Chapter 210

Chapter 210 - Acran Temple

Eugene's army penetrated the city like a hot knife through butter.

"They are clearly guys with usable physicals, but..."

"Their armament is too terrible. Isn't it even worse than a country bumpkin who just came up from the countryside?"

When a Hammer Brotherhood warrior thrust the spear he held with both hands, the shield woven with vines was penetrated just like that.

Although it was sufficient to block things like stone axes and absorb the impact, it was powerless in front of a steel blade.

Conversely, no weapon the Rakshas used could properly inflict a blow on the armor on this side. To the point that even obsidian, the best weapon, was blocked by the armor and shattered instead.

"Hearing they grasped hegemony in that wicked jungle, I assumed they were quite the tough guys."

"I even wondered if there were warriors like Miss Homi."

It is Eugene's army that suffered in breaking through the jungle despite being equipped with thorough preparation and supplies.

Because of that, apart from Eugene's warning, they didn't look down on the Rakshas. Because everyone was highly evaluating their capability of becoming the ruling faction in this kind of environment.

However, the teeth of steel refined through a long history was exactly what was scarier than the malice of the jungle.

Since the enemies lacked iron equipment, Eugene's army had sharpened their blades even sharper than usual.

Thanks to that, the steel swords carved the enemies' weapons like snacks, and sliced their shields and limbs like pieces of fish.

"■■■!"

From the Rakshas' perspective, it was truly an army of demons.

"Rotate the 2nd and 3rd lines!"

"Send the injured to the rear. Do not ignore even abrasions!"

From the moment Eugene's army entered Acran, the jungle or open grounds ended. The battle flowed centered around quite wide roads and urban warfare.

In this kind of situation, combat power per unit area is important. Eugene's army, superior in equipment and weapon skills, is overwhelming the entire area.

When passing by a place similar to a colosseum, the Dwarves halted.

"It's a male! Catch him!"

The Dwarven warriors chased after a fleeing fox-human of slender build.

In Raksha society, the number of men is very small and they are fragile. Therefore, they were protected with utmost sincerity. Even while getting completely smashed by Eugene's army, they at least tried to somehow let the men escape.

If they can only be captured, they are very useful as bait to lure.

"It's a reward if you catch him!"

"Hold on! Hold on! The formation is in disorder!"

"We won't even flinch even if we get hit without shields anyway, so what's the worry?"

There was a reason why the strictly disciplined Dwarven warriors were somewhat overdoing it.

Because through the experience accumulated from the battles so far, they had accurately grasped the difference in combat power between both sides.

Since most Rakshas use blunt weapons, the possibility of suffering a fatal injury from a blind arrow or spear shaft is also low.

"Playing it safe is good too, but sometimes there is a need to step forward boldly!"

"Spanking the male's butt is the best for dragging out the bastards hiding."

What welcomed the charging Dwarves like that were wolves running with their teeth bared.

This place, where they once watched sports and martial arts, had transformed into a place where the Rakshas raised beasts.

"Kyareureureu!"

If the mount position is taken away by wolves easily exceeding 50kg, armor or whatever is finished.

"O-Our retreat..."

"It's too late! Back to back!"

The Dwarves hurriedly put their respective backs together in groups of 3.

Usually, in this kind of situation, putting backs together in groups of 2 is the basics. However, thanks to their unique body type, Dwarves can form a much sturdier temporary square formation by putting their backs together in groups of 3.

The 2-person teams that don't match pairs are the share of experienced veteran soldiers. Since that's why they receive more respect and annual salary normally.

"Come in here, you sons of bitches!"

As they aimed their sharply whetted spear blades, the wolves also couldn't pounce hastily and circled the surroundings.

However, a situation where several times the number of wolves surrounded the Dwarves. The moment they make a wrong move, they are on the verge of being pounced on from all directions.

Moreover, the location was bad. Due to the low walls or stone statues the wolves could step on, three-dimensional attacks from above were possible.

"Damn it!"

A slight carelessness arose from having continued to win overwhelmingly until now. Numerous teeth approached the Dwarves who were biting their lips and regretting.

