[Raul PoV]
Viera has fired the signal for the others to attack. This means it is now only a matter of surviving against the waves of enemies that continue to surge up here.
"Quick, go up and kill him!"
"Catch those Imperial dogs and burn their bodies alive!"
The guards at this military post have begun to climb back up using the stairs. However, because these stairs are only two meters wide, they must take turns going up to face me.
"Take this!"
One of the guards launches a thrusting attack with his sword at me.
Shifting slightly to the right, my left hand grabs his right wrist holding the sword and pins it against the wall, making it difficult for him to attack me again with that sword.
— BAMM!
I kick his chest, causing him to fall and knock over the other guards trying to climb up.
After one enemy goes down, two other guards then come at once. This time, they are not using swords but knives. Perhaps they have realized that fighting with swords in a narrow place like this will be less effective.
"Die!"
One of them begins to attack with a thrusting strike.
I catch his wrist and bend the guard's hand toward the hand of the comrade beside him.
"Arrrhhhgg!" screams the comrade of the guard who intended to stab me earlier.
The guard who was stabbed then drops the knife he was holding in his hand.
I catch the knife and drive it into the knee of the guard who stabbed his hand.
"Arrggghh! It hurts!"
I then grab each of their heads and slam them against one another hard, resulting in a loud sound.
— BUKKK!
They both pass out and begin to fall from these stairs.
The rest of the guards still at the bottom intend to go up to attack me again, but suddenly the sound of explosions and people's screams are heard from outside this Watchtower.
"The enemy has appeared behind us!"
"Quick, come here! We need help!"
It seems the other members have already begun the attack. Their actions will be smoother because we have already drawn the attention of everyone here.
The guards who were in this Watchtower begin to head out, leaving only five people remaining below.
I jump from the top of the stairs and hit the face of one guard using both of my knees.
— Bruk!
He instantly passes out with his nose bleeding.
"Attack him!"
The four remaining guards begin to attack. I start to draw a dagger in my right hand and a karambit in my left hand.
One of them launches a diagonal slash, but I parry his sword with the dagger in my right hand.
— Splurttt!
I rip his neck with the karambit in my left hand, causing him to fall to the floor covered in blood.
Seeing one of their comrades fall again, the remaining three guards begin to attack me simultaneously.
My eyes focus on each of the three guards' swords. One of them launches a thrust, but I shift slightly to dodge, then perform a spinning movement and rip his neck with the karambit.
"Gaagghhh!"
He lies fallen while clutching his neck which is covered in blood.
"Damn you! Take this!"
Another guard launches a horizontal slash, but I immediately duck and attack his legs with a sweep kick movement until it makes him tumble to the floor.
"I will kill you!"
Turning to the side, another guard intends to perform a vertical slash toward me, but I immediately stand up and block his sword with the karambit, then slit his neck with the dagger in my right hand.
The remaining guard who fell earlier begins to stand up again and then attacks me blindly with his slashes.
"Die! Die! Because of you Imperial dogs, both of my older brothers died in the war! Because of your greed, many citizens had to leave their hometowns!"
The guard vents all the pent-up emotions he has.
However, what can you do to stop all this madness? Will simply gathering all the world leaders and lecturing them about the arrival of the demon army make them cooperate with each other?
As long as humans have a desire for something, all the conflicts occurring in this world will never end. A human world where there is no conflict is merely a utopia.
— Tang!
I parry his sword with the dagger in my right hand and then rip his neck using the karambit.
His body then falls to the floor and dies instantly.
"Simply complaining and blaming the cruelty of the world will not change the future," I mutter, looking at the man's corpse.
After killing all the guards in the Watchtower, I then step out of this building. Screams and explosions are heard from the direction of the Military Post located on the other side.
The flames soaring high seem to be magic from Scarlett, and the Golem currently wreaking havoc on the guards is certainly magic from Estera.
I then walk toward the bridge, approaching the guards who are crowding toward the post located on the other side.
"Retreat! Retreat! Their magic is too strong!"
"Damn Aragon! Without magic, they are nothing!"
The guards turn back, intending to retreat from the post being attacked by the members led by me. However, they are shocked to see me standing at the end of the bridge they intend to cross.
The guards are trapped.
Behind them are my members who are slaughtering their comrades, while I am in front, blocking their way to run.
"He is all alone! Don't be afraid!"
This time, I use a sword because the fighting area is not narrow like before.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, then exhale slowly and open my eyes again.
Both of my legs are covered in black magic particles because I have activated Asphalt magic.
Five people attack me simultaneously, but I can easily dodge them all. Using this magic against ordinary humans, their movements appear to become like slow motion.
After passing those five guards, their heads then fall rolling on this bridge. I decapitated them while dodging everyone's attacks just now.
My body is dirty, covered in human blood.
"..."
"..."
Everyone who intended to attack me suddenly falls silent when they see five of their comrades killed just like that with ease.
It seems they are shocked by my speed just now.
— Clang! Clang! Clang!
"We surrender!"
"Please, just take us as prisoners!"
The guards throw all their weapons and raise both hands asking for mercy. However, during the attack operation in this region, we will not take a single prisoner of war.
— Tap ... Tap ... Tap ...
The sound of my footsteps is heard as I slowly approach the guards.
As I look at them with strong killing intent, some fall unconscious because of the terror I inflict upon their psyche.
"Sorry, you all must die here."
***
[Scarlett PoV]
The fight has ended ...
With only thirty people, we were able to conquer this bridge with only a few wounded casualties. This was because the guards earlier were too focused on Captain Raul and Viera, allowing us to sneak in easily and attack them with a surprise assault.
