Isaac - Chapter 114
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âKuaack!â
Befitting his reputation as the Flash, Rhineland managed to deflect some of the oncoming bolts as he charged. But searing pain shot up his shoulder and sides, and the horse tumbled forward. Rhineland jumped off from his saddle, rolling as he landed to lessen the impact of the fall.
â⊠Hold your fire.â
Rhineland saw the dead bodies of his companions as he rolled on the ground. He grit his teeth and charged with what sounded like a mix of a battle cry and a scream. Rivelia ordered the agents to stand down and stepped forward to personally face his will.
Clang!
Their swords clashed together, and Rhinelandâs face widened with surprise and confusion when he confirmed Riveliaâs face.
âLady Rivelia? What isâŠâ
Rivelia grimaced, watching Rhineland fall deeper into confusion. She was certain after meeting his sword. Rhineland was not a turncoat.
âSir Rhineland, I know youâre confused but listenâŠâ
Rivelia attempted to reveal herself and explain the situation, but Rhinelandâs face twisted as if heâd realised something.
âI see, thatâs what it was.â
âWhat?â
âYou filthy nobles. I thought Pendletons were different, but you are all the same.â
âSir Rhineland, please calmâŠâ
âShut up! I will never submit to you!â
Rhineland mercilessly swung at Rivelia with his sword. Seeing his reckless behaviour that neglected any sort of defense, Rivelia believed there was a misunderstanding. She parried his attacks, trying to convince him in between swings. But her words didnât reach Rhineland.
âWhat are you even doing.â
Isaac sighed at the sight and signalled one of the nearby agents to come over. He stole the agentâs crossbow and pulled the trigger. Rivelia was wearing a defensive coat, but Rhineland wasnât wearing any armour.
âKuhuk!â
Stab!
Multiple bolts drove themselves into Rhinelandâs side, and he collapsed onto the ground. Rivelia saw the bolts bounce off from her coatâs barrier and turned around.
âWhat are you doing!â
Isaac glossed over Riveliaâs angry stare and threw the crossbow back at the agent before walking up to the two.
âHow long are you going to play around?â
Rivelia blocked Isaacâs path as if to protect Rhineland and shouted.
âSir Rhineland is not a turncoat!â
âSo?â
âWe have no reason to kill him!â
Isaac clicked his tongue annoyingly and pointed at the burning camp as he stared right back at her.
âWhat bullshit is that? Then did those retards die because they were turncoats?â
âThatâsâŠâ
âMove.â
Isaac coldly ordered Rivelia, who was stumped for words, and she meekly moved aside. Isaac stared down at the squirming Rhineland before lighting his cigarette and crouching next to him.
âYou want one too?â
â⊠Cough. Is that you, Sir Isaac?â
Rhinelad spoke with a quivering voice as blood spilled from his mouth. Isaac looked at him emotionlessly and breathed out some smoke.
âFor your information, itâs not the Pendletons.â
ââŠâ
Rhineland struggled to look up at Isaacâs face. Looking back at Rhinelandâs lifeless eyes, Isaac spoke without a shred of emotion inside.
âItâs Central.â
Rhinelandâs eyes opened wide, and Isaac stood up.
âHold on, it wonât take long.â
Grab!
It was unknown where Rhineland gathered the strength to do so, but he grabbed at Isaacâs leg and begged to Isaacâs emotionless eyes.
âPlease, let the princessesâŠâ
Rhinelandâs hand dropped before he could finish his sentence. Isaacâs eyes shook for a moment hearing Rhineland. He watched Rhinelandâs body slip away and quietly muttered to himself.
âThe kids should live, the kids shouldâŠâ
Leaving behind Rhinelandâs corpse, the group boarded the airship for the second destination. When they arrived, Rivelia figured out Isaacâs intentions.
âThis is not acceptable.â
Rivelia blocked Isaacâs path, and Isaac made a bloodthirsty smile.
âWhy?â
âWhat do you mean why! There could be civilian casualties.â
âNothing new there. Unlucky civilians die all the time. Donât tell me you believe there havenât been any civilian casualties throughout all of Centralâs history?â
âThose were unavoidable casualties. But this is a village completely unrelated to our mission!â
âWhat do you mean, âunrelatedâ? This is one of the Marquisâs supply bases.â
âYou know Marquis Lichten isnât charged with anything!â
Faced against Riveliaâs continued rejection, Isaac sighed.
âThe Countâs army was annihilated after an ambush. Is that normal?â
â⊠No.â
âAt least you know that. Then how will the Count react? Theyâll obviously point towards the Marquis as the culprit. Heâll file a complaint to the Department of Administration. Then, Central will be involved, and the war will be on pause until the investigation finishes.â
ââŠâ
âHow are we supposed to find the demon and his turncoats in that situation?â
âAre you saying that the Marquis must also suffer damages so the Count canât blame him as the culprit?â
âThatâs right.â
Isaac was pleased to see Rivelia finally understand and nodded. She spoke hesitantly through her grit teeth.
âI will take command this time. If we infiltrate stealthily and only eliminate the guardsâŠâ
âNo, the village will be wiped out entirely.â
âAre you out of your mind?!â
Rivelia blurted out at Isaacâs order to massacre civilians, and Isaac responded, irritated.
