Chapter 1315 - Bloodstained Front (1) (1/2)

Shattered Tooth: the eastern defensive border of the Country of Light.

The devastation caused by the Chaos creatures in the past was still visible. The towering walls were dented and filled with various holes. Shattered, collapsed walls seemed to fall to the ground like wounded beasts. The armies of players and battle angels that were previously stationed here had all been evacuated. However, the place wasn’t completely uninhabited. The silhouettes of heavily-armed soldiers could be seen vaguely beneath the shattered walls. However, they weren’t very serious or tense. Instead, almost everyone wore an expression of fear, unease, and confusion on their faces. It wasn’t surprising because they weren’t ordinary soldiers. But rather, they were the ones who gave up their positions and fled in the previous battle against Chaos.

After that battle ended, all of those guys were captured by the players sent by Rhode. Although they tried to resist capture, they were no different from little pigs against the formidable players. Moreover, the players were also very upset that the soldiers abandoned them and fled on their own, resulting in them having to face a larger number of Chaos creatures themselves. Dissatisfied with the situation, it was only natural that great efforts were made to capture these deserters.

It was due to this reason that these unfortunate deserters were able to be recaptured in such a short period. In fact, they were baffled as to why they were captured. They could only blame themselves if they were discovered. As a matter of fact, there were actually quite a number of soldiers who had chosen to enter deep, uninhabited forests and wilderness to hide their tracks. But to their amazement, no matter where they hid, pursuers who seemed to fall from the sky appeared before them in the shortest possible time, knocked them unconscious, and took them away without a second thought. And when the soldiers woke up again, they found themselves sent back to the front line—the same place they had escaped from in the first place—once again.

Of course, they didn’t know what was going on. But Rhode had put a lot of money into catching these deserters. This rout of the Country of Light’s soldiers was arguably the most unpleasant part of his plan and was demoralizing as well. Such behaviors were contagious and once the rest of the world knew that they were working hard against Chaos while those idiots in the Country of Light fled to safety, it definitely wasn’t good for their morale. Not only that, but in order to prevent such a situation from happening again, Rhode had also chosen to punish an individual as an example to others. If he didn’t let others witness how harsh the punishment was for deserting, this would continue to happen again and again.

That was why, this time, Rhode was considered to have put in a considerable amount of effort. As for hunting down the deserters themselves, it was much simpler. After the battle was over, Rhode found Alice and used her ‘Historical Tracing’ ability to search for all of the deserters’ names. Since the History Deity Warden held records of history in this world, Rhode was able to determine who fled at the beginning of the battle, who shook the army, and who held on until the very end. That was why he was certain that he wouldn’t wrong a good man or spare a bad man. Of course, this was all based on the basis of Alice’s historically accurate records. But for Rhode, her historical records ‘must’ always be accurate.

Or rather, ‘had to’ always be accurate.

There were nearly 5,000 deserters gathered here and they were the first and second in Rhode’s classification (in other words, soldiers who fled first and those who fled second). As for the soldiers who fought to the end and ran away when there was no hope was in sight, though Rhode also captured them, he didn’t punish them severely. After all, in a situation like that, where their comrades were being hindrances, it wasn’t unforgivable for them to retreat. But even so, they were still subjected to rather serious punishments. Thereafter, the soldiers who were recaptured were sent by Rhode to the second defensive line to be in charge of the front line’s patrolling and preparations. In other words, if the battle spread to the second level of defense, they would be the first to come into contact with the enemy. This was already an unimaginably cruel punishment for those soldiers who had experienced firsthand how terrifying the Chaos creatures were.

However, if they knew what happened to their comrades, they probably wouldn’t be bemoaning how unlucky they were.

As for those soldiers who fought with the players until the end, Rhode gave them very generous rewards. Not only did he give them a considerable amount of wealth, but he also elevated their status and even allowed soldiers who had lost their ability to fight after the battle to leave the front line. This brought a renewed surge of confidence for those soldiers who were stationed and stuck to the front line of battle. After all, merit should be rewarded; this was Rhode’s creed.

Of course, so was punishing soldiers for their wrongs. At the same time, while conducting merit commendations of the brave soldiers, Rhode didn’t spare the deserters any punishments. To be on the safe side, he withdrew all the battle angels and players stationed here. Although the Shattered Tooth was the closest point to the front line in the first level of defense, it wasn’t the only one, after all. So even if this place was occupied by Chaos, it wouldn’t affect the entire defensive line too heavily. Of course, he wouldn’t let this place fall so easily either. Because he had already prepared enough ‘soldiers’ on his side.

As for the other point, the scene of punishing the soldiers wasn’t suitable to be seen by anyone else.

One could imagine the surprise on the soldiers’ faces when they woke up from unconsciousness and opened their eyes, only to find themselves back on the battlefield they had escaped from before.

“What’s going on here? How did we get back here?”

“What the hell is going on here?!”

Upon opening their eyes and seeing the familiar and almost frightening scene before them, many soldiers stood up almost immediately, staring at their companions with disturbed gazes. Although many of them belonged to different legions, they still knew one another well. In just a few moments, they became aware of their current situation and the true identity of those people around them, which instead made them even more uneasy.

At that moment, the soldiers were in the drill ground of the Shattered Tooth, which was normally used for training, so accommodating these deserters naturally wasn’t an issue. The soldiers remained as they were when they were unconscious, and even their weapons hadn’t been taken away from them. Not only that, but they were also stunned to find that the entire drill ground was devoid of people other than themselves. There were neither the heavily-armed guards that they expected, nor nobles in flashy clothes. On the contrary, the entire fortress looked so deserted that there seemed to be no one around. The black windows and ajar doors seemed so hollow that they made some soldiers shiver instinctively. For a moment, they thought there were no living beings except for themselves in this world.

But just at that moment, a proud voice echoed.

“Finally woke up, huh? What a bunch of losers. How dare you make me wait for so long.”

Upon hearing this voice, the soldiers instinctively looked in the direction the voice sounded and were taken aback.

Seated above the towering city wall was a beautiful young lady with maroon eyes and long, black hair, donned in a pitch-black dress. At that moment, she crossed her hands, narrowed her eyes, and put up an expression as if she were staring at garbage. She swept an unsentimental glance at the bewildered crowd, which was at a loss for words. And upon sensing her stare, many of them felt a chill running down their spine. Her maroon eyes were so ice-cold that they felt as if a snake were slithering down their back.

“Who are you?! What do you want to do to us?!”

Perhaps after realizing that it was a delicate-looking young lady who appeared before them, a few courageous ones shouted in rage. Although the situation before them was absolutely bewildering as anyone could tell, perhaps due to them owning weapons, they became a lot bolder. And along with their furious cries, the other soldiers also gathered and looked around with wary and uneasy gazes.

“You scum have no right to know my identity.”

In the face of the angry screams, Celestina snorted and raised her head high and proudly spoke, staring at the soldiers before her. Celestina had no kindness for these deserters, and the punishment for defectors in hell made them hate themselves for not fighting to their death in the first place. And now, with Rhode’s authorization, Celestina planned to revive hell here.

Celestina’s eyes glinted with a cold flash. Then, she spoke with a smile.

“Listen up, lowly deserters. You have turned your backs on your duty and fled the battlefield where you belong. And now, it’s time to punish you incompetent fools. By order of Master, from now on, all of you will be on guard duty here. No one will be allowed to leave without permission, or you will be killed on sight…” Celestina came to an odd pause before revealing a smile of anticipation. “Now, do you understand?”