“Huh? W, what are these bastards…?”

“W, what do you think you’re doing! I fed you and gave you a place to stay, how could… Keuk!”

“Gaah!”

The shouts of the nobles and the landlords quickly turned into groans and screams with the betrayal of the soldiers. In an instant, the soldiers captured their previous masters and dragged them in front of Raven.

Seeing their surrender, Raven blew a small whistle on his neck.

Kiyahk…

The griffons suddenly stopped slaughtering the soldiers at the rear of the forces.

“Heu! Heuu…!”

The soldiers were finally freed from the nightmare of death. They threw away their weapons with dazed expressions and sank down to the ground. Judging by the heavy weight between their pants, it seemed some of them had soiled their pants in fear.

“Ugh…”

Raven looked down at the nobles and the landlords with a cold expression. They were all groaning with a broken limb.

“You bastards… Do you think you will get away after daring to do this? Do you know who I am? I…”

Thud!

Clearly, one of the noblemen still could not figure out the situation. Raven delivered a kick to his stomach, and the man rolled over with a scream.

“Ackk!”

The noble threw up everything he ate and stuck his head on the ground. Raven looked over the rest of the shaking figures.

“Y, your Excellency Pendragon…”

“Mercy, have mercy…”

Finally realizing the crux of the situation, the nobles kneeled down on their knees. Of course, the first to fall on his knees was Jian. He begged for mercy.

“P, p, please have mercy, Your Excellency Pendragon! The Ocean King, n, no, Arangis threatened me! They said if I did not obey their words that they would take my old mother and my family to…”

Slice.

The Widow’s Cry drew a short light.

Jian’s head fell on the floor, his face forever immobilized with a cowardly expression.  

Fwooosh!

Blood sprouted from the headless corpse of Jian before falling backwards to the ground.

“Heuk!”

The other nobles and landlords froze at the sight. The young duke had slit Jian’s throat without hesitation in cold blood.

“You must have forgotten that you told me last night that you have no parents or siblings. Filthy rat…”

Raven spoke in a quiet voice while shaking off the blood off his blade. He turned his head with an indifferent gaze. The survivors quivered as they faced the cold, glimmering eyes of the heartless duke. After seeing Jian’s death, they realized that their lives were not guaranteed either.

“Those who want to live, step up.”

“…..!”

The nobles and landlords lifted their dejected faces with a flinch.

“No one has an answer… That must mean all of you want to die. If that’s the case, then…”

Raven raised his sword once more, and the betrayers began to beg for their lives.

“P, please, have mercy!”

“I will do anything! Please spare my life! Your Excellency!”

They kowtowed on the ground repeatedly with tears pouring out of their eyes and snot-filled noses. They looked ready to lick his shoes in order to live.

“Who urged you to betray us?”

“…What?”

The traitors became surprised at the unexpected question. Judging by how he slayed Jian unhesitatingly, they had thought he was already aware of everything…

‘P, perhaps…?’

In an instant, the same idea flashed through everyone’s minds. It was clear that Duke Pendragon did not know that Jian was the mastermind.

“I, it is that man! Sir Jian, no, that bastard Jian spurred us!”

“That is right! He said if we did not cooperate, he would lead the forces from the Arangis Duchy to trample on our lands! W, we had no choice in the matter!”

All the fingers of the traitors pointed towards the decapitated head of Jian.

“Is that so?”

Raven nodded in an understanding manner.

“So you were all forced to betray the coalition due to Jian’s threats, is that it?”

“Y, yes, that is right!”

Raven suppressed the urge to throw up as the nobles and landlords desperately nodded their heads.

“Even if that is the case, the fact that you betrayed me and the coalition remains unchanged. Even if I save your filthy lives now, the commander-in-chief will not forgive you.”

“Heuk!”

The alleviation they felt disappeared in an instant, and their expressions paled. Just as Duke Pendragon said, the final decision in the coalition was with the commander-in-chief, Viscount Moraine.

In other words, Duke Pendragon’s offer to let them live literally referred to only this moment.

“Your Excellency!”

“Please, please have mercy on us!”

They did not dare grab onto Raven’s legs, so they banged their heads on the floor, begging over and over again.

‘It is working.’

Raven nodded once with a cold smile in his heart.

“Then there might be a way.”

“I, is that true?”

“We will do anything, Your Excellency!”

The nobles and the landlords raised their heads with hope.

“Well, the thing is…”

It did not make sense to spare the lives of the traitors when they had attempted to attack him. If this were the mainland or if it had been Raven of the past, he would have beheaded all of them without hesitation.

But he could not act as such in the South.

The coalition had formed around the 7

th

 and the 11

th

 regiments, but the forces were still weak. The reality was that they would have a hard time against the forces of the lords that were on the side of Arangis Duchy, never mind the duchy itself.

Therefore, it was necessary to fully attract the remainder of the nobles and lords that were still on the fence regarding the decision to join the coalition. Even though Karl Mandy was supporting them with supplies, they still needed several supply hubs along the way.

“You might be able to save your lives if you give up all your wealth.”

“W, what?”

The gazes of the traitors became distant. It had taken decades, even several generations for their wealth to accumulate. Could they really give it all up?

But their worries and despair only lasted for an instant.

No matter how important money was, it was no match for life. What use would they have for gold coins in the afterlife?

Moreover, when they saw the Duke of Pendragon looking down at them with cold eyes, it felt as if the young duke would swing his swords at any moment.

“I will do as you say!”

