Chapter 251 Chapter 248 Retreat
Jima shouted, “The canister is going to break!”
Originally a powerful confinement for the Demon King’s extraordinary substance, the black canister began to crack, with a black oil-like liquid seeping out, constantly emitting black smoke that formed vague and wailing faces.
Playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Mother of All Beasts is not an easy task. Although Jima utilized her advantage of traversing dreams to inform King Richard of the Lionheart and successfully handed the Demon King’s extraordinary substance to him in front of the Mother of All Beasts, during the previous pursuit, the Mother of All Beasts’ curse had hit the canister. It’s already remarkable that this canister has held together until now without the maintenance of the Sanctum.
It seemed that the black liquid heard Jima’s words and lunged at her.
Jima quickly retreated more than twenty steps.
“May the Goddess protect me.”
A holy maiden from the battalion prayed for the Goddess’s protection, and a pure white light fell down, temporarily blocking the leaking liquid.
The knights surrounded the canister, their air filled with horrified screams, even though they were seasoned knights who had faced many battles in the desert and were not ordinary folk; they held true to chivalry. Nevertheless, many felt a jolt of anxiety and panic within.
Due to matters of pride, many knights pretended that nothing had happened, staring with righteous anger at the leaking canister.
An honest roundtable knight kissed the hilt of his sword and quietly said, “Goddess, grant me courage.”
A commanding voice rang out, “Shatter this foul evil and throw it away.”
Jima turned to look, and the speaker was none other than King Richard of the Lionheart.
He was riding atop a majestic griffin, not quite sitting as much as he was perched on a stool-like saddle on the broad back of the flying beast.
This mighty new king held a shield adorned with a crowned lion, and his helmet had a prominent iris flower insignia.
His weathered face bore the marks of age, rough and dark-skinned, with a square jaw cloaked in a bristle of stubble.
“Your Majesty, that won’t do.”
The holy maiden accompanying the entourage was a golden-haired woman sitting sideways on a pure white unicorn, clothed in a pristine white gown, barefoot, and wearing a crown woven from olive leaves.
It was a pity that her face was plain, and Jima, after a few glances, chose to look away, observing only her silhouette, quietly learning her attire.
The holy maiden continued, “It will pollute this land. If contained, I would purify the wicked energy within, and the Demon King’s power could be put to a just cause.”
“Purify it, then disband it,” King Richard of the Lionheart lifted his sword and pointed toward the distant forest: “What the enemy desires, we must damage, not be greedy for its power and give the enemy an opportunity.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Jima cried out in urgency, “Wait!”
The knights and the king turned to her, and many knights cast unfriendly glances her way.
Jima bowed and lowered her head, stepping back with her right leg, sweeping her hand at her waist to perform a standard courtesy, saying, “Brave majesty, I hope you will hear me.”
“Demon.” The honest roundtable knight said, “You have no right to advise.”
Jima did not conceal her horns, wings, or tail; the knights disliked demons.
“Step forward, speak,” King Richard of the Lionheart said, “I believe in George the Dragon Slayer. When I was battling in the endless desert against unceasing waves of skeletons, his virtue and fame reached my ears. Though he is not a believer of the Goddess, I trust he has always adhered to the code of chivalry.”
“The Demon King’s extraordinary substance must be carefully guarded,” Jima said, masking the greedy glint in her eyes when she looked at it. “For it concerns the safety of Quinas City.”
“I have heard from the knights of the widow of Duke Carson that the regent lord has entrusted the city to the Sanctum and your master to guard it.”
Jima diligently ignored King Richard’s improper title.
“Yes, Quinas City is in grave danger. Only the brave knights who emerged from the last great battle are defending it. More than a hundred thousand beastmen and over forty cyclopes are besieging Quinas City. Your Majesty, your subjects fight valiantly to avoid becoming prey to the beasts— even farmers are taking up arms to surround their homeland.”
Jima continued, “But yesterday, I received the latest news; the walls of Quinas City are on the verge of collapse and may be breached at any moment.”
King Richard of the Lionheart replied, “This is my shame; the enemies of humanity will surely die by my sword. But what does this have to do with the Demon King’s extraordinary substance?”
“The Mother of All Beasts seeks the Demon King’s extraordinary substance; she will not stand idly by while you transport it. However, leading a victorious army, she will surely come with a horde of man-eating beasts to attack.”
“Regardless of whether there is extraordinary substance or not, I will have a decisive battle with those beasts,” King Richard of the Lionheart drew his sword, pointing at the Demon King’s extraordinary substance: “This thing is the source of calamity; I am divinely guided to destroy it.”
Jima’s heart sank; she could not discern whether Richard’s words were merely habitual or a divine oracle from the lake goddess. She said:
“But as long as you have the Demon King’s extraordinary substance in hand, in order to reclaim it quickly, the beastmen will have no choice but to lift the siege and come to battle. At that time, the people of Barto will surely be saved, and my fiancé can leave safely.”
King Richard of the Lionheart looked at the demoness Jima, then at the canister that was still emitting black smoke.
