Volume 3 Chapter 112: The Rebel Invasion of the Alcott Valley
Translator: The Light
Edits by Grandia
The outskirts of Olsylvia Academy, Alcott Valley, on the perimeter of the Manasvir Empire’s base camp at Simon Quarry.
The area had already turned into a battleground. The battle fire had finally encroached into Manasvir Empire’s territory, which had enjoyed peace for many years before this. General Pamela had led more than two thousand light cavalry into the devastating hands of nearly five thousand rebel army forces in front of their own base camp.
When the ambush had begun, General Pamela’s troops were at a disadvantage as the rebel forces had been lying in wait to attack them on both sides of the path. In terms of numbers, there were twice as many enemy forces. Furthermore, the troops under General Pamela were all new recruits who had never experienced battle. Once they were under attack, these new recruits abandoned their general.
The light cavalry fell into chaos as countless arrows descended from the skies. Many of them were impaled by the falling arrows and were killed before they had the chance to defend themselves. At this crucial point, many of the new recruits revealed their true colors and began to flee at the sight of the enemy forces’ immense numbers. This desperate run for their lives caused the entire cavalry to be in a state of frenzy.
“Everyone, do not panic. Quickly...”
Before General Pamela could complete her sentence, her steed was shot by a few arrows and collapsed. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and was not crushed by the fallen steed. When she stood up, Pamela could feel the despair and fear fill her heart. In a time of crisis, none of the troops in her command had stayed to protect their general. Instead, they had all chosen to flee.
Swiftly, Mage Ariel pulled out a crystal ball from her sleeve. It was a magic crystal ball used by mages only in an emergency. A ray of light shot out from the crystal ball and almost immediately, a layer of translucent light veil began to spread out in all directions, with Ariel at the center.
Ivy, the assassin, made use of the opportunity to release dozens of dart-like concealed weapons and shot a few approaching enemy troops to the ground. Kriss, on the other hand, retrieved two razor-sharp swords from her sword space. She wielded both swords with deadly grace and accuracy, forcing the enemies in the area to retreat.
“Kriss, be careful. The swords that these guys are using belongs to Abaddon!”
Ariel released a form of defensive light magic, the Veil of Light, which were completely ineffective towards the incoming arrows shot by the enemy troops. The arrows pierced the veil effortlessly. There were many small, black metallic spheres which came along with the arrows.
Without further hesitation, Kriss shattered the small spheres that were flying towards here with a horizontal slash of her sword. However, the small black spheres exploded on impact and released toxic gas into the air. This gas was extremely lethal for the human army. In an instant, the entire path was filled with toxic gas.
Using the toxic gas as a cover, the enemy troops released the second wave of arrows. With this second wave of attacks, the members of the cavalry who had been gravely injured earlier had nowhere else to run and not many of them had made out of it alive. The moans and cries of the wounded lingered along the path permeated with black noxious smoke.
This round of attack had affected every single one of Bella’s team. They did not expect such a large scale attack. The small metallic spheres, especially, had come as a surprise to them. As far as they knew, there weren’t any alchemists in the entire continent who were able to create something like that.
Ariel’s hood had been torn to shreds by the explosions and her previously hidden mane of glorious silver hair were now exposed and flowing in the air. However, lady luck must have been smiling down on her as visibility was extremely limited as the path was shrouded in the toxic gas.
From a distance, Kriss and Ariel’s hair looked almost the same. This caused the enemy archers to be unable to differentiate between Ariel and Kriss, who was an expert swordsman and posed the biggest threat to them. As they hesitated for a moment, Ariel and Kriss were able to dodge a few of the arrows that came their way.
However, Ivy and Pamela were not so lucky. This was especially so for Pamela as her armor was mostly ceremonial and was not able to hold up against any form of attack. Even if the enemy troops were not using the enhanced arrows and were using normal arrows instead, Pamela’s armor would not stand a chance.
“Hmph, your time is over, it will be in your best interests to disarm and surrender to us! Maybe I would let you live for a few more days! Would you like to do it yourself or would you want me to do it for you?!”