Observing the surroundings, I see hundreds of human corpses. Some of their bodies are crushed from being hit by Estera's Golem, and there are also corpses burned due to my fire magic earlier.
The charred aroma of burning flesh is caught by my nose, making me feel horrified by my own strength, which makes me wonder, 'Is it right to use this strength of mine to slaughter fellow innocent humans like this?'
The Captain said there is no party that is right or wrong in war. Only those who are dead see the end of a war.
Initially, I did not understand what he said. However, after this battle, I understand what he meant. The wounds received by human war victims will have an impact as long as they are still alive.
I with the guilt of burning these people, the families of soldiers who lost their loved ones, and the trauma both receive from a war.
They will not be the same people as before.
"Quickly move these corpses before the logistics supply caravan arrives!" shouted Captain Raul.
Currently, we are cleaning this area after the battle. This aims to prevent the caravan group from quickly becoming suspicious about what happened to this place.
"Scarlett, help me lift this corpse." Viera calls me.
I approach her and then help her to throw one of the corpses into the ravine below the bridge.
"Hey, Scarlett," Viera calls again. "You don't look like your usual self, did something happen?"
Since a long time ago, Viera has always been sensitive toward her comrades. For some reason, she always knows when we are having negative thoughts.
"I am thinking a little bit about our actions in this war," I answer her.
Hearing my question, Viera actually smiles. "I also have the same thoughts as you, Scarlett. However, I believe in the Captain's decision. He will not give us orders that will disadvantage ourselves either now or in the future."
Believe in him, huh?
My gaze is then directed toward the black-haired man who is throwing a corpse below this bridge. His expression looks flat as if he is not bothered at all that he has caused hundreds of lives to perish in this war.
Since a long time ago, what that man does has always been a mystery to me. However, I will follow Viera's words just now and see how we turn out after this war.
After finishing cleaning the remnants of the battle, we all then hide on top of the cliff located exactly above the road leading toward the bridge and then place the explosives we obtained from the previous ambush.
"When that caravan comes and crosses the bridge, Estera will destroy the bridge with the earth magic she possesses," said Captain Raul. "Scarlett, when the caravan group that has not yet crossed the bridge panics, you fire fire magic at the explosives located at the edge of the cliff so that the caravans and the troops escorting them are hit by the collapsing rocks."
I nod in understanding hearing Captain Raul's order. He and Estera then go below the bridge to destroy it later.
We begin to wait in the middle of this cold night. If this mission succeeds, the Venetian Republic will not be able to send logistics supplies in the near future. They must repair the bridge first before they can make deliveries again.
After waiting for one hour, I see the light of torches trailing long from a distance. It seems they have arrived. I then prepare magic to be fired at the boxes containing hundreds of explosive cylinders.
They are seen stopping for a moment at the first Post and looking around. The caravan group then stops because they realize that at the Military Post there is now no one.
"There is something strange here! Where did the bridge guards go!?"
"I don't know! Maybe they are conducting a patrol! We must immediately send these supplies; if not, then the leadership will surely be very angry!"
Even though they say so, they still check the surroundings to be safe. Fortunately, we have thrown all the corpses into the ravine and they were carried away by the river current.
In addition, we have also cleaned the remnants of the battle so as not to be too suspected by them.
"We must cross this bridge right now and don't waste too much time!"
"Alright, I think we can investigate the disappearance of these guards later!"
Not long after, the horse-drawn carriages of the group move again and begin to cross the bridge.
However, when the foremost horse carriage is about to reach the other side of the bridge, suddenly a loud sound and a fairly strong vibration are heard.
— BRAAKKK!
The bridge they were crossing then collapses, causing many horse carriages and the groups to fall into the river ravine.
"W-what is this!? Why did the bridge suddenly get destroyed!"
"Enemy! They must be around here!"
When the caravan group and their escorts who had not yet crossed the bridge begin to panic, I fire fire magic toward the boxes containing the explosives and ...
— BOOOMMBBBB!!!
A massive explosion is created at the edge of the cliff, causing some of the cliff rocks to collapse and then begin to hit the people who are below.
"Get away from here!"
"Arrggghh!"
I see them hit by the rocks and they did not have time to dodge. Vibrations are felt again due to large rocks hitting and destroying that Military Post.
With this, our mission to prevent the Draconia Kingdom troops from getting logistics supplies has succeeded ...
[Alesio PoV]
After two days of traveling, I finally arrived in the territory of the Venetian Republic.
Previously, because the Draconia Kingdom troops did not receive logistics supplies from our country, I and several people decided to return to find out the reason why the caravan group carrying supplies never came.
Upon arriving at the Military Post located near the entrance leading to the Stretto Path, I obtained information that the Imperial troops succeeded in entering our country's territory and conducted an ambush against the caravan group carrying logistics supplies for the Draconia Kingdom.
Initially, I did not believe this information. That was because we—the Intelligence unit, especially the Scouters, had ensured that not a single Imperial troop was in the territory of the Venetian Republic before the war occurred.
That meant they were here after the war broke out between the two sides. However, how could they possibly be in this territory because the only path that can be taken is using the Stretto Path which we guard strictly so that no random person enters or exits from that path.
Unless they entered this territory by climbing the peaks of the Montana Mountains which are very cold and dangerous! There would be no crazy leader who would bring their troops to climb those mountains and cause their troops to die in vain.
In the morning, I continued the journey toward the bridge and arrived there at noon. However, I saw a very astonishing sight there.
Two Military Posts and the bridge connecting them have been destroyed. I also saw many corpses hit by rocks not far from this destroyed bridge.
"What actually happened here!?"