Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

A few dozen minutes ago, beneath the city gates, the blue Bru royal flag fluttered in the air, signifying that Bluebeard Giles's forces had arrived.

Their gray armor was marked with a gate-shaped emblem.

Traces of dried blood stained the carvings!

On the city walls, the defending soldiers wore varied expressions, their hearts filled with trepidation as they gazed upon the heavily armed army.

"What should we do? Are we really going to try and stop Marshal Giles...?"

"Are you kidding me? Shouldn't Marshal Giles be fighting in the capital? Why is he back here?"

Several Dent territory officers exchanged whispers.

Their expressions varied, but all betrayed a sense of panic.

"I think we should open the gates. Marshal Giles probably won't execute us, right? After all, back then..."

"Yeah, I agree. Even if they attack, we can't hold out against that many, can we?"

"But what if the Sree return?"

The officers whispered among themselves. Under Marshal Giles's strict command, their respect for the blue-bearded marshal bordered on terror.

As they spoke, they glanced at a garrison left behind by the Kingdom of Sree.

The garrison was still directing a small number of Sree soldiers and other Bru soldiers in defense.

"Sir, we might not be able to hold them back..."

A Dent territory officer cautiously approached the Sree officer and whispered.

The Sree officer's response was concise:

"Hold the line with your lives! God is on the side of the Kingdom of Sree. Even if you're injured, you can be healed. What's there to fear?"

Seeing Giles's forces begin to prepare for an assault, the Dent territory officers felt cold sweat trickling down their hands as they gripped their spears.

Below, Marshal Giles, with his blue beard visible beneath his terrifying mask, stepped forward from his army. He showed no fear as he looked up at the Bru soldiers holding bows and crossbows on the city walls.

"Soldiers of Dent territory, open the gates! Your lord has returned!"

Giles's voice was calm, but everyone who heard it felt an underlying chill. Those familiar with Giles's usual behavior felt it even more acutely.

"Marshal Giles, Dent territory is currently occupied by the Kingdom of Sree. We do not wish to be your enemy. If you don't want to suffer defeat, please leave!"

At this point, the Sree officer, seeing that no Bru soldiers were responding, stepped forward and spoke, "Marshal Giles, your Kingdom of Bru is acting against God's will and cannot possibly succeed!

Since you have fled from battle twice already, since you cannot win, why not dismount and surrender!"

Marshal Giles's voice rang out again, still without fluctuation, but the chill in his words was even more profound!

He did not respond to the Sree officer, but addressed the other Bru soldiers:

"You know you cannot hold it. You surrendered the city once before, so why not do it again now?

Do you think facing me will be easier?

As he spoke, he raised his lance. Behind him, hundreds of cavalrymen raised their lances in unison, reflecting the sunlight in a myriad of cold glints!

"My soldiers, you should know the consequences—this is your last chance to consider it carefully. Otherwise, think about what you will face after the city falls?"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere before the city gates became even more tense.

All the Bru soldiers fell silent. Giles's power in Dent territory caused even the most timid soldiers to tremble uncontrollably as they gripped their swords!

Only the Sree Kingdom officer continued to point his sword downwards, shouting loudly:

"Marshal Giles, don't waste your breath. You are without virtue or righteousness. No one here will listen to you—"

His face showed some determination, not doubting the possibility of his victory, and completely unaware of the increasingly terrified expressions of the Bru soldiers.

Until the next second, a pair of iron-clad hands covered his mouth from behind!

A dagger pierced his neck.

On the city walls, the small number of Sree soldiers were simultaneously subdued by the larger number of Bru soldiers.

"Quick, quick, open the gates—"

A Bru officer said in a flustered manner, a look of dejection appearing on his face, "Welcome our lord back to his loyal territory..."

Without bloodshed, the gates of Dent territory slowly opened.

Bluebeard Giles led his cavalry into the city. His eyes swept across the faces of the kneeling Bru soldiers, and the soldiers behind him raised their lances, firmly guarding the Bru soldiers.

"Very well, you opened the gates, which means some of you are still loyal to me. This has reduced my anger a great deal."

Bluebeard Giles straightened his horse and used the lance in his hand to press against the chest of a kneeling Bru officer.

