Chapter 1, Episode 14: Ma.s.sacre

The commander led an army of 3,000 which was spread across the national border.

His name, is Bail Narmer Lichtein. Third son of the duke family who holds the t.i.tle of viscount at the age of 27.

He had an extravagant tent set up at headquarters, and was enjoying some wine inside.

However, after receiving a report from a subordinate, he came out from the tent and looked towards the cliffs.

「Ohh… I can’t make out the face clearly, but I definitely see the crimson hair.」

His toned upper body was bare, and his lowered body was dressed in gaudy silk adorned with gold and silver.

He had the same dark skin as the other soldiers, but had a well endowed physique and a clearly distinguished atmosphere compared to the others.

「As long as she’s as beautiful as they say, I don’t need ransom money. I’ll make her my slave.」

Seeing the soldiers with their s.h.i.+elds readied on the path between the cliffs, he snickers, wine in hand.

「Haha, look. They’re going to fight against these numbers.」

「Is that not a problem? We are not able to exploit our advantage in numbers with that.」

「I don’t care how many rank and file soldiers we lose. We can replace them as soon as we regroup with our main forces. Pay no mind and charge.」

「Understood.」

As the aide sent orders to the 1st division, they began their advance as they kicked up a cloud of dust.

Then, he sent orders to the archery unit waiting behind them, and in the blink of an eye, arrows filled the sky. They were ineffective though.

Immediately, the 1st division clashes with the enemy. The angry voices shake the air and reach the commander.

「Hmm. So ordinary methods won’t work, will they…?」

His opponent is the Sixth Imperial Princess, and protecting her, are elite Imperial forces.

Even their morale is likely beyond average.

After a bit of thought, Viscount Lichtein raised his hand. Noticing this, his aide ran to him.

After taking a sip of his wine, he opened his mouth with an air of superiority.

「We obtained a map when we defeated that run down fort, right?」

「Yes, though it isn’t the most up to date…」

「Then use that to take the enemy’s rear.」

「Understood. I will form a unit from the 3rd division.」

「No… take 500 from headquarters. Split them into groups of about 100 so the enemy doesn’t take notice.」

「That would cause our headquarters to be short handed.」

「That’s fine. Either way, our opponents are holed up over there. We’ll be at a loss if they pick up on the 3rd division’s movements and escape.」

「As you wish.」

The aide salutes by striking his left shoulder with his right hand, and immediately begins to take action.

After breaking his gaze, Viscount Lichtein turns his attention to the crimson-haired girl.

「So, position, vigor, morale, they’re superior in all those aspects… But, we have more hands to play, Sixth Imperial Princess. How should I crush you to make you suffer?」

Viscount Lichtein silently watched the battlefield for a while, but he snorted in displeasure as he saw the 1st division dwindle in numbers.

「How unsightly. Maybe I should have attacked some towns or villages to raise our morale…」

He waved his hand to brush away a cloud of dust and called for his aide.

「Fire the arrows. I don’t care if they hit our men.」

「Yes, my lord!」

「Also, we have 200 Imperial soldiers as prisoners, right? Line them up on the frontline.」

「I shall prepare them right away!」

Viscount Lichtein executes the prisoners who were lined up as instructed.

He indifferently cuts off their heads to shake the Sixth Imperial Princess’s heart, but he is unable to suppress his shock at the fact that the soldiers die without so much as letting out a scream.

「Hah, as expected of soldiers of the Empire which reigns supreme in this world. So they won’t let out a single scream even when faced with the fear of death. Though admirable… this is one thing I cannot tolerate.」

He waits for the enemy to come charging in with rage.

He would’ve prefered them to cry out, but because they were bearing with it, all it did was raise the morale of his opponents and rendered his plan meaningless.

He was hoping for her surrender, but he saw no such signs from the Sixth Imperial Princess.

「How dull. Kill them all, and bring her here.」

Unable to even resist, the 200 soldiers were slowly killed by having their chests pierced through, throats gouged out, and limbs cut off. The blood flowing from the dead bodies began to quench the great pond’s thirst.

Then, a man with a large scar on his face was brought before Viscount Lichtein.

『Dios?!』

The crimson-haired young girl held her arm back as she gazed in bewilderment.

Viscount Lichtein’s face warps in joy.

He was so sincerely enjoying himself that he couldn’t help but grab his sides and laugh out loud.

「Hehe, hahahaha, ahh… good! What a splendid voice. So you finally cry out for me!」

Viscount Lichtein stepped on Dios’s head as he was gritting his teeth in frustration. He was now certain of his victory.

Hiro was sitting atop a rock and staring at the ground.

His head was racing with thoughts of his own foolishness for being a hindrance.

For what purpose did he come to this world? Why was he so powerless?

He isn’t even able to fight for her with his one and only skill of being able to see well.

(I wonder… Why did I come here?)

He was told to escape to Baum, but he didn’t feel like moving at all.

Maybe it was because his feelings were leaning towards the girl who was in a separate place.

The image of her sad smile floats in the back of his mind. He wanted to hear her say that she wanted him to fight with her.

Even if it was an unwinnable fight, he hadn’t been able to repay her for taking care of him in this world.

(But… if we ended up fighting, I’m sure I would’ve been frozen in fear.)

That alone would be fine, but she might get hurt trying to protect him.

Hiro shook his head and looked up at the sky. Intense rays of light beat down on the thirsty pond.

