The Demon King's First General
Chapter 61: End of The Festival

Chapter 61: End of The Festival

Dusk came, and it signaled the end of the second day of the festival. People were wailing as they collected the corpses buried beneath the buildings and those who were killed by the bandits. The casualties were lessened thanks to the fifth-circle magic that the first prince displayed as soon as he got back and saw the whole situation.

Those who were on the brink of death were saved as soon as the strange, sticky liquid ran into their wounds. They were healed in a matter of seconds. The people who witnessed the magic circle cried as they thought that it was the first prince who rescued them.

Light rainfall started to pour as the sun vanished above. Even the sky was weeping for what happened. Envoys from the nearby kingdoms started to arrive one after the other. They showed their sympathy as they helped during the search and rescue.

It was past midnight when the king, along with the princess and the ex-captain, came back. Lyzen lost his consciousness upon seeing the state of his kingdom and was about to fall to the ground but Delta caught him and put him on his back. The city, with people dancing around the street while others were busy drinking with laughter in their lips, turned into a ghost town in just a single day.

"This is madness," Delta commented as he stared at the hundreds of corpses lying in the capital plaza.

Lexel averted her gaze before closing her eyes. She couldn’t bear to see this kind of scene.

After that, a small ball of purple flame went through Lexel, and Delta put down the king before leaping in front of her while pulling out his sword to deflect it. However, the flame evaded the blade and passed through him. Then it transformed into a person who immediately embraced the princess.

"You’re alive! I’ve searched for you in the whole place, but you’re nowhere to be found," Kreigster said.

For the very first time, Lexel hugged the empire’s crown prince and let her head rest on his chest.

This captured the attention of the onlookers, especially those who came from the other kingdoms. They felt sad about what happened to the Kingdom of Weaponry, but the affection that the prince was showing towards Herish’s princess was an eyesore for them.

Delta sheathed his sword and stepped back upon seeing Lexel’s action. Seconds later, they went into the temporary shelter that the representative from the Pelleless Kingdom had built inside the castle grounds. They found the rest of the representatives staying in there, with the exception of the grand mage.

The gazes made Lexel lower her head. She had no face to show in them.

’The princess who ran during the invasion to save herself—quite a long title for someone like me,’ she thought.

Though she did not hear a single thing, the looks in their eyes were enough to make her feel bad. She went directly inside the shelter. Aside from the tattered dress she was wearing, she had nothing. Her home was gone, along with all the things that she cherished the most.

She sat in one corner and rested her head while placing it on her knee.

"I hope this is all a dream," she uttered.

Then she heard footsteps coming closer to her. Based on the sound, it came from a woman’s boots, and she was right. Upon lifting her head, the Frostbloom Kingdoms’s princess looked at her without any emotion.

After that, she extended her hand in front while holding a silver dress with a similar design to the clothes she was wearing.

"Take it and change! You stink!" Arctic said, which made Lexel knit her brows.

Despite her reaction, she took the dress from the other princess’ hand, and Arctic left afterwards.

Then Lexel stood up and smelled herself before glaring at the woman’s back.

’No, I’m not!’ She yelled inside her mind.

. . . . .

Meanwhile, the king’s consciousness returned, then he stood up from lying down and went outside the shelter. Two knights accompanied him, even though he said that it was okay not to.

He looked at the ruined state of his castle, but he felt relieved knowing that the ground was still intact. Then he searched for the location of his room, and he smiled upon seeing a white platform beneath his feet; pieces of rock were covering it. He put them away, and as soon as he pushed the platform in an upward motion, a stair leading underneath was revealed before his eyes.

He first went down, and the knights followed him soon. Then the king went into a corner and got the lamp hanging on the walls. As soon as he turned it on, the surrounding area lit up, and a giant door with the kingdom’s insignia appeared before their eyes.

The next moment, Lyzen walked towards it and pulled a piece of metal beside it. Then he rotated a piece of machinery that kept the door locked. It had numbers surrounding the edges. He put the combination in to open the door while making sure that the knights behind him wouldn’t know what it was.

