READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 100
“D-Did the Commander just get hit?”
“No way!”
When I jabbed him in the side, a rush of small satisfaction and joy followed.
I could also hear the bewildered voices of my fellow knights fighting nearby.
I sheathed my spear and chuckled internally.
‘Got him.’
This definitely shifted the odds in my favor.
Even if it was just a jab, his sword was broken and the wound was deep.
Because of that wound, he clearly wouldn’t be able to fight properly.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was giving up on the fight.
Wham!
As I sheathed my spear, he kicked out at me, pushing my body back.
Then he immediately ran toward the knights to grab a sword.
“… You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.
Looks like he was still planning to fight.
Then again, it would be funny for someone of his stature to give up just because of a jab in the side.
He was probably desperate not to waste all he had put into this battle.
Of course, I had no intention of backing down.
The victory that had previously seemed so far away was now right at my doorstep.
The knights that once loomed large in my mind now seemed rather small.
So, I shifted back into a battle stance.
Only one step stood between me and victory.
*
[Wow, he’s just splitting that sword in half]
[Seriously, both of them are wild;]
[Dude, let’s move a bit slower… I’m getting old and can’t see well anymore]
[Hey lady, go do your job]
[Oh, those abs… I love you, bro, huff huff]
[Ouch; but that’s a bit brutal]
Crack-crash!
The battle continued. Swords and spears clashed, and blood splattered as blades grazed skin.
And, of course, Otherworlders were watching the spectacle. The knights had surrounded the area like a ring, so it was hard not to notice.
Some of them had even stopped fighting to focus on filming the event.
[Look at that viewer count, whoa!]
[Those YouTubers grinning ear to ear at the thought of views, lol]
[But why is the knight squad just watching? Their commander looks like he’s about to bite it;]
[If you were in their shoes, would you step in?]
[Those without knights would definitely lose their testicles if they jumped in here]
[Both fighters right now are packing heat though]
[Dogfight, woof woof;]
[This dogfight is crazy intense, whoa!]
The fight was quite the spectacle.
It was a battle of strength, not flair—ferocious rather than graceful.
And most of that ferocity came from Yor.
The Commander was consistently on the defensive, trying to retreat, but Yor relentlessly clung to him.
At times, they were so close that he used a dagger instead of his long-reaching spear.
Slice! Drip!
Even as they exchanged blows, the one taking the most damage was still Yor.
Red blood flowed from his skin. The multiple cuts he had sustained were too ragged to even be called clothing.
Of course, every time his clothes shredded a bit more, the chatroom erupted with cheers.
[Whoa whoa whoa]
[YouTube streamers are starting to get worried about their no-no policy, lol]
[They should be worrying about getting banned, honestly…]
[If he didn’t have blood all over him, it would be hilarious, damn]
[Looks like I’m watching a gladiator fight, whoa]
[Seriously, they’re not flinching at all, lol]
However, even though Yor was getting cut up, it was the Commander who was clearly struggling.
He couldn’t execute proper swordplay due to the constant pressure from Yor’s attacks.
He was taking too many hits.
No matter how good his counterattacks were, the blood created too many variables.
Just using blood to extend the reach of the fight made it significantly harder to respond.
Unlike Yor—who just took a few scrapes but avoided the fatal hits—Rayleigh was laden with deep wounds that restricted his actions.
Thighs, arms, sides—all were injured.
At this point, it was clear to all watching who had the advantage.
Cheering flickered across the faces of the Otherworlders supporting Chaerin, while unease painted the faces of the knights.
They silently awaited the impending conclusion.
*
“Ugh…”
His injuries were slowing him down.
With relentless attacks coming in, he couldn’t put together a proper strategy.
Rayleigh found it hard to accept this situation.
‘…What’s going on?’
Technically, he was still ahead in skill.
Sure, the speed was fast, but the direction of the opponent’s attack was still obvious enough to deflect. The problem was that Yor knew this weakness too.
He didn’t even give a chance to respond—he was bringing the fight to the dirt.
Even if he got hurt, he wanted his opponent to drown in the mud with him.
Rayleigh had never seen someone fight like this before.
Most people would instinctively back away when faced with a weapon.
Even veterans who had rolled around on the battlefield for years would act that way.
This was a fight more akin to a beast than a person.
As he desperately tried to fend off Yor’s attacks, Rayleigh grimaced.
‘Brutal and tough.’
And extremely threatening. It felt like if he let his guard down for even a moment, his head would roll.
But because of that, he could definitely sense it. His opponent had no intention of killing him.
The way the attacks were aimed showed they were always directed at an arm or a leg.
It was rare for attacks to head toward the abdomen, as if the goal was just to subdue him.
‘…What is this?’
Rayleigh found it difficult to comprehend the situation.
It conflicted with everything he had learned so far.
What exactly was it that made so many Otherworlders support him?
Why would they take such risks to stand by him? Just to shield a Demon’s seed?
Numerous doubts bubbled up in his mind.
As the world around him had shown, society had educated people to see manifested beings purely as evil.
They had already become the demon’s seed, so there was no saving them; they were labeled as psychopaths different from ordinary humans.
It was a nationwide gaslighting due to the fear that their sympathy might hide the manifestations.
And since this gaslighting had worked effectively, manifested beings had been cleansed without any controversy.
Rayleigh, too, was not immune to this brainwashing.
Bang!
Just like that, the battle ended at some point. Yor once again knocked Rayleigh’s sword far from him.
This time, he was unable to create any distance. Unlike the regenerating beings, Rayleigh was in a sorry state.
Swish-
The chilling sensation of a blade pressed against his neck.
But that was all; the blade didn’t dig in any further.
Rayleigh grimaced, full of tension.
“…Why have you stopped?”
“I told you. I want to have a conversation.”
