Chapter 232: Interlude (Reidia Kingdom)
The bushes rustled, and something suddenly leaped out from the thicket.
(……)
It was a wolf, covered in gray fur, with a somewhat innocent expression. Like a cub wolf, it curiously glanced around, its eyes wide with wonder.
A gust of wind blew, causing the branches and leaves to sway. Startled by the sound, the cub wolf retreated back into the underbrush.
After a brief pause, it slowly emerged once more, seemingly convinced that there was nothing else around.
The cub wolf approached a nearby yellow flower, sniffing it before letting out a small sneeze. Shaking its head vigorously, it began to walk a bit more boldly.
This was a somewhat premature fledging for the cub wolf’s species. Despite still needing the protection of its parents, it had ventured out of the nest. However, if today had been just another ordinary day, there would have been no issues.
The cub wolf’s parents had completely claimed the surrounding territory. There should have been nothing that could harm their child, even outside their domain.
A faint sound echoed—kashun.
Due to its inexperience, the cub wolf was unable to utilize its rare physical abilities. A poisoned arrow struck, piercing its skin, and in an instant, the paralysis poison coursed through its body, rendering it unable to cry out as it collapsed to the ground.
(……)
The men responsible for this emerged from the thicket, swiftly wrapping the 1.5-meter-long cub wolf in cloth, with one of them slinging it over his back. The three men then took off running without a word.
One man slashed through the branches ahead, while another followed closely behind, the one carrying the cub wolf trailing after them. They continued running for a while before switching positions.
Thus, the three men dashed through the forest at a speed that seemed impossible for such a place.
◇◇◇◇
It was a tranquil agricultural village. The men tended to the fields while the women spun thread in the community hall. Meanwhile, the young children quietly listened to the pastor’s stories in a room of the church.
This was an unremarkable farming village, located not far from the Demon Forest. Its only notable feature was a small hut for the rare hunters who might pass through. Other villages and towns offered better conditions, so few hunters ever visited this one.
It had been a week since a hunter had last visited the village. The three men had spent one night there, departing for the Demon Forest with hardly any interaction.
As the villagers were beginning to forget about their presence, the three men burst out of the Demon Forest, sprinting across the grasslands toward the village.
“Hey! What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?!” a villager called out, noticing them, but the men remained silent, not even glancing back as they raced through the village.
Their speed was astonishing, leaving the farmers watching in stunned silence.
Eventually, realizing there was nothing they could do, the villagers returned to their work. Once today’s tasks were completed, they would enjoy a day of rest tomorrow.
A somewhat noisy group had dashed through, but everything else remained as usual. The sun began to set, and the day’s labor came to an end.
At that moment, the ground began to tremble—don, don. At first, it was a faint quaking, but soon it grew strong enough for everyone to notice. The villagers murmured in confusion, and the women rushed outside in a panic. Children, led by the pastor, exited the church.
Don, don, don.
The tremors drew closer. A large tree at the edge of the village suddenly shed its leaves, cracking loudly as it bent and broke.
What emerged was a colossal wolf.
It towered far above the spire of the church, which was still under construction in the village center.
“UUUUOOOOOOOHHHHH!!”
A thunderous howl reverberated, shaking the very ground. In fact, the leaves of the trees fluttered, and startled birds took to the sky in a flurry.
A demon wolf. Or perhaps, a divine wolf.
It was a monstrous wolf, spoken of in fairy tales, of immense size.
After finishing its howl, the wolf lunged toward the village with its massive body.
Villagers fled in terror, swept away by the wolf’s snout. It was as if people were flying through the air, a scene straight out of a nightmare. The pastor shouted something as he stepped in front of the children. A few men began to run toward the village’s outskirts.
The enormous wolf that had crashed into the gathering of villagers shook its head once more. The pastor, a stationed monk sent from the Prava Divine Nation, stood his ground to protect the children. He managed to deflect a portion of the wolf’s attack, diverting its path.
