“That’s Lien Village ahead.”
“We got here quickly.”
After stepping on the trap, it hadn’t taken long to reach the village from the forest.
They must have set traps around the village in the first place. If they were that dangerous, they would need to know their exact locations.
“There’s no one here?”
Oddly enough, the village showed no signs of life.
Despite having a decent number of houses, not a single person was outside.
“We should check the village chief’s house first.”
“Yeah, the biggest house should be it.”
With that, the knights headed for the largest house in the village.
At the very center of the village stood a two-story wooden building that was unmistakably the village chief’s house.
“W-what brings you to our village?”
Before they could knock, an old man emerged, seemingly having heard the knights approaching.
“Are you the chief of this village?”
“Y-yes… I am the chief of Lien Village….”
“Your name?”
“F-Felix.”
“Come closer.”
“Y-yes….”
The elderly man, with sparse white hair, trembled as he faced the knights.
His small frame made him appear even more pitiful.
“Do you know about the traps in the forest?”
The knights surrounded the old man, pressing him.
“T-traps? You mean some hunter’s bear traps, perhaps…?”
“No. I almost lost my ankle.”
Among the knights, Squad Two leader Deline stepped forward, stopping right in front of the old man.
“Wh-what? O-oh… I-I sincerely apologize for my wrongdoing.”
“Really?”
Sching.
Deline slowly drew his sword.
Since it was still daytime, the sunlight glinted off the blade.
“P-please, spare my life…!”
The old man immediately dropped to the ground, begging for mercy.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a pitiful scene.
But to me and the rest of the knights, we simply watched him with blank expressions.
Because…
“You’re sorry?”
“I-I truly regret—”
“Then why are you leaking killing intent?”
“…What?”
From the moment he stepped out, even beneath that harmless facade, the old man had been exuding a thick, menacing aura.
Did he really think we wouldn’t notice?
“Kh… Damn it….”
Swoosh!
Before the old man could say another word, Deline’s sword swung, severing his head.
Immediately after—
Splat!
Blood sprayed from the old man’s neck in all directions.
And its color was far from normal.
“Guard!”
Seeing the deep crimson blood, Deline quickly wrapped his cloak around himself.
The other knights also pulled their cloaks forward to shield themselves.
Sizzle—
As I covered myself, I could hear a faint burning sound.
…Acid?
His blood is acidic?
“He must be a devil worshipper.”
“Seems like it.”
Something this unnatural…
It had to be connected to those cockroach-like devil worshippers.
“We should search the village… No, there’s no need to rush.”
Dusting off his cloak, Deline scanned the surroundings.
“Indeed.”
“They’re good at hiding their presence.”
The chief’s house stood at the village center, and houses surrounded us from all sides.
Despite the eerie silence earlier, red-eyed villagers were now peeking through the windows, drooling as they stared at us.
“…Armor.”
“…Knights.”
“Swords… Take their swords….”
Knight or not, their eyes were fixed on our high-quality armor and weapons, their greed overwhelming their reason.
…If we fall here, there won’t even be bodies left.
“Draw your swords.”
“Yes, sir!”
At Deline’s command, the knights unsheathed their weapons.
And at almost the same moment—
Villagers began climbing out of windows and stepping through doors, gradually surrounding us.
“How arrogant.”
“They’ve lost their minds.”
“They might be acidic like the old man earlier, so handle them carefully.”
Deline cautioned the knights as he observed the approaching villagers.
“Sienna.”
I figured it would be best to check in advance, so I called out to Sienna beside me.
“Yes!”
And then—
Swish—!!!
Two hand axes sliced through the air, tracing large arcs.
Immediately after—
Thud!! Crack!!
“Gah!”
“Ugh!!”
The two largest farmers took the axes to their necks and collapsed onto the ground.
Sizzle—!
Dark crimson blood gushed from their wounds, and as soon as it touched the sandy ground, smoke rose. It was clear now—all the villagers had acidic blood.
“Did you confirm it?”
“Yes.”
“Good work.”
It’s always better to know in advance.
Even Aura users weren’t immune to acid if they didn’t guard properly.
“Now then, has everyone had a good look?”
“Yes, we’ve seen enough! Let’s go!”
And at that moment—
The knights of the Black Wing Order, who had drawn their swords, launched themselves in all directions.
“Sienna, provide support from here.”
“Understood!”
I, too, drew my sword and dashed toward the villagers.
Whoosh—!!
The scenery blurred past me as I rapidly closed the distance to the farmers.
