I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 144 : Village Raid (1)

Village Raid (1)

A group of unidentified assailants arrived at Seifert village.

They suddenly set fire to the village, which had been in the midst of peaceful reconstruction.

Because the reconstruction had only just begun, there was no one who could really be called a lord.

Naturally, there wasn't even a force to stand against them, nor were there funds to hire one.

In the end, the villagers were helplessly engulfed by the flames.

Though, at the very least, they had learned evacuation procedures from a previous fire, it was exactly the same as before to see cherished buildings burning down again.

Such a scene started to be relayed to Louis' eyes in real-time.

The situation vividly recalled the calamity when the domain had burned down before.

In that moment, Louis lost his rationality.

"Krhhh!"

Tyrone, who was projecting the scene, was being strangled by Louis.

Even while suffering from being strangled, tyrone didn't blink an eye as he spoke.

"You'd better calm down... If you hurt me now, who knows what'll happen to that village... kek!"

Even after seeing the bloodshot rage in Louis' eyes, tyrone just kept saying what he wanted.

It was a situation where, since he had hostages, tyrone could only look to be in the advantageous position.

"How did you find out?"

Louis demanded, like a beast.

"Since when have you known about my hometown?"

"Around the time we received the Saint of the prophecy from your Imperial Court... There was a need to do a background check on the Saint. Thanks to that, it was easy to figure out where the Saint's hometown was."

It was an attempt to find leverage over Pram, the Saint.

It was in preparation for when she might resist the unfairness of her role.

However, he could guess that the village wasn't related to just the Saint alone.

"I asked just in case, but as expected, you guys are connected to that village."

The Holy Nation was moving more cunningly than expected.

Having gone to great lengths to secure the Saint, they had made thorough preparations to prevent her escape.

At the same time, they had conducted a meticulous investigation into those around the Saint.

For a situation just like this.

"Kugh... What are you going to do? If you kill me like this, that village will be engulfed in flames again. In the past, that village already burned once. You'd be repeating history!"

"..."

If Louis just killed Tyrone now, he couldn't guarantee the villagers' lives.

It was a situation where he could not rashly make a move.

In the end, Louis restrained his rage, let go, and asked,

"Is the Holy Nation really this barbaric?"

It was an immoral act, unbefitting a religious nation.

As everyone else gaped in disbelief, tyrone snorted.

"Of course, it's true that our current actions don't align with our ideals. However, sometimes barbaric methods are necessary—just like your 7th Legion."

Even if they were criminals, throwing people in as meat shields was equally immoral.

Tyrone pressed that point as he explained.

"That's why it's inevitable that the few must be sacrificed for the many. Even those who object are just people who have survived thanks to such noble sacrifices. Even you all can't deny that fact."

It wasn't a lie.

The reason some Imperial citizens could live in peace now was precisely because they hunted monsters from the demon realm.

"So, you commit acts like that on the grounds that sacrifice is inevitable?"

"It's distasteful for you, but it's necessary to control the Saint. Besides, the only reason I'm alive right now is thanks to that."

A hostage was not simply a bargaining chip—it could also be a last resort for survival.

"So, release Sir Bellain over there. And, if you could, I'd appreciate it if you restored this elf village to its original form."

He wasn't talking about the parts destroyed in the fighting.

He meant to return the village to a place where elves were exploited.

"Are you saying the suffering here is also some kind of noble sacrifice?"

"You could look at it that way."

"Then why not use people from your own nation instead of those migrated from the Imperial Court?"

"Because the Kilvus Empire possesses strength. It's only natural that the strong sacrifice for the weak."

It was true that the strong should protect the weak.

The Holy Nation's and Imperial Court's military might was similar, but there was never proof they were stronger than the Imperial Court.

"You crazy bastards."

But Louis couldn't understand them, as they were sacrificing people unrelated to themselves.

At least those being sacrificed in the 7th Legion were criminals.

But here, who would be sacrificed?

Just look at old man Andrew, who was reduced to a mummy.

"Louis, there's no need to listen any longer. Talking to them only gives me a headache."

"Silia is right. There's nothing more tiring than trying to talk to people who don't understand what true sacrifice is."

Silia and Kelian placed their hands on Louis' shoulders as they spoke.

Though they seemed calm on the outside, they were equally angry.

"They're no different than Crown Prince Orbel. They're deluded, thinking their own plans are all that's needed for the world."

"If they ever become the strong, I wonder if they're willing to be sacrificed themselves?"

Would people who have only ever imposed on others, ever volunteer for something themselves?

Just thinking about what the elves have done in this village makes it clear.

"So... let's trust and wait."

"If it's those guys and that man, they'll pull through for sure."

As Silia and Kelian watched the screen and spoke, Louis completely suppressed his anger.

"Now that you mention it, you're right."

****

"Round them all up!"

The bandits torching the village led their forces.

Though they looked like bandits, they were peculiarly equipped with armor that even knights might wear.

"We are Saber, a force directly under the Imperial Court! If you do not surrender peacefully, we will turn this village completely to ashes!!"

Clive, the leader of Saber, commanded the troops.

Even with only a small number of forces, it was child's play to suppress this meager village.

"Saber? That unit should have been disbanded...!"

"Yeah! Weren't they the traitorous Crown Prince's close aides...?"

As the captured villagers muttered to each other, Clive drew his sword.

At the same time, he inflicted large wounds on the thighs of two villagers.

"Gaaaaaah!"