They somehow held out relying on shields, spears, and armor, but wounds increased on the Dwarves' bodies one by one.

"■■■!"

Even the Rakshas holding whips and javelins started running over from over there, so their nervousness doubled.

"Uaak!"

The moment a young Dwarf whose concentration was distracted was about to be bitten on the ankle and dragged away.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Keureureu!"

Along with the sound of fierce barking from behind the Dwarves, military dogs charged in.

"Kyareureureu!"

The wolves also welcomed them, baring their fangs as if it was laughable.

When the Rakshas exterminated the humans in this region, the wolves also had the experience of deliciously devouring the dogs raised by humans.

Kudang!

Kwadangtang!

The military dogs and wolves running at top speed collided on the ground and in mid-air and tumbled about noisily.

"Oh my god."

Wandering from battlefield to battlefield, the Dwarves had seen cavalry units aiming spears at each other and ramming into each other many times.

However, for a pack of wolves and a pack of military dogs to group fight and counter-charge. Unprecedented a rare sight, their bodies stiffened for a moment.

"Awoooo-!"

"Bark bark bark!"

Howls loyal to each other's civilizations echoed in the urban area like a chorus.

Anger, passion, tenacity, loyalty.

The beasts' fighting spirit, similar to the emotions humans harbor on the battlefield but dyed in much simpler and honest colors.

The wolves howled with devotion to the Rakshas, and the military dogs howled with devotion to Eugene's army.

"What are you doing?! Not helping quickly! You bastards worse than dogs!"

The Dwarven decurion who came to his senses first bellowed at his subordinates.

"N-No, Commander, your words are too harsh..."

"Those dogs risked their lives to run over and headbutt to save us! Aren't you going to move briskly?!"

"..."

Honestly, they had nothing to say to the decurion's words.

However, the fight of the wolf unit VS the military dog unit was flowing in a direction where the military dog unit was overwhelmingly winning.

The military dogs mobilized for this operation were of the Wolfhound lineage. They are large dogs bred and improved to be able to fight with beasts in ranch defense and hunting.

With an average weight of over 60kg, they are ahead of the wolves starting from their weight class.

Hearing only the sound of dogs barking from behind the Dwarves, the wolves, thinking they were about the level of wild dogs they had hunted so far, were flustered.

"Eureureureu!"

When a military dog looking like a Sapsali bit a wolf's neck and shook it wildly, drops of blood poured onto the ground.

"Kkiiing! Kkiing!"

As it let out a miserable groan unbefitting a beast, another wolf nearby ran over to help.

Chomp!

It forcefully bit the neck of the military dog that revealed an opening while attacking its comrade.

"Kkaegaeng!"

And then, the side of the wolf that bit into it screamed. The cause was the steel spiked collar wrapped around the military dog's neck.

The wolf's bite force returned as reflection damage exactly as it is and punched a tunnel through its tongue, jaw, and the roof of its mouth.

"Kkaeng!"

"Kkeueung!"

Screams of wolves experiencing the exact same situation erupted from all directions. Furthermore, the military dogs were even wearing stab-proof vests, so biting elsewhere was also meaningless.

"Woof woof!"

"Eureureung!"

Trained military dogs are smart. Knowing they are immune to the wolves' attacks, they became extremely excited. Without even caring about minimum defense, they charged in like mad dogs.

Biting the wolves with a 'Bite me if you will!' attitude whether vitals were exposed or not, the fight simply couldn't be established.

"Oh my, our beauties."

"When we return, I'll empty my salary and let you eat entirely meat!"

"I'll let you drink beer too! Our little pups have never been drunk, right?"

As the Dwarves also joined in and swung their spears and swords, the wolves died off in an instant.

"■■■ ■■?!"

The Raksha tamers made blank expressions at the sight of the wolf pack, which had presented them with consecutive victories in wilderness battles until now, being massacred.

Buuuung!

Soon tracking the wolves becoming corpses by the throwing axes that flew straight at their faces.

* * *

"The number of the bastards is fewer than I thought."

Eugene licked his lips while compiling the victory reports coming from all directions.

