Chapter 1212: Superhuman General

The girl had her long, lilac-colored hair tied into a triple ponytail. Her asymmetrically cut bang split to reveal emerald eyes, radiating the cuteness of a beautiful young girl.

She was adorned in a dark purple, gothic-lolita-style dress armor, which was also undeniably cute.

However, everyone immediately assumed combat stances the moment she appeared, as her aura exuded an ominous amount of power.

「Bow down before me! For I am the Superhuman General, Laranflura!」

The girl emerging from the pillar of light called herself the Superhuman General. So she’s the one who repelled Amanda? Makes sense.

Her strength wouldn’t even matter in that match-up. Amanda is unable to fight seriously against children.

In a sense, she might be the most effective counter Raydoss has against Amanda. Even the formidable Guardian of Children would have no choice but to retreat.

「Hmm? The power output is not reaching the planned values…? Did we absorb less mana than expected? But why?」

Laranflura tilted her head as she clenched and opened her hands. It seems this ridiculous amount of mana was still below her expected level.

Maybe us absorbing the magic stones of the superhuman soldiers and storing their corpses played a role? Also, a huge portion of land was scarred by the divine sword Hell. That might have had an impact as well.

「Well, no matter. Sibylla of the Red Sword! You traitors must have interfered with our plans!」

Laranflura pointed at Sibylla with the giant spear she was carrying on her shoulder. The girl had a cute, loli-like voice, but there was nothing cute about the overwhelming pressure in her tone.

Sibylla must feel more pressure than us, just by having the weapon pointed at her.

「How dare you betray us!」

「That’s my line! You’re the traitors here, slaughtering the very people you should be protecting! Have you gone mad!?」

In response to Sibylla’s outcry, Laranflura burst into maniacal laughter.

「Fwahahaha! They were sacrificed for the sake of protecting our great nation! While you, on the other hand, seem quite friendly with those from Kranzel!」

「Because we prioritize the safety of our people, and I won’t hesitate to join hands with the enemy if they support that goal! But you! I’ll personally execute you and the East Conquest Duke for your treasonous crimes!」

「Treason? Don’t be ridiculous! I have dedicated my body and soul to this nation!」

「Then explain why you committed such an atrocity!」

「Everything we have done was for the sake of Raydoss!」

「How?!」

It seemed as if Laranflura was mocking Sibylla, but her words contained no lies. This monster taking the form of a young girl genuinely believed that the massacre of civilians was for the good of the country.

We could simply dismiss her words as the ramblings of a madman, but it wouldn’t bring back any of the victims. Considering all the civilians and superhuman soldiers, I think the death toll easily exceeded a hundred thousand.

「How have your actions benefited Raydoss in the slightest?!」

「Our nation is facing an unprecedented crisis! Raydoss in being invaded as we speak!」

So she’s playing the victim now, ignoring the fact that Raydoss initiated the war. Superhuman General Laranflura continued her argument.

「The invaders will surely take massive amounts of territory from eastern and southern Raydoss if we allow things to continue at this rate. And the fools living there will simply bow before their new rulers, like the sheep they are! Unacceptable! This cannot be allowed to pass!」

Laranflura shouted so passionately that I had to doubt her sanity. Her appearance as a young girl made the dissonance even more pronounced.

「How dare you treat our citizens like livestock!」

「The people are more like weeds, growing on their own! Treating them as livestock is a step up! Listen to me. The invaders are trying to take the resources sleeping in lands of the south and east, as well as our people! In that case, it only makes sense that we should make effective use of them before they can benefit the invaders! Kranzel shall not take even a single hair from us!」

A tremendous amount of mana surged from Laranflura as she shouted.

While her methods were despicable, it’s pretty much the scorched-earth strategy taken to the extreme. All the mana obtained from slaughtering villagers and drying up the land must be powering her up.

「You even purposely killed your own soldiers?」

「Those failures age far too rapidly, so they would only have a few years left regardless. As such, dying for me was the most efficient way for them to go. Fwahahaha! They should be satisfied to ultimately serve Raydoss in the end!」

The furious reaction to Laranflura’s arrogant words came not from Sibylla, but from the man beside her who resembled Biscot. I could tell he was pissed, even through the full-face mask concealing his expression.

「You fucking bastards! You forced them into your experiments and then slaughtered them like sacrificial lambs! How can anyone be satisfied with that!?」

「What’s this? Another one of those lab rats? Hmph, what a waste of time. This is exactly why you foolish failures need to learn how to shut your mouths! This is your final warning, Sibylla! Bow down and obey! Then, join me in eliminating the invaders!」

「Yeah, I admit we are under invasion! I fought off some of them too! But it all started with the scheme you lot involved Kranzel in, didn’t it!」

「Very well, it seems you insist on defending the apes from Kranzel. Then you fall today and become my sustenance! I hereby deliver righteous punishment to the invaders and traitors alike!」

Laranflura declared this as she readied her weapon. I first thought it was a spear, but that wasn’t exactly right.

While it was primarily a spear, it had a sickle attached beneath the tip. Maybe more like the Chinese ji polearm?

Either way, it was undoubtedly a relic. The weapon held up even after getting infused with Laranflura’s ridiculous amount of mana.

The Red Knights immediately went into formation without any orders from Sibylla, including the Dusk Rain Knights. No one among them had any intention of betraying Sibylla.

Seeing this, Laranflura burst into laughter.

「Fuhahaha! It seems you wish to see how much power I’ve absorbed from the people, the land, the monsters, and everything else! Very well, you shall have the first taste of my newfound power!」

Laranflura readied herself.

「Bring it on! You won’t leave here alive!」

「Then try me, strongest of the red knights!」

The red mana erupting from Sibylla clashed with the purple mana surging from Laranflura, creating intense sparks before the fight even began.

（Master, we’re going in too.）

『Yeah, I know.』

The villagers and even Amanda will be in danger for as long the Superhuman General lives. She must be taken down here and now.