Chapter 268: Unintended Outcome

The Lofty Knights excel at fighting as a cohesive unit, always protecting each other.

They had to be, especially for their captain, who had charged ahead during the Eight Years’ War, determined not to lose a single one of them if he could help it. It was their way of making sure Deon Hart wouldn’t worry about them too much. They didn’t want to become baggage holding back their young captain.

As they say, time makes you accustomed to anything. What started as a clumsy, uncoordinated group soon developed a synergy far exceeding expectations. It was also the start of how the hastily formed vanguard, initially just meant to be meat shields, began to be known as ‘immortal’.

‘Well, that’s not important, so let’s move on.’

The point is, this even worked on the Commander of the 10th Corps.

They killed the legion commander.

It seemed their emotional agitation had been quite significant. Combined with other factors, it seemed to have an unexpectedly large effect, creating a situation that would normally be impossible.

“Really… they killed him, just the two of them.”

“No way,” someone murmured in disbelief.

Even though he was a legion commander with little presence among legion commanders, barely even known in the Human Realm, the imposing nature of the position itself couldn’t be ignored. Even though they’d sustained considerable injuries in the process of fighting him, they didn’t seem to have any immediate issues moving around.

Just what kind of guys are they? Shock was etched on the faces of those watching.

“Alright then.”

Milan and Kleter, standing in front of the mangled corpse of the Commander of the 10th Corps, slowly turned their heads.

The attackers facing their blood-covered faces gulped. Eerie glints shone clearly through the red liquid.

“Is it our turn now?”

…….

Isn’t there a saying in the South that even a dog at a village school can chant poems after three years?

Kleter thought, against the backdrop of unanswered silence.

‘We can imitate the captain a bit too, you know.’

From dagger techniques to manipulating the atmosphere, pretty much everything.

That’s why they deliberately acted like their captain from the past. It was the most effective method when a few face a multitude.

More than anything, those guys had already been thoroughly burned by the captain once before. If they sensed a similar aura from his direct knight order members, they’d instinctively shrink back.

As expected, faint fear flickered in the eyes of the enemies, just as they’d intended.

‘Good.’

The two chuckled inwardly.

Breaking the strange stalemate where no one dared to move rashly, Kleter stepped forward and calmly spoke.

“The legion commander is dead, so how about we both back off at this point? If you do, we’ll even gift you this corpse.”

“Right, we purposely kept damage to the face minimal. It’s still plenty usable, don’t you think?”

…….

Although they were said to be knights under Deon Hart, they were ultimately just two humans, not demons. Since their original goal was the Commander of the 10th Corps, and they didn’t see the necessity to risk losses just to kill these two, the attackers accepted their proposal.

That day,

The head of the Commander of the 10th Corps was hung on the city walls of Sanguo.

***

As expected, the Commander of the 10th Corps was dead. Though the process was a bit different from what they had calculated.

…….

…….

Deon stared at the two standing proudly against the backdrop of blood swirling everywhere, looking rather dumbfounded. The look he gave them for returning after doing more than he’d ordered was closer to that of looking at troublemakers than praise, but Milan and Kleter didn’t care.

Milan, bandaged around the side and gauze on his cheek, asked shamelessly,

“Aren’t you going to praise us?”

“……Why would I? You went and did something I didn’t even order.”

“But wasn’t this the result you wanted?”

…….

He hadn’t intended to nag in the first place.

Lecturing them would just hurt his own mouth. He sighed lightly, then gestured towards the two. Even with question marks floating above their heads, the two guys obediently approached as he intended. Deon stared at their approaching injuries for a moment before reaching out a hand.

Kleter, who had a bandage over one eye, flinched at the touch of the hand on his bandage, then awkwardly averted his gaze.

“……Fortunately, they say there’s no problem with my vision. It just looks this way, it’s just a shallow cut…”

“Yeah…”

“They say I’ll be completely healed in time too!”

“Shut up, you.”

“Why only me?!”

Ignoring the indignant cry, he pressed firmly on the bandage.

Leaving Kleter behind, who was whimpering silently, trembling while clutching his wound with both hands, Deon turned to look at Milan. Sensing something ominous, the guy slowly backed away.

“C-Captain?”

“Come here.”

“Ah, no, Captain. Just a moment…! Aaaargh!”

Milan collapsed to the floor. Deon looked down at him with disdain as he writhed like a worm, clutching his side, and spoke in a cold voice.

“From now on, don’t do useless things.”

“It wasn’t useless…”

“If it’s something I didn’t order, it’s useless.”

…….

“If you’re going to act recklessly, at least don’t get hurt. Look at the state of you.”

“Ack! Captain! There, the wound! It hurts!”

Milan, wriggling this way and that to avoid Deon’s foot poking at his side, finally jumped up and quickly backed away.

“You’re too much!”

“What is.”

…….

Indeed, having acted recklessly and gotten hurt, he had nothing to say. Considering how important every bit of strength was in war, this couldn’t even be considered punishment.

He’d just shouted out, but having nothing more to say, Milan shut his mouth, rolled his eyes, and then finally slumped his shoulders.

“I’m sorry…”

“……Alright, alright. Just go now. Don’t go wandering around and worsening your injuries. Just rest up.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And…”

Rustle— the sound of picking up documents was heard.

The rest of his words were almost inaudible, and since Deon Hart was looking at documents, Milan and Kleter, who were about to dismiss it as a mishearing and leave, were startled by the voice that followed and turned back.

“Good work.”

……!

It was a voice like a whisper.

