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Magic Bullet in Magic Land - Volume 2 - Chapter 18

Published at 3rd of December 2017 08:05:22 PM


Chapter 18

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Chapter 018 - Black and White

 

 

“..... in other words, you are the bastards who shamelessly escaped death. Even with 20,000 soldiers and the Silver Corps, you people were neither able to capture the beasts secluding in one city or the criminal who killed my younger brother, nor defeated Hilda the [Flame Sword]?”

 

It was miraculous to see that, within the destroyed Alwina troops invasion headquarters, the staff officer had managed to survive; maintaining his breathing, heart beating, and hearing in full function.

 

At the center of Alwina Kingdom is the Imperial City, Al Hazard. At the center of the Al Hazard is a white castle, standing tall over the surrounding building. It was made from marble and famous for always beautifully shining. The interior was decorated with luxurious ornaments, the value those of numerous jewelries mounted for artistic viewing couldn’t be measured.

 

The person whom the staff officer serve is the master of this castle - the Spirit God, Leonardo.

 

The present King of the Alwina Kingdom and the strongest individual in all of Alwina Kingdom...no, the entire continent. He is an existence loved by the spirits. Red eyes with white hair, he is an Albino. In the Alwina Kingdom, it was said that humans that are Albino, or posses Albino characteristics, will grow into powerful magicians.

 

But, things were a bit different in his case. If infamous magician are said to be able to devastate a thousand troops, Leonardo would be able to “annihilate” ten thousand troops.

 

“Y, yyes, Th, that is right!”

 

Leonardo disliked falsehoods. The man looked down. The cold sweat all over his face confirmed that the King’s questions were like a noose, tightening around his neck.

 

A painful silence continued for a while. The sound of man's heartbeat beating increased with each passing second. He worried that the sound of his heartbeat could be heard by the ally standing in front of him. If this continued for another 30 seconds, his heart might reach its limit and go silent forever, atleast thats what it felt like to him.

 

Finally, Leonardo opened his mouth and spoke with an indifferent voice. The staff officer felt the release of tension and was assaulted by feelings to prostrating himself on the ground while asking for forgiveness; thus, it was nearly impossible for him to distinguish the real feelings behind Leonardo's voice.

 

“Inform the intelligent officers this, “Wake up Cicada”. One can gather as many weapons as one wants, but it is not as easy to gather soldiers. We need to buy more time.”

 

Although Leonardo had a strong desire to act himself, his position did not allow it.

 

As soon as he left Alwina, other countries would be sure to attack all the way to Al Hazard. His existence itself was the biggest deterrent against threats from another country. He also likes to manage the country with his own hands, as much as possible.

 

At least for people of the Kingdom of Alwina, Leonardo was a good leader who ran a good government. However, even at this moment, numerous slaves smuggled from various countries were abused, oppressed, and shed blood for the better of the  [Citizens] (Referring only to human beings). A reality that had become  common sense  over the past  thousand years ago.

 

In countries other than the Kingdom of Alwina, slaves are fundamentally illegal, except for criminals who were made slaves as part of their sentence. The leaders of the Kingdom of Alwina have secretly been collecting slaves from prostitution, abduction and others means, for convenient labour. They are deeply involved in the underworld society of many other countries.

 

A thousand years ago, they were a large nation that dominated the entire continent. facility remnants were left in each and every corner of the  former Alwina territory, making the local government unable to grasp the base of their illegal activities. On the surface, they were deprived of their territories but their influence in the underworld remained strong and the profits, enormous.  

 

Nowadays, many countries had become careless due to the Kingdom of Alwina’s unfavourable situation that had continued for many years. It was much easier to sneak spies into each country while their guard is down.They have been active in assassination of  important figures and other illegal activities, which had further strengthened their foundations in the underworld of those countries. They were  devouring the enemy countries from the inside out.

 

This secret work had been going before Leonardo took his seat as the leader of the Kingdom of Alwina.


 

“ You have found the characteristics of the man who defeated Hilda of [Flame Sword], right?”

 

“YES!! He had black hair and eyes and  wrapped in jet black armor that I have never seen before. Besides Hilda, there were  several other members that were defeated by him too....”

 

If the opponent was a beastman or other demi-human, then he will not expressed it like this. Within Alwina, beings other than humans were not treated as “Persons”.

 

“Then, spread the poster with that person’s feature and characteristics to the ruffians and offer them a prize money. I don’t mind if the portrait is crude, it will create more chaos that way. Make the prize 10,000 gorudol, that should make most people take the bait..”

 

The currency unit of this world from lowest to highest is Burodol, Shirudol, and Gorudol. 100 Burodol equals to 1 Shirudol, and 100 Shirudol equals to 1 Gorudol.

 

50 Gorudol one would  able to support a family of four for an entire year without starving. With 10,000 Gorudol one can  live and play extravagantly for several generations.

 

Even though it was painful to lose a subordinate with high fighting ability, he couldn’t let it be in vain. Chaos was sure to spread as the person is appropriate of the prize.

