The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 239

Time passed, night ended, and the dawn arrived with the morning sun about to rise.

Normally, it would be the time when people who had woken from sleep would slowly begin their activities, but as if by some agreement, people stayed home, turning their backs on their livelihoods, and did not come outside.

Even the mercenaries, who usually caused trouble and roamed the domain as if it were their own home, were now quietly holding their breath in their rented inns.

The people inside their homes would occasionally peek outside through their windows, and each time, their faces overflowed with tension and anxiety.

No one knew the detailed situation of what had happened.

But no one was unaware that the lord's castle had collapsed without a trace, along with the loud explosions heard continuously from the direction of the castle last night.

At that, the people, without even knowing the proper situation, had taken up arms in the middle of the night to protect themselves and their families.

However, belying their resolve, after a few large explosions, the domain remained quiet as if nothing had happened.

There was no roar from the lord announcing an enemy attack, no sight of knights drawing their swords in preparation for an assault, and no soldiers moving busily.

Through this, the people of the domain vaguely realized.

That along with the lord's castle, they too had all been taken down by an unidentified enemy.

At that, the people chose to hide in their homes and quietly observe the situation.

The people, who were holding their breath and just observing the situation, glanced towards the direction of the lord's castle and their eyes widened at what they saw.

A cluster of light, clearly different from the light of the sun that was beginning to rise from the direction of the lord's castle, was visible.

"Did they come after noticing the Lord-nim's situation?"

"To think I'd get to see the people of the Church move in person..."

It was a cluster of light announcing the procession of the Church.

Seeing it, the people of the domain put the weapons they were holding back in their original places.

However, the villagers' expressions remained stiff with tension.

The fact that people from the Church had come all the way to a remote domain like this meant that the current situation was that serious, and it also meant that the trouble could spill over to them if things went wrong.

◎ ◎ ◎

"...The situation is far more disastrous than expected. It seems we'll need additional personnel."

"Let's also request that one of our superiors be called."

The man spoke as if lamenting.

"We just came to investigate after hearing from the intelligence department that the life orb of the lord dispatched here was destroyed, but to think something like this has happened..."

The two paladins in ocher armor spoke thus, staring blankly at the desolate scene where not even a proper trace of a building remained.

Reporting was good, but a minimum level of investigation was necessary.

Step- step-

Therefore, to investigate the situation in more detail, the two men ordered the knights under their command to investigate the area around the castle and the domain, then walked towards what seemed to be the center of the battle.

Finding the center of the battle was not difficult.

All they had to do was walk towards the place where the smell of blood was strongest.

"This is..."

"What is this..."

Arriving at the place with the thickest smell of blood, they were unknowingly overwhelmed by the bizarre scene unfolding before them and staggered back.

A place that appeared to be a training ground where countless knights and soldiers would have once diligently trained.

Drip- Drip-

There, blood filled the ground instead of sweat, and countless knights and soldiers were gathered, having lost their heads.

If it were just that, the two would not have been so surprised.

They were knights of the Church and had seen corpses far more gruesome than just losing a head.

However, even for them, a scene like this was a first.

The beheaded knights and soldiers were all kneeling, facing the same direction.

A sight that went beyond losing the will to fight, a loss of the desire to live.

In fact, the faces of those rolling on the ground were all soaked in deep fear, and among them, there were even faces smiling as if they had lost their minds.

"...Just what in the world happened here?"

The paladins who had spread out for the investigation smelled the blood and slowly approached this place.

And those who came here all showed their revulsion at this strange scene and stepped back.

Thud-

Among the paladins who were showing their revulsion, one person walked out and examined the soldiers' corpses.

"It doesn't seem like someone moved the bodies after death. It appears they were beheaded while kneeling, just as it looks."

"Is that so..."

The two paladin commanders who received the report frowned at the corpse in the distance.

A fat body that was unthinkable for a knight.

It was undoubtedly the baronet who had made them come here using a teleport scroll.

Although he was a baronet, a noble of the lowest rank, the fact that he was a noble commissioned by the Church remained unchanged.

And now, such a noble was dead, beheaded, with numerous signs of being beaten.

Furthermore, the unidentified person who had beheaded the lord did not stop at just beheading the lord but also massacred the knights under him and completely destroyed the lord's castle.