At that moment, a centaur came galloping from the distant forest, raising both hands, a white cloth tied around his horn, calling out fluently in common tongue:
“I am the messenger! Knights! Do not harm the envoy.”
But the knights drew their swords and raised their lances, with several brave knights rushing forward to beat the centaur, bringing him before King Richard, with swords at his neck, asking, “Your Majesty, the life of this talking beast is in your hands.”
The centaur lifted its head, half its teeth missing from its mouth: “King of Knights, I come to convey the will of the Mother of All Beasts.”
“Let the beggar approach.”
Two knights loosened their grip, and the centaur slowly walked to stand before King Richard of the Lionheart, saying:
“She wishes to duel you, with armies facing off; the victor will receive the Demon King’s extraordinary substance, and she will command her army to withdraw from Quinas’s sheepfold.”
“I have heard her plea, and out of chivalry, I accept,” King Richard said, drawing his sword and swinging down from the high griffin, a wave of invisible sword energy slicing through the centaur’s arms.
The centaur fell to the ground, bleeding from its severed arms.
“Go back and tell that grotesque mother beast that next time, she should send a more courteous envoy,” King Richard of the Lionheart said: “You are the real beasts.”
The centaur messenger had no choice but to leave, blood streaming from it.
King Richard of the Lionheart looked at the canister that was still smoking and commanded, “Take care of it.”
“Understood, my king.”
Jima breathed a sigh of relief inside.
As long as the Demon King’s extraordinary substance was taken care of, the initiative remained on her side.
The beastmen’s army would take at least ten days to half a month to withdraw from Quinas City and then march to Le’an Port. King Richard’s noble army would have some time to regroup.
As long as the treasure was unharmed.
Jima shivered, feeling something was amiss.
Logically, she shouldn’t be so fixated on the Demon King’s extraordinary substance.
But what about the earlier greed and the recent relaxation? More terrifying was the fact that she had not realized it at all.
Thinking of this, the demoness Jima quickly distanced herself from the canister leaking black smoke, struggling to shift her gaze away.
Suddenly, a loud scream of terror erupted. It was as if a hundred stabs had pierced through the demon. The scream resembled countless men, women, and children all desperately voicing their most profound fear.
Several knights fell from their mounts, spooked steeds bolting away, and many knights with sturdy builds trembled uncontrollably, while a dozen brave knights fled like the most cowardly of wretches.
Jima, however, only felt the cacophony and was not much affected. She quickly turned to look at the now shattered canister containing the Demon King’s extraordinary substance, which had broken apart, a mass of black liquid hovering in midair, still emitting wails.
Jima sensed the power of the curse. The Mother of All Beasts wasn’t behind this; she didn’t believe it.
Another ray of light fell, forming a translucent wall that encircled the writhing liquid.
The screams of terror ceased, but the mass of black liquid fell, seeping into the earth, forming a face that screamed in fear.
Jima instinctively reached out her hand: “No, this could be problematic.”
Once the extraordinary substance fuses with the mundane, it is incredibly difficult to separate, often requiring time to endure without special means. This meant that the “flag capture battle” had turned into a “point capture battle,” and the human army would have to abandon the walls of Le’an Port and move out to defend the ground that had been activated by the extraordinary substance.
“Good,” King Richard of the Lionheart calmed the trembling griffin and gazed over the flat expanse before him, saying: “The knights can charge forth freely.”
Jima looked towards the opposite direction, not far from the coast. The sea was murky, and a blood-red sun gradually sank below the horizon. Under the sun, several sailboats were indistinct in silhouette.
Just like the future situation, it was hazy and unclear; who would emerge victorious was uncertain.
King Richard of the Lionheart commanded, “Mobilize the serfs, burn down this forest, and build a wooden stockade around this area.”
Jima departed, as there was no longer any business for her here.
A three-eyed raven perched on a branch in the distant forest, its forehead eye gazing toward the Demon King’s extraordinary substance merging with the earth, croaked a few times before flapping its wings and flying away.
…
…
Evening.
Half of Quinas City was engulfed in flames, while the other half was belching black smoke.
On the broken city gate, a figure stood atop, shouting in a hoarse voice:
“I once again declare a fact; your mother has signed a treaty of battle with King Richard. If you do not leave now, she will surely take her wrath out on you.”
“Get lost! You bunch of man-eating beasts!”
The last rays of the sunset fell upon George’s pockmarked armor and upon the ruins of the city wall where he knelt before the massive rock.
Below, a circle of beastmen surrounded him, looking at George’s smoke-stained armor and murmuring among themselves, wondering if this great enemy had lost his mind.
“Poor George!” A beast king pushed through the crowd, raising a sheep’s head to shout, “We still have to feast in the sheepfold tonight.”
“Lies!” George suddenly threw a sheep’s head at the beast king: “If you do not retreat, your fate will be the same as your predecessor’s.”
“Am I afraid?” The beast king displayed his wild, muscular chest, “You are merely culling the weak among us!”
That night, the beastmen’s army took advantage of the night to withdraw from the smoky Quinas City.
