Chapter 101: The retreat
「I'm sorry, Maia dono, if I had offended you before.」Kuron lowered his head as he approached the alchemist while carrying his daughter, who was sound asleep on his back
「Sorry? What do you mean, Kuron san?」Maia was confused.「and please, just call me Maia.」
「About the disrespect I showed when we first met.」
「Disrespect?」Maia thought about their first meeting back in the early morning, before giving the Yves a smiling response.「You meant the uneasiness you felt? I would not blame you had you been outright hostile to me, Rowan chan, and Ryan chan. After all, we're human. To you, the inhabitants of Monas Kye, who had fought against the 8 crusades initiated by the Theocracy for more than 200 years, then having to deal with the aggression from the Yin Empire, us humans bring nothing but death and destruction to your ways of life…I am ashamed to admit it, but Rowan and I came from a small isolated village with backward ways of thinking and there were times when we both viewed demihumans with dread and disdain…」
「You were?」surprised Kuron before looking at Rowan, who was trying to heal the injured prisoners.「I would never have guessed it had you not told me. The two of you and Ryan dono have been so eager to help us.」
「Yes, that was before our Master saved us and our village.」The girl smiled, thinking back to the time they first met Kibadios and living blissfully in the forest.
「Really? Kibadios-dono did?」
「Yes, our village was suddenly under attack by the monsters out of nowhere and it was thank to Kibadios sama that the attack was repelled.」
「Ha, Kibadios dono is really an interesting man, isn't he? He's like a heroic character in a story that would always show up and protect the weak and vulnerable.」
「I don't think he views himself as one though.」 A hint of sadness crossed her usual brightened expression.「but to us, he's our savior, he's the light that we follow, no matter what fate awaits us.」
「Daddy…haaa… flower…」The young Yves girl was laughing in her sleep.
「It seems like Tina chan is dreaming of you, Kuron san.」Maia smiled.「I hope I don't appear too nosy to ask this, but where's Tina chan's mom?」
「... She passed away a long time ago, right after she gave birth to Tina.」Answered Kuron.
「I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…」
「Don't worry about it, Maia.」Kuron dismissed the girl's apology.「It's only natural that you're curious and you'll learn about it sooner or later.」
「TERAN, YOU BASTARD!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??」A loud scream suddenly disrupted the pair's conversation, causing them to freeze for a moment before both Maia and Kuron rushed toward the head of the moving group. As the alchemist girl arrived, she noticed their group had encountered another small group of refugees. One person from the other group, who appeared rather inebriated, was shouting with anger at Yuusei while being held back by a few other people in his group.
「What's going on?」Maia asked.「Who's Teran?」
「I don't know.」Falkor, who had been staying with the head of the moving caravan, was equally confused.「We encountered this group of beastmen who came from a village from the South. Since they're also trying to reach Alsen, we wanted to talk to them and figure out if we should travel there together but suddenly, this man was screaming at Yuusei, calling him "Teran"?」
「Yuusei chan, what's happening?」Maia rushed to the mutant hybrid, who was now in his adult form.
「...」
「Eugene! Stop it! Can't you see? He's not Teran!」Another man, who was helping to hold back the screaming beastman, tried to convince him to calm down.「They just look alike, but this ogre here doesn't have both his horns protruding out from his front forehead.」
「Haaa???」The drunk beastman leaned forward, trying to take a look at Yuusei more clearly. His eyes blinked fast for a few times, widened up, then tilted his head onto one side then the other. 「You're not Teran? Then who the fuck are you?」
「...」Yuusei remained silent for a moment, his grim, expressionless face now appeared even grimmer.「Eugene… san…」
「Yuusei, you know this man?」Rowan, who had run toward the mutant hybrid, asked.
「...Eugene san… helped Yuusei once.」
「「「Huh?」 」 」The members of Kibadios' harem all looked surprised.
「.... You're… Hana's child?」The drunken beastman finally realized.
「What? That cursed mutant?」At the mention of Yuusei's mother, the other beastmen who suppressed Eugene seemed to also realize who they were looking at. 「It's still alive?」
「Murderer!」「Cursed child!」「Murderer!!」The murmuring among the beastmen began to grow.
