Incompatible Interspecies Wives chapter 212

212 – The Final Battle (4)

The battle commenced without delay.

Such was the strategy that had been ingrained from Adam’s past instructions.

As Adam had explained, hesitating only increased anxiety, so battles were always fought immediately.

It was the same during Blackwood and Celebrien.

The perfect moment never waited.

As per their usual strategy, all but Chief Jo led the troops.

It was an action to draw attention to themselves and to clear the path.

With the former officer, Krian, fallen in battle against thieves, it was now Shaun who led his unit.

Theodore watched Shaun lead his comrades.

The usual mischief was nowhere to be found on his face.

His entire focus was on the beast running on all fours from afar.

“… Finally…!”

Shaun exclaimed.

He, too, seemed to have been waiting for this battle like Berg.

– Screetch!

As Shaun drew his sword, the numerous soldiers following him drew theirs too.

Theodore led his own unit and, like Shaun, drew his sword.

Theodore’s unit drew bows instead of swords.

“Shaun…!”

Theodore called out the name of Shaun, who was about to scatter soon.

Shaun looked at Theodore and nodded his head.

After wishing each other good luck with a glance, they both went their separate ways.

Theodore scattered in the right direction of the approaching Krund, and Shaun scattered to the left.

They encircled their opponents from afar.

This, too, was a tactic that could be executed based on past experiences.

Krund had summoned his beast horde from the ground.

So now, the priority was to lure Krund’s army away.

“Fire!”

Theodore cried out as soon as Krund stepped into shooting range.

His unit began to shoot arrows all at once.

Theodore saw Krund’s eyes staring at him from afar.

This, too, was a moment that evoked memories of the past.

“Beware of the shock!”

Theodore cried out simultaneously.

Everyone held their reins securely, preparing for the impact just as Theodore had said.

– Vvvvvvvv…!

Soon, the ground began to tremble.

The growing, incessant sound of the tremors revealed themselves as a massive explosion.

– Boom!!

Hundreds of monsters poured out from beneath the ground.

The monsters’ cries started to shake the earth’s axis.

Accompanied by this, a familiar stench penetrated Theodore’s nostrils.

Nevertheless, Theodore smiled at the foul smell.

For him, who had survived hundreds of battlefields, this scent only brought back memories.

It was a smell he had momentarily forgotten due to the peaceful past two years.

The fragrance seemed to sharpen everyone’s minds.

Along with the smell, everyone seemed to regain the familiar tension in their bodies.

It felt like they had finally realized they were back on the battlefield.

Theodore heard intense sounds from the other side of the battlefield.

It seemed that Shaun had also begun the battle.

They had started preparing the path for Berg.

In order to create a path through the chaotic and disorganized group of monsters, confusion had to be caused among them.

Crush and kill, drawing attention to themselves.

Then, for a moment, a path appears, and as they widen it, a passage is formed.

It was more convenient to see the swarm of monsters as a single giant creature.

Rather than judging the reactions and actions of each individual monster, thinking of them as a single, enormous lifeform allowed for wiser judgments.

Theodore turned his head and looked back.

In the distance, Berg’s figure was seen as a small dot.

It seemed that he too was waiting for an opportunity to head towards Krunde.

Even a new troop was on its way.

Theodore smiled.

His heart felt more reassured than ever, thinking that Berg was holding up behind them.

He shouted.

“Sword!”

The warriors all hung their bows on the sides of their horses and drew their swords at his command.

The noise from the other side, which Sean was strategizing against, grew louder.

At that sound, Theodore spoke.

“Let’s get started!”

As he said this, he tightened the reins and began to close in on the horde of demons.

****

Sean was leading his troops for the first time.

It was an inevitable choice to replace the fallen Crian.

Berg had trusted him and said he could do well, but Sean knew.

His troops were already struggling.

“Back! Back!”

Sean shouted urgently, but another warrior was bitten by a demon.

“Ugh!”

