"Madam Envoy," he reported, "Hel's lackeys have entered the trap."
The woman nodded, smiling coldly. "Yes, they've entered the workshop and even triggered the deliberately set summoning rituals. Those beasts must have torn them apart by now."
Hatred flashed in the chief's eyes. "Damn Hel, to launch a sneak attack on Asgard and harm Lady Skadi...unforgivable!"
"Being eaten alive is too good for them." But the chief hesitated and asked uncertainly: "Madam Envoy, can mere beasts really eliminate Hel's lackeys?"
"What are you afraid of? Even if they defeat those beasts, I'm still here," the woman said confidently, smiling.
But the chief hesitated. "Madam Iliya is gone...and there are those strange new monsters lurking around lately. What if they attack us now? And the fire giants..."
"The fire giants?" She laughed lightly. "After the thrashing we gave them last time, they won't dare attack again for at least ten years. There's nothing to worry about."
"As for Hel's envoys, they've probably peed themselves in fear of the magical beasts by now," the woman said with some pride. "After all, those creatures used to be the scariest monsters around before I captured them and brought them here to give those envoys a good scare..."
This workshop was a trap set by Chaldea. They used spatial displacement to turn the already giant workshop into an inescapable labyrinth.
The exits vanished. The rooms shifted around endlessly like a Rubik's cube - once you went in through one exit, you'd never know where the next one led. And lurking within were magical beasts, summoned through some rituals.
...
"This place is swarming with magical beasts and booby-trapped with offensive magecraft," said the Legion Commander anxiously. "It's incredibly dangerous, my king. Please, just stay here - if any harm comes to you, we'd never forgive ourselves, even in death!"
"Alright!" Shirou took a stool and plopped down.
Salter nodded. He probably knew that he shouldn't make these soldiers worry. And Salter understood why these soldiers were afraid - even battle-hardened veterans were still human. As long as they were human, fear was inevitable. Trapped in a labyrinth swarming with monsters and traps, that fear would be infinitely worse. So their terror was only natural. And Eternal King had clearly noticed this, which was why he'd readily agreed to stay put.
As expected of Eternal King! Salter felt a swell of admiration. She was just about to volunteer to slay some magical beasts herself when the Legion Commander suddenly drew his sword with trembling hands, turning to face his warriors with a flushed face.
"Brothers!" he shouted. "The time has come to prove ourselves!"
Hearing his words, the soldiers also started trembling, but their posture remained upright and imposing.
Salter was moved by their courage - Even while afraid and frightened, even while their bodies trembled violently, the soldiers still stood tall without a shadow of doubt. Even terrified, they were still warriors through and through. Salter was moved. Such excellent fighters shouldn't sacrifice themselves needlessly. Just as she prepared to step forward and let the soldiers rest while she fought in their stead, the Commander continued, his face still flushed:
"The King said he'll sit tight and leave those wenches to us...they're all ours now!"
"Ah-- Ah--" The soldiers were like teenagers watching Japanese adult videos, extremely excited with bulging neck veins, flushed faces, and their bodies surrounded by steam and mist. One soldier shouted out while trembling: "Commander! Give the order! We can't wait anymore!"
"Brothers-- Charge--!"
At the commander's shouted order, the soldiers drew their swords, scrambling to charge out. They trembled with flushed faces, as if rushing towards women rather than beasts.
Salter turned to Shirou, dumbfounded. "Weren't they afraid?"
"Afraid?" Hearing this, he looked at her with an "are you stupid?" face and said, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Shouldn't the ones afraid be the beasts?"
Salter: "????"
She was confused by his words.
Later, when Salter curiously observed the soldiers hunting, her worldview was utterly shattered. What unfolded was an extremely horrifying tragedy for the beasts!
It was a true tragedy. With her own eyes, she witnessed a small, helpless magical beast desperately fleeing in terror through several rooms, only to finally be cornered by four brawny men, smiling wolfishly with drool dripping from their mouths. The trembling creature, curled-up with frightened, pleading eyes was like a young maiden trapped in an alley by hoodlums!
She also saw eighteen soldiers relentlessly chase a single magical beast for hours until finally, still alive but utterly exhausted from fear, it collapsed and died. The look of despair in its tear-filled eyes is something Salter would never forget. What's more, she even witnessed thirty people fighting over ownership rights to a magical beast's corpse, literally tearing its body into thirty pieces...
She couldn't stand to look anymore. This was not war - it was an inhumane massacre! These soldiers were supposed to be moral, upstanding men of integrity. Yet when facing magical beasts, they had become horrifying. She recoiled at the barbaric scene, so disconnected from the conduct of honorable men. It was a vision she wished she could unsee. This was simply not human anymore, they were practically living demons!
This is simply a massacre, a tragic and miserable massacre!
"Damn it! It's all gone already? Who moved that quick? I only killed three! They're not even enough as appetizers!" Originally forthright though not rude, the frustrated Legion Commander dragged three corpses, cursing nonstop. Face flushed with dissatisfaction, he resembled a man interrupted at the climax of sex. Clearly, he felt vexed. However, one soldier was even more irritated.
"Commander, you did well to get three. I didn't even touch one fuzzy butt before they disappeared! It's been over fifteen hundred years since I last fondled one. I miss it so much..."
"Commander, can I touch those fuzzy butts?" one soldier asked.
"Piss off!" The Legion Commander kicked the soldier away with one foot. Did the guy really think he could just take the spoils of war that he had obtained? Did he want to die?
Seeing this, Salter's worldview crumbled.
After kicking the soldier away, the Legion Commander noticed Salter's absent-minded expression. He unconsciously hid more of his magical beast corpses behind himself. But hiding them seemed petty for a citizen of the Eternal Kingdom. He struggled with himself for a while. Finally, the Legion Commander selected the smallest corpse, placed it before Salter with fake enthusiasm, and patted his chest as he pretended to generously say: "Second Majesty from another world, we people of the Eternal Kingdom are very hospitable! Please, I bestow this magical beast to you!"
Salter looked at the corpse and immediately became speechless, asking: "What do I need this for?"
The Legion Commander looked puzzled. He pointed at the beast's furry behind and asked: "You don't want to touch this fine butt?"
"Why would I want to touch its butt?" Salter asked in exasperation.
"Oh," the Legion Commander couldn't help but feel secretly delighted that she didn't want the corpse. He said with a laugh: "It must be cultural differences. For us folks in the Eternal Kingdom, slaughtering magical beasts is what we love the most. And some people have particular preferences, of course. Take me for example - I enjoy touching their furry butts. It's one of the three great traditions all our Kingdom's men, whether young or old must have."
"If you don't mind me asking, what are these three... great traditions?" Salter asked carefully.
"Crossdressing, bromance, and slaying magical beasts. And my king is the strongest among all of us!" The Legion Commander declared with deep reverence.
Shirou felt his body turn cold. Could it be that Merlin was no longer satisfied with tormenting Kay and was now trying to tarnish his reputation?
...
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