27 - The 27th "Wang Nao Guilty"

"Oh, impossible ......."

Stunned, an elf let out a muffled cry.

He is the chief priest of Noblewood.

He is the person who is in charge of overseeing the rituals in the unique elven religion that worships the divine tree and the wind god, and he is the person who contributed the most to the unsealing of the fairy dragon that the gods had left for the elves.

"...... What in the world am I ...... seeing?"

Above his head was the figure of a fairy dragon engulfed by a ray of vermilion light emitted by the twilight dragon. The wings of the beautiful dragon were scattered into thousands of pieces in the aftermath alone, and its body was vaporized, leaving no ashes. I saw the whole thing. I witnessed it.

"This can't be ...... this can't be ......"

The guardian dragon of the elves, given to us by God, is in mourning.

In fact, they could not even wound the mysterious dragon that suddenly appeared, and were unilaterally defeated.

Furthermore, an unknown force is attacking in full force, and the glorious warriors of Noblewood are being overrun like insects. This horrifying fact was not something that the chief priest could have accepted on his own.

"Contact the home country, ......, contact the home country of Noblewood!"

The elf's eyes twinkled in confusion as he was given a shouted order.

The elf was in possession of a valuable "mind-speech" ability.

Psychokinesis is a rare magic skill that makes it possible to send a voice through the mind to someone who is out of earshot.

The distance that can be communicated with depends on the skill of the magician, but he specialized all of his abilities in psychic communication, and was a special soldier who could contact far away from home.

"That's ......."

"What's the matter?　Come on, come on!"

"...... can't connect to the heart to the home country."

What?" asked the chief priest with a greasy sweat on his forehead.

"Perhaps they are blocking ......."

Resist!

"I've been trying for a while now, but I can't ...... resist. I don't think I can do it. There's too much of a gap between my abilities as a surgeon ......."

"Fellas!"

The chief priest ran out of the small castle and ran north alone.

Mysterious enemy forces are invading from the south.

They must not have reached the north yet.

Looking behind him again and again to make sure that no pursuers are coming, the chief priest heads for the north gate as if he were being driven.

"We can't end up here. ......!　I will not die!"

Running with all his might, the chief priest eventually reached the north gate and looked behind him.

There were no pursuers.

He had escaped death.

We will be saved now.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he tried to get out of the capital through the gate, only to collide with the invisible barrier that had been deployed to cover the capital.

"G-G-Geez!

The chief priest grunts like a crushed frog and rolls on the ground, bounced back by the warding.

"You sound so ugly. ......"

A voice reached the chief priest's ears, as if in dismay.

"Where are you?　Where are you hiding?

"...... was stunned. I'm amazed that they can get this close and not be able to see through the invisible optical deception without even using Indication Cut."

At the same time as the sound of snapping fingers, a woman appeared, oozing out of the space. Dark skin and long bamboo ears. She is holding a book with the emblem of her country and the four Chinese characters engraved on it.

"A dark elf?"

"No, I'm not. Don't put me together with such a lowly species now. I was a dark elf decades ago.

"You're talking nonsense ......!"

"You seem to have it so easy, to just say when you don't understand something.

"You!　You dare to taunt me, the glorious Chief Priest of Noblewood!"

"You can be indignant all you want, but are you sure you don't want to talk to me in a leisurely manner?　I think it's time to turn around."

The chief priest froze at these words.

Before he knew it, he realized that he was covered by a large shadow.

There was something huge behind him.

Fearfully, he turned around.

Hey, Fourth Commander! Are you almost ready?"

There was a large, muscular man over two meters tall with a huge axe on his back.

Yes, that's enough. According to the Sixth Legion's investigation, even this guy is one of the commanders, so get your ass up to the top!

"Oh, really? Are you sure you don't mind if I kill this thing?

With a ferocious smile on his face, the Commander of the 5th Legion (Gardi) asked the Commander of the 4th Legion (Ceres).

"It's okay. I've been ordered by His Majesty to focus on maintaining the closed wards. Besides, you've already made a blunder the other day, so you should score some points here.

"...... I don't like it when people give credit where credit is due."

"I don't know how you feel, but let go of your pride for once. You're not the only one who's going to be in trouble if you don't make up the lost points.

"Huh?　What do you mean by that?

"Take a look at what the people who use you think about you and the current state of our country."

".............................. I don't understand a piece of it, but is it related to the general in that way?"

"Yes, yes, it would trouble His Majesty!　There's no force lying around that we can let them play with in the current state of the country!　I mean, you should at least know the pieces!　Are you still a general of the army?

