Chapter 70

"It's no use! We must run, we must escape!"

The one who let out this pitiful cry was the Meldas military priest.

Until the battle began, Meldas had his palanquin carried by strong human slaves and placed it next to Darius's chariot, where he lounged with his plump belly protruding, looking down on the battlefield. He thought that being with the general who commanded the entire army would allow him to enjoy the spectacle of the rebels being crushed from a high vantage point.

However, once the battle started, he was not only moved around here and there but also pelted with stones by filthy birds, causing him to panic and suffer greatly.

Moreover, now they were to launch a full-scale assault on those terrifying Zoans, even though they had already lost. To Meldas, the idea of targeting only the enemy leader's head in a battle that was already lost seemed nothing short of madness.

"We've lost, so let's escape quickly!"

However, no one paid any attention to Meldas.

Meldas, who believed that everyone would listen to and obey the words of a great holy priest, found this to be an incomprehensible and bizarre scene. Furthermore, the murderous aura emanating from the soldiers, who were eagerly awaiting Darius's order for a special attack, made him feel sick. Meldas, dripping with sweat, regretfully muttered,

"It was a mistake. I shouldn't have gotten involved with such a person..."

However, this was a grave error.

Naturally, Darius, who overheard this, flew into a rage.

"You! Do you know who is leading these rebels?!"

He was about to give the order for the special attack, but those words could not be ignored.

Meldas's tone clearly indicated that he knew who was leading the rebels. Depending on the content, if he had known this beforehand, the humiliating defeat might have been avoided. It was only natural for Darius to feel a rage bordering on hatred towards Meldas for keeping this a secret.

Meldas, realizing his blunder, hastily clamped his mouth shut, but it was too late to take back what had already been said.

"Speak! What do you know?!"

Enraged by Darius, the soldiers around Meldas suddenly became hostile. They pointed the tips of their spears at him and glared at him with murderous intent.

Surrounded by this murderous aura, Meldas, on the verge of tears, looked around for help, but of course, no one in the vicinity sympathized with him.

Realizing there was no place to run, Meldas resigned himself and muttered,

"H... He is the... the Child..."

"I can't hear you! Speak clearly!"

With Darius's roar, the soldiers' spear tips moved closer. Meldas, letting out a small cry, raised his voice in desperation.

"He is the Child!"

The unexpected words from Meldas caused a commotion among the soldiers.

"The Child?! Are you saying that the Child of the human god is cooperating with the other races?!"

It was understandable for Darius to think of the Child of the human god as someone favored by the human god. Meldas hurriedly denied this.

"No, no!"

If the Child of the human god had liberated the subhuman slaves and led a rebellion, it could undermine the core teachings of the Holy Church, which preached human supremacy. This would not only threaten Meldas's authority as a priest but also his life.

"He is the Child of Aura!"

The unfamiliar name "Aura" made Darius even more aggressive.

"Aura?! What is Aura?!"

In his haste to dispel Darius's misunderstanding, Meldas revealed the existence of a god that the Holy Church had kept secret.

"Aura is the goddess who killed the Creator God and gave birth to the Seven Pillar Gods! The ancient great goddess, the great goddess of death and destruction!"

These words struck Darius and the soldiers like an invisible shockwave.

The soldiers, including Darius, were speechless at the terrifying existence of this goddess they had never heard of.

For a moment, an eerie silence descended on the battlefield.

After a while, a faint whisper emerged from among the soldiers. It was a weak, hesitant whisper, as if they were testing the words in their mouths.

"Aura...?"

"The goddess of death and destruction, Aura...?"

The whisper spread among the soldiers like ripples.

"The Child of Aura!"

"The Child of the goddess of death and destruction!"

The ripples merged into a wave.

"The Child of the goddess of death and destruction!"

"The Child of death and destruction!"

The wave became a torrent, shattering the soldiers' resolve.

"The Child of Destruction!"

It was a scream.

The soldiers, who had been brimming with fighting spirit moments ago, now showed unmistakable fear in their eyes.

Darius deeply regretted questioning Meldas.

The soldiers present were all seasoned warriors who had fought alongside Darius in many battles. They feared nothing, even if the enemy numbered a million, as long as they were with Darius. This was not only because they trusted Darius but also because they were taught that if they fought bravely and died in battle, they would be summoned to the presence of the human god and granted eternal life.

Therefore, they were not afraid to die in battle.

However, killing the Child was a different matter.

If they killed the Child, they might incur the wrath of the god.

This possibility was a different kind of terror.

In ancient mythology, there was a human named Genovanda. The foolish and arrogant Genovanda once incurred the wrath of all seven gods and was transformed into a hideous monster, then cast into a swamp of filth at the bottom of the earth. Even now, Genovanda is said to grope for filth in the depths of the earth, far from any light, and beg for mercy from the gods.

This is a famous legend common to all seven races of the Seldas continent. Anyone living on the continent, regardless of race, was taught as a child by their parents, "If you don't listen, you'll become Genovanda," and calling someone "Genovanda" is the ultimate insult.

The soldiers feared that by killing the Child, they would become a second Genovanda.

However, this was a groundless fear.

In the age of mythology, it might have been different, but even if a god's favored Child were killed, the gods would not interfere in the human world. In the past, some Children had died in battle or been assassinated, but the gods had never punished those who killed them. This is evident from the fact that the founder of the Holy Church, Innocent, was executed by human hands.

