The battlefield was so drenched in blood that it seemed as if the sky had turned red.
Corpses, both of beasts and humans, were scattered everywhere.
Amidst the carnage, Isabel struggled to rise, gasping for breath.
“Those damn bastards, they couldn’t help but at least they shouldn’t have ruined everything.”
Isabel surveyed the devastated surroundings with a gloomy expression.
Just a few days ago, this had been a solid defensive line manned by disciplined soldiers.
She had come here to blow off some steam and regain her combat instincts by taking down some beasts.
She never expected things to go so wrong.
Yes, it all started with the students from Arcane.
Some of them had formed cliques, ignoring their assigned tasks and fooling around.
It was annoying, but since they, like her, would soon be gone, the soldiers turned a blind eye.
That much was tolerable.
This was a place guarded by seasoned soldiers, after all.
But then, the soldiers began to change.
At first, it was small things like forgetfulness, but it escalated to severe mental breakdowns.
Even the conscription order wasn’t limited to Arcane students.
Noble families, instead of sending their elite heirs, dispatched illegitimate children or those they deemed expendable, untrained and unprepared.
‘It was a mess.’
Frankly, even those were needed.
Not just as cannon fodder, but because the sheer lack of manpower was becoming a problem.
But they too fell apart.
Thanks to that damn white powder.
“Ugh, damn it. Seriously.”
Isabel spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged phlegm.
She gathered the survivors and, with the crumbled wall at their backs, moved forward.
“The second defensive line must be held at all costs.”
The front line, once called impregnable, had been obliterated.
No, it was self-destructed.
She didn’t know if those behind them would do their job, but at least she had to get the survivors out.
***
The Empire was in crisis.
For the first time in centuries, the first defensive line had been breached.
And in the border region of the Black Field, no less.
The invading beasts had all been slain, but the real problem was rebuilding the defense line.
It wasn’t just about constructing buildings.
They had to fend off the beasts while raising high walls, a task that would take an unknown amount of time.
“Who would have thought they’d cause chaos like this…”
It was an entirely unexpected method.
I thought we had handled the initial response well, but it turned out to be a complete misjudgment.
‘At least I had the foresight to plant informants with Gray.’
According to Gray’s urgent report, the first defensive line had already collapsed.
The survivors were now staying in the city with the second defensive line.
‘Thankfully, Isabel is still alive.’
Her heroic tales had already spread throughout the Empire.
They said she single-handedly took down dozens of beasts.
‘The real problem is what the beasts do next…’
The location of the first defensive line had been a natural fortress.
With mountains on either side, blocking the narrow entrance was enough to handle most beasts.
But with the first line gone, the area to defend had expanded.
The second line was holding, but it only blocked the path to the Empire’s vital regions.
‘We can’t stop them from spreading elsewhere.’
The time when beasts become most active is approaching.
Even in small numbers, they’ll invade various parts of the Empire, potentially causing massive casualties.
‘We’ll have to start by checking nearby villages.’
I’ve been thinking about all this, but it’s not really my area.
I’m just a student. There are others in charge of the overall command.
“You should volunteer too,” Gray said.
“…My friend, why would I go to such a dangerous place?”
“Shut up. Hurry. We don’t have time.”
Arcane was, of course, in an uproar.
They had sent students to the front lines for combat experience, and now this had happened.
To mitigate the situation, they were recruiting volunteers this time, not conscripts.
People to help with the defense line.
I didn’t need to volunteer, but I did to see what was happening with my own eyes.
‘No matter how I look at it, the method is strange.’
Both Bucena’s actions and the way they spread Capina were odd.
If they had slowly eroded the Empire by targeting the lower classes, the results would have been more effective.
‘In the original story, they never found the culprit.’
They had suspects, but they never caught the forces behind it.
Without a clear culprit, they just wrapped things up vaguely.
Back then, their goal was also to cause chaos in the Empire.
Though Ian and the other heroines thwarted their plans, it was clear.
“Ugh…”
“Ah, I feel sick.”
The volunteers, supported by Arcane, were transported to the city of Berit, where the second defensive line was located.
It was my first time using a teleportation circle, and it felt strange, but it was better than those who ended up sprawled on the ground.
“Oh, my friend, it’s your first time, but you seem fine?”
“Is it always like this…?”
“For you, it’s pretty good. I almost shit myself.”
It was a truth I didn’t want to know.
Well, from what Gray said, I seemed to be an exception.
We pulled ourselves together and headed straight to Count Glvetan, the lord of Berit.
After a brief greeting, he briefed us on the current situation and what needed to be done.
We were offered a meal, but given the circumstances, it was hard to eat.
“Wow, I’ve never had food like this before! Is this a specialty of the eastern region?”
Of course, Gray was an exception.
‘The citizens didn’t look too good. Probably because the first defensive line was breached.’
Plus, the surrounding villages had evacuated here under orders, so the atmosphere was tense.
After the meal at the lord’s estate, the students scattered to find lodging before the upcoming assembly.
“Where was it that Isabel was staying?”
There’s a saying, isn’t there?
If you want to survive, choose your allies wisely.
That’s why I wanted to stay at the same inn as her.
We had things to discuss, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a familiar face.
‘Was it here?’
While Gray and I were searching the city for the inn, a wooden plank suddenly shattered, and a bloodied man flew through the air.
“These bastards are really driving me crazy. Why do they keep pestering me?”
That temper, that voice.
Even if I heard it while rolling on the ground, I’d know it was Isabel.
“Isabel, senior!”
I waved and approached her.
“You, why are you here…”
She seemed surprised to see me.
“Arcane was recruiting volunteers. So I signed up.”
“Haha, I see… Wait, no. Hold on a second!”
***
She suddenly ran up the stairs and came back down after a while, looking a bit cleaner.
It seemed she had gone up to wash off the blood and dirt.
“You came all the way here?”
“Yeah, they were recruiting, so I joined.”
“Sigh… Why would you come to a place like this…”
“More importantly, how did things get this bad? I heard it was because of Capina.”
“Yeah, that damn powder caused all this.”
We ate while listening to her story.
Things were fine for the first few days after she arrived.
But after a week, the soldiers, who were supposed to follow protocol, started acting strangely.
Instead of confirming the approaching beasts and organizing teams, they recklessly charged off the walls or activated the defensive magic circles indiscriminately.
She mentioned many other incidents, but it would take too long to list them all.
‘The more I hear, the more amazing it is that she survived.’
If she hadn’t been on the front lines.
If the first defensive line had been breached without her, there wouldn’t have been time to regroup.
The area would have become a hellscape, overrun by beasts spreading into civilian areas.
Beasts are like that. A dire threat to ordinary people.
A level 5 beast might be manageable, but level 4 or 3?
They’re a disaster.
“The knight order is coming to help with the extermination,” I said.
“Huh? Those muscle-headed idiots are coming?”
Isabel muttered under her breath, calling them brainless muscleheads.
Watching her, I realized she wasn’t exactly objective about herself.
“Is this what they call self-loathing?”
Anyway, it was good news.
Because the more of them came, the less I’d have to do.