Chapter 309

Chapter 309. Spoils of War (1)

I had begun to arm myself as I passed through the all-white gate.

By the time I had completed all the preparations, I arrived on the other side where numerous signs were planted.

“Let’s see……”

As I passed the names of Chedaltman, Kimol, and other various fortresses, I stopped in front of a word unfamiliar to me.

‘Symporium.’

It was a castle within the territory of the Atar Empire, the closest location to Gemal among the places where the entrance was currently set up.

As soon as I opened the forbidden exit and stepped outside, there were those waiting to greet me.

“Grrraaah!”

These were monsters that had taken over the empty castle left behind by the fleeing refugees.

The horde continued their advance, and as there was no one left in the fortress to resist, it was the obvious outcome.

As I calmly conjured magic, fierce red flames surged.

It was the Hellfire I hadn’t used in a long while.

The attribute mana, which had increased substantially since I first learned this magic, spread the flames wide.

In an instant, the plaza of Symporium Castle, where I stood, was engulfed in flames and turned into hell.

And in that hell, the monsters began to burn alive.

“Kyaaah!”

“Grah!”

The survivors from that relentless blaze came rushing towards me, the uninvited guest.

I too raised my spear and responded directly.

Thud!

With a single swipe of the spear, an Evolved Species with four stars on its head was sent flying.

Crash!

Its body smashed into a building, collapsing the bricks.

Meanwhile, another monster lunged at me with its jaws wide open but got bisected vertically.

Stepping on the falling entrails of a monster, I thrust my spear into the neck of another following closely behind the already dead one.

Checking mechanically while swinging my spear, I found that the highest rank here was 5-star.

‘It seems like the higher-ranked ones headed east.’

Since there were neither prisoners nor a resistance force here, it would be a waste to station the elite forces to defend an empty fortress.

Thanks to the enemy’s rational judgment, the battle wasn’t prolonged.

The ones with weak resistance had already burned away in the Hellfire I had created, and those who survived weren’t numerous.

Crackle, crackle.

Behind me, the flames that covered the city flickered as I climbed atop the fortress wall, where a wide view unfolded before my eyes.

I gazed at the empty, uninhabited world, but only briefly.

Then I raised my head to observe the sky.

‘Strangely quiet.’

After Agnotia, Temoria, and Senoa appeared and disappeared, the gods of Bihar had been silent.

They hadn’t shown themselves even when their followers were leaving in droves for Earth.

Even now, when I had set foot in Bihar again, there was no response.

Even the Damned System seemed unaware of the gods’ circumstances.

‘Unsettling.’

Still, it didn’t mean I would keep a low profile and stay quiet.

Even if they eventually tried to stop me, I wouldn’t just let it happen.

‘Now then, from here to where Gemal is located……’

It’s to the northeast.

From Symporium Castle, Gemal could be reached by riding a horse northeast for five days.

However, it wasn’t necessary to take that many days.

‘There must be a golden Barrier of Patience glowing not too far from here.’

Kicking off the castle wall, I soared across the sky.

How long had I flown? About half a day, I reached a vivid golden wall.

‘To enter, I’ll first need to bring it down.’

Since the Barrier of Patience itself was the authority of a god, naturally, divinity must be used.

Given the disparity between Temoria and me, it wouldn’t be easy.

‘Though I might not be able to completely destroy it, I should be able to distort part of it.’

Once inside, there wouldn’t be much to worry about.

“Attack!”

“Protect the priests!”

“It’s a surprise attack! Protect the priests!”

I only needed to kill the priests of Temoria who had set up a field camp not far from here.

The fact they were maintaining the wall here meant they were with the radical faction, so there was no hesitation needed.

Adding up all the time it took to clear the group of priests closest to the wall, it wasn’t more than 20 minutes.

Most of that time was spent dealing with the holy knights protecting the priests.

Once everything was done, instead of leaving right away, I looked around.

“What is this now……”

Not far from where the corpses lay, there were numerous unfinished magic circles.

There lay the bodies of mages with their necks and wrists severed, sprawled on these circles.

Their hollow eyes and chapped lips, dry hair, filthy nails stained with grime, and emaciated limbs.

They were devoid of the arrogance typical of mages who live basked in superiority.

Their number was eight.

Lowering myself, I examined the unfinished state of the magic circles.

‘With this configuration…… are they barriers?’

Judging by the arrangements unfamiliar to me, this might be newly established magic.

I couldn’t identify it clearly since among the runes composing the circles, many were unknown to me.

Just in case, I sketched the form of the magic circle into my notebook.

Then I examined the restraints that had severed the necks and wrists of the dead mages.

Inside, as expected, a severing magic circle was engraved.

It seemed like an altered version of existing restraints.

‘The blood is still warm.’

It meant they had just died.

From the context, it seemed the owner of the inscribed mana died, killing the one wearing the restraint as well.

“…… Quite impressive individuals.”

The fact these mages wore the restraints implied they didn’t betray the Demi-humans.

It was safe to assume they chose loyalty over betrayal.

Yet, despite the loyalty, they met a pitiable end.

‘I’m hardly in a position to criticize.’