The officer felt the sharpness of the spear tip against his chest, trembling all over, but he dared not say a word of resistance, only begging for mercy incoherently:

"Lord, my loyalty to you has never changed..."

"I know."

Bluebeard's voice was cold and merciless. He said, word by word, "But you need to prove yourself. Identify two people who defected to the Kingdom of Sree to prove your loyalty!"

The officer's expression froze. He turned his head slightly, and the faces of the other kneeling soldiers showed extreme fear!

"What? Do you need to think about such a thing?"

Bluebeard's voice rang out again, like the whisper of a demon.

Hearing this, the officer's mind went blank. He decisively reached out and pointed to two other kneeling soldiers beside him:

"Marshal, these two have been currying favor with the Sree. They were also the first to surrender when the Sree came—"

As soon as he said this, the two Sree soldiers stiffened, shouting in horror:

"Marshal, we didn't!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

But they only had time to say a few words. In the next moment, a flash of sword light, and scarlet blood gushed out from their necks!

Two heads fell to the ground, splashing out dazzling crimson!

"Very well, stand up."

Marshal Giles looked at the other Dent soldiers and some of the civilians who had been driven together further out, a sneer appearing on the corner of his mouth:

"The others, do the same, prove your loyalty and your hatred for the Sree, understand?"

As he spoke, the cavalry behind him began to pour into the city's alleys.

The lances in their hands all gleamed with a deadly light.

For a time, screams, pleas for mercy, and the sharp sounds of swords and spears being drawn echoed in the air!

...

A streak of blood splattered on the wall, and a commoner's head rolled onto the ground.

A Bru cavalryman kicked open a door, flicked the remaining blood off his sword, and looked into the room at a terrified family of three.

"Marshal Giles has given you a chance to prove your loyalty. You all understand what you should do, right?"

"Sir, we, we've been staying in the house and haven't gone anywhere..."

The husband in the family of three stood in front of his wife and children, saying in a trembling voice.

"Oh? Then how do I know if what you're saying is true or false? Don't waste time—identify someone, understand?"

"Iden, identify... I identify, the neighbor..."

"He's already dead. Everyone near your house is dead. Don't point to someone I don't know where they are, understand?"

The Bru cavalryman impatiently interrupted, waving his gleaming sword as he walked closer.

"But, but, here, only I..."

The man stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly stunned. He seemed to understand what the Bru cavalryman was going to do.

"You, you devils! Madmen!"

He shouted in despair, but the Bru cavalryman became even more excited. He took another step forward, his voice carrying a kind of morbid joy, "Yes, that's right, just like the Kingdom of Sree said, we are devils—this feeling of slaughter is so interesting!

As he spoke, on the surface of the armor stained with blood, a gate-shaped carving glowed faintly as the blood seeped into it."

"Time's up, huh?"

He raised the long sword in his hand high, and the family of three in front of him had completely given up on survival, only cursing:

"You devils, you will die a horrible death!"

The Bru cavalryman's contempt was undisguised, and the long sword in his hand slashed down mercilessly and forcefully!

The family of three, hugging and crying, had given up hope.

But in the next moment, a sword light suddenly flashed through the empty air, cutting the Bru cavalryman, man and sword, in half!

A red-cloaked girl appeared before them.

"It's alright, hide somewhere safe!"

As Reike spoke, she leaped again, her figure disappearing once more.

"The cavalry in this block have all been cleared. These Bru knights, are they really all—mad? Why are they slaughtering... the people of their own territory?"

Reike murmured, the stone ground beneath her feet stained with mottled bloodstains.

In just a few dozen minutes, countless Dent territory residents had died on the ground. These residents' legs could never outrun the cavalry led by Marshal Giles.

When these regular soldiers began to slaughter, their armor and spears allowed them to kill any fleeing commoner within sight with extreme ease.

"I haven't found their marshal's location. These cavalry have all been divided into small teams—they're massacring the city!"

Poro, on the other side, was also jumping on the houses.

His eyes observed the surrounding streets. Every Bru cavalryman who appeared within Poro's casting range was quickly killed by the gourmet curse!

Reike and Poro also saw clearly what these soldiers were doing.

They were massacring the city!

How many people have died?

In the direction of the city gate, the corpses piled up on the side of the road were already like hills, and blood flowed everywhere!

