Among the demon clans, a prophecy has taken hold like a legend.
– When the blood of the demons abandoned by the heavens sufficiently quenches the earth’s thirst, the tears pooled in their eyes will birth a puddle from which the Demon King will return.
This sentence left behind by the prophet was the driving force that allowed the demons to endure in a world that oppresses them.
They firmly believed, without a shadow of doubt, that their Demon King would return to lead them.
But…
“Why.”
Why was the Demon King pointing a sword at him?
The lizardman thought this as he pointed his spear towards the Demon King approaching him.
Of course, the existence the lizardman was watching had not declared himself to be the Demon King.
The knight who had broken through the gates was simply collecting the lives of the demons with disciplined swordsmanship; he had not proclaimed himself to be the Demon King.
However, the sight of him massacring the demons as he approached left no doubt that he was the Demon King.
Plop.
The brave ogre warrior was sucked into the knight’s outstretched left hand.
The knight pierced the ogre’s heart with his sword and swung it widely to shake off the ogre.
The cold sword energy emitted from the sword passed over the demons’ necks.
Those with keen instincts bowed their heads to preserve their lives, but those who couldn’t reacted too late, and their heads parted ways with their bodies.
A hundred eyes that couldn’t close rolled on the ground.
While the lizardman restrained his swearwords at the sight of his motionless comrades, the knight raised something in his left hand.
Then, the wizards chanting spells in the rear floated into the air and were stuck into trees and pillars that had been sharply cut by a slash a moment ago.
Aargh…
The wizards who hadn’t died instantly convulsed and collapsed while stuck to the trees.
Between the bloodstained pillars, the knight continued to walk.
“Hiiiik-!”
Panicking soldiers fired arrows, but the greatsword seemed to already know and had been waiting in place.
Ting.
Blocking the projectiles with composed movements and narrowing the distance, the knight pulled the remaining personnel towards him and swung his greatsword.
The semicircular swing of the greatsword produced more silent corpses.
‘This isn’t the Demon King, right?’
The lizardman frowned as he pointed his shaking spear at the Demon King.
He wanted to flee, but this cruel Demon King twisted the necks of those who ran with an unknown power.
On the other hand, it wasn’t like he was granting mercy to those who didn’t run.
All that awaited them was death approaching slowly.
In the end, it was just a difference between dying pointlessly or slowly.
‘Does this guy actually think dying in battle is honorable?!’
If not, there was no way he could be slowly killing them claiming to offer a honorable death.
At that moment, someone stood in front of the knight.
“Haha! What a glorious battlefield!”
It was the Cyclops chieftain who had killed ten men with one slash.
This Cyclops, a close aide to the chieftain, was a famous warrior known for cutting down ten knights with a single axe swing.
The appearance of the Cyclops sent a faint current of hope among the demons.
Perhaps, he might…
“This is the battle I have long desired! It has been ages since I’ve faced such a worthy opponent!”
The Cyclops approached the knight up close, making the ground tremble.
Though the knight was tall, he was no match for the half-giant Cyclops.
The Cyclops raised his axe towards the knight, who only came up to his sternum,
“This, try to block it!”
and gripped the axe handle with both hands, putting all his strength into a downward strike.
However, the blow filled with hope from the demons was effortlessly blocked by the knight’s greatsword.
Though impressive, the magnificent clang of metal did nothing to disturb the calm demeanor of the knight standing there.
More so, while the Cyclops strained his eyes and pressed down on the axe handle with both hands, the knight easily held it off with a single hand.
Soon, the knight clenched his unfilled hand tightly and thrust it towards the Cyclops’ abdomen.
A dull sound of hitting meat resounded, and seeing the Cyclops’ body collapse while spilling its contents from the belly, the demons finally realized.
“Haha… damn it…”
They chuckled wryly and dropped their weapons.
Meanwhile, Rex was watching Duke from afar.
In this battle, Rex had not shared the screen with Duke through the interface.
This was because Duke had warned him beforehand.
– “I recommend you don’t directly watch my battle this time.”
Following Duke’s advice, Rex saw only a green dot driving away multiple red dots on the interface.
Had Rex seen Duke slaughtering the demons directly, he would have inevitably thrown up.
Rex marveled at Duke’s outstanding performance as the spearhead.
“Wasn’t the plan to draw their aggro? Why is Duke chasing the demons?”
