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Chapter 84

In the forest.

As I headed towards the Beastman country, Lilith asked me,

「…But, Lute? Why did you bring Liz along?」

「Ortho, our pet dog, got killed, and until the dust settles, I’ve decided not to let Liz out of my sight.」

I glanced back at Liz, who was following behind me.

「Lute-onii-chan? I know you’re incredibly strong. But, do you really intend to pick a fight with an entire country?」

I smiled and gently patted Liz’s head from behind.

「You don’t need to worry about anything. Those bastards who did awful things to you—I’ll make sure they pay for it.」

Besides, my pet Ortho got killed too. I won’t forgive those who dared to underestimate us.

「Hmm?」

I noticed the unusual signs around us, and a few seconds later, Lilith started to be wary of our surroundings.
Finally, Liz began to sniff around.

Being part beast, her sense of smell must be good.
With Liz behind me, I headed in the direction where I felt the presence.

「This is the smell of blood…」

Side: Ferris McEwan

「Damn it… kill me.」

Surrounded by several beastmen, I tossed aside my broken sword and said so.
The beastmen smirked and sent mocking glances my way.

As an elven magic swordsman… while I’m not registered with the guild, I’m renowned as the equivalent of an A-rank adventurer.
But facing opponents of S-rank caliber, it’s obvious that I can’t handle them.

Ten years ago,
The Elven Kingdom lost a war against the Beastman’s country.

At the time, I led a battalion as the nation’s war chief… but such a devastating defeat would be rare even in the annals of war history.
They were barbaric demi-humans; Elven men were turned into slaves, and women were ravaged.

Still, some elves escaped deep into the forest, tribe by tribe, evading pursuit by the beastmen.
Thus, while evading the pursuit of the beastmen, they formed villages and lived modestly.

Well, modest… is a bit misleading.

We engaged in guerrilla warfare against the beastmen in the forest, rescuing our brethren who were turned into labor or sex slaves.

In the forest,
Many of our brethren fell in numerous guerrilla battles, but even more were liberated, and our strength grew.

It’s to be expected.

When forced into a life where death seems preferable, everyone picks up the spear and chooses the path of war.
Therefore, almost all the liberated brethren agreed with our policies.

Thus, resistance forces (resistance) were formed for each of the forest elves’ supporting tribes, and five large-scale tribal alliances were formed in this great forest.
And just the other day, news came in that the former Elven princess, who had been married off to the Beastmen’s royal family, was to be executed grandiosely in the Beastmen’s capital.

This is our last chance for resistance.

After discussions among the tribal leaders, we were convinced that we needed to gather the strength of all the surviving tribes.
In other words, the plan was to assault the royal capital and reclaim the princess.

However, we never believed we could defeat the Beastmen’s country from the start.
Some of them use a nonsense power called evolution as a species, increasing their strength by one rank in terms of adventurer guild equivalents.

From B-rank to A-rank, from A-rank to S-rank… They’re facing individuals equivalent to S-rank with units of S-rank caliber in the double digits.

How can we fight them properly?

But we are elves.
We have the pride of the wise in the forest.

If all we’re going to do is be ravaged, plundered, exploited, and then killed, it’s better to die with dignity.
That was the conclusion of the tribal leaders’ council.

And so, the battleground was decided to be the Beastmen’s country – near the capital of Mackinley, in the Minnegan Plain with the checkpoint.
We planned to attack the checkpoint with a large number of troops, causing chaos, and then reclaim the princess with an elite force hidden in the capital.

That was our plan, but…

Leading 150 warriors from the Manul tribe, I dashed through the forest towards the Minnegan Plain.
However, along the way, I encountered the worst man.

The 12 Divine Generals – the Mighty Sword Macbeth.

As one of the 12 S-rank equivalents employed by the Beastmen’s country, he is their prized possession.
Even their accompanying elite guards are counted as A-rank equivalents like me, numbering four.

Furthermore, there are ten individuals equivalent to B-rank…
It’s an exaggerated force, as if they’re planning to conquer a small country.

However, this is the combined strength of each of the 12 Divine Generals leading forces, and that’s why the Elven country was swiftly destroyed.

