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Chapter 90

Side: Ferris McEwan

Leading a force of 1,000 elven troops, we entered the capital of the beastmen’s kingdom.

Thanks to the solitary charge of the God of War, we scattered the guards at the city gates, leaving the rest of the city deserted as if we were traversing empty fields.
As per the intelligence we had received, we made a beeline for the central square, where the execution of the princess—my sister—was to take place.

At the entrance to the square, there lay countless piles of corpses, making it impossible to secure a passage without clearing the bodies away.
Upon entering the square, I couldn’t help but shiver involuntarily.

「What… is this?」

「Well, that’s quite the spectacle, isn’t it?」

At Professor Abe’s words, I nodded, trembling with horror.
Most of the beastmen soldiers had already fled, leaving only a few hundred stragglers behind.

And over 2,000 corpses remained.

In other words, by the time we reached the square—everything had already been settled.
The main forces had scattered and fled, and it was now clear that the beastmen’s nation was incapable of organized resistance.

At that moment, cries of victory erupted from behind me.

「Oh! It’s the God of War’s victory!」

「Victory!」

「It’s a victory! Our victory!」

「The time of enduring humiliation has ended!」

「The time of hiding has ended! From now on— the wise elves of the forest shall once again… dominate this region!」

Amidst the cheers, the remaining beastmen soldiers unleashed a hail of arrows.

「Wait! Confirm their surrender—!」

However, my words did not reach them.

「Kill them!」

「Kill them!」

「Kill the beastmen!」

「Cut off the limbs of the survivors and make them as examples!」

「If we kill the combatants here, only the civilians will remain!」

「Capture the women as sex slaves!」

This was bad… I gritted my teeth.
And at that moment, the supreme commander of this place, the younger brother of the emperor… My uncle raised his voice loudly.

「After we’ve cleared out the remaining soldiers, we’ll wait here! We are the wise ones of the forest—not like the savage beastmen!」

But it seemed like his orders fell on deaf ears, as everyone continued to aim their hateful arrows at the remaining soldiers with bloodshot eyes.

「Professor Abe…?」

「This is not good. Not good at all.」

「What do you mean?」

「The anger and hatred from years of oppression have reached their peak. Our words won’t reach them.」

「But if we continue like this…」

「After we deal with the remaining soldiers here, the massacre, looting, and rape of civilians will begin. It’s the culmination of years of resentment—burning, pillaging, killing until there’s nothing left—there’s no stopping it.」

「And this capital… will become hell?」

「Yes.」

「What can we do… to stop it?」

Professor Abe shook his head resignedly.

「Look into everyone’s eyes.」

I looked around, and then I understood everything, wearing an expression of resignation.

They were no longer elves—or rather, not viewed through the lens of any particular race anymore.
Their eyes clouded with hatred and resentment, I doubted anyone’s words would reach them.

「But if we continue like this, won’t we become like the beastmen… or worse, committing even more heinous acts?」

「Yes. Living in the world of dark sorcery… just like them. However, from the moment we formed a resistance organization, if we were to achieve victory, we knew this was a possibility, didn’t we?」

「If we fight with swords, blood will be shed. It’s ultimately… a path of bloodshed.」

「An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This is a chain of hatred and killing. The foolish acts of the beastmen will be met with even greater foolishness. Words will no longer reach them. All we can do is watch over the situation.」

By the time Professor Abe finished speaking, all the remaining soldiers in the square had transformed into grotesque objects covered in dozens of arrows all over their bodies.