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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: shyan
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As the sight of Galilee Castle began to appear before them, Amelda and the hundred soldiers who had followed her let out a slight sigh of relief.
‘We’ve faced several dangerous moments to get here, but thankfully nothing went wrong.’
‘Surprisingly, the demon troops’ defenses are quite lax. They hardly patrol areas outside the main routes or the castle itself.’
The demons seemed unconcerned about small movements, indicating that they might be intoxicated by their recent victory and have let their guard down.
‘Maybe they think small groups like ours can’t change the tide of the war?’
‘It feels like they might be a bit understaffed, but that probably isn’t the case…’
Of course, they couldn’t be certain about this.
Despite the somewhat relaxed defenses, there had been precarious moments along the way, so they couldn’t afford to let their guard down during the march.
However,
The moment they arrived at this place where Galilee Castle was visible across a mountain, they automatically felt a slight relaxation and let out a sigh of relief.
Although there was still quite a distance to cover, they could see the flag of the aAllied Races fluttering in the wind.
While it couldn’t be stated with certainty, it likely meant that Galilee Castle had not yet fallen into the hands of the demons.
“Thank goodness; it looks like it’s still safe.”
“Wait… just in case, we should observe the situation before moving. It could be a deception by the enemy.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Understood. Lady Amelda.”
Though the possibility was low, Amelda maintained a cautious attitude until the very end.
The soldiers agreed with her sentiment that it wouldn’t hurt to remain careful after coming this far.
“Alright then. I’ll go check it out myself.”
“Pardon? You mean you will go yourself, Lady Amelda?”
“Isn’t that dangerous? It’s not certain, but if that truly is an enemy trap…”
The soldiers expressed their concerns. However,
Amelda spoke calmly to them.
“It’s fine. I’ve been prepared for this since before we arrived here. Besides, if something does happen, I’m the most capable fighter among us, so I can respond more effectively.”
“Hmm…”
“That may be true…”
Given Amelda’s abilities as a member of the Hero party, even if traps were set up by the enemies, she would likely be able to turn things around and escape.
In fact, if it weren’t for Amelda’s skills, it would have been very difficult to avoid the precarious situations they had faced on their way here.
Thus, the soldiers decided to respect Amelda’s wishes. Seeing them agree, she spoke with a serious tone.
“If I don’t return within two hours, please assume something has happened.”
“Understood. We will wait here in the meantime.”
“Yes, then I will go. If anything happens, retreat immediately.”
“Understood, Lady Amelda.”
With that clear understanding of the situation, Amelda set off while the soldiers waited for her return.
Although they were waiting, they couldn’t help but feel deep fatigue from having run a considerable distance without rest.
“Phew… well, we managed to get here somehow.”
“That’s true. Now all that’s left is to return with the soldiers in Galilee. Honestly, that’s where things will get really tough.”
Originally, Galilee Castle was supposed to have nearly 1,000 troops stationed there. Even if battles had occurred and their numbers decreased, it was highly likely that at least several hundred remained.
Retreating alongside such forces would undoubtedly be much more challenging than getting here.
Thus, the elf soldiers began to feel anxious about what lay ahead as they rested.
At that moment…
– Crack!
“!”
“Huh?”
In the next instant,
a small but distinct sound reached their ears.
As something seemed to break branches in the bushes, the soldiers urgently raised their weapons.
“Is it… an enemy?”
“Y-yeah… probably…”
“Damn… why now of all times…”
Though not clearly visible, sounds pierced their ears sharply. And due to their elven nature, they couldn’t help but feel an even clearer sense of danger through their heightened awareness.
In this moment, they realized someone was nearby—there was indeed an ‘enemy.’
“What… what should we do? It seems like they’re right in front of us…”
“First, calm down. If we act recklessly now, we might end up in trouble.”
Despite trembling with anxiety, the elf soldiers tried to reassure each other and maintain their composure.
However,
Despite their efforts to stay calm, the 100 or so elf soldiers present felt as if their bodies were completely stiffened and unable to take any action.
If they were ordinary humans, it might have been different.
But for elves accustomed to sensing enemy presences in such forests, feeling enemies nearby was overwhelmingly clear.
They sensed movements of countless foes radiating murderous intent—at least hundreds or even thousands seemed to surround them.
With this vivid sensation gripping tightly around their weapons, the elves became increasingly ensnared by rising tension.
‘Damn… was it really a trap?’
‘It’s dangerous. The enemy’s encirclement is getting thicker. If this continues…’
At that moment.
“! Hey, did you feel that too?”
“!… Y-yeah!”
In the next instant, they clearly sensed the movements of the enemy nearby.
At the same time, the gazes of the elf soldiers began to converge on one spot.
The presence of the ‘enemies’ that had felt like they were surrounding them just moments ago was starting to fade in one direction.
It was as if a hole had accidentally formed in their encirclement while they were trying to tighten their grip around the area.
Then, the quick-thinking soldier urgently spoke to his companion beside him.
“Let’s run.”
“W-what?”
“Let’s go! If we don’t move now, we’ll miss our chance!”
“Ah!”
With those words, the elf soldier charged forward, breaking through the underbrush and leaping over trees, followed closely by the others.
They fled as quickly as a flock of birds escaping from a cage with a hole in it.
In their haste, branches scratched their bodies, and some even twisted their legs.
However, at that moment, the elf soldiers had no time to worry about minor injuries or think about anything else.
They could still feel the ominous presence of enemies behind them, rapidly closing in as if ready to swallow them whole.
The priority now was to escape from the grasp of these enemies that felt like a demon’s maw.
A little while later, after running for what felt like an uncertain amount of time, the elves finally came to a stop.
Fortunately, they no longer sensed the same ominous presence around them, but in exchange, they realized they had completely left the territory of Galilee Castle behind.
And there was one more thing.
They came to recognize something only after a moment’s delay.
That was…
“W-wait! Where’s Lady Amelda?”
“! Damn it…”
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“Ugh…”
Surrounded completely by demons,
and with a female demon emerging from her shadow, holding a blade to her neck, Amelda found herself in a dire situation.
The girl had silver hair and piercing red eyes. With a cold smile on her lips, she looked at Amelda and said,
“It’s been a while. You seem to have had a rough time since we last met.”
“N-no… you can’t be… from the Demon King’s castle…”
Partially blending into the shadows, she held out a green dagger—the very same weapon Amelda had seen before.
Through this sight, Amelda instinctively recognized who this girl was: one of the Demon King’s subordinates she had briefly fought before.
Though it had been a short skirmish, Amelda had realized at that time that she could gain an advantage over her opponent and potentially win.
But now even she had to acknowledge the reality of her situation.
Demons were aiming weapons at her from all sides,
and crucially, at any moment this demon girl could easily sever her throat with just a flick of her finger.
In such circumstances, no matter how skilled she was as one of the top knights among Heroes, there was nothing she could do.
“Damn…”
– Clang
In deep anger, Amelda reluctantly dropped her sword.
She was forced to kneel on the ground, and despairing words escaped her lips.
“…Kill me. I have no desire to cling to life pathetically.”
Amelda’s voice carried a sense of determination.
However, the demon girl merely nodded to her subordinates instead of striking with her dagger.
Then…
“! What… what are you doing? Stop! Don’t humiliate me any further; just kill me already!”
Amelda shouted urgently.
Ignoring her pleas entirely, the demon soldiers began to bind Amelda tightly.
And, the demon girl looked down at her with an unsettling gaze.
Amelda instinctively sensed that something bad was about to happen next.
At the same time, a thick smile began to spread across Elisia’s lips.
It was like a snake preparing to swallow its prey whole.
Such an eerily chilling smile appeared on her face.
the old but classic line