Inevitably, given that the Elven country was destroyed as a nation, there’s little I, leading just a single tribal resistance, can do now.

「Ferris McEwan, infamous leader of the Elven Resistance…」

「If you call us infamous, then it seems my path has been the right one after all.」

「Well, you were as annoying as cockroaches — this place is like a tide.」

I glared sharply at Macbeth.

「Why would you try to kill the princess? You’ve already ravaged the elves, trampling our dignity. Isn’t it enough?」

「One of our royal family members has gone mad.」

「Gone mad?」

「To show the common folk that the princess, who became a breeding tool for the Beastmen, had become his mistress, he brought in an Elven princess to the palace… and he seems to have fallen for her for real.」

「…」

「He cherished her children, and in the end, even started advocating for a policy of harmony with the elves.」

「That’s… unbelievable?」

「You can’t believe it, huh?」

Certainly, it’s unbelievable.
We elves and the Beastmen’s country have nurtured hatred against each other as wicked neighbors for hundreds of years.

War after war, even brief moments of peace are nothing but preparation periods for the next war — we’ve walked the path of conflicts washed in blood for centuries.

「And I’ll answer your question about why it’s not enough. You call yourselves wise men of the forest, right?」

「Well…」

「When you were in power, you looked down on and persecuted us, calling us savages of the forest. That’s why.」

Well, that’s true.

We elves haven’t exactly treated the Beastmen with praise either.
Our mutual hatred has already reached its peak, and unless one of us annihilates the other, we can’t achieve true peace.

「So, when the balance of power collapses, this is what happens. Don’t you wise men understand even that?」

「…Let me change the question. How did you gain such power? On that day nine years ago — it seemed like everyone ranked up a level or higher?」

「It’s artificial evolution as a subrace. We forcibly activated the blood of demons within us — as beasts, as monsters.」

When it comes to racial evolution, the Great Catastrophe is famous.
However, that was a supernatural disaster… a calamity.

But artificial evolution…?
If what this guy says is true, then it means artificially causing a Great Catastrophe, capable of causing catastrophic adjustments to the entire human population itself, is possible.

「That’s a taboo against life. Such a thing… can’t be done by people.」

Then Macbeth smirked.

「…The sage Moses. That’s his name. He said, ‘It’s just an experiment, so no thanks are necessary’… He was an unusual brat even though he was only seven at the time.」

「Now,」

Macbeth clapped his hands.

「It’s been a while since I’ve had such quality. I’ll go first, and then you guys can do as you please.」

With those words, the Beastmen men surrounding me became excited.

「After all, it’s the younger sister of the Elven princess — a princess knight. Treat her kindly.」

The men approached me with lewd smiles.
Truly… they are barbarians.

「…Just kill me…」

「Yeah, of course. Many of your people have been killed, so I can’t just laugh about it.」

With that, Macbeth laughed gleefully.

「—However, I’ll do it after enjoying you thoroughly.」

Macbeth roughly removed the silver plate armor I was wearing.
My sword was already broken, and now even the armor was being completely removed.

「I see.」

I smiled with resignation.
—If I’m not going to be killed, then I’ll choose to die by my own hand.

I put a lethal dose of aconite hidden in my molars on my tongue.
It doesn’t dissolve in saliva, but it does in stomach acid.

I also have pride as a member of the royal family — I have no interest in elevating such people.

Then, Macbeth stripped off my clothes, revealing my underwear.
Finally, Macbeth forcibly spread my legs and tried to thrust his head between my thighs —

「Agh!」

Someone suddenly appeared from the shadows of the trees and delivered a heel drop, slamming Macbeth’s head into the ground.

「Put this on.」

The black-haired boy who suddenly appeared handed me a cloak and, at the same time, grabbed Macbeth by the scruff of his neck and threw him violently.

Then, spinning in the air, Macbeth adjusted his landing posture.
Sliding on the ground, slowing down, he landed and shook his shoulders.

「Why is a human here…? No, you! Do you know that I am one of the Twelve Divine Generals — Macbeth, the Strong Sword!?」

「Come to think of it… there was some guy called one of the Twelve Divine Generals earlier.」

The boy drew his sword with his right hand.

