Son of Destruction - Volume 1 Chapter 43

While the slaves that were causing an insurrection began closing in on the eastern gate, two platoons with a total of fifty soldiers were protecting that position, including the squad present when Souma entered the city.
Once the soldiers judged that the slaves were heading towards their gate, they built a defensive barricade with nearby wagons and sandbags in preparation for the incoming attack.
As the dwarven slaves were noisily charging towards their position, the platoon leader that was in command of the position ordered them to be showered with a rain of arrows from atop the city wall. The slaves were armed with swords and spears, but didn’t wear any armor and therefore are brought down in a kerfuffle by these arrows. A part of the slaves that maintained a sliver of composure avoided the main street which had no cover and went through alleys. They advanced with an assault against the defensive perimeter from the sides of the houses located close to the gate, but they were still repelled by the spears of the soldiers who were lying in wait at the edges of the perimeter.
As one would expect, even the slaves who took heart were at a loss on how to continue due to that.
At this time the squad leader who was protecting the gate when Souma entered the city is inside the defensive perimeter. Not knowing that he himself took part in this slave insurrection, the squad leader is lamenting his own bad luck.

“Of all things, you don’t have to come to this gate, now do you? Go to the western gate, go west.”

The squad leader, who had checked the situation of the slaves through a gap between the feet of a table used to build the defensive perimeter while he was in the middle of complaining, began to doubt his very own eyes.

“W-What’s that…?”

It was a stall.
A stall in itself isn’t anything unusual. The ones who can run a shop inside the city are just a limited number of merchants. Peddlers and farmers of the outskirts, who come to sell their agricultural produce, trade in their goods by lining up small stalls along the streets. That’s only natural.
What the squad leader is currently seeing is one of such stalls. It has something of a very handmade impression, only using an unstable wooden stand and eaves to provide shade from the sun. It isn’t something that would attract any particular attention.
However, that would only be true if it wasn’t charging it’s way right down the middle of the road.
Of course there’s no way for the stalls of this world to have castors attached to their feet. Someone is lifting up that one stall and charging, using it as a shield.

“Shoot! Shooooot!”

Upon the platoon commander’s order, arrows are all at once released from atop the city wall, but as those simply pierce the eaves and stand of the stall meaninglessly, the arrows are unable to stop its momentum.

“Shit, run away!”

The charging stall is getting very close, so the squad leader lies down inside the defensive perimeter with his face turned downwards as he shouts frantically
Immediately following that, the stall, which charged without losing any of its force, collided with the defensive perimeter and blew into very small pieces alongside a part of the defensive perimeter.

“Son-of-bitch! What kind of idiot…!?”

Prostrating himself on the ground while protecting his head from the wood splinters falling upon him, the squad leader opens his eyes wide after receiving a startle.
What was in front of is eyes were strong-looking feet with three toes.
Once he looks up as he prostrates on the ground, he sees a gigantic body surpassing a height of two melt (approximately two meters) supported by two thick legs, similar to tree trunks, as they stand by making their deep black claws dig into the soil. Their body, which was covered by grey scales that had a greenish tinge, was towering over him like the cliff of a rock.
In addition, what was attached on top of that gigantic body is a head closely resembling a lizard. That person glares at the squad leader with eyes that had oblong pupils.

“Di-Dinosaurian!?”

The voice of the squad leader in front of his inescapable death was one of despair.
That dinosaurian fills his lungs with air to the brim and releases a piercing cry capable of shattering glass into pieces. With just that, the soldiers protecting the gate were unable to stand up out of fear.

“Mine name is Jahangil Hesam Jalji! Experience the dreadfulness of mine wrath as the descendant of a great dragon, you human louses!”

The sentries experienced firsthand the combat ability of a dinosaurian that was described with 「Hand-to-hand combat with their race equals death」 by the famous imperial general Inkdias.
What’s grasped in the claw-sprouting hands of the dinosaurian that introduced himself as Jahangil are chains with large iron balls attached at their ends. Those were iron balls a human would be barely able to drag along, but in Jahangil’s hands those transform into fiendish weapons.
Raging around by brandishing the iron balls so that they buzz through the air, Jahangil was truly the incarnation of a tempest of violence. The soldiers that got dragged into that tempest have their heads pulverized by the iron chains just like too ripe fruits and their bones from head to toe were broken by the chains.
There were also brave soldiers that struggled their way through the wielded iron balls and swung their swords against Jahangil, but all of them were simply blown away like dolls with a single swing of Jahangil’s hands that were covered with claws.
Dvalin leaks a sigh of admiration at Jahangil’s terrifying raging.

