Chapter 206: Deserters Die! (Part 1)
The bright sunlight couldn’t pierce the blood mist that hung heavy in the air, staining the world a grim crimson. A palpable sense of dread pressed down on everyone like a suffocating weight.
The ferocious roars of the Demon Beasts merged into a cacophony of sound, rolling across the battlefield like thunder, making their scalps tingle.
There were many types of Demon Beasts: Ogres, Trolls, Minotaurs, Goblins, Dire Wolves, Werewolves, Mind Flayers, Marrowsuckers, giant cockroaches the size of a man’s forearm, enormous earthworms half a meter in diameter, winged Harpies soaring through the sky, demonic crows…
Their attack was chaotic, a disorganized horde without any semblance of strategy or coordination.
But their numbers were overwhelming. Tens of thousands of Demon Beasts surged forward like a raging ocean, a monstrous tsunami threatening to engulf everything.
Especially terrifying were the Trolls, though fewer in number. These hulking creatures, nearly ten meters tall, their bodies covered in festering boils, easily snatched human soldiers with their massive claws, devouring them in a single bite.
When had the noble knights from the Imperial City ever witnessed such carnage?
They weren’t like those lowly soldiers who were forced to fight. They were the clerics of Augustus and Saint Monique, the Royal Guards led by Morton.
Nuns, priests, and knights.
They were nobles, members of the clergy, the upper crust of society, accustomed to a life of comfort and privilege within the safe walls of the Imperial City.
War, to them, was a distant concept, something to be fought by the commoners while they enjoyed the peace.
They had heard tales of the battlefield’s horrors, but never experienced them firsthand. They even scoffed at the veterans, believing themselves superior, confident that they would perform better than those lowly commoners if they ever deigned to step onto the battlefield.
They hadn’t fought because they were nobles, above such filth and carnage, their delicate sensibilities offended by the stench of blood and decay.
But now, witnessing the true face of war, they finally understood how foolish their assumptions had been.
They hadn’t even engaged the enemy yet, but the sheer terror of the scene before them was enough to make them tremble uncontrollably.
All they could see was death, human and Demon Beast alike.
Blood flowed like rivers, staining the dry earth a muddy crimson.
Human strength was pathetic against these monstrous creatures. Rusty swords and spears couldn’t pierce their thick hides, while a single swipe from a Demon Beast’s claws could tear through their cheap armor, leaving them maimed or dead.
The sickening crunch of bones being crushed by Trolls made their scalps tingle.
And the terrifying Dire Wolves, fast as lightning, their sharp claws decapitating their victims with ease.
Giant cockroaches swarmed over their prey, devouring their flesh in seconds.
Giant earthworms emerged from the ground, and demonic crows circled overhead…
Death, death, death…
Ah…
Finally, a nun from the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess, unable to bear the terror any longer, screamed and turned to flee.
By the Mother Goddess, this was too terrifying!
Did she really have to face such horrors?
No, no, no…
Her scream resonated with the others. They were nobles, clerics, members of the upper class! They shouldn’t be here, fighting alongside these lowly commoners.
Qin Chu’s face hardened.
He appeared beside the fleeing nun, a woman whose strength was actually quite decent, far greater than that of the average soldier.
His expression was icy cold as he grabbed her head.
Then, with a sickening crack, he crushed her skull.
This brutal act stopped the other would-be deserters in their tracks. They stared at the Hero in disbelief, shocked that he would turn on one of their own.
O’Niens and Inas’s faces darkened, and they shouted at him almost simultaneously, “What are you doing?!”
They were furious that he had killed a member of the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess without their permission.
Qin Chu’s cold gaze swept over them. “Deserters who disrupt morale… die!”
“This is a battlefield, not a playground.”
“On the battlefield, there are no nobles, no clerics. Everyone has only one identity: soldier!”
“Don’t think of escorting the Hero to the front lines as some kind of gilded opportunity, a chance to brag to your colleagues about your bravery… Here, you must be prepared to fight for your lives.”
Qin Chu’s ruthless action, the execution of the nun, stopped the others from fleeing.
