The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 73

“Surrender?”

“Yes, surrender. I’d personally prefer to kill you all right here, but unfortunately, the higher-ups want you captured alive. If you don’t resist, no one will get hurt. At least, there won’t be any casualties here.”

“……”

“Don’t waste time and let’s wrap this up quickly. No matter what you do, the outcome will be the same……”

Suddenly, a sharp slicing sound filled the air. The Demonic Beast leader widened his eyes and swiftly retreated. Kalph’s sword, which had approached imperceptibly fast, narrowly grazed his clothes.

“Sorry, but I don’t have the patience to listen to your nonsense.”

“……”

“Stop talking and fight.”

“……Fine. To avoid future trouble, it’d be better to kill the Knight now.”

The Demonic Beast leader grinned and gripped his greatsword. His muscles swelled, radiating intense energy.

“I’ll make you regret it!”

The Demonic Beast leader’s figure blurred like an afterimage. In the next instant, with a resounding crash, the two of them clashed weapons. Yet, the sight was fleeting. Their figures quickly vanished into a cloud of dust, leaving only sparks flying in all directions.

Whizz! Boom! Crack―!

The exchange continued, too fast for the eye to follow. Whenever their forms seemed to reappear, they would vanish again, making it hard to assess the situation. Judging by the increasingly grim faces of the clan members, it didn’t seem like they were in an advantageous position.

“What the hell, that guy is blocking all of Lord Kalph’s attacks.”

“He’s not even a high-level Demonic Beast, but he’s that strong? Have we gotten that weak?”

“Even with the King sealed, could we have really become this weak?”

As the clashing sounds grew louder, the surrounding tension tightened. The initial confidence that filled the clan members when Kalph stepped forward had long faded.

In the next moment, Kalph landed at a distance from where he had been fighting. Although not much time had passed, he looked quite fatigued.

“Lord Kalph!”

“Are you alright, Lord Kalph?”

Nodding, he muttered a low curse. His expression was grim.

“Something’s wrong.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“I’ve gotten weaker than I expected. There shouldn’t be this much of a discrepancy.”

“Gasp! So it’s true?”

“Yes! I also felt something was off all along!”

“We’ll know more if we test it further. You all fall back a bit more.”

At that moment, a mist-like energy surged around his body. It soon formed into a massive wave, taking shape. The completed form was a pure white tiger. The white tiger made a graceful circle in the air before landing softly on the ground.

“It’s Lord Kalph’s Guardian, Scyther!”

Even without someone’s exclamation, it was impossible not to recognize the majestic creature.

“Rrraawr!”

The beast’s blue eyes swept over the crowd, letting out a thunderous roar.

“Scyther!”

Responding to Kalph’s call, the white tiger immediately lifted him onto its back and soared into the sky. Their movements were so synchronized that they seemed like one entity.

“Haha! So that’s your Guardian?”

The Demonic Beast leader still laughed boldly, but the ensuing battle took a drastically different turn.

Around the Guardian Scyther, icy streams of water shot up. The twin bursts of water darted like spears, persistently pursuing the Demonic Beast leader. Though the shocked Demonic Beast tried to evade, he couldn’t entirely block the streams shooting from all directions. Despite the intricacy of the fight, the movements were almost too much to track visually.

One thing was clear to the naked eye: with each clash of weapons, another scratch appeared on his body.

“Damn it!”

“Leader!”

As the leader lost his composure, the other Demonic Beasts grew agitated. They immediately joined the fight, quickly surrounding Kalph. The numbers were clearly against him. Before anyone could react, a loud crash echoed as both the Demonic Beasts and Kalph were thrown to the ground together.

“Lord Kalph!”

As Kalph collapsed, coughing up red blood, his Guardian Scyther dissipated into a mist. When the stunned clan members tried to rush toward him, Kalph raised a hand to stop them.

“Damn! I knew I was right.”

“R-right about what…?”

“It’s not just that we’ve gotten weaker. These bastards have gotten stronger. They’ve done something to their bodies.”

“……!”

Everyone’s faces hardened at his words. At that moment, the Demonic Beast leader, staggering to his feet, chuckled.

“Heh, you figured that out instantly. As expected of a Knight.”

Just like Kalph, the Demonic Beast leader didn’t look unscathed either. The Demonic Beasts who had joined in the attack were struggling to get up. His eyes, full of murderous intent, glinted as he glared at Kalph, who returned the gaze.

“Where on earth did you get that power?”

“Ha ha, curious, are you? It’s actually nothing special. We used your blood.”

“…Our blood?”

