Benjamin took off his outer garment and shook off the rainwater. The robe soaked with rain became heavy. The rain washed away the blood of demons, and the flames that were burning in the subjugation frontline were extinguished.
Roskella covered the bodies with a white cloth and asked with a gesture.
“Are you okay?”
The bodies of the victims were laid out in a row. They were the bodies of the annihilated mercenary group and victims of dark magic rituals.
Beside them were the emperor and the information officer.
“What are you saying?”
Benjamin put the sword into the sheath and muttered quietly.
“It seems complicated in your mind.”
“It looks like the last moments before death were imprinted on your eyes.”
Why?
Benjamin wondered inwardly.
“That was the last dying wish before death. Why did they appeal to be killed?”
“Is it the words of the dark magic ritual victims?”
“At the last moment of dying, what kind of psychology was it to tell a story of wanting to die rather than appealing for salvation? Even while resigning to death, they worried about what would happen after their death. It wasn’t a plea for mercy.”
“Resigning to death is not an easy thing.”
“I’ve experienced various deaths, but it’s difficult. That one… it was the gaze of a sacrifice who resigned to death, hoping for salvation.”
Benjamin rolled on the subjugation frontline and almost lost his life several times. The subjugation frontline is like the empire’s wall blocking demons.
Hundreds and thousands of lives are lost, and many deaths are not remembered and forgotten.
Some bodies are swallowed by the sea and not collected, occasionally buried in unnamed lands.
The subjugation unit fought on the subjugation frontline until the last moments before death. Those who chose to die alongside demons when death approached.
They experienced so many deaths.
Roskella covered Benjamin’s ankles, which had come out of the white cloth, and replied.
“Dark magic interferes with the origin of human beings, death. The dark magic ritual contaminates life and death. The reason the temple labeled dark magic as heresy is because it disrupts order and norms.”
“…….”
“Death is such an ambiguous realm.”
Benjamin remembered the dead sacrifice.
“Is the body recovered?”
“Yes. There were many wounds from the demons. The ankle bone was twisted, and being offered as a sacrifice for the dark magic ritual means…”
“They must have gnawed away at their lives. Is the subjugation of lesser demons over?”
“Yes, this area is now under control.”
The subjugation unit gathered in front of the cliff.
“Then let’s begin the memorial ceremony.”
The subjugation unit paid respects to the fallen warriors with etiquette. In front of the bodies of the annihilated mercenary group, the subjugation unit lined up and drew their swords. They extended the blades into the air.
The blades cut through the air. Raindrops fell on the blades, and the blades, having paid their respects, quietly stopped.
Benjamin also sheathed the drawn sword.
Putting the sword back into the sheath, Benjamin looked at the fallen warriors.
The annihilated mercenary group had previously also subdued the basilisk nest. Such a mercenary group had been annihilated.
‘Twenty fallen warriors.’
Benjamin understood because he had dismantled the demon’s nest together. It was different from the previous demon subjugation.
The demon’s nest became even denser, and the basilisk’s scales became as tough as iron.
The bastards themselves became more ferocious.
“The toxicity in the border area is increasing, and even the demons are affected.”
Benjamin pulled at the shirt that had tightened around his neck.
“It would be wise to assume that a sinner is manipulating the demons.”
Amidst the subjugation frontline, Benjamin covered himself with the blood of demons.
Soon, a fierce battle ensued.
The blades relentlessly slashed the necks of demons without respite.
As the battle with the demons neared its end, dark clouds gathered, and rain poured down, but not all of their blood was washed away.
“Show respect to the fallen warriors until the end.”
Benjamin exuded a strong scent of blood. Despite being a human, he, who had smeared himself with the blood of demons and swung his sword, had an ambiguous aspect of being called human.
“Let’s find shelter from the rain.”
“Alright.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s better to feel the cold in my head than to freeze in the rain.”
Benjamin dismissed it with just that.
“It hurts.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sharlof pulled the crossbow trigger in succession.
Tap, tap.
The echoing sound of an empty crossbow echoed in the air.
An opening,
A crow demon that read the short opening opened its beak wide and screamed.
The demon folded its wings and descended, and a hot heat rushed in.
Sharlof folded the crossbow, tied it to his waist, and drew a sword. The blade scraped against the sheath with a faint sound.
She took a firm step and gripped the hilt of the sword. A guardsman exclaimed in panic.
“Your Majesty! Be careful…!”
“It hurts.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
