A rain of arrows poured directly down upon Jack's group; however, the moment the arrows were about to touch their bodies, they suddenly stopped.
The remaining humans and hundreds of goblins looked on in astonishment as the barrage of arrows was enveloped by water, causing their speed to drop sharply and come to a halt.
"Gya?!"
The goblins had no idea what was happening.
Why were their arrows wrapped in water? Who was it? Who did this?
"Hey, I didn't expect you guys to be in such a wretched state!"
From the north of the city, where two watchtowers stood at its main gate, a man's voice echoed down, originating from the top of the right wooden watchtower.
Those two wooden watchtowers were connected to each other by a wooden bridge spanning across the second floor of each tower. This style of architecture was present in all three other directions: east, west, and south. All four directions shared the exact same structure and layout, down to the smallest detail.
"Try to hold on a bit longer! Reinforcements are on the way!"
Actually, he himself was more aptly described as the reinforcement, because everyone knew how strong the man who had just appeared to rescue them was.
(On the way... is that so?)
Jack looked toward the north. He heard the screeching sound of metal and the piercing screams of goblins; however, the pace wasn't too slow because goblins kept pouring out en masse from every corner of the city.
Jack continued looking up at the left wooden watchtower in the north and saw that man leap down from high above, creating a relatively large tremor. He even saw dust and smoke rising.
(Is he always this strong?)
"That guy Tyler, does he always have to land like a hero or a super villain?"
Although injured, Anthony still managed to lighten the tense atmosphere, even though no one could feel happy or relieved given the current situation. Tyler—that was the man's name—had appeared to bail them out, but that didn't necessarily mean he could save everyone.
"Gyaaaa!"
Taking advantage of the enemy's distraction, an axe-wielding goblin rushed forward, attempting to kill old man Jack. Fortunately, Jack dodged in time and used his greatsword to block the attack, creating sparks from the metal and a screeching sound as the two weapons collided.
Jack took advantage of the leverage from his massive greatsword to knock away the axe-wielding goblin trying to kill him, sending the enemy flying backward and accidentally crashing his whole body into one of his own kind.
(I wonder how Red is doing?!)
Jack glanced over at the hot-tempered black-haired teenager on the other side. Things were truly not looking good at all.
"You bastard!!!!! Who gave you permission to do that to the deceased?!"
Red was pinned tightly by a goblin holding both of his arms behind his back, unable to move even a centimeter due to his severe injuries.
In front of him stood a massive two-meter-tall goblin holding a heavy executioner's greatsword; it must have been an executioner of the goblin clan.
The goblin that had previously intended to kill him for "revenge" had been killed by this very same towering kinsman for no reason other than "getting in the way".
He was huge, with a leather belt around his waist, ornaments and teeth from various other races attached to both his left and right hips, and two sharp fangs larger than any ordinary goblin, accompanied by a fierce expression. In his hand was Lisa's head, severed from her body.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with this bunch?"
(They can speak human language?!)
This was something thought impossible for these low-class green-skinned goblins. They were originally not on the same level as humans... yet they were actually using human language itself? How absurd!
(Could it be... humanoid goblins?!) This thought flashed briefly through the minds of Jack and Red.
"Do as you like, Gobto. You are my executioner, so I leave all executions entirely to you. All I want is this city of Yeld."
Gobro, the king of the goblins, mentioned a relatively unfamiliar name: Yeld?
If Jack remembered correctly, that Gobro fellow was supposed to be in the North according to the kingdom's ancient records, but... Yeld?
In fact, the city of Verse had another name, Yeld, which was not mentioned in the kingdom's recorded history.
The reason was that, according to recorded history, the first humans to arrive here came from the south of the city. They built the city known today as Verse, named after a leader. However, about four hundred years ago (roughly estimated, subject to error), people from the North (called barbarians by the Southerners), also known as the Heiter people, initiated a war against the Southerners of Verse. Nevertheless, the Heiter suffered a bitter defeat and withdrew from the city. Later, they called this place Yeld—the name of a god of death in their culture—implying that this place would never prosper unless its master was a Heiter.
"Finish off these flies quickly and we'll talk later. It seems the companions of these insects are swarming over here. Besides, Hobgobro, my foolish younger brother, has already conquered the Kingdom of Einz, so the orcs are definitely going to start trouble again."
(Hobgobro? How did they get here?!)
Gobro and Hobgobro were supposed to be in the North?! How did they cross that ocean?!
That was what Jack was thinking at the moment.
"Aren't the orcs our allies?"
"Who knows. Indeed, we are all allied under the King of the Undead (Red Skeleton). However, in many other aspects, including politics, we are just like cats and dogs."
Why would Gobro bluntly spill such important matters, including internal conflicts?
That was what Jack was thinking.
(Are they intentionally exposing this, or... are they really that stupid?)
Jack didn't understand why they would blurt out such important information.
While the executioner Gobto was talking with his king, a series of magical attacks fired from afar forced them to pay attention to the current situation.
"What's that?"
