novelraw Chapter 192 : Vengeful Undead
Chapter 192 : Vengeful Undead
Chapter 192: Vengeful Undead
「Are you familiar with Hales·Atar·Siger?」
「Lord Yam, how could a small figure like me possibly know someone of such stature?」Aliman said helplessly.「Everything I know about him comes from various rumors. The reason I recognized him was because, back when I accompanied my second uncle to participate in a battle in the Western Region, the commanding officer of that war happened to be this fledgling hawk’s father—so he was also on the battlefield back then.」
「Fledgling hawk?」
「The Siger Family is known as the Black Hawk Family, and their family motto is『The First Hawk Shall Guide Our Path』. Therefore, all the future heirs of the Siger Family are referred to as fledgling hawks. They constantly compete against one another until one of them becomes the『First Hawk』who leads the entire clan.」Aliman explained.「That’s why the Siger Family is exceptionally united—whatever decision the『First Hawk』makes, they will all follow without hesitation.」
「That battle—did you lose?」
「Yes.」Aliman’s expression suddenly dimmed.
「We could have won, but the damned Kingdom Army failed to arrive at the agreed support position in the final moment, leading to the defeat.」Aliman said in a low voice.「My second uncle was killed in that battle. After that, I decided to lead the mercenary group eastward. But it seems that Lord Hales was captured by the Aust Empire during that battle and surrendered to them.」
「I see.」Yam said with a grave expression.「That’s a rather bad piece of news for us.」
「It’s been nearly ten years since that war. Even at his weakest, Lord Hales should be at least a Third-Tier Bloodline User—perhaps even a Fourth-Tier powerhouse.」Aliman said in a deep tone.「If we are truly to engage in battle against this Aust Empire army, we will need to wait until Knight Commander Dean arrives before we can have a chance to fight them.」
「That’s exactly what worries me most.」Yam shook his head.「I just hope they choose the northern mountain range as their breakthrough point instead of pushing toward the Red River Territory. As long as they’re not reckless gamblers, I doubt they’ll advance eastward.」
「But we can’t put our hopes on guessing the enemy’s personality.」
Yam sighed again, then said helplessly,「You must keep a close watch on their movements—make sure they don’t head toward the Red River Territory.」
「Understood, Lord Yam.」
Yam said nothing more. He lowered his gaze to the map again, his expression complicated and uncertain.
He didn’t know whether Wade’s failure to eliminate this routed force was due to a lack of concrete intelligence—or something else entirely. Yam knew Tyrot’s goodwill toward his family, so he didn’t doubt him. But Wade·Kasein, the Marquis Monica’s third uncle… Yam couldn’t bring himself to trust that man.
After all, Wade had once been the Lord of Bayor Territory.
And for a lord—even if he wasn’t omniscient about his domain—there was no way he wouldn’t notice an enemy force of a thousand moving within it. Yam’s instincts told him Wade must have ulterior motives.
That motive might not necessarily be bad for him personally—but for Yam, for the Soderbell Family, and for those of Red River and White Mountain Territories, it might not be a good sign. Especially since Monica had already made it clear she intended to sacrifice Bayor Territory, Yam refused to believe Wade·Kasein was unaware of that. Placing himself in Wade’s position, he knew he would never forgive Monica either.
「Compile this matter and send a messenger to deliver the information personally to Tyrot and Marquis Monica.」Yam thought for a moment before speaking solemnly.「Make sure it’s delivered into their hands directly.」
「Understood.」Aliman froze for a second, but soon nodded firmly.
Black smoke rose into the sky.
A middle-aged man, no longer young, frowned as he looked at the burning houses ahead. From within came faint cries and pleas for help.
Around him stood about fifty soldiers clad in the Aust Empire’s standard leather armor.
But their weapons were not uniform.
There were longswords, spears, short pikes, bows—and even war hammers and battle axes.
Some of them wore expressions of anger and resentment, while others looked indifferent.
Their faces showed no unity.
「Save them.」
After several seconds of silence, the middle-aged man finally spoke in a low, commanding tone.
Those with fury in their eyes immediately brightened; they shouted and rushed forward. Even the indifferent ones soon followed.
In moments, fewer than ten men remained by the middle-aged man’s side.
The soldiers at the front smashed through the flaming structure with their weapons, then rushed in to rescue those inside.
Nearby Aust soldiers who had been setting fires noticed the commotion and came running.
The two sides began shouting at each other, even drawing weapons—but the rescuers ignored them, searching like hounds, breaking into any house from which cries for help echoed.
Soon, as more people were saved, they were gathered onto an open patch of ground.
Most were women; there were few men or children, and not a single elder among them.
Barely thirty people—but their crying sounded like hundreds.
One Aust soldier, irritated by the noise, spat and cursed before thrusting his halberd at the nearest child.
The child’s mother screamed and threw herself in front of him—the halberd pierced through her body and the child in her arms together.
Laughter erupted immediately, spreading among the soldiers.
They seemed to have discovered a new and entertaining game, raising their weapons to stab at the terrified civilians who had just been saved moments ago.
In an instant, four or five more people fell dead.
The crowd screamed and scattered, while others collapsed in paralysis, trembling as a dark wetness spread between their legs.