By then, the knights surrounding them had begun to react.
With swords drawn, they were prepping to rescue him.
“Commander!”
“We’ll save you right now!”
However, Rayleigh raised a hand to halt the knights.
Perhaps that was meant to be a stopping gesture, as they froze right where they stood.
He sighed deeply and asked Yor,
“…What do you want?”
“Now we’re finally getting somewhere.”
Yor smirked, lifting the corners of his lips. Covered in blood, his smile looked downright sinister.
He spoke, maintaining the point of his knife at Rayleigh’s neck.
“What I want is simple. Please leave me alone. Just go back with your knight squad. Then go to the Emperor and suggest that the extermination decree be lifted.”
“…”
That made no sense to Rayleigh. That wasn’t merely a problem of his opinion.
This was an issue that couldn’t simply be solved by his decisions.
Defeated in such a miserable way, would the Emperor even listen to him?
And asking for the abolition of the extermination order? That was practically the same as asking to recognize manifested beings as legitimate.
This was a historical precedent that had never been seen in the Empire.
Not only was it unlikely to happen, but the odds were extremely low for it to even be attempted.
So Rayleigh bit his lip and said,
“…You might as well just kill me.”
He had resigned to his death the moment he accepted he had lost.
If he died fighting, death wouldn’t frighten him.
“Really?”
However, the next words from Yor made him freeze in his tracks.
“If you die, all the remaining knights here will die too, you know?”
That was a chilling statement. But at the same time, it was something that could easily become reality.
He was already in dire straits himself. Though Yor was tired, he could still handle the remaining knights.
After all, more than a hundred knights were already lying on the ground.
But Rayleigh just frowned.
He had one misunderstanding to clarify.
“…After killing over a hundred of my subordinates, you’re now trying to threaten me with that?”
“They’re still alive.”
“…What?”
“The ones on the ground. I just knocked them out. They’re all alive.”
At that, Rayleigh hastily looked around. He moved his neck so quickly that he barely nicked himself on the blade, but he didn’t care.
Instead, he focused on the rising and falling chests of the knights.
…It was true.
There were knights with severe bruises and injuries, but they were all still breathing.
If they received proper treatment back at the temple, they would be fine.
Seeing that, a chill ran down Rayleigh’s spine.
‘Wait… did he consider their lives even in that chaos?’
It was far easier to kill someone than to knock them out. Especially with skilled knights. This implied that he had been holding back just enough from the start.
Should he be relieved by this mercy or remain tense about that overwhelming power… he found it difficult to judge.
As he hesitated, Yor spoke up once more.
He seemed to mistake Rayleigh’s pause for thought.
“That’s not all. If you don’t lift the extermination order and continue sending hunting squads, I might just become so upset that I’ll turn into a Demon. And I’ll rush into the Empire to smash something.”
“…”
“And when I turn into a Demon, I’ll be several times stronger. To put it bluntly… could you stop me?”
“…Against someone like me, the First Knight Commander can handle anything.”
“Sure. So go ahead and let your mighty troops try to stop me. It might be a costly price to pay.”
“…Now you’re just threatening me.”
It was an unmistakable threat. But it was something that couldn’t be ignored either.
If the extermination order wasn’t lifted, it could genuinely become a reality.
Even if they had been ambushed, having the entire knight squad defeated by just one person was an undeniable fact.
But what if that strong person became a Demon and wreaked havoc across the Empire?
It was uncertain whether they could defend against that, and even if they did, the damage would inevitably be extensive.
And that was something that absolutely couldn’t happen.
Damage was an issue, but the even greater problem was the possibility of a Demon’s resurrection.
If the Empire took a lethal blow with the threat of a Demon looming, the kingdom could very well collapse.
The mere thought sent chills through his body, solidifying his expression.
But Yor’s next words weren’t a threat.
“Heh… to be honest.”
This time, it wasn’t a warning.
“I don’t want to make too much of a mess either. Whenever I kill someone, I have terrible nightmares. And I think I’ve been living pretty relatively peacefully? I’ve grown up being self-sufficient in the forest without causing harm to anyone.
I had no intention of becoming a Demon until now, and if you recognize me once you get back, I can assure you that it won’t happen in the future. So…”
Just acknowledge me as I am. Yor was making a request rather than a demand.
And compared to the monstrous visage Rayleigh had harbored towards manifestations, he appeared much closer to being human.
Rayleigh thought to himself,
‘If I go back like this, I’ll be signing my own death warrant…’
Having lost, his salary would undoubtedly be cut, and his honor would be tarnished by surrendering. The fact that they had surrendered would be known far and wide, and perhaps even follow him like a shadow for the rest of his life.
The Emperor would surely be furious, but Rayleigh doubted he would be discharged from service. After all, the Empire was suffering from a shortage of personnel.
But still, considering the lives of 150 knights along with civilians…
The answer had been clear from the very start.
“…I will withdraw the knight squad. And I will personally speak to the Emperor, asking him to revoke the extermination order.”
Rayleigh then shouted to his subordinates,
“…All troops! Gather the injured and prepare to return!”
“Hooray!”
“We won!!!”
With that, cheers erupted from all around. They were all Otherworlders who had supported Yor.
In contrast, the knights wore expressions of shock as if they had lost their kingdom.
Yor lifted the corners of his mouth, momentarily teasing the knights.
“Yeah, you should all live, right? You knights have to enjoy the rest of your lives a bit longer.”
Tap-tap-tap!
Having said that, Yor gestured in a rather indecent manner.
With one hand, he made a circle, and with the other he waved his index finger back and forth.
Rayleigh trembled with rage at that sight.
For a moment, he almost raised his fist.
With that, he trudged out of the forest, leading his knight squad with heavy steps.
“Hooray!!!”
For a while, joyous voices echoed throughout the center of the forest.