Captain Laurent seemed almost like a completely different person. It was highly likely that the real Captain Laurent was no longer alive. Looking at this imposter, Bella was filled with hatred and disgust. Even though the previous Captain Laurent was not classically handsome, at least he was a decent person at heart.
The imposter was ugly and fierce-looking. He always had a creepy expression on his face and his beady eyes were filled with violence and greed. One look at him and one could tell that he was a bad person, like those depicted in stories in the past. The fake Captain Laurent began to return to his true self as the armor on his body literally burst at the seams. From a lean and lanky person, he turned into a brutish, muscular man.
With a decisive thrust, Bella’s stabbed her sword into the man’s chest. However, it seemed as though she had stuck it into a piece of soft sponge and had no effect on the man at all. This feeling could be likened to stabbing one of Bella’s demonic underlings.
“You seem to have a very sturdy body! It doesn’t seem like you are human at all! At least, not like any human I have encountered on this continent.”
“You are about to be my prisoner, why should I answer a slave’s question? Watch how I am going to tear this mask of arrogance off you.”
As Bella’s hands were both on the hilt of her sword, the imposter took advantage of the situation and reached for Bella with outstretched arms. This fellow clearly intended to subdue Bella with a vice-like hold and he could play with this haughty female duke and make her submit to his whims.
“Bella, leave now! This insolent fool, you are not to bully any of our academy’s students.”
In a flash, President Ivy had appeared behind the imposter. Using a dagger, she unleashed the assassin’s finishing move, the “Backstab”. With extreme precision, the dagger pierced right through where the imposter Captain Laurent’s heart should have been. However, like Bella, Ivy’s attack was a futile effort.
“That’s impossible. You do not have a heart...”
“Foolish woman, be good and wait for your turn to become a slave!”
In a blast of black energy from the imposter Captain Laurent’s body, Ivy was blown aside. Luckily, Kriss caught her in time before she flew right into the enemy’s base camp. If that were to happen, it would have been a scene right out of a soap opera.
“Black energy, this feels really familiar. You are one strange fellow. Even though you obviously have a human’s body, but you wield such strange forms of energy. It’s not just you, every one of your people share this characteristic.”
“All you feeble beings are not worthy of being considered as the human race. Only us, the great... You, you’re fine?!”
Bella stood unmoving in front of the imposter Captain Laurent, still holding on to the hilt of the sword protruding out of his body. Apparently, the blast of black energy had caused no actual damage to Bella.
The thing that shocked the imposter the most, was that his ability to move had been sealed by Bella’s sword, rendering him completely immobile. This arrogant, haughty, female duke was somehow able to seal his ability to move from inside him. It was practically impossible as none of the human race in this continent had the power to achieve something like that.
“Who in the world are you? D*mn, I am...”
“Slap!”
Before the imposter could reveal his real name, Bella had hit him across the face with a tight slap. On impact, Bella realized that the skin on the man’s face was unusually tough and it made her hand feel slightly numb.
Bella had initially wanted to maintain the demeanor of a royal. However, this fellow had the nerve to use his ultimate move on President Ivy right in front of her. What a jerk! President Ivy is part of her inner circle. There was no way that Bella could let this go without killing the man.
“You’re mere cannon fodder. You are not worthy enough for me to know your name.”
“You dare.... All of you, don’t even begin to think about...”
In a flash of a blade, the rebel army ringleader’s head was sliced right off, with an incredulous expression permanently frozen on his face. It was as though he was surprised that there were any weapons on this continent that could cause him any harm.
“Kriss, you seem rather proficient in slicing off people’s heads! Eh, you got hit by an arrow too.”
“Bella, we have been surrounded. Let’s retreat. Pamela’s cavalry had already met its doom.”
Kriss’ hands were covered in blood and there was no way to determine if the blood was hers or the enemy’s. In addition, there were many arrows sticking out of her body. Bella almost could not bear to see her in this state. If she was not technically a savior, she would have been dead by now.
