Esper From The Ring Of Frozen Dragon

Chapter 4 Her whisper

Kidnagan washed his body in the river near the campsite. Despite being covered in blood, he was completely unharmed.

Unlike the other bandits who chose to 'vacate Aslup City', Kidnagan didn't seem to care and chose to avoid the crowd.

Despite being quite far away from Aslup City, Kidnagan knew exactly what was happening there. Kidnagan's body could emit waves naturally as if he could see the surroundings without the need to use his eyes.

Beheading, burning alive, or blowing someone up, Kidnagan knew all the events that were happening inside the Aslup City Fortress.

Now the bandits were herding all the citizens out of Aslup City. About twenty thousand people including children and women were told to gather at the place that was previously used for fighting. Of course, hysterical screams occurred everywhere seeing thousands of Aslup city soldiers die so badly.

Saber laughed out loud seeing the residents of Aslup City pale as if they couldn't believe the chaos today.

"Hurry up and get them lined up!" Saber ordered as his men chose to beat people up for taking offense.

The mages then surrounded from all directions to prevent the residents from fleeing.

"Exterminate!" Saber exclaimed with her hands moving to make an execution gesture.

Concentrating, the mages pointed their hands upwards. Long, thin metal strings pointing skyward instantly emerged from their fingers. The strings seemed to form a net ready to enclose the citizens. The color of the strings turned luminous and looked like metal heated in hot coals.

In unison, the mages flung the strings down to chop up the residents of Aslup City. After just a few repetitions, almost all the residents died as the strings were torn apart.

A few people could be seen trying to stand up. Their bodies were so badly injured that their entire bodies were bathed in the blood of those around them. They clutched small knives as if they would rather fight than die. But in just a few seconds, strings like whips from all directions chopped their bodies into small pieces.

"Third-level mages but hiding among ordinary humans? Did they expect civilians to be freed by us?" Saber laughed dismissively.

As the mages were making a large hole using magic to bury the corpses, the sound of a large explosion occurred from the direction of the palace.

"What's going on in there?" asked Saber.

"Looks like there are still survivors hiding inside the palace," a mage replied.

"Hurry up and clean it up! Bring them to me!"

Dozens of mages left with a quick leap to confirm the chaos around the palace.

Kidnagan arrived by jumping so high that he landed beside Saber. He had changed his clothes and looked as mysterious as ever.

"Is there a problem?" Saber chose to ask first because Kidnagan might not want to speak up.

"Our troops are dealing with three 5th-level mages."

"Any casualties?"

Kidnagan then concentrated on observing the surroundings with his power and told Saber what he felt.

Aslup City's three 5th-level mages were being toyed with by bandits. The bandits attacked relentlessly while the three mages could only parry or dodge. The thing that made Saber smile was of course that none of his troops had been killed.

In the palace courtyard, the bandits even displayed mineral elemental magic to counter the three mages' mineral elemental magic. Of course, what the bandits were doing was a demonstration because Saber's group had higher magical knowledge than any other party. Mages generally did not want to spend time just to master mineral elemental magic because it was complicated. Usually, after breaking through the 5th level, new mages try to learn mineral element magic. However, thanks to Kidnagan being able to confer with Holy Beings, the average 4th-level mage of Saber's group was able to master mineral elemental magic.

The three mages had lost miserably with their body parts cut off. They were still alive or rather they were not left to die.

In addition, a horde of bandits came out from inside the palace leading about 50 women who could be recognized from their clothes as nobles or maids. Those women were previously hiding inside the palace with the protection of the 3 5th-level mages that had just been defeated.

Saber laughed out loud because his men were stronger than expected. "Excellent. I'll give them higher honors for this victory."

While waiting for the arrival of his men carrying the three mages, Saber enjoyed the scene where the subordinates were burning the pieces of human bodies that were flown into the large excavation. By incinerating the human remains, the area previously used for fighting would not become a breeding ground for disease.

Although he was cruel, Saber was very concerned about the environment around where he lived. The reason Saber didn't use surprise attacks to take over Aslup City was to keep his new home beautiful.

While trying to get a feel for the surroundings, Kidnagan was lost in thought when he saw noble women walking towards him. From that group, Kidnagan could sense the existence of the same glowing smoke as before. That smoke could not even be penetrated by wave beams to detect the surroundings.

