**Chapter 75: There Are Living People**
The beast’s hooves thundered as wind and rain raged around them.
“Lord Isaac, it’s right there!”
The scouting knight in front turned his head and shouted. Isaac nodded, scanning the area with his gaze until he spotted a small path winding down the slope to the left. He pointed, “Everyone stay close! Stay alert!”
The group responded in unison and streamed down the slope, quickly trampling through mud and water, splashing everywhere.
I was at the back, the lower half of my horned horse’s armor caked in muck, and my cloak was soaked too. My face was probably splattered as well… I quickly wiped my face.
We pushed through the dark brown wasteland and reached a steep slope at the entrance to a village.
Two knights were waiting there. Upon seeing us, they promptly saluted, “Lord Isaac.”
“What’s the situation?”
Braking the beast and stopping, Isaac brushed the rainwater off his head and asked in a deep voice.
“It’s very quiet, my lord. So far, we haven’t detected any signs of life.”
The bald man nodded at this, glancing at the village.
Boom, boom, boom—
Lightning sliced through the clouds, illuminating the dreary sky. For a fleeting moment, the dilapidated thatched houses in front of the village were bathed in a blinding white light. I vaguely saw corpses lying on the ground, washed by the rain, along with pools of bl**d.
“Follow me into the village.”
“Understood.”
“Ha—”
The group tightened their reins and, with Isaac leading, trotted into the village.
I was still lagging at the back, secretly rubbing my sore behind, shaking the droplets off my cloak, pulling my hood back on. The giant beast beneath me was growing restless, tossing its head and snorting, while its iron hooves clattered on the stone path leading to the village entrance, creating a “clang, clang, clang” sound. I smoothed its fur, keeping my head slightly down as my dark eyes darted around, turning left and right, ears perked up, cautiously observing everything.
But all I could hear was the “swish, swish” of the wind and rain.
So quiet…
And…
Dead bodies everywhere…
The knight squad of over ten mounted on the giant beast entered the fog-laden village, where two rows of stone and grass houses revealed a scene of decay.
It was hard to tell how long these structures had suffered under the downpour. Many looked like sieves with holes scattered throughout; most roofs had various degrees of collapse, with some even torn off, rafters laid out in the open, dark and slick from the rain.
The faint smell of bl**d lingered in the air.
In front of the houses and around the stone paths, there were scattered bodies of men, women, old folks, and children, lying in different postures, drenched by the downpour, their wide, lifeless eyes staring blankly. Most of the corpses were intact, while others had their heads cleaved off, chopped in half, with bl**d mingling with the rain, pooling in the low spots and dyeing the village paths red.
One knight dismounted from his beast and ran over to a nearby man’s corpse, squatting down to inspect it for a moment before turning back, “Time of d*ath was less than a day ago. The body is still stiff, not decayed, and the torso was slashed open, with at least three broken ribs.”
“Before you came, I checked a few bodies at the village entrance. Each had some sort of man-made injuries, but they didn’t look like sword wounds… Only one had been burned alive.”
“Look at this one…”
Knights began to dismount and wandered over to examine other corpses. Soon, someone spotted something, waved over nearby knights, and they gathered around a female corpse with a caved-in head.
“This one…”
“Looks like she was crushed by a heavy object. Her skull is shattered… You see her waist—”
“Four holes… is that a pitchfork?”
“Yep, a pitchfork.”
“Seems like these so-called bandits were refugees running from somewhere else…”
“They’ve already fled…”
I continued forward on my horned horse and soon spotted a charred patch in the grass nearby, as if it had been burned. In the middle of it lay a corpse as black as coal.
Burned to d*ath…
But something felt off.
… Just to be safe, let’s check it out.
I wore a serious expression, my little face scrunched up, petted the giant beast’s fur one last time, then leaned down, slowly shifting to the right side of the beast’s step, bracing myself on the saddle to stand on the foot stirrup over a meter high. I aimed for the ground below, ready to leap off, and executed a perfect jump…
“Ow!”
I forgot to unclip the iron hook from my waist!
The descent was quick, and as I felt the tug on my waist, my body jerked to a stop mid-air, involuntarily letting out a yelp. I was awkwardly dangling, and the sudden jolt made the massive beast lurch, stepping right and nearly stumbling—thanks to Captain Gray’s weight on my back, that was no joke.
“Hiss—”
The beast let out a cry, stomped its iron hooves, growing restless. My dangling rope swayed, and I felt like I was on a swing, my heart racing as my little hands flailed in the air, trying to grab something. Suddenly, my body felt light.
“I say…”
The strap on my backpack had apparently been yanked from behind, and someone hoisted me up, then reached out with a thick, leathery hand to unclip the iron hook from my waist.
