RGS Volume 2 Part 9

“You! How dare you address our lord in such a manner!’”

They were all enraged, but they couldn’t deny that their king was bald. So, their anger grew even stronger.

“Indeed, I must tear you apart right here. You walked into the trap with your own feet, so you must have heard everything, right?”

The enemy who had stepped forward gritted his teeth as he looked down at the severed head rolling on the ground. The eyes were open, and the face had a smile frozen in place, it seemed as if he had died without realizing that his opponent had cut his throat with a sword while delivering a message. The message he wanted to convey was simple.

If you have the courage, come alone to the place I mentioned. Then you can find our king.

If their king were captured, the war would be over. As proof that the promise was true, they had agreed to send the king’s ring. It was a dangerous bait and an unlikely plan, but the one who informed them was confident that Karas would definitely come out. He was someone driven solely by a desire to fight, so he would easily be provoked. And he really appeared. The one who’s known as the King of Slaughter.

“The Crimson Valley. It is where our lord resides. But before you can reach there, you must defeat all of us. Your Majesty, Karas.’

As soon as the mocking words ended, he took a step forward, signaling the start. Other soldiers also began to move in unison. Only then did Karas react. However, no one noticed his subtle change immediately. It was just a slight alteration in his hazy, vacant gray eyes.

“Die!”

The soldier who rushed forward couldn’t see those eyes.

Swish.

In an instant, the soldier’s head was cut off and fell to the ground. A fountain-like blood spurted from his severed neck. Those following behind, splattered with the blood of their fallen comrade, finally looked squarely into the eyes of the enemy. The gray eyes were gleaming with madness. It was a chilling aura that made the spines of those who rushed forward shudder.

However, their situation was no different from the first soldier. All they saw in their eyes was a flash of light that came before their eyes in the blink of an eye. When the sword sparkled in the sunlight, their heads were already severed. The expression on their faces, which bravely shouted, remained the same as they rolled on the ground.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The medicines given by the butler were all highly effective. Thanks to the medicine that had been developed and changed to suit the young master’s body since childhood, the medicine that Abel had drunk just before fainting also took effect after a while. Abel opened his eyes, recalling how he had collapsed to the ground, and lifted his head. The surroundings were silent.

Though dirt smeared his head and face, it was crucial to assess the situation first. What happened? Did everyone leave? Could it be that our dear knight fell to the enemy…?

As he gathered strength in his arms to push himself up, his worries froze in place.

The enemy soldiers were still here. However, without exception, they had all turned into corpses with severed heads. Starting from around Abel, the entire wide-open space was covered in red blood.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Seeing countless corpses for the first time, Abel froze like a statue. In every direction his hand could reach, he saw the shoes of those fallen on the ground right in front of him. Once again, it was a decapitated body. His heart pounded so loudly that it felt suffocating. His mind went blank, making it difficult to distinguish whether this was reality or not.

This was not due to the weak young master’s body, but this was a sight that even the former Abel, who was not easily surprised, would have been shocked and unable to move. Those who had held swords and shouted just before he collapsed had all died.

Why?

Still reeling from the shock, Abel couldn’t tear his gaze away until he heard a voice nearby, realizing there was someone still alive.

And he found the answer to his question at the left end of the pile of corpses. A person was leaning against a tree. However, he soon realized that the person was standing forcibly. A sword was deeply embedded in both sides of his shoulders, up to the hilt.

The blade that pierced his body was deeply embedded in the tree, and his arms and legs were hanging down like a marionette. In front of him stood a man with black hair. Abel recognized that the other was Karas, whom he had only seen from behind. Why did he know it was him? He still held the sword lazily, as if he couldn’t be bothered. Although he was stuck in the tree, the man who had not yet died let out a painful groan.

“Ugh… *cough*… Please, kill me.”

At the plea-like words, Karas slowly raised his sword. Then, without much effort, he swung it lightly, and the man’s ankle was cleanly cut off.

“Ugh!”

The man hanging from the tree twisted his body and screamed. Blood poured out from his ankle, covering the base of the tree. Still, the man had not yet died.

“Kreuk… What the hell do you want… Hahak!”

Another scream came from the man’s mouth. However, Abel’s ears did not register his screams. The only thing filling his sight was the man’s severed foot, thumping against the ground. At the end of the severed ankle, now resembling a log, crimson blood painted the floor like a stream.

Yet, the most chilling fact was that despite this, the man’s breath still lingered. Abel looked up, then clutched his chest again. The culprit who had likely killed all the soldiers on the field and embedded the man on the tree was undoubtedly the knight known as Karas.