However, soldiers fighting on the battlefield are superstitious. For such superstitious soldiers, the possibility of incurring a god's wrath made killing the Child nothing but terrifying.

Furthermore, the baseless delusion that the Child of Destruction had used some terrible magic to defeat Darius, who was trusted as a general, only intensified the soldiers' fear.

Seeing the soldiers trembling with fear, Darius let out a groan through clenched teeth.

He had lost his last chance of victory.

Soldiers who knew fear were no longer soldiers. The fear of the Child led to the fear of battle, and the fear of battle led to the fear of death. Once this happened, they were just soldiers, ordinary soldiers trembling with fear.

Fear would slow the soldiers' steps.

Fear would bind the hands that wielded their weapons.

Such soldiers would never be able to reach the Child with their swords.

However, if they missed this opportunity, the rebels would regroup and become a great disaster for Holmea. Knowing this, Darius hesitated about whether to retreat.

It was Marius who made the decision for Darius.

"Turn the general's chariot around! Retreat, we must retreat!"

Marius looked at the Zoan pursuit force approaching from the other side. The Zoans were already close. Marius, realizing that even if they retreated now, they would be caught from behind, called out again.

"Only those who do not fear death should stay! I will hold the enemy here with you to ensure the general's safe escape!"

"Marius!" Darius panicked. "No! I cannot let you sacrifice yourself to save an old man like me! I will stay behind!"

"No, sir!"

Marius rebuked Darius. Darius was stunned to be rebuked by the young man he thought of as a son or a disciple.

Marius smiled warmly at Darius's reaction.

"I am inexperienced and do not understand what you fear so much. Therefore, the only one who can accurately report to the king what you fear is you."

This meant that Darius should return to the king alive and report his defeat.

"Are you telling me to show my shame and live?!"

"The true worth of a general is tested in defeat. To prevent the same mistake from happening again, it is the duty of a defeated general to correctly convey the reasons for the defeat to those who will fight the next battle. Is this not what you taught me?"

Darius was speechless, unable to refute his own past teachings.

As the chariot slowly turned around, Darius, hanging his head in dejection, said,

"...I'm sorry, Marius."

His voice was moist and slightly trembling.

Suddenly, he looked up and pleaded with Marius.

"But don't rush to die! Survive at all costs!"

Seeing Darius's anguished expression for the first time, Marius felt a lump in his throat and could not speak. He bowed deeply from his horse.

Then, as the chariot kicked up dust and sped away, Marius, finally raising his head, whispered to Darius, who was leaning out of the chariot and looking back.

"This is our farewell for this life, sir. Please return to the capital safely."

Marius then turned his horse to face the approaching Zoans. Beside him, a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard and a short-cropped head joined him.

Marius recognized him. He was a commoner soldier whom Darius had often spoken to affectionately.

"Wasn't your name... Bogus?"

"That's right. It's presumptuous of a commoner, but I'll stay with you."

Marius, despite the man's seemingly disrespectful attitude towards him as a noble, smiled.

"I've heard a lot about you from the general. You're not cut out to be a squad leader. If it weren't for those noisy people who complain about commoners, I would have used you as my right-hand man."

Bogus, surprised to be praised in such a situation, blushed and scratched his nose.

Marius, suppressing his smile, asked seriously,

"But, Bogus. The noble officers have fled. There's no reason for you, a commoner, to stay behind."

"That's true. The general has been good to me. If I run away now, I'll lose my honor as a man."

"Indeed!"

Marius, agreeing with Bogus's jest, turned to look behind him. About two hundred soldiers remained, most of them commoner soldiers who had served Darius for many years.

"What a bunch of fools eager to die!"

Marius said with a bright smile.

Bogus laughed and replied,

"Well, stopping the Zoans to help the general is a hundred times more motivating than trying to take the head of the Child of Destruction."

Bogus then became serious and continued,

"Come on, sir, give us our orders."

"Sir...?"

Marius pondered the word for a moment, then nodded as if he had come to a decision.

"Not bad. I always dreamed of leading an army as a general, and now that dream has come true."

Marius untied the cord of his white mantle, which he had fastened at his chest. The pure white mantle, which identified him as a messenger, slipped from his back and fell to the ground, getting dirty.

The white mantle, which allowed allies to identify him on the chaotic battlefield, was a source of pride for a messenger. To let it fall and get dirty was never allowed and could result in severe punishment, such as being relieved of duty.

However, Marius did it on purpose.

He was showing everyone that he did not intend to return alive.

"Form a line! The front row, raise your shields! Those with spears, form the second row!"

At Marius's command, the soldiers' expressions changed.

As if they had planned it in advance, they quickly took their positions and formed a flawless line.

"Now, it's time to show the pride of the Holmean soldiers! Bang your weapons! Raise your voices!"

Marius, watching this, raised the spear handed to him by a subordinate high into the air. The soldiers struck their weapons and shields, stomped their feet, and raised their voices.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"

The voices of the two hundred or so Holmean soldiers echoed across the battlefield.

Marius and the others, who had stayed behind to ensure Darius's escape, were determined to die.

Their resolve was so strong that it temporarily pushed back the momentum of the Zoans.

In response to their bravery, a Zoan hero challenged them to battle.

Next chapter: "Decisive Battle 10 - Conclusion"