“Just give up! We are indestructible. Based on the fact that we could be related, I can...”
Despite having his head cut off by Kriss, the ringleader of the rebel army was still alive. His head dangled in midair as he continued to threaten Bella and the others. As for his body, it was a rather terrifying sight as not a single drop of blood was found on him.
The ringleader of the rebel army might have realized that Bella was not like the other humans. Even though it still had manic undertones, he was less insolent when he was speaking with Bella. In addition, he did not say another word about keeping Bella as his sex slave.
“Go away! Who in the right mind would want to be in cahoots with you? If you’re really that great, then try to resist this!”
Like a skilled soccer player from her previous life, Bella soared into the air and kicked the terrifying bodiless head back towards the army base. At this point, she had a vague idea where this guy was from.
In the distance, Pamela stood unmoving with her eyes filled with despair. Just like those generals who had been defeated in battle, her limp figure had lost her previously imposing stature. At the same time, Ariel the Mage was rapidly launching various forms of offensive magic at the surrounding enemy forces, driving them away from both of them.
The entire path was filled with bodies, which consisted of the light cavalry from the Manasvir Empire. None of the enemy troops had fallen at all. In this unfortunate battle, the Manasvir Empire had suffered a crushing defeat. In total, there were more than five thousand light cavalry troops and Garrison troops at the base camp and none of them had made it out alive. On the other hand, even though there were only about four thousand or so enemy troops, not one of them had been killed in battle.
“It seems like, I am really not qualified to be a general.”
Pamela’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears as she slowly moved her knight’s saber up against her neck. Her army was completely annihilated, yet as their commander, she was still alive. This went against every single principle that Pamela had learned from her military books and it would be much better if she was dead.
“Pamela, don’t do this. Stop, you can’t do this!”
Of course, Pamela’s attempt to end her own life was foiled as Bella rushed to her side and stopped the hand holding the sword from moving in the nick of time. This silly lass, had she learned all the military strategies and laws for nothing? If the commander was dead, then there was no way she would be able to stage a comeback.
“Bella, let go. Just leave me to... you...”
Pamela had every intention to continue, but there was no way Bella would allow her to succeed. To prevent her from biting her tongue in a desperate bid to commit suicide, Bella had used her other hand to knock her lightly on the back, rendering Pamela unconscious.
“No offense, Pamela. I’m really sorry, but you’re mine and I will never let you die in vain like that.”
Other than Bella and the five other girls, every single one of the troops from the Manasvir Empire had been completely wiped out. Ariel walked along the woods, attempting to find a suitable place to break out of this place while Kriss had President Ivy on her back and Bella carried General Pamela in her arms.
As the equine steeds had been annihilated by the enemy forces, Bella and the others could only attempt to break out on foot. Once they had entered the woods, the enemy forces had begun to catch up. Just as they were to engage in battle, Bella’s reinforcements had arrived.
The rebel army had barely entered the woods before they were blown to the side by a White Bone Spear which had appeared to be thrown from afar. Taking this opportunity, Bella and the others took cover within the mountains. Any rebel troops that attempted to follow them were suppressed by a skillfully thrown Sky Bone Spear. The rebel troops had no choice but to watch helplessly as Bella and the others disappeared into the distance.
“Dem... I mean, Mistress Bella, your servant is too late. Please punish me. Even though there were many bones of the dead in the valley, but there were only a few here in this area. I had spent a fair bit of time attempting to summon a few of your underlings.”
Bella’s reinforcement was one of the demon lords, the Skeleton Emperor, Fred. As this was human territory, Fred did not wish to attract too much attention and had purposely decreased his original body of about five meters to just about two meters tall.
If Fred was not wearing his blinding crown, he would have looked like any other Skeleton General. Fred was a demon lord from the Darkness Sacred Region sent to protect the Demon King Bella. With the help of the Demon Lord Clement, this group had hidden in a specially made carriage used to carry the bones of the deceased.
