Published at 5th of August 2023 4:47 pm

Volume 13, Chapter 1 – King of Lies, Part 3

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Everything had an end.

It was irresistible. Every moment brought change: in the case of living creatures, their lifespan shortened; in the case of the sky, the weather changed; and in the case of the ground, the landscape changed over time.

The once-green plains were no exception, and the bodies of many soldiers and monsters were scattered amidst the red hue.

Even at the time when the setting sun dominated the horizon, the monsters and humans clashed on the plains, which were overflowing with a large number of corpses.

The humans had more dead bodies than the monsters.

However, it was obvious which side had the upper hand and which side had the lower hand.

The allied forces led by the “Raven Army,” which had received a large number of reinforcements, were on the offensive, a complete change from the morning, with the help of the Grantz elite soldiers.

The crumbling front line had been restored, and their morale was rising as they succeeded in pushing up the front. Everyone thought that with this kind of momentum, it would be easy to destroy the monsters, but as long as they were human, there would always be a limit to their physical strength, and if they persisted, they would be swept away.

In that case, the key to success would be to make the best of the situation, and the current leader of the Grantz Army was the red-haired princess. Having been through numerous battlegrounds, there was no way she would make the wrong decision.

“I think we can call it a victory for now.”

A white-haired woman with animal ears sprouting from her head muttered.

She was half long-eared race and half beastman, and her name was Meteor.

There were many monsters lying around Meteor. All of them seemed to have been pierced with a single stab to the vital point, and that alone was a good indication of her strength.

A boy lying in the mass of corpses――Hiro, who had been looking up at the sky, turned his gaze only to her.

“When the Grantz forces attacked side by side, victory was assured. For monsters that can’t even coordinate, I think they held their own pretty well.”

“You seem to understand the flow of the battlefield well… why didn’t you do the same? It would have been easier with your ‘eye.'”

Meteor patted Hiro lightly on the head and sat down next to him, letting out a deep sigh as if exhausted.

“I wonder. Even if I can see it with my ‘eye,’ it’s hard to do.”

“You haven’t recovered from your habit of misrepresenting what you say. I’m glad to see you’re still the same.”

“You were the one who never told me that you were a Cerberus until now… I thought for sure that I――”

As if to interrupt the rest of the speech, Meteor smiled bitterly and patted Hiro’s head.

“I died. I really was dead at that moment. I never thought I’d see your back again like this.”

Meteor narrowed her eyes and looked at Liz, who continued to fight on the front lines.

“She’s gotten stronger. She’s strong enough that you can rest easy.”

“Yes, indeed. But something is still missing.”

When Hiro said this, Meteor snarled like a student who had been given a difficult task.

“…..That’s…”

The words didn’t continue, and Meteor’s weak voice was drowned out by the winds of war.

“Judging by her demeanor, I’d say you explained it to her.”

“She didn’t seem convinced. She said she would find another way.”

“I see… I knew it…”

When Hiro moved with a melancholy expression on his face, Meteor immediately reached out and grabbed him by the neck, pulling him to her knees.

“If you move, I’ll break your neck.”

“You’re still acting as extreme as ever.”

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from.”

Meteor laughed, her shoulders drooping a little, and the animal ears on her head went down.

“I have something to apologize for. I was unable to save the fourth princess shrine maiden.”

“Do not be downhearted. At the time of her defeat, she would have committed suicide even if she had been captured. No one can stop those who are willing to walk to their own death, you know.”

Meteor tried to speak to Hiro, who muttered with a distant look in his eyes but was unable to make a sound as Hiro immediately repeated his words.

“There will be no confusion in the small country of Baum. I’ve already taken care of it.”

“What?”

“I have appointed a new Princess Shrine Maiden. The disappearance of the fourth Princess Shrine Maiden, Stryer, originally caused a bit of a stir.”

Meteor’s eyes widened in surprise, but after thinking about it for a moment, she was convinced that Hiro could have read ahead. Then she thought that he must have been looking for the possibility that the fourth princess shrine maiden would still be alive.

“Can this person be trusted?”

Meteor asked, and Hiro looked directly at her.

“Of course, it’s you, after all.”

“What do you mean?”

“It had to be someone who could convince the small country of Baum. You, Meteor, were the right person for the job. When I told them that the ‘Spirit King’ had resurrected you from the past to be the next Princess Shrine Maiden, they were convinced.”