“Ho, dinosaurians belonging to the Tyranno species… their ferocity is definitely not just for show.”

The dinosaurians are actually not a single race.
Nagaraja, the royal species that boasts of the largest size among the dinosaurians and which had a figure similar to a huge lizard with horns and fangs. Radon, the priest species possessing arms which turned into huge leathery wings that have a wingspan three times the size of their body once spread, extremely short and degenerated legs, and a special crest on their head. And many others.
The dinosaurians are a mixed race which owns a unique caste system where social status and occupation is inherited for all of the species which differ even with their outward appearance.
But, the first thing that comes to mind among the different warrior species when the other races talk about the dinosaurians is the warrior species called Tyranno, which is said to own the most ferocious, excellent warriors.
With a sidelong glance at the soldiers, who had already even lost their will to escape let alone the morale to fight back, being mowed down by Jahangil like wheat that’s harvested by a farmer, Dvalin rushes over to the gate while taking along several dwarves. Avoiding the piled-up sandbags, they removed the gate’s bar.

“There! The gate’s ooopen!!”

Once Dvalin and the other dwarves open the gate, a red and a black zoan plunge in trying to squeeze their bodies through the small gap.

“Yahooo! I’m the first!”

The leaping-in red-furred zoan— Zurgu raises a war cry. However, once he turns he frowns right away. He faced the black-furred zoan, who leapt in slightly after him, and complained while thrusting his finger at him.

“Garam! You said that you would leave it to me, so why the hell are you competing with me!?”

“No, it was just in the heat of the moment…”

As expected, he obviously feels guilty. Garam acts evasive and averts his face.
Just at that moment Souma and Shyemul came out of a back alley and showed up between two houses. Souma was completely hidden by a hooded coat in order to avoid the looks of the slaves even if only for a bit, but Garam ends up exposing it right away.
Because Souma, as a human, was brought to where the slaves are rioting, Garam becomes enraged to the point of losing his presence of mind.

“《Noble Fang》! Are you an idiot?! Take Soma along and leave this instant!”

“I’m very sorry, 《Ferocious Fang》! However, Soma’s argumentation…”

Interrupting the words of Shyemul who tried to explain in a hurry Souma removed his hood and shouted,

“I’m sorry, Garam. I had her bring me here against her will!”

Due to Souma’s face that got openly exposed, murderous intent and wrath spilled out of the body of Jahangil, who trampled over any soldier that’s even weakly breathing underfoot.
He cannot forgive the human race that treated him as a slave, even if it might be a young boy.
Jahangil made the iron chains rattle and tried to spring them upon Souma, but noticing that, Shyemul and the others moved into action.
Protecting Souma with her back, Shyemul stands in the way. Furthermore, Garam and Zurgu set up their machetes in front of her and threaten Jahangil by baring their fangs.
Due to that, Jahangil passes his destination and stumbles forward.
If it’s just a female zoan, he can likely pulverize her alongside the human child with one blow of the iron ball. But even Jahangil must stay on his toes due to the fighting spirit he feels from the two zoan standing in front of them. As long as it’s a one-on-one battle, he doesn’t feel like he would lose, but as one could expect, handling both of them at the same time would put him at disadvantage.

“Zoan, you intend to protect a human!!?”

Due to the fact that zoan warriors, who are at a level of overpowering even him who is a dinosaurian, are protecting the likes of a human child, Jahangil gets irritated.

“Stop it, Jahangil! That human child is the one who released us from slavery!”

Even Jahangil couldn’t ignore the words of Dvalin who freed him and stopped. But, his eyes were filled with the intent to tear Souma to shreds if a chance presents itself.
However, seemingly not realizing this dangerous situation, Souma launches one command after the other.

“Garam, please hurry and gain total control of the feudal lord’s official residence as planned! I saw someone with a blue tassel on their helmet atop the western city wall. It’s likely that they are the commander of this city’s soldiers. Zurgu, handle that person!”

Having to leave behind Souma in front of an angry dinosaurian, the two of them, Garam and Zurgu, hesitate, but when told once more by Souma, they take their clanmates along and dash towards their respective targets.

“What about Banuka!?”

Banuka, who was called by name next, appears in front of Souma in a hurry.

“Ah, yes! I’m here!”

“Banuka, please suppress the rioting former slaves quickly! We must not damage the city any further! I don’t mind even if you get slightly violent with them!”

“What was that!?”

Being told to suppress his comrades, even Dvalin couldn’t let that remark slide.

“We came here in order to get our hands on this city! I don’t have any intention to go along with you venting your anger!”

