When Duanmu Huai arrived in the forest, the place had already completely turned into a battlefield. Thick smoke billowed everywhere among the trees. Soldiers clad in pitch-black armor were launching an attack on the Kara tribe. The latter tried to stop the enemy's advance with their superb archery, but in the face of Hermann's hard armor, it was difficult for them to achieve much.
"That's Hermann's regular army!"
Seeing this scene, Magico was greatly alarmed.
"Are we really going to get involved? This could be a national action by Hermann. If we rashly barge in…"
"As long as we kill them all, there won't be any problems!"
Duanmu Huai looked at the battlefield ahead, his voice cold. He could even see that behind the battlefield, those Hermann soldiers were trying to violate the defeated Kara girls—come to think of it, although Duanmu Huai had experienced war on many battlefields, the wars of this world still made him feel the most disgusted.
Whether it was Lisass being invaded by Hermann, the demon race invading Seth, or Hermann's current attack on the Kara tribe, one could always see savage scenes amid the flames of war: the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled being slaughtered, women being seized and violated. Just like right now—there was clearly still fighting going on at the front, yet those Hermann soldiers in the rear were already impatiently starting to pull down their pants.
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if you wanted to vent your urges, at least you could wait until the battle was over, right?
But the fighting wasn't even finished yet, and the people in the back couldn't hold it in anymore?
What was the difference between that and beasts?
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly. Then he flung the warhammer in his hand. The pitch-black, massive Thunder Warhammer howled as it swept across the battlefield, smashing straight into those Hermann soldiers who were trying to lay hands on the captives. In the next instant, accompanied by leaping lightning and shockwaves, the Hermann soldiers along its path and behind it—those who were impatiently trying to enjoy themselves—were blasted straight into the air.
In the next moment, Duanmu Huai lowered his head and charged in like a raging black bear!
"Make your move already. What are you waiting for?"
Shizuka didn't mind at all. She quickly began firing magic at the battlefield. Magico hesitated for a moment as well, then joined in.
The arrival of Duanmu Huai and the others immediately greatly eased the pressure on the Kara tribe. The Kara tribe's problem had always been that all of them were archers and had no melee professions. Thus, they were clearly at a disadvantage when facing heavily armored Hermann soldiers. However, once Duanmu Huai charged into the battlefield with an even more forceful posture, the Hermann soldiers' offensive was immediately like slamming head-on into an iron wall and was pushed straight back.
Coupled with the magical onslaught from Shizuka and Magico, Hermann's attack was quickly suppressed.
"Haaaaaah!!!"
Facing Duanmu Huai, a Hermann soldier roared as he swung his longsword, but in the next moment he was smashed straight to the ground by Duanmu Huai. At that moment, a figure emerged from the forest and arrived at Duanmu Huai's side.
"It's you?"
"Yo, hello."
Duanmu Huai swung his warhammer as he glanced to his side. The person who appeared there was none other than the Kara tribeswoman he had saved before. Come to think of it, the Kara tribe only had this one settlement anyway, with nowhere else to go.
"Why are you here?"
The Kara girl spoke while not stopping her actions. She raised her longbow and fired an arrow forward. Very soon, a mage positioned at the rear, who was chanting a spell, was shot through the throat by her arrow and killed on the spot.
"We saw smoke rising here on the way, so we came over to check what was going on…"
Duanmu Huai brought his hammer down with a backhanded swing, smashing two Hermann soldiers who dared to block his path into bloody pulp. At the same time, he looked at the Kara girl curiously.
"By the way, what's going on here? Why is Hermann attacking you? Are you really that unlucky?"
"Of course not!"
The Kara girl shook her head vigorously.
"In the past, our homeland was protected by barriers. Ordinary humans couldn't possibly find our location. But for some reason, the barrier suddenly weakened…"
As she said this, the Kara girl clenched her teeth.
"I'm very worried about the Queen. I don't know what exactly has happened…"
"In any case, let's kill these bastards first, then talk."
At the same time, in the rear camp, a group of Hermann soldiers were smugly looking at the spoils of war before them, greed they couldn't suppress spilling from their eyes. Among them, a man wearing a captain's armor was sitting on a wooden crate, gulping down alcohol with one hand while fondling a petite Kara girl in his arms with the other. The girl's face was deathly pale as she trembled uncontrollably in his embrace.
Who would have thought that this expedition would go so smoothly? It seemed the Goddess was really looking after me.
Gulping down fine wine, the captain grinned. The decision to attack the Kara tribe had come from above, but as a frontline officer, he was certainly going to get his share of the benefits. Not to mention capturing so many Kara girls to take back—it was easy to imagine that once they returned to Hermann, there would be no shortage of rewards. He might even get promoted another two ranks…
"Report!!"
Just as the captain was fantasizing about his bright future of promotions and wealth, the urgent shout of a messenger shattered his beautiful dream. The captain opened his eyes and glared unhappily at the messenger.
"What is it? What happened? Haven't you taken over the Kara nest yet?"
"N-no, it's bad, sir. The Kara tribe raised a monster. We can't stop it…"
However, before the messenger could finish speaking, a sudden explosive shout rang out.
"You're the fucking monster!"
Along with the furious roar, Duanmu Huai descended from the sky like a demonic god and smashed his hammer straight down onto the messenger. The messenger was instantly flattened into a lump. Mangled flesh sprayed out from the gaps in his armor, turning him into an unrecognizable pile of minced meat.
"Fuck your mother, don't you have eyes? You dare call me a monster?"
