Chapter 164 – Struggle for Dominance (3)
Wailing Hill was unmistakable once you stepped out of Blyer’s castle gate.
A vast hill visible even from a far-off distance—it sent chills down one’s spine just by looking at it.
Every morning, the territory’s residents passing through the castle gates must have shuddered with fear as their eyes caught the hill.
"It’s pitch black."
"This way."
It was night when we left the castle gates.
A wide-open plain stretched before us.
The darkness obscured the hill from sight.
Yet, the direction was imdiately apparent. Here and there, scattered torches blazed in midair.
The torches moved slowly in a single direction, spaced apart.
As we approached one of them, the sound of hooves broke the quiet darkness.
A lone donkey struggled to pull a cart.
An old man walked beside it, holding a torch. He looked worn and weary, ravaged by hardship.
"...Who are you?"
"The night is dark. May we accompany you?"
The old man stared at in silence.
There was no fear in his eyes.
His eyes were dry and jaded—he looked like soone who had already given up on life.
"Do you even know where this cart is headed?"
He gestured toward the cart. It was covered, but patches of blood were visible. I nodded.
"To the hill, right?"
"Are you... from the castle..."
"No."
The old man, who had shown a flicker of fear, let out a sigh at my reply and resud pulling the cart.
"Do as you will."
A quiet journey began.
Beyond us, more torches like the old man’s continued to appear. All seed to be carts headed toward the hill.
Even though the night deepened, the number of torchbearers grew rapidly.
Now even behind us, torches followed. Before long, I found myself part of the procession.
"This feels strange."
"What do you an?"
Lily, standing beside , slowly looked around at the torches.
"I can feel the emotions reflected in the torchlight. Despair... but also hope."
"Is it like a desperate yearning that doesn’t want to let go?"
"Huh? You can see it too?"
"Not really."
I chuckled quietly and turned to the old man.
"Where are you coming from?"
"A troubleso question."
"From the mines, right?"
"Then those torches must be people from the castle. Are the pits near the underground prison still full of corpses?"
"I... wouldn’t know."
"Do your family know what you’re doing? Hauling corpses to build a hill of the dead?"
"Sh-Shut up!"
As if I struck a nerve, the old man’s face twisted in pain.
"...Watch your words. If you can’t understand our circumstances."
"Do all those torches have their own story?"
"I have two sons. Both dragged into the mines.
I pull this cart to retrieve their bodies. To bury them not on that rotten hill, but on land where the sun shines."
"So everyone taken to the mines dies?"
"It’s just a matter of how long you last. Most co out dead..."
His voice trailed off as he resud pulling the cart. But perhaps the bottled-up emotions had burst, for he continued speaking to like a confession.
"Still, the mines are better. If a shaman takes you, even the body is hard to find.
Do my family know I do this? No, they don’t.
How could they know when they’re dead?
We pull these carts to find the corpses of our loved ones.
It’s all the sa. All the sa..."
I looked around again.
The torches had increased even more.
Their sheer number suddenly felt heavy.
But Lily had said she saw hope in them.
"The fact you’re still pulling this cart must an your sons are still alive."
"The result is always the sa. Torches will go out eventually.
If you bury your dead loved one, you don’t return."
"Still, people seem to cling to hope. Here or in that city."
I briefly glanced at the shimring lights of Blyer and then looked at the torches again.
Those torches were like faint hopes hidden in despair.
When a torch goes out, it must an a loved one has died.
"Do you want to see your sons again?"
"Enough with the pointless talk. Go back. Staying here any longer is dangerous."
The old man’s cart had reached the base of the hill.
The moving torches had all stopped in front of the hill.
A checkpoint.
Knights and soldiers opened the cart covers and directed people.
It seed they were showing where to bury the bodies.
Silently, I summoned the Ring of Blood.
The old man flinched at the long bow limb trailing like a pure white shadow.
Looking at the old man, I asked again.
"Do you want to see your sons again?"
"...You..."
"Soon, this place will burn. Then, tell everyone holding torches to throw them into the corpse pits on the hill."
Standing beside the old man, I drew the bowstring.
A blood-red arrow gradually grew in size.
Its crimson glow engulfed the old man’s torch with overwhelming might.
His eyes widened slowly.
Aiming at the checkpoint, I continued.
"If you want to see your sons taken to the mines again, rember what I said."
My gaze, which had been on the old man, shifted to the checkpoint.
The mont I gripped the bow tightly—
Flash—
A golden light lit up the darkness.
The Siren’s Hymn spread in all directions.
Amidst the sudden brilliance, chaos erupted at the checkpoint.
A unit of soldiers rushed toward .
Knights and soldiers on horseback.
I released the bowstring toward them.
BOOM!!!
K-Kyaaaagh!
A massive explosion swept them away.
Knights and soldiers were hurled to the ground in an instant, the hill’s watchers reduced to tattered rags.
