene before him. The other three had most likely shared the same thoughts as they stood still, stunned. In particular, Minamoto Shuri was covering her mouth in order to fight the nausea.
“What are you doing! Get them!” (???)
The one who tried to call them into action was a soldier, who had a.s.sisted them in mock battles for training countless times before. All four of them had the impression that he was a nice young man who was really nice to children as well as having a nice smile. Several days ago, he had also became a companion whom they had pa.s.sed the border with together.
However, now his armor was splattered in blood; It was clear countless ones had lost their lives at his hands.
“Eh… but… they’ll die… right? T-the enemies aren’t just some monsters.” (Tais.h.i.+)
Holding back the feeling of uneasiness, Tais.h.i.+ uneasily said that.
“Of course! This is war, you know! I will leave the north district to you, heroes! Do you understand? If you don’t kill, you’ll be killed.” (Young soldier)
After he said that, the four of them wordlessly watched him leave as he returned to his post.
Then, a 『Evila』 child, who was involved in the aftermath of magic, had been thrown towards them.
The child’s body was all beaten up, and tears and snot were streaming down their face. One of the child’s arms was bent in an abnormal way. The poor child, despite being around age of five, was still struggling desperately to get away.
“O-oi, you okay?” (Tais.h.i.+)
Tais.h.i.+ instinctively called out while reaching his hand out towards the child. When-
Bishun!
A knife appeared out from the child’s chest. No, they were pierced through the back with a sword. Once the heroes saw that completely surreal spectacle-
“Hii!” (Heroes)
All four them of squealed.
“No… it… hurts… not yet…” (Child)
The child grasped onto the sword that stuck out of their chest with both hands. Yet, no matter how hard they pulled, the sword didn’t even move an inch. Their hands became stained red with blood from grasping the blade.
“Shut up!” (???)
Bushyuu!
The sword was vigorously pulled out before once again being stabbed into the back of the child, causing them to fall to the ground. However, most likely due to the extraordinary vitality that the 『Evila』 possess, the child was still barely alive as they raised their trembling hand towards the four, as if pleading for something.
“I… don’t… want… to… die…yet…” (Child)
Gusa!
The child was stabbed in the back once more. This time, it had been the end of them.
“U…. Ubu….!?”
The other three heroes, Tais.h.i.+ excluded, fell to their knees and vomited.
Tais.h.i.+ gazed upon the scene before him once more. He was unsure as to whether this was truly reality. As he fought an awful, stifling feeling, he recalled the conversation with the king before coming here.