The people of Baum were weak when the name “Spirit King” was mentioned. However, if it were an ordinary person without a title, they would have taken it in stride. But when it was the Black Dragon King who told them, they had no choice but to believe him. The name “Five Great Heavenly Kings” was so heavy that it was the equivalent of a “god” to people.

Looking at Meteor holding her head, nostalgia washed over Hiro’s face.

“It was what Rey wanted.”

When he mentioned that name, Meteor’s eyes widened even more than before.

“She strongly recommended you for the second princess shrine maiden. Although your death in the Great War a thousand years ago made that impossible…”

“I am not qualified for such a position…”

Meteor had a complicated expression on her face as if she was torn between two emotions: the guilt of having disappointed the expectations of the first princess shrine maiden and the pressure of being newly appointed as a princess shrine maiden.

“That’s not true. You were qualified.”

“What?”

“Unfang Forest―did you ever wonder why they let you into the sanctuary?”

When Hiro was summoned back, Cerberus was with Liz in the Unfang Forest.

She was able to enter an area that only the Grantz family was allowed to enter.

“So you don’t have to worry about that. The role of Princess Shrine Maiden has simply been entrusted to the rightful owner.”

Since then, Hiro has been unable to sense the presence of the “Spirit King,” so perhaps it was a state that anyone could enter. However, it was true that the first princess shrine maiden had appointed Meteor as her successor. In his heart, Hiro apologized to Meteor for lying.

“Mmm… Just stop hitting me for now.”

Blood splattered behind Meteor as she swung her arm.

The monster took the opportunity to jump on her. But it was cut to pieces by Meteor and sank to the ground.

The wave of monsters around them was coming to an end. Even on the front lines, the monsters had been defeated by the momentum of the Grantz Elite and began to flee, turning their backs on each other.

“I’ll never forget how you made me work extra hard.”

“You kept your true identity a secret, and I’m punishing you for it.”

“You won’t forgive me?”

“No… I’m just glad you’re alive.”

Hiro’s voice seemed to gently embrace her. It was not necessary to ask him back to understand what he was really thinking. Meteor’s tail wagged with pleasure.

“Come to think of it… I won’t hit you, but I don’t know about Liz-sama.”

After grabbing Hiro’s head, Meteor began walking across the battlefield.

The direction indicated by the tip of her foot was where Liz would be.

＊＊＊＊＊

“Were you able to endure it somehow…?”

A tall man with purple skin thrust his greatsword into the ground, gasping for breath.

Sweat was pouring out of his entire body, and his face was also covered in a pool of sweat, but he did not wipe it off.

It was useless to wipe the sweat off his face now.

Therefore, he did not show any signs of concern and kept his sharp eyes on the people around him.

“The battle will continue after tomorrow… and it can’t get any harder.”

The elite soldiers of the Grantz joined forces and were able to close the gap in numbers.

However, the fatigue of the allied forces that have been fighting for so long has not been eliminated.

If there was an element of uneasiness in future battles, it was the fatigue that had built up among the soldiers.

“There is a strong possibility that the soldiers will be useless in future battles due to exhaustion.”

Ghada, who had been catching his breath for a while, heard an angry voice from the right and looked in that direction with a grim expression on his face as he picked up his weapon.

“Let me go, Hugin. I have to kill him.”

“If Anee-san leaves, the line here will collapse.

Luca was pinned down by Hugin nearby.

“But I won’t be satisfied until I hit him with the Vajra, even if it’s only once.”

“I won’t stop you later, so hit him as hard as you want.”

Since the contract with Hiro had been terminated, she had been screaming that she would kill him.

Ghada, who had a headache, held his forehead and called Munin.

“Carry the wounded to the rear; they will only die in vain if you push them too hard.”

“Understood. I will give the order immediately.”

“Then we’ll form up. Once we push the monsters back, we will retreat to the rear. We will repeat this until the enemy’s battle line is broken.”

“Huh, isn’t this going to end already?”

“Sure. Under normal circumstances, it would not be surprising if the enemy started retreating as well…”

As the sun sank below the horizon, Ghada squinted.

“Unlike humans, many monsters have good night vision. It’s just a precaution.”

“I understand.”

Munin nodded strongly, kicked his horse’s belly, and ran out of the battlefield.

After seeing him off, Ghada took a deep breath and let it out in one gulp.

Then, with the blade of his great sword over his shoulder, he hurried back to the battlefield.

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