「Why…」The man mumbled.「Why do you still live, yet Hana perished… You should have died in the wild!」The man angrily threw a wine bottle at Yuusei, which shattered once it crashed against his emotionless face, before simply staggering away.
「What the hell is wrong with him?」Ren scowled, then turned to the mutant.「Are you okay, Yuusei?」
「... Yuusei?」Rowan reached out to the mutant, who remained rather motionless despite receiving the hit directly to his face.
「Yuusei's okay.」The mutant nodded.
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「Hey yo! Boss!」 Uri crash landed close to the battlefield where Teran fought Hou Yi.「I brought the desperately needed reinforcement you've asked for. How you doing?」
「Been better!」Teran smirked, while parried Hou Yi's downward slash.「That dragonkin is with you? I didn't know there's a dragonkin in the group.」
「Ah yes, it's the new members.」Uri explained.「The new captain of the 13th division is fighting against a group of chimera at the Northern wall.」
「The Chimera corps is really there?」Teran clicked his tongue. No wonder the Northern Wall was breached . Though he was concerned, the ogre could do nothing since he has been focusing his all to the battle between himself and the Commander of the Yinese army.「Uri, go help your new captain! He won't be able to take on all the individuals in the Chimera corps.」
「Don't worry about him, Boss.」Uri shook his head.「My new Captain is a monster! In fact, he's the Big Boss' newly proclaimed sworn brother! Rather worrying about him…」The hybrid incubus glared at the opponent Teran was fighting against.「Should I join you and we both can take care of that person, whom I assumed to be Hou Yi?」
「I'm not going to stop you.」Teran smirked while pointing his glistening spear at Hou Yi.
「Two on one, huh?」The Commander commented.
「We're mercenaries, not the honorable adventurers.」Teran pointed out.「I have no problem fighting an unfair fight.」
「Exactly!」Uri leapt forward. With his Nen concentrated in his arm, the hybrid incubus launched his bare-hand punch at Hou Yi, who quickly realized the immense force behind the attack and decided to block it using his Iron Fan. The impact of the clash was no less than that of California Smash move used by All Might so although the Yinese Commander was able to withstand it for a brief moment, he was sent flying almost 100 feet away from where he stood.
「... Your punch seems weak, Uri.」Despite the incredible feat, Teran noticed his former vice captain was not at his peak.
「Sorry, Boss. Before I came here, I was kinda exhausted by a fight I had with one of the chimera individual.」explained Uri. Though, thank god that I was healed by Rowan. If not, I doubt that I can join this battle.
「Hm… If you're not at your best, this fight will not be easy, even if it's two against one.」Teran warned while keeping his attention focused on the clearly unharmed Hou Yi.「After dealing with that man there, we still have to fight against the attacking army… I hope we will survive this battle… Sorry to have drag you and your new captain into this.」
「Don't worry about it, Boss.」Uri swiped his nose.「And it's good that you have requested help, because now, Kibadios dono is here and if his plan succeed, we will no doubt triumph.」
「Kibadios?」
「Yea, that's the new Captain's name.」
Same unique name as Kailos' son, huh? I wonder how he would feel when he learns about the new captain. Teran thought to himself.「What's his plan?」
「This!」Uri pointed at the wall surrounding the settlement with a grin.
「This is…」Teran quickly noticed something.
「Huh?」Hou Yi, who was slowly walking up to the two mercenaries, stopped dead in his track and looked at the wall behind him.「Runecraft barrier?」
「Exactly!」Uri grinned.「Coming here with us is Yue dono, former princess of the Yue Kingdom and a born genius Runecraft user. As per the boss' instruction, she's building a one way barrier to prevent the Yinese soldiers from pouring into the settlement. She's our triumph card this time.」
Just as Uri explained, Yue was now summoning her ancestors in their skeleton forms, much like when she was fighting Kibadios a while back. And each ancestor, in turn, would hastily create a simple one way barrier, which allowed people who were trapped inside to easily escape while preventing anyone from breaking in. Since the Runecraft was only needed to fortify one side of the barrier, it took much less effort to erect and maintain the barrier, unlike the absolute defense that Rowan conjured. With more than two dozen ancestral skeletons working in tandem with Yue, the former princess was able to build a dome around the entire city like what the teachers of Hogwarts did to protect the school. Soon, the Yinese soldiers within the barrier slowly realized that fewer and fewer reinforcements had been coming to their aid, only to look back and notice that they were trapped inside while their comrades were trying their best to break through the invisible wall separating them.