Gobro looked unconcerned, because after all, he didn't even have to care about such weak magic attacks; he could just let the spell-casting goblins handle it, with no need to deploy the executioner Gobto.
On Jack and Anthony's side, they were still struggling to fight off and intercept all goblin attacks, now supplemented by reinforcements from the man Tyler.
It seemed that while both Gobro and Gobto were chatting idly, the group that broke through the encirclement and made it in was quite capable, weren't they?
(Looks like the guards haven't arrived yet. I'll have to leave everything to Gobto.)
"Gobto, I leave the execution of these insects to you. Do whatever you like, smash things up if you want. As long as you clear all those flies out of here, I'll reward you after this."
"Ro."
Gobto nodded in understanding, turning his gaze toward Red and his companions.
He smiled.
(We're done for.) Jack thought.
Gobto slowly walked toward Red, though countless magical attacks and arrows rained down from afar amidst smoke and dust. However, these weak attacks were like striking a rock with an egg, having no effect or advantage whatsoever. They must have been their reinforcements.
"Gyaaaaaaaaa! Gura! Ga gi gư ô!" (Gobto's roar: "Listen up! You lot, wipe out the rest! The rest of you, sweep away the reinforcements!")
Immediately, the mob goblins looked at each other and simultaneously responded with three different replies.
"Gê!" (Understood!)
"Guru!" (Understood!)
"Gufu!" (Understood!)
Gobto seemed to be using a language that only goblins could understand, and Jack couldn't make out what they were saying either; but judging by their expressions and eyes, he guessed it meant: "Kill all of these and sweep away the reinforcements."
(But... what on earth are gê, guru, and gufu?!)
Boom!
While Jack was thinking, a powerful tremor underfoot rumbled once more like thunder, pulling his mind back to reality.
"Gôôô!" (Charge!)
Gobto shouted another bizarre, incomprehensible word, undoubtedly in the goblin language. It seemed that these goblins using human language earlier was meant to convey contempt, as they thought using it equated to lowering themselves to humanity.
"Gura Gobto, giro guvu gorth gand guse givegage goblin. Gufugufuro gallo!" (Listen closely Gobto, lead the troops to the north and use over five hundred goblins. Wipe them out!)
King Gobro spoke in the goblin language to convey his orders to his executioner Gobto, and once again, Jack didn't understand a word.
"Gê!" (Understood!)
Instantly, the goblins swarmed toward the north, where human reinforcements were advancing.
Gobto estimated by eye that there were over a hundred people, a relatively large number for reinforcements to rescue these flies.
"Geathhhhh! Ga gi gư ô!" (Die! You rats!)
Jack and Anthony also sprang into action following Gobto's movements, while Gobro turned and headed south of the city.
As for what Gobro specifically wanted, Jack didn't understand, nor did he understand the conversation between them.
"Anthony, support me. Hey, you two over there! Can you still stand?!"
Jack looked toward the two young men on their right flank, one dual-wielding and the other holding a spear, both with damaged armor.
"We... we can still stand!"
Both of them answered Jack back, making a total of four people still capable of fighting, while Red lay unconscious from blood loss.
Could they pull this off? Could they hold out until reinforcements broke through the encirclement to save everyone?
"Gura! Gallo gimini gey, gesuturu gat goro gua geli go gi! Gat gege gede grumo!" (Listen up! You mob, bring me that woman's head! That will be the offering!)
Gobto began using that incomprehensible language again, this time gesturing and looking toward Lisa's severed head.
What was he implying?
"Gyaaa!"
Jack shouted while swinging his greatsword in an arc to eliminate a large number of goblins attempting to kill them, and Anthony immediately cast "Enchantment" to restore Jack's stamina while making him stronger than before.
Goblins were approaching Red, holding melee weapons to finish off the fallen youth. Meanwhile, a nearby goblin picked up Lisa's bloody, rolling head from the ground and brought it to Gobto, presumably by order of the executioner.
Jack instantly understood the conversation between Gobto and the mob. But ultimately, what did they want with Lisa's head? Or was it just a coincidence?
From the northern attack route, including Tyler, they could now see them.
Relatively large in number, about a hundred people in total.
Was there a chance?
(We won't retake this place. The situation is still too one-sided; for now, we just need to survive and get out of here alive. Hopefully, the carriage carrying the other unconscious people has already made it back to the rear. I hope they are safe. Right, once we're back, we have to plan the recapture of Verse.)
"Tyler!"
Anthony shouted Tyler's name, now silently certain that he was the one who could rescue them right at this moment.
"Got it! You guys, go help them!"
Tyler signaled the assassin and warrior squads, who immediately dashed toward Red and engaged the goblins trying to take his life.
The warrior squad of over ten people split into smaller units, and the assassin squad also broke into separate groups—one supporting Red and the other supporting Jack's group.
The tank squad was also enthusiastically swinging their powerful giant greatswords in circles with a radius of about ten centimeters against the goblins.
Archers and mages took their positions, supported by a large force of warriors led by Tyler.
