Jisend Gluart
Jisend Gluart, a commanding knight from the Knight Command Headquarters, was tasked with leading reinforcements to support the forces outside the city walls.
Currently, Jisend is critically injured, their face disfigured beyond recognition. Their cheekbones are shattered, jaw broken, teeth completely knocked out, ribs fractured, and they' ve sustained multiple internal injuries, rendering them unconscious.
Thanks to the aid of the office staff and the personal guards who were still able to move, Jisend survived.
However, their ruined face is beyond repair unless they receive a royal reward—an elixir from the king himself.
Even for a noble family like theirs, seeking help from an [S-Rank] healer is a hopeless endeavor.
As soon as Jisend regained consciousness, they immediately barked orders to their personal guards.
"Rai-reow-ra, roong-rong-ran!"
The guards exchanged confused glances, unable to understand.
"Woy! Rok-wok-wa, rai-reow-ra roong-rong-ran!" (Ugh! I said, go get a battalion to chase that wench!)
When they still couldn' t comprehend, one of the female guards had the idea to fetch a notebook and a quill pen from the staff for Jisend to write in.
On the paper, Jisend scrawled: Go get a battalion to chase that wench down, you idiots! Capture her alive, don' t kill her!
They handed over a spare knight' s seal to authorize the order.
"Understood, sir!" the guards responded.
"Rok-ron-re, ree-rang-prai-sar-rew, ra-reow-rai-rang-ying-kwa-rua-rai-ree-rey-ren-ra-rey!" (Wait and see, you filthy peasant! I' ll break you worse than anyone I' ve ever toyed with!)
The guards looked at each other, wondering if anyone understood, but they all shook their heads. Instead of listening to more incomprehensible speech, they scrambled to carry out the order.
It took some time, but Jisend' s able-bodied female guards who secured the task arrived at the city gate. The reinforcements were still marching out of the city relentlessly.
After questioning the head guard overseeing the area, they confirmed that a young woman with blonde hair wearing a wooden mask had indeed jumped over the reinforcements and entered the slums.
Showing Jisend' s spare knight' s seal, they relayed the order.
The marching troops were abruptly halted mid-stride. The vanguard, about to exit the city gate, redirected into the slums, forming a new formation until a full battalion of 1,000 soldiers was assembled.
Because of this order, the frontline outside the city walls, which desperately needed continuous reinforcements, immediately lost its advantage after holding out for so long.
*****
Calika Nehu
As I neared the reinforcement army, I didn' t slow down even slightly and leaped over their heads.
While soaring above them, my enhanced hearing picked up a woman' s cries.
Turning to look, I saw a giant shrimp-like monster sprawled on the ground, its insides spilling out.
The crying seemed to echo from within it.
When I landed, I used my feet to brake, kicking up a cloud of dust. As I scanned my surroundings, I spotted a broken sword with half its blade missing. I grabbed it and leaped onto a nearby rooftop.
Drawing the sword back, I hurled it at the monster' s head and shouted:
"There' s a survivor in there!"
After yelling, I ran off, ignoring the commotion behind me.
*****
The sword Calika threw struck precisely at the joint between the monster' s head and body, tearing the head clean off.
The head guard, hearing Calika' s shout, nodded curiously to their subordinates to investigate.
They found a female adventurer inside, named Rachel, from the [Shining Fang] guild.
Under martial law, she was guilty of leaving the slums and not returning, an offense that could warrant immediate execution.
However, knowing she was a favorite of that Jaigia person, they opted to detain her and send word to Jaigia to come retrieve her instead.
Rachel didn' t feel bad about it at all. In fact, she was thrilled.
She had no idea what crazy thing Jaigia was up to, but if he learned she' d been detained, he' d surely drop everything to come save her first.
*****
I reached the adventurers' rear line.
The scene was utter chaos. The ground was littered with bloodstains and signs of battle. Piles of small shrimp-like monster corpses were stacked into mountains.
Countless groans from the injured awaiting help filled the air. Some, unable to hold on, had already stopped breathing.
Healers, medics, and non-combatants worked tirelessly, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Corpses without relatives were burned in hastily dug pits, sending endless plumes of smoke into the sky. The possessions of these unclaimed bodies were seized by the office and sent to the palace.
But for slaves or slum dwellers, their bodies were simply tossed into the canal, which was now filled with floating corpses.
The atmosphere was oppressive and pitiful.
I scanned the area quickly and noticed there wasn' t a single child in sight. There were a few slaves, but hardly any slum dwellers.
I asked someone nearby where the slum people were. The answer: the very front line.
Without hesitation, I dashed toward the battlefield' s front, passing countless injured being carried to the rear.
I chose a path the Ice Soldiers hadn' t searched, heading straight for the front as fast as possible until I reached the heart of the battle.
Though I hadn' t seen any children along the way, I kept shouting Elda' s name nonstop. My voice, amplified by my newfound power, rang out louder than ever.
It didn' t draw much attention, though—countless others were running around the battlefield, yelling for friends or loved ones, just like me.
My voice was just louder, that' s all. It was so loud that several adventurers begged me to shout for their missing people in exchange for payment.
Some even cried and clung to my legs, pleading for help. I wanted to assist, but I had to refuse.
