Chapter 302: 302 Rescue Kain Village
The battle ended in an instant.
The two knights, who had been the hunters just moments ago, were now being brutally dominated right in front of the hunted young girls.
For the girls, what had been a terrifying, unbeatable specter of death didn’t manage to put up even a semblance of resistance against a boy of their own age, and was mercilessly killed.
And the one who had done all this was frowning at his hand, still crackling with electricity.
"This power really isn’t that impressive."
The boy actually said such a thing, dissatisfied with the powerful magic he had used.
"If it were back when I was still at Lv.1, the power of ’Thunder Strike’ could have been significantly stronger than ’Arc-shaped Beam,’ but now, it’s just mediocre at best."
In the eyes of the natives of this world, what only the great figures of the Heroic Domain could invoke, the fifth-tier magic, was merely that much to Reiger now.
If it weren’t for his strong ’Magic Power’ and the amplification ability of his ’Magic Conduction,’ perhaps the fifth-tier magic wouldn’t even garner a glance from him.
"Forget it."
Reiger dissipated the lightning in his hand, no longer thinking about magic, but instead turned his attention to the girls on the ground.
Still embracing each other, the girls sat collapsed on the ground, staring blankly at Reiger, unable to react.
"Are you alright?"
Reiger observed for a moment, ensuring there were no obvious injuries on either of them, before speaking out.
Only then did the sisters snap back to reality, looking at their savior, tears welling up in their eyes.
"Thank you, thank you so much for saving us!"
"Thank you!"
The older sister immediately knelt on the ground to express her gratitude, and her younger sister hurriedly followed suit.
"Please, get up."
Reiger was not accustomed to being thanked this way, and instinctively reached out to help both of them up.
This action undoubtedly made the sisters clearly feel Reiger’s goodwill, letting them understand that this powerful young man meant them no harm.
Realizing this, the girls knelt down again.
"What are you doing?"
Reiger frowned once more.
But the girl was already too preoccupied by her situation to care about her rescuer’s mood, kneeling and pleading.
"Please save my parents, and everyone in the village!"
"I beg of you!"
Not only was the girl pleading like this, but her sister also bowed down to Reiger, having grasped the gravity of the situation.
Clearly, having escaped danger, the two of them thought of their relatives, the villagers they lived with day and night, and saw hope for their salvation in Reiger.
"The village?"
Reiger turned his gaze towards the village not far from the forest’s entrance.
There, screams of agony continued to resonate.
"It seems I’ve delayed too long."
Reiger realized that the village slaughter he had sensed earlier had reached this place while he was testing his magic.
"Are you from Kain Village?"
Reiger inquired of the young girls.
"Yes, yes," the girl replied hurriedly. "My name is Anli Emert, and this is my sister."
Anli Emert—a common village girl from Kain Village, and also a character who appeared several times in the original story. Although not a major character, she was not a peripheral one either.
In the original story, when the massacre reached Kain Village, Anli escaped to the outskirts like this and was ultimately saved by the protagonist.
But now, it seemed the protagonist had no intention of appearing.
"Is it because I intervened? Or is it because after trading information with me, he did not explore this area and therefore did not discover it?"
Reiger didn’t know the reason, but it did not prevent him from taking his next actions.
"Let’s go," Reiger said to the two girls. "To your village."
The girls showed expressions of immense relief.
......
Kain Village, the square.
This was a vast space located in the center of the village.
On regular days, children would play here, and villagers would dry some grains, doing work that made it quite lively.
But today, the liveliness was something no one wished to see.
"Help, save me!"
"Run!"
"Ahhhh!"
The villagers were screaming in panic, fleeing in disarray, some with families in tow, others alone, creating a scene reminiscent of an impending disaster.
In fact, the current situation wasn’t much different from a disaster.
The knights in standard armor came from all directions, some on horseback, some on foot, wielding their weapons to slaughter the villagers or herding those trying to escape towards the square, causing dozens of villagers to be pushed toward here from various corners, gathered together.
"Drive them over there! Gather them all!"