"Aaaargh! What is this...!"

"How dare you—! Who do you think you are, calling someone a traitor and recklessly uttering that name?!"

As Clive radiated murderous intent, the captured villagers became terrified.

With a look as if he would kill them at any moment, someone tried to restrain him.

"Calm down, boss. It's too early to start killing."

"You're not planning to kill them before using them as hostages, are you?"

At the words of Drake and Neimy, also Saber members, Clive calmed down.

"Sorry. I'm not acting like myself."

"Well, it's understandable the usually calm boss would be this way."

"If only Elaine were by your side, boss..."

Clive's younger sister Elaine was also a member of Saber.

However, after infiltrating the academy under orders from the Crown Prince, her whereabouts became unknown.

Given the circumstances, the odds were that she, like the Crown Prince, had been taken by the 7th Legion.

"All right. As you both said, I need to stay calm. Especially if we're going to wipe out that damned 7th Legion!"

"I didn't expect that side to help us."

"No kidding."

The Saber members looked at a white bird-shaped spirit floating in the sky.

That spirit's view was being shared with a certain recording magitech device.

That device was currently in the possession of Tyrone, the High Priest and prince of the Holy Nation.

"That village must be the only real weakness of the 7th Legion Special Task Force, right?"

"The Seifert domain. Our Saber's subordinate troops burned this place down once in the past."

"Yeah. That unit was led by Garce's younger brother, wasn't it? I heard they disappeared here."

It was a village with more than a few suspicious points.

Wasn't the special task force member chosen as the Saint also from this village?

Come to think of it, they heard that the lord's son from this village was taken by the 7th Legion.

At the time, it was said that Saber's sub-unit and the Bisted family joined forces for that incident.

"And there's even a rumor that there's a special task force member known as 'young master'."

"Young master? What is this, some noble?"

"And the special task force member selected as the Saint is from Seifert. So, if there's someone she'd call young master..."

The Saber members played out several scenarios in their minds.

Someone from Seifert was in the special task force, and someone was called young master.

Though secretive by nature, if that Seifert young master was "the young master" talked about by them...?

"He's... still alive?"

Louis Seifert. If that boy was still alive, if he became an officer in the special task force and entered the academy incident, if, in the process, the Crown Prince and Elaine were captured by the 7th Legion—

"Louis... Seifert...!"

Clive's face flushed with fury.

Immediately, Clive drew his sword and wrapped himself in aura.

"You dare... my sister... my lord...!"

He glared toward the spot where the lord's manor once stood.

"Unforgivable!!"

Clive unleashed a slash at what was now no more than two graves.

――!!

A tremendous explosion resounded throughout the village.

The slash streaked hundreds of meters through the air, obliterating everything at the old manor.

The tombstone inscribed with the Seifert lord and his wife's names was launched toward the sky.

"Ahhh...!"

"The lords' graves...!"

The place where the graves had been was gouged deep into the earth.

The bones that should have been inside were left without a trace.

"This bastard...!"

"Not a single bone left!"

Seeing the lord's manor turned into a crater, the hostages were enraged.

Seifert's lord, their benefactor. Now even the last remnant to honor him was gone.

"Shut up!!"

Right then, someone appeared and threatened the angry villagers.

Bang! Bang!―

Magically generated fireballs rained at the villagers' feet.

The one who unleashed the fireballs was a man with his face wrapped in bandages like a mummy.

"You think you're the only ones who lost family?! Shut up if you want to live!"

"Who are you?!"

"Have you heard of the Refilica family? I am Shalio Refilica, eldest son and family head!"

Shalio Refilica.

He, too, had joined forces with Saber to help the Holy Nation—

Seeking revenge against the 7th Legion for robbing him of his family.

"We can't just stand by and let this be. I'll cut the arms off those who resist as an example!"

At Shalio's command, the soldiers seized the arms of the angry villagers.

"Stop! We haven't even finished rebuilding the village yet!"

They desperately needed every able hand to complete the reconstruction.

Losing more would only create more trouble.

"Then I'll take your lives instead of arms."

They planned to kill a few as an example anyway.

That's why Saber merely left the crazed Shalio to his own devices.

At the moment the soldiers were about to swing their blades at the villagers' arms and necks—

"Kkehuk!"

Suddenly, arrows flew in from afar, embedding in the soldiers' arms.

"Wh-who...?!"

"Where are they...?!"

The soldiers panicked at the sudden ambush.

As they scanned the surroundings, the heads of several soldiers dropped to the ground.

"Thankfully, we made it in time."

Behind the fallen bodies stood a boy wielding daggers.

"Who are y—urk!"

A soldier sneaking up behind the boy was struck in the head by another of the distant arrows.

Waving toward the direction the arrow came from, the boy with the daggers shouted,

"The villagers are safe! I'll move them somewhere secure, so shoot all you want! Rozen!"

"Then stay out of the way, Simon! I'm not responsible if you get hit."

Simon and Rozen, members of the special task force, called out to each other loudly.

"What are those guys?! Get rid of them, now!"

Enraged by the interference, Shalio ordered the soldiers.

At that moment, a fog rolled over the entire village.

"Huh? What's with the sudden fog...?"

"It's a power I gained from consuming a higher-rank monster."

Suddenly, someone's voice could be heard from within the fog.

And when the mist cleared... all the villagers who had been held hostage had disappeared.

"It's really versatile, actually."

There stood Victor, a division leader of the special task force.