I Alone Regress in a Hero Party That Was Annihilated - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#80. Fire Bull Formation (3)

Featherback.

He examined the cattle in the stable.

Large bodies with muscular limbs, horns thick and blunt from selective breeding.

Featherback struck the cattle horns with his sword.

Crack—

The diagonally cut cattle horns became very sharp at the tips.

Featherback tied oil-soaked straw bundles to the cattle’s tails.

Now, once the fire was lit, the cattle would rampage madly throughout the castle, spreading flames everywhere.

Making full use of their bred muscles to charge and smash everything that blocked their path.

‘Now I just need to release them all at once.’

Featherback moved his steps toward the livestock barn on the side.

However.

“You’ve arrived.”

Hounded’s expression as he stood in front of the stable was somehow troubled.

Wondering what was wrong, he approached and found a person in one corner of the livestock barn.

A man with a scruffy beard, he looked at Featherback.

Featherback asked Hounded.

“What is that bastard?”

“The Livestock Keeper.”

“Drive him out.”

“Well… he’s refusing to evacuate.”

“Why?”

“He says he’s been guarding this livestock barn his whole life. There are pregnant cows here, and he can’t just abandon them…”

Hounded hesitates.

Then, the Stable Keeper shouted.

“What crime have these cows committed that you would do this! They’re so gentle and kind that they won’t even try to flee at a time like this! They’ve worked hard their whole lives for humans and haven’t committed any sins!”

Behind him, several small calves can be seen trembling.

The Stable Keeper hugged the cows and sobbed.

“Why must these small and pitiful lives be sacrificed for humans’ conflicts of interest! What sins have these children committed against the Young Lord! What about the old cows who plowed fields and bore calves their whole lives for humans and just retired!? What about the calves just born who can barely walk yet!? What wrong have they done that their horns must be cut and their tails burned! Why!?”

“…”

Hounded fidgets with his sword handle as if troubled.

Then, Featherback spoke.

“It’s not humans’ conflicts of interest, but the strong’s conflicts of interest. Not all humans are strong. Just as this war has nothing to do with your interests.”

“What do you mean…”

Featherback continued speaking to the bewildered Stable Keeper.

“You keep asking what crimes the cows have committed, but no creature in this world dies because of sin. Snails eaten by birds, earthworms that crawl onto roads and dry up, mantises that drown from parasite infections, crabs that die during molting—is there any among these that dies as punishment for being bad and evil?”

“…”

Neither the Stable Keeper nor Hounded could say anything.

Featherback said.

“Even if a villain dies, it’s because they lacked strength or their lifespan ended, not because they’re paying for their sins. That’s how everything in the world works.”

Beside them, a cow is lowing mournfully.

Featherback looked at the cow with an indifferent gaze.

“These cows are the same. They’re just dying because they got caught up in the strong’s conflicts of interest. It’s the same for the grass that died being eaten by these cows.”

“….”

“Is there any life born with a predetermined mission? No, they are simply born by chance.”

“….”

“Death is the same. No life dies with some grand cause. They simply die by chance.”

Everything happens by chance, and that chance stems from the conflicts of interest created by the powerful.

Featherback, who had fought the Demon King his entire life, knew well that life was neither particularly heavy nor precious.

And he clearly remembered the backs of certain fools who had burned themselves fighting for those things that were neither heavy nor precious.

Featherback spoke to the Stable Keeper.

“Pleading innocence doesn’t help with survival. This isn’t a world where the innocent live long and the guilty die young.

“….”

“If you want to live, become strong. If you can’t do that, at least show the sincerity to run away and avoid opponents stronger than yourself.”

Having finished speaking, Featherback walked past the Stable Keeper.

“….”

He only let thick teardrops fall from his cow-like large eyes, but in the end, he couldn’t leave the calves’ side.

* * *

Just a few hours later.

Vibuak Castle Interior turned into Hell.

Black smoke rising as if to reach the ends of the Sky.

Below it was a Cattle Herd running wild with madness.

[Mooooooooo!]

Cattle with Fire on their tails charged forward with terrifying momentum.

The cattle were painted with charcoal and Ash, making them barely visible in the Darkness.

How big it was, how fast it was, even what it actually was—all of this was difficult to make out.

Such cattle charged forward with tremendous momentum and struck down the people.

The main victims were the Purosange Rangers who had been gathering in the Central Plaza.

“Wh-what is that?”

Thoroughbred didn’t even have time to voice his question.

One bull, charging like black lightning, rammed into the side of the War Horse a Ranger was riding.

Thud—crash!

The sharply honed Cattle Horns broke the War Horse’s spine and tore through its Belly Hide.

The Purosange Ranger couldn’t withstand the impact and was sent flying far away, crashing into the Castle Walls and dying instantly.

Hissssss!

The blood that spurted from the person and Horse touched the flames and boiled up, emitting thick smoke.

The stench of blood and thick Steam filled the air in all directions.

Beyond that, the black cattle continued their relentless charge.

[Moo—ooooo!]

[Mooooooo!]

[Snort— snort! Snort—]

Once the cattle had gone mad, they never stopped.

These massive Meat Chariots with overwhelming strength and endurance rammed into and trampled to death both War Horses and Rangers without discrimination.