"I'm not very good at using my head. Well, if that's the case, I'll take credit where credit is due.

The conversation taking place in front of him made the chief priest dizzy.

His own life was being treated as nothing more than a symbol of his achievement.

The conversation was based on the premise that he would be killed on the spot.

"Wait!　Wait!　I understand that you are not a Dark Elf, but you are still an Elf Tribe, aren't you!"

"So what?"

"I beg of you, kindred spirits, to help me!　Stop this big man!"

The chief priest no longer had the strength to resist.

He had already seen the warriors of Noblewood being overrun by the enemy soldiers, and the big man behind him was his general.

There was no way we could win.

So the only way to survive here, no matter how miserable, was to cling to the woman in front of him, who was supposed to be a kindred spirit.

"Friendship of kindred, huh? ......"

"Yes!　Please, I can't die here!　Until the day I slaughter the filthy humans, I never will."

You know what?"

Before she could even finish listening to the chief priest's words, Celes' expression turned to one of disgust and contempt.

"I want to ask you something."

"What?　The technique that unsealed the fairy dragon?　Or is it about our ritual magic?　I'll answer whatever you want me to answer!"

"Then answer me. What were you doing to the High Elves (Eltina), the very people you ask to help you in your friendship with the Elves?

The chief priest gasped at the question and a strange sound escaped from his throat.

"That's the answer. We are very annoyed by the fact that these vermin (you) look like us, to begin with. If Your Majesty hates you for this, I'll crush your souls after death!"

The hand that reaches out for Celes, "Wait," is blocked by an invisible barrier and never reaches Celes.

The next moment, a great axe swung down from behind him, splitting his body in two.

+ + +

Sarawin, the chief hunter of Noblewood, looked up at the sky in dismay.

"That's ...... stupid ...... such a stupid ......."

What he saw was a fairy dragon engulfed by a ray of vermilion light.

After the red light that burned his eyes lost its brilliance, all that remained in the sky was the figure of a dragon.

The figure is not that of a fairy dragon.

It is the form of another dragon that may have been fighting with the fairy dragon.

The fairy dragon, the guardian of the elves, has been defeated unilaterally.

"Is this a ...... happening in the present?"

The core of a century-long plan for revenge against humans has been lost.

It took Sarawin more than a few dozen seconds to acknowledge this fact.

In the meantime, time passes mercilessly.

War cries are heard everywhere, screams and shouts fill the capital.

The former are unknown voices. The latter are the voices of the known.

It is a fact that our people are being unilaterally overrun.

More and more shadows appear in the sky as Sarawin gazes up in dismay.

The shadows were of various kinds of dragons.

All of them were monsters, each of them as powerful as a fairy dragon.

The dragons that followed the dragon that destroyed the fairy dragons quickly increased in number and filled the sky above the capital.

For Salawin, the scene was now nothing but "hell.

"What the hell are they ......?　What in the world have we made against ......?"

There is no answer.

No one can answer.

The elves around him had been blown to pieces by the earlier bombardment.

Only Sarawin survived.

"Chief hunter!

Someone came running.

I shudder involuntarily.

But the figure approaching was not one of the mysterious forces, but a known face.

It was the head soldier who had been deployed as a member of the advance team.

"You are in danger!　Please run away!"

"Escape ......?　Where, where am I supposed to run to ......?

The capital is surrounded by a strong ward. The shape and timing of the wards suggest that they were probably designed to confine those inside.

Moreover, I can feel that it is covered with tremendous magical power. It is possible that a fairy dragon could have broken through it, but not on a scale that we can handle.

"But that doesn't mean we should stay here, we will be swallowed up by the enemy army soon!　In any case, you need to get out of here..."

There was a clattering sound, and the soldier's voice stopped.

It was the sound of armor.

Fearfully, they looked to see an enemy soldier in full body armor.

"...... I'll buy you some time. Please run away."

The captain of the army told Sarawin with a determined look on his face.

"Well, leave it to me!"

Sarawin immediately ran away.

He had nowhere to go.

Still, he understood that if he stayed there, he would die as well.

Sarawin leaves the place like a hare.

The remaining soldier, feeling a sense of emptiness at the fact that the only words he had left to say were "I leave it to you," he faced the enemy in front of him.

......I will be your opponent. I will be your enemy...the enemy of who knows where."

He does not understand exactly what is going on.

What is the enemy?

Why are we in this situation?

What will become of Noblewood's long-cherished desire for revenge against humans after the death of the fairy dragon?

