SWNOVELXO Chapter 558
Chapter 558: I Allow It. (2)
Seeing the conscript soldiers crumble, the command staff of the Army of Atrode turned pale.
“What, what are you doing?! Get up! Get up and fight!”
The elite squad raised their weapons and moved to intimidate the conscripts.
However, as soon as the elite squad moved, the conscript soldiers crawled away in a panic. They ended up hiding behind the Ruthania Army instead.
The command staff of the Army of Atrode was baffled. They had never anticipated such a turn of events.
“…Is this really happening?”
“This isn’t about suppressing rebellious peasants…”
“What should we do?”
At first, it had looked promising. They thought the enemy would follow their intentions.
No matter how weak the conscripts were, their numbers could grow to thousands and tens of thousands, potentially capturing knights.
That was the power of numbers. They intended to use that power.
They aimed to kill all the conscripts just to inflict damage on the Ruthania Army.
Yet the enemy showed an unexpected leniency by allowing the conscripts to surrender voluntarily, acknowledging the insurmountable gap.
Ghislaine walked forward with a fierce grin. There were no conscript soldiers left to block his way.
“Why? Did you think I would kill you all as you desired?”
Ghislaine was the most resolute among everyone in war. He wouldn’t let anyone who tried to block his path get away.
That’s just how war was.
But if he could quickly kill the commander and end the combat, or force the enemies to surrender, Ghislaine was always that kind of person.
Not only would it reduce his allies’ casualties, he could also capture more enemy troops.
So even now, he was choosing not to kill.
He also didn’t like being dragged around by the enemy’s intentions.
“If I start a massacre here, you’ll keep sending people to block my way, won’t you?”
The Army of Atrode was already low on troops. Even if they lost here, it wouldn’t be so bad if all the conscripts died.
With the justification that if they didn’t fight, they would die, they could keep throwing more of their kingdom’s people into the fray.
To begin with, the Salvation Society never valued people’s lives. Isn’t that why they sacrificed people to create rifts?
“I’m not interested in killing weaklings.”
If that’s what the enemy wanted, he would want to do just the opposite even more.
“So I have to show you that this nonsense is pointless.”
“All of you, get up and clear the way. You’re blocking the advance. Flee; I allow it.”
His low but firm voice reached everyone.
The conscripts shot up and all ran to the side. Anyone might think they were all subjects of Ruthania.
Now the path was clear. The Ruthania Army gathered together and formed ranks.
The Ruthania Army, waiting from behind, also started to move slowly.
Heeheeheeing!
The Black King let out a long roar and charged forward. Ghislaine immediately mounted him and drew a spear hanging from the saddle.
“From now on, anyone who blocks my path will die.”
Chaang! Chaang! Chaang!
The knights and charge squads discarded their swords and drew their weapons. The mobile army turned the spearheads and reattached them.
The Army of Atrode could only watch helplessly without doing anything.
There were barely 20,000 armed soldiers left in the Army of Atrode. They were fearful given the overwhelming power difference.
The surrender and flight of their own conscript soldiers had a big impact on their morale.
Dududududududu!
Ghislaine started galloping on the Black King. Behind him followed the superhumans and the Ruthania Army.
At the command staff of the Army of Atrode, several fortress commanders had gathered. Among them, the highest-ranking Marquis Tabok shouted.
“Block them! Fight with all your might!”
The one who spoke promptly turned and fled. The guard knights accompanied him.
Seeing this, other fortress commanders and wizards around started to flee as well. They realized there was no way they could win.
The soldiers who were about to charge were left dumbfounded. Their morale was already low, and now the commanders were running away!
These were not even the kingdom’s main troops. They were less experienced and trained than the elite forces who had gone to Kingdom of Grimwell. They were barely better than the conscript soldiers.
As they began to panic and scatter, Ghislaine shouted loudly.
“If you don’t want to fight, get out of the way!”
Kwaaaah!
Ghislaine’s spear was enveloped in a red glow. From now on, anyone blocking his path was going to get obliterated.
