The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 237

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"Gueeeek!!!"

"Shut up!"

"Die!"

The knights and soldiers, who had been staring blankly at Irehgue's bombshell declaration, gritted their teeth as the lord began to scream again from being beaten by the two.

They still couldn't figure out what this situation was.

But they couldn't just stand by while their lord was being beaten by some kids who had rolled in from who-knows-where.

"First Knight Order, follow me!"

"Match your breathing! The enemy is strong, we must move at once!"

"We don't necessarily need to capture him alive! It's fine to kill him! Protect the Lord-nim!"

A knight who fails to protect their lord will be held responsible.

On top of that, even after being held responsible, the title of a skill-less knight who couldn't protect their master would follow them like a tail.

'That's how it is normally. But on top of that, we're just letting our lord get beaten up by kids because we're scared of just one person. If this gets out, the church might actually send people to execute us!'

It seemed more than just one person had reached that thought, as the sound of teeth gritting and minds clearing could be heard from here and there.

Either way, they had no way out.

With that thought, the knights drew their swords, and the soldiers, relying on the knights, gripped their old spears tightly.

The archers, positioned far away, watched the situation with their bows drawn, ready to shoot arrows at any moment.

And just as they steeled their resolve and took a step towards the line.

"The resolve to fulfill one's duty is good."

Irehgue muttered indifferently and swung the [Yagong] he held in his hand.

Crackle-crackle--!!!

At the fierce flash of lightning, the people shut their eyes without realizing it.

And when they opened their eyes again, what unfolded before them was a large number of heads that had separated from their torsos and were rising into the sky, and streams of red blood splattering in all directions.

"Therefore, I shall assume you have naturally accepted the risk of dying while doing that job."

The moment the forward-stretched feet crossed the line, the spear was swung, and before those feet even touched the ground, 50 heads rose into the air.

Amidst that, at Irehgue's softly spreading words and the scene that unfolded before their eyes, which defied common sense, they all froze, unable to say a word.

In that situation, Lee Shin flew around in circles in the sky and said.

-You have a bad personality. The strongest among those guys just now was only around mid-LV. 3. At that level, they would have all been crawling on the ground if you had just released your killing intent, did you really have to kill them?

'This is a stage to display my dignity to my first subordinates. They are not even worthy of being called enemies, but it is necessary to show a minimum performance.'

As Irehgue said, the two, having seen his power, seemed to have been reassured, as their hands beating the lord had become even more merciless.

After confirming that, Irehgue gave Lee Shin a slight glare and said.

'And no matter what, I am not so bad as to be told I have a bad personality by you.'

-Is that so?

Muttering that, Lee Shin flapped his wings and approached the area where the soldiers were gathered.

Thwack-

And he hit the back of a soldier's head who was just standing there.

"Ugh?!"

The soldier fell forward from the sudden impact.

Seeing that, Irehgue said with a sigh-filled voice.

"To see that and still come forward, you are brave."

"W-Wait, who just pushed me...!"

Irehgue ignored the soldier's words and swung his spear, and the soldier lost his head without being able to make any excuse.

Then, the training ground became so silent that one could hear an ant crawling.

Amidst that, Irehgue grumbled inwardly.

'You really shouldn't be the one to tell anyone they have a bad personality.'

-It's a misunderstanding. I was just moving to set up the situation a little more meticulously. It would be a headache if another one of these guys made a fuss about jumping out, right?

Lee Shin, now accustomed to Irehgue's body, folded his wings and swam through the air like a fish, speaking in a voice full of laughter.

-By the way, your body is quite interesting too. It's been a while since I've been in it, so a lot of new functions have been added.

'Stop talking about my body as if it's a toy.'

-Yeah, yeah.

Lee Shin said that and looked at the two who were beating the lord while spewing curses as if telling him to just shut up and die.

"Guok! Hey! You guys, don't tell me you're from the 'Resistance'..."

