Chapter 712

Episode 180. Each One's Fight (2)

Flash!

Every time Yulian's Harumilla fired an arrow, the fruit of the giant tree fell without
fail. Balkas caught the fruit in mid-air and safely sent it to the rally point.

The fruit they obtained in this way, unlike those that had already fallen to the
ground, still contained mostly alive prisoners.

The rescue speed was increasing. Prisoners arriving by fruit were taken out by
Enya, and those who reached behind Hedo by walking themselves collapsed on the
ground.

The prisoners mostly felt relief at being alive, but it was only momentary.

"Ahhh...!"

"My arm, my arm!"

"Magician, my daughter is still in the castle. Please... please save her. Please!"

Humans eroded by fear are difficult to control.

From those who still had family trapped somewhere in the fruits, to people who
couldn't hold back their screams because of pain, people whose sanity crumbled
and tried to escape the ranks again for no reason, people who grabbed Enya and
begged for help, to people who carelessly leaned on Kwall's machine...

Wailing, groaning, screaming.

As the number of rescued increased, the prisoner gathering point that Hedo was
protecting was becoming a pandemonium.

There were too many people who had already lost their family, became disabled,
and fell into mourning.
Among them, those who were somewhat sane were trying to calm others down,
but if it continued this way, it seemed that it would soon cause problems for
Valeria and Kwall's analysis as well.

Enya is an excellent magician. Her colleagues left her at the prisoner gathering
point because her magic is particularly specialized in defense.

However, Enya was also too kind. She lacked the cold-headedness to control
people even by harsh means in such a situation.

Ideally, Hedo, Valeria, or Kwall should have taken on that role, but all three of
them were so focused that they couldn't spare a thought for the prisoners.

"Stay still! Everyone, keep in line, if you don't follow control now, it's hard for us to
help you!"

There weren't many prisoners who listened to Enya's shout.

Some prisoners even expressed their anger at Enya, asking what the use of all
this was.

'I can't be frustrated. No matter how hard and pitiful the prisoners are, if I can't
control them now, our allies will beare in danger. If Mr. Hedo steps in instead of
me, in the meantime, colleagues and other prisoners being rescued who couldn't
receive Mr. Hedo's protection might die!'

Soon, Enya gritted her teeth and raised her staff, stirring up magic against the
prisoners who were trying to break out of control. As brutal as it was, she had to
suppress them with force.

Enya's staff was shaking slightly. Pointing her staff at the prisoners instead of the
army of chaos was something she didn't anticipate.

"If you continue to cause a ruckus, I will have no choice. Return to the ranks
immediately. This is your final warning."

"Fine, kill me. Who asked for your help? I've already lost all my family. I have no
reason to live, I'd rather...uh!"
Enya's eyes widened as the prisoner suddenly collapsed.

She had indeed intended to suppress him, but she wasn't the one who had
knocked the prisoner down.

Someone had used magic before Enya.

"These crazy bastards, they don't even know to be thankful."

He was a prisoner who had just arrived at the gathering point and had a feud with
Enya.

"I am Pascal Chip, a magic officer of the Imperial Defense Force. From now on,
those who do not follow control will be governed by military law. Do the people
who risked their lives to rescue unfamiliar prisoners and plunged into this hell
seem ridiculous? Do they make such a person point a staff not at the enemy, but at
you guys?"

"Pascal...!?"

Pascal Chip, the leader of the student group who harassed Enya at Bement
Academy in the past.

After the crackdown on the Dark Magic Society during Jhin's preparatory jockey
days, he had become a completely different person, a proud officer of the Imperial
Defense Force. He had been taken prisoner while protecting the civilians as a
defense force during the Diphus invasion, and even after being rescued, he was
still trying to fulfill his duty.

-Som...someday...I will...surely...repay this favor....

Words Pascal said after the Dark Magic Society was wiped out.

"I said I would repay the favor someday after that day. I didn't know I could help in
such a moment. Since there are members of the Imperial Defense Force among
the prisoners being rescued, I will control them with them. Please focus on what
you were doing, Captain Tikan."
As Chip suppressed a few more prisoners causing a ruckus, the disturbance
quickly subsided.

The same result would have occurred if Enya had done it, but it would have
certainly left a psychological shock on her.

Enya nodded her head.

"Understood, Officer Pascal. I'll leave it to you."

That's how the chaos at the prisoner gathering point was sorted out.

Enya again poured all her effort into the rear defense, and Hedo, who had briefly
been conscious of the disturbance behind him, swung his sword without looking
back.

Though the sun had not risen due to the thick clouds, the time was passing six in
the morning.

Three hours after the rescue operation began, nearly three thousand prisoners
had gathered at the rally point.

Though seemingly insignificant compared to the estimated near hundred

thousand people, they were not a small number of lives saved.

Now the prisoners were seen taking care of each other's injuries and cleaning up
those who could not survive and died.

Fortunately, no serious casualties had occurred among the members of the

Barmel Union so far.

Most were still running in the field with minor injuries, stealing fruit from the giant
tree.