As I moved past the battlefield' s midpoint, long-range attacks—both weapons and magic—started slipping through.
A trident came hurtling toward a healer tending to the wounded. Passing by just in time, I grabbed it mid-air and threw it back.
I helped where I could, but some attacks I couldn' t stop in time. The deeper I went, the more attacks slipped through.
While scanning for the enemy, a high-pressure water spear conjured by magic pierced the head of someone next to me, killing them instantly.
Sometimes, I wasn' t quick enough. A high-pressure water blast hit me square in the chest.
My body was sent tumbling, rolling several times. A healer rushed to check on me, but when I stood up unscathed, they gave me a thumbs-up and moved on to others. I felt a slight pain, but it faded quickly. Upgrading my durability was the right call.
It took a while, but I finally pushed through the attacks to reach the front line.
The scene was pure madness. Both sides slaughtered each other with a vengeance that seemed centuries old. Blood flowed like rivers.
Attacks flew back and forth relentlessly. People and monsters died almost every second.
From the enemy' s rear, massive attacks like exploding meteors rained down frequently, sending debris and scorching winds our way.
As the person had said, the slum dwellers and slaves were concentrated here. I searched for any child resembling Elda. I found several who looked similar, but none were her.
Every child I found, I grabbed and tossed toward the rear, aiming for someone to catch them so they wouldn' t get hurt.
Some were annoyed, wanting to use the kids as shields or distractions, but the ongoing battle left them only able to glare or shout complaints at me.
I didn' t care. I was done doing what others wanted.
While searching, monsters like the ones they called Nagas attacked me often.
Normally, I' d brace myself, dodge, and counter. Sometimes I couldn' t dodge, but this time, I took a direct hit because I was distracted.
It happened when I threw a child I found to the rear. Suddenly, that cowardly thief who stole my sister' s bucket seized the chance to grab the child' s leg and hitch a ride.
Shocked by his actions, I was caught off guard by a Naga.
It lunged, biting my head with full force and grabbing both my arms to tear them off.
But my strength was superior. I yanked my arms back, pried open its jaws, and flung it over my head, slamming it into the ground.
I finished it with a full-force punch to its head. My fist smashed through its thick skull, sinking into its brain effortlessly. It twitched a few times before going still.
Then, I grabbed a nearby shield and hurled it at the head of that bucket-stealing coward, cracking his skull and leaving him convulsing on the ground.
I resumed shouting for Elda.
Then I saw Laswin in the sky, relentlessly firing black wind magic.
That meant the group below Laswin must be the [Resounding Magic] guild.
I rushed to the guild' s rear line, where some members weren' t yet engaged in combat, and asked:
"Excuse me, has Laswin brought back a black-haired girl, about this tall, named Elda?"
The person I asked thought for a moment before recalling.
"Oh, you' re Calika, right?"
"Yes."
Her gaze turned unfriendly instantly.
"If it' s your sister, we hired soldiers to escort her to the guild with a letter bearing our guild' s seal. We paid a hefty sum to keep it quiet, so even if she' s from the slums, she should be there by now. Go ask for her yourself."
"Thank you so much!"
I bowed in gratitude, despite her grumbling complaints. I kept my head lowered.
It was my fault they lost Lady Lera. I didn' t argue back.
At least I was relieved Elda was safe. Now, I had to sneak Tiara and Elda out, since I was surely wanted by the kingdom' s soldiers.
But as I turned to leave, another guild member called out to stop me.
"What is it?"
"The vice-guild leader has a message for you. Listen carefully—everything I say is true, as our vice-leader was close to Lady Lera."
She looked so serious that I felt a twinge of fear.
"Okay, go ahead."
"Lady Lera' s magic could stop death, true, but without her constantly supplying energy, the magic will gradually fade. That means your sister is slowly slipping away."
My heart sank, but it was fine. I just had to hurry and save her. I had healing powers now; she' d recover. But the next words—
"And your little sister, from what we saw, is in bad shape. She' s basically a vegetable, unresponsive. It' s up to you whether to let her stay like that or let her go."
"What?! No, who did this?! Who hurt my sister?!"
"I don' t know. When Laswin saved her, she was already like that. That' s all I have to—"
I didn' t wait to hear the rest and sprinted toward the outer city as fast as I could.
*****
After Calika vanished from sight, the guild member who spoke to her returned to the vice-guild leader, who was recovering mana.
"I told her what you ordered, but was it necessary to lie about Lady Lera' s skill?"
The vice-leader gulped down a mana potion, conjuring vines to attack and defend for their guild members before responding.
"Since Lady Lera wanted to give her a life of her own, how can that girl move forward with such burdens? It' s harsh, but since there' s no hope of saving her sister or brother, when she finally accepts it, she' ll thank me for lying."
"Understood. And about the soldiers we hired to escort her sister to the guild, who were ambushed, and her sister going missing—shouldn' t we tell her?"
"No need. She' ll find out when she gets to our guild. We' ve helped her enough. Telling her would just make her ask for more."
In the mind of the [Resounding Magic] vice-guild leader:
Damn it, that girl brings nothing but trouble. Our guild has already lost several key members because of her. Helping this much makes us look good enough in others' eyes. Helping more won' t benefit our guild at all. Trash like her with no value—better to cut her loose.