At Red's group, a short-haired black-haired female assassin continuously brought down multiple goblins at once.
That woman constantly slipped her body through the gaps of the goblins and took their lives with her sword.
Three goblins appeared and surrounded her, but the woman immediately hurled her assassin's sword at the melee spear-wielding goblin, who lost his life due to slow reflexes.
She rushed to the corpse of the fallen spear goblin to retrieve her sword. At the same time, a bow-wielding goblin drew its bow and loosed its first shot; she instantly rolled to the right where an unarmed goblin stood. The female assassin used the body of the unarmed goblin to block an attack from an axe-wielding goblin standing nearby who had heard her movements, while the bowman's arrow struck another goblin on the opposite side.
The axe-wielding goblin swung his axe to finish off his own comrade. However, she immediately flung the corpse she was using as a meat shield, causing the axe goblin to be thrown off balance by his own momentum as he tried to pull his weapon away.
The bow-wielding goblin managed to loose another shot, but this time he had another archer ally.
The female assassin continued rolling through the goblins fighting her comrades, using her small arms to slip past their necks and slash their throats with her sword.
The archer goblins grew frustrated at failing to hit the enemy. As they drew their crossbows to fire a third shot, a human assassin who had been silently creeping up suddenly appeared. He killed the original archer goblin, and the remaining crossbow goblin abruptly turned toward him. Just as he intended to draw a dagger to stab the assassin's leg, another tank youth appeared and smashed his skull with a giant iron hammer.
"Thanks, Raiden."
"Don't mention it. I knew you'd pull it off, Rowan?"
"I wonder how Rose is doing?"
Raiden was the tank teenager; he had removed his iron helmet to reveal a scar running down from his right cheek to his neck, with a completely shaved head. Rowan had nothing particularly notable about his appearance except for his dark blue hair. Additionally, Rose was the short-haired female assassin Rowan mentioned; the three of them seemed to be close friends.
"Who knows, but she doesn't seem to need any help, does she?"
While Rowan and Raiden were engrossed in conversation, another group of goblins appeared and attacked them. Raiden immediately threw his body forward to block a short-sword slash from a goblin; fortunately, wearing iron armor protected him, and conversely, the goblin's short sword snapped in two from hitting Raiden's armor too hard.
Seizing this golden opportunity, Rowan slipped behind the goblin—which was bewildered by the sturdy Raiden—gripped the hilt and handle of his sword, and stabbed it straight into the goblin's left chest.
"You too, be careful next time."
"..."
Over at Jack's spot, more people had come to assist him than before, while Anthony looked close to fainting from exhaustion on the spot.
"Hey Anthony, are you alright?! Your complexion looks terrible?"
"I..."
Anthony had continuously maintained the "Enchantment" spell since boosting Jack and the reinforcements, and his physical state seemed unstable from sustaining the magic for so long.
"Hey, someone... help Anthony!"
"You talk too much, old man. What does that guy dying have to do with anything?!"
Though his words sounded indifferent, the soldier next to him turned to help Anthony anyway.
"Hey big guy, you okay?"
"Not... really... I..."
Anthony dropped his magic staff, shattering its crystal head against the ground. He clutched his head, looking ready to faint from dizziness, accompanied by symptoms that likely included nausea.
"I don't understand why a big guy like you became a mage? Wouldn't being a Paladin be less miserable?! Haha! Anyway, Viktor's short on people right now anyway, right?! Oh well, never mind that! Step back, let us handle them. Besides, cancel that 'Enchantment' spell; stop maintaining it for now, or you're beyond saving."
Following the advice of the soldier supporting his right arm, Anthony nodded and temporarily stopped maintaining the enhancement spell, stepping backward.
Naturally, since his magic staff was broken, continuing to cast spells could endanger the caster's life.
The man helping Anthony immediately lifted a short sword horizontally with both hands, blocking a slash from a goblin wielding a similar-length weapon—though it wasn't a standard short sword, as short swords had shorter blades than ordinary sabers.
After blocking the enemy's blow, the man helping Anthony kicked straight into the enemy's belly with his right leg, immediately followed by the target being engulfed in flames by a nearby mage's spell.
"Hey, I've never seen you before, are you a new recruit? What's your name?"
Jack wanted to identify the man, but identity verification? Didn't that sound a bit strange? It was almost as if he were a spy, but thinking about it, names were just like identification codes between humans. It had always been that way since ancient times, perhaps even since the ancestors?
"No. I'm not a recruit."
The man helping Anthony fought off the goblins with his short sword while calmly answering old man Jack's question. He clearly had at least two years of battlefield experience.
"I'm a soldier dispatched by the border expeditionary force. When Gobro passed through the Franken sea region in the northern border, we heard the rumbling and sent people down here. Well, part of the reason was also because your soldiers ran over to ask for help. By the way, I'm Ryan. You're Jack, right? The royal army's general? Even so, what are you doing down here?"
Old man Jack should have been at the army's base camp; why did he come down here in person? That was what this man named Ryan was thinking.
"You know me quite well, huh?"
