Volume Five: Return from the Other Shore - New Members

The great war is over.

The Revolutionary Army suffered a total loss of 28,000 men, while the Papacy's mixed army suffered 590,000 deaths, 100,000 captured, and 130,000 missing. Of the original nearly one million troops, only a little over one-tenth returned.

This battle was later referred to as the turning point of the war.

The Blood Blade Knights Master, who was trapped in enemy territory, not only escaped successfully but also defeated the Papacy's million-strong pursuing army with 100,000 men. This feat, after being embellished in various ways, spread widely. The branch orders in various places, which were on the verge of collapse due to the Grand Master's death, immediately returned to unity, and their numbers even increased.

The scene of the large number of Papal soldiers who fled in disarray being wiped out by the suddenly returning Blood Emperor is also deeply etched in people's memories. Even the sky and the earth were stained red with blood, and the panicked stragglers were swallowed up by the blood tide. Of course, this is a glamorized version. In reality, after the great chaos, only layers upon layers of dried corpses remained on the ground, and the soldiers who went to clean up the battlefield returned with green faces.

At this point, the Revolutionary Army entered a state of full-scale counterattack.

The Papacy also began to amass a large number of troops and gradually dispersed the people of Gloria to avoid them getting in the way later.

The final battle is about to begin.

The Holy City Gloria will be the final battlefield.

It's a gathering of girls now.

After a series of ups and downs—the Battle of Sardinia, the death of Nidrol, and the sudden counterattack—we finally reunited.

Me, Haoyue, Xiao Wu, Sin Annihilation, Little Ying, Yun Can, and two little girls—as well as Givinia, who appeared out of nowhere (Author's note: Let my wife Winnie make her presence known). Everyone's here, except for some who will never return.

"So..."

Ugh, their gazes are so piercing.

"Um... I'm sorry, so many big things happened here, and I was out having fun. How irresponsible of me, hahaha."

""""""...(staring~~~~~~)""""

"... Okay, I'm sorry, I should have come back sooner."

As soon as I said those words, I immediately felt that the gaze wasn't so piercing anymore.

"Alright, since Xiao Ye has returned safely and even completed his super evolution, let's not pursue this further. The key point is—"

Haoyue revealed a lewd smile as she glanced at Little Butterfly.

"My darling daughter has finally reappeared! And she's even more beautiful than before! Come here, let Mommy lick your feet~~~~ Ouch!"

Xiao Wu punched her hard in the stomach, nice stomach punch.

"What are you doing, you naughty girl! I just want to spend some quality time with my daughter whom I haven't seen in ages!"

"What mother and daughter lick feet during intimate moments?"

"Then lick Little Butterfly's tender [beep--], her raised [beep--], and her bud-like [beep--] -- Ouch, it hurts!"

Xiao Wu slapped her hard across the face, nice brainwashing.

"You hit me again! Even Xiao Ye has never hit me!"

"Don't lead the kids astray! Besides, hasn't she hit you enough times already...?"

"That's love! And Xiao Ye, you know what? I found out when I was showering with that delinquent girl, this guy doesn't look like a normal person, he's actually all pink and hairless in the front and back--"

"You're asking for it!"

"Ha?"

Stare! Xiao Wu grabbed Haoyue's collar, and Haoyue grabbed Xiao Wu's hair, the two entering an amazing mutual staring contest.

So this is how you kill time every day while I'm away? It must have been tough on the revolutionary martyrs who had to clean up your mess.

"... Never mind those two. Anyone else, do you have anything you want to say to me?"

" --Xiao Ye!!!"

"Whoosh!"

I was struck by a honey-like object hurtling towards me at high speed. Little Ying, tears streaming down her face, rubbed against my chest, seemingly unaware that she had just brushed with death—the moment she hugged me, I almost instinctively drained her blood.

"Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, you idiot! You just left like that! I... I was so worried!"

"She's already heartbroken because of her sister's tragedy, and you, the person she trusts most, aren't by her side. She's had a really tough time these past few days," Yun Can added, providing details I wasn't really interested in. No one would think you were mute if you didn't speak.

"It's been a long time since we last spoke, Miss Yun Can... Hmm?"

Suddenly, I felt something was off.

Yun Can... she must be a red-haired beauty around the same age as Loxue, right?

But why does her blood always smell so fresh? Like the feeling of an innocent child... Is it just my imagination?

Just then, my beloved little darling, Givinia —that's such a cheesy nickname—spoke for the first time, cutting off my train of thought.

"Welcome back, A Ye! It's so good to see you safe and sound."

"Thank you... But is it alright for you to transfer your main body here like this? What about Madam?"

"Madam has been busy preparing new clothes these past few days; she really... values her duel with you very much."

"... oh."

"I hope you have a clear understanding, A Ye, but more important now is—"

She pointed behind me.

"--Who is this cute new face?"

"Uh, her..."

The little creature below, who kept hiding behind me and hugging my leg, looked to be only about eight years old. She had slightly pale skin, long, jet-black hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a lace-trimmed sundress, like a delicate porcelain doll.

When Givinia pointed at her like that, she immediately trembled as if in fear and shrank back behind me.

... What excellent acting, Sick Spider.

The crowd, who had been chattering away moments before, all turned to look at her, their gazes varying. Most were curious, while the gray-haired, spiky girl named Sin Annihilation had a cold look in her eyes, and Haoyue was muttering dangerous remarks like, "Let's enjoy her together when Xiao Ye's grown up."