Looking at the corpse of the messenger at his feet, Duanmu Huai cursed nonstop. Although he couldn't be called handsome and dashing, at the very least he looked like a proper human. How the hell did he become a monster?
However, at that moment, another voice rang out.
"M-monster!!!"
"Hmm???"
Hearing the word "monster" again, Duanmu Huai's eyes widened instantly. He viciously looked toward the source of the sound, only to see a man in black armor slumped on a wooden crate, staring at Duanmu Huai with a pale face. One hand held a wine cup, while the other clutched a Kara girl. When he saw Duanmu Huai looking at him, the man's whole body trembled.
"K-kill him! Kill him, now!!"
Hearing the man's order, the surrounding Hermann soldiers hurriedly raised their weapons and charged at Duanmu Huai. But after only a few steps, they saw a whirlwind blazing with lightning howl past. Then, the upper bodies of several Hermann soldiers surrounding Duanmu Huai were torn into pieces by the roaring airflow. Duanmu Huai swung his warhammer, now coated in blood and flesh, and strode toward the man.
"N-no, don't come any closer!"
The man had long since lost his previous arrogance. He practically flipped backward onto the ground, then hurriedly scrambled up, threw away his wine cup, and grabbed a longsword from nearby, placing it against the Kara girl's neck.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill her!"
"Whoosh!"
However, just as the man raised his sword, an arrow shot out from the forest and struck the blade directly, knocking it flying. The man let out a scream, but before he could make any further move, Duanmu Huai stepped forward and grabbed him by the head, lifting him up forcibly.
"Y-you can't kill me, don't kill me…!!"
Facing Duanmu Huai, the man was almost scared out of his wits. He struggled desperately, but it was completely useless.
"I-I am Allen, a captain of Hermann's Third Army… I'm a high-ranking noble of the Kingdom of Hermann. If you kill me…"
"A noble?"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai let out a snort of laughter.
"I've even killed your prince. What the hell do you think you are, some noble?"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai clenched his right hand tightly. With a squelching sound, the man's head was crushed like a tomato, shattered directly into pieces.
With the captain's death, the Hermann army invading the Kara tribe immediately collapsed and retreated in haste.
Although the Kara tribe had indeed suffered some losses, fortunately, since the enemy wanted to capture them alive to sell, the number of deaths wasn't too high. Even so, some Kara did lose their lives—but war was war… how could there be war without death?
For Duanmu Huai, helping the Kara tribe was just something done in passing. Since the battle was over, he planned to take his leave. However, to his surprise, the Kara commander stopped him.
"You said there's something important you need my help with?"
"Yes."
The Kara commander named Igris—the girl Duanmu Huai had previously saved—nodded solemnly. Then she carefully sized up Duanmu Huai and asked,
"May I ask… did you say earlier that you killed Hermann's prince?"
"That's right."
"Then could it be that you are the Inquisitor who eliminated the former Demon King and made a great showing in both Lisass and Seth… that Inquisitor-sama?"
"That surprises me. I thought you were completely unaware of the outside world."
Duanmu Huai merely shrugged, while Igris pondered for a moment before making her decision.
"No matter what, please come with your companions to Kara Village. In any case, it was all of you who saved the Kara tribe. Naturally, we must repay this kindness."
Since Igris said so, Duanmu Huai didn't particularly mind. Thus, they were soon brought to Kara Village, where they enjoyed a joyful banquet.
For Duanmu Huai, this kind of banquet was naturally quite interesting. The Kara people sang and danced, having a wonderful time. Shizuka, Magico, and the others also enjoyed themselves thoroughly. As for Duanmu Huai, he sat in a corner, sampling food while observing this village deep within the great forest.
At that moment, Igris's voice came from beside him.
"Won't you go to the front? Everyone really admires you and wants to see the hero who saved Kara Village."
"No interest. I'll just eat a bit here."
Duanmu Huai shook his head, then looked ahead. Not far away, several Kara girls were curiously peeking at him. When they noticed Duanmu Huai looking back at them, the girls were so startled that they immediately shrank back and vanished from sight.
"You wanted to see me about something?"
"Yes…"
At this point, Igris seemed somewhat embarrassed, but she quickly regained her previous seriousness.
"We have a request."
"What is it?"
Duanmu Huai wasn't surprised. The Kara were an insular race. Inviting him here to eat and drink clearly wasn't just a simple expression of thanks.
"We wish to ask for your seed."
"Oh… huh? What did you say?"
Hearing Igris, Duanmu Huai reflexively nodded at first, then suddenly froze. He turned his head and stared at Igris in astonishment.
"Seed?"
"Yes. As you may have seen, our Kara tribe only gives birth to girls. Therefore, in order to continue our lineage, we require male seed."
"That shouldn't be difficult, right? There are plenty of men outside. As long as you're willing to go out and marry ordinary human men, that shouldn't be a problem."
"That is not the case."
Igris shook her head.
"The Kara tribe has extremely strict requirements regarding seed. It is not just any man who will suffice. You not only repelled the demon race's invasion, you even eliminated the former Demon King and demonkin. Such strength and physique are what we hope to inherit. And furthermore…"
"And furthermore?"
"…As you can see, all members of the Kara tribe are beauties. But this beauty is also one of the reasons we are coveted by humans. Therefore…"
As she spoke, Igris looked at Duanmu Huai, carefully choosing her words.
"Therefore… we believe that if we could change this aspect, it might help the continued survival of the Kara tribe."
"...…"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai fell silent.
So because I look like this, in your eyes it actually counts as an advantage?
(End of Chapter)