118. Feast (5)

From noble mtl dot com

Hurriedly pierced the heart of the hesitant cultist.

“Chehehe… !”

The image of him dying with his eyes wide open.

Even a sword master loses his breath momentarily when his throat is cut or his heart is gouged out.

There’s nothing different about that chi.

After I dealt with the one remaining, I quickly retrieved my sword to escape.

Unfortunately, the remaining year ended with a loud voice with the sword held high.

“Yes, you bastard!”

She came running, spurring her ground with a simple motion.

Movement of someone who has never been professionally trained. The only thing that stood out was the courage to attack the man who killed three of his comrades in an instant without hesitation.

And to my regret, not even her courage could overcome the vast gap between her and me.

Slowly!

Avoiding the sloppy stabbing sword, I counterattacked.

The feeling of cutting through the skin felt like a grip. A deep cut would soon take her breath away.

The problem is that she is not a woman whose future is in front of her eyes.

“These are the people who have our great plans in their eyes! Hurry up and grab it!”

“Four members of our family died in an instant! Watch out for that guy with the sword over there!”

With that loud voice, the eyes of those who were quietly checking the magic circle in front of the castle wall were fixed here.

They all began to come in droves, all dressed in bloody murder. I’m guessing these aren’t b*tches who are fanatical about the devil. A ghastly ghost shone in their eyes.

“Shione-sama, please come this way.”

In the first place, I am also her escort. Ravi’s side is okay, but being next to me is the most reassuring. I led Shione, who was relatively ahead of me, to my side.

The mage from the other team belatedly joined the retreat I had pierced. As the number of people increased rapidly, the behavior of those cult b*tches became sluggish. Also, the sudden increase in the number of people seems to have become a burden to them.

If you’re going to run away, now is the best time.

“How about going backwards like this? It is a sufficient achievement to find out only this amount of information.”

“… If possible, it would be better to subdue them here and capture some alive. Now that the magicians of the Marquis of Allenar are with us, it shouldn’t be difficult. Can you help me a little more, Sir Ravi Crunell?”

“You can easily subdue such pathetic people. Furthermore… I think it would be good to check that magic circle immediately. At first glance, things are not unusual.”

“… If you do, please do so.”

“I will finish it quickly. Please feel free to watch from behind.”

The battle that followed was neatly resolved by four wizards, led by Ravi.

They are wizards specializing in warfare. Not only was he good at bombarding with magic from the rear, but he was also a wizard capable of melee combat. Appropriate response and just the necessary level of magic followed.

And as a result, he couldn’t even become a demon due to his fanaticism for demons. Those who obtained insignificant demons in return had no choice but to collapse helplessly.

Only two fanatics survived. They were completely overpowered and unconscious, rolling on the cold dirt floor.

Shione, who had been quietly watching the battle beside me, slowly walked forward and said.

“I saved people to interrogate, and only the magic circle engraved on the wall remains.”

Shione’s gaze turned to the castle wall.

The round magic circle was filled with geometric drawings. The intricately intertwined lines indicated that it was not intended for plain magic.

“Let me check.”

The first person to check the magic circle was Ravi Crunell. The wizards who had finished the battle followed behind her.

How long has it been?

Ravi walked towards us with her hard face.

“… She has finished tracking down the spell.”

“Can you tell me?”

“Yes, of course. The drink is—”

Ravi’s voice went cold.

“Vibration, Explosion, and Maximization. Apparently, they tried to break down the wall of the count’s family.”

“Treaking down the county’s castle… ….”

Whoops…….

The rumbling winter wind brushed her hood, revealing Shione’s face.

Her expression was cold. Up until recently, the young lady who burst into laughter at trivial pranks and enjoyed the festival could not be found anywhere.

Of course.

Tried to breach the walls of her own family. I realized that it was not just a group of people, but cultists who were all crazy people.

It’s only natural to be concerned about how much backstabbing is involved in this.

Shione approached the castle wall and raised her hand over her magic circle.

“Sir, can you destroy this magic circle?”

A cold, angry voice.

