Justan, the 10-man Commander of the Ferrius soldiers, was pondering about his choice while tying the planks with a rope.
Many of the northern countries had power, but among them, the Ferrius Kingdom should have been a country sufficient to aim for hegemony, with the Principality of Myard, which inherited half the territory of the Kanoa Kingdom. That dream was destroyed by the loss of the heads of the field army, including Winston Ferrius, the younger brother of King Ferrius, in the decisive battle of Aidenberg with the Highserk Empire.
After that, the Four-Countries Alliance was gathered and the Highserk Empire army was pushed back, but it was defeated at Sarajevo Fortress. In addition, the plan to burn the forest at the outer edge of Myrad had caused a great outbreak and the monsters even reached Ferrius Kingdom. Now, well over 100,000 monsters had attacked the royal castle, which was the core of the country, and the fall was only a matter of time. Justan was a patriotic soldier which belonged to one of the guards who supported the security of the royal castle, and had a lot of experience in his work. That was why he realized that things were coming to an end.
Only death came picking up the guards and them fighting until the end was repeated, and no decent order was given. The King, who must boost morale, hadn’t even shown up in front of the people and corps since the runaway. Justan was prepared to give up his life for the sake of the country. Still, even if he knew the country was over, his determination hadn’t completely collapsed yet. Justan took action despite the situation. One thing was sure, Evacuation by land had been reaching its limit.
A city was often built near a river. The royal capital was no exception. A vast canal that could accommodate large ships was connected to Lake Celta. There was no way the people didn’t use it. The problem was that all riverboats had been departed from the port, not even barges and fishing boats were left in the royal capital. Justan aimed at one of the hidden ferryboats known only to the guards.
It had a stockpile of food and had a capacity of over 30 people. There were decent escorts at the dock camouflaged as a pier and fisherman’s hut, but they were friends to escape together with Justan. Those who were reluctant had to choose whether to escape together or die in the monster’s fangs. It was fortunate for Justan that no one gave him further trouble.
“I’m sorry, I made you wait!!”
It was one of Justan’s subordinates who was out of breath and jumped into the hut. He should have been away to pick up his wife, two children, and parents at home, but Justan found out that the number wasn’t correct.
“What happened to your parents?”
“Werewolves got them…”
“I see… I’m sorry to hear that. Have the monsters already entered the city?”
“Evacuation was too late… The walls were completely wrecked, and monsters were smashing through the doors of private houses.”
Even now, the screams of monsters and the screams of the citizens were mixed, and the frenzy was started to approach the dock.
Those who gathered were soldiers, their families, and their neighbors. Even if they were to force themselves in, the ferryboat wouldn’t be able to carry them all, so the soldiers dismantled the planks of the pier and the unmanned private house, and made a temporary barge. Although the strength and firmness remained uncertain, Justan and the others had to hurry to leave the port.
It wasn’t just monsters. Humans in an emergency would do anything to save themselves. That was even the case with Justan, who had decided to be loyal to the country, but was now on the verge of leaving his beloved country behind.
“Float the barge. We need to move soon.”
It was an emergency barge, but it properly floating on the surface of the water with luggage and people. The ferryboat was moving away from the camouflaged dock into the canal.
Together with the barge which was tied by the rope, it left the land route. Within minutes, the ferryboat reached people’s eyes.
“It’s a ship. There’s a ship!!”
“Oi, let me join too!!”
“Wait! Please!!”
“I’ve children. I have children, Please!!”
The opposite bank was filled with people seeking salvation, and it swelled to several times its capacity. It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen if the ship approached them. Everyone on the ship and barge turned their eyes away and didn’t speak about it.
“…tch. Keep moving forward and aim for Lake Celta.”
A clear order. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was Justan who came up with the idea of abandoning the citizens he must protect and running away.
It wasn’t a miracle that was drawn to the cry of the people, but destruction. The monster that welcomed the fresh meat with delight began to tear the flesh apart.
Sobbing, screaming, cursing, people tried to swim across the canal, but they ran out of breath and sunk.
A few minutes later, only the sobbing sounds in the ship could be heard. The sound from the bank had slowly disappeared.
Justin didn’t know if it was because of the distance or because there were no humans left.
◆
“Damn it. hold back, hold them baaAAACCKK!!! Don’t let them break in.”
“Uh, Ughh, urggh!!”
The sound of scraping and tapping the door echoed in the room. Even after seeing the people gathered for asylum, King Ferrius still couldn’t accept the reality.
His reason understood what situation he was in now. He had the opportunity to hear the folklore and the report of living witnesses about the dangers of the Demon Territory. He had also read the history books of the once-destroyed country.
Still, he agreed to ignite this outbreak and chose revenge on the Highserk Empire he hated so much for killing his younger brother.
As a King, he might be described as a stupid king who destroyed the country, giving priority to personal grudges, which might not even be worth being called third-rate moreover second-rate King.
And he noticed it there. Even if such a thing was written, it must be in a book of another country, not a history book of Ferrius.
“No. I don’t want to be eaten by monsters!! NOOO!!”
A big man got upset and closed his ears. A girl under the age of 10 was crying with her now dry voice.
“Maybe I didn’t see the people properly. Was the number in the report always so terrible?”
He just left the battle work to his younger brother, and even when he went out to the few battlefields, he just watched the battle from a long distance.
He wasn’t a good candidate for a king in the first place. Had his younger brother been born first, the fate of the country would have been different.
A suckling child cried for her mother, and a seriously injured soldier sobbed. This was the end of the country that was destroyed by monsters, not humans.
“Aaa, AAAAHHH, the door is breaking, it’s gonna break!!”
“Anyone, please help to push them back.”
The beaten door reached its limit and blew off.
“Ferrius, FOREVEERRI!!”
A few guards jumped into the sea of demons, and slashed their swords as hard as they can, but only could delay a few seconds of the invasion.
The gate had been opened, the claws were raised, and the hungry monsters flooded into the room.
“H-help”
“Go away, No. NOOOO, oargh, aa…”
The limbs were torn, the torso was crushed, and so the beloved citizens became food to the monsters. Massacres also occurred on the battlefield. Still, the complete annihilation including girls and children didn’t occur there.
As expected, monsters shouldn’t be brought into the human war. A shadow was approaching the repenting King Ferrius. There was a warm sensation and odor in his hands. It was the ghoul of the guards who died in the war.
“K-k-k-k, king, KiiIINNNGGG!!”
“You’ve become a demon in this short period of time huh, well, this isn’t the Ferrius Kingdom anymore, it’s a Demon Territory.”
King Ferrius didn’t even have the energy to pull out the short sword at his waist, and no guards left. There were only former guards who had turned into demons.
He ever heard stories of skeletons who were still loyal to his country even in death, but at least the ghoul in front of him was different from that story. King Ferrius ridiculed himself as he realized that he wasn’t that worthy to get the loyalty of his citizens after their death.
As death was approaching, King Ferrius also realized that no one would take care of his corpse after he died. Saliva mixed with blood fell on the face.
“I’ll be waiting for you first. HIGHSEEERRRKK!!!”
The words King Ferrius shouted in front of the death door weren’t family members or his country, but cursed words to his enemy. He understood how much of a rotten human being he was. As the demon’s jaw approached his eyes, his sight dimmed with intolerable pain.
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