The warrior managed to stab the demon with his sword, saving his life, but it would be difficult to continue the battle properly.

One by one, they were crumbling like this.

Sean thought it would be easier if the warriors could see everything he could see.

How nice it would have been if they all moved as one without even having to speak.

“Ha…ha…”

But Sean knew.

This situation was not due to the lack of the warriors, but due to his own inadequacy.

Even when he went to more dangerous battlefields with Berg, he had fought much more comfortably.

He could feel how accurate and quick Berg’s instructions had been.

However, this realization wouldn’t last long.

Sean gradually felt the horde of demons pressing towards his troops.

Even if he was a moment late, he might be caught and devoured.

“Pull back farther! Think of it as a full retreat!”

Sean shouted seriously, leaving his playful demeanor behind.

He strongly pulled the reins in the opposite direction and began the retreat.

Sure enough, the horde of demons seemed to rush towards Sean’s troops as if they were falling in that direction.

As he pulled the reins, Sean looked at both sides.

He briefly checked if the other agents running with him had survived.

Fortunately, there were no deserters in the situation.

Sean turned his direction around and stuck close to the monster horde again.

In the distance, he saw the figure of Berg.

It was still a situation where no gap had been created and they were just watching this side quietly.

“…”

At that moment, strangely enough, Sean’s past memories surfaced.

All the things Berg did for him, he remembered the faith and training Berg had given him.

And he could also recall how much Berg followed leader Adam.

This was a kind of revenge.

It was okay to say that the whole Red Flame Squad rose up against the death of leader Adam.

There was definitely a reason to protect Stockpin, but the desire for revenge for Adam was also asleep in everyone’s faces.

“…Ha…Ha…”

The more these thoughts intensified, the more Sean realized that he had to do better.

He couldn’t accomplish anything like this.

When he worked with Berg in the leader’s group, he had faced greater risks than this.

And the more he took the risks, the more exponentially his chances of winning on the battlefield increased.

If he didn’t count the first encounter, he couldn’t even see Krund’s face again.

The longer these moments lasted, it was too easy to know that the casualties would increase.

“Hoo!”

So, Sean gritted his teeth.

‘… Like the deputy leader…!’

Although Berg had become the leader, to Sean, Berg was forever their deputy leader.

He firmly grasped his sword while recalling the memories of the past.

Then he charged deeper into the monster horde than ever before.

“Sean…!”

His comrades called his name from behind.

But Sean didn’t hesitate and swung his sword.

– Swoosh!

Stepping on the monsters, he successfully continued to penetrate deep.

The comrades following him also began to step onto the path created by Sean and started cutting down the monsters.

In the midst of this infiltrated situation, Sean looked into the center of the monster horde and shouted.

“Come out, Krund!”

It was already widely known that he was a smart man.

So, this kind of provocation might work to some extent.

“Are you going to run away like a coward again this time?!”

Sean shouted at the top of his voice, with a mocking laugh.

Inspired by his words, his comrades fiercely swung their swords more violently.

Then, for a brief moment, a wide space appeared between the monster horde.

He also caught sight of Krund, who was running at the center.

At last, he had found him again.

Sean made brief eye contact with Krund.

At the same time, he kept thinking to himself.

No matter what the outcome, this situation would be etched into his brain until he died.

****

Gael could not easily understand what he was witnessing with his own eyes.

The Crimson Flame Mercenaries seemed to have become an entirely different group altogether.

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Each and every one of them was agile and refreshed.

They all faced Krund’s monster horde as if death did not frighten them.

It seemed as if the two years had not gone by.

None of them fled, but continued to fight.

One or two might not be unusual, but everyone acting like this was another story.

“…”

Gael exhaled briefly.

Was it because of Adam?

He kept having new thoughts about humans.

Had the advantages of humanity that Adam wanted to show been like this? Or had his thoughts been biased only because he had heard Adam’s dream?

Either way, there was no denying that the current scene was impressive.

