bookpower Chapter 165 : Chapter 165
Chapter 165 : Chapter 165
The relationship between monsters and humans is quite complex yet simple.They are beings who share the same land, yet they have never lived in peace with each other since the beginning of time.
'Monsters' were always the invaders, and humans were always the victims—the ones being massacred.
Humans who couldn't live in the cities and were driven out to the border villages.
Humans who had originally lived in the border villages.
Other humans who lived in the border villages for their own reasons.
They were especially in a position to worry about and fear monster attacks. It was the same for the humans of the Plank Kingdom and for the humans of the great powers on the continent and islands.
At least the humans living in the cities could receive the protection of the castle walls and soldiers. But even they feared monster attacks when they traveled outside the cities.
Humans were always in a position to become food and amusement for monsters.
It was regrettable, but that was the reality.
However, right now on the Ness Plains and the nearby Monster Mountains.
The exact opposite situation was unfolding.
—Kill them!!
—Ki, kieeek! Humans! They're chasing us!
—Chase them! Don't let a single one escape alive!
—Soldiers! Get excited! Get angry! The enemy is weak! You are strong!
—If you let one escape, your daughter and wife could one day become a monster's plaything!
—No mercy is needed! No prisoners are needed! Knights, you too, forget your honor and become slaughterers!!
—The king has commanded! Death to the enemy!!
—Death!!
As if they were taking revenge for all the times they had suffered at the hands of monsters in their past lives.
And as if they were determined to destroy their fear of monsters.
The Plank Kingdom's army on the Ness Plains, the 'Royal Guard Knight Order', was in a frenzy to completely wipe the monsters off this land.
—Keoheok....... I...... I can't die yet......!
—He-Heman! You bastard!!!
In this chaotic battlefield, it wasn't only the monsters who were dying.
No matter how much the Plank Kingdom's army was in the position of 'slaughterer', the monsters didn't just stand by and take it.
Just as humans had resisted monsters, the monsters naturally resisted the slaughterers to survive.
A pure battlefield where blood, flesh, bone fragments, and rage ran rampant.
On that battlefield, there was a being that was the most brilliant and terrifying.
A brightly shining crown, and a knight in a red cape—
It was King Leonardo.
Chwaak—! Puk!!
"Krrreuk......!"
The king, who cut off a Troll's left leg in a single blow and plunged his sword into the skull of the unbalanced bastard.
He was covered head to toe in the blood of monsters. To the point where his sublimely shining armor was unrecognizable.
It was clear that King Leonardo had already killed hundreds of monsters, yet he showed no signs of fatigue.
He only ran forward and slaughtered monsters.
"Ah...... ah, it's a demon! A demon has appeared!!!"
To the enemy—the monsters—that appearance of Leonardo was fear itself, like a 'demon'.
The crown he wore looked like the horns of hell, and the red cape looked like a demon's wings.
The armor, grotesquely decorated with the green, brown, and dark red blood of monsters, looked bizarre.
"H-help me! S-surrender......! Kieek......."
A demon that only appears in legends had descended upon the battlefield.
And unfortunately, they had provoked it.
Begging for their lives was useless. It seemed that demon had made it his life's purpose to slaughter every monster in sight.
The only fortunate thing was that the demon was merciful.
If one did not resist the demon, the demon would grant a painless death.
If Leonardo looked like that evil being to the monsters, he looked very different to the humans.
—Follow His Highness's back!!
—Anyone who falls behind His Highness will die by my hand after the battle!!
—Advance! Advance!!
—Our king is with us!!
The knights and veteran soldiers encouraged the army.
At the same time, they all admired the king who was wiping out monsters right before their eyes.
'......The king, who was so merciful, shows not a shred of mercy to the enemy.'
'He has a different feel from Commander Jereuth-nim.'
'If the Commander-nim was called a single ray of light that parts the battlefield, a beacon of hope...... then that man is-.'
Indeed, in the end, he seemed like a 'demon'.
The king, before whom monsters wailed in terror and begged for their lives, also appeared as a 'demon' to the Plank Kingdom's army.
It was just that the Plank Kingdom's army was in a different position from the monsters.
There was nothing more reassuring than having a demon on your side.
'If it had been Commander Jereuth-nim, he wouldn't have pursued the enemy this far. That man is a knight who shows mercy to the enemy on the battlefield.'
