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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“H-help me… Help me!”
“Ugh!”
A human knight, holding his torch low, recoiled in horror.
A beastman soldier, missing both legs, was dragging himself across the ground, his cries echoing through the forest.
The knight had already seen over ten such casualties, their limbs severed.
Even those who were relatively intact—
“I told you to run! Why are you crawling back?!”
“Shut up and follow me! If you desert, you’ll be executed!”
“Aaaaagh! I’m dying! I’m dying!”
—were in a state of hysteria.
Their eyes unfocused, their movements erratic. They had to be restrained, or they would simply wander off.
What had they seen? Had they been ambushed in the darkness and picked off one by one?
It shouldn’t be a problem now. Over a thousand reinforcements were pouring into the Great Forest.
“P-please… take me with you… I don’t want to die…”
“….”
The deeper they went, the more bodies and wounded they encountered.
Piles of corpses were a common sight. And the strangest thing was, none of the bodies had more than two wounds.
Clean, precise cuts that had killed them instantly.
Had they been facing a mage?
The soldiers fell silent, their apprehension growing.
“It seems Schlus Hainkel has a powerful escort. Stay alert.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Schlus Hainkel is likely providing support with magic. Report any signs of spellcasting immediately—”
“Extinguish the torches.”
“….”
The knight, interrupted mid-sentence, gritted his teeth.
They had treated these beastmen like equals.
They had given them a chance. But could these savages, accustomed to a life of brutality, truly understand the concept of freedom?
They had been given the opportunity to fight alongside humans, and yet they dared to interrupt their superiors.
His anger was about to boil over, when—
“Who the hell was—”
The world plunged into darkness.
The torches had been extinguished.
As the soldiers fumbled with their flints and tinder, trying to relight their torches—
“Ugh!”
—a pillar of blue light erupted from the knight’s chest.
The soldiers froze, staring at him in horror.
With a sickening crunch, a steel blade emerged from his back, piercing his armor.
“Ah…! Agh…!”
Thump!
The knight convulsed, his gaze fixed on the two swords forming a cross over his chest.
Then the blades exploded outwards, tearing his torso apart.
Blood and gore splattered across the soldiers.
They finally understood what the deserters had been talking about.
“Run if you want to live.”
A man, his face impassive despite being covered in blood, stood before them.
Schlus Hainkel, wielding a blade of light and a steel sword.
The sight triggered a primal fear in the beastmen.
They hesitated.
“Don’t be afraid! It’s just a glowing stick! If one falls, two will take his place! If two fall, we all attack! Isn’t that how we fight?!”
“That’s right! We have nothing to fear! For freedom!”
“F-for freedom!”
They had nothing to fear. They would gladly give their lives for the freedom of their children.
They pushed down their fear and charged.
“Huh?”
A flash of light.
Then the world spun.
They had seen the blade of light move, impossibly fast. But they couldn’t process anything beyond that.
They were already falling, their throats slit.
“If one falls, two will take his place!”
“If two fall… Ugh!”
They couldn’t stop him.
He was like a force of nature.
It was hard to believe he was just a man, subject to fatigue and the need for food and sleep.
They knew they could overwhelm him with numbers, but their bodies refused to cooperate.
“Don’t be cowards! We outnumber him! Why are you afraid?!”
“…!”
Encouraged by the human knight’s shouts, the soldiers pressed forward.
They kept coming, even as they fell, one after another. And finally, Schlus showed a weakness.
“Ugh! I won’t let you…!”
He was struggling to pull his greatsword from a beastman’s stomach.
If it weren’t for the second sword…
A beastman threw a hand axe at the back of Schlus’s head.
It was a perfect shot.
Schlus was still struggling with the greatsword.
The axe would hit its mark, splitting his skull.
“Huh?”
“What…?”
The axe stopped mid-air, hovering before Schlus’s outstretched left hand.
The soldiers finally realized.
Schlus Hainkel hadn’t been using magic.
Until now.
The pillar of light vanished, and darkness returned.
Then, with a whooshing sound, the air around Schlus swirled, and a new pillar of light erupted from his hand.
This one was different. Brighter. Larger.
The beastmen’s eyes, reflecting the blue light, widened in terror.
A wave of uncontrollable fear washed over them.
The soldier who had thrown the axe was already on the ground, soiling himself.
“Aaaaagh! Monster!”
“W-where are you going?! Cowards! Get back here!”
The beastmen scattered, fleeing in terror.
The human knights tried to rally them, but it was no use.
Crack!
Schlus swung his blade of light, grazing the trunk of a nearby tree.