However, it wasn't as if there were no physical issues. Having been running this
hellish path for several hours, it was inevitable to feel fatigue.

Especially, Hedo and Mary, they were the ones consuming the most energy. The
spot where Hedo was standing was on the verge of becoming a puddle of sweat,
and Mary was repeatedly getting close to Licalten Castle, then pushed back, all
while letting out rough breaths.

"Heuk, heuk...!"

The reason Mary had not yet infiltrated the castle was clear. The giant trees were
collectively restraining her every time she reached a certain distance.

Thanks to that, the giant trees couldn't march as they pleased and Hedo was
relieved a bit, so it wasn't all for naught.

"Sister!"

Daytona leaped forward and swung his great sword.

The fist of a giant tree targeting Mary was deflected, and in that gap, Haytona
Heitona hit the rock that bounced behind Mary.

"Are you alright!"

"Huhuk, these bastards, what are they doing here? Go rescue the prisoners, not
worrying about me! Did you think I couldn't even handle this much?"

"Sister, you're too exhausted."

"If you continue trying to break through on your own like this and deplete more
energy, you'll be overwhelmed if a situation arises within Licalten Castle. After all,
the area that Daytona and I were assigned to is this side. As you can see... there
are no surviving prisoners on this side now."

Exhausted, Mary hadn't even realized that she had been pushed back to the exact
area of the Tona brothers.

"Hah, damn it."

"We will escort you to the vicinity of the outer castle. After all, there are fallen
prisoners near the outer castle, so we were about to move as well."
"I won't say that we'll infiltrate Licalten Castle together. Our hearts may be like a
chimney, but we know that's not our role. So please allow us."

Mary met the eyes of her younger brothers.

Facing their firm eyes filled with resolve, she wondered if they really were the
Tona brothers.

"…I thought you guys were just idiots, but you're finally playing your part."

"It's all thanks to you and our youngest."

"We're trying to become a bit reliable, following the advice you gave us last time."

Their words were blunt but Mary remembered that even when she was resisting
Rosa with Diphus before Jin's return, the Tona brothers were with her.

Perhaps, since then, the Tona brothers might have been pretty reliable siblings.
No, they definitely were.

"Good, I'll expect a bit from you. I won't have to clear your corpses off my path,
right?"

"Of course, sister."

"Let's go!"

As they began to break-through again, Mary felt that the path opened up much
more easily compared to before.

"Get lost, you monster bastards! The lunatic of the Southern Continent and the
darlings guns of hell are coming out!"

"Kahahaha! Get lost, get lost!"

"Insane ones...."

The giants, who had grown accustomed to concentrating on keeping Mary at bay,
were losing their rhythm.
In just about twenty minutes, the siblings had made their way near the outer
fortress. Mary was able to conserve a little energy, and the Tona brothers had
enough left to retrace the path they had taken.

"This should be enough. I've been supported by evil, my battle cries might be
garbage, but you've gotten much stronger, haven't you?"

"Huff, huff! Thank you!"

"Now go back, move alone from here. I should be able to get in without being
pushed back. I've almost beaten all the giants."

"Huff, sister!"

"Why?"

"I will wish for good luck......"

Just as the Tona brothers were about to bow their heads while holding Mary's
hand, Mary suddenly looked around with her knife raised.

She sensed an aura. It was an aura of distinct hatred, completely different from
that of the giants.

As soon as they identified the source of the aura, the Tona brothers had no choice
but to scream out loud.

"Those, those damned creatures are here?"

"Did they resurrect, after they were literally turned into dust during the full-scale
attack on the Garden of Swords?!"

Myu ew and Ann.

They were looking down at the three siblings from the outer fortress.

[Ah, really. It's a scene that can't be watched without tears. Wishing for good
luck? Since when have you been so close?]
[Hey, former 7th flagbearer generation. You used to act so high and mighty, have
you fallen to the point where you need the help of those scumbags? I feel so sorry
for you, I'm not sure if I should kill you.]

The siblings didn't respond, just stared at Myu ew and Ann.

"If you've been beaten, you should go down gracefully. What are you,
cockroaches? I don't understand why there are so many bugs resurrecting these
days. But, thinking about it, it's right for us to finish you off. Come down, let's fight.
You won't survive this time."

"It's the day to settle a long-standing grudge. The humiliation, disgrace, and
shame we've received all this time. We'll repay you today with interest, you
bastards!"

As Myu ew and Ann laughed at the words of the Tona brothers, Haytona Heytona
quietly whispered to Mary.

'Sister, we will deal with them, you take this chance to go inside.'

'Those two are beyond what you two can handle right now. You're barely strong
enough to retreat.'

'No, sister. Running away is not the answer anyway. And we have a plan too. We
don't intend to die in your place, so please go. Even if we are pushed back in the
fight, Haytona Heytona and I just need to hold out until the temporary allies arrive.
So, good luck!'

Even though they had never discussed how to respond in such a situation, the
Tona brothers were already leaping towards Myu Mew and Ann before Mary had
a chance to think.
*
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