Chapter 34 – The Midpoint of War

Unconsciously, the battle for Konola City had been raging for an entire day. The sun “Mila” and the sun “Chikasa” were gradually descending toward the horizon. The City Guard of Konola had repelled the enemy’s attacks countless times. At this stage of the war, both the attackers and defenders were visibly exhausted. Even those with powerful recovery abilities among the professionals were beginning to struggle under the strain of mental tension!

By now, the war had rendered everyone numb and sluggish—whether it was the initially fervent and determined enemies or the City Guard, who had progressed from trembling in fear to resisting desperately. Blood had coagulated and crusted on every survivor, while the walls and ground were stained with reddish-brown patches reeking of thick, metallic blood. The charred remains of extinguished fires emitted faint trails of black smoke, silently recounting the tragedies that had unfolded.

Finally, as if descending from the heavens, the retreat horn sounded. As dusk approached, the enemy decided to withdraw temporarily. Soldiers in crimson-stained armor retreated from the base of the walls, their iron swords still dripping with blood. The surviving City Guard let out a few symbolic cheers of relief before slumping numbly onto the corpse-laden battlements. The war… had reached a temporary halt!

Punk stood amidst vast stretches of minced flesh. If ordinary soldiers stood upon piles of corpses, Punk stood in a veritable stew of gore. Yet, not a speck of filth stained his person—the Mage Armor and Minor Deflection Field had perfectly prevented any blood from splattering onto him. Watching as the sun “Chikasa” was about to dip below the horizon, the last rays of twilight bidding farewell to Konola City’s pitted, blood-soaked walls, Punk curled his lips in disdain at the soldiers piously thanking their revered deities for such “mercy.” He kicked aside a half-crushed, bloodied skull and descended the wall step by step, his pace unhurried despite the slippery stairs slick with accumulated blood.

Clenching his still-pristine hand lightly, Punk sensed a tangible increase in his power. Combat was the finest method for honing magic. After a full day of “spellcasting practice,” personally observing and experiencing the effects and potency of his spells, and refining his timing and choices in the heat of battle, his magical expertise had grown significantly. Now, Punk had reached level 6!

Feeling the concrete growth in his strength, Punk remained entirely unaffected by the sorrow permeating the war. Even as Konola City echoed with anguished cries, his mood remained light and cheerful.

However, as Punk passed by a shop, even he—who considered himself cold and unfeeling—felt a flicker of… pity?

No, no. The weak never deserve pity!

It was a wooden building crushed by a massive boulder. The shattered, deeply scratched sign still bore the faint, somewhat childish characters spelling out “Laiketuo BBQ”… the very barbecue shop Punk had rather enjoyed.

Now, the shop lay in ruins, pulverized by the impact. The surrounding ground was fractured, and the blood seeping from the rubble had long dried. Yet, using divination magic and the blood of these ordinary people as a medium, Punk could still ascertain their identities and conditions…The results of the spell detection… were naturally infuriating… yet perfectly logical… Whether it was BBQ Uncle or that little lolita with her wide eyes and childish voice saying “Big brother is so pretty,” they had all… been deeply “buried” underground by this massive boulder…

“Poor little one, rest in peace. And farewell to the delicious barbecue I’ll never taste again,” Punk gently stroked the dust and blood-stained giant rock, then turned and continued toward the plaza…

Wasn’t he just one of the weaklings too? In such a war, his feeble self was equally… insignificant!

War… truly is unpleasant, especially the kind that makes one feel powerless!

The City Defense Army in the plaza was uniformly distributing food. In the Faerûn Plane, when a city was in a state of war, all “strategic supplies” like food for any commoners had to be handed over to the military for centralized distribution! Of course, the general distribution order prioritized professionals first, followed by nobles, then soldiers, and finally the commoners!

To reserve food for what could likely be a protracted war, all provisions were theoretically distributed according to “wartime standards”—at least that was the standard applied to the commoners.

In the plaza, Punk saw large crowds of commoners lining up at a makeshift porridge shed built from broken wood to receive a small bowl of soup porridge made with a bit of wheat flour and scattered wild vegetable leaves. Meanwhile, the professionals were selecting meals from a temporarily requisitioned shop.

Punk picked up a slightly greasy tray, cast a Cleansing Spell on it, and then went to get his food.

There weren’t many varieties of food available. The staple consisted of three wheat bread rolls—apparently, the baker might have been crushed to death, as these rolls were not only misshapen and highly “abstract,” but the flour was clumped together, clearly the work of an amateur. Side dishes included smoked meat, ham, and some pickled radishes and other vegetarian options. Punk chose a portion of smoked meat that looked well-prepared and then discreetly carried his tray back to the blood-soaked city walls, where he ate while keeping watch!

For some “inexperienced” professionals, this bloody and terrifying environment was definitely not a suitable place for a meal. But for a “veteran” like Punk who had “been through countless battles,” eating amidst a pile of corpses was hardly something to make a fuss about!

Punk completely ignored the horrified looks from a few Apprentice Rank professionals, nonchalantly using a relatively intact corpse as a table as he ate his food in large mouthfuls. Right now, Punk was pondering the advantages and disadvantages of Konola City, with no time to bother with trivial details like dining etiquette.

As a frontier city primarily exporting leather, Konola City had never stockpiled much grain. Most of its usual food supply relied on imports transported via canal from other grain-abundant cities. Although there were some farms growing Ququ Wheat, the yields were generally low. Moreover, during the tender growth season, the Ququ Wheat in the fields were still just seedlings, completely inedible. Yet now, Konola City had a full hundred thousand troops requiring ample food supplies to sustain their combat…”This amount of provisions can last at most a week. Even if the enemy merely besieges the city without attacking, the food shortage alone would be enough to cripple Konola City.” Punk was already certain that unless the enemy forces made some mistake themselves, Konola City was undoubtedly doomed to fall!

“But what does that have to do with me?” Punk stuffed a perfectly seasoned slice of smoked meat into his mouth. He had already decided: after killing fifty careless professionals and exchanging the rewards with Mainaixi for spells, he would leave Konola City and also depart from the inevitably turbulent Kamos Kingdom, heading directly to the neighboring Dillon Kingdom.

Thinking this, Punk raised his head and scanned the other professionals scattered along the base of the city wall. “I suppose their thoughts are similar to mine. After a day of warfare, even those ‘hot-blooded baboons’ should have sobered up by now!” Just as Punk continued calculating timing and opportunities in his mind, a very familiar voice sounded from not far away!

“Hello~~ Long time no see~ Punk.” A familiar greeting rang out from near the city wall stairs, carrying its usual irritating and infuriating tone, annoyingly interrupting Punk’s train of thought!

(End of Chapter)