However, he could not stop its advance. Within half an hour, the agricultural village was utterly devastated.
Leaving behind the men who ran to alert the city, the village, which had coexisted with the Demon Forest for generations, was completely annihilated.
◇◇◇◇
The men ran.
Pursued by the demon wolf’s mate.
The men were skilled hunters, magic technique users who could run tirelessly for an entire day and still have energy to spare, yet they were still insufficient against the higher-tier creatures of the Demon Forest.
Even after passing through the village and entering the city to mask their scent, the distance between them and the demon wolf gradually closed.
Their fundamental physical abilities were simply too different. While it took the men an hour to cover a certain distance, the demon wolf could traverse it in a mere fifteen minutes, effortlessly laying waste to the towns along the way as it closed in.
Finally, the men found themselves within the demon wolf’s striking range.
Though they had not yet suffered any long-range attacks due to carrying the cub wolf, there was no escaping once they were within sight.
One man, trapped between the two sides, found his escape route blocked and was easily crushed.
Another man, trying to shield the one carrying the cub wolf, was also torn apart.
The last man, burdened by the weight of the cub wolf, failed to evade in time, and the bag containing the cub was snatched away, shredded by claws.
Having successfully reclaimed the cub wolf, the mate confirmed that the cub was merely unconscious and let out a long, resounding howl.
A deep, echoing call.
The wave of magic power that spread with the howl signaled that there were no threats in the vicinity. Furthermore, it indicated the presence of many creatures similar to the one that had taken their cub.
The male wolf recognized this as a threat and began to run, intent on eliminating it.
Thus, the trading city of Tralikuin, the foremost in the Borderlands, was suddenly besieged by the demon wolf, leading to its complete destruction in just a few hours.
◇◇◇◇
In the Royal Capital of the Reidia Kingdom, Argasta.
The elite forces of the kingdom had gathered, the last bastion within the Reidia Kingdom capable of continuing to resist the Prava Divine Nation.
The monk soldiers of the Prava Divine Nation attacked day and night, attempting to breach the walls surrounding the capital. The Royal Guard Knights and the mixed forces of the kingdom’s expeditionary army fought back, sometimes counterattacking, striving to protect the capital.
In truth, the situation was that the monk soldiers had pushed the front lines back, forcing their way into the capital, but it was likely a strategic blunder on the part of the Prava Divine Nation to concentrate their forces in one location.
With ample food supplies and high morale, the defenders were still holding strong. The balance of power between the monk soldiers and the kingdom’s forces had led to a complete stalemate in this siege.
And because of this,
Many monk soldiers and magic technique users had gathered, prompting the demon wolf to perceive them as external threats.
Suddenly, a massive wolf appeared on the battlefield. The makeshift encampments established by the monk soldiers of the Prava Divine Nation were scattered, and many unprepared soldiers were trampled underfoot.
The Reidia Kingdom’s army, alarmed and hurriedly gathering their forces atop the walls, was met with a blast of flames unleashed by the demon wolf. The flames, fueled by magic power, incinerated everything, including magical defenses.
The monk soldiers, having regained their composure, launched their attacks against the demon wolf. However, none of their assaults had any effect. Slices of blades failed to penetrate, and strikes were ineffective. Even magical flames were deflected off its silver fur, leaving not a single scorch mark.
The same was true for the Reidia Kingdom’s forces.
After scattering the forces of the Prava Divine Nation, the demon wolf turned its fangs toward the capital’s defense army. With a single charge, the walls crumbled, and the castle was engulfed in flames.
In a mere moment, the Royal Capital of the Reidia Kingdom fell. The Reidia Kingdom, already on the brink of collapse due to the invasion of the Prava Divine Nation, was utterly crushed by the sudden onslaught of the demon wolf.
Moreover, the Prava Divine Nation’s forces, which had concentrated the majority of their strength to completely conquer the Reidia Kingdom, suffered significant losses among their holy knights, the Svyataya Ritsari.