Chapter 125: The People of the Fallen Kingdom (2)

The third stratum of the magical warehouse, the Unrest zone.

A vast basin existed deep within the colony of giant mushrooms.

The pitted traces here and there proved that the mushrooms had been artificially removed.

At its center stood a crude structure built by stacking stones.

[Kieeeek~!]

[Kyaaak!]

[Kigik!]

A stone fortress surrounded by over 300 zoms.

The fortress’s soldiers were waging a siege battle against the zoms.

Soon, the zoms began fiercely climbing the stone walls.

Then.

“Don’t back down! Not a single one gets through!”

Along with the spirited shout, all sorts of things poured down from atop the walls.

Harpoons made from cut iron bars. Boiling water and oil. Massive boulders, and so on.

Kwajik! Kwak!

Sizzle—

Kung! Kukung! Kung!

The zoms climbing the walls were pierced, fried, and crushed.

Soon after, dozens of arrows rained down onto the ground.

Pabababak— Pabababababak~!

Arrows intercepting the zoms surrounding the fortress all at once.

Following that, a massive fireball struck the spot where the zoms were densely packed.

Kwa-bang!

Zoms tumbling every which way.

The zom legion began prowling around the walls to find another breakthrough.

At that moment.

Crack—!

The branches covering the ground broke, and zoms fell into the pit below.

Kwajik! Kwajijik! Kwajik!

The wooden stakes embedded in the pit pierced through the zoms.

The fortress’s soldiers smoothly taking down hundreds of zoms.

Jeanne and I were watching the scene while hiding behind a mushroom.

…Not the skill of people who’ve defended just once or twice.

“They’ve perfectly grasped the zoms’ habits. Moreover, they’re efficiently utilizing shabby weapons and tools in the right places at the right times. It seems they have an excellent commander.”

Jeanne fixed her gaze on the woman standing atop the wall.

A female knight with blue short hair was commanding the soldiers with a resounding voice.

At that moment.

Buzz~!

Winged zoms soared up toward the top of the wall.

Then, the female knight raised her sword.

A black aura coalescing along the blade.

Soon.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!

The pitch-black sword qi swallowed up the zoms in mid-flight.

That’s…

A technique very similar to the Seven Demon Strikes, but somehow crude.

The sword qi wasn’t condensed and was splashing around haphazardly.

Soon, Jeanne added an explanation.

“That’s the Demon-Slaying Strike. It’s a technique used by Ravianglily warriors hundreds of years ago, the prototype of the Seven Demon Strikes.”

“So that’s why it’s similar.”

Before long, all the zoms besieging the fortress had fallen.

If Jeanne hadn’t blocked the path and stopped the follow-up forces.

If thousands of zoms had joined as a result, the outcome would have been completely different.

Soon.

Rumble—

The gates opened, and soldiers came running out.

The soldiers checked each zom corpse one by one and finished off the living ones.

How many minutes passed like that?

The commander shouted loudly.

“Situation over! All personnel return to positions!”

The soldiers entered the fortress, and the stone gate closed firmly again.

-Thud!

Soon, Jeanne said,

“As expected. They are undoubtedly descendants of the ancient Ravianglily language.”

“Ancient? Ravianglily is Ravianglily, what’s ancient about it?”

“The language the commander just used is a dead language from hundreds of years ago. The fact that the words and intonation differ considerably from what I use is proof.”

There was a difference?

To my ears, what Jeanne said and what they said didn’t sound much different.

Then, Jeanne said in a low voice,

“Gaji jigok ipjin nangeni bingdeun saengido an gotadeunda.”

“What?”

“It’s a dialect from the Jeju Island region of South Korea, meaning ‘A tree with broken branches and fallen leaves won’t even be visited by sick birds.’ That’s the extent of the difference.”

…I get it right away. But where did you hear Jeju dialect?

“From the TV program ‘9 O’Clock Hometown.'”

“Yeah, good job.”

Jeanne continued speaking.

“They are using intonation and grammar from at least 500 years ago. Moreover, since dialects are heavily mixed in, they seem to be from the kingdom’s frontier.”

Well, anyway.

I could think of it as a mix of Joseon-era speech and Jeju dialect.

The reason it all sounded the same to my ears was probably because Featherback’s log automatically translated it.

“Hmm. You know it in detail?”

“The basic education of the Ravianglily royal family includes ancient history and ancient linguistics. So, I can converse with them to some extent.”

“Yeah, anyway, it’ll be faster to talk to the parties involved.”

The fortress people were hostile toward the zoms.

There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Jeanne and I advanced toward the fortress.

Then, a soldier atop the fortress immediately shouted.

“Halt!”

Guards looking at us with eyes full of wariness.

Perhaps because of the fierce battle just now.

