Chapter 30: Chapter 29
Minutes passed until everyone could calm down at least a little.
Most hesitated, once they feared, but now none of them even wanted to get close to that place.
Their bodies trembled with every step, and many eyes didn't even blink at times.
They didn't want to approach, didn't want to look around, so why were their eyes always drawn to those brutal scenes surrounding them?
With each step, Elizabeth found herself increasingly immersed in an extensive sea of blood.
Her feet grew heavier, as her body felt the physical pressure of walking amidst something so dense, a red liquid carrying a repulsive odor and sticky texture.
Accompanied by the constant approach, everyone's breathing intensified with each passing moment.
Their hearts raced, some even constricted, as if an invisible hand were squeezing them with each step.
Upon reaching Camelot's army base, Elizabeth couldn't walk anymore, she couldn't even breathe.
Her body froze as her mind was completely submerged in the sea of blood she had created.
Flailing her arms, she tries to break free. Opening her mouth, she searches for air to breathe.
But nothing happens.
Facing that endless sea, there is no prospect of liberation, no way to escape. However, with their imposing voices loud and clear, the knights guarding the base brought Elizabeth's mind back to reality;
"We salute the heroine of the Kingdom!" they exclaimed, bowing before her seemingly perplexed figure.
Upon regaining her consciousness, Elizabeth looked around.
She saw wounded and bandaged bodies, mostly with blood still dripping from their wounds and staining their white bandages red.
Their expressions showed no sign of emotion, and their lifeless eyes made it seem like they were just empty husks walking on that blood-soaked ground.
Elizabeth clenched her fists tightly as she briefly gritted her teeth.
"Where is your commander?" she asked, walking towards the cluster of tents.
Her steps overflow with confidence, and her eyes couldn't contain doubts.
Those people were on the verge of giving in, their minds on the brink of ruin. If this continued, surely the end of that war would be much closer than expected.
"You..." said Elizabeth, turning around and looking at a small group belonging to the people who came with her. "..., store the supplies and weapons we brought and then rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the rest of you prepare immediately."
Everyone looked at each other.
They didn't want to disobey an order, but their bodies simply didn't seem to accept the simple command to move their feet.
Fighting didn't seem necessary, as along with an apparent strange physical pain, tremors consumed them with the mere thought of having to go to that place.
"Do it! Now!" exclaimed Elizabeth, her voice echoing throughout the base.
The situation is definitely extremely delicate, and Elizabeth is fully aware of that. And it is precisely because she is aware of this fact that, even in a similar situation, she could not show any sign of compassion or mercy towards those people.
Those people, who are almost succumbing to their own psychological pressure, must be commanded with a firm hand. Without any room for doubts or questioning.
For fear is a double-edged sword, which can be used to either hurt your enemy or harm yourself. And bearing this in mind, allowing those people, who are now soldiers, her soldiers, to continue having any kind of self-destructive thoughts would be a failure on her part as a leader.
The greatest failure.
There was no room for discussion or the right to any kind of argumentation, despite the tremor never leaving them at any moment, even before Elizabeth turned her back on them, just as the order was given, it was diligently followed.
Walking through the base, Elizabeth could see that not all the knights were injured, at least not physically. The expressions and looks remained the same no matter where she looked.
Not even the commander of that base is in a different situation. In fact, perhaps he is the one who appears to have been the most affected among all the others.
Despite being relatively young for someone at his level, just nearing his 50s, his hair no longer remained all black and not even strong enough to stay put on his head for very long.
"I really wouldn't like to be saying this but..., I salute the heroine of the Kingdom, welcome to this... well, you understand, right?"
His eyes bear marks that no other knight in that place possesses. Despite his clearly fake smile, his expression is even more miserable compared to everyone else in that place.
His greeting was made without any apparent courtesy, after all, he didn't even bother to get up from his chair to greet Elizabeth.
"What's the situation?"
"The situation? Hmm... Well, that's complicated..."
Elizabeth approached the table where the commander was and understood why he had greeted her sitting in a chair.
Whether bones or flesh, from his knee down there was nothing left.
"Oh, this? It's just a little souvenir he left for me," said the commander, smiling as he looked at the bandages wrapped around his thighs.
"He...?"
"Yes, the silver-eyed one, which is what we call him to simplify. The "situation," as you said, is just about him."
Elizabeth looked again at the commander, from top to bottom.
"Are you telling me that he alone did all this, not only to you but also to everyone out there?"
"No, not everyone. Just some. The others got hurt before, when the fight seemed to be somewhat fair, or rather... when we seemed to have the upper hand."
Elizabeth looked at the papers on the table and picked up the small map that was there.
"Is this a map of the surrounding area?"
"Yes, but I don't think it's going to be very useful."
According to the map, the region they are in is a vast plain, once covered with grass, but now filled with bodies.
"And what did you mean by 'when we seemed to have the upper hand'? Did something happen to change that?"
"Well, before we were managing to 'push' the demons back and advance slowly, but..."
Putting one hand over his face, the commander smiled.