After three ticking sounds, the door opened sideways, which caused the dust particles to fly up.

"Wait for me here," he ordered, stepping inside the treasury.

However, only seconds passed when the king screamed and the knights ran into him without further ado. They unsheathed their swords and went in front of their king while searching for the enemy, but they found nothing.

And they soon realized the reason behind the king’s cry. The treasury was empty; even a single speck of gold couldn’t be seen inside it. The same was true for the weapons; they were all gone.

. . . . .

The next day, what was supposed to be the closing part of the festival turned into a large-scale burial ceremony. The empire’s crown prince suggested burning all the dead bodies after the ritual, and the king just accepted Kreigster’s suggestion. Dark circles were under his eyes due to staying awake the whole night thinking about how the things inside the treasury disappeared when all he found was a hole above the ceiling.

"How can I rebuild my kingdom without a penny?" He uttered, dismayed by the reality.

Then all of them started to move into the open field at the back of the city. Almost all the people present inside attended the ritual. But not a single person spoke along the way. They were still mourning for their losses; even the king and the representatives kept their silence. Then, after the priests and preistess gave their piece of prayer, Kreigster sent a huge flame from above. The crowd wept as they smelled the burning human flesh. Some covered their noses to protect them from the foul stench, while others continued to cry.

The flame lasted for only a couple of minutes, yet even the bones of the corpses were nowhere to be seen afterward.

All that remained in the open field were scorched marks from the purple flames.

Soon, the crowd dispersed as they all returned inside the city. The sadness they were feeling would take time to leave their hearts, but life must go on. Despite their losses, there was still a part of them that was thankful that they managed to survive at the very least.

Even the representatives, along with the rescuers from their respective kingdoms, began to bid their farewells to each other.

Then Lexel looked at Kreigster as soon as he landed beside her.

"Will I see you again?" She asked, her face blushing red.

The crown prince smiled upon hearing the small voice coming from the princess. He turned around and lifted the woman’s chin so that their eyes would meet. Then he put her disaligned hair behind her ears and spoke.

"Definitely! So until then," he replied, which caused Lexel’s heart to skip a beat.

. . . . .

Inside a tavern in a town that was not far away from the Herish Kingdom’s capital. A man dressed in a white suit was sitting near the bar counter with two ladies sitting on his lap. They were feeding him different kinds of food and alcoholic drinks when another man stepped inside the tavern.

He looked around as if searching for someone, then started to walk in the man’s direction near the bar counter. He stared at him for a moment and sat down.

"Your habits are still the same; they haven’t changed since the last time we met," the man said as he grabbed a bottle of alcohol and chugged it in his mouth.

Then the women left as soon as the man whispered at them to give him and his friend a little time to talk.

"Why didn’t you intervene during the bandit incident? You’re present in there, if I’m not mistaken," the man asked as he slammed the bottle at the table.

"My friend, Gun. It’s a festival; I’m supposed to relax and be happy during that time. Dancing in the streets, singing until getting drunk. That’s what a festival is. Not some bandit fighting, rescuing lives," the man giggled as he replied.

"And you call yourself a Diamand-Class Mercenary? What a scumbag!" The man named Gun said before standing up to leave.

But after several seconds, he went back to give another statement.

"If you act in there, maybe the casualties wouldn’t pile up. Your presence alone could make a difference," he added, leaving for real.

Then the man sat straight in his seat and reached for the bottle of alcohol; however, it was already empty.

"That bastard, saying all that nonsense just to have a free drink!" He exclaimed as soon as he stood up and tossed a coin at the bartender without looking back.

"That’s for the ladies; here’s for the drink," he said before tossing another one.

The bartender expressed his utmost joy upon staring at the two pieces of gold coins in his hand. But the two women lunged at him to get their piece as they heard the man loud and clear.

"Hey! The other one is ours!" One of them shouted.

The chatter inside the tavern grew louder as the man left. They all talked about the scene that happened earlier. Two Diamond-Class mercenaries in one place made their hearts sink. If a fight broke out between those monsters, for sure, they would be in trouble and wouldn’t leave unscathed.

. . . . .