Episode 286: Understandable (2)
[Greediness has moved. Shall we go?]
[No. We will move in three hours so that humans can spread out more widely.]
[…It must be difficult.]
I think it’s enough now, but we will consider safety and effectiveness until the end. Belphegor stuck his tongue out at that fact.
I knew that there should be no setbacks in this plan as I had put my soul into it, but I still wondered if I would fail after investing this much.
[Oh my God, Belphegor… The name of arrogance is mine, but it seems like you’re the one putting people down even more.]
The moment a cool smile touched me, Belphegor changed his mind.
It was so frustrating to fight against the god of this world and the divinity that this land radiated, and I had no desire to take on another divinity.
The back of my hand became warm when my name was called.
[…I’ve never done that. I trusted you.]
[It’s trust…]
The other person smiled softly as always at the words Belphegor hurriedly spoke out to make things up.
The silk draped on the crown-like horn and the jewels of Gyemyeongseong are swaying gently in the blowing wind.
[Yes, he is as big as me. I believe in you too. Your laziness and showiness will determine the time and place.]
I just can’t face that. Belphegor lowered his head, feeling the tension running down his spine.
Then one of the hems of Pride’s cloak reached the tip of his chin. The cloak, which appears to be made of four white feather wings, raises his head with the feather of the first wing.
The eyes filled with darkness and the morning star illuminated him perfectly.
[What are you afraid of? Didn’t I tell you clearly? Your existence is more appropriate to be used alive to torment humans than to be a mere sacrifice.]
[That’s right…]
But where in the world would there be an idiot who would believe that? How can one not understand that they can be culled at any time if it becomes more appropriate to be used as a sacrifice rather than tormenting humans?
Belphegor flexed his fingers as he looked at the white veil that half covered the black dress of pride.
A contradiction in that one does not hide one’s corruption, but one also insists on purity. And the power to transform that contradiction into justification.
There was nothing he could do in front of that.
[I think that strength will remain. Shall we help over there too?]
Sloth bowed down. I never dreamed of complaining that I didn’t want to do it. The essence of sloth lies in being able to play and eat without working, not in doing nothing and waiting for death.
[No.]
[Uh… really? There’s a doll over there with your blood in it.]
[So?]
[…Do you mind if it dies?]
[What does it have to do with me if it dies?] I
was just trying to express my intention to surrender by voluntarily taking on the task. I think it was somehow a mistake. The one who smiled like a mask looked down at him.
[So… Anyway, your blood was in there, right? I thought it would feel bad if something like that happened to a human… No, I thought it would feel bad.]
You damn hard-to-please bastard. Belphegor observed the other person’s expression and fluttering aura without even realizing how his own mouth was fluttering. It wasn’t very effective. The other person was a being who believed that his authority was derived from not showing his emotions.
[…No?]
[Oh Belphegor. I didn’t know you were someone who cared about me this much.]
Otherwise, why are you arguing?
Belphegor smiled awkwardly, barely holding his head as it was about to go down.
[Just remember.]
The other person also tilted his eyes a little more. The eyelashes, which are as rich as a bird’s feather and as long as a peacock’s tail feathers, block the sky and allow one to look down only at the ground.
[Nothing in the world can represent me or represent me. If you lose despite receiving my hand, wouldn’t that just be your limit?]
Just like a god looking down on the world.
[So don’t say things like that again next time.]
But that’s not God.
[You will be mistaken for despising me.]
Since he is not a god, he can only be arrogant in the end.
[If you don’t want to have your tongue pulled out… you know?]
Belphegor nodded frantically at the subtly given threat. It was the first day that I missed the anger that allowed me to act rudely even in front of authority.
Well, no matter what I say, if it actually appears in front of me, it will immediately scream and run away.
* * *
Clink, clink!
The soldier ringing the bell screamed with the bell in his own throat. However, even that could not fully express the looming threat.
A monster bigger than the castle wall was slowly approaching with its huge tusks and horns hanging out. It has a mouth that will calmly swallow a river, and huge legs that will not collapse even if the river floods it, swinging a tail that extends like a pine tree.
Leading the demons rising from the mud pit.
“Demons…!”
“Oh it’s coming.”
“Hold your seat! Those who do not comply will be executed!”
The soldiers were the first to start shaking at the sight, which seemed like a prelude to destruction. If we had not strengthened our discipline and learned not to run away through long training, there would have been people who would have left long ago.
“It’s the same fight as always! Don’t be scared again! “There is no reason to lose once again in a fight that has been won for hundreds of years!”