「This barrier would break the morale of our troops in no time if it's not being taken care of soon.」Hou Yi quickly assessed the situation.「Did they say Yue hime is here? If it's her, then constructing such a large barrier like this may not be out of the question… After all, she and her brother used to be that man's teacher. What's Wei Ying doing? She better deals with…」Hou Yi looked around, trying to locate the woman, though he soon noticed that she was now busy dealing with the dragonkin that brought Uri to the settlement.「Tsk… Even if that was a dragonkin who brought Teran's reinforcement here, being able to go against Wei Ying is no easy task.」With Teran and Uri successfully keeping him busy, the new 13th captain pushing back the Chimera corps, and his triumph card, Wei Ying, appeared to struggle against a freaking dragonkin, Hou Yi soon realized his well crafted plan to conquer Alsen was now quickly disintegrating into thin air. The Commander dashed his pupil left and right to locate Yue's location, for he knew that if she was to be taken out, the barrier would disappear and the balance of power would again be even out if his troops can continue their assault.「There!」The man screamed out, before ignoring both Teran and Uri to fly like a gusting wind after Yue, who he had briefly caught a sight of.
「What are you doing here, Princess?」Hou Yi screamed out as he approached the concentrating Yue.「You should have kept hiding in the Vernys Forest with your brother!!!」
「Activate <5th Gate of Heaven>」Yue, despite putting most of her effort in reanimating her ancestors, was able to detect Hou Yi's aura and set up a trap for him. The five talismans she threw out at the direction of the Commander formed into pentagram shape, before thin blue light connecting the five corners together.
「Tsk!」Hou Yi, who had seen Runecraft being used on a regular basis, immediately recognized the danger he was in, swiftly swung his iron fan in front of him and took a defensive stance. The pentagram stopped right in front of his face before a large beam of energy would blast out straight at him at a point blank range, much like when Rayquaza hyperbeamed Deoxys in Destiny Deoxys movie. Unlike Deoxys, who was reduced to ashes, Hou Yi was able to block the attack with his fan, though the hit was strong enough that he was sent flying backward.
「Haa… haaaa…」The Commander panted in pain. Parts of his armor were either shattered or melted off while his hands, which held onto the fan's handle, were completely burned by the blast' intense heat. Normally, he would not have fallen for such an attack by any Runecrafter, but the rash action he took, under the pressure the two mercenaries and Yue's barrier exerted, had deprived him of his usual rational mind.
「Seems like it's actually my win this time, Hou Yi!」Having caught up to the Commander, Teran fiercely thrust his spear forward, aiming for the Commander's head. Hou Yi's eyes widened as he could clearly see the dangerous attack approached, yet, his body was too exhausted to react in time. Luckily for the Commander, Teran suddenly withdrew the strike and sprung backward away from Hou Yi. It was not until a few seconds later that Hou Yi could understand Teran's action, for someone was sent crashing down onto the ground, exactly where Teran had stood just moments before.
「Wei Ying?」Hou Yi could not contain his surprise, for in front of him, the famed dragonkin, a member of the 12 Heavenly General, found herself being pushed back by a furious looking male dragonkin.「Who could have given you such a hard time?」Hou Yi gazed upward toward the high sky, where he found Ryuu leering back down at him.