Grit-

This was clearly an act of rebellion against the Church.

"Hey, do you think this is also the work of those Resistance guys?"

"I can't be sure, but personally, I think the possibility is low."

The commander who said that turned his head and surveyed the unsettling surroundings.

"Those guys basically use a method of quietly killing only the lord. Committing mass murder and destroying buildings like this is not the way of the Resistance guys."

"Hoo, that's true."

The other commander replied thus and felt the traces left on the ground with his hand.

"Besides, this guy seems to be a sword, no, a spear user."

"A spearman with the skill to do something like this... I have no idea."

"For now, it's certain that this is a new guy who wasn't on the list. I don't know who it is, but thanks to them, the intelligence department will be screaming again."

Thus, the two investigated the scene and organized the information they needed to report to the Church in their minds.

Taktaktak-

At that moment, the apprentice paladins they had sent to investigate the domain came running towards them.

"""May the blessing of the Great Sun be with you!"""

"Yes."

The two nodded lightly at the apprentice paladins saluting them and asked.

"Was there any result from investigating the domain?"

At the commander's words, the apprentice paladins reported in turn what they had investigated while roaming the domain.

However, perhaps due to the short time, there was no particularly useful information, so the two commanders' expressions remained stiff.

"May the blessing of the Great Sun be with you! I have brought a resident's testimony who saw three suspicious figures running from the direction of the lord's castle last night!"

However, as if the saying 'a welcome rain in a drought' wasn't for nothing, there was one who had brought useful information.

"Did you bring information about the exact appearance of the three?"

"The witness said it was too dark because the moon was covered by clouds, so they couldn't see clearly. But I managed to shake them down for some information."

Ahem-!

The apprentice paladin cleared his throat and said.

"Of the three unidentified individuals, one appeared to be an adult, and the other two were said to have the build of children."

At those words, the two nodded.

"Hmm, one adult and two children? Not a common combination."

"It could be dwarves instead of children, but this much information is useful enough."

"That's not all!"

At the two commanders' words, the apprentice paladin said with a proud expression.

"According to the witness, all three of them had the sharp, vertically elongated eyes characteristic of the Dragonkin!"

At those words, the two commanders' eyes widened for a moment, then they nodded quietly as if in understanding.

"I see, so you're saying there are three Dragonkin..."

"Yes, that makes some sense..."

The Dragonkin were despised beings who carried the blood of the dragons who had sinned in the past and were abandoned by God.

However, even those who despised the Dragonkin did not deny or ignore the power they possessed.

That's how great the power of the dragon's blood flowing in the Dragonkin's bodies was.

The two added the element of 'Dragonkin' to the current situation and looked at it.

Then, various problems that had been shrouded in mystery began to be solved all too easily.

With the power and aura they possessed, they could single-handedly destroy a mediocre knight order.

And with the hatred they held for the world, dealing with just the lord and the knight order might not have been enough to vent their anger.

Grit-

"If the Dragonkin are indeed the culprits in this case, then their objective is..."

"Revenge against the Church and tarnishing the name of the holy God, I suppose."

The gazes of the two who said that moved towards one place.

There, the symbol of the Church was engraved, made from the heads of the lord and the knights.

The two commanders wanted to destroy that monstrous emblem right away, but since it was clear evidence left by the culprit, they preserved it instead.

"Hoo... yes, good work."

"If that is all, the next person will report..."

"That is..."

At that moment, a man interrupted, cutting off their words with a lack of confidence.

The two commanders showed displeased expressions, but since he had interrupted to report something, they remained quiet for the time being.

"Actually, there is one more piece of information."

However, the apprentice paladin was hesitating to speak for some reason.

"What are you hesitating for?"

"That is... the information is so strange, I'm not sure if I should report this."

At that, the commander clicked his tongue and said.

"It's fine even if it's absurd information. Our role is to gather information and deliver it to the intelligence department. Absurd information has its own uses, so speak without burden."

At the commander's words, the apprentice paladin nodded slightly and then spoke.

"According to the witness, the eye color of the Dragonkin presumed to be an adult was peculiar."

"The eye color?"

"How was it peculiar?"

"That is... the color of each eye was different; one was red, and the other was gold."

