BXBX NOVEL Chapter 751 750: Emor
Chapter 751 750: Emor
Even from afar it was clear that these humans were here to loot whatever was leftover, their squads going into houses and coming out with whatever they could find before piling their loot up into the streets, where the others were picking through it and taking out the valuables.
"Think they might be bandits..? Perhaps just unfortunates who are hoping to strike it rich in this former mecca of wealth inside the Kingdoms? Maybe people who used to live here and got lucky, returning after the decimation of their home?"
Satanya snorted at Jahi's words, the red skinned Demoness saying "Not that last one; we're months out from the end of the Crusade, so it can't be that. They'd have returned already... besides, they ALL live here, and ALL lived in each of those buildings? No, I don't think so. Besides..."
Leaning forwards, Satanya looked closer at the various rubble covered streets of Emor, the walls that once protected the city now laying in ruin thanks to the rampage of an unruly creature and natural decay caused by months of neglect.
The winds and rains infused with natural mana would chew away at the broken walls and roofs of the city, chipping away at the city even more and further destroying it; here, nature was far harsher than in my old world, and the less advanced techniques and materials used certainly didn't help.
Especially in an area that was less developed like the Human Kingdoms.
With how far away we were, I decided that something that would be worthwhile would be getting a closer look... so I summoned a long cylinder of ice and frosted the sides, before bringing the clearer lens to my eye as I looked down over the city, altering the ice caps on either end of the cylinder and focusing everything as best I could to get a clearer picture.
"Kat..?"
"Mm... Give me a moment."
The streets were just as damaged as the structures were, but I wasn't looking at the city itself to see if it was habitable or able to be rebuilt; I was looking at the dozens of humans who were walking around those streets, inspecting them closely.
Tattered leathers were the most common pieces of protection, each human having a coat or shirt of some kind to protect them, with a few having some pieces of metal sewn on or dangling for further protection; besides the leathers, there were some that had raw monster materials as well, though they were also tattered beyond belief and served to add little besides weight to their 'armor'.
Then there was their weapons; rusted blades of all kinds hung on their belts or strapped to their backs, horribly maintained and seemingly on the verge of being little more than scrap, though they were still dangerous enough to warrant some consideration... if you were as weak as they were.
At the very least, they were display pieces to elicit some reluctance to try and attack these hopefuls.
"Shoddy armor, terrible weapons..."
Switching from their gear to the people themselves, I took in the emotions on their faces as the humans all joked and laughed together, with a few ordering the others around with a calculating gleam in their eyes.
"I'd say bandits. Poor ones at that, but... they seem far too happy to be former residents; at least, former residents who are coming back to search through their homes. Since this is now your Clan's land, how exactly do you wish to proceed with this, Satanya? They don't look... the most lawful right now, but they could be-"
"We'll see, I guess. The best way to know is to just waltz on in and see what's going on. If they want to cause trouble, we can kill 'em. If they don't draw their weapons or surrender, we keep them alive. Maybe. Honestly, I do think it'd be best to just get rid of them. No need to worry about anything..."
Leone frowned at that, something I caught as I handed the telescope off to Jahi and turned towards the 'leader' of this excursion, who stood beside Leone.
"They don't deserve death just because-"
"Indeed, Princess. However, I sincerely do not care for the lives of these... lesser mortals. Least of all those that have not a clue what they are doing or-"
"Hold on... Yes, we should probably kill these ones. Here, take a look at that banner, down towards the center of the city. Does that symbol look familiar to you?"
Handing the telescope back to me, Jahi pointed towards the banner in question and waited for me to see it, before I handed the telescope to Satanya next.
"I... Wait, is that..?"
"The symbol of 'change' that most Cults utilize if they worship any Tza Fiends? Yes, yes it is. I did a brief bit of studying on the Cults after our last run in, and that symbol was something I read about. Perhaps they aren't Cultists, but I don't want to take any risks..."
The symbol in question was a pair of triangles that crossed over and created a star like shape, each set of parallel lines a different shade of blue that created an interesting pattern; even more so on the faded black cloth of the banner.
"Well then, that changes quite a bit about this then. Guess we'll just need to take these Cultists down and nab one for questioning. Think its a new Cult, or..?"
"I hope its not a new one... A new Cult would mean that the Fiends are coming back at an increased pace, and that... that's not good news at all."