A normal human cannot defeat a monster.
So claim that with enough effort, perseverance, and sheer determination, even the strongest of beasts can be slain. But that is nothing more than a philosophical notion—it has no bearing on reality.
Simon understood this well. He knew he could not defeat monsters, much less creatures of nightmare.
Sure, he might be able to take down a thug or two, but anything beyond that was beyond his talent or effort. That was why he hired rcenaries and free knights as his escorts.
However—
"Fighting them is one thing, but what about just killing them?"
"...Excuse ?"
"Think about it. If we don't concern ourselves with honor or thod and focus solely on the goal—killing the monster—wouldn’t that change things?"
"......."
"Poison, drugs, weapons—if you use them without hesitation, wouldn't your odds improve? More importantly, who in their right mind thinks of fighting a monster barehanded? Humans use tools. That’s what makes us human. What good does brute strength do against a monster?"
"...Sir, are you really saying this?"
"What? What's wrong with that?"
"......."
..ing from a man who could slaughter thousands of monsters with his bare hands, the advice seed oddly unconvincing. But the point still embedded itself in Simon’s mind.
If honor and thod didn’t matter, he could kill.
This ant—
"I need to figure out a plan. Any specific advice?"
"What am I, your babysitter?"
Fair point.
Simon was serious. It wasn’t just about how he had been played—what truly enraged him was how a vampire had dared to manipulate the Guild. As the Guildmaster, that was sothing he could never tolerate.
The Guild.
An organization of the weak.
A gathering of the downtrodden.
Vermin.
People ridiculed it, spat on it, treated it as scum.
But the Guild had its own pride.
It was created by those who, despite their weakness, still dread of changing the world.
That was why this could not be forgiven.
"So, tell , do you know how to handle explosives?"
"...?"
"I an, if you ss up, you’ll get yourself killed. But the more dangerous the weapon, the smarter and more careful the user has to be, right? And you seem like the type who could handle dangerous tools. Want to get you so?"
"...I'll leave it to you."
There was no hesitation.
It didn’t matter what the thod was, as long as he could fight.
And so, five more days passed.
Simon learned how to use basic scrolls and picked up the peculiar idea of using landmines against knights. He had no doubt that he could take this idea and develop it in a far more creative way.
"This... this is actually good."
When he explained his idea and thods to a knight, the man reacted with a mix of admiration and disbelief.
"You’d need insane mory, adaptability, and nerve to pull this off."
The praise felt as good as if he had been awarded a dal.
"Good thing I have all three."
"Congratulations, Hao Clan Leader. I hereby dub you 'Thunderbolt Master.'"
"...And what the hell is that supposed to an?"
"I've never seen a hybrid like you before."
"???"
And with that, Simon had secured a new ans of power.
Now—
BOOOOOM—!
"...If the royal family catches wind of this, there’ll be no talking my way out of it. I’ll be branded a dangerous criminal on the spot."
He realized, perhaps belatedly, just how dangerous this thod was.
Placing landmines in strategic locations and luring his enemies into them—this was destruction.
It sounded simple, but in reality, he was likely the only one capable of executing it. If he weren’t able to analyze his opponents' movents in real-ti, he would have been caught in the explosions himself.
But Simon was still alive.
And that ant—
"This is our victory."
A feeble, insignificant man had just achieved victory against overwhelming strength.
Even if he knew this was a thod he could never use again, he felt proud.
"We're not bombers."
"Yeah, we're not criminals, old man."
"...Heartless little brats."
The twins imdiately distanced themselves from him, unwilling to be associated with his actions. Simon muttered to himself in exasperation.
Ungrateful—
WHAM!
"!?"
"That was close."
"You let your guard down, old man."
"...Ugh."
Tig had swept Simon’s legs out from under him with terrifying speed, and before he even realized what had happened, he found himself sprawled on the ground.
But instead of anger—
Shhh...
He was relieved.
No matter how humiliating, he was alive.
The crimson spikes had vanished under the sunlight, but even in their fading state, they radiated pure terror.
It was as if—
[Wow, that was close, Simon. My dear, where did you learn such a nasty trick, hmm? You almost killed there. ...Pfft, just kidding. As if sothing like this could ever kill . You knew that too, didn’t you? That’s why you dared to pull off such a cute little stunt, right?]