They could understand why the apprentice paladin had hesitated to speak.

Even for them, who had traveled to many places, it was the first time in their lives they had heard of a Dragonkin with such eyes.

"...Understood. We will take it into consideration."

"Is there anything else to report?"

"No, sir!"

With those words, he stepped back, and as if taking his place, another apprentice paladin stepped forward and began his report.

"According to a soldier who was off-duty, an unidentified transmigrator in the domain on the previous day..."

As the two paladin commanders were calmly listening to the reports.

"Hmm, a Dragonkin with different colored eyes..."

Far away from them, a man muttered from atop a tree.

The corners of the man's mouth, who was quietly fiddling with his earring, slowly rose.

'I don't know who suddenly did this, but... if I use it well, it could be helpful to the organization.'

The man who thought so looked at the Church's paladins moving in the distance and clicked his tongue.

'It'll be impossible to find traces there while avoiding the Church's eyes.'

The man, who had been pondering for a moment, decided to change his line of thinking.

He didn't know where they went, but if they were the type to do something like that out of hatred, they would surely show themselves elsewhere.

'In that case, it would be easier to catch them by setting a trap and waiting, instead of chasing them.'

Grin-

The man, who had devised a plan, stood up as soon as the short report ended.

"Alright, then shall we go and report quickly."

The man who muttered that disappeared from the top of the tree in an instant.

At the same time, the two commanders also began their report to the Church.

Lee Shin's small flap of wings, reeking of the strong smell of blood, brought about a huge storm, and in response, the three forces—the Church, the nobles, and the Resistance—began to move.

And at that time, the perpetrator of this huge incident.

"Heek... Heek..."

"Hwaaa..."

"Hmm, what should I do with these things..."

With a face that looked like he had slept well, he was tormenting the kids with a genuinely amused, wide smile.

◎ ◎ ◎

After engraving a declaration of war on the lord's castle with people's necks, and not forgetting to make an impression on the people who came out due to the commotion of the explosion, Lee Shin easily jumped over the fence surrounding the domain and got out.

"Alright, then shall we begin."

After that, Lee Shin, who had filled his stomach with food looted from the shops and slept soundly, got up, and the first thing he did was to gauge the level of Mio and Rwen.

"Now, I'm going to have a simple fight with you to find out your skill level. And you have two choices."

Lee Shin said, showing his finger and fist in turn.

"Should I fight you with my finger or my fist? Ah, just for reference, my recommendation is the fist."

Seeing Lee Shin confidently recommend the fist, Mio and Rwen looked at him as if he were trash.

However, Lee Shin had recommended it out of pure goodwill.

"Eeeek!!! It's just being poked by a finger, why does it hurt so much!"

Unlike a fist, a finger allowed for detailed control of the damage, and when combined with the technique of pressure points, it was possible to inflict only pain without any damage to the body and play with them until they fainted.

"Come on, come on, cheer up, cheer up~ You chose the finger, so you have to endure it with grit and determination~"

"Y-You bastard! Are you playing with people?!"

"...If I catch you, I'll really beat you until you die!"

Lee Shin cornered them with a wide smile.

And the one who dropped out of that whipping first was.

"Ugh!"

The older sister, Mio.

It was natural.

The difference between Rwen, who had opened her Dragon Heart, and Mio, who had not, was so great that even someone who didn't know could tell.

"...What?!"

But Mio looked at Rwen with wide, round eyes.

Mio was shocked by the fact that her younger sister, who had always been weaker than her and always needed her help, had become stronger than her.

And Rwen, in her own way, looked back and forth between Mio and her own feet with shocked eyes.

'Nice.'

Lee Shin grinned at the sight of the two.

Simply raising their skills with only a desire for revenge against the nobles wasn't bad.

But in Lee Shin's eyes, the goal of revenge felt too distant and vague.

In other words, a goal was needed to fill the middle of the path.

"What, the older sister dropped out before the younger sister?"

"Eek! It's not over! Let's go again!"

And in Lee Shin's eyes, the feelings the two had for each other were the optimal goal to fill the middle.

"Alright, come at me."

Lee Shin beckoned with his finger with a wide smile as he watched the fallen Mio rush at him again.

Naturally, Mio and Rwen's eyes flipped, and they charged.

(End of Chapter)