"Why don't you just kill me!"
"Calm down, Zari..."
The heavy sword in Zari's hand was broken, and his body was covered in wounds. Yet, thick-skinned and fleshy as he was, he continued to clamor. Beside him, Vincent, who looked equally wretched, was doing his utmost to dissuade Zari.
Nanoda sat atop a small hill made of piled-up soldiers, toying with the broken horn in her hand. She hadn't dealt a killing blow, merely knocking the soldiers unconscious; these were all precious human resources.
"I told you earlier. Since you won't offer compensation, I have no choice but to collect it myself."
"Is it over already?"
At the breach in the perimeter wall, Aura quietly poked her head out. Qual ignored Aura and walked straight in, with Linie following behind. Seeing everyone else enter, Aura quickly followed suit.
"Damn humans, it was you who stole the Scales of Obedience, wasn't it?"
As if sharing a telepathic bond, Aura sensed the Scales of Obedience she had spent day and night with.
Vincent suddenly remembered the scales tucked in his bosom. Heavens, that Demon actually said these were the Scales of Obedience!
Vincent understood instantly. He pinned down Zari, who was about to rush up and fight to the death.
"What are you doing?"
"I have a way to survive."
Vincent used a magic that imprisoned others upon touch, rendering Zari immobile.
"You!"
Zari looked at Vincent in disbelief. This guy actually used magic on one of his own.
Seeing that Zari was about to curse him, Vincent cast a silence magic on him as well.
"I am willing to offer everything we have. I beg you to spare our lives."
Taking the Scales of Obedience from his bosom and offering them up, Vincent bowed his head submissively.
"Those scales were mine to begin with!"
Aura argued on the basis of reason.
"So, what use are you?"
Nanoda realized that this human Mage dressed in green was a very clever fellow. He seemed to know she wouldn't deliberately kill valuable humans and was seeking a sliver of hope in a desperate situation.
"I can give you intelligence on the Empire, as well as appropriate support. If you don't believe me, you can use these Scales of Obedience to cast the Magic of Obedience on me."
Vincent's forehead was already sweating. Unlike that battle maniac Zari, he bore no great malice toward the Demon Race; right now, saving his life was the priority.
"Aura, use the Magic of Obedience on them."
Jumping down from the pile of people, Nanoda clapped her hands.
At this moment, Vincent discovered with astonishment that the Demon who had fled in panic back then was the rumored Aura the Guillotine. Could it be that she had fled on purpose? Just to catch everyone in one fell swoop?
After Aura distastefully finished casting the Magic of Obedience on everyone, she ran to the side to wipe her precious scales. Being touched by a human made her feel her scales were unclean.
"Qual, Linie, they count as my subordinates now. I do not permit you to kill them indiscriminately. Of course, if they try to disobey or betray, you may deal with them as you please."
"As you command."
Qual and Linie replied simultaneously.
Seeing this, Vincent breathed a sigh of relief and lifted the magic on Zari.
Immediately, Zari's fist, the size of a sandbag, smashed into Vincent's face, sending him flying and sliding a short distance.
"I think you are the lunatic! To actually associate with the Demon Race—if His Majesty finds out, we'll all die!"
Vincent, half his face starting to swell, struggled to crawl up from the ground. Zari's punch had been very solid.
"Cough, cough. In the future, you will thank me for my actions today. Do you think you're so tough? So what if you killed quite a few low-level Demons! Can you do anything against a Great Demon?! Without me, you would have died long ago!"
"You!"
Looking at the two arguing, Linie asked Qual.
"What are they doing?"
"This old one does not know, nor am I interested."
Qual shook his head.
"This is what humans are like."
Nanoda patted Linie's head. Linie tilted her head, lost in thought.
"Alright, stop arguing! Tell me, what are you doing here!"
Nanoda's expression turned solemn. Now was not the time to listen to these two bicker.
To the side, Qual was very cooperative. He fired a shot of Killing Magic at the half-broken sword in Zari's hand. The broken sword was instantly reduced to just a hilt, shocking the two arguing men into a cold sweat.
Vincent pushed away Zari, who still wanted to beat him, and honestly confessed the purpose of their trip.
Zari was also frightened by the Killing Magic. His arm holding the sword hilt trembled slightly, his previous arrogance completely gone.
At the border of the Gaderia Territory, war had fully erupted.
"Hold the line!"
Baron Aaron was currently issuing orders at the front lines.
Mannier's iron cavalry launched a charge toward the Gaderia soldiers holding large shields.
Because it was a frontier land, Gaderia could not afford to maintain cavalry. Aside from an elite guard unit of the Lord's Manor equipped with warhorses, most were infantry.
However, as a former bandit group, Gaderia could be said to have a population where everyone was a soldier. Within this territory, everyone except for children had joined this war, even some elderly people with missing limbs—veterans who had survived the war with the Demon Race.
"Archers! Loose arrows!"
A big sister with a scarf draped over her head drew her large bow to the full. A volley of arrows scattered out, weakening the momentum of the opposing cavalry somewhat.
This big sister was the very one who had previously sold fried bird eggs to Nanoda.
"Let me do it!"
Yuna, holding a staff that looked like a bright red spear, slapped her horse's back and rushed straight out. She hadn't learned to ride a horse for very long.
Facing the long spears right before their eyes, the soldiers holding large shields at the very front did not flinch. Behind them were their homes, their wives, and their children. They had to hold the line, even if it cost them their lives.
The black horse leapt over row after row of shields, arriving at the center of the battlefield. The Mannier cavalrymen, who were still charging, were somewhat confused. What was she trying to do?
The moment the cavalry were about to close in on Yuna, she activated Severance Magic with full force.
Horse legs were suddenly severed, and the charge was forcibly interrupted. The cavalry at the very front toppled sideways, and the rear cavalry still charging collided with those in front, instantly throwing men and horses into confusion.
The young girl stood in the center of the battlefield, her whole body trembling. Facing a spear thrust by an enemy stepping on his companion, Yuna dodged her head to the side while swinging the spear-staff in her hand. Accompanied by a bloody arc, she precisely sliced through the throat between the gaps in the armor.
In this moment, it was as if she were born for this battlefield.
"Kill!"
Seeing the momentum of the opposing cavalry weaken, Baron Aaron took the lead, guiding the army to switch from defense to offense!
Watching from the far rear, Earl Mannier gritted his teeth in anger.
"What did that fellow do? Was it magic?!"
Beside him, an adjutant lit a cigar for him. Earl Mannier took it and took a drag.
"Let the Mage unit act. I want to burn them all to dregs! Also, you can contact the Imperial Army coming to help us to flank them."
Looking at Yuna and Aaron charging and killing on the battlefield, Earl Mannier revealed a cruel smile.
____
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