 

“..... the talk ends here. Leave quickly. I can not endure the sight of you bastards any longer.”

 

“Ex ex excuse my presence !!”

 

The man literally ran out of the room. Leonardo had not even given him a glance. Even ordering them of “To Conquer the city or Die”, seeing the pitiful state of the staff officer that gave the report, his urge to murder had completely disappeared.

 

Leonardo held a bottle of liquor in his hands. In the Castle undergrounds are numerous bottles of branded liquors that would make a collector offer a mountain of gold to obtained it, had they have any knowledge  of it.This bottle  was one of many treasures. Not showing an expression that he was tasting any of it, Leonardo poured it into his stomach.

 

Similar looking bottles were scattered around his feet, empty. Since the death of Rezado, his younger brother, Leonardo has been spending his days drinking.

 

His cheeks became thinner, his eyes sunk in. He looked depressed, yet those red eyes still gave off an ominous light, Leonardo was akin to a ghost, at least for those who saw his current state.

 

But, that is only until today.

 

“.............”

 

Suddenly, Leonardo crushed the bottle in his hand. It was still nearly half full still , but neither the fragments of bottle, nor the contents spilled from his hand. the  enormous spirit power that was gathered in Leonardo’s palm made the numerous fine fragments of the glass and its contents disappear with a soft sound.

 

Leonardo has a duty as a King. Since his attack failed, he needed to be on defensive. He needed to handle the counter attacks and interventions from enemy countries, which would come soon. He would also need to buy some time to restore the military so he can invade again. He was, still, composed enough to remember his duties.

 

Nevertheless , he has no  intention on giving up revenge.

 

Even though he often caused problems, Rezado was still his younger brother. Rezado is not someone that those beastmen or their human advocates are allowed to be killed, at least according to him...


 

“It will take time, but you’ll see later. I will dye this world with the blood of your enemies and those foolish beasts so even you can see, from wherever you are.....!”

 

Leonardo’s objective was purely to lead the human Kingdom of Alwina to reconquer the entire continent...even after all this.  



 

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*Achoo*, -  a sneeze echoed inside the fortress.

 

“Is someone gossiping about me....?”

 

Karito stood on top of the fortress, alone.  He periodically zoomed in and out with his goggles to overlook the situation around the fortress for changes after the Alwina invasion.

 

Although the invasion army had retreated after receiving catastrophic damage, there was a sense of uneasiness in the Citadel Fortress Town from not knowing when the enemy will come attacking again.. Although the troops that were worn out had been reinforced with fresh reinforcements from the Imperial City and common sense said the invading army needed time to recover from the attack,  they still couldn’t rid themselves of anxiety.

 

Because of the condition outside of the Fortress, Karito volunteered to keep watch. Since he owned a goggles with zooming function as well as a scope for sniping, Karito is a perfect man as a lookout. It was also, partly, because Karito felt awkward walking around the headquarters and barracks as an outsider. Even though they all struggled through the fierce fight together (Reona and the other does not seemed to care about it. She and Rina were helping around with odd job). Besides, it was convenient to get lost in thought when scouting alone.

 

“Even so… as expected, there sure are a lot of them.”

 

On the plains outside of the fortress, thousands corpse that had died in cruel ways were piled up. They were  the corpses of Alwina soldiers.

 

It was simply a mountain of corpse left there without being disposed properly.

 

Karito had helped carry the dead Alwina soldier's corpse from inside the city to the outside the fortress. Most of the dead bodies had already begun to give off a bad stench, and because of the large injuries on the corpses, their smell became stronger. Still, if left unattended it can cause a plague thus, the bodies needed to be moved or the population would have to settle elsewhere.

 

For Karito, that could be said that to be the most shocking experience, besides killing people. In the , the corpse’s depiction had not been this awful. And when  left alone, it would disappear after a certain period of time. The scene of  corpses being piled up like this was rarely seen. It made him realized all over again of the difference between a war game and reality.

 

Among the soldiers who helped dispose the corpses, many strip the corpses of their valuable items. Even though it was natural to take items from the defeated enemy  in the game, it gave a different impression when it happened in reality. It was not pleasant sight, but who could  blame them. At least Karito couldn’t say anything.

 

The hardest work was the disposal of the Orcs’ corpse. They were heavier, stinker, and were  in more pieces than the human corpses. The scenery around the area where Karito had used the small Frag-12 grenade was particularly grotesque. It was so gruesome to the point that he might have a nightmare of charred corpses from magic and flamethrowers. It was  strange that he did  not vomit at least once.

 

Even though the task was not physically challenging, the mental fatigue was terrible. Reona told him that his eyes seemed dead by the time they finished clearing all the troops.

 

He tried to shake off the spectacle that resurfaced in his mind, but when he turned his eyes towards the plains, a mountain of corpse greeted his sight. Literally, a mountain. The place did not differ much from a depiction of hell, that itself is a sorrowful thing.