"Of course! You're a well-known figure, aren't you?"
That was enough chatting; Ryan immediately returned to the main issue.
"What are you doing down here?"
"Just haven't stretched my limbs in a long time, so I came down. Who would have thought we'd run into this kind of mess? By the way, where's Tyler?"
"That big guy? If you're asking about him, he's probably with Gobto right now."
With that, Ryan pointed toward executioner Gobto at the north gate of the city and his army.
"That guy, is he always risking his life?"
Boom!
Even from way over here, they could still hear the sound of two greatswords clashing all the way up at the city's north gate—incredible. Young men were always full of energy, weren't they?
(I wish I could go back to my youth too.) Jack thought absentmindedly while fighting multiple goblins at once.
(Still, come to think of it... my childhood was full of weird things.)
"So, General Jack, do you have any plan? Because to me, your head doesn't seem very clear right now? Exhausted?"
(Haha, I knew it.)
"If you ask that..."
Jack instantly accelerated, shortening the intervals between his greatsword swings. His strikes suddenly became more powerful, slicing cleanly through the goblins' bellies and leaving a river of blood.
(I can probably use that a little bit now.)
"Did everyone hear me clearly?! Follow the tank and warrior squads to carve a bloody path, we'll back them up! Tyler, you'd better withdraw your troops from here right now! Don't be reckless! Everyone, break through the encirclement and get out of here! The enemy only wants Verse; as long as we get out of here, that's enough!"
Hearing Jack's voice, everyone took action.
Ryan carried Anthony (who had recovered over fifty percent thanks to minor healing magic), Jack continued directing the battlefield, while Rowan, Raiden, and Rose supported each other. Rowan and Rose carried Red while Raiden acted as the tank carving a bloody path.
The soldiers of the border expeditionary force joined forces with the royal army to rally around Jack (following the direction of the voice), while Gobto also overheard the humans' plan.
"He's right, humans! Get out of here right now or all of you will become our food!"
As Gobto spoke, he slammed his executioner's greatsword down toward Tyler, but Tyler blocked it once again.
"You heard them?! Run out of here right now!"
For some reason, Gobto added that extra line. Even so, he glanced at Tyler and smiled.
Despite that, no one noticed his somewhat odd behavior.
Only Jack noticed that the actions and words of Gobto, Gobro, and their cohorts... didn't quite match up.
(Why would this Gobto repeat my command?)
Tyler shouted to the soldiers and his team that they had come to stall Gobto, but now had to run for their lives.
The goblins also began attacking more fiercely; the goblin archers rained arrows down like a storm. They said let them run, but actually they still wanted to wipe out the enemy, didn't they?
"Everyone hurry! March north! Stick close to the formation! Leave behind anyone who gets left behind, we don't have time to rescue fools!"
Tyler shouted his orders while closely following Jack's group, seemingly putting collective interests above individual ones.
Raiden threw his entire body forward, slamming heavily into the obstructing goblins and knocking them backward into their comrades, creating a chain reaction that toppled the goblins behind them.
Rose maintained her familiar assassin style, slipping through enemy gaps and slitting throats with her specialized dagger, while Rowan wielded an assassin's dagger alongside an iron axe he had just scavenged from an enemy.
Rowan hurled the iron axe at an axe-wielding goblin about twenty centimeters away from the group. The axe grazed the goblin's head as it dodged, but the behind-the-scenes machete-wielding goblin wasn't as lucky; the axe embedded straight into his head. Rowan continued blending into the flow of enemies and allies, assassinating goblins.
As for Tyler and his team, the combat mages continuously unleashed attacks using various diverse types of magic. Tyler was now wielding a katana instead of his previous greatsword—did he throw it away? Well, whatever, never mind. Tyler used the sharp katana with its brand-new blade to continuously slash at the foolish goblins, who were decapitated one after another by that deadly blade. Tyler then gripped the katana's hilt tightly, pulling it backward horizontally to level the tip with his abdomen before accelerating. That deadly katana blade continuously stabbed into the bellies of other goblins, using the impaled goblins as human shields to crash into other goblins, carving a perfect path for the entire army.
As for Red, he could move a little but still needed help from Rowan and Raiden.
Meanwhile, Jack, Ryan, and Anthony continuously rotated positions to clean up the enemy.
Jack had now removed his heavy iron armor and hurled it fiercely at a goblin. Not stopping there, he threw his spherical iron helmet in an arc to smash against a goblin's face, allowing Ryan to finish him off and use his right elbow to smash into another goblin's stomach. As for Anthony, he had to resort to physical attacks since he had run out of mana to cast spells.
"I told you you should have joined the Paladins?!"
"Shut up!"
The situation was looking quite favorable for the human side, and the goblins seemed to be mounting weaker and weaker resistance?
"Gallo goblin gura gi, gallo gevere gahamoroku gaguhugaman!" (All goblins listen up, all cease resisting the humans!)
Gobto started speaking that bizarre, incomprehensible goblin language again, and none of the humans understood a word.