“Didn’t you know? Well, it was unexpected for us too. Just processing a bit of your blood turns out to be excellent nourishment that actually helps us grow. Humans really discover fascinating things.”

“…!”

That revelation drew gasps from all around. His words confirmed it all. Humans had indeed interfered in this matter.

“Of course, obtaining Clonne’s blood was incredibly difficult. Aren’t you curious about where we got this blood? Specifically, whose blood it is that we processed?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“You must have some idea.”

His tone was ominously unsettling. Anxiety quickly turned into reality. With the next words, everyone’s faces turned pale.

“Do you know that your King was seriously injured when he was sealed? He bled a lot due to his fatal wounds.”

“…!”

“Yes. So much that we could fill a jar with the blood that pooled on the floor.”

The King’s blood.

Did he just say they used the King’s blood? They used the blood of the Clonne King to come and decimate his race?

The people, in shock, trembled. Their eyes, wide with rage, were bloodshot. The last shreds of rationality and composure they had maintained were completely lost. The Demonic Beast leader laughed even more loudly, as if their reactions fed his amusement.

“It was really unexpected. I thought your race was useless, but it turns out you could actually help us grow stronger! Be grateful, because thanks to this, I decided not to kill you all.”

“Grr!”

“You bastards…!”

Ignoring the grinding of their teeth, the Demonic Beast leader turned his gaze towards the silently rigid Kalph.

“But you, it seems better for you to die here. You’re way stronger than I anticipated. Leaving you alive would only cause trouble.”

“…Do you think you can?”

“Of course. Looks like the solution is pretty clear already.”

“What?”

“I told you, you wouldn’t be able to do it alone.”

A meaningful smile curled on the Demonic Beast leader’s face as his eyes narrowed slyly. In the next instant, a rough voice boomed through the air.

“Everyone, attack that guy! He must be killed!”

“Aye!”

“……!”

At the moment the command was given, the waiting Demonic Beasts sprang forward eagerly. The clan members, caught off guard, hurriedly gathered to defend.

“Protect Lord Kalph!”

“Stop them!”

They gritted their teeth, but the Demonic Beasts outnumbered them significantly. It was hard to fend off the overwhelming horde, especially since the Demonic Beasts were now stronger. The sight of defenders being kicked and sent flying continued.

“What are you all doing! I’m fine, fall back!”

Kalph tried to stop everyone, but no one listened. He was too occupied with defending himself against the surging attacks to do anything else. The tide quickly turned against us. Even I, who was not well-versed in such matters, could see it at a glance.

“Ah!”

“Roan!”

Someone fumbled and dropped their sword. The moment Kalph’s attention shifted to him, the balance shattered instantly. The Demonic Beast leader seized the opening and leaped powerfully into the air.

“Hahaha! This is the end!”

‘No!’

I moved forward instinctively, but a faster wind brushed past me. In the blink of an eye, a dark shadow descended into the midst of the Demonic Beasts.

Slash! Crack!

“Argh!”

“……!”

The force of the wind was so overwhelming that I closed my eyes involuntarily. I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. But when I reopened my eyes, the sight before me made me gasp. Where the space once filled with Demonic Beasts had been, there was now only ruin. Blackened remains and unidentifiable chunks were scattered all over.

In the center of the devastation stood a man, calmly. Long black hair cascaded down to his waist, swaying gently in the wind. His serene green eyes scanned the surroundings coldly. It was impossible not to recognize him.

“Lord Aska!”

“Lord Aska! You’ve returned!”

The Second Knight, Aska, had come back.

As the emotional cries of welcoming people reached him, Aska nodded indifferently. He slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding. His presence here implied that others from the escort journey had also returned. Sure enough, there were approaching footsteps from behind.

“Ah, look at this mess! What’s with all this charred stuff? Are these all Demonic Beasts?”

“Wow, there sure are a lot of them, aren’t there?”

“Hey! Is everyone safe?”

It was Talis, Irei, and other familiar faces returning.

“You guys!”

Everyone’s faces lit up. The group that had ventured out for the escort was the village’s main force. This meant the situation was now entirely different from when Kalph had been handling it alone. The Demonic Beasts, too, seemed to realize the battle had turned against them, evident from their distorted expressions. The sheer number of them had already decreased significantly from Aska’s earlier attack.

“Damn, what’s going on? Why are there more Knights here?”

“What should we do now, Leader?”

“…We didn’t expect this. To think there would be two Knights here when this isn’t even their main base.”

But a voice unexpectedly responded from an unanticipated direction.

“Not two. Three.”

“……!”