The soldiers of Atrode quickly dodged to the side. With the commanders fleeing, there was no reason for them to stay and fight.
The ranks of the Army of Atrode split, creating a single path.
Dududududududu!
Ghislaine charged down that path.
“Everyone apprehend the prisoners and stand by!”
At that, the Ruthania soldiers following behind halted immediately. They surrounded the Army of Atrode and disarmed them.
Only Ghislaine pursued the fleeing commanders and wizards.
“Let’s run hard together, Kong.”
Fwoosh!
Ghislaine’s mana glowed a vivid red without the use of amplification. That mana surged forth, enveloping the Black King.
Tututututu!
The Black King’s hooves became rough. The duo of Ghislaine and the Black King shot forth as a single stream of red light.
Kwahhh!
It was the reappearance of the blood-drenched demon that had ravaged the northern barbarians.
Marquis Tabok, who had fled on horseback, glanced back and was petrified.
A figure cloaked in red energy was advancing at an incredible speed. It looked like an incarnation of a blood-soaked demon.
Who would dare to call the Salvation Society a demon?
The one who was determined to destroy this kingdom by toppling countless fortresses.
To him, that was the real demon.
“M-Block them! Stop that demon!”
The fleeing wizards and knights realized they couldn’t shake off their pursuers.
Thanks to the gathered forces from the fortresses, knights and wizards combined were close to 100 strong.
The guard knights of the fortress commanders were also all assembled.
Unfortunately, they all had low circles and couldn’t use high-circle magic, but still, they had 20 wizards.
The wizards unleashed their magical powers toward Ghislaine.
Paaaah!
Fireballs erupted from their hands. They didn’t truly expect their attacks to land. They merely intended to slow the enemy down.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ghislaine didn’t dodge the magic. He took it head-on. Of course, his speed didn’t slow down at all, and he didn’t sustain a single injury.
“He, heeek!”
The wizards were terrified. No matter how superhuman, getting hit by magic directly should have caused at least some shock.
Yet the enemy came charging forward as if nothing had happened. While one could attribute it to a superhuman, what kind of person can spew such words!
“We… we’re being caught!”
At someone’s shout, the knights turned to face Ghislaine and drew their swords.
The guard knights all gritted their teeth and rushed towards Ghislaine.
Their opponent was a superhuman, but they had numbers on their side. That was all they could cling to for hope.
Ghislaine’s red eyes glowed as he swung his spear wide.
Kwahhh!
“Graaah!”
The knights screamed as their bodies burst apart.
Even though they were knights, there was no way the remaining soldiers in the fortress had high levels. Most were junior knights. Only the leading commander of the guards might barely count as intermediate.
Thus, there was no chance they could withstand Ghislaine’s attack. More than half of them perished in a single strike.
Ghislaine didn’t stop and continued to charge forward.
Thanks to this, the surviving knights felt fortunate and tried to scatter in every direction to flee.
Fwoosh!
That was until Ghislaine summoned spears of magic and shot them outwards.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
“Cough…”
The knights and wizards trying to escape were impaled by the magic spears and died instantly.
Dududududududu!
Ghislaine kept running without looking back. Even though he set out much later, the commanders ultimately got caught up to.
“Huuh! I-I surrender!”
Screech!
“Please spare me!”
Screech!
“W-Wait a moment!”
Screech!
Ghislaine swung his spear, severing the heads of the commanders. In the end, the last one standing was Marquis Tabok.
As Ghislaine got right behind him, he jumped off his horse.
“Ughahaha!”
Thump!
Marquis Tabok rolled on the ground, an act driven by sheer terror.
“Noble! I am a high-ranking noble of the kingdom! Stop! Let’s talk! Let’s negotiate!”
Ghislaine eyed him with a fierce smile.
“How dare you pull such tricks in front of me? Did you think you could present those soldiers and it would mean anything?”
Ghislaine loved war. He savored throwing himself into dangerous challenges.