(An attack order!?) Jack thought that way, but...
That wasn't Gobro's intention; he meant to stop resisting the humans.
The human side also felt something was amiss; the goblins seemed to stop attacking humans?
"Gord Gobro gi gua, gequakacu gant gobodo?" (Supreme Lord Gobro, what do you wish to do now?)
"Gura Gobto, gobodo gaguhugaman gefukono galapalacote." (Listen Gobto, just let those humans escape.)
"Gê!" (Ro!)
"To be honest, I've been in the expeditionary force for a while, but I still don't understand their language!"
Ryan spoke loudly. Meanwhile, Tyler continued leading the group out of there, while the goblins no longer attacked.
"Looks like they issued a cease-fire order? The goblins are no longer fighting back?"
Jack had suspected this since they carved a bloody path to escape; the goblin attacks had grown weaker and fewer. Was it ordered by Gobro and his executioner Gobto?
"Say what you want, let's just get out of here first! Casualties weren't that significant, about ten-plus dead, not counting your soldiers!"
(You call that insignificant?!) Jack scolded the blockheaded, reckless, and warlike big guy Tyler in his mind. That was because he always thought "negatively," whereas in reality, Tyler wasn't that kind of person.
While the human faction gradually fled the city and had run quite a distance, the two goblins—Gobro the goblin king and Gobto Gobro's executioner—resumed speaking human language.
"I understand you only want to conquer Yeld, but why did you let them escape?"
Gobto looked doubtful at his king's order. At that moment, another executioner goblin named Gobho and the head of the royal knights, Gobkaho, approached Gobro and Gobto; both of them could also speak human language.
"I don't want to lose any more forces on those flies. Besides, tomorrow I have to go to the Daiken forest in the West to meet with the Undead King. This time, he's plotting something, so tomorrow make sure your forces are solid, and don't let a single rat slip in here. I leave full authority to you, Gobto."
The West, meaning the distant continent of Quienderline.
"Are you sure? Apart from being big, Gobto is clueless about everything else."
"What did you say, Gobkaho? Remember, I am the executioner of the esteemed King Gobro!"
"So what? I'm the captain of the royal knights, what are you? Dog shit? Huh?"
"You two are just a couple of idiots."
"Shut your trap, Gobho!"
Gobkaho attempted to swing his fist at Gobho's face, but Gobho managed to block the strike of the head of the royal knights with his palm.
"Stop arguing you two, deal with the aftermath of the battle right away. Make sure there are no problems tomorrow; I will be absent for a week starting tomorrow."
"Ro!"
"Ro!"
"Ro!"
All three goblins immediately obeyed the king's command, then used the goblin language to order the lower-rank goblins.
Generally speaking, in goblin society, only goblins of royal or noble blood, or military leaders, could speak human language; the rest used ordinary goblin language. This applied similarly to their clans, such as Hobgoblins and other races like Orcs, Dark Elves, etc.
Essentially, the battle in Verse temporarily ended here...
For Jack's troops to march back to the Tenboku kingdom's main base, it would take at least nearly two hours of running.
Their main base was located deep in the forest, chosen for camouflage. Deep in the forest, enemy discovery wouldn't be much of an issue, and it was relatively close to the northern border expeditionary force base near the Franken gulf where Ryan was dispatched.
"All settled, huh? Hey Jack, go to your tent and sleep. You look exhausted; I'll send someone to treat you later. Good night."
Tyler spoke in a teasing yet caring tone, though he didn't show it outwardly. Simply put, Jack used to be Tyler's teacher, which was why he showed respect. When he was young, old man Jack was very hot-tempered (outwardly), so that trait rubbed off on his student Tyler.
"Hey you three new recruits, escort Red to his tent. As for the rest, we'll lock them up temporarily and take them back for the king to judge."
The three new recruits Tyler referred to were Raiden, Rowan, and Rose, while those he ordered escorted to prison were the unconscious people from Verse who miraculously survived for some reason—and of course, Grey was one of them, so he was thrown in prison like the rest.
"Hey, why are they being thrown in prison?"
Rose asked while carrying Red to his tent.
In fact, Rose's question made sense. However, Tyler and Ryan (who now realized Tyler's intention and silently agreed) gave very convincing reasons.
"No identity, unknown reason for surviving after the city became ruins, all dizzy and fainting. None of us know who these people are; what if they are spies planted by another kingdom? Furthermore, almost none of them would divulge personal information like names or anything similar. Think about it, would you trust a group like that?"
Ryan answered on behalf of Tyler (as told by Jack during the retreat) to Rose's question, and indeed, it sounded reasonable.
"How do you know they didn't speak? You came later, right?"
Rose doubtfully questioned Ryan to see how he would reply.
"Well, Jack told me?"
"True..."
And with that, their conversation paused.
"As Ryan said, we have no information on these guys. So it's most logical to throw them all in prison and await the king's judgment when we move to the Kingdom of Tenboku tomorrow. The king will decide punishment or acquittal. If not acquitted, they become prisoners of war, or..."