We don't know everything.

But there is one thing he does know.

That is that he is going to die here and now.

"Then I will not spoil my last days."

I am an elf of Noblewood, of a noble family.

I am the proud captain of the Noblewood soldiers.

I must behave accordingly and meet a fitting end.

Then, if death is the only thing that lies ahead, let us not claw our way to an ugly end, but let us fall with grace.

The captain felt surprisingly calm and naturally so.

"If I am defeated by the filthy 'filth' and humans, I may die, but I can't die...".

But fortunately, I have no such fears.

The full-body-armor-clad figure standing before us is too small in stature.

It is not a half-elf or a human, but a different race. Perhaps a dwarf or something.

Then, even if I die in defeat, my pride as a noble Noblewood will not be sullied. Reaffirming this fact in his heart, the captain of the army drew the two daggers at his waist and quietly assumed a stance.

"The last battle of my life...... shall I fight with you?

My name is Krauf-Welt-Lief.

I am one of the chief soldiers of Noblewood.

In response to his name, the small enemy in full body armor is silent.

"Well, he does not say his name.

Then you speak not with words but with your blade, do you?

Oh well, that's one thing."

The captain of the army was boasting in a more cheerful tone.

The catalyst had been used up in the deployment of the barrier, and there was none left.

It was impossible to use magic.

Moreover, he had sustained a few wounds.

The only weapons he has are two daggers with amputation techniques.

The enemy in front of him in full armor is a member of an unknown force, whose abilities are unknown.

However, the Chief of Staff's will to fight shows no sign of waning.

On the contrary, perhaps he had reached some kind of state of mind in this place of death, and he was confident that he would be able to display the best fighting ability of his life in the battle that was about to begin.

And he was not mistaken.

"Quickly!"

The captain turned into a gale and attacked the full-body armor. Both the speed of his steps and the power of the dagger he brought down were sharp enough to be the stuff of a captain. It was, without question, the fastest step he had ever made in his life.

Against him, the full-body armor used his long shield to repel the right dagger, and responded with a short sword to the left dagger. The sound of steel rang out, and sparks flew between the two.

"Blade!　Feed on my demons and cut through the enemy!"

The captain of the army casts his magic power into his left dagger.

The formula engraved on the dagger receives the supply of magic power from the Lord and faithfully performs its role.

The effect of the activated technique is "cutting".

The dagger, which had been in an antagonistic state of a sword fight, began to bite into the blade of the shortsword as soon as the technique was activated.

"Normally, even steel can be cut in an instant!　That sword of yours looks like quite a piece of work ......!"

As if unable to stand it, the full-body armor tried to distance itself by kicking forward at the chief of soldiers.

The chief soldier, reading this, responded by dropping his heel on the kicking foot that was coming from below.

The heel hurt as if it cracked in compensation for kicking the metal mass as hard as he could, but he succeeded in preventing the full-body armor from kicking him and threw himself into the air directly above him, making use of the recoil of the kick.

He then turned his body vertically in the air and fired a second blow with a dagger from upside down.

The full-body armor, on the other hand, avoids the second blow by letting its weight carry it and sinking down to a low position.

"We'll lose this one too, but...!"

The captain of the army spun his body once more in midair and threw a dagger directly downwards.

The blade, which had the momentum of the spin, approached the enemy at the speed of a gale.

The third and final blow, a killing blow, was fired with acrobatic maneuvering.

The full-body armor catches it as quickly as possible with the shield drawn to its body.

The dagger, with its amputation technique still activated, is entrusted with the task of piercing, and buries its blade into the shield that is preventing it from carrying out its mission.

The shield, on the other hand, was not equipped with any technique, but it resisted the attack with its inherent toughness.

And the Chief of Staff, while still in the air, watched the end of the battle.

The blade of the dagger sank deep into itself - and stopped halfway up the blade.

The victory went not to the deadly blade, but to the shield of protection.

Now the captain is untouched.

One of the two daggers is bounced far away by the shield, and the other is stuck in the shield.

The soldier was crushed to the ground by a shield bash, which was aimed at his landing and slammed into him.

"G,ah......!"

Several of his internal organs were crushed by the impact.

A fearful sensation of blood rushing back down my throat.

But he swallows the rising mass of blood in the name of pride.

He lost, but it was definitely the best fight of his life.

It is not the behavior of a noble elf to stain the end of a great battle with blood.

This pride was the only thing that kept him conscious.

"...... Well done. That's all I can say."

Feeling refreshed, the captain paid tribute to the full body armor that had brought him down.