"Ah...?"
Bathed in golden light, the old man regained his senses.
He checked his arms and body.
A wave of golden light enveloped him.
His confused emotions quickly cald.
He couldn’t hear it, but a gentle hymn softly resonated.
After surveying the dead soldiers, the old man urgently asked , the man drawing the bow again.
"Wh-Who are you!?"
Looking at him, I answered quietly.
"Hunt."
BOOM—!
The second explosion erupted.
"I-Intruder!"
"Over there! Stop—Kyaaagh!"
Wailing Hill had many checkpoints spread across its vast area.
That ant there were many entrances, and the guarding forces numbered in the hundreds.
BOOM! BOOM!
Each ti I loosed an arrow, a checkpoint went up in flas.
As I slowly ascended the hill, I recalled the positions of the surrounding checkpoints.
Karl’s group had already thoroughly investigated the hill’s defenses.
When another checkpoint appeared ahead, I drew the bow again.
This ti, they fought back.
A barrage of arrows rained down, forcing to retreat.
About fifty knights and soldiers blocked my path.
"It’s just one guy! Surround him!"
"Hold on! Reinforcents will co from the other checkpoints!"
The knights barked orders and rallied the soldiers.
So drew bows, while others pointed their spears and advanced toward .
At that mont—
Aaaaagh!
...!
"W-What was that!?"
The knights’ gazes darted around.
Screams had erupted from a direction other than mine.
The nearby checkpoints awaiting reinforcents began to blaze with black smoke.
Looks like my comrades had moved after seeing the golden light.
That must be Lochter. And Elton’s group seed to be in motion too.
A simultaneous surprise attack.
The unexpected assault threw the enemy forces into confusion.
Seeing them flustered, I raised my bow and murmured,
"Did you really think I ca alone?"
"W-Wait!"
BOOM—!
"Kyaaagh!"
With the explosion, the soldiers spewed blood and collapsed.
The knights tried to charge through the blast, but my punches ruptured their hearts or caved in their faces, killing them instantly.
They underestimated because I used a bow.
But my real specialty was martial arts.
[Talking big against trash not even 2-Star.]
"Reto, if you’d stayed quiet, we’d have had a wonderful relationship."
After clearing the area, I wiped the blood from my face.
The ones guarding the hill were cruel bastards, twisted to their core. They deserved no rcy.
This wasn’t just a dumping ground for corpses.
Tens of thousands of bodies were piled in the pits.
Could there be a better place for shamans to study the dead?
Sure enough, Lily’s reaction had changed the mont we began climbing the hill.
She must’ve sensed the traces left by the shamans.
"This place feels disgusting."
"Will you help? Just kill everything that moves."
"I’ll think about it."
"You’ll help if I give you candy?"
Lochter, Karl, and Elton’s group began sweeping through the remaining checkpoints.
Late into the night, the screams from Wailing Hill never ceased.
Monts later—
FWOOOOOO—!
A sharp horn pierced the sky.
At the very top of the hill, a giant beacon ignited fiercely.
A signal for Blyer to send reinforcents.
They’d seen the signal, so reinforcents would co.
"Let them co."
Right now, Blyer was an empty house.
In the Tobaron region, a 4- or 5-Star was equivalent to a top predator.
There was no way any real threat could be sent.
As we destroyed checkpoint after checkpoint and eliminated their watchn, my comrades began to regroup one by one.
Karl, having taken out a knight with a throwing knife, dusted off his hands and approached .
"Let’s wrap this up. We’ve got a lot to talk about."
"Unexpected developnts?"
"The intel we’re hearing sounds serious. Weird rumors are spreading too."
"Then let’s finish quickly."
Reinforcents from Blyer would arrive soon.
We needed to finish here and get into position in advance.
Our team was small and elite, requiring precise coordination.
When Karl gave the signal, Elton’s group rushed around the hill with oil pouches in hand.
Oil pouches were thrown into the corpse pits and across the hill.
anwhile, the surviving knights and soldiers fled down the hill in a panic.
Chasing after them was Lochter.
He swung his sword like a madman, drenching the hill in blood.
The Knight of Betrayal.
He burned with vengeance toward those who had killed his loved ones.
I aid my bow at the oil-covered spots.
BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The explosions erupted like magical blasts, igniting the oil and spreading the fire.
Wailing Hill turned red and began to blaze.
The signal I had spoken of.
Now, what choice would the old man make?
From the hill, I looked down at the cluster of torches gathered tightly together.
So had abandoned their carts and stepped back in fear of the overwhelming slaughter.
Then, a loud shout broke the silence, and the mass of torches began slowly moving toward the hill.
Aaaaaaah!
With a wail of grief, the massive blaze scattered into smaller ones, thrown in every direction across the hill.
Torches rained down upon it.
FWOOSH!
A fire of yearning and fury engulfed the entire hill.
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