The humid air made him irritated, and he became so uncomfortable he couldn’t speak.

(… What should I do now?)

He comes down from the rock, and regretfully looks over his shoulder. She’s at the end of the this road.

The battle’s probably begun right about now.

Facing 3,000 with less than 100 is hopeless.

But Liz is strong. Even from a layman’s eyes, that is certain.

Hiro prayed to the Spirit King that she would be able to safely meet with Margrave Grinda.

He closed his eyes, as if to abandon his feelings of regret, and quickly left that place.

But he soon came to a stop.

(… What’s this? People?)

He heard the footsteps of a large group of people, and at the same time, the wind carried over the sound of voices.

As he hides himself in the shadows of rocks, he sees a group of people he recognizes coming out from the s.p.a.ce between the cliffs.

『Is this right?』

『Yeah. This side is Baum territory. We should be able to take the Sixth Imperial Princess’s rear if we continue south along this wall.』

『Isn’t there a village around here?』

『Bear with it.』

『We picked a fight with that Empire. This won’t be worth it if we can’t capture at least three slaves.』

He couldn’t get a grasp of how many there were, but a large number of soldiers came bustling out from the shadows.

They were Lichtein soldiers. They all had well trained bodies, and while shamelessly displaying their dark skin, they continued along the road which Hiro came from with smug looks on their faces.

『After we capture the Sixth Imperial Princess, we’ll just burn down the villages in the area. You can look forward to that.』

『The Sixth Imperial Princes, huh… So, you think we’d get in trouble if we had a taste?』

『Well, our heads would probably go flying no doubt.』

『I hope she’s really worth all this.』

Hiro jumped out from the shadows of the rocks and blocked the path of the group who was walking along laughing boorishly.

The enemy soldiers showed signs of tension for a bit, but they quickly let their guard down.

One can only image the absurd terror in the young boy who appeared before them, legs shaking in fear.

『… A lost kid?』

『What the h.e.l.l, it’s a guy. I would’ve make him cry if he was a girl.』

The cra.s.s soldier blatantly dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

However, he put his hand on his chin and stared at Hiro.

『But, he’s got a pretty nice face on him. He might do well with people with that preference. Should we capture him?』

『No, he’ll just get in our way. Let’s kill him and go.』

It would be troublesome if they were reported to Baum, too. The serious soldier muttered as he drew his reverse blade sword.

『Alright, alright. Then I’ll take care of it real quick, so you guys watch. Or do you guys want to make a bet?』

The soldiers in the rear immediately shouted with joy.

『We’re not making any bets.』

『The brat will die and that’s that. Let’s go already.』

『Don’t take too long. His Excellency will kill us.』

『I know. Give me a second.』

The cra.s.s man grabbed Hiro’s left shoulder.

He thrust the spear he had in his right hand into the ground, unsheathed and drew his reverse blade sword in its place, and pressed it firmly against Hiro’s nape.

『Are you so scared you can’t even make a sound? Don’t worry, you probably won’t feel a thing. I’ll cut through this thin neck no problem.』

The cra.s.s man begins to pull his right arm back. He was trying to create a distance to swing down with force.

Maybe it was out of fear, but Hiro’s body was trembling in small bursts.

Looking down on him and seeing that, the cra.s.s man’s smile widened as he imagined what sort of scream he would hear from Hiro.

「… I’m sorry.」

Hiro muttered.

『It’s too late to beg for your life now.』

The cra.s.s man patted Hiro on the shoulders to comfort him, then tried to brandish his sword, full of strength— But, his arm didn’t move.

The cra.s.s man looks in bewilderment to where his arm used to be and realizes there is nothing there past his right shoulder.

『Ahh! Wh-Why?! MY AAAAARM!』

Psh—

He places his hand over the wound to try to stop the gus.h.i.+ng blood, but the blood pours out from between his fingers and doesn’t stop.

『AaaaAAAHHHhhhhhh—!』

The head of the man suffering intense pain tumbled across the ground.

The young boy looks down on him with ice cold eyes.

Hiro was holding the man’s arm, and in the hand of that man’s arm was a reverse blade sword smeared in blood.

The blood dripping from the arm is absorbed by the ground.

「… Ahh.」

Hiro was certain he heard a sound within himself.

「… I see.」

An ominous sound, like something breaking, echos within his body.

There was no turning back now. It was likely completely broken.

「I…」

It feels as if every inch of his mind is starting to clear. It feels good.

He pulls out the spear which was pierced into the ground.

『d.a.m.n brat!』

He pierced through the chest of the approaching enemy.

He steals the sword off the enemy’s hip as he’s about to fall.

『Huh—?!』

He severs the head of the next enemy.

He feels strength spreading to every joint in his body.

『Who are you, b.a.s.t.a.r.d?! Surround him!』

Again, he butchers an enemy and steals his spear, mowing down the enemies to his side.

Three of the enemy soldiers’ heads danced in the air.

The wall which was suppressing the young boy had completely disappeared.

He can tell his mind is clearing.

He can tell his body is getting lighter.

He can tell his five senses are sharpening.

The young boy— He realized he had returned to his former self.

He clenched his fists 2, 3 times to make sure.

「…」

There were no emotions in the abyss of those eyes. There was only a void.

Just a dark…

Deep…

Cold void.

—The curtains to a ma.s.sacre had risen.