Chapter 532: 532:The World Is Simply A Horrible Place To Survive

Their bodies looked thin and weak, almost like skeletons, and their skin had lost its vitality, while some of them lay unconscious and others barely moved as if they had no strength left. A faint and unstable aura surrounded them, which made it clear that something inside them was collapsing slowly.

Beside them, adults knelt in grief, and their faces were filled with despair.

"Why... why is this happening..." one demon woman cried as she held her child’s hand, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

Another man slammed his fist against the ground and shouted toward the sky, "Why, God? Why are you punishing our kids?"

His eyes were red, and his voice carried both anger and helplessness.

"If you have a problem with us, then take us instead," he continued, his voice breaking. "Leave the kids alone."

No answer came, and the silence that followed only made the scene more painful.

Ethan stood there quietly, watching everything unfold, and for a moment, he did not move because what he saw was not something he could ignore easily.

As he continued walking through the area, he noticed that the same scene repeated everywhere, and more children were lying in similar conditions while more families cried beside them.

This was not an isolated case.

It was happening across the entire city.

"So it’s true," Ethan murmured softly as he recalled the information he had heard before.

The disease that affected the young.

The one that drained their potential and weakened their ability to use mana.

It targeted those below thirty years old, and in severe cases, it left them like this, completely broken and unable to recover.

Ethan’s eyes moved slowly across the surroundings as he processed everything, and the details matched exactly with what he had been told earlier. This was not just a rumor or an excuse, because the suffering in front of him was real.

To cure this disease, they needed human hearts to craft an elixir, and that was the reason behind many of their actions.

Ethan’s hand clenched slightly as he stood there, and although his expression remained calm, his thoughts had already begun to change.

This was not just a war for territory or power.

It was driven by desperation.

After a few moments, Ethan slowly turned and moved again, and although his figure remained invisible, his mind was no longer the same as before.

"Tsk... I shouldn’t have come..."

Ethan muttered under his breath as he stood on a quiet rooftop, and his eyes slowly moved across the dim streets below. The cries he had heard earlier still echoed faintly in his mind, and even though the city had gone quiet for the night, the weight of what he had seen had not faded.

If anything, that scene had shaken him more than any battlefield.

For a moment, anger had risen in his chest, but it did not last long, because he did not know who to blame. Should he blame the demons for attacking in desperation, or should he blame the humans for pushing forward and trying to take over their lands?

But even that thought felt incomplete.

It was not as if the demon army was purely fighting for their people either, because many of them had their own motives, and some simply wanted to satisfy their bloodlust. That truth made everything more complicated, and the clear lines between right and wrong began to blur.

Ethan exhaled slowly and closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"This is a mess," he murmured quietly.

The war was not simple, and the deeper he looked, the more twisted it seemed.

"The world.."

"It’s simply a horrible place to survive."

After staying for a while longer, he left the city quietly, using the same hidden route, and returned to the camp before anyone noticed his absence.

Two days passed.

The army remained stationed near the river, and the tension continued to build as they waited for the next move.

Then, General Aaron finally arrived.

Reinforcements followed him, and the scale of it alone was enough to shift the atmosphere of the entire camp. Nearly three hundred thousand elite soldiers marched in formation, and along with them came groups of knights and heavily armed infantry, all carrying a strong and disciplined presence.

The camp became lively again, and preparations resumed at full pace.

Soon after, a meeting was called.

Inside the command tent, Ethan, Han, and Hale stood with the others as Aaron walked back and forth, his expression calm but serious.

"You three worked well," Aaron said, stopping in front of them.

His gaze swept across them briefly before he continued, "That Lucien... thankfully, I managed to get him out in time, otherwise the outcome would have been disastrous."

Han and Hale exchanged a brief glance, but neither of them spoke.

Aaron then gave a small nod and added, "Your actions stabilized the front, and the credit will be reported properly. Rewards will follow."

His tone was steady, and there was no doubt in his words.

However, as he spoke, his eyes shifted slightly and landed on Ethan.

Ethan stood there, but his focus seemed elsewhere.

"Marquise Ethan," Aaron called out.

Ethan blinked and looked up.

"Is there anything you want to say?" Aaron asked, his voice calm. "No need to be afraid. Speak to your heart’s content."

For a moment, Ethan opened his mouth.

He wanted to say something.

The images from the city flashed through his mind again, and the words almost came out, but in the end, he paused and closed his lips again.

"...No," he said after a brief silence.

"It’s just that this is the first time I have been away for so long," he added, his tone steady. "So I miss home a bit."

Aaron stared at him for a second, then suddenly laughed.

"Haha... you are not the only one," he said, waving his hand slightly. "Even I miss my family."

Han let out a breath and leaned slightly back.

"I wonder what my kids are doing right now," he said, his voice carrying a faint hint of warmth.

Hale chuckled and shook his head.

"I don’t have family," he said with a grin.

"I just go to the brothel when I have urges."

That drew a few quiet laughs inside the tent, and for a brief moment, the heavy atmosphere lightened.

Ethan also gave a faint smile, although it did not fully reach his eyes.

The conversation shifted back to war plans soon after, and the moment passed.

But deep inside Ethan’s thoughts remained unsettled.