But their respected king was different. The king wielded his sword as if he had no mercy for the enemies who had attacked his people and his kingdom.
Flap...... chwaak—!
The cape fluttered like wings, and the sword flashed. Every time it did, a monster died.
Leonardo's martial prowess, like a demon seducing a human, mesmerized the knights and soldiers on the battlefield.
—Kill the enemy!!
—Don't let them escape alive!
—The king! Our king is fighting!
—Follow the king's shining crown!
The humans shouted thusly.
—Run! R-ruuun!
—Retreat! Retreat!
—F-for now, we'll return to the great basin! To the basin!!
The monsters shouted thusly.
The monsters at the back thought they could still survive.
Because once they escaped deep into the Monster Mountains, the humans wouldn't be able to follow. Even that 'demon' would probably not chase them all the way to the Monster Mountains.
But just then.
Phyoooooooo—!
To the humans, the sound of victory.
To the monsters, the sound of terror.
The cry of a Gryphon was heard from the sky. At that sound, the gazes of the fleeing monsters naturally turned to the sky.
Tuk— tuk— tuk— tuk— tuk.......
'Black lumps' fell from the Gryphons in the sky.
The monsters didn't know what they were.
Was it Gryphon droppings?
—As one monster foolishly, blankly thought that, in that instant.
Kwakwakwakwakwang—!
—U-uaaaaaaak!
—My leg! My leg!!!
—Chweeeek!!!
—A-avoid it! Avoid it!!
—Those black stones explode! It's magic!!
—M-magic!! They're magic stones!!
Knights riding Gryphons were throwing exploding stones?
They had never even heard a rumor that humans possessed such a thing.
Indeed, the human king on this battlefield was surely a demon.
And those Gryphons were surely 'demonic birds'.
—Repay His Highness with death!!
—Our lives are trivial if it is for the kingdom's victory!
—Knights! Set an example!
—Do not fear death! Death is but a moment, defeat is eternal!!
From the front, demons charged, brandishing their swords, and from behind, demonic birds threw exploding black lumps.
In this situation, blocked from the front and back, the monsters came to a thought.
'Ah...... this place is hell.'
A being appeared that confirmed the monsters' despair.
It was the black birds that had, before they knew it, begun to cover the sky.
Caw—! Caw—! Caw—!
—U-uaaaaak!
—Crows! The crows are attacking!
—My eye! My eyyyyyye!!!
The humans' massacre of the monsters, which had begun when the sun was high in the sky.
Now the sunset was gradually becoming visible, but it seemed the massacre was just beginning.
***
The battle was over. Though I'm not sure if what I just did should be called a 'battle'.
'I just cut down monsters as my body moved.'
Crackle...... Fwoosh—!
The full moon, floating high in the night sky.
I stared blankly at the bonfire under the moonlight and thought.
'Was this the right decision?'
In this battle, I killed all the monsters on the Ness Plains. I mean 'all' of them.
Occasionally, some bastards escaped into the Monster Mountains, but Seria hunted them down and killed them one by one with her crows.
—Hahahaha!
—Blessings on this great victory!
—Honor to our king!
—Thanks for being alive!
—Hey, you know I saved you earlier, right? Buy me a drink when we get back!!
—Sure! But bring your younger sister too! Set me up!
—Did you get hit in the head by an orc earlier and still haven't come to your senses? My younger sister is a definite no!
—What do you mean no! I'm a war hero!!
—Hero my ass...... No means no!!
Cheers were heard from the soldiers' barracks. They should have been exhausted from a battle that had lasted over ten hours, yet none of them seemed tired at all.
Perhaps the fatigue of battle couldn't overcome the joy of survival.
'But...... many soldiers died too.'
The count so far was over 500. Five hundred people.
Of course, compared to the number of monsters killed in this battle, it was an absurdly small number.
Yes...... that was true.
However.
'......It's by no means a small number. The life of even one person is precious.'
Because I was someone who had struggled to survive in this world, I knew better than anyone the preciousness of life.
Just as my life was precious, their lives would have been precious, and are precious.
Crackle...... Fwoosh!
The sound of firewood breaking in the bonfire was heard again.
The combination of the tranquil dawn and a bonfire, under normal circumstances it would have been a very beautiful combination, but it didn't feel that way at all right now.
