Bloom in Difficulty (2)

There was something about Crown Prince Adrian Leonberger that stimulated the peoples curiosity and excitement. He had moved beyond his past notoriety and stigmas, became the savior of the north, and was now considered the future of the kingdom.

Unsurprisingly, when the people of the kingdom gathered, they praised the young hero born into the kingdom until their throats were dry. Then, when they had told all of the Crown Princes tales, the people again began to speak, this time about the five knights following Prince Adrian.

Chief of the Balahard family and renowned as the kingdoms shield, the first Duke in the kingdom for nearly a hundred years, Hertzog Norden, and acclaimed supporter of the Crown Prince, Vincent Balahard.

Arwen Kirgayen, the Steel Knight, widely known for her swordsmanship and knightly nature, a rare Master in her early twenties.

Bernardo Eli, a descendant of the kingdoms finest knights, who gained notoriety as the scion of a fallen high family, but who made great strides in the recent imperial war and in the monster extermination of the past year.

A young man who has been named as the next palace knight commander by Count Schmilde Stuttgart, Carls Ulrich, renowned leader of palace knights, who became famous for his graceful appearance and outstanding elegance.

has proven her mastery by attaining the title of champion in just a few years after being a maid who had never clutched a sword.

All of them were people who gained fame incredibly quickly, and all were young enough to have great futures to look forward to. But among them, a figure veiled in mystery.

All that was known about her was that she had originally been a maid, was then recognized as a knight by the Crown Prince, and was widely ridiculed with the stigma of being his concubine until she received the title of champion.

From tales by Carls Ulrich, who had seen less combat than the other knights following the prince, and through the maids and servants of aristocrats traveling to and from the royal palace, Adelias graceful appearance and serious and noble character became widely known.

It was not known exactly what kind of woman Adelia was.

If one listened to the maids of the First Palace, who once worked with her, they greatly cherished her elevated status. But if one accidentally met a northern knight or soldier and asked them about Adelia, their faces turned pale.

Shes gentle, sensitive, and good but scary, cruel, and fearless.

Sometimes, even if people managed to get lucky and unlock a northerners tongue, they then had to listen to a tale filled with contradictions that were difficult to understand.

A good woman who cant kill a single fly.

A cruel woman who values all life like a flys.

Then, in the end, people came up with two conclusions that couldnt coexist at all, and they could not figure out what was true.

Some chattering enthusiasts gave Adelia the nickname Cruel Angel.

Exactly!

Who thought that up? Its weird!

The soldiers in the north who heard the strange nickname strongly sympathized with it, punching their knees or slapping each others backs as they talked about the monikers aptness.

When it became known that even Adelias master, the Crown Prince, had heard her nickname and admired its suitability, the populace began to call her Adelia Bavaria, the cruel angel.

However, only a few of the people who called her that truly knew the nicknames meaning.

And now, Turk and five hundred mercenaries who had wandered into the kingdom were on the verge of being included among those select few.

Of course, they didnt know what Adelia was at first.

To find such a treasure in a corner like this.

Yeah. The other things seem normal, but the eyes and skin are awesome.

Turk and the mercenaries could only admire eyes, saying she was a rare attraction within the world.

I cant bear it. Kill them all, Im taking her with me.

Eventually, Turk was so fascinated by the cruel light in Adelias eyes that he thought of taking her by force.

Kill all the men, elders, and children. Just keep the women alive.

Then those women-

Do whatever you feel like. I just need this girl.

The mercenaries cheered at Turks words.

Leader! Look at her clothes! Its the Leonberger crest! Maybe shes a royal woman!

Only Yols, once vice-commander but now critic, gave a strong warning.

You shut up. How great if shes a princess of this country!

Lets hide and grow our forces! Lets build our own kingdom! If you touch that woman, Leonbergs army will move on us!

Ha, really Yols, youre a little bitch to the end. Even the Empire was facing trouble and struggled to stop us, so how can this country have the troops to pursue us! Right now, they could only spare a hundred cowards and thirty knights! You always pretend to be so smart, Yols I dont know why!

Somethings weird about this! Please, leader!

Yols continued to scream, but Turk wasnt listening.

What will we do, boys?! Before we flee, lets let them pay for it! Its okay if we run away, since when the hell have we thought and worried about the future!

The mercenaries spirit had been stifled for a while when they heard the army might chase them; now their spirits soared again.

Turk, who watched the men heading further into the village, turned to the woman again.

The more I see you, the more I know youll be most fascinating.

Holding his crotch, Turk stepped forward, and the woman suddenly shed tears.

Dont be scared, pretty. It doesnt hurt.

Turk said that she was even attractive when crying, and he laughed insidiously as he continued to rub his hand over his pants. He didnt know what those tears meant.

I promise, serve me with sincerity and follow me as your master-

Turk, who had been talking in a world of his own, experienced a strange sense of incongruity that made him shut up.

His vision was somehow blurry, distorted as he looked around. He saw that that the officers who had been heading into the inner village on his order had somehow halted, stiffened like stone statues.

What are you doing- Turk spoke in annoyance, but before his words were done, he heard the sound of something falling. He turned his head and widened his eyes as he saw a head roll across the ground.

Hwaak!