However, perhaps because of his slightly dull gray eyes, his face showed only boredom instead of the traces of the fight. It was like a child who had lost interest in knowing when the bug would die after tearing off its legs and wings one by one. And he raised his sword again.

This time, the tip of the sword rose higher.

Swish.

With a brief sound of wind, the man’s wrist was halfway cut off. The man could no longer even scream, only emitting pain through his eyes. As his red flesh showed and his torn wrist seemed about to tear apart, no more groans came from the man’s mouth. Only then did Karas speak.

“Direction.”

The man’s hazy eyes turned to Karas at the indifferent words. In the man’s eyes, pain and an unknown fear filled them. It was strange. He thought that he had given up on life knowing that he would die soon. So, there shouldn’t be anything to be afraid of anymore, but as soon as he saw his dull gray eyes, he trembled as if his insides were crawling.

In the man’s mind, the eerie light of madness he had seen when he fought came to mind. He opened his mouth without realizing it. After all, this place was the first trap to lure Karas. And there was a word of advice from the person who explained the plan.

‘Do you understand? If you can’t stop Karas, you must lead him to this place, the Crimson Valley, using the southeastern path. The crucial point is the southeast. You must not guide him to the first trap but to the southeastern path. There will be hidden soldiers ready to ambush on that path. Even if the ambush fails, it’s fine. In the end, in Crimson Valley, he will have no choice but to die here. Only then we will be able to laugh from where we stand.’”

When he first heard of this, he thought there was no need for Karas to go to Crimson Valley. Because he thought that he would already be able to laugh at him here. Why wouldn’t he? Even if he was called the King of Slaughter, he must not have the skill to fight dozens of soldiers alone.

So, he had nothing but the desire to capture Karas and hurry to the Crimson Valley where their king awaited. But the terror now seizing him from within was only the thought that he must not send Karas to the Crimson Valley.

Karas is not human. No human could possibly possess such terrifying power to cut through a person’s body so quickly.

If he sent Karas, no matter how big a trap there was in the Crimson Valley, it felt like his king would ultimately die. So, he couldn’t open his mouth, and the dull gray eyes he met paralyzed his reason. His mouth opened involuntarily, regardless of his will.

“I… m-my… l-lord… the, the place… h-he is… is… the, Crimson Valley…”

“Direction.”

The monotonous voice asked again, but it seemed like the soldier couldn’t hear it. With all functions stopped, the only thing left in his mind was to mutter the facts.

“A-after three days… y-you will go… to another… place… I-I must protect… my lord… if my lord is captured… everything will end… no… I must protect my lord.”

As if the sound had been cut off, no more words came from the soldier. Abel, who was nearby, struggled to suppress his heart which felt like it would explode as he tried not to faint again.

According to his words, their king is the enemy?

And he is in Crimson Valley? Where is that?

Simultaneously, several questions arose, but what concerned him the most was the words ‘everything will end.’  If the enemy’s king is captured, everything will end. Coming here, Abel heard from Melman about this war. The war has been going on for six years, and the last remaining country is holding out for quite a long time. And he came to this conclusion.

‘If the king of that place, who hides like a ghost, is captured, the war will end.’

The war will end. Despite the shock of seeing the corpses, this fact still dominated Abel’s mind. His hand trembled as he felt like he might have just figured out a way for the prince to escape from here. However, he had forgotten an important fact.

Abel rose to his knees and looked at the dead soldier before turning his gaze. Slowly, a black-haired figure began to raise its head, and Abel met dull gray eyes. As he looked into the hazy, dull eyes, his heart, which had been racing, seemed to stop abruptly, thudding down.

A strange sensation enveloped his chest along with fear. The fear was a natural feeling that arose from knowing what he had done to the soldier a while ago, but something else was incomprehensible.

Why did he feel suffocated? It felt like a hot wave rising up his throat like tears.

Why?

In the moment of questioning, the man with gray eyes began to step forward.

Rustle.

The grass on the ground let out a weak sound at his slow footsteps. Then, a familiar sound followed.

Swoosh.

The black sword that grazed the ground stopped in front of Abel this time. And the owner of the sword looked down at Abel, who was so stiff that he couldn’t breathe, with his dull gray eyes. As his emotionless eyes, like looking at an object, blinked listlessly, his arm went up. With a short swooshing sound, the sword in the air came down towards Abel’s neck.

[T/N: What is this development?! Please recognize our dear Abel! He even came back to life for you T-T]