As if not even feeling the piercing gazes of the two with widened eyes, Deon didn’t even glance at them, fixing his gaze solely on the documents.

…….

…….

As if understanding the situation, the bewildered expressions of the two softened.

Following that, the corner of Milan’s mouth turned up in a wide smile.

“Ha, Captain, seriously…!! Mmph!”

“He’s looking at documents. Let’s go without being noisy. Excuse us, Captain.”

Kleter, gagging the mouth that was about to utter an excited, heightened voice, dragged him out.

Only after the two had retreated, Dan, who had been quietly watching nearby, cautiously called out to Deon.

“Master, those documents are blank.”

“……I know.”

Deon put down the blank paper.

Dan, who was looking at him with a strange gaze and was about to tease him further, saw the irritated hands tidying up the messy desk and quietly shut his mouth.

A brief silence flowed.

……??

Deon glanced at him as if asking why he wasn’t leaving and was still here. As if he’d been waiting for their eyes to meet, Dan began to speak.

A topic that was substantial but somewhat heavy suddenly emerged.

“What are you going to do now?”

The hands that had been busily moving stopped.

“If you think about it, the Commander of the 10th Corps died following Master’s orders. It won’t be good for Master either.”

“……That’s why I have to take responsibility now.”

There’s a saying that once the hunt is over, the hunting dogs are eaten.

“Since the Commander of the 10th Corps is dead, shouldn’t we take revenge? He was our valuable force, after all.”

Deon raised his eyes and met Dan’s gaze. His crimson pupils were revealing his confidence without filter.

“Prepare weapons.”

Sanguo is no longer needed, so let’s push it over.

Deon grinned.

***

Deon Hart himself stepped onto the battlefield.

……with a strange carnivorous plant dangling from his side.

“Squeak.”

Those whose eyes met the carnivorous plant averted their gaze with awkward expressions. Regardless, Deon pushed through the blood that rose to his thighs and calmly advanced.

He stopped in front of a siege tower and lifted his head.

‘……If I get on this, a country really might fall.’

They always just talked about bringing it down with words and documents, but now that reality was right in front of him, it felt strange.

As if sensing that Deon Hart was having negative thoughts, the carnivorous plant whimpered softly and patted his back. In response, he raised a hand and stroked the flowerpot. A general who had been observing nearby, sensing the mood, approached.

“Excuse me… Sir Deon.”

……??

It seemed they’d mistaken his immersion in useless thoughts for a silence with a different meaning. An apology followed, as if feeling ashamed.

“I apologize. We’ve only managed to complete two siege towers.”

“……That’s more than enough. Have you prepared defenses against fire attacks, which are the most important?”

“Yes. It should withstand fire arrows and such.”

“Then that’s fine.”

If he wanted to, he could cross the city walls and sweep through everything alone, but if he did, he would receive suspicious gazes asking why he hadn’t done it sooner when he could have.

And that’s why siege towers to send him beyond the city walls were needed.

‘Two? What for? One is more than enough.’

Deon, carrying several spears, scanned the demons who would move the siege tower, and then turned to look at the one in command.

“Don’t think about anything else, just ram it straight into the city walls.”

“Huh?”

“Whether fire arrows fly or boulders come flying, ignore them and push through. I’ll take care of the rest.”

You guys just need to get me over there.

The plan itself was simple enough that there was no need for separate commands. Deon Hart would go beyond and open the city gates, then the troops waiting would push in.

“Ah… I understand.”

“Then when I get on, give the signal and start moving.”

“Yes, sir.”

He climbed onto the siege tower. Deon frowned when he found the mad dogs already on board, waiting.

They’d begged and pleaded so much to go with him that he’d given permission… but he still didn’t like it. Even knowing that there was no turning back now that they’d come this far, a curt voice came out.

“I told you to just wait outside and come in when the gate opens.”

“If only the captain is inside, it’ll be hard to find you later when we join up!”

“If even some of us move together and cause a commotion, the rest of the guys will join up!”

“……Well, it’s not entirely without reason…”

His face, already displeased, contorted even further when his eyes met Milan’s.

“Why is this guy here?”

“What’s wrong with me being here!”

“Injured people, shut up.”

…….

Milan became sulky.

Naturally, Deon didn’t care. Sharp words poured out without hesitation.

“Even if you overlook the other guys, shouldn’t this one be waiting outside? He said he’d figure things out, but what’s this?”

“Come on, Captain. Why are you like this? Look at us with pride!”

“We came because we were worried about the captain, so just let it slide…”

“I’m a Hero, you know.”

…….

“Who’s worried about whose safety?”

A clear sneer surfaced on his pale face.

Dan, who was checking the sword at his waist, shook his head in disapproval of his personality. Even if this conversation was meant to ease tension, at this rate, morale would be dead before they even started.

He subtly interjected and changed the topic.

“More importantly, Master, why did you bring that guy around your waist?”

“Ah… I can’t help it. If I left it behind, it would cause another fuss.”

“Squeak.”

The carnivorous plant nodded its head.

Certainly, when it fell off once before, it was quite a fuss… but still. Just as Dan was about to say something.

Thump, thump, thump.

The siege tower began to move. At the same time, the air surrounding them changed.

‘……Oh.’

‘I just need to take care of myself. Seems like there’s no need to be meddling in others’ affairs.’

Dan, noticing the eyes of the knight order members, which held a serious light despite their light expressions, and Deon, who had turned his head to look at the city walls with a completely hardened face, quietly shut his mouth.