And then, a few days quickly passed. A funeral was held in the cemetery on the west side of the city. The choir sang, the citizens wept, and cannons fired into the sky… Two new graves received empty coffins. The announced casualties were two. Zenis. And Mikhail. Mikhail had been declared a casualty at his…

A pale mist emerged from the body of the fallen Scarecrow Legion Commander. Soon after, the mist seeped into the bodies of the heroes and soldiers who had been drained of their strength. It was the force being expelled upon his death. Those who regained their strength showed a variety of reactions. Some rejoiced, some…

Damien’s sniper fire surged towards the Scarecrow Legion Commander. The Scarecrow Legion Commander tried desperately to dodge, but it was futile. Damien’s sniping was dead accurate. Dodging was impossible! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk-! “Argh…?!” The Scarecrow Legion Commander groaned in pain as he was repeatedly hit by the magic bullet sniping. The Scarecrow Legion Commander, ‘The…

Elementalists, being able to blend with nature, could move more stealthily than any other magic class. Thus, it took the Scarecrow Legion Commander a while to realize that the hostages had vanished. “Huh?” As the Scarecrow Legion Commander, feeling his empty chest, turned his eyes in haste, Mikhail and Hannibal — two boys — were…

“Here, I’ll take care of these minions with the soldiers.” I commanded Lucas. “You take the elite heroes… and rescue Mikhail.” Without the heroes, it would be tough for just the soldiers to handle these hundreds of scarecrows, and the heroes, on their own, would find it difficult to confront the legion commander who had…

Flash-! Lightning flashed inside the forward base. Licking my parched lips, I waited and then yelled, “Now! Everyone, charge-!” Swoosh! Lucas, leading the way with Torkel, Nobody, and Chain in the vanguard, dashed forward, followed closely by me, Dearmudin, Hannibal, and thirty soldiers. “Gah?!” “Let go, you monster bastards!” “Break free! Everyone, snap out of…

As Zenis was preparing to be deployed according to the plan, a young boy’s voice reached him. “Um… over there!” When Zenis turned around, it was Hannibal. The tousle-haired boy stood a few steps away from Zenis, unsure of what to do, fidgeting. “…” Zenis too seemed at a loss for words. An awkward silence…

“Knowing when to efficiently give up is also a virtue of a king, Prince Ash. Pursuing ideals blindly is nothing but obstinacy and arrogance.” “…” “The world calls a leader who can find a good compromise between ideals and reality a wise ruler. If not, they’re nothing but a tyrant.” Dearmudin, who had repeated the…

Bang! Bang! Boom! The Scarecrow Legion Commander, having taken to the air, unleashes a ferocious attack on us. With every swing of his sword, crimson magic power explodes, and our heroes cough up blood, rolling on the ground. He is using the Mikhail’s power, which he kidnapped and now wears on his chest. And Mikhail…

Flash! Right after we breached the forward base through the teleport gate. “Shh!” “Eh?!” “Keep quiet!” Myself and the heroes’ party, the ‘Uncles,’ immediately silenced ourselves and crouched low, taking cover against the wall. “…Damn it.” Surveying our surroundings, I let out a curse under my breath. Creak, creak, creak… The forward base had already…