With a sickening crunch, the tree toppled, its massive trunk crashing to the ground.
A Great Forest tree… a tree that would take dozens of woodcutters to fell… had been brought down with a single blow.
“Ah…”
The human knights’ faces paled.
As the fleeing beastmen surged past them, they too began to retreat.
Then the floodgates opened.
They all ran, human and beastman alike, away from Schlus, away from the terrifying light.
They didn’t care where they were going, as long as it was away from that ominous glow.
Many of them fled deeper into the Great Forest, away from the road, into the darkness.
“W-what are you doing?! Why are you running?!”
“Don’t stop me! I’m getting out of here!”
The remaining soldiers, who hadn’t seen what had happened, were confused.
The faint light in the distance didn’t seem threatening.
They cautiously advanced.
“Aaaaagh! Run!!!”
“M-monster!”
And they met the same fate. They saw their comrades cut down, one after another, and they too turned and fled.
The number of deserters grew exponentially.
“What… what’s going on?”
“What’s happening up there?”
Curiosity could only overcome fear when the number of deserters was small. But as hundreds of panicked soldiers came streaming towards them, their curiosity vanished, replaced by a primal terror.
Fear was contagious.
Even those who hadn’t seen Schlus were swept up in the panic, joining the retreat.
They crawled on their hands and knees, trampling over their fallen comrades.
It was a scene of utter chaos.
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“Oh my god…”
The knights arrived at the mages’ quarters, a repurposed hotel, and gasped.
Beastmen corpses littered the ground. These weren’t ordinary soldiers.
They were assassins, armed with daggers and swords.
“Schultzenburg! Are you alright?!”
Kane rushed inside.
The number of bodies increased as he went deeper into the hotel. The entrance was choked with corpses, forming a gruesome barricade.
He finally reached the interior, stepping over the bodies—
“Damn it…!”
—and started climbing the stairs.
The enemy had penetrated deep into the hotel, fighting their way through the building.
The knights spread out, searching each room.
“Lady Erica! Master Ainz!”
There was no sign of them.
Only more beastmen corpses, their blood staining the walls and floors.
Kane reached the top floor and looked around.
“There! Gawayn’s daughter!”
A knight in full plate armor sat slumped against the wall.
Kane recognized the distinctive silver sword and rushed towards her. He carefully removed her helmet, revealing Trie’s pale face.
“Are you alright, Schultzenburg?”
“….”
She didn’t respond to his gentle slap.
Kane’s gaze dropped to her stomach. Blood was seeping through the gaps in her armor. A blade had found its way through the chinks in her plate.
“Damn it, healing potion. Healing potion.”
He fumbled with his pouch, pulling out a high-grade healing potion.
He didn’t have time to check if she was alive. If it was Gawayn’s daughter, he had to try. He poured the potion over her wound.
“Cough!”
“Are you awake?!”
“Sir… Kane…”
Trie’s eyes fluttered open.
She thought the battle was over.
Then—
“Gasp!”
—her eyes widened as she remembered. She hadn’t finished them all. She had collapsed before she could kill the last five.
“N-no… inside… inside…”
Tears streamed down her face as she pointed towards the hallway.
She had failed.
She had let them through, to her friends.
Kane leaped to his feet, his jaw clenched, and raced down the hallway towards the last room.
“….”
Beastmen corpses lay piled before the door. Kane carefully opened it.
“Kyah! He’s here!”
“Get him, Ainz!”
“Uh… uh…?”
“….”
Two students, their faces pale with fear, stared at him.
Kane blinked, wondering if he was hallucinating.
But the scene remained unchanged. The two mages were alive. And unharmed.
“Trie!”
“You’re safe!”
Trie appeared in the hallway, her steps unsteady, and the two students rushed towards her.
“Waaaaah! I thought you were dead, Trie! It was so quiet!”
“W-what happened?”
“What happened?! You fought them off! It was terrifying!”
“….”
Trie leaned against Erica, collapsing onto the floor, her expression confused.
The bodies in the hallway… she hadn’t killed them.
She had let them through. But if her friends hadn’t killed them, then who…?
“Ugh… It’s good to see you again, grumpy mage!”
“Who are you calling— Agh! My ribs!”
Trie, oblivious to the mystery, embraced Erica tightly.
Ainz, watching the scene, slowly backed away.
He bumped into something and turned around.
Kane, the hulking Imperial Knights Commander, stood there, grinning.
“Heh heh. Don’t I deserve a hug too?”
“Huh? No, I don’t—”
“Hahaha! I’m glad you’re safe, mages!”
“Aaaaagh!”
The screams of two Imperial University students echoed through the hotel.
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