章 39: Plaza Square
In the plaza of the crumbling capital, a storm raged atop it. The entire square was where the survivors of the entirety of the capital were gathered together. Unfortunately, their numbers were measly compared to the original population of the city. It indicates the atrocities the imperial army had committed against the residents of the capital.
Speaking of the survivors, they silently lay while gazing upon a beautiful young lady clad in a military uniform. They found themselves confused as the rumored abomination that emerged within the decimated castle was nothing more than a lovely lady. Were the imperial soldiers merely fools, or was the lady before them a serpent?
Such were the questions trapped within the minds of the survivors.
The gorgeous lady had silver-white hair reaching her waist. She also had pitch-black crow-like wings behind her waist. As they had thought before, the lady before them resembles a fallen angel from the heavens. For the survivors, she may be someone who defied authority or someone who had fallen from power.
But that wasn't the main problem they needed to face. They didn't know who the lady before them was. They heard of her being summoned by the monarchy of Chimbell itself. But there was no proof of it other than the words of the imperial soldiers who clearly ran off with their tails tucked behind their legs.
Who was she?
These were the simple question within their minds. A question that was easy to answer for Alastair Hecate, the first Krieger.
The retired old man furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing the words of Alastair. He slowly stood up as he gazed upon Alastair with a serious expression. His instincts were screaming for him to run away from the gorgeous lady before him. It was easy to guess that the appearance was completely different from power.
The old man then sighed after a while of thought and questioned with a calm voice. "May I ask who you are, young lady?" His words echoed throughout the square as the citizens looked at him in shock. No one was willing to speak as they feared the wrath of the young lady.
The survivors of the atrocities created by the imperial army immediately understood the lying appearance of Alastair. She might resemble that of a young lady, but it was clear that hiding amidst the beauty was the abomination the imperial soldiers were talking about.
It was why none of them had spoken, and it was also why most were shocked by the old man's question.
Hearing the old man's question, a smile emerged on Alastair's cold face as she answered with a tranquil voice. "My name is Alastair Hecate. I am the Krieger summoned by the queen of this kingdom. Under the authority of the monarchy, every survivor shall evacuate to the castle."
Alastair's words sounded throughout the plaza. As expected, it took a while for the survivors to understand what she was trying to say. After all, she was simply saying that the queen had summoned her to take care of the problem. Such a thing was hard to believe for the survivors.
"Hmm... I heard about some summoning during my travels. But I am sure that such a summoning was related to devils. Are you one of them, Alastair Hecate?" The old man questioned as Alastair shook her head and denied the question. She then replied with a calm voice.
"I am not one of the devils you are speaking about. I'm a warrior spirit, nothing more, nothing less. I don't grant wishes but grant death to those considered to be enemies with a price."
"That should be simple enough for you to understand."
The survivors were still dealing with the information given by Alastair. A warrior spirit had been summoned by their queen. Such a spirit will bring death to the queen's enemies. That was what they thought Alastair was implying. It was more or less accurate to the situation.
"Then, I believe that you should go to the barracks. I have heard of defenders being imprisoned there. They might be of help with the eradication of the imperial army." The old man gave valuable information. Alastair wasn't willing to command troops, and she was thinking of everything in a different way.
She had a plan that would require every living being that was considered an ally to be in the castle. Otherwise, they would die like the imperial army before them. The old man's information would avoid unnecessary collateral damage. Such were the thoughts within her mind.
'Still... Without his information, I might have killed the defenders imprisoned in the barracks.' Alastair silently thought within herself as she furrowed her eyebrows. She clenched her fist as she needed to ensure that each settlement within the capital would be devoid of allies.
"That is a piece of valuable information, old man. Are there more imprisoned captives in the capital?" Alastair questioned as she needed more information from the old man. Without any information, she would have to search every house in the city just to be clear of any bad casualties.
"I'm sorry, young lady. The locations of the defenders were the only thing I had heard from the imperial soldiers." The old man shook his head and sighed as he himself didn't know much about those that survived the massacre brought by the imperial soldiers.
They might be hiding in their houses waiting for help, or they might be cold corpses lying on the ground. These were the only two possibilities for the survivors within the capital outside of the plaza.
The words of the old man echoed within Alastair's ears. She nodded upon hearing his words and knew that she would have to solve this problem herself. She might need the help of her maid, Soteria. Searching for people in this crumbling city would be pretty hard.
"I see... No need to apologize."
"Also, all of you must go to the castle. Or else, you would die." Alastair warned the survivors with a calm voice as she walked through the plaza with a calm expression plastered on her face. She had already given them the instructions they needed. It was not her problem if they couldn't follow it.
As Alastair walked through the square, a young man stood up and shouted. "Do you need help? We can help you fight against the imperial soldiers. They murdered my parents and siblings. I must avenge them!!!" His words sounded throughout everyone in the plaza.