Ravi Crunelle just silently nodded at Sione’s words.

After the wizards’ labor was over, what was left for us was to return to the count’s house.

* *

“Hmm…… “

As soon as she returned to the count’s place, Sione handed over the prisoner to her soldiers, then changed her clothes and headed to Ainel.

Following her order to wait a moment, I looked back at what had happened today in her room alone.

Damn devil worshipers showed up at none other than Countess Cianella. Not only this, but they were plotting to destroy the tall castle wall of the count’s family. Coincidentally, why? Recently, the territory was even swept away by orcs who descended from the Beltrin Mountains once.

Suspicious, suspicious.

Because I know that this world has an affair in the hands of the devil.

The evil deeds of the cultists and the rampage of the monsters who become the army of demons in case of emergency are inevitably more annoying.

“… Driving me crazy.”

Although it is certain that someday the devil will tear up the dimension and go wild.

It’s only when I see a portent like this. Doesn’t it sound like a clamor, as if the day is not far away?

No matter how much it is, as long as I don’t fight alongside Siabelle and Sione. A state in which only the most lame abilities were not opened.

In this situation, what would happen if the devil really crawled out and invaded the count’s family?

The gentle irritation makes me frown.

As I was immersed in some deep thought, a woman trudged into the quiet room.

“Haa… ….”

Upon returning to her room, Shione’s empty sigh was heard.

Her deep hidden listening to her, where all her negative emotions gathered together and stagnated, also made it possible to feel the emotions she harbored.

“Did you wait a long time?”

Shione laughed helplessly.

Then she sat down on the seat in front of me as if collapsing.

Then, she looked at me for a moment and then untied the hairpin I bought today that was stuck in my bangs.

She clenched her fist as she stared at the small ornament on her hand.

“I was looking forward to the festival a lot… ….”

Unlike her shoulders, which were infinitely high when she first went out to Yeongji Road. Now she was drooping and withered.

“… Sorry.”

I stared at her like that.

Why is she? She couldn’t easily make eye contact with me.

I let go with a small sigh.

“From now on, don’t do dangerous things recklessly.”

“Yes… ?”

“I told you. Sione is more important to me than Cianella.”

“Sir… ….”

“The results aren’t bad, but I’ll pass… Because they set foot in slums where security is not stable, and there were even skirmishes. This is the last one okay?”

Shione nodded her head softly.

After that, I continued to nag for a while.

Shione is dead. I’ve talked about it so far that it stuck in my ears, so I won’t act recklessly from next time.

After roughly finishing the instruction, I just stroked her hair with her head bowed so low that I could see the top of her head.

Then, Shione raised her head and looked at me.

“My anger is gone… ?”

Looking at it now, as the nagging got longer, it seemed that he had listened to it for some time and was waiting blankly for my story to end.

I pinched my cheek at her disgusting appearance.

“Ooh!”

* *

Ainel Cianella was deep in thought.

After Shione went to my office, Ravi Crunell. And she called her colleagues who were with her to share her story. As a result, I heard a very troubling story.

Cultists currently being interrogated in the dungeon of the Count’s residence. While waiting for their statement, she was thinking about how to handle the situation.

It was in the middle of that.

“The scouting party has returned from the Beltrin Mountains!”

Finally, the long-awaited news came to the count family.

Those who were sent to confirm the ominous commotion in the mountains and to check the safety of the first dispatched scouting party.

When did you send it? They returned only after the biggest festival in the territory began.

“Ask the returnees to stop by here.”

I was waiting with anticipation for the news they would bring.

But soon, that expectation was shattered.

The appearance of the person who entered the office was miserable.

His entire body was slashed with blood. What happened to her left eye? The place where the eyes should be was empty.

He bowed by bending one knee as if he were about to collapse on his wobbly legs.

“Tiya, a ranger belonging to Countess Cianella… ! Report it to the head of the household!”

The Ranger’s voice reminded me of rusty metal.

“A total of thirty rangers and soldiers belonging to the count family! Alive… Only one…… !”

