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“complete victory”
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In the pitch-black darkness, the sound of horse hooves and the clanking of iron faintly echoed. Cavalrymen dressed in jet-black armor slowly advanced through the streets of the capital.
They moved at a leisurely pace, as if they were sightseeing, glancing around and checking something with every step.
“The stench of death is overwhelming,” one of the cavalrymen muttered. It was Rishima, one of Kunogen’s subordinates.
“Yeah, they must have slaughtered the people of the capital beyond expectation. Dawn will be terrifying,” he replied.
“I wouldn’t have expected such words from Lord Basam,” Rishima commented.
“Well, even I dislike unpleasant things. In the midst of piles of corpses and the pervasive stench of death, who can stomach breakfast?” he remarked.
“Worried about breakfast, are you? Quite the character, haha,” a laugh escaped from within the knight group.
“Nevertheless, it feels like we’re traversing an uninhabited wilderness. This area is a residential district for the townsfolk, but I can’t see a single person. I can sense their presence, though.”
“That’s probably because we’re dressed in such intimidating armor. Even if they understand, they won’t approach us,” he replied.
“Indeed, you’re right,” Linos agreed.
Looking at the granary area on their right and the residential district on their left, they continued to advance slowly. The road split into two ahead. Taking the right path would lead them to the West Gate, while the left path would take them to the main gate of the royal castle. Without hesitation, we chose the right path and headed towards the West Gate.
A bonfire was burning at the West Gate and could be seen clearly from a distance. By the way, light was also leaking from the building near the Southern Gate, which served as the headquarters of the royal army. It too was visible from afar.
“They don’t seem to have set up any traps. Are they really just a bunch of idiots?” Rishima wondered.
“Rishima, don’t say that. I think they’re serious. Well, probably,” Linos replied.
Laughter erupted once again from the knight group.
Upon reaching the West Gate, they found the gatekeeper lying on the ground. Several soldiers quickly dismounted their horses and approached, ending their lives.
“Rishima, I leave it to you!”
“Leave it to me!”
Rishima and his companions entered the area lined with knight mansions. With the remaining soldiers, they closed the gate of the West Gate.
“Indeed, the Fairy Dragons are something else. They did a great job,” I praised.
They had released paralyzing scales from the sky. Since it was done from above, it took some time for the effects to take hold. I was slightly worried that there might be resistance, but it turned out to be unnecessary concern.
The Lamaron army had originally stayed in the area where the knight mansions were located. Some mansions had been destroyed by civil war and their invasion, but quite a few were still usable. They forcibly occupied those mansions. And after waiting for 30 minutes, Rishima returned.
“Lord Basam, it’s taken care of. There was no resistance, and it was a simple task. Now, about…”
His gaze fell upon several dozen women. All of them were wearing tattered clothes. Some were crying, while others had vacant looks in their eyes. I couldn’t help but avert my eyes.
“For now, let’s use healing magic,” I said, casting my most potent healing magic on them.
“With this, their bodies should be restored. Find a place for them to rest until dawn. Treat them with utmost care,” I instructed.
The women were handled delicately by the soldiers, as if they were precious treasures, and they disappeared towards the merchant district. As I watched their departure, I used earth magic to dig a massive hole next to the West Gate.
“Alright, bury the soldiers from the West Gate here,” I commanded.
“Lord Basam! We can see torches approaching from the west!”
I left the handling of the West Gate soldiers to others and hurriedly climbed up to the West Gate.
The torches were getting closer from a distance. Using my perception ability, I sensed that there were about 300 of them.
“You lot, it’s the enemy returning. Prepare to greet them,” I ordered.
The torches grew larger and larger, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves and clanking armor.
“Open the gate! Open it! It’s Lord Vue’s return! Open the gate!”
They were banging on the city gate loudly. I leaned out from the top of the city wall and called out, “Who might you be?”
“What are you doing? Open it! Hurry up!” they shouted.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“You fools! It’s Vice Captain Vue Reylic, obviously! Open it quickly!” they retorted.
“Alright, alright. We’ll open it right away,” I responded.
I gestured to Rishima and the others to open the gate.
The gate slowly opened. The awaiting troops led by Reylic entered the city. Rishima and the others welcomed the Lamaron army, encircling them in formation.
Once everyone had entered the city, the gate was closed. Upon closer inspection, I noticed women riding on horseback or on soldiers’ shoulders. Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two individuals. There seemed to be groups of ten or more women.
A cavalryman at the center of the formation removed his helmet and looked around in confusion.
“What’s going on? Why are there so many people here? What happened?… Hey, someone report!” he demanded.
