Chapter 71: He Intended to Dry Them Out and Kill Them (1)
The knights who had run after Kyle slaughtered the Monsters while emitting a variety of Auras.
The sight was so brutal that even the knights watching Ragnar’s troops fighting atop the castle walls turned their heads away.
The Monsters writhed in pain and tried to flee, but Ragnar’s knights tore them all apart as if they had no intention of letting even a single one escape.
It did not take long before most of the countless Monsters were swept away.
Thirty minutes—no, even less than that.
Duren swallowed dryly as he watched the man at the very forefront butchering the Monsters.
“……Kyle Ragnar.”
White hair, crimson eyes, and on top of that, he wielded a blade reserved solely for masters.
There was only one thing that could an.
“Why would he bring the Ragnar Family’s forces…….”
For two hundred years, Ragnar had never stepped forward unless the nation was on the brink of ruin.
It was so rare that Ragnar-affiliated troops were deployed into the interior lands that one could count the instances on one hand.
Of course, the very fact that Monsters from the North had flowed into the interior of the Kingdom of Daon was already an anomaly.
What was even more shocking was that the Ragnar Family had voluntarily left the North even though the nation itself was not in crisis.
‘It must be a declaration that they will no longer concern themselves with the Daon Family’s reactions.’
Duren gently closed his eyes and nodded.
Ragnar was stronger now than at any other ti.
It had taken less than a year for their territory—once on the verge of ruin—to rapidly rise as the core of the Kingdom of Daon.
That was all because of one man: Kyle Ragnar.
anwhile, a knight followed Kyle’s movents with his eyes and muttered quietly.
“To think I’d see a master from this close…….”
Even being able to see a blade was an imnse honor for a knight.
Yet that object of admiration was right before his eyes.
“Whoa.”
After sweeping away the Monsters, Kyle stopped his horse in front of the castle gate, holding a bloodstained sword.
When Kyle looked up at the castle wall, his eyes t Duren’s.
“I am Kyle Ragnar, Grand General of the Ragnar Family. I heard that a request for support was sent to Rak Territory.”
Duren, who had been staring blankly into Kyle’s eyes, finally ca to his senses.
“……Ah, I am Duren, the lord of this territory.”
“I ca at your request.”
At Kyle’s words, astonishnt once again filled Duren’s eyes.
He had judged that even Rak Territory would not move, yet an utterly unexpected figure was standing before him.
“……Thank you.”
“There is no need to open the gate. We will move imdiately.”
“But…….”
“Leave the Monster corpses as they are. The rear forces following us will handle them.”
Byproducts from Northern Monsters were precious resources to Ragnar.
Even if so of the corpses were handed over, it would not be a loss, but in order to carry out the plan, Monster byproducts could not be allowed to flow into the Daon Family.
“Understood.”
“I will be going now. If it becos difficult to hold out here or if any trouble arises, you may co to Ragnar at any ti.”
Without even waiting for Duren’s reply, Kyle turned his reins.
At that, those who had dealt with the last Monster quickly reorganized their formation.
“We must hurry. Before the Monsters push any deeper inside.”
“Yes, Grand General!”
Watching them leave imdiately after their brief exchange, Duren shifted his gaze to the knight beside him.
“……What do you think those words just now ant?”
“……I’m not sure myself.”
“You may co to Ragnar at any ti.”
As those words echoed in his mind, Duren closed his eyes.
All three thousand Monsters that had escaped the North were dealt with.
And all within a single day.
Looking at the place where the last of them had been cleared, Kyle wore a bitter expression.
On the walls of another territory’s lord’s castle, there were more corpses of civilians in everyday clothes than soldiers clad in armor.
“My lord, it seems they used the territory residents as shields.”
“I can see that myself.”
“…….”
Sensing that Kyle was in a foul mood, Aron silently stepped back.
Even he, who did not call the Kingdom of Daon his holand, felt anger at the current situation.
Judging by the near absence of corpses belonging to soldiers or knights, the lord of this territory seed to have already fled.
After staring at the horrific scene for a while, Kyle finally turned his body.
“Commander Akun.”
“Yes, Grand General.”
“The lord of this place could not have fled far. Capture him imdiately. Mobilize the entire Ragnar Knight Order if you have to, and bring him back alive no matter what.”
As soon as Akun descended below the castle wall at Kyle’s command, he disappeared while leading the Ragnar Knight Order.
Even so, Kyle did not spare Akun a single glance.
After staring silently at the corpses for a long ti, he finally opened his mouth.
“When a nation lacks capable people, in the end, it is the powerless common folk who suffer.”
“……My lord.”
The Monsters crossing the North and invading the interior lands had been sothing Kyle intended.
Damage had occurred as a result, but there were tis when responsibility had to outweigh guilt.
“Aron.”
“Yes.”
“I plan to dry him to death.”
Aron understood exactly whom Kyle was referring to.
“Even now, King Clover must be living in agony.”
“Would it be enough to end it at this level? The North has lived in suffering for a far longer ti.”
“We won’t be able to return all of that.”
“Then we should at least return a part of it properly. It could spark a civil war imdiately, but I want to see it.”
Kyle wanted to witness with his own eyes the sight of King Clover slowly drying up and dying.
Only after seeing him realize his own foolishness and writhe in pain would his heart feel satisfied.
“It will happen. I, Aron, am confident I can make it so, just as you wish, my lord.”
“……Using Monsters to gain benefits ends with this incident.”
Kyle turned his body.
The taste in his mouth was bitter, but now was the ti to make use of even these sacrifices.
That made his mood all the worse.
“Recover the bodies with proper respect.”
“Understood.”
At that mont, the rear soldiers who had collected the Monster corpses arrived before Kyle.
At the sa ti, Akun and the Ragnar Knight Order, who had moved to capture the fleeing lord, also returned.
