Chapter 234 Two Hundred and Thirty-One: Kill That Child
After the four of them held a secret meeting to discuss countermeasures.
They continued to discuss the next topic: what to do about Quinas City?
What else can be done?
Defend it.
Gregory said that he was going to die anyway, and before his death, he might as well take a few beastmen with him as a contribution to purifying this dark world.
George didn’t need to say anything.
Jima didn’t take the matter seriously; she only worried about whether her investment in George would go to waste. George always took on foolish tasks, and she hoped he could keep his life this time.
Anyway, she had planned that if the situation went wrong, she would retreat immediately, ensuring she could run faster than that group of knights.
She lazily said, “Defending the city requires unity among all. It’s nothing serious that Lady Casson has slipped away, but she will take many knights with her and provide excuses for many knights to flee, which is a devastating blow to morale.”
George was deep in thought, Gregory was closing his eyes to rest, Jima was yawning, and Eve Frostleaf remained silent.
None of them had a good solution.
Eve Frostleaf had wanted to propose “honor killing,” suggesting that if Lady Casson’s family was unfortunate enough to be executed by dark elves, no one would have a reason to escort the Duchess of Casson to escape.
But she thought that was too cruel, so she kept her mouth shut.
Finally, George broke the silence: “There really is no way out.”
Gregory lectured, “George, life has many tragedies that cannot be changed by effort; you’d best learn to accept it. But before accepting, it’s best to do everything you can.”
George’s face grew stern as he replied unhappily, “Mm.”
Before Gregory’s tedious lecture continued, George hastily presented his plan:
“I have an idea. I will call upon the knights to fight in the name of my personal reputation and morals, and we’ll keep as many as we can. At the same time, I will strive for military power to hold this city and organize everyone to actively defend. The desperate populace will believe me, and I need to give a public speech.”
Jima propped her chin, just wanting the meeting to end quickly, and said, “No problem.”
Eve Frostleaf looked gentle and was pleased to see George beginning to understand power.
Gregory opened his eyes and said, “Go ahead and do it; I will report to the Sanctum. Brave paladins will come to organize people to resist.”
“Who will command?”
“You, and only you.”
George felt a heavy weight on his shoulders; he took a deep breath and said, “Okay.”
Gregory hit the table with his fist and said, “The meeting is over.”
The four stood up.
Jima suddenly said, “Wait, we forgot one.”
As the other three turned their gazes toward Jima, the succubus slowly said, “Let’s name the military operation to steal the Demon King’s extraordinary material.”
Gregory said, “Operation Pure Wilds.”
George said, “Rescue.”
Eve Frostleaf also spoke up: “Thief.”
Jima said, “Let’s call it Thief then. If this plan leaks, it will fail halfway; it concerns the lives of over two hundred thousand people—”
Gregory interrupted, “Succubus, what malicious thoughts are you harboring? Everyone present is trustworthy.”
“I suspect there’s a traitor,” Jima said. “The Mother of Beasts can accurately locate us and intercept our breakout troops, indicating she has a strong medium connected to us.”
“There are two possibilities. One, George, you don’t have some blood relation to the Mother of Beasts, do you?”
George’s face hardened: “Jima, you’re just grasping at straws.”
Gregory continued to stare at Jima unfriendly, as if trying to see what trick she was playing.
“The second possibility is there’s a traitor among us. Since you all can discern lies, let’s bring them one by one for questioning.”
Eve Frostleaf looked at Jima, remaining expressionless.
The elf recalled that yesterday during their post-battle summary in the Dream Palace, Jima had dismissed the question of “how the Mother of Beasts knew our whereabouts,” believing there were a hundred explanations.
Today, she was adamant it might be a traitor…
Jima continued, “Let’s start questioning the people around us, Eve Frostleaf’s maid and George’s attendant.”
George said, “I’ve already asked the horned child.”
“Ask again.”
“He’s still just a child.”
“I’m still less than two years old, and I have horns as well.” Jima’s tone became angry as she pointed at the light blue honest domain: “In the end, I have to swear I didn’t deceive everyone or betray anyone; why am I the first to be scrutinized?”
“Clearly, the suspicion falls most heavily on the horned child. He got back the latest and has no ability to protect himself.”
“Alright.” Gregory said lightly, “Since the succubus wants fairness, she shall have it.”
George had nothing to counter, only slightly surprised that Bishop Gregory actually supported the succubus.
George said, “Alright, but everything needs evidence.”
Jima replied, “Of course.”
Gregory removed the light blue domain.
This was a small transaction between him and Jima. The initiation of scrutiny on Jima was something she had previously requested privately.