However, as expected, this words of Souma were badly chosen.

“This human brat! Are you screwing with us?! Calling our deserved revenge a simple venting of our anger!!?”

Jahangil released a wrathful voice at a level of even making the zoan warriors in the surroundings draw back reflexively as he threw a fit of anger.
But, only Souma steps forward in reverse.

“Shut up! Be silent, iguana!”

Jahangil didn’t understand what the 「iguana」 is about, but either way, he still knew that he was insulted.
Putting aside the time when he had been a slave, it never happened even in his wildest dreams that someone from another race used such an abusive language in front of his very eyes, him, a dinosaurian with a weapon that can be used freely.

“What’s wrong about calling rampaging without thinking of the consequences as venting your anger!? You kill the humans you find, destroy their property and then what!? What do you plan to do after that!? Answer me!”

Jahangil is at loss for an answer due to Souma’s question.
Jahangil wanted to simply rampage with all his effort. Naturally he had no reason to consider the consequences afterwards.
Moreover, Souma shouted at him in order to press him for a reply.

“We have to proceed forward! Don’t stand in our way!”

At that moment a gust of wind blew through.
The bangs that covered Souma’s forehead flap in the wind and the seal hidden below becomes exposed.

“! This guy is a divine child!?”

It was Shyemul’s suggestion to remove Souma’s headband.
For the people of Seldeas Continent where gods exist, they will hold a feeling of reverence even if they encounter the god of another race. She did so in the hope that the slaves, who turned into a rioting mob, would potentially hesitate to attack Souma after they realize that he’s a divine child.
And, just as intended, the hand, which Jahangil had raised overhead, hovered idly in midair.
Nevertheless, Jahangil, who felt offended by simply lowering down the raised hand, acted brave and said,

“This human brat doesn’t know of us who are admired for being Tyranno by the dinosaurians!?”

For Jahangil him being a Tyranno, who are the most feared even among the dinosaurians, is a fact that he is very proud of.
However, only this time the opponent he asked was a bad match for him.

“I don’t know anything about something like that!”

Souma cut down the basis of Jahangil’s bragging with a single line.
Being a drop child that came to this place from a different world, there’s no way for Souma to know about stuff like that.
However, Jahangil, who doesn’t know about that at all, felt shocked.
So far everyone trembled in fear as soon as they learned that I’m a Tyranno. But I wonder, did I misunderstand it? Maybe the fame of Tyranno didn’t reach other races? In that case, am I, who talked while full of confidence, not just an unthinkable clown?
Seemingly considering Jahangil, who worried over such a disgrace, as pitiable, Banuka timidly called out to him.

“Umm…truthfully, Sir Souma simply doesn’t know.”

The explanation of Banuka that kept it far too short became the finishing blow to the pride of Jahangil, who was somehow keeping it together until then.
Jahangil groans quietly and drops his shoulders in a crestfallen manner.
Even though Banuka becomes confused wondering whether he said something impolite due to Jahangil’s state, his clanmates,

“Come now, young master. Let’s us accomplish our duty as well.”

They took along Banuka who reveals a questionable expression where one can’t decide whether he’s smiling or smiling bitterly.

◆◇◆◇◆

“You, you lowly beasts are~!”

The battalion leader raised his voice in anger atop the city wall.
The zoan split into two groups after they destroyed the east gate and invaded the city. One of those groups headed towards the feudal lord’s official residence whereas the other group came towards the city wall where he is located.
Adding to the retreat of the soldiers, who are bewildered by the fact that the city is falling, not proceeding as he planned, they ended up allowing an attack by the zoan at a time when the soldiers hadn’t even ordered their ranks after they finally got down from the city walls. This was owed to the zoans’ mobility that could very well be called marvellous.
When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, the humans and zoan are jumbled together and a fierce battle has unfolded. Even covering their soldiers with arrows is impossible in this melee.

“We will go down at another location! Follow me!”

Either way, I don’t know until when we will be able to hold out on the city wall. Taking along only a few soldiers and trying to head to another stairway, the feet of the battalion leader stop.

“I guess at last I have luck coming my way, too? That helmet’s tassel is the commander of this place, right?”

The one who stood in front of their way was Zurgu.
The great commander immediately searches for an alternative escape route, but even in the distant rear he could see zoan running up the city wall from another stairway.

“I want to show mine and the Claw Clan’s good parts to Sir Soma. There’s certainly no way that I will let you go.”

At the same time of making the majority of his warriors face the humans directly, Zurgu climbed the city wall from another stairway together with a few warriors to cut off the human’s retreat. Swiftly discovering another stairway and being able to take a roundabout path from there in almost no time truly suits the zoan’s mobility.

