In a town in the eastern United Kingdom, a small killing force from the Empire had set its sights on the place. Unlike the other settlements that had been destroyed, however, the people here were just a little luckier.
In the open ground outside the town, Demon Race corpses lay scattered every which way. Blood seeped into the soil, staining the entire stretch of earth dark.
Elves moved through the piles of bodies, occasionally bending down to drive a dagger into some faintly twitching form.
The elderly mayor stood before a handsome elf, sobbing so hard he could barely speak. "My Lord, it's all thanks to you—if you hadn't arrived in time, our town would have—"
As he spoke, the mayor had people bring out the town's supplies, but the elf opposite him refused them.
Salian merely asked a few simple questions about the frequency of Demon Race activity nearby, using that to judge the current situation.
Then he mounted the Earth Bear named Douding, which his younger sister had lent him, and left with the main force led by Echo, commander of the Forest Ranger Guard under his command.
Seeing Salian catch up, Echo, with Number One perched on him, asked, "Handled it? No surprises?"
Salian shook his head. "No. It was just a very ordinary squad. Judging by the descriptions we've heard from humans along the way, there shouldn't be any large Empire force nearby. Their main force is probably besieging Oath City right now."
"Oath City, huh—" Echo nodded, agreeing with Salian's assessment.
The elves had also taken part in laying out the United Kingdom's New Defense Line, so naturally they understood how important Oath City was to humanity now.
Once Oath City fell, humanity would not have the ability to build a second large-scale defensive line.