His tone dropped lower this time, extremely serious about the issue they faced.
"Face the death penalty."
With that, he left the group and entered his tent.
Thus, today ended abruptly.
The fate of people like Grey and thirty-five others would be decided tomorrow.
The next morning, Tyler ordered Rowan, Rose, Raiden, and others to stay behind at the Tenboku kingdom army base, while Ryan returned to the northern border expeditionary force base near the Franken gulf—taking a detour to avoid Verse, which was now occupied by goblins.
As for Jack, Anthony, and Red, having fully recovered, they would return to Tenboku with Tyler and the others to have an audience with the king, while the thirty-six detained individuals woke up still clueless about what was happening to them.
"Hey! Why are you tying us up?!"
The small, black-haired teenager struggled rebelliously against the situation.
All thirty-six of them had their hands tied tightly, with a rope wrapped around each person's waist connecting them into a long line. They stood in line from top to bottom, exactly thirty-six people, with a quite significant gender ratio of twenty-three females and thirteen males.
"So noisy... Could you please shut up?"
Just as the small, black-haired teenager struggled against his bonds, another fierce-looking teenager with an X-shaped scar on his right cheek complained about his noisiness. However, he also got heated and prepared to talk back. The guy who had just scolded the small teenager had dark skin.
"What did you say?! I'm fine?! No way! Being noisy is my personality!"
"Isn't that a bad habit instead?"
Grey—the teenager rescued yesterday by Jack's group—suddenly spoke up.
"What did you say?!"
The small teenager struggled harder, causing the girl standing right behind him to feel a slight pain in her wrists and let out an "ah". Yet somehow, the small teenager turned around and yelled back at her.
"Does it hurt just from that? Such a weakling woman!"
"Well, she is a woman, isn't she?"
Unable to stand this guy's nasty attitude, Grey retorted with an unanswerable reply.
"Besides, you're too rude. Can't you shut your mouth for a second?"
"Rude what?! Do I look like I'm being rude?!"
Grey argued back against the annoying dwarf. Partly because he felt that girl was suddenly being scolded despite being unrelated and doing nothing wrong.
"Clearly... you are... yes you are..."
The girl who had just been yelled at by the small teenager agreed with Grey; this guy was clearly an immensely rude, talkative nuisance beyond cure.
If one had to use the worst words to describe this guy, even calling him a "fly" or "scum" wouldn't compare.
"You guys stop arguing right now, death is coming for you lot."
While these detainees were bickering, a military soldier turned around and reminded them not to cause trouble, while revealing what was about to happen to them.
"Hey hey, Krauser. Why are you leaking that to these kids? What if they piss their pants from fear? Hahahaha!"
Nearby, someone who seemed to be Krauser's friend laughed boisterously at his own dull joke (presumably) and walked over to Krauser, looking at the bound line of people.
"You'll pay because of you guys... we almost lost our lives rescuing you! A bunch of useless freeloaders coming out of nowhere!"
He glanced at a girl among them who looked timid and stepped close with malicious intent.
"You'll pay!"
He raised his fist to attack the girl, but immediately, his teammate came over and stopped him.
"Hey! That's going too far!"
Krauser sensed danger and immediately stopped his best friend, who seemed to be losing control in anger.
"You guys are spies, right?! Confess! Don't make me angry! Look! I'm injured because of you guys!"
He raised his bandaged left arm and blamed all thirty-six of them.
"Stop it right now!"
His best friend immediately exerted more force to stop his foolish actions.
In the eyes of Tyler, Victor, Krauser, Red, Jack, and others, Grey and the bound people truly looked like spies.
They couldn't fully trust these people, or in other words, in their eyes, these detainees—including Grey—were accomplices, spies of the enemy kingdom, goblins, or other monster races. Supposing that was true, they were dead for sure.
Red, Anthony, and Jack felt the same way.
Although Jack rescued Grey and thirty-five others, his motive was to investigate these people, not out of pity. Put simply, he suspected Grey and the others as well.
Krauser and a few others pinned their teammate's arms to stop him from causing more trouble, and at that moment, Tyler along with Red, Jack, and Anthony arrived and witnessed what had just happened.
"Are you ready? The trip will take at least four hours, so get ready. No time to rest. And you, cool down your hot head. The truth isn't even clear yet, what are you doing?"
"You?!"
He grew angry, getting even angrier as Tyler kept adding fuel to the fire, though he had meant to stop him... but either way, that warning was terrible.
(How are you even trying to stop him?) Jack genuinely didn't understand this student of his.
As for Jack's current relationship with the detainees, he wouldn't stand by them or any faction; he remained completely neutral.
"Enough, preparation time is up. Let's move."
Tyler continued after Jack, ordering the troops to move while escorting these people to the Kingdom of Tenboku to await the king's judgment.
Thus, the procession crossed the vast, lush Greeny grassland with cool breezes carpeting the way to the gateway of the Kingdom of Tenboku.
In contrast to the vast, green, sprawling landscape, a rather bleak future awaited Grey and the others ahead...
