Game of Divine Thrones Book 3 Chapter 69

While Woohyuk had been in Blackburn, his party members which he had left behind in Hayswick were hard at work.

Leifina would spend her time either playing with Ria, or honing her swordsmanship.

Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna were busy studying the basics of magic from the city's mage. It was all due to the recommendation of Viscount Alsace, who was acting city lord.

“Sis, this area was the capital of the ancient kingdom, long ago.”

“Right, I heard of that.”

Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna chatted as they spread some jam on their bread. They were currently in Count Huntington's manor, gathering for dinner as usual.

“Mom, when will dad be back?”

“Just be a bit more patient, I'm sure he'll be back soon.”

Leifina responded, as she ran hair fingers through her hair. Ria had completely adapted to a human lifestyle.

She wouldn't transform into her Dragon form out of nowhere and cause trouble. She stared at Leifina with her big eyes. 

“Try this one, it's really good.”

Undine, who was seated next to them, offered them some dessert.

Strawberry Cheesecake.

The red from the strawberry blended well with the white cream.

“Thanks Undine.”

Ria smiled as she accepted the platter. She then proceeded to skillful cut herself a piece using her fork and knife.

“Mom, go ah~”

Ria kept her mouth open as he brought her fork holding a piece of cheesecake to Leifina's mouth. Basically copying what Leifina had done to her in the past.

Despite being a bit embarrassed to do so, Leifina proceeded to eat the strawberry cheesecake.

“Um… it's delicious.”

“Feed me too, I'm also curious to know what it tastes like.”

Leifina quickly complied with her request, and as soon as the strawberry cheesecake went into her mouth, Ria's face lit up.

“It's sweet, I've never eaten this kind of dessert”

“Isn't it? I had no idea that human's food was this good.” 

Undine agreed with Lefina as she wore a huge smile on her face.

She was also learning to fit in, here in the human world by following Song Anna's lead.

As they were enjoying their meal, loud noises were heard from outside.

“What was that?”

“No idea...”

Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna immediately wore a worried expression. Leifina, feeling that something was off as well, stood up.

“I'll go check on it, you guys stay here.”

Leifina was also a Gold medal officer, just like Lee Jaesung and Jung Sanghoon. She had the power to summon to her side up to 30 clan members which served under here, with a six hour cooldown. 

So long as someone took care of Ria, it wouldn't be a problem even if all of them were scattered about.

'Did they attack again?'

She had heard from Woohyuk that the rebels had been soundly defeated on the plains of Cerenia. Perhaps they were now trying to capture Hayswick in a last ditch effort to turn things around.

Count Huntington had taken the majority of the troops with him to the capital to stamp out the rebellion, so there weren't many soldiers left garrisoned in Hayswick.

'First things first, let's evaluate the situation.'

Leifina left the manor as she pulled out her sword Argent.

Night had already fallen, but she had a black machete in her belt slot, given to her by Woohyuk, so she was able to see just fine.

“Uaaaack!

“Kuhuk!”

Soldiers shouting was heard across the city, followed by the sounds of metal clashing.

'I'm just barely too late.'

Because they were foreigners, the soldiers had been late to inform them of the attack.

As she arrived, she spotted a half animal  half human creature, fighting the city's soldiers stationed on the wall.

'Are they monsters?”

Leifina had never seen a hybrid, because they were a race which originated from another world.

As she was reporting the situation to Woohyuk, someone swung a curved Scimitar from behind.

Chaeng!

Leifina gave her opponent an icy look.

'What is it?'

Long ears like those of a fox, golden eyes that shone in the darkness and a long tail like a cheetah. It seemed to be some sort of hybrid mix between animals and humans.

“You are quite good, I thought you hadn't sensed me.”

“Are you also a part of those rebels?”

“Our goals are simply aligned at the moment, since our people need new lands to settle on.”

Odd Eyed Katsy, their clan leader laughed like a cat. After their ally Akatsuki had been crushed,  they worked together with Count Ludwig to come up with a new strategy.

In Count Huntington's absence, they were to attack the city and take control of Hayswick. Their Hybrid clan was chosen because they could easily scale the city walls with their sharp claws.

“You can't do whatever you want. This place is under the protection of my Lord.”

“Your reinforcements will never arrive in time. We have enough men to finish it all by tonight.”

The Odd Eyed clan were about 1,500 strong, half human half animal hybrids, whereas the soldiers stationed in Hayswick were no more than 500.

Without the protection offered by the walls, they couldn't hold on too much longer.

“I won't let that happen!”

“Good, then let's fight! I've been too bored lately, not having found a worthy opponent.”

Hybrids had animalistic instincts and were innately aggressive.

As Katsy swung her scimitar, Leifinaused her Flash strike, and tried Ecclet's swordsmanship skillbook.

Kalang! Chaeng! Chaeng!

They exchanged several blows for a  few minutes, but as neither of them could gain the advantage, they soon broke apart and took the time to breathe.

“Looks like I can't do this by myself. I'll have to resort to a more dishonorable method.”

With a signal from Katsy, the Hybrids standing nearby rushed to Leifina. Gritting her teeth, she did her best to fend off all their attacks.

Hwarrrk!

A fireball flew past the furry beast, which had a rhinoceros head.

“Don't hurt my mom!”

Ria was seen running over along with the rest of the party. She had essentially copied Yoo Kayoung's Fireball spell, but because she was a dragon, it was several times more potent.

“Chit!”

Realising that these weren't any ordinary foes, Katsy called over more members from her clan, causing the party to come under siege.

Leifina tried to run to Ria's side, but was quickly intercepted by Katsy.