From the Acran entrance slave market to reaching the center of the city, they had struck down countless warriors.

There is also the fact that it became a society where non-combatants increased as it reached the level of a minor kingdom rather than a small-scale tribe.

However, even considering those, the army's scale falls short of Eugene's expectations.

"Couldn't it be an internal strife?"

"A Beast-man boss reaching 40 years old is considered to have lived a long life. If it's this scale, there's also the possibility she was stabbed in the back by the 2nd-in-command or 3rd-in-command."

The subordinates' opinions also made sense.

When a large-scale cluster occurs in the wild, the biggest cause of its disbandment is not subjugation by a civilized army. There were extremely many cases where internal strife broke out among themselves and they scattered.

If that wasn't the case, human civilization would have needed a much longer time to reach the development like now.

Due to the characteristic of barbarism where the strong one becomes the boss, one must take the lead in hunting or various battles and show dignity. If one suffers a deep injury there, that is the end of it.

Because in the wild, there are far more bastards bearing their fangs than bastards devotedly nursing a weakened boss.

"It might be the case in an ordinary situation, but not this time."

Entering deep into Acran, Eugene was slowly feeling the aura of mystery.

"The Great Chieftain will definitely be a champion. Damn it, if Sir Marbas were here at a time like this, it would be a huge help."

Even if one puts on muscles through endless training, rotting inside in the face of time is unavoidable. Marbas caught a really terrible cold and couldn't join the army.

"Could it perhaps be that she offered her own tribe members as sacrifices? If it's that, it makes sense."

"Ey. Say something that makes sense. It's not like those bastards are monsters."

Rakshas or Small-men commit cannibalism and of course eat other races, but they at least don't eat those of the same tribe.

The sort that devours even the same tribe without hesitation are the tribes belonging to the ranks of monsters like orcs or goblins.

"Maybe that might be the case."

"Pardon?"

At the sight of Eugene accepting it seriously, the subordinates stared.

"Since faith towards a god can invoke any kind of madness."

In the meantime, another victory report flew in. It's the news that they subjugated all of the Rakshas' hidden weapon, the Beast Caster and the beasts under her command.

Eugene confirmed seeing a temple visible from afar that exists in the deep layer of Acran.

"The Great Chieftain Saint Picard is over there."

Sasha said with a trembling voice while holding onto Eugene's arm.

The Great Chieftain Saint Picard, like Sasha, speaks the human language of the old continent.

Because the god she serves, having become a champion, delivers oracles with a human voice.

Therefore, Saint Picard, desiring the grace of the god, learned the human language even more proficiently than Sasha.

"Original name is Picard. But saying she became the apostle of the god, she attached Saint."

"She seems truly quite devout."

A hollow laugh came out from Eugene at the story that mere Beast-men called themselves saints and even changed their names.

"The Great Chieftain also learned language from captive humans. But forbade other Rakshas from learning."

"Why?"

"God's love. Saying she monopolizes it. She has a lot of jealousy."

"So that's why you fled."

Sasha nodded her head.

"Anyway, there are no Rakshas who learn human language. Dare to? So the Great Chieftain also didn't control it at first. So I also didn't know she would get so angry..."

Saint Picard belatedly realized that Sasha smuggled out a prisoner and learned the language out of her desire for farming.

Thinking about the anger and murderous intent the Great Chieftain showed back then, Sasha still got goosebumps and trembled shivering even now.

* * *

The gateway heading to the temple was guarded by the most powerful Raksha unit up to now.

"Priest robes?"

The figure wearing the attire of priests that doesn't even suit them in the way of the old continent.

The ultimate elites attending only to the Great Chieftain Saint Picard's commands. The tribe members who followed her since she was the leader of an insignificant small tribe.

Eugene's subordinates, who had been advancing with crushing momentum, hesitated at least here.

"Aren't these guys caught in a disease?"

"C-Could it perhaps be leprosy or something."

Unlike other Rakshas boasting abundant fox fur, these guardians have almost all their fur fallen out.

Gray skin was completely exposed, and there were many wrinkled areas. Red veins protruded to the point of outright growing out of the skin like vines.

