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Volume 6 Chapter 2 Part 11

He was shooting the sticky threads from his fingertips, spitting poison from his mouth and by transforming his arms into spider-like legs as he tried to pierce the enemy Artists with their sharp tips. It was not a sophisticated way of fighting in the slightest, but then again, that should be expected from someone whose only purpose up until today was fighting against giant spiders in the forest in the middle of nowhere.

(Well, I guess it has a certain style to it…)

Aishela thought to herself.

(… but I wouldn’t be able to handle having so many gross spider hair growing out of my limbs!)

* * *
The battle between two Lords, Doni Rossini and Theo Cornero seemed to have gone on forever at this point.

However, the tide of the battle and its momentum have shifted from the center where everything started when the two of them clashed with each other fiercely onto the flanks of both armies.

Since the rebels outnumbered the Rossini family’s army they naturally managed to gain the upper hand, and Doni’s subordinate Lords and their forces got intimidated by the sheer difference in numbers, which prompted some of them to start fleeing the battlefield. The soldiers of the slums were growing weaker and weaker as the battle dragged on as well.

Life in the slums is by no means a privileged one, and the Rossini family was doing everything they could in order to make the dwellers of the slums not forget where their rightful place was. So now, when things began to look dire for the Rossini family’s army…

「Why don’t we attack the city center of Laxia, take as much as we can from the rich there, and hide somewhere? 」

At first, it was just a thing that one of the soldiers said to no one in particular, but the longer the battle raged on, the more that phrase started to sound like a secret password, and soldiers from the slums started running away from the battlefield. As a result, both wings of the Rossini family’s army completely collapsed, and Theo’s forces were enveloping the center of it from the left and right.

Thanks to that, Doni Rossini and his loyal soldiers have been surrounded and isolated from the rest of their forces.

When he saw all of that unfolding before his eyes, Juzel Rossini, who was watching the battle between the two armies from the top of the nearby hill, took a deep breath. Before he set out, Doni was certain that he could defeat Theo Cornero and his rebellion without any issues, but now he’s been shown that he couldn’t do it after all. And since Doni’s imposing figure was the only thing that could’ve inspired the rest of the Rossini family’s soldiers to continue fighting, their forces fell into disarray when that figure was knocked from its pedestal, and as a result of that, the army has now been surrounded from both sides.

With only the center of the army left in any shape to fight, it was just a matter of time before that part of the Rossini forces would be annihilated as well.

(Brother, your fight was truly splendid. However, you should’ve realized that it was a fight with no possibility of you winning it.)

Juzel felt sorrow in his heart as the prospect of his older brother’s defeat, which was second only to the loss of his other brother, Salvador. If only he didn’t have to inform his father about everything that has transpired during the whole battle, he would’ve gladly joined his brother in the field.

But alas, all he could do now was to watch as his brother was going to die.

Rossini soldiers who pledged a blood oath and were empowered by the 「Omerta」Banner were still fighting, but they were being picked off one by one and fell to the ground, not being able to stand back up ever again.

And, as you would expect, the longer the battle was going, the sword arms of Doni and his remaining men were growing number and more tired.

「What… the fuck… are you…? Some kinda… fucking monster…? 」

Doni asked Theo while breathing heavily.

「Training and the power of my Crest. Those are the only tools that I can use to fight my enemies. 」

「That’s a far cry from being a hero, wouldn’t you say? 」

「Whether I am a hero or not, it doesn’t matter. What is required of a hero is not how they fight their battles, but what they managed to accomplish. Now, wouldn’t you say that this is about time for you to lay down your arms and surrender? 」
「Surrender? No, I’m not defeated just yet! 」

As he shouted, Doni summoned the last bits of his strength and attacked Theo. But unlike him, Theo still had both energy and stamina needed to continue fighting without collapsing. Before long, Doni was completely out of breath, and his body refused to move in the way he wanted it to move.

That was a moment when Theo could finally launch his counterattack.

Doni discarded the sword that he was holding and pulled out the Kris knife that he was keeping at his waist. Even if he didn’t have the strength to wield a sword anymore, he could still aim for the vital points of his opponent with a knife.

Surprisingly, Theo also threw away his sword and shield, and he stood against Doni Rossini completely barehanded.

「I learned a lot about how to fight opponents with knives in the slums. And you know what else? One of my daily training partners was a master of using a dagger. 」

「Show me how much you know then! 」

Doni switched between holding the Kris knife in both his hands, trying to aim at Theo’s vital points from all possible angles. However, Theo moved his body with a minimal amount of movement required, and instead of blocking Doni’s attacks with his shield, he was taking all of the hits that were coming towards him with his armor instead. Even without a shield, he seemed to know how to defend himself against just about everything.

And then, when the right opportunity presented itself, Theo drove his fist right into Doni’s chin. His consciousness wavered for a moment, and when he regained it, he was already lying on the ground.

Theo snatched the Kris knife from Doni’s hand and plunged it deep into his armpit.

Dhoni groaned in pain and tried to grab Theo’s arm, but his body had reached its limit and he could no longer move a single muscle. Blood continued to ooze out of his stabbed armpit without stopping.

As his blood continued to flow, he was becoming weaker and weaker by the second. In an ironic turn of events, the pain which was pulsating in his armpit was the only thing that was keeping him conscious.

(Looks like I’m going to die here…)

Doni finally realized the fate that was waiting for him… but he was not going to kick the bucket so lightly. He has crushed many human lives with his own hands in cruel ways, so if he was really going to die, then at the very least he wanted to make sure that he was going to be the only one who’s going to be dragged down to hell.

「Soldiers of the Rossini family, the loyalty that you demonstrated was admirable… but enough is enough. You guys still have homes and families to go back to! 」

As Doni shouted, he lifted his right hand slightly, and erased the sigil which was glowing on it until now.

「Theo Cornaro… Please accept the surrender of my soldiers. 」

Doni said to Theo while enduring great pain.

「I understand. 」

Theo nodded his head slowly. One by one, the remaining soldiers of the Rossini family were dropping their weapons to the ground as they surrendered themselves to the rebel army.

「Theo Cornero… if you assumed that name willingly, then you must know, right? That the hero Cornero of old, who ruled this island before the Rossini family took over, was a foolish Lord. In order to win the popularity among the people for himself, he recklessly promised them that he was going to try to quell the Demonic Realms around the island. Because of that foolish ambition of his, many of his subordinate Lords and their soldiers died, and eventually he also succumbed to the same fate. And in order to ensure that none of his heirs would try to lead the island down the same path, the people of Sistina killed the rest of the Corneros as well and then united under the banner of the Rossini family. 」

Doni Rossini spoke to Theo as such.

「I don’t know the detailed history, but I can imagine that this must’ve been what happened. 」