The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 319

Count Munez’s plan had failed completely. The leaders of Chronos, safe in their grand halls, chose to ignore the suffering of the prisoners. But Roman Dmitry was not like them. He decided to take strong action himself, action that would shake the very borders between nations.

Baron Brighton, another nobleman from the East, stepped forward, his face pale and slick with sweat. He was now in charge after Baron McHighton’s brutal death. His hands trembled as he gestured to the prisoners huddled behind him. “We… we have brought all the prisoners,” he stammered, his voice barely a whisper.

It was sadly predictable. The first prisoners they had shown were in relatively good condition, likely chosen to make things look better. But these new prisoners… these were the ones who had truly suffered. Their clothes were ripped and dirty, hanging loosely on their thin bodies. Many had open wounds that looked infected. The air was thick with tension. A cold wind blew through the courtyard, carrying the smell of fear and unwashed bodies. Dmitry’s soldiers, watching from behind Roman Dmitry, gripped their swords, their faces grim. They were ready to fight for their comrades.

Lucas stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. “This list from the Information Guild… it doesn’t match. There are still prisoners missing.”

“N-no, wait!” Baron Brighton cried, waving his hands frantically. “We brought them all! This list… I don’t know where it came from. Anyone missing? They must have died… from sickness! Prisoners, you know, they’re often already sick when we get them, right? They just… they just die.” His eyes darted around, pleading for someone to believe his obvious lie.

Roman Dmitry slowly walked towards the prisoners, his gaze sweeping over their broken forms. He stopped in front of one man, whose face was bruised and swollen, his eyes barely open. “Carroll,” Roman Dmitry said, his voice low and steady. “What happened to you?” He needed to know. He needed to understand the full extent of Chronos’s cruelty.

When Roman Dmitry first said he would release the prisoners, Carroll and the others doubted what they were hearing.

“Roman Dmitry crossed the border to save you. You can be happy. You will return to Dmitry.”

Carroll’s heart sank. It was unbelievable. Even while getting on the carriage for escort, people did not accept that this was really happening.

“Really, did he come to save us after receiving that short contact?” Carroll wondered.

Carroll’s magic communication had only connected for about 3 seconds, and he couldn’t even convey his words properly due to the unstable connection. So the prisoners fell into despair. Carroll risked his life to seize the last opportunity, but he was convinced that it was over, thinking that it had completely failed.

He wondered what kind of future awaited them. He thought he would live and die without a name in a quarry that forces harsh labor. But Dmitry came to save them. The fact that they were not abandoned made him feel overwhelmed.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Carroll said.

Inside the carriage, tears spread. People who used to say that men don’t cry when their bodies were healthy cried like little children. The crying did not stop. He was truly grateful.

If Roman Dmitry had taken Carroll’s magic communication lightly, he could have just passed it over, but Roman Dmitry showed interest in the possibility of it. And when he was convinced that there were prisoners of war, he boldly crossed the border of Chronos and demanded the prisoners.

They knew it too. That it was not an easy decision. The leaders of the country carefully handled everything due to political interests, and usually chose the sacrifice of a few, especially on issues that could lead to war.

Think about it. Wouldn’t it be impossible to put so many people in danger to save hundreds of people who haven’t even been confirmed to be dead or alive?

For that reason, ordinary commoners were often helplessly trampled on like insignificant ants. War prisoner. It’s a sensitive issue. Knowing that, Roman Dmitry showed with his actions that he was prepared for war from the beginning.

He crossed the border. He drew his sword. The strong will to take back his people even at the risk of war put the prisoners back in their place.

And now.

“Carroll. What happened to you during that time?” Roman Dmitry asked.

The gaze looking at him made Carroll’s pupils tremble. He was grateful just for the fact that he had come to save him like this, but Roman Dmitry remembered his name and asked him what had happened during that time. He had no memory of having a personal conversation with him. So, he was crying, covering his face with the emotions that were welling up, because he had specially studied for this moment.

That person. He is my master.

Carroll, who had been steadfast even while being tortured, now spoke of what had happened with a face covered in tears.

“I was tortured. I was abused. They treated us like beasts and made us work in the quarry day and night, and if we showed any signs of resting, they whipped us harshly. My lord, I still can’t forget the sight of my colleague dying next to me, buried under a rock. The demons of the Chronos Empire mocked and spat on his face as he gasped for breath and asked to be saved. So I risked my life. I grabbed the magic communicator and informed them of the existence of the prisoners, hoping that my lord would save us from the abyss of despair.”

His voice trembled. He became increasingly agitated and shouted, crying as if to vent his past pain.