“Grand General, we have brought him.”
A middle-aged man, bound with rope and dragged along, twisted his face and burst out in anger.
“Do you even know who I am to be treating
like this!”
Kyle quietly looked at the middle-aged man with the long mustache and shook his head.
He did not even want to listen.
And there was no need to indulge such obvious behavior and words.
Slash!
“Gyaaaah!”
Kyle severed one of the middle-aged man’s arms.
Even that was not enough—only after plunging his sword into both thighs did Kyle stop.
“Pick any mountain and throw him away.”
Even as the man scread and writhed in agony, Kyle’s gaze remained cold.
Following Kyle’s order, Akun hoisted up the middle-aged man, who had lost consciousness from excessive blood loss.
“I will return shortly.”
After confirming Akun’s departure, Kyle shifted his gaze.
Then the sight of knights being dragged along in a line entered his vision.
“They are not worth keeping alive. Execute them all.”
At Kyle’s words, the dozen or so knights trembled violently.
Before they could make any excuses, Zero’s sword moved first.
The mont the man at the very front had his head cleanly severed, the knights waiting nearby simultaneously drew their swords and swung them.
“We return to Ragnar.”
Kyle headed back the way he had co, toward Duren’s lord’s castle.
This ti, Duren was waiting with the gate open, clasping his hands together as he bowed his head.
“Did you co out to offer thanks?”
“I ca because I wished to properly express my gratitude. Thank you for accepting my request for support, Grand General. I am relieved to be able to greet you again like this.”
At Duren’s courteous words of thanks, Kyle ford a faint smile.
Then he took out a single orb from his robe and handed it to him.
“I have received help, so would you help
once as well?”
“Yes?”
Duren asked back, staring at the orb in Kyle’s hand with a bewildered look.
“I find it regrettable that Monsters escaped from the North. But should we not at least know why the Monsters left the North?”
Only then did Duren accept the orb Kyle handed over and nod while eting his eyes.
“By the way, a strange rumor has been spreading.”
“What kind of rumor?”
“There is a rumor that the royal troops sent under the pretext of supporting Ragnar after the Monster invasion attacked in an attempt to seize control of the territory.”
At Duren’s words, which treated it as re rumor, Kyle let out a scoff.
“Do you think it is just a simple rumor?”
“……Considering King Clover’s foolishness, it is sothing that could certainly happen.”
“If you listen to what is contained in the orb, you will learn whether the rumor is true. Then, may I ask you to take care of the matter that follows as well?”
At Kyle’s words, Duren looked down at the orb in his hand.
His deliberation did not last long.
“I have received help, so as you said, I will provide proper assistance. It will not take even a week for the contents of this orb to spread throughout the Kingdom of Daon.”
He, too, was soone filled with dissatisfaction toward the current royal family.
Moreover, a perfect opportunity had arisen to put the royal family in a difficult position.
If proper evidence was contained within this orb, Duren intended to spare no ans or thods.
“I will do my utmost.”
“I look forward to it.”
Duren thought this was a test of his abilities by Kyle.
But he was mistaken.
Kyle had already decided to draw Duren into the North.
“I hope you do not forget what I said earlier.”
“……With this, I can put the royal family in a difficult position, but I could also enter the royal court directly.”
“I would prefer that you do not do anything dangerous. The movents of the royal family are easy enough to predict.”
Kyle did not move based on prediction alone.
He had already ford an information network through pigeons spread across the entire kingdom.
As such, Duren entering the royal court and becoming a spy was a aningless action.
In any case, multiple copies had already been made of the recording left behind by Count Henson.
Handing over one of those copies would not cause any issues.
“I hope to see you next ti in the North.”
Leaving only those words behind, Kyle departed.
Watching Ragnar’s forces return to the North, Duren tightly clenched the orb.
It was not only Viscount Rak who welcod Kyle upon his return to the territory.
So of the lords who had rejected Ragnar’s intentions at the Northern Conference and left were now standing before Kyle with pale faces.
“For those with such heavy backsides, what brings you all the way here?”
At Kyle’s mocking tone, the lords pressed their lips shut.
Having confird that five territories had been swept away, they too were forced to make a choice in the end.
The mont Monsters swept over the Northern territories, the only place with the capacity to provide support was Ragnar.
“We were mistaken. We thought Ragnar was a family that protected the North without distinction between enemy and ally.”
“Is there any reason Ragnar must do so?”
“…….”
“Ragnar has no reason to go out of its way to protect those who would trust and follow the royal family after suffering like that.”
As Kyle firmly turned his body as if to leave, the lords urgently stretched out their hands.
With even Viscount Terius, who had served as their focal point, now detained, there was no way to break through the current situation.
No—even if he were present, the lords would never have been able to maintain the course they desired.
“That is not what we ant, Grand General. Please, spare us.”
“I do not understand what you are saying. I have no intention of persecuting the lords.”
Every place that had vanished due to this Monster invasion was a territory that had rejected Ragnar’s proposal at the Northern Conference.
Even knowing that Kyle’s words were false, the lords had nothing else to say.
Ragnar now had a high chance of once again becoming the ruling family of the North, as it had been in the past.
In truth, even now Ragnar was involved in and leading the most critical matters of the North.
“We will follow Ragnar’s will. If an all-out war with the Daon Family breaks out, we will unconditionally support Ragnar. So please…….”
Now was not the ti to cling to pride.
They knew that bowing their heads was the only way to survive.
At the lords’ words, Kyle turned his body once more.
“In two days, a conference will be held again at Ragnar.”
“We will participate without fail.”
“Disobedience will not be tolerated. This conference will concern the defense against Monster Waves and matters related to civil war.”
At Kyle’s words, which granted them another chance to live, the lords nodded their heads vigorously.
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