Blood 7: Warfire

The war had faded into ambiguity.

The army returned, broken.

Their appearance suggested defeat, yet they had withdrawn not from loss, but from circumstance.

The cause was the spider-like monster.

It had not perished during the previous incident. It appeared suddenly on the battlefield.

It slaughtered indiscriminately, friend and foe alike. Eventually, the Hero held it in place long enough to deliver a great spell, ending it successfully.

Yet both armies sustained severe losses. Continuing the war was no longer possible.

Both sides had paused, then retreated.

Father returned safely. Relief followed. Yet the sense of unease remained—only the problem had been postponed.

<SOURCE_TEXT> The hero, believed to have perished in a mutual defeat with the spider, was reportedly secretly protected by a high mage from the Empire.

Apparently, this mage possesses teleportation magic and managed to extract the hero just moments before a direct hit from a high-level spell.

That aside, the nation is now in disarray.

The enemy once revered as a divine beast has now shattered half the army.

The war was ostensibly waged in retaliation against that divine beast.

In reality, it stems from long-standing tensions with the Divine Word Church.

Yet this incident has proven, as the Divine Word Church claimed, that the spider once revered as a divine beast is indeed a dangerous entity.

This nullifies our moral justification.

Conversely, the Divine Word Church now holds legitimacy.

That is highly problematic.

We have granted them an opening. </SOURCE_TEXT>

Thanks to this, Father is immediately bustling about upon his return.

The war was not over yet.

Rather, this is where the real challenge begins.

The Church of the Divine Word opposes the Goddess Cult. It would not miss this opportunity.

It would take considerable time to reorganize an army reduced to half its former state, but the opposing side was a major organization with significant influence over human society.

It was entirely plausible that a different army would be brought in to participate this time.

In contrast, the nation of Saliela ranked higher in national strength than most other countries.

Yet isolated and without support, the army was half-destroyed.

Whether there is a chance of victory in this state— even a layperson like me can answer no.

This war was always a losing battle.

Sariera would be decisively superior if only the central Outsu were involved, but with the Divine Word Church backing it, victory becomes unlikely.

Moreover, if the empire itself shifted support to Outsu, that would be an overwhelming final move.

Still, withdrawal was impossible—this was the danger of religious war.

I cannot comprehend it, but for Sariera, not fighting was not an option.

This war was meant to be decided by army versus army, with no civilian casualties.

Sariera would surrender after the outcome was clear.

The military would be depleted, but the nation would retain residual strength, allowing for a lenient surrender condition.

That plan collapsed upon the arrival of an unexpected intruder on the battlefield.

Casualties on both sides were severe.

The outcome remained unresolved.

The war continued.

And now, under unfavorable terms for Sariera.

From this point forward, the conflict would no longer be a clean battle decided on the field.

It would become a quagmire.

Precisely the kind of situation where civilian casualties would occur in the city itself.

And this city would be the primary target.

Located near the border with Outsu Kingdom, it was the site where the problematic spider monsters had taken root.

Father had advocated for the evacuation of residents early on.

But the timing and conditions were unfavorable.

First, the timing.

The season coincided with the harvest period.

The territory centered on my town included vast farmlands.

Roads radiating from the city connected to rural settlements, and crops harvested along these routes were transported to the city.

From there, they were distributed throughout the entire territory of Sariera Kingdom.

For Sariera Kingdom, abandoning the harvest was not an option.

Therefore, evacuation of personnel required for harvesting was impossible.

The transport personnel could have evacuated directly to their destination, but those engaged in other tasks were unable to flee even if they wished.

And there was another unfavorable condition.

The government of Sariera Kingdom had decided to sacrifice this town.

In essence, they had resolved to allow the enemy to attack and occupy the town during this war.

The war could not end without damage.

Therefore, the national policy was to minimize harm as much as possible.

As a result, evacuation of crops and supplies, and of skilled personnel, was permitted—within feasible limits—but evacuation of ordinary citizens was not allowed.

In effect, the town and its inhabitants were handed over as slaves.

Including the father who governed the town, and his family.

The father had made every effort to save his wife and me.

But it was not possible.

The grandparents attempted to intervene somehow, but that effort was crushed by the central authority.

The central authority and the enemy’s core must have already reached an agreement.

Otherwise, the movement would be too severely restricted.

The timing coinciding with the harvest season—impossible to avoid, utterly inopportune.

In this nation, the separation of military and agriculture was strictly maintained, so the harvest suffered no major losses. Yet the timing remained inexcusable.

If the enemy had calculated every move precisely, then the state of Salyera was a complete defeat.

The approaching enemy army appeared as death itself.