The lord, having witnessed Irehgue's military might with his own eyes, opened his mouth to say something even while being beaten.

"I don't know!"

"Die!"

"Gueeek!"

Although his mouth was immediately shut by Mio and Rwen's fists of fury, it was enough to specifically hear one word.

-Your subordinates seem to have more talent than I thought. They've already obtained one piece of useful information.

'Hmph, they are my subordinates, so that much is a given.'

Irehgue smiled slightly, as if hearing praise for his subordinates wasn't so bad.

Lee Shin mulled over the word 'Resistance' in his mind.

Considering the lord's expression and the tone that came out of his mouth just now, the organization called the Resistance seemed to be one that was hostile to the nobles.

'In other words, the organization that attacked the nobles so that those two could escape from the laboratory is that organization.'

Thwack-!

As Lee Shin was organizing his thoughts, Mio kicked the lord with all her might.

From the impact, the lord screamed and rolled on the ground.

'Now!'

The moment the distance between the lord and the two widened, the archers who had been waiting for an opening shot their arrows.

Dozens of arrows crossed the air.

Fwoosh-

And those arrows were blocked by flames that bloomed in the air and were deflected elsewhere.

"Explosion Spear."

Irehgue, who had deflected the arrows by swinging [Yagong], muttered softly and took out the remaining spears from the [Black Room], holding them in his hand.

The number of spears held in his hand was the same as the number of arrows that had flown.

They flew fiercely towards the place where the arrows had come from and pierced the hearts of the archers who had shot them.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang--!!!

And the spears thrown by Irehgue, as if that wasn't enough, pierced through the walls and hit the archers, exploding with a large blast at the same time.

As a result, the lord's castle, which already had its corners broken, was destroyed here and there and turned into a complete ruin.

The knights and soldiers, watching the place they could call their workplace being destroyed in real-time with their own two eyes, flinched.

And while trembling, they tried to somehow rush at Irehgue again, but.

"Stop."

Along with a voice filled with anger, the reptilian eyes containing a cold flame turned towards them, and they couldn't overcome the pressure flowing from Irehgue and ended up collapsing on the spot.

"You have already finished your role."

The reason they were called here was simply because living scarecrows were needed to show the two the dignity and military might of Irehgue, who would become their master.

Therefore, those who had finished that role were now useless.

"So now, I will give you a new role."

Irehgue said, looking down on them with contempt.

"You are now a folding screen. So kneel quietly in that spot and just roll your eyes."

Irehgue's words, which carried the weight of a declaration, were supremely arrogant, but none of them could even think of resisting and quietly lowered their heads.

Irehgue, seeing everyone gathered in the training ground bowing their heads to him, twitched his lips slightly and glanced at Mio and Rwen.

"Sister, are you okay?"

"...Yeah, I'm fine."

Mio, who had been greatly agitated, had reflexively hugged Rwen the moment the volley of arrows came out.

As Rwen patted her back, Mio felt the blood that had filled her head gradually recede and slowly evened out her breathing.

Then, Irehgue's mission, which she had forgotten, being swallowed by her emotions, came to her mind.

'But even if he told us to check if he's related to the guys who imprisoned us...'

Mio, who had been pondering something while holding Rwen, looked at Irehgue once and then walked towards the lord, stomping her feet.

"Hiiik! W-Wait a minute...!"

"Shut up."

The lord screamed at the thought of being beaten to death again, but Mio ignored him.

"Look at this."

And just before the lord squeezed his eyes shut, Mio took off the cloak she was wearing and showed the lord the horn on her head and her reptilian eyes.

"Th-That is..."

The lord's eyes widened upon seeing Mio's appearance.

Within those pupils, various emotions were rising in a complex mix.

"You, you, don't tell me...!"

"It seems we hit the jackpot."

Mio's eyes did not miss a single one of the emotions that rose in the lord's pupils.

The emotions that rose in the lord's pupils were not disregard and contempt, as if looking at something dirty.

