Chapter 184: Ch-184: Dark Side of War
The pampered young master of the Brightflame Duchy fell to the ground as his limbs were crushed beyond recognition. He writhed on the floor, his back arching at unnatural angles while his arms hung limply like torn rags.
"Let’s go quickly to the castle. I don’t know how they are holding up," Rina said as she was very anxious. She had tried calling her sister several times, but it seemed she had either turned off her communication device or it had been destroyed.
"Hmm, from what he said, the entire castle is being surrounded by undead and troops from the Brightflame Duchy. It would be better if we enter without alerting them. Do you have a way?" Victor said, looking at Rina. If Eleanor and the Duke were okay, they would not be hiding inside but would be fighting. So he suggested sneaking in, as they did not know the situation and one wrong move could get them killed.
"You are right. I know a secret passage known only to members of the Hall family," Rina said while nodding her head.
"Me and you will go first," Victor said.
Rina nodded and looked at Amber.
"You stay with the army here and wait for my signal."
Amber nodded, as she had no problem with that and did not worry about Victor. Even if he encountered something dangerous, he could always escape.
"You too, Emily," Rina said.
But Emily interjected.
"Miss Rina, I should go with you for protection."
"Huh? Do you think you’re stronger than me? If I can protect her, do you think you can?" Victor said suddenly.
Emily’s eyebrows twitched, and her fists clenched as she glared at him, but she said nothing further, as he was right.
’But do you have to be so blunt?’
Emily cursed Victor inwardly.
"Let’s go."
Seeing this, Rina smiled.
---
"These bastards..."
Rina, who had stopped near the edge of the castle, looked at the territory with bloodshot eyes.
The entire place was crawling with undead and knights from the Brightflame Duchy, and they were committing all sorts of atrocities against the residents of the Hall Duchy.
"RUUUUN!"
"HEEEEELP! Somebody help!"
"I-I surrender... Don’t kill me..."
The undead and knights were chasing the citizens of Hall Duchy as if they were prey to be hunted.
Five minutes later, everyone nearby was either dead, crippled, or captured... not a single person escaped.
"Let’s go, Rina. We can’t help them now. We need to regroup first," Victor said indifferently, as he had witnessed far greater horrors and cruelty. In his eyes, these were common occurrences, but for Rina, this was the first time she had witnessed something like this.
"Fine, let’s go," Rina said as she bit her lip, and blood spilled from it.
She brought Victor to a secluded place where the hideout was, and Victor saw a scene that made his blood boil.
"Hahaha!"
"Stop, please!"
Footsteps...
"You’ll be my prize today. Feel honored!"
Footsteps...
"Father!"
"Don’t worry, he’s dead."
Footsteps...
A soldier of the Brightflame Duchy, who had taken off his armor, lowered his pants and removed the cheap dress of an underage peasant girl as he began to rape her, while an undead nearby feasted on the corpse of her father. He didn’t even hear the footsteps coming up behind him as a huge shadow appeared behind him.
The girl was still trying to call for help, and the man felt great pleasure in it, but then it happened.
The sound of flesh being sliced was heard. The man seemed to take a few seconds to understand what was happening, and then the pain came.
"Ahhhh!! My leg!!"
He screamed immediately, looking back as he saw a man with a sword embedded in his leg, pinning it to the ground while he removed himself from the girl.
The girl finally found herself free from the man’s grip and backed away, frightened by his screams. She got up and tried to cover herself with the torn dress while crying, looking at the one who had touched her, now screaming in agony as a sword still pierced his leg.
"What do we have here..." the stranger’s voice spoke as he looked at the man pinned by his sword, staining the grass around him with blood flowing from his leg.
"Get this off me, you bastard!" the man cried as he tried to lunge at Victor.
But in the next moment—
"Ahhhhhh!"
He screamed as he was consumed by blue flames.
’Sigh, the harsh reality of war,’ Victor muttered with a sigh as he saw the girl crawl to her father’s body and start sobbing loudly.
The girl felt someone touch her shoulder and flinched. When she turned around, her eyes gleamed when she saw Rina.
"Wuuuu... Miss Rina!"
The girl started bawling even harder as she clutched Rina’s legs.
Rina was very famous and kind to the commoners, along with the Duke, which was rare among nobility. Everyone treated her like a goddess, and she had even earned the title of the most precious jewel of the Hall Duchy due to her beauty and kindness.
But the jewel of the Duchy was also shedding a few tears.
"Sniff..."
Rina wiped her tears, looked at the girl, and asked,
"Do you know what happened to my father and sister?"
"...Yes. Miss Eleanor and the Duke retreated inside when the Duke got fatally injured by a sneak attack," the girl said through her sobs.
Rina’s face turned grim upon hearing this.
"Listen to me. Take this and use it to hide. It will turn you invisible," Rina said as she handed an artifact to the girl.
The girl took it and understood she couldn’t follow them, as it would hamper Rina. Even though she was unwilling to be left alone, she agreed.
Creak.
Soon, the ground beneath them parted, and a hidden staircase was revealed.
"Let’s go," Rina said as she stepped forward, and Victor followed closely behind as they descended down the stairs.
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