「I’m in a hurry. It’s troublesome, so come at me all at once.」

Side: Lute McClane

「What… who the hell are you!?」

Amidst a mountain of about fifty Beastmen corpses, an Elven woman covered in a cloak spoke.
She looks to be in her late twenties, with beautifully golden long hair.

Damn… she’s really beautiful.
Cordelia and Lilith are something, but this woman is also something.

In fact, in this world, all the beautiful people are beyond ordinary levels. If you brought them to modern-day Earth, even actresses would run away barefoot.

But, putting that aside…

「I’m Lute McClane. I have some business in the Beastmen’s country.」

With that, the Elven woman seemed to consider something and prostrated herself on the spot.

「That much power… I seek assistance.」

「Assistance?」

「The Forest Elves here are being ravaged by the Beastmen.」

「…So I’ve heard.」

「Moreover, soon… the princess, who was recently married off to the Beastmen’s country, is to be executed.」

Hey hey, Liz’s mother is going to be killed?
They really keep providing us with one unfunny event after another, don’t they?

「…But, lift your head. It’s hard to talk when you’re like that.」

「So, I was planning to lead a group of tribesmen to join forces and mount the last resistance for the purpose of rescuing the princess… but, as you can see, it’s turned out like this.」

Certainly, there are plenty of Elven corpses lying around. There seem to be nearly a hundred, more than twice the number I sacrificed in the blood ritual.

「Your unit is almost completely wiped out… and yet, you’re still going?」

At that, the woman smiled faintly.

「…Because she’s my sister.」

「Sister?」

「The Elven princess is my sister. As long as she’s alive… even if she becomes a plaything in the Beastmen’s royal family, I can’t stay silent knowing she’ll be killed.」

Damn, this woman… she’s a princess knight, isn’t she?
Well, she’s Liz’s blood relative.

I nodded quietly.

Then, Lilith, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

「…It’s none of our concern.」

I also nodded in agreement with Lilith’s words.

「Yeah, sorry, but we’re in a hurry. We’re already involved in a lot of trouble. We can’t afford any more trouble.」

「Can’t you do something about it? With your power, even the Twelve Divine Generals—」

Ignoring her words, I simply shook my head.

「No good. So… don’t you have a map of the surrounding area as a token of your gratitude for saving you?」

We had bought a map in town, but since entering the forest, we had been lost several times.
It seemed to be a map made a long time ago, as the arrangement of the trees had changed, and the details were all messed up.

Reluctantly, the princess knight went towards the backpack lying nearby.
She then pulled out a map and handed it to me.

「We use this for hunting… I can assure its accuracy.」

Hmm, I took the map and began to examine its contents.
It was completely different from the map I had, and the route matched the memories of our journey so far.

As she said, we could probably trust its accuracy.

「So… where is this last resistance you mentioned going to happen?」

「Here. It will become a battlefield in half a day.」

It seemed that a checkpoint was set up around the area where the forest opened into a grassy plain, marking the start of a major road.
And from the checkpoint to the Beastmen’s capital, it seemed to be within sight.

「Lilith, have we decided on a route?」

I informed Lilith and began to indicate the route we would take based on the map.
Lilith grimaced noticeably.

「We’ll go straight through this checkpoint.」

「…That means we’ll have to cross a battlefield.」

「This is the shortest distance, so we have no choice, right?」

「But… it would be better to take a detour. The war between the Beastmen and the Elves is none of our concern. Let’s avoid unnecessary fighting.」

「Hey, Lilith? A detour? Why do we have to sneak around?」

「Right now, we’re also bringing Liz along. It’s better to minimize the risk.」

「Besides, it was them who kept nagging us, wasn’t it? We don’t need to hold back.」

「To be honest, I agree with beating them up. But… it’s just that Lute always… seems to favor pretty girls too much.」

「It’s not about pretty girls or anything like that. We’re just going straight, taking the shortest distance, the fastest—honestly and straightforwardly.」

At those words, the princess knight’s face blossomed into a bright smile.

「…Will you… assist us!?」

I shook my head at her words.

「I won’t assist you.」

「Is that so…」

However, I added.

「—But if anyone gets in my way, I won’t hesitate to knock them out.」

The princess knight bowed her head to me and said,

「…Thank you. Lute McClane-sama.」