Volume 6, Chapter 24 – Fallen Elf

“Phew.”

In front of her was a battlefield razed flat. As Seles looked over the scene before her, the anger that had just been burning in her eyes returned to calm.

Of course, the battlefield that had been blasted level by brute force, together with the Minotaurs and Dark Elves behind Seles who were looking at her with eyes full of fear and reverence, clearly showed just how extraordinary the thing Seles had done really was.

Letting out a long breath, Seles drew back her gaze. Then she turned around without looking back and walked toward the army behind her.

The moment they saw Seles walking over, all those beings who had been staring at her with terrified, panicked eyes hurriedly lowered their heads. None of them dared meet Seles’ gaze directly, or rather, whether Minotaur or Dark Elf, not a single one of them dared or wished to draw Seles’ attention.

“The troops on this side have been dealt with. Next, you just cross this defensive line and keep attacking.”

Seles did not care about how frightened the Minotaurs and Dark Elves were. She walked straight up to the supreme commander of this force, a towering, burly Minotaur of Epic-tier strength, and issued the next stage of battle orders.

“Y… Yes… I will immediately lead the army forward.”

However, right after this Minotaur commander answered respectfully, Seles suddenly changed what she was saying.

“Wait. There is no need to advance just yet. First, work together with the Dark Elves I brought and find the trail of the Dawn army that pulled back from here. After that, catch up to them and wipe them out so not a single one remains.”

“Yes…”

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The Minotaur commander bowed his back and kept his head lowered, still answering with complete respect.

After that, he neither received any new orders from Seles, nor heard her say anything further. So as long as Seles remained silent, this Minotaur commander did not dare raise his head.

Only after he had kept his head bowed for a full half minute did he suddenly notice his personal guard moving in close behind him.

“General… Her Majesty has left…”

“She left?”

Only then did the Minotaur commander finally lift his head in hindsight. Yet when he looked around, aside from the many Minotaur soldiers he led, the only ones left were the Dark Elves Seles had brought when she arrived.

“General… what are we going to do next?”

As the Minotaur commander secretly let out a breath of relief, the personal guard at his side softly asked what the next operational plan would be.

Naturally, since Seles had already laid out the overall plan for the army, this Minotaur commander had very little desire to go against her intentions.

Well, that might be different if he did not fear death.

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Clearly, this Minotaur commander was not someone free from the fear of dying.

“Next is to pursue the enemy. The enemy’s main force has not withdrawn very far. We are going to chase those retreating troops and kill them to the last.”

“Pass the word for the brothers to get ready to move. Also, leave all the non essential military supplies here. We will likely have to pursue the enemy at full speed, so we need to pick up the pace.”

“Yes, I will go and notify them at once.”

Very quickly, the massive Minotaur army began to move once more and, after several dozen minutes, having left behind countless so-called “unnecessary” supplies, this Minotaur force rapidly departed from its original position.

Not long after this army left, an Elf girl with a few Dark Elves of rather powerful aura following behind her suddenly appeared on the now completely empty battlefield.

“Queen… It seems these Minotaurs are fairly reliable. They did not pull any tricks where they obey you on the surface but secretly defy you.”

“Mm… that kind of two faced obedience is something those hopelessly stupid Minotaurs could never pull off. The ones I am actually watching are your sisters.”

Standing at the front was none other than Seles, who had “just left.” Seles watched the Dark Elf behind her, who had hastily lowered her head, with a meaningful look. Yet her tone turned especially gentle.

“Dark Elves are fallen Elves to begin with. And among fallen Dark Elves, is there even one who is not a sinister, crafty creature? Betraying others, betraying their own families. Are these not things Dark Elves have long since grown used to doing?”

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“Queen… you mean there is someone among the sisters you left to act together with those Minotaurs who is thinking of betraying us?”

“You catch on quickly. But to me, this kind of thing really is not that important.”

“After all, no matter how much you Dark Elves pretend to obey me while secretly going against me, as far as I am concerned, as long as my strength alone is enough to take your lives with ease, that is enough.”

Seles said this in an extremely calm tone, then slowly moved her gaze away from the Dark Elf behind her. After that, she began walking, step by step, in the direction where the large army had just departed.

And this time, among the few powerful Dark Elves following Seles, one figure was quietly missing…

……

“Eh, no word at all? What do you mean, ‘no word at all’!?”

Several hours later, when Tianyin finally reached the border, she discovered that the whole defensive line had already been pulled back.

After arriving at the hastily built “command center,” Tianyin did not see Julius, nor did she see Orgum, the Beastman she was incredibly familiar with.

When she asked the highest ranking officers here about Julius and Orgum’s situation, the reply Tianyin received was just those four words, “no word at all.”

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“What happened? What on earth is going on? Julius is Legendary-tier, and Orgum is Epic-tier too. How could they suddenly just vanish without a trace?”

Tianyin truly could not accept it.

Yet when she saw that the faces of all the officers present were filled with guilt, self blame and sorrow, the anger that had risen in Tianyin’s heart suddenly faded away.

“So there is no word from them. Even so, ‘no word’ might really just mean that literally. Maybe they will both be back in a while?”

Not only that, when she saw that everyone present looked completely at a loss and weighed down by grief, Tianyin instead started to comfort them.

“I really was a bit angry just now. But everyone does not need to worry that much. I also know how strong Julius and Orgum are. So please believe in them.”

Their roles were completely reversed.

In theory, as the monarch, Tianyin should have been the one doing the scolding and the one being comforted.

Yet at this very moment, Tianyin had become the person comforting everyone else.