Chapter 161: Burn the Boats and Break the Cauldrons (Part 1)
Outside the Holy City, Carlos gazed at the crumbling great city ahead. The greatest city in history, the birthplace of human society, was now suffocated under a shroud of black smoke.
Seems like it’s going to become history forever.
The man stared at the scene, hearing terrifying roars from deep within the dead smoke, and fell silent for a long time.
“Teacher…”
He whispered softly, with red-rimmed eyes.
Meanwhile, the Sword Demon lay nearby, slowly waking up.
“Ugh.”
She groaned, dragging her burned body up bit by bit.
“Awake?” Carlos asked her.
The Sword Demon didn’t answer immediately, her head still foggy. After waking up, she stared blankly at the distant Holy City, just like the man beside her did.
“The blockade has broken.” Carlos paused, his tone somber, “But the black smoke isn’t spreading out of the city anymore. I don’t know if what we did actually had any effect… I’m not sure…”
Carlos looked at the Sword Demon, his eyes mixed with confusion and a hint of determination. “What I can be sure of is, Peilo is still there, fighting the Mad God to the d*ath.”
Roar—!!!~
As if on cue, a horrifying cry echoed again, interspersed with clear notes of pain and anger. The two could faintly see a flickering red flame amidst the boundless dead smoke, pushing back the darkness and illuminating the massive silhouette of a monster.
“Too bad we no longer qualify to intervene.”
Carlos said, thinking for a moment. “I plan on retreating as quickly as possible and figuring out a way to get the news to the capitals of the three nations. How about you, Miss Sword Demon? How’s your injury? Can you still move?”
“…Injury? Not a problem.”
The Sword Demon lowered her head, checking herself. “Just a minor injury. I can handle it.”
After a pause, she added, “But I don’t plan on leaving.”
Carlos frowned slightly. “You’re not leaving?”
“Mm.”
“But staying here, what else can you do besides courting d*ath?”
“I’ll wait here for her.”
The Sword Demon looked out at the Holy City, then turned to face the man, as if she wanted to say something more, to clarify her reason for staying. However, after hesitating for a while, she couldn’t find the words.
So, she blurted out, “At least someone has to stay behind and witness it all with their own eyes.”
“……”
Carlos was enlightened; he somewhat understood what this straightforward Sword Demon was thinking.
“Fair enough.”
After a brief silence, the man smiled. “Then… just don’t d*e.”
He probably meant to say something more heartfelt, but he wasn’t very familiar with this strange girl. Those grandiloquent farewell words were just a bit too much for him. He wasn’t great at dealing with such serious girls.
But he respected her.
She was an amazing swordsman, and that’s why she earned the teacher’s acknowledgment at the last moment.
“Remember, after everything is over, you still need to return to the Royal City. I’ll wait for you at the Royal Academy to take you to collect the teacher’s swordsmanship notes.”
“Mm.”
The Sword Demon nodded earnestly.
…………
Clop, clop, clop—
The beast’s hooves thundered, scattering yellow dust.
Saint Margaret, dressed in coarse linen, rode fiercely toward the Emerald City. That magnificent city was in the distance, slowly taking shape before her eyes. Yet alongside the road, she still saw the corpses of starving civilians, collapsed and rotting.
The Saint Princess kept silent as she gazed at those remains.
“Silgaya is probably doomed now…”
Captain of Knights Safiros, who followed her closely, felt a wave of pity. Behind the Captain was the remnants of the First Knights Order, probably no more than three hundred people left.
Among these warriors were the Judgment Fist and the Grace Scales. During the wall defense, they had all been assigned to the outer supply teams. In the final battle at the valley pass, they hadn’t participated because they were busy escorting food and civilians to retreat. That’s why they were still alive.
But all of them remembered that moment well.
Now, Isaac had died exhausted, Seattle had long fled without a trace, the valley fortress had fallen, and the Republic’s southern borders had already collapsed, turning into a dead zone. The First Knights Order was no more, and many, oh so many people had died.
Now, it was just the fewer than three hundred of them, lost without their core leadership, and no one to reach out to…
However, the knightly code urged Safiros not to abandon everything and run away. After conferring with Margaret, who had retreated from the frontlines, the two decided to personally head to Nalanda, rallying the local lords along the way to convince the king to join forces with the other two nations to resist the disaster.
This can’t go on any longer…
If this continues, everything will truly be over.
But their steadfast conviction felt fragile in the face of reality.
They couldn’t convince a single person. In fact, many didn’t even give a chance to meet the Saint when they heard she was coming. Some lords had already fled with their families, leaving the citizens to fend for themselves— they knew all too well what was happening.
They knew that humanity was utterly defenseless in the face of such despair.
Fleeing might preserve their lives.
Maybe.
“This country has already fallen apart.”
In the biting wind, Safiros’ words were dejected and low, ringing clearly to Margaret’s ears. “From the moment the Emerald City’s royal family came under the Roshiras family’s control, they lost their dignity, lost their authority. They no longer have a voice. Even if the Roshiras suffer the consequences…”
“Even the noblest flower cannot separate from the soil that nurtures it.”
Before the man could finish his thought, he was interrupted by the Saint. “Have you heard that saying before?”
“……”
Safiros thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“That’s been the royal family’s motto of Silgaya for a century.”
Saint Margaret continued, “I’ve met King Miller twice. He is someone who endures humiliation for the greater good. I don’t believe he will just wallow in misery. The Roshiras being betrayed by the Second Knights Order is not just as simple as it seems; perhaps he has already prepared countermeasures.”
She paused, looking at the man. “Finding him and persuading Silgaya to join forces with the Empire is the only thing we can do, and we absolutely cannot fail at this.”
“What we need to strive for now isn’t final victory against resistance, but whether the tens of thousands of citizens in the northern Republic can survive.”
…………
In the capital, Nalanda, the grand council hall.
In the vast council chamber, among more than twenty chairs, only three were occupied. They were the elderly King Miller, his wife, and the next candidate for the crown of Silgaya, the old king’s son.
The rest of the chairs, which should have been filled, were all empty.
The weary old royal family stared at the vacant seats, having waited long without food or water, only to find no one arriving. The entire council hall was quiet, so quiet they could practically hear a pin drop.
As the dusk light filtered through the windows, the old king, lost in thought, trembled his lips, his eyes reddening.
After a moment, he smiled, his hoarse voice uttering today’s final words.
“Like this…”
“Everything, is all over.”
This was also his last line in this lifetime.
That night, when Margaret and others reached the council hall, King Miller had already jumped from the dome of the chamber. They found his shattered body alongside the Republic’s queen, who had died from poison at her vanity table, accompanying the old king in d*ath.
As for their son, it was said that no one had seen him since that day.