"That was being 'too easy'... How could I be so incompetent to fall for such a stupid strategy?!"
And as he looked at the ground outside the tent, tears streamed down his face as he continued to see an endless mountain of bodies rising before his eyes and stretching out in front of him.
"You know... we seemed to be winning. These last few months seemed like they would be the end of all this... of this damned hell! But... it was already too late when I realized. I was so focused on ending all of this, that I didn't even notice that most of the bodies that kept piling up day after day across this terrain were..."
This is not how a knight should behave, much less a commander, especially in front of the heroine of the Kingdom, and he knows it. But, as his tears accumulate in his eyes incessantly, it became impossible to maintain the image of someone calm.
He doesn't even remember how many times this same scene has repeated itself until now. Unfortunately, it has already become a routine.
"They were my soldiers... And I sacrificed, day after day, more and more of them for those damn..!"
After looking at the deplorable situation of that man for a few moments, Elizabeth could see herself again.
Not on such a grand scale, but there have been similar scenarios, with her sending her subordinates on high-risk missions from which they never returned...
She still remembers the faces of the relatives to this day.
Her tears, the pleas to bring them back... how many times has this happened?
She doesn't remember anymore...
Leaving that man to suffer in his privacy, Elizabeth left the tent after placing the map on the table.
After seeing him briefly, she could understand why the knights scattered throughout that place seem so abandoned, all slowly succumbing to their mental breakdowns caused by everything they have experienced and seen in those blood-soaked lands.
Some sit in different places of the base, suffering from the pain of their wounds and tormenting themselves constantly.
While others try to stay strong, but are constantly overwhelmed by the cold and cruel reality they were simply destined for by looking around.
There was no longer a commander in that base.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Elizabeth stopped in front of the dozens of knights and surveyed the general situation.
They still remained frightened and trembled at the slightest noise, nothing had changed.
"Form 20 rows, ten for those who use magic and ten for those proficient in using aura. Those who can use both, form a separate twenty-first row, two steps behind the others."
The vast majority of the knights lined up in the ten rows belonging to magic users, as they could use at least one element.
14,713 was the number of knights in the rows of those who can use aura.
And 937 is the number of those who can make use of both magic and aura.
"Those who can use magic grab bows and arrows. You will go to the front line, while the aura users will protect you if you are attacked."
"But ma'am..."
It only took a brief glance for the knight to back off and give up arguing against Elizabeth's decision.
"We are in a plain, so there are no places where you can hide. So, make use of anything around you to avoid being hit by the enemies, for example, the bodies scattered on the ground."
This idea certainly didn't please anyone. It was evident in their faces when Elizabeth gave the orders.
Disgust and repulsion are just some of the obvious feelings shown by their expressions.
"...Do not engage in direct combat. Keep only the necessary distance for the use of magic-enchanted arrows, nothing more."
Elizabeth looked at the knights, who remained still even after receiving her orders.
"What are you waiting for? ...Go get your weapons!"
They ran quickly, but the aura users and those who can use both remained in their places.
As the knights grabbed their weapons, Elizabeth continued;
"Approach cautiously and wait, do nothing unless you are targeted first, you will receive a very obvious signal when it is the right time to attack."
The first magic users who had already secured their weapons returned, and the first of them almost made Elizabeth hesitate.
"You..."
With a bow and arrow in his hands, Reymond stood before her.
"...Be careful..."
There was no room for favoritism, as this could end up causing discord and conflicts among the knights.
However, whether she liked it or not, her promise to Marie still held.
"...Remember... Do not stay in the front lines..."
Reymond responded with a hesitant nod.
Like the vast majority of knights, his body trembled as he just thought he would have to step on that place... literally on the bodies of the dead.
Elizabeth looked at the knights who were still searching for their weapons and asked;
"I didn't mention this thinking you couldn't find a good spot on your own, but... do you need me to tell you exactly where to stand?!"
"No, ma'am!" they exclaimed.
"Alright..."
Elizabeth turned around and passed by Raymond in silence.
Her hands tremble subtly, causing her to clench her fists, but her steps remain firm and confident.
Doubts should not be shown.
Her fear must not be seen.
Surrounded by people so physically and mentally deteriorated, if their leader showed even the slightest hint of hesitation, it would surely lead them to ruin.
"Those who can use both magic and aura, follow me," said Elizabeth, as she walks in the same direction they had come from.
In such a desperate situation, being surrounded by people so devoid of the will to preserve their own lives would not be the ideal choice.
This would only cause the number of mentally broken individuals to gradually increase over time.
However, simply keeping a distance from those people would no longer suffice, as fear was already doing a fine job in this regard, since just being in that environment, breathing that air filled with the putrid smell of blood and decomposing bodies around, would immediately send anyone's mind into decline.
To resolve such a situation, or at least to alleviate it somewhat, there is only one option.
Fear will certainly persist, after all, they are in a war. However, even if small, a victory, no matter how small, will certainly restore at least a bit of hope to those knights.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone