By Zephyria “Are you leaving already?”
Cordelia, who was about to put on the last remaining helmet after wearing gauntlets on both hands, paused and turned her head at the man’s voice from behind. There stood a light brown-haired man wearing silver armor and a cloak symbolizing the Paren army.
He was the general of the Paren army and the supreme commander of the military unit participating in the current Eldermilli Peninsula subjugation. Cordelia briefly put down her helmet and said with a smile.
“Shouldn’t you go and cut down even one more?”
Cordelia, who had been asked by Bruno Amos, the deputy commander of the Southern Branch, was currently at the Paren army’s camp stationed in the western plains of the Eldermilli Peninsula.
After finishing the meeting on the joint operation with them, she was immediately preparing to lead her royal guard back to the peninsula. The Paren general smiled slightly at her spirited appearance.
“You are truly amazing, Sir. You always show a strong and courageous figure.”
Hearing his words, Cordelia replied with a rather bitter smile.
“It’s not like I can always be like that. However, if I show a weak side, my royal guards will be uneasy. So I have to try to show a strong side.”
The general’s expression became a little subtle. He seemed to have something to say. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he spoke to Cordelia with a gentle face.
“Not being strong doesn’t mean you’re not powerful. Sometimes, things that seem soft and fragile can be stronger than hard things.”
When Cordelia made a slightly incomprehensible expression, the Paren general raised his hand and pointed to the sky.
The sky, which had been raining for three consecutive days, was covered with thick clouds, and today the weather was a little clearer, with thin rays of sunlight coming down in places where the clouds were sparsely empty. The general confirmed that her gaze had reached there and opened his mouth.
“That faint sunlight hidden by the clouds cannot be touched by hand, nor does it feel like it touches the skin. It’s not even soft, so it’s definitely not strong.”
“…….”
“But even the hardest frozen ice, which is difficult to cut even with a hard blade, melts helplessly in that faint sunlight and becomes slush.”
After finishing speaking, the general still stared at Cordelia with gentle eyes. He seemed proud, as if he had said something great himself, but Cordelia made a slightly strange expression rather than agreeing with his words.
‘That’s just compatibility… No, no. There’s no end to arguing with this person’s words like this.’
Cordelia had often seen this man making strange metaphorical remarks, so she knew very well that if she argued here, the strange sound would get longer. So she tried to grasp the meaning of what he was trying to say and replied.
“I see… So, are you trying to tell me that only a strong and courageous appearance is powerful? That even if you have a soft and fragile appearance, you can sometimes be stronger?”
“Yes, that’s right. As expected, you understand my words well, Sir.”
Cordelia smiled awkwardly at his satisfied face.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but you, General, really… say a lot of mysterious things.”
“Haha, it’s a characteristic of our Paren people.”
Of course, Cordelia knew that not all Paren people were like this person, so she tried to hide her sullen expression. The Paren general, who had a full smile on his face, gradually removed his smile and wore only a faint smile, then continued speaking in a still soft but slightly more serious manner.
“Even if you show a struggling and precarious appearance, your brave royal guards will fight to the end to protect their lord and territory. In battle, that kind of appearance sometimes acts as a catalyst. So there’s no need to hide yourself by trying to show only a strong side all the time. You are strong no matter what you look like, Sir.”
Cordelia blinked and stared blankly at him. And this time, she smiled not an awkward smile, but a sincere one, and said to him.
“Thank you, General. You are a very reliable, my supporter.”
The Paren general nodded slightly again with that gentle face.
As she was about to leave again and picked up her helmet, a soldier from the Paren army rushed to them.
“General, Sir Hares, there’s a problem! Please come this way for a moment!”
Cordelia and the Paren general, seeing the soldier’s urgent expression, exchanged glances. Together with Cordelia’s confidants who were nearby, the two immediately followed where the soldier was leading.
The place he guided them to was a stable a little away from the main camp, and there were already many Paren soldiers and military officers gathered nearby. When they found the general and Cordelia and greeted them politely, Cordelia also replied with a short nod.
Soon after, Cordelia’s face, looking inside, was filled with shock.
“What… is going on?”
Originally, the horses of the Paren army’s cavalry and some of the spare horses of the Hares royal guard were tied up in this stable. But the horses that were clearly full until last night were nowhere to be seen now.
Inside, there were only bloodstains presumed to be from the horses, severed reins, and unidentified sharp claw marks drawn everywhere.
“It seems there was a demon beast attack at dawn.”
When the Paren officer who had already arrived said, Cordelia frowned and asked back with an incomprehensible face.
“But why didn’t anyone know? Where are the sentries guarding the stable?”
At Cordelia’s words, the soldier next to her held out a belt and broken armor that he was holding in his hand.
“It’s from the soldiers who were on guard duty. It was torn to shreds and there were bloodstains. It seems…”
The general said with a complicated face.