Toes that weren't much different from human ones were also altered to be similar to a bird of prey's rather than a mammal's.

"No. It is corruption caused by demonic nature."

Eugene said decisively.

A scent of mystery is exuding from the bodies of the Rakshas quietly glaring at the intruders. In those eyes, fanaticism unbefitting mere Beast-men is contained.

If looking only at the gaze, it was to the extent of being similar to that of the Main God Church priests Eugene occasionally saw in Kingdom End.

"Blasphemers!"

"Nonbelievers!"

The Raksha fanatics attacked while shouting short words the Great Chieftain permitted and taught.

"Take them down from long range! We don't know what tricks they will pull!"

The Dwarves in the vanguard threw throwing axes tied to their shields in unison.

However, fitting for the Great Chieftain's direct royal guards, the fanatics played their spears with astonishing skill and struck away the axes.

Of course, since there were so many flying in, they couldn't block them all.

Thwack!

An axe lodged squarely into the neck of a fanatic who approached the closest distance. However, she doesn't fall.

"They are truly receiving the blessing of an evil god!"

The Dwarves were astonished.

Because not even blood flowed from the place the axe was lodged. The bulging vine-like blood vessels seemed to move on their own and block the blood flow going to the wound area.

"Keuaaaa-."

An abnormally stretched out tongue grabbed the axe handle, pulled it out, and let it be held in her hand.

Bububu!

Ting!

The Dwarf who deflected the returned hand axe with his shield accompanied by a fierce sound of piercing the air made a fed-up expression.

Whether they felt even more murderous intent and fullness at that sight, the fanatics approached with blazing eyes.

Kwaang!

At that time, Might carrying Eugene rammed into and passed by the fanatics like a shredding vehicle.

No matter how much they received the blessing of an immortal body, there is no way to hold out in front of the impact of overwhelming mass.

The tumbling fanatics reached out their hands looking at the large hooves pouncing on them.

"N..."

A word they learned so that trivial Rakshas wouldn't enter the sacred temple. The word 'No.' popped out instinctively.

Kwajik! Kwajik!

Might ignored them and trampled them continuously.

The thrusting spears were sliced away like rotten straw bundles by the giant axe blade Eugene swung.

The boomerangs or javelins thrown by the fanatics cannot pierce the Hydra armor protecting the ruinous duo.

"Charge! Charge!"

Into the formation disrupted like that, Dwarves putting spears and shields at the forefront pounced like a wave of death.

Kugugugugung.

After executing the last fanatic, the final sector. As they opened the gateway heading to the Acran Temple, a gruesome sight was spread out.

"T-These bastards. It seems they really offered even their own kin?"

Countless headless corpses are piled up around the altar. They are composed of diverse races, but the most numerous are fellow Rakshas.

Did she even use her kin because the sacrifices to offer to the god were insufficient?

"Uuup."

"What are you doing? Not holding your shield straight."

Surrounding comrades scolded the Dwarf covering his nose with his gauntlet due to the nose-piercing smell.

"But the smell."

"Breathe through your mouth, retard!"

The entire floor of the sector is soaking wet with clumps of flesh and intestine pieces. The waterway once dug to let water flow as a religious meaning is filled with red blood.

Severed heads are placed neatly around the altar like part of a bizarre ritual.

A female Raksha standing alone in the middle of it.

"T-That is Saint Picard!"

Even without Sasha's warning, if they weren't fools, anyone could tell.

An atmosphere distinctly different from the bastards they had faced so far. Even if she is a Beast-man, she is clearly wrapped in dignity not lacking to call herself the king of a nation.

However, the eyes exuding wisdom rivaling humans are filled with extreme despair.

"Saint Picard?"

The Great Chieftain let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"It's just Picard. Now..."

It wasn't because her army was annihilated and the intruders approached a short distance away.

"He... No."

An elegant voice one couldn't say came from a Raksha's mouth.

"The presents he showed were so beautiful."

Picard's voice was full of a sense of betrayal.

Countless blood spilled until now. As if the task accomplished by sacrificing not only enemies but even compatriots was entirely an illusion.