Chapter 410

Time Freeze
“Mhm. Well now, they’ve frozen quite splendidly.”

Marquis Vardmoi stood before the frozen enemy army, barely flustered.
Plum and Keuko had seen this before, so they weren’t surprised, but the others were clearly shaken. Still, the Marquis remained composed as ever.
So... what should we do next?

“Lily. Can we transport them as they are?”

“We can, but they’re heavy, you know? What are you planning to use them for?”

“I was thinking of bringing them as a souvenir for the King's brother.”

“I don’t mind... but aren’t we going to take them alive?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Huh?
Did I say something weird?

“Lily, these people—aren’t they frozen to death?”

“Oh, that. No, they’re not dead. They just can’t move because time around them is frozen too. It’s kind of like a suspended animation.”

“... Frozen along with the surrounding time?”

“Yes. It seems to be Cocytus Tarachnathos’s ability. It traps the target in a prison of icy threads, and then stops time along with the ice stretched between the threads, capturing them alive.”

“Well, that’s…”

Even Marquis Vardmoi was at a loss for words.
I was surprised too when Talat taught me about this ability.
We tried it on a monster once—it froze solid, and when it was defrosted, it just started moving again like nothing had happened.
As expected of the spider from hell.

“Then... you can revive these people?”

“Not so much revive as defrost. It’s like a type of curse, in a way.”

“I see. And can we separate them one by one?”

“That’s possible. You can even just defrost the weapons and confiscate them.”

“Understood. Everyone, begin disarming them.”

The enemy soldiers, separated into individual frozen blocks by Talat, were disarmed one after another by Vardmoi’s troops.
At first, the soldiers were cautious, but once they got used to it, they could remove weapons from the frozen enemies without hesitation.
Familiarity is a scary thing.
Also, the cavalry were removed from their horses.
The horses were relocated and gathered in one spot.
Apparently, they’ll be defrosted after measures are taken to prevent them from panicking and running off.
That part can be left to Marquis Vardmoi.

Now, the next task is to capture the prominent nobles and generals—but that’s a bit of a hassle.
Since everyone’s equally frozen, the only way to identify them is by the extravagance of their equipment.
Even Marquis Vardmoi doesn’t know every soldier’s face, so for now, he’s just having all the suspicious-looking individuals taken in.
It’s a tough job too, though at least they can’t fight back.

“Is that everyone with fancy equipment?”

“That’s all of them. Is something the matter, Marquis Vardmoi?”

“Lily, can you contact the other Kiblinki Saltas members in different locations?”

“Not right away, but give me some time and I can. What’s wrong?”

“Marquis Morogawarde isn’t here. That bastard—so he stayed out of the battlefield, did he?”

So he really wasn’t there.
But I can’t imagine the Kiblinki Saltas would overlook him.
Talat’s attack was the signal for everyone to move, so we’ll wait for their report.

What do you think about this chapter?