“Do you know what was the most painful thing while they were pulling out my fingernails, pulling out my toenails, and cutting off my skin? Chronos’ lies turned me inside out. Dmitry is not a country that would abandon its people, but I could not tolerate the fact that the vile Chronos was hiding the truth and proceeding with the armistice negotiations.”

It was a complaint. Not a well-organized word. It meant to listen to what had happened. Like a child running to his father to tell on him, Roman Dmitry seemed to be such an existence to Carroll.

How much did he throw up? The crying dried up. He cried so much that he couldn’t even make a sound anymore. Roman Dmitry listened to the complaint until the end. In a space where silence fell except for the two, the Chronos soldiers could not dare to open their mouths even a little. It felt like he had to. He was suffocated just by looking at it.

Finally, when Carroll had vented all his emotions, Roman Dmitry asked.

“Who made you like that?”

At that word, Carroll turned his head and pointed to a man. That man was Jason.

Jason’s face was stained with embarrassment. He was trying to explain the situation he was in, but he screamed at the excruciating pain that suddenly occurred.

The hand that was waving flew away as it was.

As he tried to run away with a terrified face, blood spurted from his Achilles tendon and he lost his balance.

He fell to the floor. He couldn’t support the ground because he lost his hand, and because his Achilles tendon was cut off, he repeatedly slammed his face into the ground like a newborn calf even when he tried to get up. His body trembled.

He did not expect that he, who had been in an absolute position when torturing Carroll, would be reduced to this state.

Roman Dmitry approached Jason.

Baron Brighton stepped away between the two and said in an earnest voice.

“P, please. Stop now. Haven’t you fulfilled all the requests to bring the prisoners?!”

Roman Dmitry grabbed Jason’s hair. When he slammed it into the ground several times, Jason, who was bleeding from his forehead, showed tears and snot with a terrified face.

“This trash tortured my people. Then the same will happen to him. No, I have to give it back more than that,” Roman Dmitry said.

There was no compromise. Roman Dmitry held a dagger. It was from then on that a terrible situation was created. He cut off Jason’s flesh while he was still alive, and pressed his face down at the sight of him struggling and asking to be saved. Resistance was meaningless. Slowly, very slowly, Roman Dmitry chose the most painful torture method while maintaining Jason’s life. Methods such as dividing tendons and dislocating bones were a luxury for this guy. Only visible, blood-splattering torture methods could destroy the body and mind at the same time.

Above the castle walls, the soldiers of the Chronos Empire covered their mouths. Screams echoed. Blood splattered. He turned his gaze away. He couldn’t bear to look straight at the sight of a living person being tortured.

But none of Dmitry’s soldiers turned their gaze away. They accepted Roman Dmitry’s cruel side as it was. They knew that the cruelty does not threaten them. Therefore, they watched to the end without turning away from the appearance of the person they followed, the appearance of avenging Carroll.

Soon, Jason’s body slumped. Roman Dmitry got up from his seat and brushed back his blood-stained hair. And then.

“Count Munez, contact the higher-ups right now.”

Looking up at the castle walls, he showed a blood-stained smile.

Magic communication was connected. Marquis Memphis, who received the report of the situation, spat out a stiff voice through the communicator.

“Roman Dmitry! This is too much! Killing our people, crossing the border without warning! Stop this now! We… we admit we made mistakes with the prisoners. Let’s end this here!”

A series of processes. He crossed the line. If he had only held Baron McHighton responsible at an appropriate level, Marquis Memphis would not have been so angry. The problem was the process. He unilaterally invaded the border and killed Baron McHighton and Jason in front of everyone. Also very painfully.

The sight of Baron McHighton with his cheeks swollen from being slapped and Jason writhing in pain touched the pride of the Chronos Empire. How long will you endure it? It was like testing his patience.

Roman Dmitry said to Marquis Memphis’ voice, which was boiling with anger.

“Whether you stop or not is not a matter for you to decide. This case, whatever conclusion you come to internally as to who is responsible, those excuses are not important to me. From now on, I will give you a chance to prove your sincerity. I am going to kill everyone in the front-line defense position in exchange for the lives of my people who died under torture. If you still want to admit your mistake and maintain the armistice negotiations at that time, I will stop retreating after burning this place down.”

“Why are you doing this so far? He retrieved all of Dmitry’s prisoners and even brutally killed those involved. Is this not enough!” Marquis Memphis asked.

Roman Dmitry laughed. He sneered and conveyed his sincerity to Marquis Memphis, who was on the other side of the communication.

“That’s how you know. There must be a precedent that nothing ends appropriately, whether it’s against me or anything else, so you won’t think that you can wrap up the situation with ridiculous excuses next time.”

“You crazy ba…”

He cut off the communication. And then.

“Kill all the enemies,” Roman Dmitry commanded.

At the command he spat out calmly, Dmitry’s soldiers rushed in all at once.