Chapter 44: Chapter 44
Those were unmistakably humans!
Although the language those people spoke was different from that of the Sis Territory, the emotional expressions of fellow human beings were something Ron, as a human himself, could naturally understand!
Otherwise, how else could he distinguish between wails, weeping, and curses?
Were they people from other nations? Or from other territories within the Kingdom of Helios?
Ron knew that the Sis Territory was situated at the borders of the Kingdom of Helios, but he had never heard of the Sis Territory being hostile toward any other territory or nation.
Given the highly ordered, law-governed state of the Sis Territory, Ron speculated that it had to be under the influence of some powerful external force, and most likely not just the Sis Territory alone.
Therefore, his conjecture regarding the overall picture of this world was that civilization, nations, and territories existed, and while competition existed as well, it was primarily about huddling together for warmth rather than waging war against one another.
But how could the current situation be explained?
The sounds of combat Ron had just heard, barring any surprises, came from the families of those people being driven out of the forest. What had made the Sis Territory brazenly launch such an assault?
What made Waynes believe that those people were their true enemies?
For a moment, Ron’s mind was in complete disarray. According to Waynes, they apprentices were about to face the real trial:
slaughtering every last one of those considered true enemies!
…
As those who were being driven gradually approached the sentry post, Ron’s expression changed once more. Earlier, from a distance, he could only make out that they were humanoid, and from the emotions conveyed by their voices, he could tell they were most likely human.
Now, the distance between the two sides was close enough for him to clearly see their builds and appearances. They were indeed human, and every single one of them was either elderly or a child!
What kind of trial was this!
Ron couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Looking at the expressions of the other apprentices, every one of them looked equally grim. This was no longer a question of whether they could bring themselves to do it; it was whether those people were truly enemies at all.
Every apprentice’s face was filled with resistance.
Waynes sat astride his horse, taking in all the apprentices’ reactions, but he said nothing, simply waiting in silence.
It wasn’t until those elderly people and children approached the battlefield where Ron and the others had fought the wolf pack that he loudly announced:
“Charge, quasi-soldiers! The true enemy is right ahead! Kill them all!”
A lifetime of immersion in their environment, coupled with a full month of quasi-military training, meant that even though these apprentices were resistant at heart, they still subconsciously carried out the order.
But after taking a few steps forward and getting an even clearer look at the enemies before them, they all slowed their pace one by one.
Even Ron was hesitating over whether to disobey the order, because he simply could not bring himself to strike at unarmed elderly people and children.
He knew that disobeying orders would certainly carry severe consequences, but if he did such a thing today, he would no longer be himself!
Just as he was about to express his thoughts to Justin, Karel, and the others, he suddenly noticed that the elderly people and children being driven toward them had inexplicably begun to accelerate.
This highly abnormal behavior immediately triggered his vigilance. Logically speaking, shouldn’t they be getting slower and slower, or even trying to escape?
Why would they accelerate when approaching a group of armed soldiers (which was how Ron and the others currently appeared)?
At this moment, Ron had no time for further deliberation. His first thought was of what Waynes had just said: “These are the true enemies, feel with your hearts, and do not be deceived by their superficial disguise!”
Only then did he notice that beneath the outward appearance of the elderly and children were faces contorted to the extreme with hatred. Of course, this alone was still not enough to change Ron’s mind.
What truly changed his mind was the explosive power of those “children.” Going from their initial faltering steps to accelerating, to nearly sprinting, they had used only a few short seconds.
Later on, as they trampled the blood-soaked, muddy snow, they kicked up large splashes of bloody slush, which was certainly not something ordinary children could achieve.
Ron was currently standing on the exact same ground as them, and he knew all too well how much force was required to kick up such a massive spray of bloody slush. Based on this preliminary judgment, the strength of those “children” was actually not inferior to his own!
It must be remembered that although Ron had only undergone a month of Sword Stance training, he had privately experienced the state of a Formal Knight through the 【Transcendent Body Refinement Technique】, making his actual training results far surpass what others could achieve in a month.
In other words, if they were to discuss pure physical fitness, Ron should be the strongest among all these apprentices.
Yet even so, he was only on par with the strength of those charging “children”!
“Careful, those are enemies!” Ron shouted loudly to those around him.
He then slapped Justin hard on the back, reminding him, “That kind of speed absolutely doesn’t belong to an ordinary human child. Snap out of it! Did you forget about the disguise that Commander Waynes just mentioned?”
“Ron, we understand, but…”
Even though the situation was already painfully clear, Justin still hesitated. If Justin weren’t part of the Blood and Fire Squad, then so be it; Ron truly couldn’t control the others, and the others couldn’t harm him either.
But Justin just happened to be in the Blood and Fire Squad, and it wasn’t just him; hesitation was written all over Karel’s, Pat’s, and Dimi’s faces as well.
Even knowing full well that the speed and strength displayed by those opponents were absolutely not those of ordinary human children, they were still deceived by their human child appearance.
After all, this was outside the territory. Without the protection of the tactical squad as the most fundamental Order system, even Ron didn’t know whether he could withstand the external mental pressure.
In fact, this very point also proved that those children were by no means ordinary humans.
“Justin, do you trust me?”
“We do, but…”
“No buts. If you can’t bring yourselves to strike, then focus on defense. But I believe you’ll soon realize your mistake. I just hope you’ll still have the chance to regret it.”
“Let’s hope so!”
Although Justin and the others were unwilling to strike at those “children,” they weren’t ignorant enough to abandon their formation, and this was the entirety of Ron’s expectations for them at the moment.
…
The depth of the previous wolf pack battlefield was only about three to four hundred meters. Just as Ron finished steadying his squad in front of him, the first wave of conflict had already arrived.
The fastest-charging “child” swept past the still-hesitating but defensively-postured Squad Nine, seemingly intent on charging straight into the sentry post. However,
as he passed by a squad in the rear row that hadn’t yet managed to adopt defensive measures, a scrawny little hand suddenly reached out and slit the throat of the completely unguarded apprentice.
In the next moment, a javelin carrying a long, piercing screech shot in from afar, sailing over the heads of the apprentices and blowing the head off the fastest-charging “child” in a clean kill.
Immediately following that came an angry roar: “Are you still standing there like idiots? Do you need to wait until they all rush over and wipe you out before you know to fight back?”
It turned out to be the instructor of that squad, who ultimately couldn’t hold back from intervening. He furiously charged forward, hauled up the apprentice whose throat had been slit and was lying on the ground bleeding profusely, and strode quickly toward the sentry post. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to issue another reminder:
“Even if he survives, he’ll be eliminated! Be careful. Don’t count on someone saving you every time. There won’t be a next time! Those who rely on others will never meet a good end!”