The strike on the Holy Kingdom’s spy base wrapped up before sunset. We got our hands on a number of new prisoners and a pile of evidence. They’d burned a lot of stuff before we raided them, but Melty’s squad still managed to recover very promising evidence.
“Hee hee hee. The investigation’s only just starting, but this is the perfect chance to finally rid ourselves of all the vermin within our borders,” Melty said, grinning like a predator.
Apparently, there was intel regarding bases in other cities, towns, and villages, and this was more than enough to put a wonderful smile on Melty’s face.
She was terrifying.
Merinard was extremely powerful at this sort of operation. We had a country-spanning communications network made of golem communicators linking every city and major town, and for settlements outside that grid, our superfast airboards closed the gap.
Airboards easily outpaced carriages and horses by a wide margin and could sustain speeds a horse couldn’t hold for long. When you found yourself in the kind of situation that called for fast action, our communications network and transportation proved especially useful.
“Let’s contact all the corresponding lords and raid the spy bases as quickly as possible.”
“That’s a good idea.”
And so we fired up our golem communicator and contacted the regional commanders: Sir Leonard for the east of Merinard, Madame Zamil for the west, Danan for the territory south of Arichburg, and Worg for the north after I finished securing that area. Each was ordered to strike the Holy Kingdom’s spy bases in their region.
The plan was simple: crush their secret bases one after another. The eastern side of the nation had the densest concentration of bases because they bordered the Holy Kingdom, and Sir Leonard, who was still bitter about the peace treaty, was more than happy to satisfy his bloodlust.
“And I’m gonna be building villages during all this?”
“We can smash their bases without your help,” Melty said, “but you’re the only one who can get the pioneer villages up and running.”
“I mean, yeah, but…”
And so once again I left Merinesburg to prepare a string of new pioneer villages while the rest of the country carried out coordinated strikes against the Holy Kingdom’s spy network.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Be quick! Throw all of the documents into the flames! You—prepare our things. I shall get our exit route ready.”
“Yes, sir!”
My brothers had failed to take out the target and were captured by those cursed demi-humans. They were devout men and loyal to Lord Adol to their final breath, so they would almost certainly choose death before allowing their minds and bodies to be defiled by the demi-humans. However, there was no telling what vile, disgusting techniques those creatures might use on them. I had to assume the worst now that they’d fallen into enemy hands.
“Brother Powell, must we really flee in such haste? Our faithful brothers would never bend the knee to those filthy demi-humans, no matter the torture,” Brother Alan asked, an uncertain look clouding his face as he gathered our things for a swift escape.
It was only natural for him to question me. We all held unwavering faith in Lord Adol—faith stronger than steel. Each of us would gladly sacrifice ourselves for our Lord.
But that castle was dangerous. Once filled with the light of our Lord, it had become a demon’s nest under the control of the demi-humans. Every brother and sister who entered it vanished without a trace, and soon after, every base they had come from was destroyed in turn.
The only reason our headquarters still stood was because our siblings who entered that demonic castle never learned where it was located. But among the brothers captured today were several who did know, which meant we were in danger. The demi-humans likely possessed some unholy skill that could force information out of our siblings.
“Pious they may be, but it is entirely possible the demi-humans can defile our sibling’s hearts with their dark powers. We must not—”
Before I could finish, a violent crash echoed through the room as something smashed the door. Our unwanted guests had apparently arrived. I met my brothers’ eyes and gave a sharp nod. There was no time to hesitate. We had to flee immediately.
We hadn’t managed to burn all the documents, so we stuffed what we could into bags. Fortunately, we still had plenty of money to get by. We could buy new equipment on the road and regroup at another branch if we managed to escape.
“Let’s go before they get in here!”
“R-right!”
“Oh, Lord…”
This building was strong, with thick wooden doors plated with steel, double-bolted and near impossible for even the strongest demi-human to break down quickly. We needed a little more time to—
SMASH!
The entire building shook with a thunderous crash.
I heard the footsteps of someone entering the building.
“Impossible. They broke through that door in one blow?!”
So this was how it ended?
No. We wouldn’t go down without a fight.
We were going to take out as many of those cursed demi-humans with us as we could.
We each grabbed our mechanical bows called crossbows, the same foul devices the demi-humans themselves had invented, and dipped the bolts in basilisk poison. We aimed them at the entrance of the room. If we were to die, we would at least send them to their graves by their own creations.
“Take this!”
We fired our bolts at the demi-human woman who entered the room.
SHOOF!
The three bolts made satisfying sounds only to be batted aside midair by the bare hands of the horned woman who stood before us.
“You monster…” I whispered, forming a holy seal with my hands and praying for a miracle.
May your light strike down this evil.
“It’s quite rude to call a young woman such as myself a monster,” the woman said with a calm, eerie smile as she stepped forward.
My two brothers lunged at her with daggers drawn, but before they even closed the gap, they were hurled across the room and their bodies smashed against the stone wall, going limp as they fell to the ground.
“Light come forth!”
“Gosh.”
While she was distracted, I unleashed light beam—a holy miracle that took the shape of a radiant lance—and fired it toward the woman’s chest.
You’re finished!
“Hyah!”
But again, the woman swatted it aside with her bare hands.
“H-how could this be? You deflected a light beam with your bare hands?!”
“Light beam, huh? Didn’t seem all that impressive to me,” she said, strolling toward me like a cat toying with prey. Now that it has come to this…
“I will not let a disgusting demi-human end me!”
I drew my dagger and aimed for my own heart, but before the blade could pierce flesh, she seized my wrist.
How? She was at least five paces from me only a moment ago!
“Didn’t you know?” Her voice was almost playful. “There’s no running from an Overlord.”
“Graaaah?!”
Her grip on my wrist tightened, and I felt my bones cracking until the dagger slipped from my hand. More of her kind flooded the room. It was over.
“It’d be troublesome if you resisted,” she said, smiling faintly. “So I’ll have to put you to sleep for now.”
I felt an impact, and the world went black.