“Where do you think you are going? We aren't done playing just yet.”

“....”

Sneaky cat.

Leifina ground her teeth as she raised Argent.

Then.

Sasasasak!

A black shadow moved across the battlefield, causing a bloody mess in its wake. With deadly accuracy, it quickly began slaughtering the intruders.

“What, what?!”

“What's going on?”

As the slaughter continued, the eyes of the Hybrids widened, unable to understand this new foe.

Katsy, however, was able to get a glimpse of the opponent.

'How is it that they have a Demon over here?'

Melphis, the Demon on their side that she had met upon joining them, was like the embodiment of fear itself. A complete lunatic that could massacre a few dozen armies by himself.

If this new opponent was of the same level, all they could do was run away. As Katsy tried to escape sneakily, a handsome boy with dark green hair appeared from behind. 

“How naughty, trying to run away after causing such a scene?”

“....”

Loengreen.

Catching sight of him, Katsy froze up.

'Shit, so scary….'

Her muscles tightened as she was instinctively filled with fear.

'They have one too.'

She now knew why it was that the Hwarang clan had failed. They had all fallen prey to this monster.

She trembled her body as she knew what fate awaited her. Finally a dark shadow covered her sight entirely.

* * * 

With Loengreen's aid, Hayswick was able to weather the storm. Katsy was locked up in the dungeons, and her subordinates had either died, or fled away.

Now that the entire incident had been resolved, Leifina reported the results to Woohyuk.

They also asked for some reinforcements in case of another attack.

'They've done well.'

Woohyuk had a satisfied expression as he mobilized 3,000 soldiers from the kingdom's army to reinforce Hayswick.

The rebels no longer had any method to turn the tables on them.

“Lord Regent, the captives you mention have been brought over.”

“Bring them in.”

Soldiers dragged two men that were violently resisting. Woohyuk simply looked down at them from his seat upon the throne.

Sergei and Shinichi, the two leaders of the large clans which had joined the side of the rebellion.

“The first to speak will be pardoned.

“....”

“....”

Sergei and Shinichi quickly exchanged a glance. Even if they kept their mouth shut, it would be meaningless if it was the other who spilled the beans. A classic prisoner's dilemma situation, so the two quickly divulged everything.

“It was Floren's Count Gwain who had us join the rebellion. He conspired with several nobles in order to seize the throne. He orchestrated the entire plan, from poisoning King John to smuggling in Wildfire which is stored in the kingdom's military headquarter.”

“We joined hands with Count Ethan from the Issilon province, along with the Odd Eyed clan. He was about to marry off his son to Count Ludwig's daughter. Count Ludwig also has a rather powerful Superior Demon by his side which will be difficult to deal with. If you plan on marching into the Erutonia province, you should keep this in mind.”

Woohyuk interrogated them some more and then called his scribe.

“List their crimes.”

“Fraternizing with traitors, directly or indirectly involved in King John's assasination. Murder of five nobles, including Baron Dupon from the Issilon province. Looting and arsoning hundreds of houses in the outer villages, illegal dealing with slave traders….”

They had committed countless unspeakable crimes, and would typically be sent to the guillotine.

Woohyuk then spoke.

“You have been accused of disturbing the peace here in the Rhine Kingdom, as well as killing its innocent people. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

“Nothing, I was wrong, please spare me.”

“If you show mercy, I will do anything you ask. Please give me one more chance.”

Sergei and Shinichi's bodies trembled as they prostrated themselves before him.

Acting very submissively, unlike their position as leaders of big clans.

Woohyuk nodded, as he pretended to take it all into consideration.

“Surely it would be better to take you in as slaves, rather than just killing you off. I can certainly benefit greatly by using your positions as clan leaders.”

“Lo... Lord Regent, they are….”

“Of course that doesn't mean that I'll simply forgive them of their crimes. Their verdict will be announced at a later time, for now they can be held in the underground prison.”

Soldiers quickly came forward and dragged them off, as soon as Woohyuk had spoken.

The magistrate however appeared quite furious.

“If you let those rebels live, it will be a stain on all those loyal to the crown. Are you certain you want to leave behind that kind of future trouble? ”

“It is necessary for the good of the kingdom as well as its military might. ”

The clan system would soon be in full swing. By making use of these two leaders, he could enjoy many advantages in the early stages.

That was because rewards were handed out every three months based on a clan's performance. The more clans you had serving under you, the easier it was to achieve a better ranking.

At the moment he was too proficient with his Demonic Energy so he couldn't control all these clan leaders, but it would certainly become possible in the near future. 

Of course it would also be fine if they themselves chose to serve him loyally, but given their strong personalities, he felt this was rather unlikely.

'Still, a person's personality can change dramatically after suffering a life changing event.'

Marcus, formerly known as the Mad Lord, was such an example.

He had started off as a mercenary in the Yan principality, climbing all the way to become an Overlord as he led his Black Lions Union.

He had originally been a kind and benevolent Lord, but upon suffering a betrayal from the Demon King Amon, he turned into a vengeful killer.

A completely different kind of madness than the psychopath, Logan.

Marcus, who had lost everything, clung dearly to his throne and as he tried to become a God.

He would torture any in his kindgom at the slighest sign of disloyalty. If he were to spare their lives, perhaps a new Marcus would be born.

'I must definitely remove this cancer, Count Ludwig.'

An ambitious man who had even gone as far as siding with a Demon just to sit on the throne. If he were to let him live, he would surely become a disaster for the entire continent.

Woohyuk's eyes gleamed as he read the report about the kingdom's army given to him by his scribe.

Chapter end