Gael spoke to Berg, who was looking down on the battlefield beside him.

“Maybe if we win this war, we might take a step closer to Adam’s dream, Berg.”

It was a cheer meant to give Berge even more strength.

But Berge only maintained his silence.

“….”

“So let’s definitely win. We have to win and spread this heroic story.”

“…”

However, Berge neither agreed nor disagreed, his thoughts unknown.

His eyes were fixed solely on that horde of demons.

It was as if he was recalling the past.

Gale couldn’t bring himself to say anything more, watching the solemn Berge.

He, too, could only stand beside him and wait, carefully observing his actions.

Had he ever thought such a day would come?

Berge had always been the one to teach and guide them, but now they were waiting, overwhelmed by his aura, for him to take action.

Gale had thought he was special when he had become the greatest warrior among the dragonkin.

It was the same when he heard he would become a mentor to the warriors through prophecy.

…But now he finally realized.

A special being was someone like Berge.

He might have been looking at a human hero who would go down in history.

Not only limited to taking down the demons, but also possibly witnessing an existence that could change the recognition of humanity.

“…Let’s go.”

In that moment, Berge seemed to have seen something and whispered to Baran who was beside him.

Baran nodded and took out his horn.

Gale, too, braced himself at the brief exchange with Berge.

Their battle was also beginning.

*****

Not long after making their way deep inside the horde of demons, blood flowed down from Sean’s forehead.

As they had risked danger, they were undoubtedly receiving the corresponding damage.

In an instant, their companions started getting hurt; some were barely hanging on.

It was certainly the moment to flee, but Sean kept whispering ‘just a little more’ to himself.

His companions still sent the same look in return.

If fear had surfaced on their faces, Sean would have certainly withdrawn and chosen safety.

However, their colleagues still had fighting spirit in their eyes, and because of that, Sean continued to inflict damage on the demon horde for a longer time.

The appearance of Krund became more frequent than before.

The left hand that had been cut off and disappeared by Berg in the past.

And the numerous small wounds on his body.

As Berg and Gail had predicted, Krund, who continued the forced march, seemed to be far from being in a normal state.

Seeing the weakened opponent, power kept surging up from within.

Sean took a deep breath and shouted.

“Once more!”

Then, as if piercing through the road, he drove his horse deeper into Krund’s direction.

Blood splattered, and the demons’ entrails piled up.

Sticky liquid seeped between the gaps in the armor.

Sean kept shaking his face, scattering his own and the demons’ blood.

“…?”

As he shook his head, the pressure from the side disappeared in an instant.

The demon horde that had been hindering them scattered in a moment.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The road opened up, and Sean and his troops had gone too deep.

“…Uh.”

Krund, who could be seen at a month’s distance away.

Sean realized that he had made a mistake.

– Bang!

Krund changed direction in an instant and started running towards Sean.

Sean wasn’t prepared enough to handle such speed and power.

Memories flashed through Sean’s mind like a carousel, even thinking of his daughter.

He had promised to return, after all.

Krund yelled with a metallic sound.

“Caught-“

– Bang!

Then, Sean saw an existence passing by his side.

The charging Krund collided with his presence and tumbled to the ground.

At the same time, Shaun felt his comrades gathering around him.

“Shaun, are you alright?”

It was Baran’s voice.

Gael also approached and began to fend off the horde of monsters swarming in.

“…Ha…Ha…”

Shaun realized that thanks to Berg, he had managed to survive yet another near-death experience.

“Vi…Vice Captain, thank you.”

In his confusion, he called Berg ‘Vice Captain’ again, like before.

However, Berg, who had saved his life, was not looking at him.

Dismounting from his horse, Berg unsheathed his sword towards Krund and spoke.

“…I’ve been waiting.”

Berg said, looking at him.

Krund’s expression also changed harshly at the sight of Berg.

Shaun could feel Berg’s suppressed anger as well.

He could tell how much emotion he had cut away after losing Captain Adam.

“Let’s end it here.”