“They were attacked by demon beasts.”
The Paren general looked back inside the stable with a serious face.
“Since the army has been stationed in the border area, they have never come so boldly near the main camp like this…”
Then another officer showed Cordelia and the general a broken horn and communication device and said.
“The sentry’s horn and communication device were broken. It seems they knew that this was for sending signals. Then wouldn’t they be highly intelligent guys?”
Cordelia replied.
“But if they were highly intelligent, they would have known that there was an army nearby and wouldn’t have touched the horses. As you know, the higher the intelligence, the more they target places where civilians live or other demon beast entities, and they don’t try to have a full-scale war with the army. What about the horses in the stable closer to the main camp than here? Was that place also attacked?”
“The horses there are safe. It seems they attacked this place because it was the most isolated from the main camp.”
At the officer’s words, a confidant behind her opened his mouth.
“Come to think of it, there was a similar incident recently. When some of the royal guard members who were scouting near the 57th peak in the western area set up a campsite and briefly left their seats, the demon beast only took the food and tied-up horses. At that time, they reported that since they were away for such a short time, it seemed that the demon beast had been watching them until they went elsewhere and only took the food.”
The general, after thinking about something after hearing the report, said to Cordelia.
“Even humans would be food for them, but the fact that they intentionally avoided humans means that highly intelligent demon beasts knew that there was a possibility that they would be defeated.”
The Paren officer, hearing his superior’s words, said.
“Isn’t it an unprecedented act to come near to get food while avoiding a full-scale war?”
“That’s right. When highly intelligent demon beasts came near to get food, it was always a situation where they were at an advantage. If not, they wouldn’t even approach. But this situation is like…”
“It seems like they’re in a hurry for something to the point of taking risks to approach.”
Everyone nodded at Cordelia’s words.
Cordelia narrowed her brows and pondered. Demon beasts in a hurry. Could there be such a thing? Did the highly intelligent guys feel threatened by the fact that the central branch’s powerful forces had entered the peninsula? Or is there another reason?
She couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but she felt that the recent sharp increase in the frequency of attacks was strangely connected to the current situation. So she was about to go back to the territory and talk to Bruno, the deputy commander of the Southern Branch of the Council, when.
Thud!
A large and heavy sound that echoed throughout the western plains was heard. At the same time, the ground shook and vibrated as if an earthquake had occurred.
Everyone was surprised by the sound and reverberation and looked at the countless peaks of the peninsula beyond the plains. Cordelia also turned her gaze there with widened eyes in surprise.
Her red eyes coldly scanned the peaks of the peninsula. Then she barely opened her mouth.
“What… was that just now?”
* * *
Dellua, the commander of the 6th Battalion, who was leading the procession at the border between the central and western areas of the Eldermilli Peninsula, also heard that loud sound. Her procession, which had been resting for a while after the battle, hurriedly got up again and prepared for alert.
“Battalion Commander, what was that just now?”
Marlene, the deputy commander who was taking care of the members from afar, ran to Dellua in surprise. Dellua, who was looking at the map with the company commanders, stopped as she was and sensed the surrounding air currents, then made a serious expression, bent her knees, and put her hand on the ground.
“Could it be… an earthquake?”
Marlene asked worriedly. Dellua was not yet sure, so instead of answering, she cautiously began to estimate the cause of the sound.
This area was an active volcano zone, so she was confused as to whether the sound just now was due to volcanic activity or something else. Dellua, who had been putting her hand on the ground for a long time, opened her mouth with a vague face.
“The crust itself isn’t moving.”
‘The tectonic plates are calm…’
Just as Dellua was trying to feel something, she suddenly saw a stone rolling on the ground shaking slightly. At the same time, Marlene noticed that the pen placed on the table was gradually moving to the side.
After a while, the vibration gradually increased, and the ground began to shake as if an earthquake had really occurred. Dellua hurriedly got up and shouted.
“Everyone, go up to the highlands!”
At Dellua’s command, the members packed up the protective gear and various luggage they had put down and hurriedly climbed up the rock wall. However, Dellua herself started running to the back where there were no members. Marlene also hurriedly chased after her.
As Dellua ran, she jumped off the ground, and rocks began to gather and clump together under her feet. They changed into the shape of a golem, becoming as huge as the height of Dellua, who jumped high and flew up.
Dellua immediately stood on the shoulder of the towering golem. Marlene, who was watching her, also flew up and approached Dellua’s side. As soon as she got on the golem, she widened her eyes as she saw the black mass visible beyond the ridge.
“Battalion Commander, could that be…”
They were rushing madly from the foothills, and their number seemed unusual. Dellua quickly inhaled at the bizarre sight she had never seen before. She raised her head and shouted to the members who had climbed up the rock wall.
“At least hundreds, no, thousands! All members of the 6th Battalion, prepare for battle!”