Elorin continued to battle as though nothing had happened, brandishing a machete no different from his grandfather's. Even as he battled, his lips moved almost imperceptibly, but it seemed that even the youths right by his side that continued to fall to the strikes of the enemies or even the soldiers that fell to his blade couldn't hear a single word he was saying.
…
Not far from Elorin, there was another familiar group of youths. But, these few were so ragged and beaten that even with his senses, Leonel might not recognize them at all.
Among them, there was Roaring Black Lion, Seer, Falling Leaf, Thunderous Clap and many more. By now, though, they hardly looked like themselves.
Roaring Black Lion had deep gashes through his blackened body. His lion's roar continuously rocked the battlefield, debuffing their enemies and strengthening his squad. But, every time he bellowed, ignoring his injuries, blood would fly from the bloody gashed tracing along his enormous body.
Chasing Wind and Flowing Wind, two opposite sides of the same coin, did their best to protect him alongside Thunderous Clap. They knew well that if not for Roaring Black Lion helping to level the playing field, they would have fallen long ago.
"Hoho, are these the geniuses of Earth? I've heard so many great things about you all, but to think you'd be put in such a pitiful position against a mere few foot soldiers."
Raynred's voice drifted into the ears of the youths.
Without having to worry about Hutch, crossing the battlefield to reach this point had been almost too easy. Raynred curiously eyed the youths on their last legs, his eyes no different from a predator eyeing his prey.
Jilniya and Wilas had gone off to other sections of the battlefield already, so he felt quite happy that he had this place to himself.
"Tell me, have you heard of a talent by the name of Aina Brazinger? Where is she? If you answer in a timely fashion, I won't mind taking you in as servants. After all, once Earth is conquered, we'll need quite a few sows and studs so I can't possibly kill you all, right?"
Raynred's eyes scanned over Chasing Wind and Flowing Wind, his eyes especially locked onto Flowing Wind's scantily clad body. He had to say, this fiery young lady truly knew how to entice a man.
Though they still wore their masks, Raynred believed in his intuition. This was definitely a beauty.
Not a single person answered Raynred, their steely gazes locked onto him like ravenous wolves. They had never heard of this Aina Brazinger before, but even if they had, they wouldn't sell her out to this piece of shit.
"Not answering?" Raynred's voice gained a tinge of murderous intent.
The sudden change to his aura made the battlefield freeze over. The soldiers of Terrain had long since known to stop attacking so as to let their Young Heir have his fun, but even they couldn't help but shiver.
Raynred's strength was undeniable regardless of his character flaws. His rage alone seemed to slow the Force in the region to a crawl.
However, the youths remained silent, their jaws clenched.
"Hohoho…" Raynred chuckled.
Just when it seemed that Raynred would have to take action, a woman's voice called out anxiously.
"We… We've never heard of her, I swear…! Please don't hurt me, I'll be a servant!"
The nervous, chattering of the voice cut through whatever momentum and solidarity the youthful group had.
Numerous gazes snapped over to the one who had been responsible for making them all seem so weak, only to find another familiar face on the end of it all: Pisces.
Looks of disgust colored Roaring Black Lion and the others' faces.
A few months ago, they got word that Leonel had defected from the Slayer Legion and was now a wanted criminal by their ranks. He even appeared alongside several Ascension Empire officials they were previously tasked to kill.
When they found out the reason that he ended up being chased away, they learned that one of their Supremes had asked him to hand in a treasure of his. This all left them baffled because they were certain that the Supreme had never personally laid eyes on the treasure because not only was Leonel not a part of their district, but he had also only recently joined their Legion to begin with.
Leonel had only been able to participate in two events, one of which was a tournament and the second of which was Project Hunt. Since he hadn't used the dictionary during the tournament and had only brought it out to save their lives on the Island, that could only mean that it was someone who told the Supreme about his treasure.
After reaching this point, they ran into a dead end. There were dozens of them who had survived, finding out which one it had been was almost impossible. But…
Among the group of surviving youths, there was a young man with a deduction ability. According to his calculations, there was a 97% chance that the traitor who divulged Leonel's secrets was none other than this Pisces right before them.
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it. They couldn't reprimand a Supreme with their standing… The best they could do was ostracize Pisces and make their displeasure known.
But, who would have known that it would come back to bite them? Pisces was among the most powerful on this battlefield due to her water-related abilities, but she hardly raised a finger to protect anyone but herself. Her selfishness caused their casualties to be far beyond what they should have been.
And now, she was betraying them all again. Even if they didn't know who this Aina was, they felt it was a matter of principle and Pisces had spit in the face of it again.
"Oh?" Raynred tilted his head, curiously observing Pisces. Seeing that her figure was also enticing, he couldn't help but lick his lips.
"Come over here."
Pisces trembled, but eventually moved forward, allowing her chin to be caressed and her mask to be slowly removed.
"Ah, a beauty indeed." Raynred grinned, lightly playing with Pisces' blue hair.
"You don't know an Aina, huh?"
"N… No… I've really never heard of her, she isn't one of us."
As she spoke, Pisces became more determined and firm, allowing Raynred to do as he pleased and even inviting him to do more.
Pisces was just a small talent. She didn't know the truth behind the Slayer Legion so she had no idea The Empire was on their side. All she saw was a devastating losing battle being fought against a world many times more powerful than them. She had no intention of going down with the ship.
"Mm." Raynred dragged a finger along Pisces exposed collarbone. "If not her, have you heard of a certain Leonel Morales?"
Pisces and the others froze. Originally, Leonel had used the name Indomitable. But, in order to make them trust him more and allow things to go more smoothly, he had both removed his mask and exposed his name to them.
Pisces' lip curled into a sweet smile. "Yes. Yes I have heard of him."
"YOU --!"
The pent up rage everyone had for Pisces' actions boiled over. But, before Roaring Black Lion could even finish his words, his throat gurgled, filling up with blood.
He looked down toward his broad chest, laying eyes on the bloody hole that appeared where his heart should have been.
Flowing Wind shrieked as the others watched on with wide eyes.
Roaring Black Lion fell into the waters.. Dead.