“All my land and wealth, I will dedicate everything to the coalition!”

The traitors fought to be the first one to submit.

“Good. Think of it as a ransom. And when you go back to your lands, you will have to announce your traitorous actions without restraint.”

“Yes…”

The traitors responded helplessly with drooping heads. Raven turned away from them. He continued speaking while looking at the surrendered soldiers. Their weapons were on the ground, and they were awaiting their judgement.

“I order you as the captain of the detached force. From this moment forward, all of you are slave soldiers. You do not have freedom, and you will not be compensated.”

“…..”

The soldiers bowed their heads.

“However, if you manage to survive until the end of the battles, you will be spared from the status of slaves.”

“The grace of Your Excellency, we will never forget it!”

It was better to roll in a field full of shit compared to dying. The soldiers knelt down on one knee and shouted while bowing their heads.

Woosh!

The wind started to blow once more, and Raven looked down on the hundreds of bowing figures with a proud expression.

“My lord!”

Isla came running alongside a griffon. He took a glance at the soldiers who were bowing towards Raven, then spoke after coming to a realization.

“Congratulations, my lord.”

“What is there to congratulate me for? Anyways, what about the commander-in-chief and the rest of the coalition?”

“Yes, our Ancona friends are cleaning up the rocks, so they should be here soon. But…”

Isla continued after looking around.

“With all due respect, where did Karuta go?”

“I wonder…”

Raven took on a mysterious gaze, then turned around, looking towards the gradually widening road.

“Maybe Karuta will become more famous in the South than you, Sir Isla.”

***

Shwiing! Boom!

A roar erupted after a sharp sound.

A knight rolled off his saddle, his head gone without a trace. After slaughtering more than a hundred knights, the monster was still looking around in a frenzy as if he were still hungry for blood.

“Keheheu!”

“Ugh! Surround him! Make a circle!”

Oran shouted hysterically. However, even though the road was a little wider compared to the rest of Aranka, the strengths of the warhorses could not be displayed on the relatively narrow road. Even if five or six horses blocked the way forward, it was useless if the riding knights could not wield their spears and swords.

They were only good to serve as prey for the enemies.

Eventually, 30 percent of the knights had been crushed and ripped apart into unrecognizable shapes, and their lifeless bodies were lying on the ground.

“Dammit… Dammitt!”

It was useless to shed tears of blood. The orc warrior did not seem to tire at all as he pounded on the remaining toys with his giant iron mace, exudating Orc Fear even more intensely.

“Kuwaaghhh!”

The roar resounded throughout heaven and earth, and a merciless blow containing pure killing intent struck.

Baang!

Even if they blocked it with a shield, the shield and the body crumpled together like mere straw.

Bang!

Even if they attacked with their spears, only tiny dents and scratches were left on the monster’s iron armor, which was much thicker and harder than their own.

“U, use your crossbows!”

The knights quickly pulled out their crossbows from behind the saddle at Oran’s screams. However, due to the narrow path, only a dozen people could shoot their crossbows without hitting their allies.

Thud, thud!

Most of the quarrels failed to break through Karuta’s armor. Still, a few shots managed to find their targets. Oran shouted in an elated voice.

“Yes! Everybody, get your cross.. Huh?”

He became dismayed.

The orc warrior, who was as tall as themselves atop their horses, was pulling out the quarrels stuck in his shoulders and thighs as if they were simple thorns.

Orcs had stronger muscles even compared to the wild bison, so the arrows used by humans could only dig in a finger’s length or two at best but could not cause fatal injuries.

“Keheuheu…”

Karuta’s mouth spread from ear to ear when he saw the tips of the quarrels.

How long had it been since he had seen his own blood…?

“Kehwahahahaha!”

Karuta burst into laughter

This was fun!

I want to fight more!

I want to see more blood!

“Then! I will prove the strength of Karuta and the other Ancona Orcs! Keuwooh!”

“Shoot! Shoot him! Shoot!!”

Oran was foaming at the mouth with anger as he shouted.

Thud thud thud!

The strongest warrior of the Ancona Orcs charged like a bull and jumped into the pouring rain of arrows.

***

Clop clop clop.

The horses of Raven and Viscount Moraine slowly crossed the road.

“Hmm…”

Viscount Moraine frowned slightly as he looked towards the direction of the setting sun, which was only emitting a faint light. Numerous objects were spread throughout the path, disfigured beyond recognition.

The objects that appeared similar to bloody jerkies were once strong knights of the South, members of the Red Wheel Knights.

“What idiots. I can’t believe they actually brought a knight order to fight on this narrow path instead of an open field…”

“They must have been thinking that they were only dealing with one or two. And their conceit brought this upon this result.”

Viscount Moraine nodded his head at Raven’s answer. He might have given the same order if he had been in the enemy’s position. They had hundreds of knights, while the opponents only numbered two. In addition, their allies had been covering the backside of their opponents.

The best method would be to surround the enemies on both sides to prevent their escape. However, the biggest mistake of the Red Wheel Knights was that they failed to recognize the identity of their opponents, or that they had underestimated them while knowing.

As a result of the grave mistake, a catastrophic situation had occurred. The knights had been annihilated.

“Heya! You are late!”

Just then, someone waved towards Raven and Moraine from the far end of the path, under the last light of the sun.

It was a giant orc warrior sitting on a blood-soaked boulder with dozens of quarrels sticking out of his body.

It was Karuta, who would be known as the Red God of War after today’s incident.