After walking across the Greeny grassland, they encountered a mountain range ahead; if the group wanted to reach Tenboku, they had to take the treacherous mountain trail through this range.
This range was called Dragoma. The name originated from the mountain range looking like a dragon, and it also stemmed from the ancient culture of the first migrants who came here to build today's Kingdom of Tenboku.
The path crossing the mountain was extremely narrow, just enough for one person to walk leisurely.
Although the cliffs along this mountain trail were blockaded, anyone passing through felt that this blockaded area could collapse at any moment due to looseness.
The group crossed this path in a single-file line.
"Almost there. Just cross this Dragoma mountain range and we'll see the Kingdom of Tenboku. Only twenty minutes left."
Tyler led the group across the treacherous mountain range.
After a while, they finally emerged from the dangerous Dragoma range, and in the distance, they could already see two watchtowers ahead.
"We've arrived! It's the royal capital Tenro! We're almost back in Tenboku!"
While the military personnel rejoiced with joy, the mood of the bound prisoners didn't seem joyful at all; naturally so, because stepping in there meant the whole lot would face trial by the royal court.
Mildly, imprisonment or life in prison; severely, becoming prisoners of war, war slaves, or worse, the death penalty awaited them ahead.
"If what they said is true, we might face the death penalty?"
Another young man wearing a high-collared shirt and glasses with dual lenses resting on his ears pushed his glasses up with his index finger—glasses for people with poor eyesight.
Earlier, Tyler and the others wondered how he got such an exquisite item, but even this teenager didn't know—except for one person...
that was Jack.
The ropes had now been temporarily removed as they hindered movement; after crossing the mountain, they would be tied up again.
"Seems like it."
(To be honest, I still don't understand everything. Why were we captured? I still don't get it. We clearly aren't spies?)
However, even though Grey thought that, nameless vagabonds like them couldn't prove they weren't spies, while the military had sufficient evidence to accuse them.
(What should I do?)
Grey truly couldn't think of any viable plan; it was completely hopeless. Were they really going to leave their survival up to the king's decision?
While the detainees were chatting, they arrived before the gate of the watchtower, which was opening.
"No need to tie them. If they untie them, they can run to the ends of the earth."
Tyler ordered the soldiers to stop the tedious task, implying that if the whole bunch tried to run away together, he alone could handle them one by one.
Tyler said nothing more and continued leading the group into the city, while Jack and the others seemed to be staying behind.
"Tyler, keep leading the group to the palace to see the king. I'll stay here to handle some business. Take Anthony and the others with you. Anthony, you okay?"
"Normal for now... Except for this."
Anthony pointed to his missing arm from yesterday's battle.
"Is that so? Well, what are you planning to do, old man?"
"Just some odd jobs."
So Tyler had to follow old man Jack's wishes, leading the entire group straight to the king's palace.
Naturally, a large group returning like this to the royal capital would definitely attract gazes from the citizens of Tenro.
"Oh, they're back?"
"The numbers seem fewer than last time?"
"I heard Verse city was occupied by goblins."
"Is that so?!"
"What's with the tied people? Prisoners of war?"
"Who knows, probably spies? The newspaper described them."
"If they're spies, why so many? Or are they those northern barbarians?"
"Must be, a disgusting bunch. Still haven't given up on the war from over four centuries ago?"
"I hope the court executes them all."
"Disgusting bunch."
"Filthy bunch."
Countless insults, taunts, and xenophobic remarks rolled off the citizens' tongues, and Tyler and the group—including Grey and the bound ones—heard every single one.
(Northerners? We aren't?)
He thought that, but he had no proof to prove he wasn't a northerner since he remembered nothing.
"We're here."
Tyler directed his gaze toward the palace, which featured three triangular pillars. The entire architecture of the royal palace was made of brick and stone.
"What do you want?"
"An audience with the king, and to try these people."
Tyler answered concisely, pointing at Grey and the other bound prisoners.
"Pass, tell the bunch you captured to shut their mouths. They're just prisoners of war after all; they can only speak when given permission, otherwise they'll be executed on the spot."
"Understood. Let's go."
As the group passed the palace guards, one of them shouted loudly.
"Open the gate!"
On command, the guards pushed open the inner palace gates.
When the palace gates opened, a high minister stood inside next to the king. The king was currently seated on his throne, holding a staff set with a turquoise crystal, wearing a golden crown, and draped in a dark red royal cloak behind him.
Upon seeing Tyler's group, the king welcomed them.
"Oh? You're back, Tyler?"
"Your Majesty, I have returned."
As the king spoke, Tyler, Red, Anthony, and the other military personnel bowed their heads and knelt solemnly. Those like Grey did not bow, but that didn't matter.
"What's with this bunch?"
The king immediately noticed the presence of the bound prisoners and asked Tyler directly.
"Your Majesty, they are survivors of the attack on Verse city by Gobro and his race. I brought them here because I suspect they are likely spies sent by the northerners, or allies of the goblins."