A headless body, right next to Turk, spouted blood as it collapsed with a thump. That was the beginning- Tuk~ Degur dozens of heads rolled to the ground as blood fountained from dozens of corpses.

What is this?

Turk look at the decapitated heads with a vague face.

I never want to hurt anyone.

Then, there came the soft sound of crying. Turk turned his head.

But I hate being useless to his Highness.

The woman was there, with a face as if she would sink down and weep right away; her bloody sword hung in her grip, pointing to the ground.

Thats why my heart hurts.

The woman looked at the bodies with a gloomy face. But

After a while, she turned to face Turk again. Not as much as I thought.

What the hell do you mean! No, what did you do! Turk shouted.

His Highnesss words were right.

However, the woman continued to talk to herself as if she didnt care about Turk.

Hes always right. Theres nothing wrong with what he said. You must not doubt his words.

The woman lifted her sword.

So its the same again this time.

Her tone was full of grief as her weeping began to subside.

If his Highness says that you are beasts, not men

Then, at a certain moment, the womans face became insidious, like that of snake hissing.

Then, you are beasts.

Little by little, the red and yellow lights that flickered deep within Adelias eyes grew brighter.

And Ive cut into non-humans so much that its become boring.

Turk felt cramped as if choking the womans shining gaze was nailed on him.

Instinct told Turk that the two lights he had considered mysterious and beautiful a little while ago were actually the eyes of a nocturnal predator crouched in the shadows of the dark forest. His body responded to this instinct immediately, a habit that had been hardened in him over many years.

Turks hand moved toward his swords hilt, and mana from his heart flowed to his hand in an instant. However, neither his hand nor his mana reached their destination.

Sasak!

Turk felt a subtle pressure passing through his shoulder, and when he realized what it was, it was too late. Turk gazed down. There lay a chunk of hairy meat that had been someones arm. Turk, who was staring at the piece of flesh, suddenly saw his body. There was an empty spot where his shoulder had been cleanly severed, and blood was pumping out rapidly.

Where is my arm? Turk mumbled like a madman, picking up the limb that had fallen to the ground.

Sasak!

Just then, a golden flash struck, as if having awaited this moment.

Tuk!

In the next instant, Turks remaining arm plopped to the ground. With a blank face, Turk looked at the two limbs that had once been an indispensable part of his life but were now obsolete chunks of meat.

Ah?

He opened his mouth, and his speech sounded dull at first.

Urghh. It quickly became a pained groan-

Ahhhh! and finally turned into a terrible scream.

My arm! My aaaaa-arm! Turk screamed.

When I cleanse my sword, the woman whispered, blood into a river flows, and the flesh enriches the land.

At that moment, a brilliant golden aura covered the entire area, then its light faded away. All that remained were corpses crushed into unrecognizable shapes and Turks own body.

Waah, Turk muttered as he sank to the ground, coming to a sit as his mouth trembled. He sighted a corpse that had half its body missing. It had been vice-commander Yols. One side of the head, cleaved in half just like the body, was facing Turk.

I swear commander, youll one day get stabbed by a girls knife.

What Yols had told Turk all his life sounded in his ears like a hallucination. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! he screamed.

Waschack!

In the next moment, a golden flash of light came out of nowhere and cut his scream short.

Duk, Turks head rolled over the ground.

* * *

This time, we wont get the chance to go out, a ranger who was looking at the village from a distance said jokingly.

The villagers will have to find another place to live.

Yeah, all the houses are gonna collapse.

The rangers joked with each other, but it was clear that they pretended to be cheerful; their faces were drawn and pale. Eventually, they stopped making meaningless jokes and shut their mouths.

As their surroundings became quiet, the screams from afar became clearer.

Help me!

Please forgive me!

The petitions and shouts of those beset by terror were intermixed. However, the pleas and cries soon turned into screams of despair, and even those grew quiet as time passed.

It must be over, one ranger said after a while.

It cant be over. His Highness was very insistent! Dont move until its over!

To be precise, he told us to stand back and watch the situation, even if it was over. He said it would be better if we waited for Sir Adelia to return first.

Yes! Then, we have to wait some more.

The rangers shut their mouths for a while and then started talking again, finding the silence too hard to bear.

But are you sure there was no one left in the town?

We made sure. There was no one. And even if there was, they wont be there now.

Dont say such things!

Its true. Look who can survive that?

Ugh. I wont see it. I cant see it.

These werent mere words; the rangers eyes looked everywhere other than at the village.

However, because they were on a mission, they couldnt completely turn their heads away; sometimes, they had to look in that direction.

Uh- Its all over, said one of the rangers who took turns to watch the village. Now. Go.

The rangers headed into the village reluctantly, finding dead mercenaries scattered around and within.

Its hell.

The rangers stepped lightly as they avoided corpses and blood puddles, their faces shocked. However, the dead were too many, and a lot of blood flowed from them. So, the rangers leather boots quickly became stained red. They waded through the pools of blood and reached the village center, finally meeting the one who had caused such carnage.

Between piles of crushed corpses, a blood-soaked woman stood in the dark.

Gulp, one of the rangers swallowed his spit.

Shh Just then, Adelia turned her head, facing the rangers with her multicolored pupils.

After a moment of silence-

Balahard Rangers! Friendlies! Allies! the rangers shouted all at once, even throwing their beloved crossbows into the gore as they desperately raised their hands.