「I don't know, but I have found a new member for my harem! Just imagine, if I carry his child, our offspring would be the most powerful being in Esthar!」Wei Ying grinned. Although she was struggling against Ryuu, the fact that she was still standing and barely received any injury was a perfect attestment to her power, the source of her pride. The dragonkin turned to Hou Yi after reigning in her lust.「Look at you… all beaten up. That, plus the fact that our soldiers outside the barrier are unable to break through…」Wei Ying turned to the northern direction, where a great dust cloud could be seen where Kibadios was fighting against the Chimera. 「and the Chimera corps, one of the linchpin of this battle, are being held off at the Northern Gate… The gig is up, Hou Yi. Any hesitation you feel in accept this lost would only inflict more pain to our side.」
「... You're right…」Hou Yi nodded before jumping onto the roof of a nearby building with the dragonkin. There, the Commander took out a small war horn and blew on it. Despite its size, the sound it made reverberated around the battlefield, acting as a clear signal for retreat and regroup. Once hearing the dreadful sound, the Yinese who had already stormed the settlement began to show despair. Most quickly abandoned the fight they were in and rushed back out of the settlement wall. Some, who were fighting on the wall, quickly gave up the fight and dropped their weapons, surrendering to the defenders as they watched their allies down below slowly withdraw away from the battlefield.
「It's time to leave, Hou Yi!」Wei Ying suddenly transformed into a large Western Dragon and allowed the Commander to hop on her back.
「You think I will just let you leave in peace?」Ryuu growled.「After all the insolence you sprout about making me your mate?」
「.. Yes.」Hou Yi took out a large tube made out from bamboo, then unplugged the cap, letting a dark layer of smoke pour out of it.
「Be careful! That's their Hell's Pit.」Teran warned.
「What's Hell's Pit?」asked Ryuu. But his question was soon answered as emerged from the expansive smoke screen were waves of monsters, the worst of which were five wyverns cladded in shadow and flame.
「It's a sealing device that the Yin Empire used to capture wild monsters.」Teran explained.
「Let's go, Wei Ying!」Hou Yi commanded.
「You!」Ryuu wanted to chase after the fleeing commander, but he and the two mercenaries quickly found themselves to be surrounded by the monsters, who were all in an induced rage due to the drug they were fed back in the Laboratory before they were sealed. 「Tsk!」
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「That's the signal for retreat!」 Galahan called out to her siblings, all of which were focusing all their attention at the dreadful hybrid. By now, Kibadios had fused with Gaia, one of his summons. Once in this fusion form, his body was partially cladded in earth and trees, which provided him a strangely absurd level of armor that was impervious to most attacks. Although Galahan's Arte was able to corrode away some of the trees and ate away layers of earth at times, the hybrid's could easily regenerate the earthen armor and the tree branches and leafy vines just quickly regrew to protect him. The other summon,
「Our attack failed?」Eadur asked.
「It seems so.」Qwan answered before leaping upward to avoid a slash from Kibadios' scythe, only to be greeted by one of
「... Able to use Shadow, Fire, Earth, Wood, Lightning, Wind, and Water in his attack…」Mu noted.「Not even counting the faint hint of
「But did you notice?」Qwan retreated and stood next to Mu.「Asides from
「Yeah, I know… "Jack of all trade, master of none." That perfectly described Kibadios' power.」Mu noted.「But, it also makes him extremely dangerous because he would have a counter to any of his enemies' attacks… Regardless, GUYS! IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!」Mu called out to his siblings as he noticed Hou Yi and Wei Ying flew over their heads, their gaze fixated on the overpowering Kibadios below.
「We know!」Answered the rest before they too, would back away from Kibadios. After fighting against the full power Kibadios for more than 15 minutes, although all five Chimera were exhausted and full of wounds, none was outright defeated. That was an outcome that Kibadios did not expect.
The power of these Chimera was really something . Kibadios thought to himself
「Until next time, then.」Mu nodded.「Brother…」
「Leaving already?」Kibadios smiled. 「At least, tell me why you keep calling me your Brother?」
「...」Mu looked at Kibadios with great sadness. 「Because we are all brought to this world by the same pitiful Mother.」
「What?」Kibadios frowned. Though Mu and the group would not provide any further detail but quickly retreated, escaping beyond the wall and the barrier.「WHAT DO YOU MEAN?」Kibadios shouted.