“What are you doing!? The enemy is just one beast!”

Following the great commander’s voice, two of his escorts assault Zurgu with a sword.
But, Zurgu dropped the two guards off both sides of the city wall with just his kicks and fists.

“I’ll tell you just in case, but I’ll spare your lives if you surrender.”

“This lowly beast! Don’t flap your big mouth at us humans.”

Zurgu’s words stirred up the battalion leader’s rage all the more.
But, Zurgu instead laughs happily from the bottom of his heart due to that.

“This is very appreciated.”

Zurgu licked his lips with a slurp.

“I’ve been told to not kill you if possible, but there won’t be any complaints even if I kill a trashy asshole like you. Besides—”

“Oh god of humans, please watch over me!”

While not letting Zurgu finish speaking, the battalion leader unsheathes the sword at his waist and swings it with all his might.
It was one of the best slashes in his career.
However, the large palm of Zurgu, who closed the distance with a light pace as if going out for a stroll, clasps the hilt of the sword and that slashing attack gets stopped alongside the battalion leader’s hands.
And then, in a flash,

“Besides, I will dispose of someone like you without even giving you a break!”

The great commander couldn’t hear Zurgu’s words anymore.
His body was split into head and torso, and each of the parts was dropped off both sides of the city wall as if following the example of the guards just now.

◆◇◆◇◆

Leading the warriors of the Fang Clan, Garam ran through the city on four feet like a gale and arrived in front of the feudal lord’s official residence in the blink of an eye.
The vicinity of Bolnis’ feudal lord’s residence has a firm defence due to the moat that drew water from the nearby river, and the protective wall which was made out of baked bricks and had eyelets in the shape of a saw (protrusions for the sake of attacking the enemy while allowing the archers to hide themselves as they are still able to see the rampart).
Assaulting the residence directly from the front is next to impossible. One has to invade faster than the defenders can hole up after getting the report that the gate was destroyed, and take the fort straight away.

“Everybody, don’t fall behind!”

Once Garam says that, he raises the running speed even further.
Garam, who came up to the side of the drawbridge that spanned across the moat, noticed that a single soldier inside the still opened gate raised something like a pole above his head.

“Charge in!!”

Garam strongly kicked the ground with his rear legs and made his body jump across the drawbridge.
Immediately after that, no sooner than when the soldier swings the pole down and hits something with it, the bridge rises sharply alongside a boisterous chinking sound of the chains.
Behind Garam, who slides down the diagonally raised drawbridge as if it’s a slide, are his clanmates who weren’t in time. They fell into the moat and caused many loud splashing sounds.
However, it’s not the end with this. While the soldiers additionally try to lower a gate with thick, wooden grid patterns in front of their eyes,

“Jump!!”

While shouting that, Garam barely leaps off the ground and plunges inside. His clanmates, who were late in that, raised screams as they got penetrated from above by the lowered grid-patterned gate.
Garam, who rolled on the ground due to the momentum of having jumped, slays a soldier, who is standing ramrod straight out of surprise over the intruding zoan, with his machete in order to recover.

“How many were able to get in!?”

“Including me, it’s five people!”

Similarly slashing at a soldier within reach, Gulkaka answered.

“I need two… no, one is fine! Follow me! The rest of you open the gate!”

Hearing that, Gulkaka tried to nominate the one covering Garam, but faster than he was able to do so, there was someone who named themselves.

“I will go!”

It’s Zurgu’s niece, Shishul.
Garam was surprised that she, who’s not only a woman but also at an age where it’s fine to call her a girl, could keep up with them without falling behind. Moreover, her eyes are brimming with power and not an inkling of fatigue can be found.

“I guess it’s fine. Come with me!”

