Chapter 70 - Meat Grinder
Nindy looked at the Blackmoon Castle’s gate that had been destroyed. She also saw a few bronze-tier warriors lead the soldiers as they fought against the Blackmoon Iron Cavalry. Her face was pale, so she meditated to try to recover her body’s magical power. She stared at the sky blankly.
“Why does that silver-tier warrior in the sky look so much like my eldest brother, Vincent?”
“Was Indix right? Did Blackmoon Castle purchase our land, and my brother has become their servant?” Nindy murmured. Soon, she realized that something was wrong.
That was because she saw her youngest brother, Watson, standing in the wheat field not far from Blackmoon Castle. He guarded the castle behind him as he summoned magical warriors to fight against the other manors’ allied troops. Even though the 100 water-elemental warriors had only survived for a few minutes, they had killed more than 500 people. Their armor and weapons were scattered all over the ground—human flesh and horse meat were mixed together.
After the water-elemental warriors had disappeared, Watson teleported in front of the allied troops, and chaos followed. Wherever he passed by, his chaotic combat aura would shatter several bodies. Even the men’s aura could do nothing; it was like paper, vulnerable to a single blow. It did not matter if those men were bronze-tier warriors or iron-tier elite or ordinary men; the outcome was the same—death.
The blood lingered in the wheat field and dyed the crystal wheat red.
Nindy was doubtful if it had all been real. It was not impossible for Vincent to be a silver-tier warrior; he was already training his combat aura when she left home. He must have had some fruitful years to have broken through to the silver tier. However, it was different for Watson. He had only been four years old when she left home.
Watson had neither tested his talent as a mage nor trained his combat aura. How could he become a gold-tier warrior and a silver-tier water-elemental mage after a few short years? He was even more outstanding than Vincent.
If the Garry family had become Blackmoon Castle’s servants, then its master must have given her brothers gifts that led to their power surge. It meant that the master of the caster was even more powerful. However, the battle had progressed to a climax, and they had not seen Blackmoon Castle’s master. So there was only one possibility.
Blackmoon Castle had no master other than the Garry family. They were the ones who had built the castle.
“What happened to my home while I was away? How could they build such a magnificent castle? I didn’t even know anything about this, and I have followed Elder Folson to attack my own home. What should I do if Blackmoon Castle is destroyed?”
Nindy’s voice became hoarse; she felt fear and shame in her heart.
Indix stood beside her. She was also a member of the Mage Guild. She looked at the bloody battle, and her pretty face turned pale.
“Didn’t Elder Folson say that this is a simple mission? How did it turn out like this?”
As a noble mage, Indix had participated in missions to kill magical beasts. She had seen beasts torn apart by magic, but those were only creatures. They were different from humans. She had seen a man dismembered in front of her; his chest was pierced, and he had fallen into a pool of blood with a hideous expression on his face. Indix felt her stomach churned.
The three male mages, who were not far away, could not stand such a scene either. They supported the person next to them as they bent down to retch.
“Indix, this is the first time you have seen such an environment, so you are not used to it. You just need to experience it a few more times! I’m not lying to you. This is a simple mission, indeed. The manors have gathered 5,000 men, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for me to break through this place. I didn’t expect three silver-tier warriors here, as well as a gold-tier warrior who has mastered magic. It looks like I’ll have to ask Master Wilber to pay more later.”
Fulson comforted her as his gaze fell on Watson with great interest.
He was very impressed with Watson, not because of the unknown type of combat aura that surrounded his body, but the water-elemental warrior summoning spell he had cast.
“Judging from its strength, this spell should be silver-tier, and it should be considered as one of the stronger silver-tier spells! I didn’t expect this kid to be a water-elemental mage. It’s a pity that he had met me. I’ll capture him later, and I’ll interrogate him to get this silver-tier spell from him.’
Folson had made up his mind.
Silver-tier magic scrolls were worth thousands of gold coins. So if he could interrogate Watson about the contents of the spell, it would be equivalent to saving a huge sum of money. In addition, Folson planned to ask Wilber to raise their fees, so he would have to pay the mages at least 200 gold coins each. That was the reward of 1000 gold coins.
Folson sighed; he had been right to take that mission. The harvest was enough to increase his strength by a few levels and shorten the time he needed to become a gold-tier mage.
As for the bloody scene on the battlefield, Folson did not feel anything when he saw it. It was the nature of the world—the strong would always prey on the weak. When he was a bounty hunter, his targets were not only magical beasts but humans too. He had long trained to have a heart of stone.
“Elder Folson, why don’t we just give up this mission?! I can’t stand the slaughter. I think I’ll have nightmares at night. Why are these two groups fighting so hard? What kind of hatred do they have that can’t be resolved? Did Blackmoon Castle do something outrageous?” Indix asked weakly.
She did not want to participate in the next battle for her own safety. A battle was like a meat grinder; she would only become minced meat if she joined the war.
“Blackmoon Castle didn’t do anything wrong. If they did, then it’s because they were too rich and expanded too fast, and that violated the interests of the other manors.”
“They killed so many people because their interests were violated? I know, it’s the fault of the other manors!”
Indix nodded.
“No.” Folson looked at the battlefield silently. “You are still too young. The others were not wrong as well.”
“Then who was wrong?” Indix was at a loss.
“No one was wrong; this is war! Since ancient times, wars do seek not justice but benefits. And that is the truth.”
Folson’s voice was cold as he said, “Rest to recover your magic power. We may need you guys for the next battle! So put away those fearless sympathies. What we need to do is to satisfy our employer’s request. Then, when both sides have almost exhausted their men, it will be my turn to take action.”
He held half a gold-tier magic scroll in his hand. After a few days of research, he had used some methods and combinations from the magic scroll. After he had exhausted enough resources, he could barely use his magic. Even though he did not master everything, it was enough to destroy a castle.
That was his biggest trump card. Ordinary gold-tier magic could cover an area of several kilometers. Even without those 5000 men, he could still destroy Blackmoon Castle by himself and wait for his fees. It was a habit he had developed when he became a bounty hunter.
Wilber stood not far from the mages, and he saw his troops devoured.
His heart bled. He had brought more than 5000 men with him, but only half of them were left. The Black Moon Iron Cavalry had killed more than 1000 men. So many people had died, and their pension would cost a lot of money.
“Miss Nightingale, Watson is already a gold-tier warrior. Why didn’t you tell me that? Didn’t the border count send you to help us?
He could not help it; his eyes twitched as he questioned Nightingale.
He could accept the appearance of those three silver-tier warriors, but he could not tolerate the fact that Watson was already a gold-tier warrior. If he had known that, he would have brought more men.
Nightingale crossed her legs as she sat on a huge rock. She would take out a Rainbow Phoenix Chicken egg from the basket, peel it, and put it into her mouth from time to time. “You didn’t ask! Oh, by the way, please don’t blame me for not telling you. Besides Watson, there’s also a gold-tier magical beast in Blackmoon Castle. You should have known this long ago, right?”
The muscles on Wilber’s face twitched.
Roar!
As soon as she finished speaking, a heavy roar came from inside Blackmoon Castle. A huge magical beast about ten meters long with six wings appeared, and it carried Watson’s seventh sister, Scarlet, on its back. Three giant heads roared in turn as distorted flames and rock spears that covered the ground emerged. That attack immediately killed 200 men from the allied troops. Wilber’s heart skipped a beat.
If that were to continue, they would be defeated.