A figure who was clearly a captain shouted in an obnoxious tone, barking orders at the surrounding knights. Under his helmet, his eyes and expression were filled with cruelty and a wanton thrill, as if he were savoring the act of slaughter, relishing the sensation of holding others’ lives in his hands, continuously commanding the knights.
His name was Belius, and he indeed was the captain of this troop of knights.
He had been ordered to attack villages near the Ye Lantil area, so events like today had become quite routine for him.
In previous village raids, Belius always did the same, having his subordinates attack from all directions, slaughtering villagers while driving the survivors to the center of the village.
Once the crowd was gathered, Belius would order some knights to search houses and slaughter any survivors, while others commenced the massacre right in the square.
There were also archer knights stationed around the village, ensuring that anyone who managed to escape would be decisively killed.
After the massacre was over, they would simply leave a few survivors, set the entire village ablaze, and their work would be done.
This was the mission of the knight troop led by Belius.
Today was merely a repetition of previous assignments, nothing noteworthy at all.
At least, that’s what Belius thought.
If there happened to be a few good-looking women in the village, Belius might take an interest in other pleasures.
But for now, Belius hadn’t found any woman of interest, so he only wanted to indulge in the slaughter, relishing the pleasure of ignoble villagers dying at his hands.
"Don’t waste time, Lundes, finish up here quickly, and move on to the next village!"
Belius roared at a knight who was relatively close to him.
"Tsk..."
A shadow crossed the eyes beneath the helmet of the knight known as Lundes.
Clearly, he didn’t respect this so-called captain very much.
What could he do, though? This man was a wealthy scion who had been parachuted in. He was not a well-trained knight or a comrade who had lived and worked closely with them. He was simply a privileged young master whose affluent family sent him here to gild his lineage.
This spoiled young man, for his base desires, would assault village girls to target during missions, and upon being obstructed by the girls’ fathers, he would quickly vent his anger on them, swinging his sword wildly. He was such a detestable person.
Naturally, such a person couldn’t command much respect. If it weren’t for the strict military discipline and the essential operation aligned with the superiors’ orders, Lundes would never tolerate such condescending commands and would challenge him to a duel.
But for now, the mission came first.
This was for the nation, for humanity, for the god he believed in...
"Pick up the pace!"
Convincing himself, Lundes didn’t even look at Captain Belius, but simply ordered the other knights around him.
He, too, quickened his pace, his sword strikes were merciless and without hesitation.
"Get moving!"
Belius brandished his long sword, shouting repeatedly.
Under such circumstances, the villagers of Kain Village were herded toward the central square, where adults and children alike could only gather together, embracing each other and shivering.
"Kill!"
After a quick survey, and having found no women to his liking, Belius issued his final order with a face filled with disappointment and indignation.
The knights immediately closed in, swords raised high amidst the horrified faces of the villagers.
And then...
"Thunder Strike."
From the sky, a voice colder and more ruthless than anyone present suddenly sounded.
"Boom!"
A bolt of lightning struck down, piercing through a knight.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...
Before the knights could even react, a succession of lightning bolts followed, each striking down knights surrounding the villagers.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh...!"
Screams echoed everywhere.
"Yikes!"
Gone was the smugness and triumph from Belius’s face, replaced by a disgraceful yelp.
"It’s over! Retreat!"
Lundes was quick to realize the danger, promptly directing the knights to fall back.
One by one, the knights retreated in terror, leaving behind the bodies of their comrades pierced from head to toe by the lightning.
Only then did they notice a figure in the sky, with crackling electric light flickering over an outstretched hand, looking so dazzling and majestic.
As the knights backed away, the figure ceased the attack and descended from midair, landing on the ground.
"Everyone!"
Upon closer inspection, the figure was holding two girls, one significantly younger than the other.
Upon landing, the girls immediately separated from the figure, crying tears of joy as they ran toward the assembled villagers in the square.
Now, only the person who had descended from the heavens stood confronting a group of knights.
Their expression was frighteningly impassive.