The soldiers’ discipline was even more heightened.

Jeanne shouted loudly.

“I wish to speak with the commander! I am the princess of the Ravianglily Kingdom, Jean…”

“Are you from Basa? Show something to prove your identity!”

The guard cutting off Jeanne’s words.

I didn’t know what Basa was, but the atmosphere wasn’t one where they’d readily open the gate.

Hmm, in that case…

I took out a white handkerchief from my pocket.

Nothing better than a white flag to express that we’re not enemies.

However.

“……!”

“……!”

“……!”

“……!”

The guards’ expressions turned ferocious in an instant.

Jeanne also looked shocked.

“Master…!”

At that moment.

Bwoooo~!

A soldier atop the gate blew a conch shell vigorously.

Then, the soldiers on the wall all drew their bows at once.

What’s this all of a sudden?

I wondered if the zom legion was attacking again.

But no.

Swoosh— Swooooosh~!

A rain of arrows blackening the sky.

They were pouring down toward us.

『Seven Demon First Strike: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub』

A black wave surged high into the sky.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa~!

Soon, the Gluttony Slash sword qi annihilated all the arrows.

“We’ll withdraw from here, Master!”

Shortly after, Jeanne picked me up and hastily fled from the fortress.

***

Jeanne and I crouched behind a mushroom quite a distance from the fortress.

Looking at the fortress, the vigilance seemed even stricter.

What was that, suddenly. Why the attack?

Jeanne said,

“In the Ravianglily Kingdom, waving a white flag means declaring war, Master.”

“?”

“It’s a very hostile expression meaning you’ll exterminate the entire clan.”

“Was that the meaning of a white flag on the Lokpia continent?”

Isn’t that a bit unfair?

Jeanne bowed her head and said,

“In other countries on Lokpia, waving a white flag means surrender or no intent to fight. It’s only in the Ravianglily Kingdom that it has that meaning.”

“Why?”

“That’s… an old tradition…”

Jeanne bowed her head even lower, looking embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, Master. I failed to inform you in advance…”

“No, it’s my fault for doing it without knowing. Strictly speaking, it’s on me.”

At that moment.

Swoosh—Thud!

Something swiftly landed from the sky.

It was the general zom.

[My lord’s command… To annihilate the fleeing enemies… Has been fulfilled.]

This guy with the difficult speech again.

It seemed to have wiped out all the escaping zoms and returned.

The general zom sidled over and sat beside me.

But.

“Hey, go away. Dude. The vigilance is already at max, being with you will cause chaos.”

I waved my hand dismissively at the general zom.

[I shall… Obey the command…]

The general zom drooped its antennae and moved far away.

Looking at it like this, it felt like a big dog.

Anyway. The important thing now was to dispel the fortress soldiers’ wariness.

I glanced at Jeanne’s state.

Jeanne with her head hung low in gloom.

It seemed I’d seen both her highest and lowest tension in one day.

As the saying goes, the one who spills the water should mop it up.

I looked at Jeanne and said,

“Don’t you have something to prove you’re the princess of the Ravianglily Kingdom?”

“I do carry the royal family’s emblem, but…”

Jeanne took something out from her bosom.

It was an antique pendant with a black lily embossed on a platinum surface.

“This is the emblem proving legitimate royal lineage. However, they are people who separated from the Ravianglily Kingdom and formed their own civilization for at least 500 years, possibly over a thousand. It’s uncertain if they even retain their identity as kingdom citizens.”

In other words, even showing them the royal emblem, there’s a high chance they won’t believe Jeanne is truly of royal blood.

Well, that makes sense.

If someone suddenly showed up one day saying, ‘I was your master a thousand years ago,’ it’d be lucky if they didn’t curse you out.

Then, the second plan.

“They saw you using the Seven Demon Strikes earlier. Wouldn’t that be fine?”

“The Seven Demon Strikes were only fully established about 100 years ago. In the era when their ancestors branched off, the Seven Demon Strikes probably didn’t exist. Their descendants likely don’t know of it either.”

“I see.”

One mountain after another.

There was essentially no way to prove identity with Jeanne’s existence alone.

Soon, Jeanne said in a gloomy voice,

“If I may be so bold… I do not wish to fight against my own people, Master.”

The Ravianglily Kingdom destroyed by the seven traitors.

No matter that they were descendants of the ancient Ravianglily Kingdom, to Jeanne, they were compatriots discovered after much hardship.

I patted Jeanne’s shoulder and said,

“Don’t worry. I have a way to open the gate.”

“But…”

“It doesn’t have to be opened only by violent means. I’ll make them open the gate themselves and come out.”

Jeanne blinked slowly.

“You have such a clever plan?”

“Plenty. Extremely pacifistic yet very provocative methods.”

I smiled as I looked at the gate.