"Ben, even if it's a fragment of Bartram, lend me one and let it transform into a flying dragon."
"! You don't want to go back to the Demon King's Castle, do you? No, come with me to the Republic, brother."
"Ban. I'm the Demon King."
Lasser's tone was calm, yet revealed such majesty that it made people want to kneel down.
The other surviving soldiers were the same. They knew that they could not dissuade the Demon King, and their faces showed a firm determination to sacrifice everything.
Perhaps there are still compatriots in the city who haven't been brainwashed. Perhaps there are still people waiting for the Demon King's rescue. In this case...
"I'm going to do what I have to do. And you too."
The elder brother stroked Bandu's back and persuaded him. Bandu thought for a moment and then confirmed:
"You don't want to die, do you?"
"Of course. Because someone wished me good luck."
"...I understand. Bartram, I'll leave my brother in your care."
As he finished speaking, a slime flowed out from the inside of the dragon scales, crawled to Rasl's neck, and turned into a scarf.
"Ban, this is the real body, right..."
"Brother, even you can't save everything in the Demon Kingdom right now. Remember this."
Bandhu meant that we must not miss the opportunity to withdraw and must bring Bartram back and return him.
Of course, Lasser understood his brother's meaning correctly. He chuckled and nodded.
Then, the scarf flew into the air and instantly transformed into a mimic flying dragon.
Ra'l and the others jumped onto the back of the Mimic Dragon and ran parallel to Bandu.
"Brother, please don't be careless."
"You too, Ben. See you later."
The two brothers looked at each other, vowed to meet again, and then went their separate ways.
——The Black Snowfield, North.
Somewhere about ten kilometers from the Sea of Trees, a team was advancing across the snow. It was a rare moment without wind or snow.
They were residents of the liberators' secret village, Our Lady Village. Several of the demonic ice wolves, each pulling a large sled capable of carrying dozens of people, headed south.
In addition to them, Margaret, riding the flying dragon Uruluk, also led the Schnee tribe forward in the air.
"Colleen, are you cold?"
"Well, I'm fine, Brother Ruth."
On the sleigh, Colleen replied with a smile to Ruth, who was dressed in warm clothes.
But Colleen's expression made Ruth frown. She was clearly forcing a smile. Her pale face wasn't just from the cold.
This is not surprising, because not everyone in the Holy Mother Village came along.
The Gray Men and about half of the former non-combatants of the Raisen branch remained within the forest. There, a formidable number of Imperial troops were hunting down the rebels with a human wave tactic. In other words, they were there as bait.
If we continue to stay in the village, we'll be found sooner or later. Just yesterday, communications with the Republic were cut off. We can't seek refuge there now. The same goes for the other branches.
So, the group decided to simply escape into the [Black Snowfield].
They had planned to take refuge there in case of an emergency. Oscar had left his snowfield gear there. Although it was a bit far, there was a hideout there that the Schnee had used before.
Therefore, this is a reasonable conclusion. However, there are two problems.
If about 300 people were to move together, no matter how careful they were, they would not be able to conceal their tracks. Furthermore, their movement speed was also very limited.
Therefore, the Grays volunteered to act as bait to draw the enemy away. However, if the group consisted solely of combatants, the enemy would inevitably become suspicious, so it would be best to leave behind more able-bodied non-combatants. For this reason, the former members of the Leysin branch also volunteered to remain. They would claim to be residents of Our Lady's Country while fleeing throughout the forest, buying as much time as possible to allow Ruth and the others to escape as far as possible.
"Is everyone safe? I'm sure we'll see them again, right?"
Even though she knew it was meaningless, Colleen couldn't help but ask.
At this time, Yunfa's loud voice was heard coming from the sled in front.
"Of course! They're all perverts who claim to be Our Lady Colleen's personal guards. They're impossible to kill!"
"Yunfa! Stop talking nonsense!"
Yunfa showed her sharp tongue, and her elder sister Sixia immediately warned her.
The adults on the sleds, as well as Maureen and the others on the sled behind, also laughed. The usual laughter eased Colleen's anxiety a little.
"Really... huh? What's wrong?"
Ruth noticed something unusual and looked up. Margaret and the others, standing guard overhead, seemed a little agitated. They pointed ahead at a steep cliff face, a corner of an icy mountain range.
The original planned route was to go around that cliff into the mountains and follow the iceberg valley. But...
Then, a flash of dragon's breath burst out from behind the cliff and shot into the air.
Margaret's face suddenly changed and she quickly descended.
"Everyone, head southwest! Escape into the frost trees at the foot of the mountain! We've been ambushed!"
How could this be possible? Just as everyone was thinking this, the advance reconnaissance Xiuni warriors and flying dragons flew out from the corner of the cliff.
Then, a gigantic ship emerged from the sky. It was an Imperial Army airship. However, the truly astonishing moment was yet to come.
"They're the Demon King's army! The Demon King's army and the Imperial Army have joined forces! We should stay here to buy time and then escape!"
Margaret shouted, leading her men to accelerate their flight. Before Colleen and the others could stop them, the ice wolves simultaneously turned.
In such an open area, it's impossible to protect everyone. While I understand, the enemy doesn't have just one or two airships, but a whole fleet. The Schnee warriors' actions are tantamount to suicide.
"Damn it, why are you doing this?! We're in the Great Black Snowfield! They're lying in wait in this freezing cold, waiting for prey that might not even come! And they're sending so many forces after us!"
In fact, the target of the ambush was not Ruth and others.
When the eastern nations attacked the Republic, if the inhabitants of the Sea of Trees fled, they might have fled to the mountains in the north or the snowy plains in the south. Their original purpose was to prevent the escape of these inhabitants.