A look of sadness covered Reike's azure eyes.

Every cavalryman she killed had the blood of innocents on his hands, as sensed by the Star Killer Sword!

"I've killed the seventy-fourth one too. Don't be affected, Reike. Your Star Killer Sword sensed it too, didn't it? Although I don't know why, these soldiers have gone mad.

They are now just humanoid monsters. If we don't kill them as soon as possible, more innocent people will die."

Poro comforted Reike as he retracted his gaze. Not far away, two cavalrymen fell from their horses.

A golden light fell from the sky.

The golden bird Sipallo folded its wings and landed beside Reike and Poro.

"Did you find the location of the leader of this army?"

Poro asked.

"I'm not sure."

The golden bird Sipallo said, "But I saw a small team heading straight towards the castle from another street. The leading knight's hair seemed to be blue..."

"Hmm? This crazy Marshal Giles isn't participating in the slaughter but is going to the castle!?"

Poro's pupils shrank, thinking of the Goethe Kingdom spies who had gone to the castle to investigate.

If we want to stop the slaughter of this army, killing the army's commander first is always the best strategy, not to mention that this army's possession is definitely inseparable from this Bluebeard!

During such a large-scale army massacre, the few Sree soldiers who had occupied Dent territory and those "Holy Advent New Church" believers did not sacrifice themselves.

But with their numbers, even if they appeared, they would definitely not be able to resist such a large number!

"Hmm? Wait, I seem to sense something..."

Just as Poro was thinking, the entire ground of Dent territory suddenly trembled—Poro looked towards the center of the city, the location of the castle, and suddenly a kind of invisible, chaotic energy flow filled with bloodlust emanated from there.

"What is that?!"

Reike and Poro widened their eyes, their hearts trembling.

"No, we must go there first... No matter what Bluebeard has done in the castle, it will never be a good thing!"

...

Inside Bluebeard's castle, at the lowest level of the basement, in front of a large bronze door.

"Is this the key?"

The gray-clad spy looked at the haggard woman in front of him, who nodded, and then looked at the key in his hand, a golden key with an inverted cross engraved on it.

"Yes, can you take me away from here? I don't want to, I don't want to be with Giles anymore... He, he's like an inhuman... beast."

The luxuriously dressed woman looked at the gray-clad spy, a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

"Of course, I will take you away from here later. Go to the castle first, and if any cavalry come in this direction, tell me.

There may be very dangerous things behind this door. You'd better not look."

The gray-clad spy said, his eyes fixed on the bronze door engraved with complex patterns. The smell of blood was very strong, and the walls and ground next to the door were reddish-brown.

It was as if a sea of blood was locked behind the door.

The noblewoman, Gilles' latest wife, walked tremulously up the stairs, returning to the first floor of the castle.

But at that moment, a cold, armor-clad arm wrapped around the woman's waist.

A blue beard, reeking of thick blood, approached the woman's ear, and the voice she feared most echoed, cold and spectral:

"My lady, what were you doing downstairs? You still have the key I gave you, don't you?"

"And... you remember my words, you didn't open the door at the deepest part, did you?"

Hearing this hellish murmur, the woman's mind went blank, unable to utter a complete sentence, not even daring to cry out; her legs weakened, and she was about to fall to the ground.

But Bluebeard caught the woman's collapsing body.

His visor was already open, revealing a face full of scars beneath it, slowly drawing closer, his nostrils twitching:

"Hmm, I smell it, the scent of a strange man, as expected, you are all the same, every woman is like this—"

"My lady, you disappoint me greatly."

Bluebeard's hand, supporting the woman's back, moved upwards, gripping her cervical spine, veins bulging, slowly applying force.

The woman's scream was drowned out by the sound of cracking bones.

Fresh blood gushed out from her torn neck, dripping down.

"Heh heh..."

Bluebeard chuckled strangely, casually tossing the deformed corpse onto the ground.

His blood-stained hand reached into his breastplate, retrieving the brass key.

On the key's surface, the blood spontaneously spread upwards, little by little, until the woman's blood covered the last bit of brass.

The entire key transformed into a completely crimson color!

"It is complete, the final part of the blood sacrifice, it seems I was too conservative before..."