Hmm, I need to be careful not to get splashed by the acid—
Slice—!
“Grk!”
I cut through a neck as I passed by.
Their acidic blood was dangerous, sure.
But as long as I avoided getting splattered, it wasn’t a problem.
Thud!
I heard the sound of the villager collapsing behind me.
Kick!
I kicked off the wall of a nearby hut to change direction and charged toward the next villager.
By now, as soon as the knights had begun their attack, the villagers were collapsing one after another, spraying their acidic blood.
Even so, there were more of them than expected.
We had to finish this quickly.
There were other villages nearby, after all.
Swoosh—!
I reached the next villager in an instant.
Stab!
“Urk!”
I cut his throat and activated Track.
The world slowed.
I could see the dark red blood spraying from his severed neck.
Step!
Before the droplets could reach me, I kicked off the ground and lunged toward another villager rushing at me with a farming tool.
Slash—!!
I passed by him in a blur, slicing open his chest.
Before he could even collapse, I had already stopped in front of another.
By then, Fleet had faded, and time resumed its normal flow.
“Die!!”
A farming tool came swinging down toward my head.
I casually swung my sword.
‘Rush.’
An explosion erupted from my blade, blowing the villager’s upper body clean off.
The acidic blood was troublesome, but compared to the ordeal in the mountain range last time, this was far easier to handle.
…There must be another threat.
The count wouldn’t have requested support for something like this alone.
Squad One, who had gone to meet the viscount, would likely return with more detailed information.
“Is it done?”
“Yes.”
The subjugation of the villagers ended quickly.
Sizzle—!!!
“They burn for a long time.”
“The ground is getting ruined.”
Smoke rose from the acidic blood pooling all around.
If all the villagers in the region were in this state, things were going to be even more complicated.
This viscount’s territory was known for its farmland.
Farming would be impossible here for a while.
Not that it mattered—who was left to farm once this was over?
“Search the village.”
“Understood!”
With all the villagers dealt with, we split into teams of two to search the homes.
“What is this… Ugh.”
Naturally, I was paired with Sienna as we searched a nearby hut.
The moment we stepped inside, a putrid stench filled our noses.
The interior was a mess of filth, and scattered among the refuse were transparent bags—the remnants of Red Powder’s packaging.
But there was something else odd.
“There’s nothing here….”
“Yeah, it’s completely empty.”
From the entrance to the kitchen and every other room, we searched thoroughly.
Not just furniture, but even basic necessities like plates and spoons—gone.
It was as if they had sold everything they owned.
“What kind of drug could do this…?”
“It must be the work of the devil worshippers.”
No drug, no matter how addictive, should cause a village-wide transformation like this.
And the acidic blood? These people weren’t normal anymore.
What would make blood acidic?
A side effect of Red Powder?
Or some kind of alteration by the devil worshippers?
Whatever it was, the situation was dire.
“Hey, over here…”
“Did you find something?”
Sienna pointed at a tattered cloth covered in grime.
“This looks like a child’s clothing.”
“…It does.”
Though worn and discolored, the size suggested it belonged to a child.
“That reminds me….”
“Yes, we didn’t see any children.”
Among the villagers we fought, there were men, women, and the elderly—but not a single child.
“Don’t tell me….”
“If they sold their spoons, why wouldn’t they sell their children?”
For the impoverished in this world, selling a child was often a way to get quick money.
I should know—I was one of them.
My parents sold me because they had no food.
These parents, who sold everything for their addiction, wouldn’t have spared their children.
“This is horrifying….”
“Let’s keep searching.”
“Right….”
We combed through the house even more thoroughly, but all we found were traces—no survivors.
After finishing our assigned area, we regrouped in the village square.
“What did you find?”
“Nothing. The houses were all empty.”
“As expected.”
The gathered knights all wore grim expressions.
It seemed everyone had realized the same thing.
“…This situation is worse than we thought.”
“Yeah. Let’s check a few more villages before regrouping with Squad One.”
The tension was evident in everyone’s faces.
Not only had the villagers fallen to the devil worshippers, but it seemed the children had been sold as well.
A whole viscountcy was collapsing before our eyes.
With heavy steps, we moved to the next village.
Even after further searches—
“Nothing here.”
“Let’s move to the next village.”
And the next—
“…Nothing here either.”
And the one after that—
“Still nothing….”
“…I see.”
We encountered villagers and fought them several times.
But no matter how many we searched, no matter how long we looked, not once did we find a single child.