A voice that could belong to nothing but a demon from hell.
FWOOOOSH!
Even as the towering flas roared around it, the figure walked through as if rely taking a leisurely stroll.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
[You people have the wrong idea about immortality. These days, everyone calls soone who doesn’t age an 'immortal.' They throw around terms like 'witch' and 'demon' so carelessly. It’s pathetic. True immortality ans you cannot die, no matter what thods are used against you.]
CRACK—!
[And pain? Physical pain is useless against us. We don’t have functioning pain receptors, you see. In fact, so of us even find pain pleasurable.]
WHOOSH!
[You're probably wondering how I’m still alive when my blood should have burned away completely, right? Hm, it’s usually a secret, but I’m feeling generous today. The reason is—]
FLASH!
"Vampires aren’t just good at regeneration."
The thing that erged from the inferno grinned.
"...Armor?"
It was wearing armor.
A suit of armor stark white in color.
A strange shape. An unfamiliar design.
The mont Simon processed its appearance, his eyes widened in realization.
"...Bone?"
"Ding ding! Correct. You really are sharp."
"......."
"Our bones are incredibly strong. You see how there's not a single scratch, even after that explosion? A certain mage once told that my bones could withstand the pressure of the deepest ocean depths."
Tap, tap.
The creature rapped its knuckles against its bone armor, a smug grin spreading across its face.
Then—
"So, is the little performance over now?"
A mocking question.
A taunt, as if inviting Simon to try another trick if he had anything left up his sleeve. The creature even spread its arms wide, daring him to make another move.
"......."
Simon said nothing.
Was he overwheld by the sheer despair of facing an invincible foe? Was he simply too stunned to respond?
He rely stared at the sky, his vacant eyes reflecting nothing but resignation.
As if everything had already ended.
"What a sha. You’re so much more attractive when you stand tall."
Hensel sighed, feigning disappointnt.
Their relationship had always been built on lies, but they had spent over ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a year together.
And yet, seeing Simon with that utterly defeated expression—giving up on everything—sucked all the fun out of it.
"...What a spectacular sight."
"......?"
"I wonder... are knights always capable of flight?"
"??"
Hensel blinked.
Had Simon finally lost his mind?
‘What nonsense is he babbling about?’
Instinctively, Hensel turned his head—
To see what Simon was staring at.
And then—
"......."
His mind went blank.
In the sky—
"What... is that?"
Over a hundred knights erged from the clouds.
Flap!
Their banners unfurled, revealing the insignia of the Red Eagles.
***
An old woman—self-proclaid maid elder—frowned in concern.
"Hmm... Pardon , but shouldn't we intervene? That thing looks quite sinister."
"No need. I've called in reinforcents."
"People you trust, I take it?"
"I wouldn’t have asked them otherwise."
"Oh-ho."
"They're reliable. At the very least, they won’t go down easily to that bastard."
Ihan shrugged.
To be honest, he wanted to deal with that perverted monster himself, but unfortunately, he had far more pressing matters to handle.
If what the old maid had told him was true—
"Even dealing with that pervert would be a waste of ti."
So he had sent out an urgent SOS.
He had reached out to a few people he could trust, but he had no idea how many would actually show up.
At the very least...
"Maybe thirty?"
Knights were a prideful bunch. It was possible that not many had answered the call.
Still, even if only thirty ca—
"That should be more than enough."
Ihan recalled his encounter with those eagles about a month ago.
Humans, huh...
"Savage bastards."
His arms still ached at the mory of fighting them.
Even though he hadn’t let his guard down, he had nearly lost an arm in that clash.
***
"-Our dear 'friend' has called for aid for the first ti! Ignoring such a request would be a disgrace upon our order! Is that not so, my comrades?!"
Boom! Boom!
"Our enemy is none other than a legendary vampire! A threat to the kingdom itself! There is no need to hold back—we shall not hesitate in striking them down!"
Boom! Boom!!
"Hmm!"
Screech—
"Slaughter the prey!"
[[Glory to Tristan! Blood for our enemies!!!]]
The Red Eagle Knights, guardians of Tristan and one of the five greatest knightly orders in the kingdom—
Every last one of them stepped upon the air, raining down arrows upon the vampire below.
And so—
For the first ti, the world bore witness to the overwhelming might of a transford order of knights.
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