“Raise your spear to protect your family, friends and lovers! “There is no place to retreat!”
However, we cannot rely only on discipline and training. The middle-ranked soldiers with officialdom hurriedly encouraged the soldiers.
They knew that the moment one person escaped, deserters would come rushing out like a dam bursting.
“But the Ten Seals… The Knight…”
“The Lord of the castle has passed away… We are going to die…”
But how long will this thin ice situation continue? Despite propaganda and speeches, the morale of the soldiers continued to decline.
Thirst and hunger continue, commanders suddenly die at the same time, the chief knight betrays, or the lord of the castle suddenly dies. There was nothing we could do as a series of incidents occurred that would have made it difficult to maintain military discipline even if only one occurred.
If it were not for the rigorous training and military discipline, even this thin ice plate would not have been created.
The surviving command ranks and knights gritted their teeth.
“Please go to Lord Xiaoseong for the sapphire!”
“kyung…!”
“I can handle that crazy bastard! “We can’t both be caught by that bastard!”
Among them, Klaus hesitated and retreated at Topaz’s shout. “I don’t know who it is, but I have found an ally, so don’t worry! Let’s go!” It was those words that completely freed his ankles.
A young man with a nostalgic face caught a glimpse of Hwang-ok’s words. Those momentarily curved eyes are by no means the enemy’s.
“…please!”
He eventually left. I felt slightly short of breath as if my broken ribs were putting pressure on my lungs.
“Lord Little City, command!”
Still, I can’t stop. Now that he had a team to keep the traitor in check, he had to face the destruction coming behind the traitor.
“Please give orders!”
At his shout, Soseongju’s eyes, which had been somewhat dazed, regained their usual shine. Eyes stained with pain let out a wordless scream.
“Lord Sapphire.”
“Lord Xiaocheng!”
It doesn’t seem like he is completely out of his mind, but is it still possible for So Seong-ju to conduct properly in this state? Klaus forgot the question as soon as it came to mind.
Now, it was a situation where I had to do it regardless of whether I could do it or not. So Seong-ju has to pretend that he can do it even if he can’t.
“I am.”
“You are the only one who can lead now!”
The young man, who had lived his whole life oppressed by an inferiority complex, distorted his face.
“…Everyone listen! That monster will never approach the castle walls! This is what the northern soldiers who faced that monster told me directly! “We don’t have to deal with that giant monster directly!!”
And soon his dry throat let out a hoarse sound. The somewhat airy voice was low-volume, but it spread widely thanks to the soldiers keeping their mouths shut.
“So don’t get distracted by monsters! What you have to deal with are the demons it brings with it! “As always, all you have to do is kill those little, stinking scum!”
For a moment, So Seong-ju raised his sword with an expression that looked just like his father.
“We can win! “If you believe in me and follow me, we can overcome all these hardships and adversities!”
The sword caught the sunlight and gave off a bright light like a torch.
“Soldiers, prepare to achieve victory!!”
The sinking air began to rise again.
.
.
.
“Saving that thing won’t make much of a difference.”
I grabbed my sword and struck away the whip that was aimed at Soseongju. The area where it was hit during the throwing process had its clothes torn and the skin torn.
“You know, right? “No matter how good a commander is, he cannot look everywhere and give orders.”
Of course, the whip couldn’t even cut it. The whip, which attacks the enemy in a different way from a stiff sword, effortlessly avoided my sword and struck only my forearm before retreating.
I felt like bringing in someone who said that whips are truly useless weapons in actual combat.
“In the end, it is dance. “There is nothing you can do, you who are not angry.”
But that’s impossible.
Even though it’s hard, we have to overcome it now.
I stretched out my numb arms and pushed up my glasses. “The weaker a person is, the longer his tongue becomes.” Maybe it’s because I’ve been acting as a demon knight for too long, but that’s the answer that came out reflexively.
“Isn’t that right?”
I quickly gave him the courtesy and then smiled. The other person’s eyes widened slightly. They didn’t seem offended by my provocation, but rather looked like a parent surprised by their child’s unexpected antics.
“That is correct.”
Then she said yes.
“My tongue is too long. “You weren’t even worth a long talk.”
The blonde knight next to me trembled. For some reason, it felt like the person who asked to be provoked was not, but the isolated person was.
“you…!”
“Don’t get excited. “The one who gets excited loses.”
No matter how you look at it, when it comes to pure ability, that side has an overwhelming advantage. Do you even get angry in a situation like that? Then they just tell me to kill them.
