Chapter XXIV: The War 2

'Ack! ...That caught me off guard.'

Khalid could feel the sharp, long fingers of the verendus that deeply pierced his stomach.

Blood runs out of his body continuously, like a stream that seems to have triggered the others to run in his direction like predators.

"Ah…Shit!"

As they ran as fast as the cheetah, the pungent scent of their flesh made him want to cover his nose; it was so displeasing and disgusting to the point that even the other knights couldn't focus on the battle.

Who could ever have such a great tolerance to stand to their scent like rotting flesh?

Before Khalid could even fight back, the verendus jumped on him one by one and started feasting over his body; it was as if he purposely lured them to save the others. 

Khalid could feel their claws piercing his body, their long tongues sucking his blood, the way they bit, and the sound of his bones cracking in their filthy mouths. He could feel and hear it all, but instead of screaming from the pain, he just closed his eyes after looking at Reinhardt, who was fighting for their lives.

"Milord, you don't have to hold back in the war!"

Reinhardt affirmed while giving Khalid a big thumbs up.

They are both sitting on the field, full of fallen leaves and green grass. The night sure flies so fast that Khalid can see how the sun rises, giving light to his face.

"Why's that…" 

He asked while he looked at him with a wrinkled forehead and judging eyes.

Sometimes Reinhardt could be funny too, but the way he makes some expression on his face gives Khalid a cringe, but he didn't despise it or like it either; there was just a lightness of feeling he could feel in his heart.

"We're evacuating all the people first before the war."

Khalid then remembers the way Reinhardt smiled so confidently that it made him snap to his senses. 

So instead of lying there on the ground like a corpse that was being eaten by mere worms, Khalid then opened his eyes and let his hand regenerate first so he could swing his bayonet straight at their neck.

'Right, I almost forgot.'

He swung the bayonet like a spinner that cut their bodies in half, and before they could even regenerate, Khalid jumped up and distanced himself so that he could swing the holy divine knife that was blessed by the temple in his kingdom.

"These things stink, darn it!" 

He shouted with a cloying tone in his voice that caught Reinhardt's attention.

"No swearing, milord!" 

He saw how Reinhardt formed a smile on his lips that made Khalid fired up at the battle, but nothing could make him so happy if not for Liena, who was fuming in anger.

He could see how funny her expression was when her eyes came close together while watching Khalid slash off her minions' heads one by one. He even smirked while wiping their blood on his face with the back of his palm, seeing how desperate she could be just to win the war.

"Scoundrel!!!" 

She shouted furiously. 

"Why can't you just die?!"

Liena then stabbed the ground with her staff, which was covered in poison ivy and sparkling jewels.

The impact created by her staff caused a disturbing, sudden earthquake on the ground, and Khalid saw the feeling of pleasure painted on her face even when she saw Khalid flinched at her power, just like how she watched him being a free meal by her beast.

"HAHAHAHA!"

The way she laughed like a psycho filled the whole area, watching his knights tremble in their positions while holding their swords, looking at Khalid with a mocking, disrespectful look in her eyes.

"How could you be so careless?" 

She stated, as if she were looking down at Khalid.

"How can you neglect your kingdom? Don't you feel pity?"

Every time words came out of her mouth, Khalid would feel a wave of intense anger, but this time seeing how she made fun of him made her realize how clueless she could be.

When Liena makes a sign on her hand, the verendus don't attack Khalid and instead avoid him while she walks towards him, slowly holding his chin as she forms an evil smile on her lips.

"I must let you live for a while because it's a pity if you wouldn't see how I destroy your land!"

As she stated her words, Khalid could hear how Reinhardt desperately called his name, but he was left there standing with a bleak expression and couldn't even say a thing while Liena made fun of the situation.

"Right. How careless am I?"

Liena stopped when she heard Khalid's voice in despair.

The sky is surely covered in the Caligo of the night, and instead of sparkling stars ruling the sky, the sweltering, fiery hot flame slowly devours the whole kingdom. Seeing the kingdom destroyed by her hands and how Khalid made such a miserable expression on his face made her feel so powerful that a word is ineffable for her to describe the excitement and the pleasure she felt.

Well, her plan succeeds, but why does Khalid grin as if he was already out of his mind after hearing that his kingdom was attacked by the verendus? Does he not feel despair? But even though he saw the terror on the faces of his knights, his smug smile was there, painted all over his face. There was no feeling of misery, and he was even there, standing still calmly. Khalid even slapped her hand and looked deeply into her eyes; it was so deep that Liena could feel that she was being sucked into it.

"I thought I had given you enough time to spy."

Liena suddenly flinched at the sight, and the evil smile on her face soon turned into distress.

She even looked around to see how his minions were continuously decreasing compared to his knights.

"Now, don't you think that someone is missing?" 

He let out a chuckle and grabbed Liena's wrist, which left her shuddering in fear. She was even struggling to take off his hands, but to be surprised, he was stronger than he looked.

'What?! He was this strong?!'

Her eyes widen, but what even shocked her more was seeing one of Khalid's and the only loyal wing he has, Dal Valene, turn into a billow of smoke.

'What's the meaning of this?! No. Is he even here in the first place?! ' 

Liena was so lost in her thoughts that she was left dumbfounded and careless about the situation without knowing that Khalid was hiding his bayonet behind his back, and that's when...his smile grew wider.

Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Clovisto, a man with blond, shiny hair that shines on the battlefield could be seen swaying in the air whenever he elegantly struck over the verendus using the lace on his hair that formed into a sharp, long sword, while a lady near him with hair as white as snow wearing a poker face expression on her face seemed to be annoyed at the situation.

"Damn it! If these filthy bastards didn't dare to conquer this land, then I should have stayed longer with Milord! Argh!!" 

Dal screamed in frustration; Zev wouldn't even recognize who was in front of her. 

The dimbo-elegant Dal that always followed Khalid around turns into a completely different person whenever he's not around, and if there's a chance that Zev has seen him act normal, it's whenever he was with Erwin.

Remembering how Erwin hated Dal so much makes her question herself.

'Why do you care so much about him?!' 

These words that she had heard in their conversation before also make her envy Dal more than the others, because she knows that no matter how many times she impresses Khalid, he wouldn't even bother to look at or talk to her, and Zev can't blame him for that because she's the one who approaches Khalid first.

'Ha, I'm the one who's supposed to be saying that..' 

At that time, Zev looked at him enviously while he was savagely slashing the verendus into pieces; it even made her eyes widen every time he danced with his sword elegantly. It's no wonder that Dal is the niteo of his tribe because, apart from his effeminate figure like a lady with a skin deep beauty, Dal even stood out more because of his talent, and she couldn't help but compare herself to him.

"Right. What's so good about him anyway?" 

She whispered in the air while biting her lips in disapproval.

"Done daydreaming?"

Dal questioned, as if he were mocking her, which made Zev's blood boil furiously, and that's when a big glittery silhouette of a snake came out of her body and struck them, which made the verendus come off flying in the air while their flesh fell into pieces from the sky.

As the war became more fierce, Khalid thought of finishing Liena on his own, so he tightly gripped the bayonet in his hands and swiftly pointed it into her chest. But when he was about to stab it into her heart, a sudden, deep, familiar voice echoed in the area that even caught Liena's attention.

"Liena! Stop this madness right now!" 

Even knowing that her wife's body was already owned by the verendus, Garion even goes to the battlefield uninvited to face the person he had cherished more than his life, but looking into his eyes flared in anger. Who knows what will happen in the war?

"This punk!"

Thinking about it makes Khalid's face contorted in rage.