But that didn’t mean he enjoyed massacres. In fact, he despised killing the weak who had nothing to do with battle.
In his past life, Perdium had seen even the elderly and children slaughtered in combat.
Ghislaine had witnessed those corpses with his own eyes. He still remembered that pain and rage.
Yet to have someone force him to commit such heinous acts?
Marquis Tabok couldn’t comprehend what Ghislaine was saying. He groveled for his life.
“I-I was just following orders! I was merely protecting the kingdom! Isn’t this what war is about? Grant me the courtesy befitting a noble!”
Ghislaine looked down at Marquis Tabok with cold eyes. What on earth did these people think this war was about?
Do they still believe they can survive by clinging to noble customs?
“Is your version of war really about driving the weak to the brink?”
Ghislaine’s spear rose high.
“My war is about eradicating the Salvation Society, and everyone who collaborates with them.”
“W-Wait!”
Pwoosh!
The spear enveloped in red energy cleaved Marquis Tabok’s head in two.
With that, the battle concluded. For someone who was too foolish to recognize their reality, this was a fittingly empty end.
When Ghislaine turned around, the soldiers of the Army of Atrode had already been disarmed and taken prisoner.
“Send some troops back to reorganize with those remaining.”
Ultimately, the soldiers didn’t understand anything; they merely followed orders. The survivors would be adapted for maintaining public order and reconstruction efforts.
The Ruthania Army began their advance once more. There was no one left to block their way.
The allied forces were also advancing smoothly. The power dynamics were not even comparable. The Army of Atrode was just stalling for time.
As soon as they dealt with the remaining defenders in the capital, it would be done.
Ghislaine turned his head to gaze toward the Kingdom of Grimwell.
‘Is the sacred relic… really more important to you than this war?’
He still couldn’t comprehend it. Their obsession with the relic was so strong that they even pursued a disadvantageous strategy.
That weighed heavily on Ghislaine’s heart.
It felt like there was still some secret he didn’t know.
Unconsciously, he touched the Saint’s necklace.
*
“Hehehehe…”
In the Grand Hall of Castle Grimwell, Gathros laughed, covered in blood.
The remaining two pillars of the kingdom were indeed strong. But they couldn’t withstand the overwhelming forces of the Salvation Society and the Army of Atrode.
Ultimately, they succeeded in breaking into the castle and capturing the king.
“If only you had surrendered, it would have been an easy death.”
Muttering to himself, Gathros looked at the king of Grimwell, whose belly had been pierced and lay dead. But Gathros didn’t spare a glance at the corpse.
“Yes, this is it. This must be right.”
He gazed at a simple bracelet in his hand with a rapturous expression.
It was an incredibly plain bracelet. That’s why he was more convinced.
He had already seen a necklace in the Ruthania Kingdom.
There’s no way such a trivial item could be a royal treasure. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Grimwell had cherished it.
“If this really is the Saint’s bracelet…”
He would be able to find the true ‘king’ who led the Salvation Society.
No, even if they couldn’t find it themselves, the king would eventually come looking for them.
The ‘calling’ of this sacred object was precisely that.
However, he had to confirm whether it was indeed a sacred relic. If there had been a Holy Grail, it would have been easy to ascertain its authenticity, but it had already been taken by the Duke of Penris.
With bloodshot eyes, Gathros shouted.
“Bring in the sacrificial candidates right now! I will awaken the power of the relic with the blood of ten thousand!”
He was barely suppressing a mind on the verge of exploding.
Ever since failing in Ruthania, he had been in a state of anxiousness. Now, having finally obtained what seemed to be a sacred relic, he could not calm down easily.
Of course, there lingered a fear that this might not even be a sacred relic. Hope and worry constantly clashed within his heart.
“No, just kill everyone in this capital! Not a single living creature should be left behind! Gather all the blood!”
Gathros’s frenzied cries filled the Grand Hall.
Soon, in the center of the capital of Grimwell, the priests of the Salvation Society began to create a massive magic circle.
And…
A massacre began, killing every single resident in the area.