"She... is... how should I put it..."

Just as I was struggling with how to explain, our good daughter Little Butterfly (modified) picked up the little spider and shielded me. Oh, Little Butterfly, well done! What a thoughtful daughter to help her mother out of trouble!

With 60% pride and 40% smugness on her face, she proudly announced—

"Ta-da! Now, let me introduce you to my dear Little Butterfly sister, Little Spider!"

Pfft!!! -- Everyone burst out laughing.

... I don't have a brat like you.

Nid was wiping his sword.

This was the first thing he did after his limbs fully recovered.

The life-sized Greatsword, the dark blue longsword, the rust-colored cleaver, the dark gold knight's greatsword, and the silver goose-feather saber—all of these were stolen by Sin Annihilation when he fled the Cathedral of the True God.

He wiped it gently, his expression serene, as if it were the most sacred thing in the world.

The commander of the Second Division and several other regimental commanders and adjutants stood ten meters away from him. This was not an order from Nid, but an action they took involuntarily, and no one could explain why.

"... Hey everyone."

"Here!" Everyone involuntarily straightened their posture.

Nid looked away from the goose-feather saber he was wiping and glanced at them. It was just a glance, but everyone felt like they were being stared at by him.

"Don't be so nervous... I just wanted to say that everyone has really worked hard these past few days."

He smiled gently, and the barrier between him and the commanders seemed to disappear, causing everyone to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

The commander of the Second Division began, a smile spreading across his face, "We're not related. It's good that you returned safely, Nid, not to mention you managed to kill so many people with a single sentence!"

"If it were Sister Xue, she could have done even better. And if the Blood Emperor hadn't suddenly appeared at the end, we probably would have let at least two hundred thousand of those we instinctively wanted to annihilate escape. We were really lucky... Hehe."

Nid placed the polished goose-feather knife on a soft cushion, picked up a small knife, stood up with his newborn legs, and moved to the wall.

There stood a dozen or so paladins, bound hand and foot, forced to kneel on the ground, their bodies covered in wounds. Each of them stared at Nid with eyes filled with either anger or fear as he approached. They were the captains from the Papacy's side in that battle, each of them usually commanding tens of thousands of people and holding high positions, but now they were completely reduced to prisoners.

"Well then... it's time to have a chat with the captains we finally managed to capture."

Nid approached the first captain, looking down at him with a calm and gentle expression, a stark contrast to the captain's furious expression.

"What's your name again...? Never mind, that's not important. I just want to know about the troop deployment around Gloria. As a captain, you couldn't possibly not know that, could you?"

"You damned Rebel Army! Lackeys of the demons! The Supreme God will punish you!"

He got sprayed in the face with spittle.

"Please don't get agitated. I just want to know about the troop deployment around Gloria. Tell me what you know. I'll give you three seconds to organize your thoughts, 3--"

"Don't even think about it! I would never betray my fellow countrymen to you filthy Blasphemers!!!"

"--2--1--Sorry."

With a swift slash of his knife, the man who had just been cursing was cleaved in two, his head splattering blood and brain matter onto the face of the man next to him.

The sudden killing stunned the other prisoners, and the division commanders were also shocked, but Nid calmly walked up to the second man—

"Same question, the troop deployment around Gloria. Please tell me in three seconds, 3--2--"

"You... Waaah... I, I will never yield to evil!!!"

"--1, what a pity."

Click!

"You're the third person now. Same question, answer within three seconds."

"I... I... can't... uh..."

"Don't stammer, time waits for no one—I'm sorry."

Click!!

"This is the fourth time I've asked this question. Answer it within three seconds!"

"I... I'll say it! The four gates—east, west, south, and north—are each guarded primarily by heavily armored soldiers, and then—"

You're lying.

Click!!!

"The fifth one, don't try anything funny, 3."

--"

"Good, good!! There's a defensive line every two kilometers outside Gloria, completely surrounding the city! And it's mainly concentrated in the southeast, northwest, and other cardinal directions--"

"You're very cooperative, but how can I be sure of the credibility of what you're saying?"

"--Eh!?"

Click!!!!

"Next, the sixth—"

"I said!!!! Please, please don't kill me! There's a defensive line every two kilometers, guarded by a large number of infantry and cavalry. The Divine Spellcaster are at the rear of the city, and all four gates have main roads leading directly to the Cathedral of the True God!! Believe me, everything I'm saying is true! Please, please, please spare me!!!"

The sixth prisoner collapsed to the ground, snot and tears streaming down his face, looking utterly pathetic and a far cry from his initial defiant demeanor.

"Hmm...that's interesting," Nid snapped his fingers. "Lieutenant, analyze this. What do you think?"

"Let me see... Hmm, this matches up with what we found out from various sources before, and the additional details are also very valuable!"

"That's good."

Nid withdrew the dagger that had been pointing at his face and walked outside. Several regimental commanders immediately followed. The sixth prisoner finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed helplessly to the ground.

"Pass on the orders: we need to hold several meetings in the next few days to determine the amount of personnel and resources to be deployed for the final battle."

"Okay, Nid... By the way, what about the rest?"

"What to do?"

Nid glanced back at the remaining fewer than ten people and raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't see anything alive."

This serves as a signal.

The soldiers standing behind the prisoners swung their machetes in unison.