「Hahaha!」One Aust soldier laughed wildly, pointing mockingly at the terrified woman—but just as he swung his sword toward her face—
「Clang——」
A long iron spear blocked the falling blade, sparks flying.
With a twist, the spear knocked the sword aside.
The soldier turned in anger and saw the middle-aged man standing beside him, coldly glaring without even retracting his weapon. The soldier shouted a string of curses in his native tongue.
「What did he say?」The middle-aged man—who had given the order to save the people—asked the frail man beside him.
「He said—」the thin man frowned slightly.
「Just say it. There’s nothing I haven’t heard before.」
「‘You damned dog slave! How dare you block my sword? Don’t forget what you are—you filthy beast, nothing but expendable waste! Move, or I’ll take your head, you—’」
「I understood that last word.」The middle-aged man interrupted flatly.
「Alright then.」The frail man nodded, saying no more.
In the next instant, the middle-aged man lunged like lightning—his spear shot out and pierced straight through the soldier’s skull.
Red and white matter splattered across the ground!
「I said to save people, yet now seven are dead——」
「My lord!」one soldier interjected.「That fool wasn’t one of the civilians. He shouldn’t count.」
「You’re right.」The middle-aged man paused, then nodded.「Each of you, sixty lashes later. —Now, kill all non–Death Camp soldiers.」
「Yes, sir!」
The Tyrella-born soldiers’ eyes lit up. They raised their weapons and hacked at their so-called comrades.
In moments, battle cries and screams filled the air.
「Y–you’re Tyrella men?」The woman who had been saved trembled as she spoke.
「Once.」The middle-aged man looked down at her and replied slowly,「Now, I’m neither Tyrella nor Aust.」
The woman fell silent.
Then suddenly, she covered her face and wept.
「It’s gone! Everything’s gone! My husband, my child, my parents—they’re all dead! Dead! I have nothing left!」
Hearing her cries, several Tyrella-born soldiers wearing Aust armor fell silent as well.
Those who understood her words grew quiet; those who didn’t—seeing the silence—fell silent too.
「At least you’re still alive.」
After a long silence, when all the screams and begging had faded, the middle-aged man spoke softly:
「Live on. Your life no longer belongs to you alone—you carry the hopes and blessings of your family. Live on for them, for their share as well.」
He looked upon the ruined settlement and shook his head slightly.
「Head south from here. There’s a War Fortress—you can seek refuge with its lord. You’re his subjects; by noble law, he is bound to protect you. That is a noble’s duty.」
「And—and you, my lord?」
「Me?」A faint emptiness crossed his face.「I no longer have a home.」
「Lord Hales.」
A female soldier approached with several dozen men. She surveyed the area, frowning, but said nothing.
Instead, she reported,「All nearby settlements are destroyed. We found no food. Even what we had—was looted.」
「Heh.」Hales let out a cold laugh.「Those vultures have started stealing from their own kind now.」
「Lord Hales, allow me to remind you,」the frail man said quietly,「We are the Death Camp. In the Aust Empire’s ranks, we’re nothing but cannon fodder. Every soldier here is either a slave, a prisoner, or a criminal. To the rest of the Aust army, we aren’t just outsiders—we aren’t even human.」
「Is that so?」Hales nodded slowly.「Good. Then we won’t need an excuse when we make our move.」
Hearing that, both the woman and the frail man’s eyes lit up.
「My lord, you’ve finally decided to act?」
「Why not?」Hales turned toward them.「Ten thousand entered the Death Camp. Fewer than three hundred remain. They never saw us as people—now that they’ve been routed, why should we still obey them? Besides, among the nearby Aust soldiers, who’s stronger than us? We’ve crawled back from the edge of death countless times.」
Clutching his spear, Hales’ expression was calm—but in his eyes burned a fierce, blazing light.
「We are avengers returned from the realm of the dead. We are the unacknowledged undead, destined to bring destruction, death, and fear to our enemies. So tell me—what moment could be more fitting for us to strike than now?」
「None!」The frail man was the first to shout.
As Hales’ words were translated and spread, more and more soldiers’ lifeless eyes began to shine again.
They roared in unison—
Banging their weapons on the ground, and on their armor—
Every man like a maddened beast, consumed by frenzy and rage.
「Then, what shall we call ourselves?」
「Hmm——」Hales fell into thought.
「My lord!」The rescued woman suddenly spoke.「Please, let me join you! I have no home left. I don’t want to go to that fortress—I’ve heard the Kasein Family are demons who devour people whole! I can’t fight, but I can learn! I can make myself useful! And—and I’m very good at housekeeping!」
Hales looked at her and asked,「Why do you want to join us? Don’t you know we might all die soon?」
「I know! But—I want revenge!」The woman screamed, her voice hoarse with fury.「I want revenge against the demons who killed my family!」
Hales nodded.「Revenge, huh… truly a pleasant word to the ear.」
He turned to the frail man.「Do you have someone to avenge?」
「Of course.」The man’s face twisted with hate.「I’m still alive because I believe that one day I’ll return to Champagne—to take revenge on my clever brother and beautiful wife!」
「And you?」Hales asked the female soldier.
「Of course.」She nodded firmly.「A dear friend—I think of them every single day and night.」
「Then I know what our name shall be.」
Hales smiled.
「The Vengeful Undead.」
「We are the undead who returned from the land of death—to bring vengeance upon all the living who betrayed us!」