It was a worthy opponent for the last battle of his life.

A worthy adversary indeed.

He was not an elf, but at the same time he was neither human nor half-elf.

I did not know what kind of race he was, but if he was a worthy adversary to beat me, a captain of war, he deserved my respect, no matter what race he was.

When I thought of this, words of praise naturally came out of my mouth.

It was an honest expression of his heart that he had only spoken a few times in his long life.

He had finished with the blade. I will no longer bask in the silence. You must be a great warrior, with your splendid dexterity and your wonderful skill. For the last time, may I ask your name?"

At the words of the dying soldier's commander, the full-body armor put its hand on the visor of its helmet.

What kind of race he was, I could not guess. But the captain, never surprised by any race, waited with a clear mind for his adversary to make his move, and was astonished to see his true face hidden under the visor that had been pulled up.

"...... is ?"

Ugly face with earth-colored skin and wrinkles.

Not one of the four great continental races.

Not even human.

The face of a goblin, a diminutive monster, emerges from beneath the visor of his full-body armor.

"Goblin ......?　No, no, that can't be right.

I don't have a name.

"............ what?"

"I've just been born. Soldier-in-training. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. A new recruit with no name gets a name when he kills five of the enemy. But this is my first battle. But I don't have a name.

The soldier chief could not understand a single word of the goblin, ...... who was supposed to have been a good opponent.

"Ugh, it's a lie,...... and if it's true, then its workmanship is,......."

"These are just supplies. The first sword we newbies get."

The goblin carelessly tossed aside the re cracked shortsword.

The sword, which the captain had described as a work of art, lay on the ground like a worthless piece of trash.

"We just finished training. We can't really go to the front. But the government said we'd be mobilized. We, the newbies, get our turn too. Hurray."

The goblin steps closer to the chief of staff, holding a one-handed axe (subweapon) attached to the back of his shield, and raises the deadly weapon.

"You're the third one. If you kill the other two, you can get the captain's name. Goblin will get his name on his first fight. That's why you're going to die here.

Those were the words that topped it all.

There was a shattering sound of pride in the soldier's head.

He exclaimed, staining the ground with the blood he had spewed.

"Fu...... you've got to be kidding me!　This, this foolishness is impossible!　Goblins!　Goblins?　I am a soldier captain, and the last opponent in my life is a goblin!　The enemy who brought me down is not even a general, but just a small fry!　This can't be happening!　I can't be this unreasonable!　You've got to be kidding me--"

No matter, the blade fell.

The decapitation axe does its job, and the head of a certain elf, who was screaming something or other, is sent flying.

The head rolls on the ground, and the torso crumples down without effort.

The goblin nods his head in satisfaction as he confirms that he has killed his third prey.

He then checks the wear and tear on his equipment, and acknowledges that he is still fully capable of fighting, and runs across the battlefield in search of his fourth prey.

And Krauf-Welt-Lief, the chief of the Noblewood soldiers, was not even recognized as one of the generals, but as one of the many others who laid their corpses out in the field.

The overthrow continues.

Until the moment every last vermin (monster) in the capital is exterminated.

+ + + +

Although the origin of RATESTWOOD is a group of weak people, its size has gradually expanded over the years and now it has formed a city-state.

Even though it is a small country, there are certain facilities that a nation needs.

For example, a castle to defend the city and to show the king's authority, a medical clinic to provide medical treatment, a chapel to offer prayers, and a court to settle disputes based on the law.

As a country, there will inevitably be sinners, and facilities to incarcerate them are also necessary. And the prison for the criminals in RATESTWOOD ...... is located in the outskirts of the city, north of the castle.

The Noblewood soldiers were gathering there.

Or rather, they were being driven and cornered.

They had no choice but to flee to the north after being carefully exterminated by the mysterious forces advancing from the south.

However, the invisibility wards covering the entire city prevented them from escaping out of the city.

Therefore, the Noblewood soldiers, trapped both physically and mentally, tried to escape by taking the half-elves they had locked up in their prisons as hostages.

Mysterious forces are aiding and abetting RATESTWOOD.

Then take the captive half-elves hostage.

Then they can save their own lives.

They blindly believed in this idea, which was far too shortsighted to be coolly considered.

It could be said that they could think of no other way to survive.

Clinging to a glimmer of hope, they made their way to the prison where the half-elves were being held, only to see a corner of the prison ceiling collapse without warning.

A red dragon appeared, smashing through the ceiling with the force of the crash.