The gatekeeper troops of the human empires would typically not check any carriages that transported human remains in fear of picking up any bad luck. These carriages would be allowed to proceed after a cursory glance. The Skeleton Emperor Fred and his subordinates, the Skeleton Generals had gathered in the carriage and had an unimpeded journey to the vicinity of the Olsylvia Academy.
“Fred, are these the few underlings that you mentioned...”
“Yes, I know that this is far too little. Pardon my incompetence, please punish me, Mistress Bella...”
“Alright, go and stop all those pesky humans behind us. Also, do you know if there are any ponds nearby?”
Staring out at the mountains behind the Skeleton Emperor Fred, Bella was rendered speechless at the sight of what appeared to be ten thousand, maybe twenty thousand skeletal troops. If this was what Fred had considered being a few reinforcements, she was rather glad that her subordinate’s ability to show off was one-tenths of her own.
“I understand. I have already found the pond earlier and have stationed some of my elite soldiers there as guards. If you wish, you can leave everything else to me, I will handle it for you.”
“Alright, take your underlings with you and surround the camp. Remember my orders, you are not to attack them under any circumstances. Surround them, and wait for me to get there. I will deal with them personally.”
As Bella watched the Skeleton Emperor leave with his troops, a conspiratorial grin emerged on her face. The ringleader of the rebel troops was too smug! Since they were unable to reach an understanding, then the only way left was to fight to the death! This would be an interesting fight since the Skeleton Emperor Fred and his thousands of underlings were technically undead as well.
Ariel and Kriss exchanged a knowing look, feeling rather unnerved. Both of them knew that Bella was not a good person. Bella had once admitted to Kriss that she was a Demon King and Ariel had visited the City of Sin with her as well.
However, the only thing that Kriss and Ariel were unsure of was if either of them were good people. In the attack earlier, both Kriss and Ariel showed no hint of glee when cutting down their foes. One look at them and you would know that they were seasoned in battle. In addition, their methods of killing were remarkably similar, where they preferred to tear their enemies to shreds in the most violent ways imaginable.
The outskirts of Olsylvia Academy, by a hidden pond in the depths of the Alcott Valley.
The area within a ten meter radius of the small hidden pond had been temporarily demarcated as a “Demon King Restricted Area” and there were heavily armored elite skeletal soldiers. Their sole responsibility was to ensure that the Demon King Bella was able to enjoy an uninterrupted rare moment of relaxation.
“Kriss, are you alright? Where does it hurt? Let me massage it for you.”
“Ariel, come closer so I can see where your injuries are.”
The pond was rather shallow as the water was only waist-deep. Bella sat within the pond with Kriss and Ariel on each side. Due to the earlier ambush, their bodies were all covered in various bloodstains. In addition, the conservative Olsylvia Academy’s uniform was nearly ripped to shreds during the battle.
There was another reason why Bella had decided to retreat. Their uniforms were so torn and tattered from the fight that it was practically falling off their bodies. Bella did not wish for any of the enemy troops to get any opportunity to catch an eyeful of eye candy and thus retreating was the most sensible option.
This time, Ariel and Kriss were unexpectedly obedient as they sat quietly at Bella’s side without objection. Taking advantage of the opportunity to check on their wounds, she ran her hands all over their gorgeous bodies. Ariel and Kriss were both flushed red, yet they did not resist any of Bella’s violations.
Kriss and Ariel were both Dark Saviors who had crossed dimensions to get here. Therefore, the arrows were unable to pierce any of their defenses. However, their uniforms were not so lucky. Both ladies were focused on each other’s reactions as they feared that if they were to resist, Bella would distance herself from one of them and redirect her affections to the other.
At the moment, Bella was only able to take a little bit of advantage. This was not the best time nor place for her to claim Ariel and Kriss fully as her own. This location was especially unsuitable for any wild frolicking.
“Bella, what are you... what is happening here? Where is my assassin’s outfit?!”
Earlier, President Ivy had been knocked unconscious by the rebel ringleader’s blast of black energy. When she came to realize that she was sitting stark naked within a pool, she had almost thought that she had been caught by the enemy troops and nearly had a panic attack.