Unsheathing both of his machetes with his hands, Garam pushes his way into the inner part of the feudal lord’s residence. On the way they get challenged by sentries many times over, but all of them are finished off by Garam with a single blow. The soldiers were truly being crushed.
Among the sentries there were also those who attacked from behind, but those sentries were completely eliminated by Shishul.
As he cuts down another sentry, Garam thought Easy going.
Obtaining deeds of arms on the battlefield is taken as the highest honor by the zoan warriors. Hence there’s a tendency for people to appear who disregard their clan chief and just try to fight.
However, Shishul has absolutely no intention to try obtaining meritorious deeds for herself. Because she was purely devoting herself to protecting Garam’s blind spots, Garam was able to focus on just in front of him.
They leave the narrow passage leading from the gate while scattering the soldiers and come out at an open space.
In the past there was a residential building befitting a fortress for the sake of fighting, but nowadays it had been reconstructed into a mansion similar to a holiday house that’s used by nobles and merchants. Once he entered, a red sheet spread out below his feet as if politely guiding him towards the location of the feudal lord.
Garam kicks open a stately-built door located ahead of where the red sheet leads up to and enters.
As soon as they went in, they were assaulted by two soldiers, but Garam and Shishul easily cut down one each.
Beyond the door is a wide room where only one chair was placed at a spot that was higher up than the front part where one would enter at.
Due to the luxuriously-made chair, considering the feudal lord of a single provincial city sits on it, Garam guesses, So this is the room used by the clan chief (?) of this city.
He quickly lets his look wander across the room, but there’s no one in it.
However, Garam’s ears move with a twitch.
He could hear faint sounds.
The direction from where he heard those sounds is on the right inner part of the room. Once he looked properly, he could see a thin cloth hanging down on the right side of the set up chair, and it swayed slightly in the wind.
When Garam casually clears away that thin cloth with his arm, he finds the entrance to an adjoining room there, just as he thought.
He peeked inside while being cautious of an ambush and discovered a room with a gaudy interior design. If it was Souma, he would likely label it as the bad taste of a nouveau riche.
Garam found the target human on top of a huge bed set up inside that room.

“I’m Garam, son of Garguss, member of the Fang Clan, which is one of the ten zoan clans! You’re the most important person in this city, aren’t you!?”

But, towards Garam’s warrior introduction, the man didn’t even name himself and pulled the sheet over his head while trembling.
Moreover, with his appearance, which bared his chubby butt despite intending to hide himself, reminding Garam of a boar that searches for fodder by thrusting its head into a hole, Garam gets fed up with him.
Since it doesn’t look like he will listen to our side’s story, it’s also impossible to fight or demand his capitulation.
Reluctantly Garam grabbed the man alongside his sheet and flung him into the room with all his strength.
The man, who tumbled over while causing grand sounds as he drags in a table and other such things, grovels on the floor with a swift movement one can’t imagine from his obese body.

“I-I surrender! I’m the feudal lord! I’m important! You can get a lot of ransom if you take me hostage! Therefore, don’t kill me!”

Garam and Shishul couldn’t feel anything besides disgust towards his shameful behaviour.

“Sir Garam, what’s this fat, rabbit-like thing?”

While the redeeming feature of a rabbit is their ability to run away out of cowardice, they won’t be anything but mere prey if they lose that quality once they become fat. For that reason 「fat rabbit」 is the worst possible insult against someone weak-willed among the zoan.
After wryly smiling at Shishul’s precise observation, Garam sighs once.

“Even so, it looks like this guy’s the most important fellow here. Please tie him up with something suitable.”

Until then Shishul had happily followed Garam’s orders, but at the thought of touching the fat rabbit-like feudal lord, even she showed an annoyed expression.

◆◇◆◇◆

The cheers of the slaves and zoan roared throughout the entire city.
They were able to kill the great commander who led the soldiers, and on top of that could secure the feudal lord. Thus it’s not wrong to call it an overwhelming victory.
The zoan, who had been always done in by the human soldiers up until this point, restored their pride and confidence with the brilliant achievement of taking a human city and thus were excited.
And, the slaves, who continued to be showered with slander and the whip by their tyrannic masters so far, trembled in delight of getting released and accomplishing their revenge.
However, during that surging great joy, it’s only Souma who had his expression distorted by regret.

“Like this it’s no good. This serves no purpose…”

What Souma looked at wasn’t the zoan or slaves drowning in delight.
What he stared at were the destroyed houses.
The corpses of the city’s residents who turned into victims.
And the huge problem that was visible alongside those.
The zoan who take pride in their merits of war.
No good. In that case it’s hopeless.
The dwarves that celebrate their release.
No good, in vain. Pointless.
The dinosaurians who shout for even more revenge.
No good, useless, in vain!

“What should I do? What would be the best thing for me to do?”

From somewhere Souma’s ears could hear the laughter of a girl as he does nothing but repeated soliloquising.

Author’s notes (abridged):

Listing of the Dinosaurian Species

Royal Species: Dragon
Warrior Species: Theropods (Tyrannosauros Rex, Valociraptor, etc.)
Priest Species: Pterosaur (Pteranodon, etc.)
Scholar Species: Ceratopsian (Triceratops, etc.)
Commerce Species: Stegosaur and Ankylosaur families (Stegosaurus, etc.)
Commoner Species: Ornithopods (Iguanodon, etc.)
Slave Species: Sauropods (Diplodocus, etc.)