He scanned their faces, observing their reactions. The members of the former Hero Squad remained impassive, a hint of mockery in their eyes, seemingly disdainful of these pampered nobles.
These people had truly experienced war.
Natia’s expression was also calm. After all, for her, these Demon Beasts weren’t much different from the tens of thousands of Minotaurs she had faced before.
Inas and Shirley, the Saintess and Saintess candidate, clearly hadn’t experienced this before, their faces pale.
Angelica and Norma were slightly afraid, but they controlled their fear.
Anastasia, as the princess of the Ice Duchy, having been trained in hunting and combat since childhood, could handle the bloody scene, though it wasn’t pleasant.
The one who truly surprised Qin Chu was Carol, the princess of the Auville Empire, Wadsworth’s daughter, and a new member of the Hero Squad.
This girl, witnessing the carnage, showed no fear at all. On the contrary, there was a strange glint of excitement in her eyes. Qin Chu even noticed her rapid breathing and the fervent light in her eyes.
Her almost twisted expression made his scalp tingle. This girl’s personality seemed…disturbed.
Another person who seemed a bit strange was O’Niens. Qin Chu could sense a mixture of fear and excitement on his face.
O’Niens, having never experienced war, was instinctively terrified by the blood and gore, the severed limbs flying through the air. But the mysterious thread within him was also stirring a bloodlust, an urge to kill.
Although he wanted to study O’Niens more closely, now wasn’t the time.
Qin Chu took a deep breath, then roared, his voice like thunder:
“Kill!”
Hum…
The moment his voice rang out, a loud boom came from beside him.
Ekaterina’s crimson figure had transformed into a streak of light, charging forward with incredible speed.
She leaped into the air, her body arcing downwards, her hands raised. The Flame Extinguishing Heavy Sword materialized in her grip, wreathed in crimson flames, as she plummeted towards the ground.
Rumble…
The sword beam, carrying a trail of flames tens of meters long, descended from the sky with a deafening roar, the scorching impact sending shockwaves through the earth.
A large swathe of Demon Beasts was instantly cleared.
The stench of burning flesh filled the air.
Ekaterina grinned, revealing her pearly white teeth, then charged forward again, like a crimson blade, tearing through the dense ranks of Demon Beasts.
“Piercing Arrow…”
Sylph, who had been by Qin Chu’s side, also drew her bow, aiming at a massive Dire Wolf. Judging from its size, it was probably the leader of the pack.
Hum…
With Sylph’s cold command, the bowstring vibrated.
A sharp, blue-gray arrow shot forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The heads of several Demon Beasts exploded along its path.
The Dire Wolf leader seemed to sense the danger. Its large eyes widened, and it let out a low growl, its body darting to the side, trying to dodge the deadly arrow.
But the arrow, originally flying straight, suddenly curved in mid-air, piercing through the back of the Dire Wolf’s head.
Even its thick skull couldn’t withstand Sylph’s arrow, and it died instantly.
Airi’s figure appeared in mid-air behind a Harpy.
This Harpy was the commander of this group…
A cold dagger, appearing silently, rested against the Harpy commander’s throat. The powerful Demon Beast didn’t even notice, only goosebumps appearing on its neck.
It opened its mouth, about to unleash a gust of wind…
Pfft… A large wound appeared on its snow-white neck, blood gushing out.
Airi’s figure materialized, her cold gaze sweeping over the surrounding Harpies. The next instant, she multiplied into dozens of figures, charging in different directions.
Feathers rained down as the mangled bodies of the Harpies plummeted from the sky.
But what surprised Qin Chu the most was O’Niens.
This usually timid and even cowardly Saint Son seemed to be stimulated by the bloodshed, his face becoming more and more crazed and distorted, his eyes glowing with a ferocious crimson light.
His breathing became heavy and ragged.
The spurting blood…
The severed heads…
The crushed bones…
The burning flesh…
Despair, wails, death…
O’Niens’s body trembled.
He should be terrified, that was the normal reaction.
But now, his chest was filled with an indescribable excitement.
An invisible force was urging him, drawing him closer to the smell of blood, the aura of death…
His eyes had turned crimson at some point.
And deep within his pupils, the dark, X-shaped mark flickered faintly.
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