Gregory was glad for it.
After the meeting, they first went to find the elven maid.
It seemed like a fool might have good fortune. During the tough breakout battle, the skilled elven maid, tall and adept with a bow, somehow came out unscathed. She even had time to enjoy the chaos of the human city, criticizing their stupidity, backwardness, and cowardice.
When the scrutiny was suggested, the elven maid almost drew her sword to attack; she simply could not accept being questioned by a “lowly monkey.”
“How could you suspect me of collusion with crude beasts? I’m not one of those dark perverts from Duruchi.”
Upon Eve Frostleaf’s stern gestures, she reluctantly answered George’s questions.
The result was, of course, a pass.
The three returned to George’s courtyard and found the bored horned child basking in the sun, a hint of sadness in his face as the sunlight fell on him.
Seeing Jima and Eve Frostleaf, he hurried to stand and lowered his head, as if deliberately demonstrating that he dared not look at Jima. His head was bowed low, his neck arched in a way that exposed his cervical vertebrae.
Through his body language, Jima could sense his discontent. To her, the horned child’s performance was nothing short of exaggerated.
Moreover, in her eyes, the pink mass in the horned child’s chest, symbolizing jealousy, was still larger than the other mists. The purple mass, symbolizing lust, was only slightly smaller than that pink mass, just like before.
George spoke gently: “Recently, the Mother of Beasts has mastered our movements. To eliminate suspicion, we’re conducting scrutiny on everyone. I don’t suspect you, but it’s necessary; Jima, Frostleaf, Bishop Gregory, and I have all been scrutinized.”
The horned child raised his head and said, “As you wish, my lord.”
Jima noticed that his toes were nervously gripping the ground, and his hands were slightly trembling.
Is he scared?
George asked, “Have you betrayed us?”
“No… no.” The horned child almost cried as he said, “My lord, you… are the one who saved me from the gallows.”
George said to Jima, “See? He didn’t betray, nor does he have the capability.”
“You’re being careless, George.” Jima replied, “In terms of speaking the truth, I’m a master-level person; even I was deceived—”
George’s gaze sharpened.
“Uh… it led you to some harmless misunderstandings.” Jima quickly asked the horned child, “Have you communicated with Vecina, the Mother of Beasts? Answer yes or no.”
“Communicated? What does that mean?”
“Yes or no.”
The horned child burst into tears, “I… I don’t know anything.”
In the past, he wanted to cry and tell George who bullied him, and George would always put down his work to teach the bullies a lesson.
But at this moment, George’s blue eyes were fixed on him, unmoving, sending shivers down his spine.
The horned child pitifully said, “My lord George.”
George softly said, “Answer with yes or no; it’s alright. As long as you’re innocent, no one can harm you.”
“Why… why is this happening?”
“Don’t change the subject!” Jima shouted, brandishing her branch-axe-gun, the gleaming blade intimidating the horned child: “Yes or no! Answer quickly.”
“Jima, calm down.” George reached out to block Jima’s axe blade and turned his head with a smile toward the horned child: “Take your time, answer yes or no.”
Suddenly, the horned child lifted his head, glaring fiercely at the tall George, shouted, “What are you pretending for? Yes! I spoke with the Mother of Beasts.”
George was stunned.
He asked, “You… betrayed us?”
“Betray? I’m seeking revenge!” The horned child said, “Yes, I secretly spoke with the Mother of Beasts at the tree hole; she is the only one who truly loves me, unlike you cowardly and despicable bipedal sheep! Different!”
“Do you consider yourself a beastman?”
The horned child yelled defiantly, “Yes, we beastmen are going to kill you bipedal sheep back to the past, when you were nothing but prey.”
George continued to ask, “How did you expose our whereabouts?”
“You fools.” The horned child said, “I gave my blood to the Mother of Beasts; that’s the only way I can help my mother.”
George felt confused and asked, “Why?”
The horned child bared his teeth at him: “Why?!”
“I hate you, George. You save me, raise me, just for fun, to make others praise you as a good person, a great person, hypocrite!”
“You look down on me but always speak to me with a smile. I’m not even allowed to glance at your women. What’s wrong with just a glance? You even collude with the succubus; they say your home has eighty-eight women, yet I’m not allowed to glance at one of them.”
George was furious and pulled down the large sword on his shoulder, saying, “Ungrateful wretch! You will be judged.”
“Go ahead and kill me now, what are you pretending for? You’ve been suspicious of me for a long time.” The horned child stretched out his neck, filled with resentment, his eyes fixed fiercely on Jima: “I still want to see your—”
Jima swept her hand, and the hammer behind the axe-gun struck the horned child’s cheek, sending several bloodied teeth flying, and he fell to the ground.