 

He thought about various subjects. The things he had done and the things he will have to do, from now on. About the people he had killed, and about the woman he could not kill. Ordy, who survived the war with him, the Defence Forces, who fought until their last last breath and the residents of the town, who got dragged into the fight and died. . .

 

How can he reduce the sacrifices of his allies? How can he make the Alwina Army withdraw more quickly and efficiently? Of course, doing something alone makes the possibility lower, however, being troubled over things that could have been done is part of human nature as well.

 

For example, if only he had distributed all the restorative medicine on hand to treat the injured people and to the Defense Force Soldiers then their losses would have been lower, possibly.  When Karito had finally came up with the idea, the critically injured soldiers had already died pointlessly. Even after the battle was over, he only could only stand still from shock.

 

Setting aside the issue whether Ordy’s group and everyone from Defense Force would have accepted Karito’s suggestion he should have at least suggested it. He could say that he was too preoccupied with surviving after being thrown into the firing area, but that would be an excuse. An excuse he wouldn't use after watching the slow death of the soldiers as a result of his actions. Karito couldn’t help but  feel something heavy forming in his stomach

 

Even against the Alwina Army...wouldn’t it have been much better to hunt their commanding rank officers one by one rather than flashily shoot at them randomly....? No, at that time, it was best  to stop the flow of the enemies that were fast approaching.

 

That woman, Hilda...... to be honest, Karito himself couldn’t understand why he didn’t kill her immediately, until now.

 

Now, when he realized that he was trying to kill a woman and he felt a sense of self loathing.

 

Looking back, Karito felt something strange happening to him. Could he, perhaps, be a feminist?, he thought and somehow couldn’t get rid of the uncomfortable feeling. Karito had forgotten, but because he had saved her, she would turn into a prisoner and might eventually be executed, or even encounter something more terrible than death.

 

No, that is not important. What is important is that Karito does not want to kill a woman with his own hands.

 

But what would he do if something similar happens again? Would he be able to capture them alive without taking their life, like this time? What would he do the next time if Reona and Rina were going to be killed and if the opponent is a woman?

 

While such thought kept spinning his head, Karito began to lost his sight of the solution. He groaned out after a  awhile. Even though it felt pathetic, he decided to put those questions away for the time being.

 

Although it was simply postponing the problem, in the end, the answers might just come out when the time for it comes.

 

If possible, he did not want to be in such situation  for a second time.

 

“or maybe next time I might just come up with  an answer”

 

The revived Hilda had lost her memories. She  had forgotten everything, the fact that she had slaughtered the Defense Force Army, cut one of Marian’s arm off, trying to kill Karito... everything.

 

Currently,  she was retained in the headquarters’ jail, watched by soldiers. All  the guards were humans as she would shiver badly and fall into a panicked state, the moment she saw a beastman. The mannerism from when she rushed to attack Karito and Marian seemed like an illusion

 

According to Marian’s speculation, the discrimination against the non - human race has been carved in her consciousness and turned into fear due to the memory loss.

 

In addition, she evoked body reinforcement magic, unconsciously. it took five soldiers to restrain Hilda’s before Marian used magic to forcefully make her lose consciousness. Since  there is also a possibility that she might break free from jail, the insides of the headquarters were still being strictly guarded. Even though she had quieted down since she regained her consciousness, in order to prevent future damage, they still kept their guards up.

 

Due to the possibility that she might go wild again if it was not handled  properly, interrogation had been  suspended, for now. According to Ordy and Marian, the interrogation would start after attaching  a magical seal brought by a convoy from the Imperial City.

 

Although there was a prisoner exchange system, where a prisoner would be exchange for a ransom or another prisoner, like during Earth’s Middle Ages, it was an impossible option for Hilda. She couldn’t identify herself due to her memory loss, and the mythril armor that Karito had “obtained” from her was too...lacking..to be used as evidence.

 

Incidentally, when Marian investigated the armors and various things from other Silver Corps in her spare time, she discovered that it gave the wearer a reinforcement effect. Now, he understand the reason behind those absurd physical ability.

 

“Nn?”

 

Karito caught a moving shadow between the corpses. He checked it out from the M14 EBR’s scope, instead of the goggle zooming function, so that he could take action immediately.

 

What he found was  a dog type beast around 1 meter in length, a few hundred meters away from himself. Before, Ordy had told him there is an animal called “Funeral Beast”.  Resembling a hyena, they are  very sensitive to the smell of blood and frequently appear on battlefield sites where numerous fresh corpses lie  around. Karito has became familiar with them in the  past few days.

 

“Urgh, how grotesque.”

 

Not noticing that they were being aimed at by the muzzle, the funeral beasts devoured the corpses’ decaying intestines. Karito frowned and looked away from the scope.

 

While feeling unpleasant, a question came into Karito’s mind as  he saw this.

 

“which one of us is the  better one - we who kills others or the beasts who feeds on those corpses?”

 

Or are we much worse than both??

 

Yet again, he did not have enough life experience to answer his own question.





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