With that in mind, I advised the blonde knight and the knight trembled once again. Fortunately, it seemed like he didn’t listen in vain as he took a deep breath the next moment.
“…Isn’t that right?”
“…I think I’ve heard that 10 times since I came here, but no.”
“okay.”
More than that, this person also knows Atya. Well, if he was a knight before Atya went missing or if he was Atya’s motivation, it would be possible to know.
“That traitor’s specialty is strengthening his body through overflowing magical power and using his sword skills. “Just because your limbs are thin, if you get into a power struggle, you will definitely lose, so be careful.”
“okay.”
“It’s my first time seeing whips and rapiers, so I don’t think I can tell you about their fighting style. However, that guy has never lost a knight battle. Please take note.”
“it’s okay.”
Separately, strengthening the body through magical power. I thought it was really stronger than it looked, but I didn’t know it was enhanced with magic.
I kept that in mind and strengthened my toes.
“You will understand when we fight.”
Kwasik. I felt the stone under my feet crack slightly. Although there’s nothing I can do about it since it’s already gone.
Sigh!
I leapt diagonally away from the rushing whip.
The jump was aimed at the blind spot that the opponent could not swing the whip horizontally thanks to the soldiers around him – even if he swung it, it would be blocked by the soldier – and that it was difficult to change the direction of the whip once it was swung.
Of course, my opponent knew the whip better than me and was better at handling it, so he cleverly blocked my path in the process of retrieving the whip. Pagongseong passed by me.
“Sigh.”
However, it is more of a handshake to stop for fear of the whip.
I swung the longsword while ignoring the scratched cheek with the tip of the whip. The blonde knight who entered from the other side also sharply raised his sword.
The person standing on the stile raised the corner of his mouth softly. The pupil, which is twice as small as a normal human pupil, became even more constricted and turned into a single dot.
Sigh!
“Gagging!”
I don’t know how the whip moved. However, I could clearly feel the magic power vibrating, and by the time I realized it, the whip had exactly wrapped itself around the neck of a nearby soldier.
“What the heck—”
The soldier, floating in the air like a fish caught on a fishing hook, collided with the blonde knight.
Cheaeng!
At the same time, my longsword and the enemy’s rapier made contact. It may be wrong to say that my body was strengthened with magical power, but the rapier I held with one hand and my longsword held with both hands achieved an equal fight.
The same was true for the following 1 minute. Even though they were on equal footing, the opponent even kept the blonde knight in check with his whip, the fight went on fiercely without being biased towards one side.
“It’s a light and shallow sword.”
Strength was natural, but I had the upper hand. It was natural because I had a higher body and magical power.
“The shallowness of the uneducated is truly laughable.”
However, in the battle of technique and technique, I was overwhelmingly defeated. Without the knowledge learned in Mannhafeld, even a seemingly equal fight would not have taken place.
『If it weren’t for your crazy reflexes and strength, you would have been pushed aside by Hube as well.』
I took a deep breath, keenly feeling what Knight Walter had said. It can never be done through a battle of skill, and it can’t be matched by combined effort. A realistic problem loomed before me.
“So what do we do now?”
But is it really necessary to fight based on skill alone? Are my strengths elsewhere?
“If you can’t even defeat me, what can you do by staying here?”
I saw the teal eyes laughing at me. I could see in his eyes the composure of someone who could claim victory if the demons marched in and took over this place even if they didn’t kill me.
“well.”
But in a way, it was similar here.
“I think I can give you some candy for now.”
Even if you don’t kill him right away, you can kill him at any time as long as you remain victorious in the fight against the demons.
“Actually, my specialty is something else.”
If so, wouldn’t it be okay to go that way?
I immediately gave up on a sword fight that wasn’t going to work. I felt no shame in giving up because it was foolish for a salt knight to compete with a formal knight in terms of swordsmanship.
“Let’s stick together with magic.”
Instead, I decided to utilize my other strengths.
Physical ability superior to that of ordinary people and overwhelming amount of magical power. Yes, horsepower. Tremendous horsepower.
The large amount of demonic energy that escaped from my body became dozens of spears aimed at only one target.
“If you think this will work—”
“It won’t work.”
It was the same with my sword. I took the damage and stabbed the opponent.
The cleverly shining rapier shattered all the magic spears and destroyed my attack, stabbing me again in the shoulder. It was quite a bit of damage.
“But the battlefield can be changed.”
But after enduring it, I achieved what I wanted. My partner and I fell down the castle wall at the same time.
“Do you think the soldiers are only a distraction to you?”
“…!”
Ah, let’s go wild with the magic spear and sword energy.