Ch. 143 Even villagers with fatal wounds

A villager who had just plunged a dagger into a loved one pulled out the bloody blade and charged at them.

Even villagers with fatal wounds, crawling on the ground, tried to drag themselves toward Artoria and Kay.

Armed with clubs, pitchforks, and kitchen knives, the blood-soaked villagers—their eyes devoid of even a shred of human intellect—launched an unhesitating attack on the two.

The irrational villagers screamed: “Kill you!”

“How dare you be taller than me…”

“You’re not allowed to be better looking than me!”

“Why are you wearing such beautiful armor!”

They scrambled to swing their weapons at the two.

“What is the meaning of your struggle?” Cath Palug tilted its head, watching the knights moving forward against the tide of people below.

“You can submit to me. I am not as evil as you think, and you are not as pure as you believe.”

“I feed on the competition, growth, jealousy, and regret between humans. What you see is but one facet of me.”

“Everything you fight for is merely surface-level. Ultimately, you want to become stronger, you want to compete, you want to defeat your rivals. That is enough. Accept the Principle of Comparison.”

Artoria gritted her teeth. The whispers in her ears were like sickening spiderwebs, constantly attempting to beguile her.

An illusion appeared before her eyes again. In a world turned to hell, shrouded in the black smoke of jealousy, she would stand as a Queen whom no one could compare to, ruling over all.

If she accepted the Principle of Comparison, then this would be the true future.

She would be the one and only in heaven and on earth, the supreme being of this planet.

However,

“I refuse!!!” Artoria shouted, swinging her sword once more to shatter the illusion.

She had only ever had one wish from the beginning, and she had never wavered.

She and Kay coordinated like comrades of many years, passing each other as they struck down every villager who charged, steadily pushing a small clearing through the crowd toward the church.

After all, they were just the people of a single village. Even controlled by the power of a Beast, they were still just villagers.

A juvenile Beast did not yet have the ability to turn a group of villagers into masters.

Perched high on the church, Cath Palug gazed across the channel at the city on the other side.

The lights of torches along the city’s coast flowed incessantly.

It seemed the garrison in Bangor had discovered the fire in the village and was assembling Guards.

There were far more people in that city than in a single village.

Which naturally represented more power and higher quality food.

Cath Palug stood up from the top of the church.

Just as it moved, a flash of blue light erupted; a meteor rose from the street below.

It violently pierced through the church’s bell tower.

The black cat monster let out a piercing scream of fright. As the bell tower collapsed, Cath Palug leaped down.

On the high execution platform in the center of the square, Mia’s figure suddenly appeared amidst starlight.

Immediately after, a massive magic circle appeared beneath Mia’s feet. Within a few breaths, it rotated and expanded, covering half the square.

“Calm!”

A comforting mana rose from the magic circle like a cool breeze.

Mia furrowed her brows tightly.

She wasn’t sure if this move would be effective.

But she did it anyway.

Amidst the blue mana dust, the people’s screams vanished.

Cath Palug leaped from the collapsing church roof into the flames. Mia fired two Fluorspar Meteors at it, but both were dodged due to the distance and the small size of the target.

*Whoosh—Thump.*

Artoria knocked down another villager.

Then, no new attacks followed.

She was also within the range of the magic circle, and she noticed the change instantly.

The villagers’ expressions were no longer filled with the previous frenzy; they stared blankly at Artoria and Kay.

Then they looked at each other in confusion.

Afterward, a high-pitched scream erupted from the crowd.

“Quickly, stop Cath Palug!”

Merlin’s voice suddenly rang in Artoria’s ear.

It was exactly like Cath Palug’s whispers from before, but this time, it was definitely Merlin speaking.

“Merlin! Where are you?!”

Artoria shouted.

“North! Drive Cath Palug to the north! Do not let it get near Bangor!”

Merlin’s voice rang not only in Artoria’s ear but also in Mia’s and Kay’s.

“You need to spread out to drive it toward me,” reminded the unseen Merlin.

If they were to drive Cath Palug toward Merlin…

Then the four of them definitely couldn’t stay in the same spot.

“I see it, it’s to your northeast.”

With Merlin’s Clairvoyance, it should be enough to compensate for their lack of familiarity with the terrain.

However—

“I have a better idea.” Mia gripped her staff once more.

She scanned the still-burning village and extended her staff forward.

Probably guessing Mia’s thoughts…

Merlin cried out, “What are you going to do?!”

“Clearing obstacles,” Mia said calmly.

All the villagers were in the square.

And those houses were already burning with a raging fire.

Then, why not create some favorable conditions for the battle?

Magical power gathered at the tip of the girl’s staff.

‘Shattering Crystal!’

Waving her staff, huge Glintstone Crystals condensed out of the void, those massive Glintstone Crystals flying in a fan shape towards Cath Palug’s direction.

Those crystals burst into even more tiny crystals in mid-air, flying into the fire.

Then.

“Detonate!”

Boom boom boom boom boom—

The explosion of the crystals was magnificent; the staggering number of Glintstone Crystals formed a scene that one couldn’t help but squint to watch, the brilliant light of the glintstones even overpowering the raging flames.

The violent explosion mercilessly destroyed the burning houses.

Within the beautiful crystals lay a massive power capable of making the earth tremble.

Mia waved her staff again.

Wave after wave of Glintstone Crystals, like a rainstorm, appeared as Mia waved her staff.

The target of the Glintstone Crystals wasn’t limited to the direction Mia was facing, but a wide range forming an obtuse angle—sixty degrees to the left and sixty degrees to the right.

The sound of explosions was constant, and the ground was shaking.

The whole process lasted less than a minute.

The resulting outcome was that to the northeast of the village square—no, including the north, east, and even the southeast.

All the buildings located within a depth of three hundred meters in those four geographic directions.

Dozens of bungalows, along with the two-story administrative center and the church that hadn’t completely collapsed before.

Together with the flames.

They crumbled under Mia’s magic.