It was understanding of why he had fallen into this situation, surprise, and fear.

Grit-

And that also meant that he had an idea why they had come looking for him.

"You, you're in league with the guys who experimented on us."

"I-I don't know the likes of you! A creature with dirty dragon's blood is spouting nonsense!"

At Mio's words, the lord shouted, glancing at the soldiers.

A rumor spreads that he is involved in biological experiments using the dragon race, a race punished by God?

It was a grave crime where not only would his noble title be stripped, but if things went wrong, he could end up in the punishment room deep within the church's sanctum.

'I can deal with the soldiers and knights later somehow. For now, I have to get out of this situation no matter what.'

The lord gritted his teeth and feigned ignorance.

The choice between the kids' fists and the church's punishment room was clear.

"Ha, so that's how you're going to play it?"

Watching that, Mio let out a hollow laugh, and Rwen bit her lip hard.

The method Irehgue had given the two to resolve their pent-up emotions was certainly effective.

With each swing of their fists, the emotions the two had accumulated in their hearts quickly disappeared.

That's why Mio was in a considerably precarious state right now.

What the two had was a deep valley of emotions, but looking at it differently, it was also a huge pillar that supported Mio and Rwen.

The huge pillar that constituted the two had disappeared all at once.

It was refreshing and exhilarating, but because of the newly created empty space, she was in a state of being just as precarious and shaken.

Thick drops of blood dripped from Mio and Rwen's tightly clenched fists.

Drip-

At that moment, Irehgue approached the two and sprinkled something on both their hands.

"Huh?"

"What is this?"

Then, not only the wounds caused by their nails digging in from clenching their fists too tightly, but also the wounds from swinging their fists began to heal all at once.

"It's a potion."

At Irehgue's words, the two's eyes widened.

It wasn't that potions didn't exist in this world.

But potions were all produced and managed by the nobles and the church, and for that reason, they were very rare and expensive.

But Irehgue was casually using such a potion, and one so effective that it healed the wounds on their hands in an instant, so the two couldn't help but be surprised.

Of course, what Irehgue had used was just a Crowley-special potion left over from battle.

"Hit him as much as you want. It's fine to use a potion on that guy and hit him after he's healed. So you two, release your emotions as much as you want. We can look for information after that."

Hearing those words, the two looked at Irehgue with a strange expression, then lowered their heads with a tired sigh.

"Hah, that's enough."

"Me too."

"Hmm? Why so suddenly?"

Mio said, lightly clenching and unclenching her fully healed hand.

"No, it just feels futile to pour my emotions into a guy like this."

"Are you saying you won't get revenge?"

"No."

"No."

At Irehgue's words, the two shook their heads.

"It's just... this much is enough for a small fry like this."

"I'll pour the rest on the guy who's higher up."

"Well, fine. If that is your will, I shall respect it."

Hearing the two's words, Irehgue smiled as if it were interesting and was about to take a step back.

"But before that..."

Thwack-

"Ouch!"

"You must be punished for forgetting your honorifics."

Irehgue, who had flicked Mio on the head, stepped back as if to say there was no real business left.

At that, Mio rubbed her forehead and glared at the lord.

"Hey, you said you don't know about us, right?"

"Y-Yes! I don't know the likes of you!"

"Is that so?"

Muttering that, Mio's eyes flashed, and she took out the awl-knife from her bosom and stabbed the lord in the head.

Naturally, the lord died instantly without even being able to scream.

The knights and soldiers, who were kneeling and watching the situation, looked on with vacant expressions.

And Irehgue looked at Mio and Rwen with a proud expression.

At that moment, Lee Shin spoke.

-I know it's a good atmosphere, but what are you going to do about the information? He was the only link to the organization that imprisoned them and the Resistance that wreaked havoc on the nobles, but you lost it.

'Ah.'

Only then did Irehgue realize he had gotten carried away by the atmosphere and made an ambiguous expression.