“A total of 15 combat priests and ordinary priests belonging to the Holy See! The priest is also the only survivor… !”

“Out of the total of forty-five, two people, including myself, succeeded in reviving!”

These are the elites who have been picked and picked. What do you mean when they are not people who will die easily anywhere?

Moreover, the church supported not only general priests, but also combat priests for this dispatch. Those who have more vitality than ordinary soldiers, and who show more daring and superior military power, also die. Only one survived?

I didn’t understand easily. No, what the hell happened. I couldn’t even imagine.

From noble mtl dot com

“… What happened in the mountains?”

“… ….”

Tiya couldn’t answer carelessly.

She looked into her past through empty eye sockets.

Gulp.

She swallowed her saliva and finally spoke her words.

“The mountain range has been occupied by the enemy. The lofty mountains will no longer be our shield.”

“Please explain in more detail.”

“We had an inevitable battle with dozens of mines we encountered in the mountains. Gradually deep in the mountains, cornered. In the end, all the survivors of the search and reconnaissance team could see it with their own eyes.”

Wow!

The fountain pen in Ainel’s hand broke.

“Mine… ….”

Where the hell is this place?

Do you mean that those who worship the cunning yet evil devil will step in?

Despite Ainel’s reaction, Tiya quietly continued her words.

“What kind of tricks did those who had demonic powers use? Numerous monsters gathered from the Demonic Realm were gathering in the mountains. In the worst case, it is judged that they can invade the territory.”

Beltrin Mountains.

In the past, when Siabelle and Sione went to clear it, they found and destroyed an altar of devil worshipers.

Since then, we have been constantly dispatching knights and soldiers to check the situation. How could the devil’s janitors do such a thing?

… The only time he didn’t look at the mountain range was when he went up to the capital for the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony.

After returning to the Count’s family, when he received the report, there was little talk about the mountain range. For a while, I couldn’t find any abnormal signs in the mountains. When Siabelle ruled the territory instead, it would have been more important to subdue the monsters that invaded the territory and cause trouble than the mountain range.

… I should have told you about the mountain range. It was a mistake.

While thinking that, the ranger’s voice embraced a creepy word.

“It would be good to prepare for war.”

Intangible pressure began to pour out of Ainel Cianella. Her eyes burn brightly

“Did you say it was a war?”

“… Yes. They were slowly marching out of the mountains, into the lands, into our homeland. As long as you don’t break the road on the way—”

The Ranger bowed his head.

“They will come here.”

Ainel closed her eyes.

The magic circle that the wicked b*tches carved on the castle wall. Did you say that it was only magic to break down the castle wall?

It’s cunning. Doesn’t the story just fit?

This was the worst news.

It was as Dioria said.

Before the storm. There could be no word more appropriate for the current situation than this.

Ainel quietly put her broken fountain pen aside from her, took out her new pen and paper, and wrote in one stroke. After she put the period, she put the paper on expensive stationery while putting the seal that was only allowed for the head of the count’s family.

“Deliver this letter to the church.”

“Yes, I will tell you urgently.”

With the maid politely receiving her letter from Ainel, she hurried out.

Drruck.

Ainel also followed her and raised her body.

It was then. The Ranger, who had been lowering her head, opened her mouth again.

“There is one thing I want to ask for.”

“If it’s something you want to ask for.”

“… There is a friend of mine not far away. So that we can at least collect her corpse—”

“… I’ll give you two soldiers. Please fix it quickly.”

“Thank you… !”

After that, Ranger left the office.

Ainel threw her heavy coat over her body and looked out the window at her.

Unlike the shady room, the weather outside was indeed clear.

She was looking at the world with colder eyes than ever before.

“Once… I’ll have to wipe out all the flying flies in the territory.”

If the words of the ranger are true, war is inevitable.

The crossroads connecting the demonic realm and the kingdom are exactly this point. There is only one count. If they don’t come here, where the hell are they going?

Signs of war that I found out too late.

All you can do is finish all the preparations you can do now, even if you pick up a sword instead of a pen.