The Noblewood soldiers, who recognized that this was the dragon that had annihilated the fairy dragon with a single blow, were half in a state of panic when they saw a man standing on top of the dragon's head.

A monster who could slaughter a fairy dragon.

The man who was kicking its head in the air glared at the inside of the prison, and his hair stood on end as he saw the half-elves lying on the ground, ragged and naked.

"You're all a bunch of trash! ----!!!!"

Instantly, Helian gives the order.

The dusk dragon (Nogardo) immediately carries out the order, which is filled with an overflowing amount of murderous intent.

Only the dragon tribe is allowed to weave dragon magic.

One of them was exercised, and a golden-colored light bullet mixed with dragon energy and magic rushed out.

The light projectile, filled with the power to shatter, swerved to avoid the half-elves, piercing and slaughtering every single Noblewood soldier in the prison.

"Protect the people of Llatestwood!　Don't let any more people die!　If you let them die for nothing, you'll get away with it!

A medic from the Third Legion rushed into the prison, protected by guards from the Second Legion.

A soft green light emanates from everywhere in the prison, and the half-elves, who had been reduced to rags, are treated with great care.

"Is this all the half-elves that have been taken prisoner?

I hope you didn't miss anything!

<

As soon as he heard the report, Helian stomped on the head of the twilight dragon (Nogardo) with all his might.

Reacting like a whipped thoroughbred, the dusk dragon begins to ascend directly upward at the king's command.

Helian, astride the dusk dragon's neck, is protected by dragon magic and reaches a height of 1,000 meters above the ground, despite the subsonic load. Herian's eyes, lit up with fury, reflect the capital city below, and she first gives the Dusk Dragon permission to use the for self-enhancement.

"......ggg."

At the same time, Helian's body was subjected to an unnegligible load.

It was the same as when Rieve used the , or far more than that.

It was as if something important was being sucked out of her body unilaterally.

It's as if your soul is being eaten away.

--I don't care.

I don't care if it's really eating my soul.

Suck it if you want.

If you want to eat it, eat it.

I'll give you all of them if it'll get rid of those vermin.

The dusk dragon faithfully carried out the king's hateful command.

With the dragon's roar, vermilion phosphorescence rises from its body.

This is a sign that the "harbinger of the end," which doubles the power of the next attack, has been activated.

The king then gives an order to the twilight dragon.

The next is a bombardment technique categorized as a wide-area annihilation technique.

<>

Declaration of exercise of authority (Function On).

Selects the Dusk Dragon as the target of activation.

The secret "Fobidun Phantasm" used is "Select Judgment".

The attack power is fixed to the maximum value 《Blast Power Maximize》.

Final Confirmation of Permission to Use 《Final Confirmation》, all omitted.

>

Start target acquisition 《Target Capture Start》.

Enable friend/foe identification (IFF on).

Information Sharing(Direct)Forced Connection: Dream(Data Sharing)The Witch Queen to the Twilight Dragon《・・Forced Connection》.

Range Selection: (Range Select)Ratestock(Ratestockwood)de Capital Region(Metropolis).

Target selection: (target select)Norb(target select)RUTHWOOD soldiers and related persons 《Noblewood Enemies》.

All the above orders will be sent out immediately 《Full Order Immediate》.

>

The secret begins to activate.

The price is an intense feeling of emptiness.

A headache as if a spear had pierced my skull.

Then dizziness and darkened vision.

Distant consciousness is held together by hatred.

<>

A magic circle was deployed under the dusk dragon's eyes.

A huge magic circle with geometric patterns.

Thousands of small and medium-sized magic circles are engraved on the lower layer.

And the number of magic circles perfectly matched the number of enemies displayed in the Tactics Window.

Each of the small and medium-sized magic circles engraved in the void is finely angled to aim at each and every one of the vermin writhing below.

<>

"--f*ck you."

The voice seemed to echo from the depths of hell.

With the whispered sentence of death as a signal, the "secret" was fully activated, and the twilight dragon shot out a brilliant red light from its palate.

The secret of wide-area annihilation that identifies friend and foe - "The Imperial Dragon's Judgment".

The light became a single pillar and pierced into the giant magic circle below, and at the same time, it split into countless smaller magic circles. The red light, guided by the small and medium-sized magic circles, rushed toward the vermin below, and poured down in a shower of meteors. The vermiform meteors engulfed the vermin, vaporizing them all, leaving not even a trace.

--Thus...

The Noblewood advance team, the best of the best out of the entire national armed forces, was deployed.

Not a single person survived, and it was annihilated.