Chapter 177
One thing was certain. Lea wanted to give these people the chance to choose for themselves. But apart from that, she also wanted to sow confusion among them.
Did they realize that the kind of war they wished for inevitably brought about such meaningless sacrifices? She wanted to ask them, did they truly want this war? Wasn’t it unfair to fight simply because the Emperor commanded it? Just like her and Calix.
“It’s true that the Leonis army has invaded, but there’s no guarantee they’re here to rescue you.”
“What the hell are you talking about!”
At Lea’s words, Tynato shouted. He thought she was trying to lure them into being used as shields, so he strode up to Lea and threatened her without hesitation.
“If I killed you, these Cantabrians would just wither away on their own. If I kill you right now, I’ll be recognized for my achievements by my master—so why should I run?”
At Tynato’s words, Lea looked at the other prisoners and asked,
“That’s what he thinks, but what about the rest of you?”
Their hesitant expressions made it seem like they agreed with Tynato. Lea didn’t press further. She knew she couldn’t persuade them all based on her gut feeling alone.
She regretted not spending more time studying rhetoric. Even though she was reliving her past, she realized she couldn’t save everyone after all.
“Alright.”
She replied bitterly and left the tent with the Cantabrian soldier urging her on. At that moment, the ground shook violently. With a deafening roar and tremors that seemed like they would bury the entire Cantabrian camp, Lea fled with the Guides.
Boom—! Rumble rumble rumble—
A strange vibration, like the feeling of cutting into the base of a cake with a fork, continued to resonate. Lea glanced at a Leonis soldier shouting nearby and hid herself.
The Guides with her also hid.
“Lady Haisley, I was told about the campsite set up midway up the mountain in this direction. Let’s take shelter there until our army returns.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Lea hurriedly ran. The other Guides began to run after her. Among them, Lucy followed while watching the situation carefully.
Thinking they had put enough distance between themselves and the camp, Lea turned to look back at the burning, dust-filled Cantabrian camp.
A portion of the tents had already been buried under a massive amount of earth. It seemed things were unfolding just as she had anticipated.
At that moment, a chilling voice rang out from behind them.
“So all the traitors were here!”
A man who appeared to be a lion werebeast was swiftly chasing after them. Lea checked his clothing and face. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be Kyle.
If it had been Kyle, instead of yelling, he probably would have simply buried them all with the earth.
“No… There are limits to his ability.”
Lea muttered to herself, thinking that was probably why Kyle had sent a subordinate instead of coming himself.
“Begging for forgiveness now is useless! You traitors and wicked Cantabrian scum!”
“Block them!”
A Leonis soldier drew his sword and rushed at them. The Leonis soldiers, each with elemental abilities, clashed their element-imbued swords.
“Urgh!”
Even though the soldiers Calix had left behind weren’t weak, there was still a difference in skill. Kyle had probably brought only elite soldiers with him for this assault.
The Guides, just as Lea had expected, looked fearfully at the Leonis soldiers intent on killing them. Having received some level of respect from the Cantabrian soldiers until now, the shock was enormous.
They, too, hadn’t come representing their villages solely out of pure loyalty, but it wasn’t for such a meaningless death that they had come to war.
But with Espers charging at them with murderous intent, they couldn’t do anything. At that moment, Lea shouted,
“Transform into your animal forms and run!”
Lea blocked the front of the Guides and pulled a magic device out of her robe’s inner pocket. Lucy’s eyes widened slightly when she saw it.
Lea hadn’t only bought a bracelet for transporting objects. She had not only commissioned a specialist Esper to create custom magic tools but had also collected magic devices through auctions, just for situations like this.
Lea threw an offensive magic device, avoiding the Cantabrian soldiers and targeting the Leonis soldiers precisely.
Bang—!
As soon as it landed at the target spot, a net made of iron sprang out and trapped them. After handling a portion of the enemy, Lea checked to see that the Guides had already transformed into animals.
There were deer, pigs, raccoons, cats, dogs—various forms. Seeing these familiar faces, Lea felt a peculiar emotion.
If Bianca hadn’t killed her kin, if she hadn’t been forced to flee to the Cantabria Empire, would she have had friends like these?
“Run!”
At her command, the Guides began to run. They were definitely faster than when they had been in human form. Lea scooped up the cat Guide who was falling behind in her arms.
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