Thud-crash—thump! Thump-thump! Bang!

Blood, Flesh, and Entrails flew everywhere.

Horses and Humans were equally mixed together, turning into ground meat.

A catastrophe. There had never been such a catastrophe.

Thoroughbred was able to realize these were cattle only after nearly half of his Rangers had been killed.

“Cattle! He painted the cattle with soot! And he sharpened their horns to make them pointed! That bastard set their tails on fire! Th-they’re coming this way! Run!”

Not even an order to stand and fight was given.

Since the enemy wasn’t hostile troops but a frenzied cattle herd, all they could say was to flee.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!

An enormous number of cattle covered the Central Plaza.

The Purosange Rangers hastily fled the plaza and escaped into the side streets, but the cattle continued to follow them.

“Up! Get up on the rooftops! Go anywhere high!”

Thoroughbred had to take shelter on top of civilian house rooftops.

It was humiliating, but now wasn’t the time to be picky about location.

The Purosange Rangers climbed up anywhere they could.

Rangers climbing up other people’s garden walls, rooftops, and chimneys.

But escaping to high places wasn’t the end of it.

…Whoosh!

Flames that spread from the cattle’s tails burned throughout the alleys.

Oil-soaked straw bundles scattered through midair as the fire demon made all of Vibuak Castle its firewood.

“Good… goodness…”

The Purosange Rangers stood speechless and dazed.

The horizon, the castle walls beyond the horizon, the mountain range above them—nothing could be seen.

All that was visible was the completely blackened earth and red flames rising above it.

From below came the screams of war horses and comrades who couldn’t escape.

The cattle herd was still racing madly through the castle interior, bringing flames and death with them.

“P-put out the fire!”

Thoroughbred shouted, but not a single person heard his words.

No, his orders themselves were swallowed by the raging flames and weren’t even properly conveyed.

How could they possibly put out fires while surrounded by crazed, rampaging cattle in the first place?

In the end, Thoroughbred had no choice but to revise his judgment.

“Retreat! We need to move to the Rocky Area where the fire can’t reach!”

The Rangers, the Soldiers, everyone evacuated to the Highland.

It wasn’t to follow Thoroughbred’s orders, but simply an instinctive decision to survive.

However.

…Thunk!

One Ranger jumping from rooftop to rooftop was struck by an Arrow and collapsed.

He failed to land on the opposite rooftop and was thrown off, falling down into the blazing Alley below.

“!?”

The Ranger following behind was startled and looked around.

Then.

Swoosh!

A Blade split through his spine and protruded through his chest.

Behind the collapsing Ranger, a Boy revealed himself.

Hair and skin stained red by the firelight, and two eyes glowing even more crimson than the flames themselves.

Silently…

Featherback concealed himself in the shadows behind the Chimneys.

And.

…Thunk!

A Ranger landing on the side rooftop was struck in the forehead by a crossbow bolt and collapsed once again.

Thunk! Squelch― Crack! Thwack! Crunch―

Featherback occupied one of the escape routes in the outer zone and devoured the Rangers passing through one by one.

Like a spider digging underground tunnels and pouncing on prey passing overhead.

The corpses of Rangers whose lungs were pierced by Featherback’s sword or whose throats were carved out piled up behind the chimneys.

…Thunk!

Featherback fired his crossbow to kill a Ranger on the adjacent rooftop, then moved positions.

Rustle―

Featherback gripped a wooden beam and slithered down like a snake, heading toward the alley between the rooftops.

There.

“Uuuuuugh…”

Purosange Rangers were piled up in heaps, writhing while clutching their feet.

“Quite a catch.”

Featherback approached like a fisherman checking his fish trap.

Before using the Fire Cattle Strategy, Featherback had scattered sharp caltrops across several rooftop surfaces, then lightly covered them with snow.

These upward-pointing welded spike assemblies embedded into the soles of Rangers leaping across rooftops, protruding through the tops of their feet.

Some Rangers stepped on caltrops wrong and were pierced from heel to ankle bone.

Rangers who lost their mobility this way slid down the sloped rooftops and tumbled into the alleys below, piling up like this.

And there, Mörsolt Knights were invariably waiting.

Slice― Slice― Slice―

The crippled Purosange Rangers all died with their throats slashed horizontally by Featherback’s dagger.

Leaving behind the pile of Ranger corpses in the alley, Featherback headed toward the opposite alley.

There.

“I was one step faster, Young Master.”

Hounded was grinning wickedly.

Behind him, about ten corpses of Rangers with caltrops embedded in their feet were piled up.

Featherback nodded his head.

“Did you catch Thoroughbred?”

“I saw him climbing toward the rocky area earlier, but it seems he luckily avoided the caltrops.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just take as many Rangers’ heads as possible.”

“Shedyoldis, that woman is nowhere to be seen. Do you think she was trampled to death by the cattle herd?”

“No. She’s alive.”

Featherback turned his head.

A small castle tower built like an annex on a hill made of solid bedrock came into view.

The final refuge where the surviving members of Purosange, including Thoroughbred, were presumed to have taken shelter.

Featherback moved his steps toward that place with the flames at his back.

“We’ll see her soon enough.”

The Purosange annihilation battle was nearing its end.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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