The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

They must have been exposed to extraordinary fear. Otherwise, why would they run towards a being who was even more powerful than the undead creature from which they were fleeing?

“Hm… no signs of humans then? In that case — 「Maximize Widen Magic — Fireball」”

The Sorcerer King discharged a fireball into the center of the Bafolk horde, and it erupted into a massive blaze. After that vanished, demihuman bodies rained down everywhere.

“While waiting here might be the best thing to do… the enemy seems to have a leader. He’s waiting in a plaza near the center of the city, and he’s resisted the fear of the High Wraiths, so let’s move on… what do you think?”

“I believe all will go well if we do as Your Majesty wishes.”

“Really now? Then let’s go.”

Every time they took a step forward, soul-chilling cries seemed to echo from everywhere, as though a great massacre was taking place. Also, due to the demihumans’ lack of hygiene, their raw waste, feces, and urine were everywhere, which made Neia wrinkle her nose.

“...Speaking of which, Ms. Baraja, what should be done about those?”

She looked in the direction where the Sorcerer King was pointing at. There were a group of naked human beings there.

Regardless of gender, their hands had been nailed to wooden stakes that had been driven into the ground. In their efforts to flee their fear, they had struggled violently, and their arms were coated with fresh blood.

In all likelihood, those were probably fences made out of human beings

They were exhausted, bone thin, but their lives did not seem to be in danger.

She had attacked this city in order to free the people. Even if she continued following the Sorcerer King, Neia would not be of any use. In that case, helping them now and taking them to a safe place was the right thing to do. However, there was one thing which made her uneasy.

What should she do if the people were attacked by demihumans while they were evacuating?

What a joke. What am I hesitating for? The Captain would have chosen to help them without any hesitation. And the reason why I can’t is… is it because of strength… after all?

“You’re confused, hm. Then, just leave them be for now. There shouldn’t be any demihumans nearby. Leaving them here should be safer. Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

While she still had her doubts, Neia continued following the Sorcerer King to the city’s plaza. Why was it that the Sorcerer King could advance without the slightest delay? Though she had her doubts, she convinced herself by saying, “He must have cast a spell.”

Soon, the two of them came to a plaza which looked like a market with streets everywhere.

“Hm… as I thought, there was no way this could have been resolved without sacrificing people.”

She followed the Sorcerer King’s eyes, and there were human corpses mixed with demihuman corpses. They were probably people who had been trampled to death in the fear-induced chaos.

“...It can’t be helped.”

While the Sorcerer King was joking, attacking this city by brute force would probably have caused a matching number of casualties. Going by that, letting the Sorcerer King use his overwhelming might to conquer the city minimized the number of lives that were lost.

The Sorcerer King shrugged silently, and then he indicated the center of the plaza with his chin.

There was a demihuman there who was larger than all his peers.

His curled horns resembled those of a mountain goat, and he was covered in silver fur. His excellent physique clearly showed that he was not an average demihuman.

The tips of his horns were encased in a shell of gold which was socketed with jewels, and he wore a green breastplate that had turtle-shell patterns on it. He wore a reddish-brown cape made from worked animal hide. His left hand held a large shield with a topaz socketed into it, while his right hand held a bastard sword whose blade was light yellow. His panoply vividly illustrated the courage and ferocity of a gallant warrior.

He was the most fearsome and well-trained of the demihumans. He was probably a Lord or some kind of similarly ranked special being.

If Neia were alone, she would have fled this opponent with all her might.

“Wonderful. I wonder which one of your items stopped the fear.”

The Sorcerer King’s delighted words referred to the magic items adorning the demihuman. He had rings on both hands and jewelry hanging from his neck that covered his entire chest. There were things dangling from both sides of its waist, things which might have been a set of three human baby skulls strung together.

The green-eyed demihuman studied the Sorcerer King as he approached, and then his gaze shifted to Neia.

“A newly-appeared undead… and is that a necromancer in the back?”

The demihuman obscured itself behind its large shield, as though wary of a gaze attack like the kind a Medusa would launch.