I too was on my way here, having done similar things to exploit Hasan.

Thus, I couldn’t deny it.

The radical faction’s modus operandi surely had a likeness to mine.

Particularly in their ruthlessness and cold-heartedness for achieving their goals.

‘This is why I intended to leave the radicals here.’

I could think like them.

I, having been raised in a world where equality is the base philosophy, tend to balk at matters involving life or lean toward conservative choices.

However, the radicals, having grown as the privileged in a world where the class system is a given, pursue their goals without any brakes.

‘That’s perhaps why they can do things someone like Rashar couldn’t even dream of.’

In some sense, those in the radical faction could be seen as my peers.

‘Only our objectives are distinctly different.’

When I reached that point in my thinking, I felt the need to change the plan.

Originally, I had intended to leave those remaining here and simply handle my own matters before departing.

‘That might simply lead to more people siding with the traitors.’

It seemed better to clean it up here and now rather than to increase future foes.

If innocent blood was needed for that.

‘I must bear it.’

I was not someone who could merely let innocent deaths go unheeded.

Within my power, I had the humanity to rescue them as much as possible.

Yet, if necessary, I had the coldness to abandon others if it was needed.

Achieving the goal was more vital to me than the righteousness of the means.

Therefore, I averted my gaze from the corpses and slowly rose.

And to control my trembling insides, I recited to myself.

‘I never had the option of conducting a full-scale rescue operation, to begin with.’

This time I hadn’t informed the association of my actions and crossed over quietly and alone.

This meant I wasn’t in a situation where I could conduct a large-scale additional rescue.

I had taken precautions to avoid emotional and impulsive decisions.

It was impossible for me alone to save the innocent scattered over an area about one-third the size of South Korea.

Right at that moment, the ground began to shake ominously.

As if realizing a section of the wall had collapsed, monsters began rushing in terrifying numbers from the west.

Leaping high into the air to check the east, I saw a group of cavalry raising dust as they galloped.

Monsters surged from the west, while the Order’s army advanced from the east.

‘There are surely those pressed into remaining here against their will as well.’

But those distinctions didn’t matter now.

‘While it may not be right for me to divide who lives and who dies based on personal judgment.’

I had no intention of backtracking on my decision.

Even if I had to swallow every consequence that might follow this action alone, this was my choice.

– What are you planning to do?

Ignoring the voice of Kerak I hadn’t heard in a while, I reached toward the Order’s army instead of the monsters.

Quickly, mana and divinity converged, releasing a golden Flame Strike.

Utilizing divinity signified a determination to allow no survivors.

How much time passed amidst the ghastly screams?

The monster legion was now close enough to discern with the naked eye.

‘Now they will cross the broken wall and slaughter all remaining Demi-humans in Bihar.’

Thus began the dawn of destruction.

Having opened the gateway to such a doom, I moved through the air, avoiding the monsters.

* * *

‘Damn it, damn it!’

Haley Sodinia, the second apostle of Temoria.

She restlessly paced inside her private prayer room, prepared solely for herself.

A few days ago, hearing the shocking story from the priests of Finelpenia reported back from their investigation in Symporium left her grounded.

– Where on earth did they all go, only to have disappeared! They left with the outsiders!

Not only had the moderate factions and the populace that were supposed to buy time vanished in an instant, the cause of their disappearance was attributed to the outsiders.

Those who had fled this land returned and took away all the human shields!

The priestly leaders were furious upon hearing this news, frustrated and eventually resentful.

– Had we not erected the wall, we might have fled to the outsider’s world as well!

– What are we going to do now?!

– Sigh… it was a mistake to forcibly seize the gate when the outsiders were returning.

– Absolutely! Surely they harbored grudges and took revenge for that event!

– Didn’t I tell you we should have just let them go then?!

– Are you saying this is all our fault now?! You all agreed as well!

They shifted all the blame onto each other, repeated accusations, resentment, and criticism.

Haley was no exception.

Grinding her teeth, she muttered as she envisioned the fair face of Rashar.

“That woman surely knew about this……”

That the outsiders would return!

‘Yes, otherwise, how do you explain her actions?’

Claiming they needed to let the outsiders go despite knowing only death and ruin awaited was beyond anything a sound mind would do.

She surely knew they would come back and was trying to appear virtuous for credit!

“Such filthy hypocrisy……”

Haley clenched her fists and trembled with rage.

Every time she recalled the eyes of Rashar, whom she confronted at the gate, her mood twisted.

The straight, clear golden eyes alone perceived as a critique of Haley.

In the distant past, she had abandoned such idealism, compromising with reality and pursuing convenience and profit.

Conscience, in other words, conviction.

Haley no longer possessed what Rashar had, and whenever Rashar came to mind, she was burdened with complex feelings, including inferiority.

Crunch.

Unintentionally, a bone-chilling sound escaped between her gritted teeth, yet it didn’t reach Haley’s ears.

She paced anxiously around the prayer room until she realized struggling over an already missed chance was futile and sharply swept back her hair.

“I can’t stand by like this.”

Now was the time to place everything on the remaining hope left in this land.

Damned System