Release That Witch

Icy rain trickled down and diluted the blood-smelling air in Holy City. Alicia panted heavily, leaning on her longsword.     

It was not the first time for her to have taken part in the defensive battles of Hermes. But it had never occurred to her that they could ever possibly lose New Holy City.     

The city wall was completely destroyed.     

Alicia had never seen so many horrific monsters in her life. An enormous worm-like hybrid beast scuttled from underground, with its body close to the glacial cliff and its bony claws deeply embedded into the city wall. When it had climbed to the top of the city wall, its whole body had not even fully emerged from the ground.     

Enormity alone would not matter so much. But to everyone's surprise, the beast opened its wide mouth and spat out countless demonic hybrids, which instantly created chaos on the city wall.     

The army that had been in order soon turned into a state of commotion under the attack of demonic beasts. The vanguard of the Judgement Army, to which Alicia belonged, were also scattered in this commotion. She saw how her companions were devoured one after another by demonic beasts, unable to help them. Warm human blood mingled with the black blood of the monsters, flowed along the cracks on the flagstone pavement.     

As the retreat bugle call was heard, the mangonel in Holy City was also started. Stones as large as a table were hurriedly thrown down, regardless of the soldiers that still fought on the city wall.     

Alicia remembered how a huge stone had hit Captain Dicarto right beside her. When she got up and stood on her feet again, she saw that he, along with his armor, had been crashed into the cracked pavement. His whole body looked like a creased parchment. His smashed bowels had flown out from his belly, whereas hot steaming blood had collected and formed a small puddle beneath him.     

If she had not escaped the attack of the stone before it was too late, she thought, her end would be just like that of Captain Dicarto.     

As for how she had escaped and retreated under the city wall, Alicia could not remember clearly. All she could remember was screaming and cursing. Everyone stabbed and chopped anyone and anything with their weapons in madness, not knowing whether they fought with demonic beasts or their own companions.     

Out of around 100 soldiers of the Judgement Army, there were only 12 left including herself.     

"What should we do next, Captain!"     

"Captain Alicia!"     

Alicia came back to her senses. Right. According to the ordinances of the Judgement Army, when a captain dies in battle, then the duty of the captain naturally fell on the shoulders of the deputy captain of the same platoon, who should lead the platoon in following battles.     

She bit her lips until she tasted her own blood. "We'll go to the North Gate of Holy City. If demonic beasts want to attack New Holy City, they'll have to pass from there." This command meant forsaking the city wall and the populated area of the inner city, but she had no choice, for nowhere else could be more important than the pivot of the church—the Hermes Cathedral.     

What she did not say out loud was a question that lingered on her heart, [What could she and the other 11 people do, if the glacial cliffs were incapable of stopping these monsters?"     

[Perhaps today is the day for me to sacrifice myself for God's kingdom. May the Lord have mercy," she prayed silently and shouted at the same time, "The Judgement Army never gives up! Let's move!"     

"The Judgement Army never gives up!" her companions echoed her.     

The 12 ran to the North Gate in a trail formation, while the noises of fighting from the city wall died down in the sounds of wind and rain.     

When they arrived at the North Gate, Alicia saw that quite a lot of soldiers from the Judgement Army had gathered before the drawbridge. It seemed that everyone shared the same idea, the thought of which made her feel a little better.     

However, the drawbridge was let down even at this moment of crisis. Alicia could not help but frown. She walked to a handsome warrior in the red robe of the chief justice and saluted him. "Your Excellency Chief Justice, I'm the Captain of the 4th Platoon of the vanguard, Alicia Quinn!"     

"I'm Tucker Thor in charge of the defense of North Gate. You have all my regard." The man nodded to her. "We've set up a rescue center behind the North Gate. If any of your soldiers are wounded, you can send them to the center."     

"Sir, I don’t understand why we don’t raise the drawbridge. The demonic beasts on the city wall could swarm here at any minute. We must make sure that we don’t lose the inner city."     

"Calm down, Captain. I know you and your men are unafraid of making sacrifices. But you should not sacrifice in vain. The situation is far from desperate for the church." He wiped the raindrops away from his forehead. "Await orders now at the gathering point. If Cold Expelling Pills are used up, remember to ask for them from the Supply Officers."     

Upon hearing what Chief Justice Tucker Thor had said, Alicia found herself chilling in the wind. After the battle, sweat and cold rain had mingled and made her body freeze. Piercing wind blew in her direction and sent her trembling.     

She took out a sheepskin pouch from her underclothes' pocket and shook the pouch with its opening down to her palm. Yet only some thick fluid dripped down. It seemed that she had crushed the pills in battle. She sighed and raised her head, only to find a Cold Expelling Pill in reddish brown color being handed to her.     

"You should take mine." Tucker Thor smiled to her. "You can give it back when you have one."     

Alicia did not refuse his kindness. She took the pill, bit and swallowed it. "Perhaps we'll never have the chance to eat this thing once again."     

"Yes, that way it wouldn't be too bad." Tucker went so far as to nod in agreement. "This thing tastes way too bad."     

Upon these words, a strong fishy smell rose from the stomach of Alicia and gushed to her head. Even battlefields with all their corpses would not smell so repelling. She felt as if what she had swallowed down was no pill at all, but a mixture of long-rotten flesh and blood. Unbearable numbness gradually came to every part of her body from the stomach. Chills were suddenly repelled. Instead, glowing warmth started to flow in her veins. Her body resumed its normal temperature while frozen sweat ran down. Her head was steaming. Her numb toes went nimble again.     

"But it should not be today." Seeing her have swallowed the pill, Chief Justice Tucker Thor waved his hand. "God's Punishment Army is coming from the cathedral. The demonic beasts can't pass through the North Gate. Take your men to the gathering point. Remember to check if they all have the pills. They aren't supposed to follow your example and to find there's none when the pills are needed."     

God's Punishment Army, the crack troop of the church! Alicia had heard about it for long, though she had never seen it with her own eyes. But no matter how powerful God's Punishment Army was, it could only be composed of humans. With human's bodies, no matter how hard they had been trained, there could be no chance of their beating numberless demonic hybrids easily.     

But since Tucker Thor said so, she could only leave the North Gate with her platoon of 11 men and approached the gathering point to the west.     

Here hundreds of retreated members of the Judgement Army had gathered. They stood dispersed in the field and let rain run down their faces. Some of them even sat on the ground in low spirit. Only a small number of them stood in formation and awaited the enemies that could appear at any minute.     

If it had been a few days ago, Alicia would have scolded these people. But now she was confused herself. In order to build this New Holy City, countless believers had died. Every stone in this city had the blood of believers and Judgement Army spilled for it. The bishop always said that to own Hermes meant to own Kingdom of God on earth.     

However, on this day the Kingdom of God seemed soon to fall into the hand of demon's minions.     

"Demonic beasts are coming!" Someone yelled. "Be prepared to fight the enemies!"     

Alicia gathered herself together and held up her long sword. Gazing at the shadows in the sky that were approaching, she shouted, "For Hermes!"     

"For New Holy City!"