âItâs you who should come back to your senses. The Count lost an entire army. But the Marquis only lost a single supply base? Do you really think they can accept that? What if they suggest that this was an inside job? We have to do it properly. If there are civilian casualties, the Count canât point to the Marquis as the culprit. Thatâs when we show up.â
âThat is absurd.â
âDonât worry. It seems most civilians have already left the village because of the war. Those left are employees tasked with managing the supplies. Thereâs only ten or so of them.â
âCivilian casualties are unacceptable regardless, be it ten or a hundred!â
Rivelia continued to reject the end result of civilian casualties, so Isaac sighed in defeat.
âI guess thereâs no choice. Step aside.â
âYou canât do this!â
âSigh! Hey, damsel, Iâve said it clearly. Step aside.â
âI will report this to the higher-ups.â
âFine. Iâll give you 10 minutes. Contact them.â
With Isaacâs approval, Rivelia immediately rushed to the airship to contact the higher-ups. Isaac watched Riveliaâs back, and when she disappeared he lit his cigarette and looked at the village as he spoke.
âMove in. Leave no survivors. Kill them all.â
âButâŠâ
Kainen spoke out hesitantly, and Isaac immediately took out his shotgun and fired at Kainen.
Bang! Kainen stumbled from the force of shotgunâs pellets. Isaac looked coldly at the dumbfounded agents, who didnât expect Isaac to really shoot, as he spoke.
âYou retards were promised a future in return for absolute obedience. Has watching that childish damsel throw a tantrum given you the impression that you are in the same situation? I donât need your opinion. Move in.â
The agents grit their teeth and put their hoods back on. They moved in toward the village, which was showing signs of commotion because of the loud explosion. âEnemy!â someone shouted, and screams ran rampant inside the village.
Isaac put his shotgun back and smoked as he waited. The screams stopped even before Isaac finished his first cigarette. Isaac chuckled and stepped into the village.
âThey really are useful when it comes to hunting humans.â
Isaac glimpsed at the dead guards littered in front of the village gate. He walked to the village plaza with a slouched attitude, but when he saw his agents gather a group of survivors and wait hesitantly, he frowned.
âLetâs see, are they all civilians?â
Isaac looked at the group who wore casual attire instead of military uniform. He tilted his head and began counting them.
âHuh? Iâm sure I was told there were seven, but only six are here. Oneâs hiding. Find him.â
Some of the agents scattered into the village, and Isaac took out a new cigarette as he asked.
âAnd are you guys deaf or something? Iâm sure I told you all to kill everyone. Or are you so appalled that youâre going to give up everything?â
â⊠Do we really kill them?â
âI have no idea who you are with that hood on. Who are you?â
Kainen hesitated for a moment, then took off his hood and spoke.
âWe should at least wait until the higher-ups give us their approvalâŠâ
Kainen tried to buy some time, even risking his identityâs exposure. But he shut his mouth when Isaac took out his shotgun.
âOh, please sir, we are just civilians. Please spareâŠâ
Bang!
A middle aged man immediately begged when he felt Isaac approach behind him ominously. A wave of pellets lodged itself into his back.
âUwaach!â
âHe killed him!â
âPlease help me!â
The civilians screamed and tried to escape when they saw the body burst to pieces with a loud explosion, but they were stopped and thrown back into the village plaza by the agents.
Isaac shot the back of another man. He then reloaded his gun and moved on to the next.
Isaac did not discriminate between his victims, whether they begged, cursed vengefully, or soiled themselves in panic. When Isaac pulled the trigger on the last victim, he heard an enraged shriek.
âIsaac!â
Isaacâs face spun backward with a âsmack!â and his body flew into the air, landing on a pile of crates.
âIâll kill you!â
Rivelia found the civilians, whose bodies had been torn to tatters by the shotgun. She drew her sword and rushed at Isaac.
Clang!
Kainen and other agents managed to block Riveliaâs attack, a strike which was wholeheartedly intended to kill.
âMove aside!â
ââŠâ
The agentsâ faces stiffened at Riveliaâs scolding. They shook their head and disobeyed her command. In fact, they slowly started surrounding her.
Rivelia glanced behind to see that the agents were intent on facing her. She bit her lip, and a droplet of blood, infused with her fury, crawled down her chin.
âYou dare try to stop me when all of you have witnessed what that man has done? What happened to the pride of being an agent of Central?â
The agents kept silent, and it was Isaac who answered her as he climbed out of the pile of boxes.
âKukuku. Does pride bring food on the table? Itâs only those with full stomachs that speak of honour and pride. Ouch. That really hurts. I guess you really are a sword master?â
Though the defensive coat managed to protect him against the brunt of Riveliaâs attack, it failed to dissipate all of its impact. Isaac spat out the blood that had pooled inside his mouth.
âIsaac!â
Anger lit in Riveliaâs eyes. Isaac found a box that was still somewhat intact and crossed his legs as he sat down.
âWhat, you want to kill me? Then do it. A humanâs gonna do what they want to do. Isnât that right? But youâll need to take care of these retards first before you can kill me.â