“You’re just a silly little girl, aren’t you?”
A low, rugged voice reached my ears.
As I was still reeling from the moment, Isaac had already lifted me effortlessly before him, as if I were a little chick. His drenched face loomed closer, rainwater snaking down his shining forehead, trickling down the complex, bl**d-red patterns… Just as quickly, that face grinned at me, a smirk of mockery.
I felt a surge of anger rise: “Put me down!”
I lifted my hand, aiming for his face.
“Little one, what on Earth are you carrying… it’s pretty heavy. Is it a weapon?”
Isaac swiftly leaned back, stretching my arm straight… now I couldn’t reach him! Ugh, so infuriating…
I bit my lip, fighting the impulse to freeze him in place while wriggling overhead.
“Let me go!”
“Pfft…”
“Hoo hoo hoo—”
From the wind and rain came the muffled sound of laughter, perhaps because the situation wasn’t right, or maybe they were constrained by rank; the knights turned away or moved their beasts further out, each beginning to inspect the surroundings. Some ventured into the houses, but the tremors in their shoulders were clearly visible out of the corner of my eye.
“Isaac…”
Fuming, even enveloped in the cold rain, my face was burning hot as I gritted my teeth, shouting his bald name, wishing I could just chomp him on the spot.
“What’s wrong? I save you and don’t even get a thank you?”
“……”
I didn’t ask for your help…
I kept my face cold and silent.
Isaac eventually lowered me back to the ground.
“… The way you looked just now was like a little black cat I used to have… Um, it was named Little Black Dog, and it died two years ago. You really resemble it, fluffy hair and all, both small and temperamental; pathetically weak yet always trying to act tough against me… Seeing you makes me think of it, I almost couldn’t help but scratch your chin just now.” The giant bald knight chattered on as he turned to leave, “But now’s not the time for that. Go search inside with the knights; you might find something useful.”
I glared at his receding figure, teeth grinding as I clenched my small fists several times, barely managing to keep my temper in check.
Little black cat?
Little black dog?
Pathetically weak?!
Stupid bald head…
I really want to freeze him into a statue…
For now, I let it go.
Fuming, I turned away, taking a deep breath to calm myself, walked to the charred corpse, crouched down to look closely, furrowing my brow. Then I picked up a nearby twig, poking it at the coal-black body, confirming it felt as hard as expected… Fine, I admit, I’m an amateur, can’t figure anything out.
But him being burned in this spot is odd… There are no burning objects around. Judging by how he fell, he didn’t seem like someone who had been tied up before d*ath, more like he was on the run and suddenly caught fire, and it seems he died quickly…
As if someone had thrown a blaze of intense fire at him.
… Sin Fire, the Gate of Truth.
I had anticipated this possibility before we came, which is why I hurried to follow Isaac… Though we were all prepared for battle… even if the likelihood seemed slim.
Even if we were in the southern regions, this was still just north of them, and to Alectine City beyond the coast, it was a long way off… If all went smoothly, it would take about twelve to fifteen days—nearly half a month. If it rained continuously, it could take even longer…
No matter how vicious the heretics were, they couldn’t possibly break through the desperate resistance of the Third Knights Order in such a short time to seize Alectine City and then pillage their way here… Unless they all pulled a Victoria and flew here straight from the coast.
That’s impossible…
Unless some had broken off from the group and acted on their own…
I dropped the twig, slowly standing up and glancing towards the direction Isaac had gone… He was already back on his beast, directing knights deeper into the village for a search… It appeared there was nothing useful found here.
The people here should all be dead.
“Hoo…”
I sighed, unsure of what emotion I was feeling at the moment, turning back to my now quiet giant beast, nervously stroking its neck, before lifting my leg, stepping onto the lowest foot stirrup, climbing up.
Once on the beast’s back, I grasped the reins, guiding it slowly forward.
I remembered the scouting knight mentioning a hill forest behind the village; perhaps there was a shortcut… so let’s check that out.
If not, I’ll go back to the area that collapsed and see if the space isn’t too large. I’ll think of a way to clear a path… Hopefully, I won’t waste more time going around the mountains.
I need to rescue Barry quickly.
And then give Isaac a good pounding.
Thinking of how he had just picked me up like that made me furious; he even laughed at me… he…
Wait a minute…
He just…
Lifted me up with one hand…
I was carrying Captain Gray!
I suddenly looked up, eyes wide, staring at the very obvious bald head in the distance, watching him command others. I momentarily stood there in shock.
He lifted me up…
Effortlessly…
“Lord Isaac—”
Suddenly, cries from the knights sounded from that direction.
“There’s someone in the house!”
“Living people!”