“Ivy, relax. You’re fine now. Are your wounds still hurting you? I have already dealt with everything for you.”
“Mm, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Can you let me go... I... I don’t like this at all.”
“No way, you haven’t fully recovered from your injuries. I will not let you go.”
Ivy was tightly wrapped in Bella’s embrace as she voiced her objections towards Bella’s insistent and wandering hands. However, her protests were useless as she realized that her body was not averse to Bella’s violations. In fact, it ignited a spark of animalistic excitement in her.
“Bella, what are you doing to me... are you using a spell or something? Stop __ me. I...”
“Ivy, be quiet. This is a time for us to recuperate. If you continue to make noise, you might reveal our location to those rebel troops. If that happens, I will have to leave you here and escape on my own!”
“You... how could you do this to me? I have saved your life before!”
As Ivy was clueless about the current situation, Bella made use of the excuse that they may be discovered by the rebel troops to calm her down. A conspiratorial smirk emerged on Bella’s face as she looked at the trembling President Ivy in her embrace.
President Ivy was no longer the cold young maiden assassin. She was now a vulnerable young girl seeking protection. Bella was not completely honest with her earlier. When she was treating Ivy’s injuries, other than taking advantage of her, she had secretly projected some dark energy into Ivy’s body through her wounds.
Due to this, Ivy’s body would naturally be compliant to Bella. Kriss and Ariel had seen everything earlier, yet they were not averse to her actions and even thought that what Bella did was perfectly natural. Unknowingly, any of their realizations as a savior had completely vanished from their minds due to their associations and relationship with Bella.
Pamela was unable to escape from Bella’s demonic clutches either. Like Ivy, she had been stripped bare and placed in the pool to recuperate from her earlier injuries. However, Pamela was pretending to be asleep. She had roused from her sleep much earlier and wanted to make conversation with the others. When she saw that Bella was toying with Ivy, she quickly shut her eyes and continued to appear to be unconscious.
Bella had already seen through Pamela’s little ruse. While she was being intimate with Ivy, she could hear Pamela’s breath quicken. This lass, pretending to maintain her composure even though she could barely take it any longer.
“Kriss, Ariel, Princess Pamela seemed to be hurt rather seriously! I doubt that she would awaken anytime soon. Why don’t we hand her over to the rebel troops? Maybe they would spare our lives!”
“Bella, I had no idea you were so despicable... I guess I made a wrong judgment of your character... why are you smiling...”
When she heard that Bella was going to send her to the rebel troops, she was so shocked that she no longer dared to pretend to remain unconscious. When she opened her eyes, she saw Bella cackling with a maniacal glee with Kriss and Ariel by her side with similar expressions.
Even an idiot would know that Pamela had been duped by Bella. This Duke was too much! Why would there be a female Duke who took so much joy in bullying other girls? Was there no order in the world, how could such a distasteful girl like Bella even become a Duke?
Bella did not care what Pamela thought. Wordlessly, she handed the now silent President Ivy over to Kriss’ care. Bella sidled closer to Pamela, cradled her in her arms and picked her up.
No matter what, Pamela was still a general. In a bid to preserve her dignity, she had wanted to resist. However, Bella had stopped her attempt to take her own life, which meant that she owed Bella her life. In addition, Bella had led her out of the enemy troop’s attacks. This made her reconsider her attempt to struggle as she did not think it was proper to refuse Bella outright.
Pamela was about to push Bella’s hand away. However, in her confusion, she hesitated and stopped moving. In that moment, she had no idea that her current actions would lead her to a life of being unable to refuse Bella.
“Bella, stop this! You’re really putting me in a spot. Please!”
“Pamela, relax. It troubles me if you keep moving as well! As for those rebels, I know where they came from. Would you like me to tell you? Stop squirming and I will tell you.”
Bella had cleverly used the power of intelligence to stifle Pamela’s need to resist. Once Pamela got hold of the information, Pamela would be like President Ivy and fall prey to Bella’s wiles and charms.