It was supposed to be a hit-and-run operation, but Duke was actually pushing in.
“Maybe it’s not a feint but more of an encirclement and annihilation?”
The sight of the red dots being pushed away by the green dot gave an illusion of cleaning with a mop.
However, Rex didn’t particularly stop Duke from his actions.
In the aspect of drawing aggro, since all the city’s forces were mobilized against him, he was fulfilling his role accurately.
The rescue team was successfully rescuing the citizens, and the assassination team was smoothly raiding the Chieftain.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Certainly, everything was on track.
But the words Duke left before the operation started continued to bother Rex.
– “Master Rex. Commanders often don’t understand the hearts of their soldiers. Please beware and avoid such mistakes.”
The reminder Duke gave before the operation kept on bothering him.
Therefore, he closely monitored the statuses of Ari and Duke, but no matter how much he pondered, he could not understand why Duke gave that warning.
When the Chieftain was almost defeated, Rex dismissed it as a false alarm and declared the mission’s success.
It did not take long for Rex to regret declaring that judgment.
After announcing the success of the mission, Rex tended to the wounds of the rescued citizens.
Duke, who had wiped out the demons, also joined the camp.
That way, everyone waited for the final team member, the assassination squad, to return.
Some time later, the assassination squad appeared as the final member.
However, the squad’s state was dire.
All the party members accompanying Ari were severely wounded.
Among those who seemed fine on the outside, one had a burst internal organ, and a warrior pushed their limits so much that their muscles had almost melted away.
The healer’s explanation of their conditions turned Rex’s complexion pale.
But Ari’s condition was even more serious.
One arm was broken and hung limply, and the other hung loosely in exchange for blocking the Chieftain’s final blow.
It was a wound so deep that her arm could have disappeared just like a certain red-haired pirate’s if it had been just a bit deeper.
Only then did Rex understand the meaning of the warning Duke had given.
“People… cannot be judged merely by numbers.”
Rex had given orders as if playing a game.
Non-contracted adventurers appeared as mere dots to Rex compared to Ari.
So, he issued orders based on the red health bars displayed on the interface.
For example, he suggested they retreat when their health reached a certain level, get healed, and return to the fight.
The toll of those orders were these injuries.
That wasn’t the only aspect where reflection was needed.
Rex even thought he might have been seeing Ari as an NPC.
Viewed through the state window, Ari was undoubtedly at the 4.5 tier.
But only in terms of raw power and skill.
She was still at the 3rd tier overall, and her other aspects were also at the 3rd tier.
She merely touched the tip of the 4th tier and was not comparable to its level outright.
That resulted in her having to fight the Chieftain at the cost of breaking both her arms.
All due to Rex judging people by numbers.
Though no one died, they could have if fortune turned against them.
“Am I…”
Really qualified to be a commander?
Nevertheless, such worries of Rex were rendered meaningless as the adventurers who succeeded in the mission expressed their gratitude to him.
Ari also displayed gratitude and respect towards him.
“Thanks to Master Rex’s command, we were able to bring him down.”
Ari reached the 4th tier by defeating the Chieftain, and the party members accompanying her also ascended tiers.
Even though their injuries were life-threatening, they ultimately achieved the best possible outcome.
“There’s no need to push yourself so hard, Master.”
With Ari’s warm words of comfort, Rex leaned on her, tears streaming down his face.
Although not perfect, this, his second command, could still be called a success.
The night after liberating the city.
With the sun setting and considering the difficulty of moving the rescued civilians,
the expedition force decided to stay overnight.
– Cheers!
Adventurers gathered around a bonfire in the square, raising their drinks,
while the captives shed tears mixing the joy of finding true liberation with sorrow for what they lost.
Even Rex barely managed to fall asleep in the bed provided to him.
On that late night, Duke left his quarters without sleeping.
Still in the same attire from the day,
he was heading somewhere when Ari called him out.
“Sir, I have something to say.”
She, with her arm in a sling made of bandages and a blanket wrapped around her, spoke.
Duke, keeping his back to her without acknowledging her presence, just nodded slightly.
“Speak.”
“Was the incident this afternoon your intention?”
Duke immediately understood what incident Ari was referring to.
“About that, I apologize. It was necessary experience for our Lord.”
“Indeed… ”
Duke had realized this when he warned Rex earlier, and Ari, who was also there at the time,
had speculated that the entire event, including the assassination squad’s injuries, was Duke’s doing.