The Empire was busy hunting down rebels both within the country and in the southern part of the Sea of Trees, so they needed to join forces with the Demon Kingdom's army to blockade the area surrounding the snowfield. This was also the reason for loaning out the air fleet.
Fighting started behind us and in the air as well.
Margaret and the others were strong enough to rival, or even surpass, the Beastlight Knights. They would definitely win and return alive. Even if they had to stick to the principle of not killing the enemy, they would still win.
Believing and praying in this way, the group ran towards the vast frost forest at the foot of the ice mountain.
then……
“Ah… run, run away!”
I noticed the dazzling red light reflected by the frost trees, but when I looked up, it was too late.
Extra-large incendiary bombs poured down like heavy rain.
Even if an enemy fleet appears from the other side of the iceberg, it does not mean that all the enemies are there.
It is also a natural tactic to wait in advance at the easiest place to take refuge.
The ice wolves desperately changed their routes to avoid being hit directly by the fire bombs, and at the same time used their inherent magic to create an ice barrier.
Then, a violent explosion and shockwave affected Ruth and others.
Everyone fell off the sled and rolled on the snow, and some people hit the frost trees hard.
A large amount of steam filled the air, making it difficult to see the surroundings. Ruth heard an ominous sound.
It was the sound of something breaking and collapsing. The ground also shook violently.
"Ko, Colleen! Are you okay? Colleen!"
Ruth desperately hugged Colleen, so the two did not get separated. Colleen did not appear to have any obvious injuries.
"Ugh... I, I'm fine..."
Ruth breathed a sigh of relief as Colleen stood up, but then his nerves tensed again. Through the gaps in the steam, blown open by the wind, he checked his surroundings. Fortunately, the sled ahead, carrying Dilan and the others, was safe. It seemed the adults had protected them. Then, a little further away, he spotted Sixia and the others. They were lying on the ground, but they didn't seem unconscious.
What happened to the people back there? Ruth thought so, and looked behind her, seeing the worst possible scene.
The ground was broken in two, at least ten meters from the other bank. A massive icy gully bisected the formation. It seemed the concentrated bombardment had unfortunately caused the ground to collapse, exposing the old valley.
As for the fate of the people who were at the crack just now, it is obvious.
“Mom, Mom…”
Now, a sled is about to meet the same fate, and Maureen is on it.
Ruth and Maureen's eyes met. Even though she knew it was impossible to reach her, Ruth reached out her hand. Maureen smiled at him and shook her head.
"Don't look!"
In desperation, Ruth hugged Colleen and rested her face in her arms to prevent her from witnessing Maureen's fall to the bottom.
"Uh, ah, no, how could this be...!" My sister's trembling voice came from my arms.
However, this crazy world did not even give the brother and sister time to indulge in sadness.
Roars rang out as the demon army emerged from the depths of the ice forest.
The gray-clad men advanced to meet the attack, but they numbered only about fifty, while the enemy's numbers were countless. There were at least a thousand or more. If they didn't move quickly, they would surely be outnumbered.
Faced with such an obvious fact, a member of the Chimera unit who was once a test subject shouted:
"Kids, you go first!"
She was a demon woman. Before receiving treatment from Mel and Ross, she had spent her days mumbling to herself with a blank look in her eyes. Now, she was pulling a mass-produced demon sword from a damaged sled and rushing out.
The other test subjects on the sled did the same. They smiled at Ruth and Colleen, then bravely rushed out. It seemed unreal that they had been crippled just a few months earlier.
"No, wait! You'll die... I never asked you to do anything like this!"
"We didn't ask you to do anything, yet you took such good care of us."
That's why they stood and fought, that's why. The liberators had rescued them from hell. The children had saved their souls. And in return, they stood and fought.
"No! No! I'm not taking care of you just to make you do this!"
Colleen's cries were heartbreaking.
The adults who were still safe righted the overturned sled, helped up the people who had fallen out of the sled, and let them get on one after another.
"As long as the sled still works!"
Ruth ran out. Generally speaking, catching up with the ice wolf on the snow was impossible unless they flew. If they could repair the sled, they would have a chance to retreat.
Ruth made this judgment and ran forward, but was blown away by the explosion again.
The sheer force of numbers mocked their determination to die, continuing their threat. Although the barrier blocked numerous firebombs, a few still slipped through, one of which landed near Ruth.
Ruth felt a ringing in his ears, his eardrums were paralyzed, and the impact made him dizzy.
In the gradually blurred vision, I saw Ke Lin running towards here.
Sixia lay on Yunfa, trying her best to use her body to protect her from the impact of the explosion.
To make matters worse, two of the dozens of demon soldiers who had crossed the front line were approaching them from behind.
Although the adults and the ice wolves wanted to rescue them, they were blocked by other demon soldiers...it was definitely too late now.
"Brother! Save Colleen and the others!!"
Ruth cried out for help from the bottom of her heart.
As the demon soldier raised his fierce knife and swung it towards Kelin, a figure holding a sword intervened and blocked the blow.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you because I'm not Oscar's brother. But, I'm still a brother after all."
As he spoke, the young man rolled over and struck the demon soldier on the back of the head with the flat of his sword, knocking him unconscious. Ruth and Colleen stared in surprise.
"D-D-Dil-lan!?"
The one before him, wielding the mass-produced magic sword with exceptional skill, was none other than Di Lan. And not only him...
"What about me? Why don't you say anything to me?"
"Katie!?" Colleen screamed.
In the blink of an eye, the demon soldiers who had just approached the Sixia sisters were lying on the ground, with the tendons of their hands and feet severed.
Standing next to them was Katie, holding a dagger-shaped magic sword in both hands.
"Katie? T-thank you."
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