In this world, goblins possessed a high level of social structure comparable to humans, so his suspicion made sense rather than being a random arrest.
"You're always cautious, aren't you? Despite your appearance, why don't you nominate yourself as a general?"
"Ah, no. This was Jack's idea, I just followed it."
"Is that so?"
It seemed the old king didn't like Jack very much.
The king of Tenboku spoke to Tyler mockingly, though his tone didn't seem to carry contemptuous scorn.
"I wouldn't dare, unless permitted by Your Majesty, I won't run."
The king kept his eyes fixed on Tyler, then looked at Grey and the other detainees, before opening his mouth.
"Spies? They look the part."
(We aren't spies!)
Grey mentally retorted again.
"Your Majesty, please pass judgment on these fellows. Please investigate thoroughly."
"Hmm..."
While the old king was deep in thought, a girl's voice rang out in objection.
"No way! What on earth did we do to be tried?! Don't make groundless suspicions like this, what spy nonsense?!"
(Hey, are you crazy?! They just said...)
The terrible small black-haired teenager thought that girl was surely dead.
"Did you not hear?"
In a split second, a gate guard drew his sword and slashed off the girl's head, her blood splashing to stain the red carpet. Yet the high ministers and the king showed no concern; in other words, to them, this was normal.
But to Grey's group...
(Are you kidding me?!)
(They actually did it!)
(These guys weren't lying just now!)
(I almost opened my mouth to defend her, I would've been a goner too!)
(Are they really serious about this?!)
(Hey, no way?! We aren't spies!)
"Like I said, you aren't allowed to speak without permission. Didn't I warn you earlier?"
The guard sheathed his sword, returning to his solemn posture before the king.
Meanwhile, her headless body and severed head rolled on the ground, and slaves rushed over to clean up the mess.
One would think the king would scold him for being discourteous before him and the ministers, but contrary to expectations...
"Good job. I'll reward you later."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The king rewarded him because he was performing his guard duties and strictly adhering to royal laws: prisoners of war were not allowed to speak without the king's command, otherwise their heads would roll when granted an audience with the king, barring special exceptions.
"Earlier, I intended to throw them in prison to await judgment after discussing with my ministers, but perhaps things are a bit different after hearing about Verse from you, Tyler. Besides, I just came up with a rather good idea."
The old king replied in an aging, weary tone.
"All right, listen up, prisoners."
The king directly addressed the prisoners, including Grey.
He gave them two choices, though it felt like only a single path.
"I will give you two choices."
Suddenly, the atmosphere around the royal palace illuminated by a single large chandelier shifted entirely as the king's tone changed.
"One, you join the army and submit to Tyler's command, and within one year from now, you must pay tribute of one million Tengo—the official currency circulating in Tenboku. By then, you will be acquitted and freed. Furthermore, there are no exceptions whatsoever."
The phrase "no exceptions whatsoever" spoken from the king's own mouth exerted invisible pressure on those sentenced to death under a suspended sentence. Meaning, even in the event of sudden death, don't expect to have debts forgiven.
(Old fox... He's clearly trying to pressure us!)
Red, who had been extremely depressed since losing Lisa, snapped to attention upon hearing the king's sentence for the thirty-five of them (one having been executed). He understood the king's intent all too well and intended to object. Objection equated to the death penalty, and besides, the king was already getting old.
But... doing that would mock the sacrifices of Lisa, Fred, and the others.
If the amount were lower, he might agree, but this...
Even though Red had also been dragged in and risked his life to rescue them while losing Lisa, this was still too much. Wasn't this practically telling them to die? And making things difficult on top of that—then all their effort would be for nothing, assuming the punishment was fair.
Call Red a hypocrite if you will, but he didn't want others' sacrifices, especially Lisa's, to become meaningless.
Just as the king offered the first choice, the faces of Red, Anthony, Tyler, and others turned surprised.
"One million Tengo?! Are you sure?! Isn't that a death sentence for them?! In Tenboku, who has that kind of money?! And what's with 'no exceptions whatsoever'?! "
Anthony immediately spoke his mind despite the solemnity, but the king didn't seem to care.
"If within that time, you fail to gather one million, your fate is sealed. You will be exiled and banned from entering Tenboku, as well as our allied nations. And other nations might not even agree to let you enter."
The king looked across the soldiers, courtiers, and those facing death sentences.
"Besides, why should we acquit a bunch that appeared out of nowhere, remembering nothing and knowing nothing except their names? What if you are spies planted by other nations, or previously colluded with their alliance? If you want to appeal, give me convincing evidence!"
The king arrogantly poked at their sore spots, leaving them no way out. One million Tengo was too much for them; only big shots could accumulate such a huge sum.
"Or, refuse to join the army under Tyler's command... and receive the death penalty. If you choose this option, the execution date will be a week from now."
Essentially, both choices drove them to a dead end.
Submit to command and earn one million Tengo (pooled together) as ransom, or refuse military service and be publicly executed.
Which would they choose?
(I...)
Grey hesitated, because either way... it was practically a death sentence.