Duke affirmed her speculation.
‘After all, it was an event from the original story.’
Due to seeing people as mere numbers, Rex overlooked the internal injuries of some adventurers, leading to fatalities.
This lesson became a springboard for him to grow into a more excellent commander.
Duke couldn’t defy this flow of the original story.
Duke continued, still looking somewhere without meeting Ari’s eyes,
“You have every right to criticize me.”
However, Ari neither criticized nor scolded him.
“No, I’m grateful instead.”
“?”
“If it was for Lord Rex, then I’m willing to offer my arm. Should both Lord Rex and I gain lessons under your protection at any time, I would welcome it.”
Duke slightly tilted his head at her words.
“Did you know?”
“Yes. The Chief’s movements were a bit odd.”
As she said, Duke deliberately let their injuries persist.
However, he carefully intervened to prevent the severe debilitations.
He stopped the adventurer’s internal injuries at a bruise before it became too severe.
When the original story cut off Ari’s arm, Duke delayed it, making her arm less severely damaged.
More importantly…
“Didn’t you finish off the Chief when he was pretending to be dead while targeting our rear?”
“On that matter, let’s clarify the misunderstanding. The Chief was destined to die. I merely restrained him until that time.”
In the original story, the Chief pretending to be dead entangled with one adventurer and perished.
Not liking that scene, Duke intervened, but it was indisputably Ari who ended the Chief’s breath.
“So, let this achievement be yours. Praising and seeking fame for inactions is depravity that a knight must avoid.”
“Understood, Sir.”
With that, the conversation seemed to conclude as Duke resumed his steps.
Ari bowed towards his retreating back.
Duke’s helmet seemed to nod under the moonlight, though it might be just a feeling.
*
After parting with Ari, Duke headed straight to where the Chief’s remains were placed.
There, in the lobby of the former mayor’s mansion, the remains were solemnly left.
But some visitors had already arrived.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, Sir Duke, I don’t know if you recall, but we are the people who regained our freedom thanks to you all.”
They introduced themselves as prisoners.
Surrounding the Chief’s corpse, they welcomed Duke joyfully.
“Just in case, we’ve been guarding it. Isn’t this our hero’s trophy, and shouldn’t we protect it?”
Their warm words satisfied Duke, who nodded approvingly.
“Even beasts know the grace of gratitude. However, such goodwill does not fade. This cycle of goodwill is the salt that makes the world beautiful, is it not?”
“Haha. Thank you.”
“By the way, aren’t you tired?”
“We’re fine. We can endure for our benefactors even for a day.”
“I see. It would be rude to ignore your goodwill. I will take my leave.”
Duke turned as if understanding and moved to leave the lobby where the Chief’s remains were placed.
Then, the ones who introduced themselves as prisoners nodded to each other.
They exchanged glances, quietly drew their weapons.
The one armed with a bow aimed it at Duke, who was still unaware, back turned.
The one closer to Duke drew his sword silently, not even cutting the air, and thrust it at his neck.
However, the sword tip stopped an inch from Duke’s neck and wouldn’t move further.
The “citizen” (impostor?) shaken by the trembling sword tip stared at it in confusion.
At that moment, Duke turned his head towards them, still facing away.
“A knight does not forget the faces of those he has saved.”
Of course, Duke doesn’t remember anything.
However, if one doesn’t remember from the start, the phrase “forgetting” wouldn’t make sense, so this might be considered accurate.
Ignoring his still lingering conscience, Duke grabbed at the air.
In response to his hand movement, the Chief’s heart hidden in one of the fake civilians’ pockets exploded.
Recalling the original story, Duke recited the prepared lines.
“Even beasts understand propriety and gratitude…”
In the original, the lord couldn’t obtain the heart.
Because, while pretending to be dead, the Chief ended up doing a Kamikaze with an ally, and Ari turned his corpse into meatballs with wide eyes.
However, this world’s Chief was relatively intact, and thus Duke could predict the lord’s next move.
“Apparently, only those worse than beasts serve the lord here.”
With that, Duke, who had previously lowered his tier upon entering the mansion, raised it again.
This time, up to the seventh tier.
One of the fake citizens collapsed, facing difficulty breathing.
Duke proceeded with his dialogue, ignoring it.
“I won’t grant you the honor of wielding a sword.”
He grabbed at the air again.