“Vue Reylic,” a cavalryman holding his helmet under his arm turned around and spoke.
“You’re Vue Reylic, aren’t you? Don’t kill this one. Don’t kill the women. Do it!”
At the moment my command was given, the swords of Rishima and the others flashed. The soldiers fell without even a chance to scream. They calmly struck the vital points of the Lamaron soldiers, one after another. Helpless, the army of 300 dwindled to less than half in no time.
“What are you all doing? What are the others doing? This is mutiny! It’s mutiny! Fight back! Fight back!”
Reylic shouted madly. However, in the meantime, all the infantry were defeated, and the cavalry were also cut down one by one. Only around 30 cavalry remained to protect Reylic.
“What is this? What the hell are you doing? Why would you do something like this?”
“Vue Relic.”
Reylic turned around again, panting heavily. His eyes were bloodshot.
“Who are you…?”
“I am Basam Daake Linos. I have come from the Hideita Empire to recapture the capital city. You see that big hole over there? It’s your grave.”
Reylic’s eyes widened.
“Do it!”
In an instant, the cavalry protecting Reylic were slain, and he was struck from all directions, helpless, and thrown off his horse.
“Damn… all of you… don’t think you can get away with this for free…”
“Oh, really? What’s going to happen?”
As I approached Reylic, who had been stripped of his armor and was now naked, I spoke while descending from the castle gate.
“My army will surely…”
“Then let’s go see.”
Commanding the soldiers to throw the fallen Lamaron soldiers into the large pit and ordering them to protect the women brought by the Lamaron soldiers, although they didn’t seem to be injured, I decided to cast recovery magic on them for the time being. All the women were young, some even children. I glared at Reylic with cold eyes. He averted his gaze from me and looked down.
With me, Rishima, and a few other cavalrymen, we advanced through the Knight’s Mansion town, accompanied by Reylic. Reylic was stripped naked and bound with his hands tied behind his back, rendering him unable to move.
“Where… where did the soldiers… where did they go?”
“They are all in the mansion that was used as their barracks, peacefully sleeping for a long time.”
“You fools… how dare you do this to our elite forces…”
“If you want, shall we go and see? The battle lasted about 30 minutes, if I recall correctly. It ended quickly.”
Reylic was speechless.
After a while, a cavalryman arrived from the direction of the south gate.
“My lord, it has been completed.”
“Good work. The west gate has also been secured. Are there any injured?”
“No, everyone is unharmed. However, we couldn’t find anyone resembling a commander.”
“I see. Well, Kunogen and the others will take care of that.”
“By the way, what about this man…”
“Ah, his name is Reylic. He’s the vice-captain, it seems. He probably went to raid the nearby village for provisions. He kindly brought back some women, but we caught him red-handed. Since he’s a vice-captain and likely knows a lot, I decided to spare his life.”
“Impressive. Then, may I ask Reylic some questions?”
“Sure. Permission granted.”
“Hey, you had a commander, didn’t you? Where did he go?”
“…”
Reylic turned away, completely ignoring us.
“My lord, may I torture him?”
“No, that would be a waste of time and energy. Leave it to me.”
We continue walking slowly. And when we arrived, the southern gate was in a pristine state, without a speck of dust. I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Well, the soldiers at the southern gate were quickly taken care of… The units in charge of the barracks and the kingdom’s military headquarters had nothing to do until their operation was completed, so they were cleaning.”
“What about the cleanup of the other Lamaron soldiers?”
“That hasn’t been done yet.”
“I see. We can take care of that later. Don’t worry about it.”
“My lord!”
A horse rushes in from the southern gate. This one is also one of Kunogen’s subordinates.
“We have captured six individuals who appear to be Lamaron, floating down the river on a raft. We will transport them now, so I need to borrow a horse.”
“Ah, I see. Please do. Are you all okay? I’m just about finished here. Let Kunogen know to take it easy and come back.”
“Understood!”
Having said that, the man races his horse back to the southern gate.
“Practically no casualties, huh?”
“Yes, that’s right. By the way, with these six individuals that Kunogen and I captured, there are a total of seven surviving Lamaron… It’s an incredibly significant victory.”
Resting his chin on his hand, Rishima calmly analyzes the situation.
Upon hearing our conversation, Reylic trembles and manages to squeeze out his words.
“What kind of beings are you all, making the Imperial Empire’s finest, our Matokar unit, completely annihilated overnight… Could it be, you truly are the Demon King?”
“We are not the Demon King or anything of the sort. Just ordinary men. Rest assured. We may have sealed your fate, but it’s not because you are weak.”
Once again, I direct my gaze towards Reylic.
“We are just too strong.”