Most of them had lost their loved ones. There was no one left waiting for them in this world. They were alone in this cold reality, simply waiting to die. If they were about to die, then they would rather die avenging their loved ones without any regrets deep within their hearts.
It didn't take a second as many others stood up and shouted their determination to aide Alastair.
"We can help you fight against the imperial army!"
"I know a lot about this city!"
"My father works at the castle gates. I know its layout!"
"I can help you fight!"
"Please, let us fight!!!"
They let out the screams of their deepest emotions recently trapped within their hearts. It seems that they have been bottling up such heavy emotions without any way of letting them out. Whether it be anger, acceptance, or sorrow. They didn't have enough time to pass through such stages.
That kind of thing was dangerous. The survivors would become uncontrollable and become beasts of their shedding desires.
Alastair stopped walking as she slowly turned her gaze towards the survivors. She still had the calm expression plastered on her face. The old man silently stood behind as he understood that the people around him were consumed by emotions and vigor. It would be hard to stop them, and even he himself couldn't act on preventing them.
Alastair looked at the survivors with a nonchalant expression as she uttered with a soothing voice. "There is no need to help me."
"Go back to the castle. The monarchy is waiting for you."
"And if you really want to help me, then there is only one thing you can do."
"Take as many survivors as you can to the castle. Those who stay on the streets will die whether they'd be civilians or soldiers."
"Consider this the last warning."
"I hope that all of you listened."
Without looking back, Alastair left the square and was heading toward the barracks. She needed to free the defenders and let them return to the castle. Otherwise, they would die by staying in the capital city. Alastair was about to use a dangerous ability.
It was extremely dangerous as it didn't care about allies and enemies. It only wanted to consume, devour, and decay. With this in mind, Alastair would rather have the capital city clear of allies. Though, she would like the enemies to stay if they wanted to.
The survivors in the square found themselves in silence as they gazed upon the back of their savior. The instructions already echoed in their heads though none of them were able to move. All of them had unfinished business with the imperial army. They simply couldn't let go of their raging emotions.
"We need to go to the castle. The monarchy of Chimbell is waiting for us. There is no need to throw our lives needlessly. I understand your raging emotions. A lot of us had lost our loved ones. We have lost everything, but that doesn't mean we won't be able to gain anything."
"The kingdom of Chimbell still hadn't lost the entire war. As long as we stay together alive, it doesn't matter if the kingdom crumbles. We would build it again stronger than ever before." The old man gave his humble speech to the survivors. The silent ones looked at him as numerous thoughts passed through their heads.
A while later, they nodded at the same time and gave their replies to the old man.
"That is right!"
"All is not lost!"
"Rebuilding this kingdom will be the best revenge against the empire!"
"Chimbell will never fall!"
As they shouted their cries, the survivors within the plaza then walked towards the decimated castle. Those who were able to walk helped the injured and the weak. Their faces were full of determination as they looked at the decimated castle, standing grand and prideful.
Despite being surrounded by the flames of destruction, the ashes of decay, and the mountain of corpses, the decimated castle was still standing. It was the pride of the citizens, and it will never fall under the empire's hands. And for it to never fall, they must protect it no matter what.
Meanwhile, Alastair continued walking through the streets with a calm expression plastered on her face. She hadn't seen a single imperial soldier, which meant that they had escaped out of the capital city. Well, that meant things would be a lot better for Alastair.
She wouldn't have to fight within the capital.
Alastair would have no need to head towards the barracks. After all, she wouldn't have to fight in the capital city. Meaning that there was no need to be worried about collateral damage.
'But even then, I believe that I should warn them. Instructing them to go towards the decimated castle should be enough. Afterward, I'll leave this city to meet with the imperial army.' Alastair thought to herself as the defenders needed to return to the castle.
"Miasma, this will be enough to wipe them out."
Alastair planned to use Miasma to entirely terminate the imperial army. It would decay the imperial army, ultimately weakening them. With enough time, it might even be able to kill them. Along with Alastair's Poltergeist, the only thing Alastair would have to worry about were the people like the general she had recently killed.
"I still can't figure out how he manages to survive." Alastair silently uttered as she thought about the general. After a while, she shook her head and turned her gaze towards a particular building.
The building was none other than the barracks of Chimbell.
Though unfortunately, the situation was graver than what Alastair had recently thought. She furrowed her eyebrows upon the sight as she uttered with a cold tone.
"They are rather merciless."
Alastair was looking at a crumbling building consumed by the crimson flames. Thousands of cold corpses were lying below the gate. Near them were puddles of blood. The faces plastered on the dead bodies signified terror and fear. Some didn't even have a face, while some lacked half of their body. There were also those without any heads.
"Hmm... It seems that all of them died."
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