Translator: La0o9 Editor: La0o9
As midnight silently came, their forces finished assembling.
No one knew for sure how many people would lose sleep over this, as tonightâs battle would completely change Reystromia no matter who was the victor. Either the master of Reya, Negary, would clean up all other forces within the town and take complete control over it, or the joined forces of the two countries would defeat Negary and the dominant power in Reya would change.
Most people would think that the two countries were more likely to win, as they were representatives of their nations with their corresponding backings, while Negary had only risen to power for a bit over 10 years and didnât have a large history behind him like the two countries.
But those who had known of Negaryâs greatness would only smirk and refuse to join the discussions. Indeed, in both a technical and practical standpoint, the joined forces of two countries would be more likely to win, but these people felt nothing but true fear in their hearts whenever they recalled that figure.
The extreme ominous feeling he gave off that made them feel like humans were nothing but walking food to him. Their natural sense of danger was madly warning each and every person who saw him the same thing: [Danger, danger, danger. Lie down and play dead or run away as far as you can. Keep praying, do not draw his attention, because âheâ is something beyond human]
The only way for them to feel at ease was to surrender themselves to him and offer their foreheads. You would then no longer feel any fear, you would no longer sense any unease because you already belong to him. Would a man who lived through Hell be afraid of it?
...
Chris looked up through the window at the sky above. Thick black clouds had completely blocked out the moonlight, giving off a faint ominous feeling. But an arrow that had been pulled must be released, and if they didnât act tonight, Negary might have already recovered beyond their means the next time they meet.
As he turned around, he saw the force that they had assembled. For the Church of Divine Grace, there was Cardinal Augustin, two priests, and three Knights of Divine Grace, a total of 6 men. Other than that, the merchant Grosk also brought three of his closest personal guards.
And then, on the side that was hired for this job: Jason Todd who came to take revenge for his family, as well as four others who all wore different gear and clothing. They claimed to have stayed in Reya and wanted to fight against Negary for a long time but didnât have the courage or power to stand out before. Of course, there was also a chance that there were spies among them.
And then there was Chris himself. As the merchant Grosk and Isabellaâs mother-daughter pair werenât going to participate, there were a total of 15 people who were going to raid the forbidden zone and face Negary.
The Royas Kingdomâs side should have been able to assemble quite a few people as well. Realistically speaking, even if the wyvern that Chris killed were to be resurrected, this line up would be able to kill it through sheer force.
âNow there is one last problem, the crowsâ Chris spoke with a heavy tone: âThe most common kind of bird in Reya. All of them can be controlled by Negary, and when a flock of over a hundred or thousand of them attacked at once, even an army of 100 men would be instantly defeatedâ
âIf we cannot deal with the crows, our operation this time would be doomed to fail from the very startâ
âDo not worry, Mr Chrisâ Grosk replied: âBefore we came here, we had ordered people to buy a large amount of Smoker Grass, it should already be burning as we speakâ
Smoker Grass was a type of unique dry-growing weed that most farmers purposefully grew, the main use of which was to be burnt during a harvest. When Smoker Grass burns, they release a large amount of smoke that lingers for a long time in the air. Humans can live just fine as long as they donât breathe in too much of this smoke, but birds were unable to survive if they breathed in even just a little bit. Farmers would usually burn this grass during a harvest to prevent pests from disturbing their crops, but now, they were being used as a measure against Negaryâs flock of crows.
...
Sitting silently on his throne of bones, Negary reached his hand out. At this very moment, since some unknown point in time, a thick blanket of fog had gathered around him. The fog didnât seem to be causing any breathing problems, although the smell was a bit strange. However, from the panicked reactions of the crows behind him, it was easy to tell who caused this fog.
ã Seems like I donât even have to hold back ãNegary smirked and raised his hand upwards, like a jet black cloud of feathers, his crows took flight high into the sky.
On a high location away from the forbidden zone, a place that was set up specifically to gather information. As they heard the crowsâ cawing, they understood that the crows had left the forbidden zone and quickly sent someone to inform Grosk.
âGentlemen, the crows have left the forbidden zone. We have bought up all the Smoker Grass around this area, they should be enough to last for 3 hours, combined with how long the smoke lingers, you should have at least six hours to act, which is until dawnâ
âI will bring Isabella and Nala to a safe location to hideâ Grosk told them: âMay the Lordâs grace shine upon you allâ
The group exchanged glances and walked out to the front yard. As soon as the enforcers stationed outside the house noticed the commotion, they hurriedly gathered with sharp spears in their hands: âChris Modo, you are violating the prohibition. Are you admitting to your crime of murdering Lord Comoros?â
âSorry, but we donât have time to waste here with the bunch of youâ Chris sighed and immediately began to harmonize with the environment. His Rhythm Punch that came at them with indescribably strange angles made it so that none of them could react in time or block properly no matter how much they tried.
He easily knocked all of the enforcers out with a few punches. Although these enforcers were Negaryâs subordinates, they hadnât actually committed any heinous crimes that deserved death, there was no need to kill them.
âLetâs goâ the group scattered into smaller teams and separated, each making their way towards the South of the forbidden zone.
The night sky was already cloudy, but now that there was even smoke in the air, visibility became incredibly low. They simply had no choice but to act at midnight like this because they didnât have righteousness on their side. As long as they won, they would be able to use the name of the church and the country to declare Negary as an evil mastermind and deal with the aftermath.
There were quite a few smart people in Reya who noticed the truth, but the majority of the people here were just normal people whose lives depended on this land. If this group had openly tried to fight Negary and disrupt the peopleâs peace without a righteous reason, they would immediately face the so-called rage of the people.
Compared to that, although their vision was affected by acting at night, their actions were not. The group remained silent as they quickly approached Reyaâs forbidden zone.
Patrol stations and tall fences had been set up around the perimeter of the forbidden zone, with groups of enforcers constantly patrolling around it.
âAre we going to force our way in?â Augustin asked.
When Chris was about to nod, a man with a bit of a limp who wore a metal mask and carried a set of bow and arrows stepped out, then told them in a low voice: âFollow me, we have a man inside whoâs going to open the door for us. Quicklyâ
Saying so, the man went ahead first towards the fence. Chris and Augustin exchanged glances, then Augustin nodded. The group quickly followed behind the metal-mask man. After all, they were already prepared to charge in using force, even the worst-case scenario wasnât going to be any worse.