My heart was heavy.
"Your Highness."
At Hagen's voice from behind, I looked in that direction.
"The battle count is complete. In this battle, our army eliminated approximately 70,000 monsters. It is truly a great victory. Not only in the history of the Plank Kingdom, but in any history of the continent—."
"What were our losses?"
At my words, Hagen paused.
***
Hagen.
He who had been through countless battlefields by Jereuth's side was a little surprised by the king's question now.
'......To think he would ask about our losses first.'
They had killed 70,000 enemies in this battle. Seventy thousand.
Despite achieving such a tremendous victory, it seemed His Highness was more curious about the damage to our own side.
'Is this the difference between a knight and a king? ......That can't be it. My king is special.'
Hagen had been to countless battlefields, just as many as Jereuth. As such, he had met many kings and nobles on the battlefield.
However, no person in power had ever prioritized 'allied losses' over 'victory'.
'But my king.'
"Including knights and soldiers, out of the 10,200 who sallied forth this time, 765 were killed in action."
"765 people......"
The king turned back to look at the bonfire.
Looking at his back, Hagen honestly wanted to say it.
That this was a great victory.
A truly unbelievable, absurd victory.
That even the bards would struggle to sing of this victory. Because it was so unrealistic.
'What should I say.'
It was certainly a regrettable thing that knights and soldiers had died. Among the dead, there were many who were close to Hagen.
However, rather than being sad, Hagen was paying them his respects. As a knight, Hagen had been taught that this was the right thing to do.
'But that is the thought of a mere knight like me. His Highness must be thinking much more deeply. Perhaps His Highness feels skeptical about this war itself. A war where someone must die—.'
As Hagen was thinking.
The king said something completely unexpected.
"Hagen, how long will it take to clean up the battlefield, divide the troops, and send them to the northern and southern fortresses?"
"Pardon? Ah, my apologies."
Taken aback by the unexpected question, Hagen collected himself and answered again.
"It will take two days to clean up the battlefield. And then treating the wounded—."
"The wounded will be sent back to the royal capital. If we say only those who can fight will go."
"Yes. Then we can depart within three days. With a forced march, we can reach each fortress within three weeks."
"Three weeks, you say."
The king looked up at the moon and continued.
"Then, for now, only the Gryphon Knight Order will quickly go to the northern and southern fortresses to provide support. The rest of the army will arrive at each fortress within three weeks and three days."
"Yes, I understand."
Hagen immediately nodded at the king's command.
However, inwardly, he had a slight question.
'The man who is so regretful about the death of his soldiers...... why is he trying to fight again?'
He was curious, but Hagen didn't bother to ask.
It was because he felt that the king surely had a deep meaning behind it.
"Then I will take my leave."
"Alright. ......Hagen."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Hagen listened intently as the king called him again.
The king's subdued voice could be heard. To hazard a guess, it was a voice mixed with a hint of tears.
"......The knights and soldiers who are now rejoicing in their survival. If I take them to the fortresses, more soldiers will eventually be deployed to the battlefield, so will more soldiers die? Or, since it's reinforcing the troops, will fewer die?"
"......"
"I am currently thinking of human lives as numbers. A numbers game...... where even one less person might die in this war."
The king, who had finished speaking with difficulty.
The question itself was difficult and ambiguous.
'Is he asking if more people will die if we send reinforcements.'
Hagen couldn't answer that question with certainty.
'If we deploy more troops, the chances of victory will increase. That is certain. But as for whether more soldiers will die...... I don't know.'
Thus, Hagen didn't know how to answer the king.
But even so, he knew what he had to say.
"Yes, Your Highness. If we send reinforcements to each fortress, the number of casualties will decrease."
He didn't know if that was the truth. It could be a lie.
However, Hagen decided to support the king's already made decision. It was because he wanted to lighten the king's burden.
"......Yes, thank you. Go and rest."
The king's voice, a little brighter.
Leaving that voice behind, the king entered his own tent.
Hagen watched the king's retreating back with a look of pity.
'His Highness is truly carrying an enormous weight. On a path of thorns that no one can walk in his place.'
On the other hand—
'Still, this war is almost over. And since we have achieved such a great victory, there won't be a war in the kingdom for a while.'
Hagen also had such a happy thought.
Though it was uncertain whether the king thought so too.