“Your mission is to kill that woman named Rita, no doubt about that, but I never expected you, a worthless piece of trash, to succeed by tomorrow. However, there is one thing you absolutely must do.”
Last night, after the succubus left, a pale-faced Lady Mel entered Kros’s room—the actual room inside the brothel.
“No matter what happens, you must keep Rita with you. Understand?”
Lady Mel always shared only the intelligence that needed to be passed on, harboring curiosity about matters beyond her knowing only if it could harm or benefit herself.
Kros didn’t know what might happen tonight, but she was certain something definitely would.
After nightfall, the Street of Soros City was pitch black, with only the Lamps held by the Night Patrol Soldiers providing a few meager rays of light.
One soldier looked at the empty street and grumbled, “So quiet. No pedestrians at all. I really don’t understand what exactly we’re patrolling against in a situation like this.”
His partner, also in a duo, complained as well, “Tell me about it. Even if a succubus attacks, there’s nothing we can do to resist. I really don’t get why they sent so many of us out. It’s a complete waste of manpower and resources.”
“Sigh,” the first soldier sighed. “Well, there’s the second round of assessments tomorrow. We’ll be busy then. Just gotta get through this. The lord of the city will probably give us a break, I hope.”
“Don’t count on it. Only compensatory time off. Overtime rarely gets you a day off.” The partner joked, but just then a shadow flashed past like a rat lurking in the night.
He immediately shouted, “Who goes there!”
The patrol routes and departure times were fixed. Under normal circumstances, the two teams would never cross paths.
Besides, the figure wasn’t carrying a Lamp and looked like a sneaky sort.
“Could it be a succubus?”
“Don’t care, let’s check it out.”
Both men steeled their nerves and hurried into the dark alley where the shadow had vanished, only to find the figure waiting there.
One soldier lifted his Lamp, and the flickering firelight revealed the figure’s true form: a filthy old Beggar, clad in ragged clothes and covered in grime, shivering under a tattered thin blanket despite the early autumn chill.
The soldier’s heart softened for a moment, but orders were orders, and his tone turned serious.
“The city of Soros is under curfew right now. Didn’t you know?”
“Huh?” The Beggar’s mouth dropped open, eyes clear and unspoiled by knowledge, making the soldier frown repeatedly.
“I said, there’s a curfew now.” The soldier repeated.
“Huh?” The Beggar’s mouth opened even wider.
“Forget it. Although I doubt a succubus would attack someone like him, there’s a curfew. Take him back and find him a place to stay.”
Giving up on conversation, the soldier spoke half in consultation, half in command to his comrade, and took a step closer to grab the old Beggar.
The Beggar’s eyes shifted from confusion to fierce suddenly.
From beneath his worn blanket, he pulled out a filthy dagger and lunged straight for the soldier’s stomach.
The soldier’s reflexes were quick, but the dagger had already pierced his side before he could dodge, causing his knees to weaken.
He staggered back in pain, raised his spear to strike, but the Beggar seemed possessed—he neither dodged nor flinched, allowing the spear to pierce through his body.
With both hands, the Beggar gripped the spear’s shaft tightly, refusing to let the soldier withdraw even an inch.
“Help… uh.” The soldier’s plea was cut off as dizziness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed to the ground.
Before losing consciousness, his blurred vision caught a man with a wooden stick standing behind him, his comrade already fallen, and several civilians wielding weapons emerging from a street corner.
Similar incidents were breaking out one after another across the city.
Suddenly appearing crowds had begun indiscriminate attacks on the Night Patrol Soldiers.
Some soldiers were knocked down before they could react, others resisted but were overwhelmed by numbers.
Blood flowed down the streets like sparks on paper, as if threatening to ignite the entire city.
The unaware soldiers advanced, moving into a night governed by commands that no longer seemed to belong to them.
Soldiers who had learned the truth rushed around, hunting down the snakes and rats hiding in the gutters.
“W-who are you?! Why attack us?!”
“Get lost! Get lost, now!”
Peace seemed to have lasted too long.
Many soldiers had never witnessed the clash of iron and blood, and it wasn’t until their familiar streets were stained with blood that they woke from their dream.
“Kill on sight! The Guard Captain’s orders are to kill on sight! If you see anyone armed approaching, do not hesitate—attack immediately!”
“Attack! Attack! Several brothers have already fallen! Even violent suppression is necessary to stop their madness!”
The mobs had no organization or discipline; once the soldiers reacted, they were doomed to be defeated.
But their numbers were too great, and they hid in the darkness, waging guerrilla warfare with the soldiers.
Finding and eliminating them all was no easy task.
Yet ignoring them could bring even greater harm to the city.
For a time, the battle within the city reached a stalemate.
The Lord’s Mansion.
Angus, still in the clothes he wore without time to change, strode quickly down the corridor, barking orders to the messenger soldier.
“Send reinforcements—one-third of the manpower at each checkpoint must join the fight. Dispatch people to the barracks for aid. And! The guards protecting the Lord’s Mansion and the city gates must not be moved! Absolutely not!”
One-third sounded like a lot, but Soros, as commonly understood, strictly referred to the inner city, quite a distance from the external barracks. It took time to mobilize troops.
If an external enemy invaded, the barracks would respond first.
But this time, the problem was inside the city, where only the soldiers maintaining order were stationed.
Soros was large, and one-third wasn’t nearly enough.
“My lord, isn’t one-third too little? Ignoring them will only make things worse!”
The soldier’s voice trembled with desperation.
Angus didn’t know what exactly had been lost, but he imagined the situation before he received the news had been horrific.
Angus felt his earlier ominous premonition come true, but now was not the time to calmly explain to soldiers.
“Do as I say! This is an order!” Angus shouted.
“Yes! Yes!” The soldier responded and hurried off.
“Lord Angus.”
Another voice came from behind.
“Speak quickly!” Angus snapped impatiently, then realized who was speaking.
At the corridor’s end, Cecilia approached, flanked by four or five soldiers.
The disturbance outside tonight was so great it was reasonable she had been roused.
Although Angus bore no personal grudges against Cecilia, with the enemy at the gates, there was no time for formalities.
His pace didn’t slow at all. “Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness, but the situation is urgent. I’m afraid there’s no time for conversation. I must go ahead.”
“I already know most of the situation from the soldiers assigned to protect me.” Cecilia hurried to keep pace. “If you plan to command from the front line, I advise you to reconsider.”
“Hm? Why?” Angus hesitated for a moment, but kept walking.
“The Lord’s Mansion is the most heavily guarded area you’ve fortified. Now that Rita is gone, if something happens to you, no one will protect me, and Soros City will fall into chaos.”
“Rita is gone?” Angus’s uneasy premonition deepened. “Has she betrayed you?”
“Regardless of her loyalty, at a time like this, the city is already in chaos and she remains unmoved. Betrayal would be the best possible outcome.”