'Who is the owner of that unique smoke?' Kidnagan wondered as the smoke managed to block his abilities.

On the other hand, Kidnagan could sense a sound wave that could not be heard by ordinary humans.

'Help us, save us... My name is Aretha.'

That mumbling-like voice Kidnagan could hear over and over again. However, Kidnagan had no idea about the figure of the mumbling girl because the glowing smoke blocked his detection waves. Kidnagan could only wait for the group to arrive.

Kidnagan's attention was distracted as several bandits arrived while carrying the remaining three mages of Aslup City. The mage still seemed to be rebelling even though his hands and feet had been cut off.

"Your savagery will surely be avenged! You won't be able to rule the Artshimmeri Kingdom, Saber!" The mage continued to rebel despite having his back stepped on by the bandits.

"After we managed to become the strongest bandits, you're still just trying to curse me?" asked Saber casually. "I'll tell you that the place you've been attacking is not my main base. So far, you have only died in vain."

"You can't fool me! One day, you and your followers will surely perish! This is a curse that will surely come true!"

The mage's body was instantly flung towards the hole of the funeral pyre when Saber used magic to make the ground rise rapidly. The mage cried out in pain from the burning and his voice slowly faded away.

Saber laughed. "Humans try, not to whine as if their curse can destroy the whole world!"

The two remaining Aslup City mages tried to rebel as they saw their comrade being burned alive. However, a golden spear through the head instantly rendered them motionless.

"I didn't expect a 5th-level mage to die by a small spear when he couldn't control his anger," Saber said while playing with the fingers that could bring up golden sand to form a spear.

"That's the reason I can kill an enemy in an instant," Kidnagan responded.

"I'm waiting for another theory that can strengthen the army."

"It's not difficult if Aslup City's library has many ancient books."

"Very well. I'll leave the library to you."

Kidnagan returned to observing the group of nobles who were about to be executed. He noticed a bandit who came in grabbing a girl.

The girl looked to be around 24 years old. The bloodied lips and scuffed hands proved that she had put up a fight.

Saber laughed when the girl reached him. "Impressive. It turns out that the beautiful princess named Aretha E Aslup still does not want to accept the fate of death."

The woman remained silent. That led to her legs being kicked from behind to her knees.

Despite being grabbed and laughed at, the beautiful girl still tried to be strong. The girl named Aretha bowed her head and muttered to herself. She didn't care despite getting many hard slaps to the face.

"Help us, save us. My name is... Aretha." Aretha repeatedly muttered that sentence even though Saber and his subordinates continued to mock her.

"Who's going to help you? Do you think the God who is the foundation of the noble's life is real?" Saber and the mages continued to mock because Aretha's mutterings could be categorized as foolish.

However, Kidnagan's eyes flew wide open as he realized that the girl before him had good reason to continue mumbling. Kidnagan realized that Aretha might be a person who could emit glowing smoke. Kidnagan remembered trying to ask the name of the owner of the female voice that called for help when the glowing smoke above Aslup City Palace was seen. This bright spot gave Kidnagan the answer to Aretha's strange behavior.

Kidnagan walked towards Aretha. Although it was just a simple footstep, it instantly made all the bandits fall silent. Even Saber stopped laughing as if he felt that Kidnagan had taken offense.

Kidnagan squatted down and lifted Aretha's chin to look at each other.

Seeing Kidnagan's characteristic eyes, Aretha instantly turned pale and shed tears. Aretha certainly knew the rumors of the young man's figure. In Aretha's eyes, Kidnagan was the figure of an angel of death or the figure commonly told as the Demon Boy from the Land of Lenka.

"Forgive us... save us... my name is Aretha," Aretha said softly with tears on her cheeks.

For no apparent reason, Kidnagan's body felt helplessly limp and as if haunted by immense guilt. It was a feeling Kidnagan had never felt since his memory was lost. In an instant, Kidnagan's mind was filled with memories of the past when he was a child. He was sitting on a woman's lap although it was not very clear. Kidnagan was told to behave gently towards women. The advice seemed to imply that Kidnagan should not hurt Aretha.

"I'll try," Kidnagan responded.

Saber and the bandits were stunned when they heard that statement. They were shocked and began to be wary of the disaster-bringer who might now turn into an enemy.