Jima stepped forward, forcefully stepping on his hand, twisting his foot, enjoying the screams of the horned child below her as she said, “This scrutiny is something I pushed for because I’ve wanted to kill you for a long time.”
Under the impact of the “branch-axe-gun,” the wounds in the horned child’s mouth continuously spewed blood, choking him to the point where he couldn’t speak, while the painful force burned like flames through his nerves.
Jima kicked him again: “I hate self-important weaklings, especially those who live on the pity of the strong. If it weren’t for George being here, you would have died long ago in the curse I invented.”
“Jima, that’s enough.”
Jima turned her head, originally wanting to mock George, but upon seeing his weary face, she softened.
George said, “He needs to be judged; there’s no escaping death; I truly failed.”
The horned child shot a fierce glance at George, about to speak.
Jima kicked again and said, “I hate your gaze.”
The horned child fearfully hugged his head.
At this moment, Eve Frostleaf spoke up: “Is the judgment public?”
George said, “Of course.”
“At this critical moment,” Eve Frostleaf said, “it will disappoint the crowd and cause them to lose their approval of you.”
“Definitely no summary execution.” As a devout follower of the God of Dawn, George said, “Only with public justice will everyone feel at ease.”
Eve Frostleaf appeared to casually step forward. Due to her long legs, she actually took a large stride, deliberately positioning herself between George and Jima, her figure perfectly blocking Jima and the horned child. She advised, “Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.”
“Frostleaf, you…” George found it hard to accept that Eve Frostleaf would say such things, his expression unchanged, his tone very natural as he said, “This is a conspiracy not meant for the light.”
Jima understood Eve Frostleaf’s hint and made a quick decision, slightly raising the axe-gun and swiftly cutting toward the horned child’s neck.
The blade embedded halfway into his neck, the horned child looked at Jima in terror, barely managing to utter, “Pardon…”
Unfortunately, Jima had no mercy.
“Jima!”
George pushed aside Eve Frostleaf, just as Jima stepped on the axe-gun and cleanly decapitated the horned child, cutting off any possibility of rescue.
George watched the decapitated body of the horned child, blood continuously spilling out, seeping into the ground, the head at the center of the bloodstains filled with regret and a desire to survive. George, in a daze, seemed to hear the Blood God laughing madly.
He clenched his fist, his solid back trembling, then loosened.
His neck faintly pained, he felt as if Jima’s axe had struck his own neck.
After a long time, George finally turned his head.
Jima lowered her head, hands behind her back, wings drooping, with a pitiful expression as if she had done something wrong, her tone soft as she said, “I’m sorry, I acted impulsively.”
George was both angry and amused, pointing: “Get out.”
Jima turned and sprinted away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
George glanced at the horned child’s corpse one last time, a lump of frustration in his chest, and turned back to his room. Sitting in the chair, he grabbed his own hair. At that moment, he felt truly defeated, and upon seeing the desk—his desk for rewriting “Mother’s Letter”—he felt even more his failure.
Usually proud, he suddenly resonated with Gregory’s lecture, “Life has many tragedies that cannot be changed by effort…”
He didn’t know how long had passed when he looked up and noticed a silver figure standing beside him—it was Eve Frostleaf, who had been quietly standing next to him.
“Frostleaf.” George sighed, “I…”
Eve Frostleaf rarely mocked him: “I understand you.”
“Can you listen to me ramble?”
Eve Frostleaf gently nodded.
“I’m really terribly defeated.” George said, “Hearing the sound of Jima beheading him felt like that axe chopped my own neck. I don’t know how to describe that feeling to you, it’s like… it’s like—”
George raised his hand, as if searching for a gesture to express his emotions.
Eve Frostleaf said, “I understand; you feel defeated on two counts. No matter how much kindness you show the horned child, he still resents you, unable to defy his beastly nature. Similarly, no matter how much effort you put into Jima, she hasn’t changed at all.”
Eve Frostleaf’s lightly pink lips gently uttered a sentence: “Your theory of redemption has always failed.”
George was taken aback, then revealed a bitter smile: “I can’t refute you, Frostleaf.”
The two talked a lot, with Eve Frostleaf fulfilling a good role as a sounding board.
Until Jima peeked her head around the doorframe, revealing an innocent smile, saying, “Sorry to interrupt you two, but the afternoon meeting is about to start.”
“And him?”
Jima smiled mysteriously, withdrew her head, and vanished.
The horned child’s corpse on the ground also vanished without a trace.
