Chapter 200 – The Knights’ Advance (2)

It has been four weeks since we fled from the capital of the Kingdom of Possen, where the gate is located. Now, we have climbed up to a ridge overlooking the capital of Possen once again.

Perhaps because it was a satellite state of the empire, the city walls surrounding the capital were absent, allowing us to see the city’s interior clearly from here.

Except for the destroyed royal palace, the city looked better than expected. Some wooden buildings had burned down, but most of the stone structures remained intact, and there was no sign of the flames or smoke we had seen when we left.

However, this city was only fine on the surface. Despite its seemingly intact appearance, the capital of Possen was shrouded in a thick miasma.

“It seems like no one could survive in such conditions…”

The elderly swordsman, Duke Charles, clicked his tongue as he looked at the city beside me, likely thinking the same thing.

As he said, the miasma was so thick that ordinary people would have died and turned into undead.

“If the city is filled with that much miasma, how many people must have died?”

There were refugees who had escaped with us from this city, but their numbers were few. Since the nobles and royals who were supposed to protect the city had fled through the gate, it was clear that most of the people we couldn’t save had died and become undead.

It was a tragic situation, but I didn’t feel sorry for them. My heart had already been worn down too much by the storms of life.

‘Anyway, there are people who will pray for them in my place.’

As expected, Yerim was praying towards the city with her hands clasped together. This time, she wasn’t holding anything in her hands, but behind her, many knights were bowing their heads in unison.

After passing through the portal, it took us a week to reach this place. Although we had been running tirelessly to get to Possen, the journey hadn’t been easy.

Fortunately, most of the Demon King’s undead army was deployed on the frontlines attacking the empire, so we didn’t encounter them as we moved through the rear. However, the rear wasn’t safe either.

There were still remnants of the Demon King’s army left behind, and the undead who had turned after death were scattered throughout the villages and cities. We tried to avoid the cities as much as possible, but we couldn’t completely evade the undead.

We had to fight our way through hordes of undead blocking our path, and eventually, even the two swordsmen, our party, and the hero and saint had to step in to help.

The hero and saint’s divine power was a great help in the battles, but unfortunately, their contributions were overshadowed by our party. Unlike the hero and saint, who were specialized in fighting high-ranking undead like the Demon King, our party was capable of handling large-scale battles effectively.

Thanks to this, the knights who had somewhat ignored us now bowed their heads when they saw me, and the mages were hovering around Zahina.

Given how much recognition we had received, it went without saying how much respect Yerim, who healed injuries and purified undead, must have earned from the people.

Unlike the saint, who restrained her divine power in preparation for the battle with the Demon King, Yerim used her divine power to heal the injured whenever necessary, and now she was being revered as the saint in place of the original saint.

I had thought Yerim might be resented by the saint for this.

‘But now, the saint is clinging to Yerim’s side.’

Whether it was because they felt a sense of closeness as fellow saints or because of Yerim’s natural charisma, I couldn’t tell. In any case, it wasn’t a bad thing for the two saints to get along.

Moreover, surprisingly, the same went for the hero.

“What should we do in a situation like this? If we charge in like we have been, the casualties will be heavy.”

The hero was now standing beside me. He had been keeping his distance with a sour expression until we passed through the portal, but now, for some reason, he was here.

During the journey here, he seemed so isolated that I ended up listening to him a few times and giving him some advice. That must have been my mistake.

This was all because of my past life memories. By Ea’s standards, he was clearly an adult, but why did he seem so young?

Seeing the hero troubled was like watching a tormented teenager, and I couldn’t just leave him be.

Even now, it was the same.

“Still, once we enter that city, we’ll be crossing over to another world. Before that… I think I should thank you, Sir.”

He was speaking in a tone that didn’t suit his age.

“Did the saint tell you to talk like that?”

At my sighing remark, the hero’s eyes widened.

“Ah, was it that obvious?”

“Of course it was. Did you think it wouldn’t be?”

“No one said anything, so I didn’t realize.”

“That’s because of your position as the hero. People can’t just speak freely to you.”

At my words, the hero scratched his head, and the saint, who had been sneaking glances at the hero from beside Yerim, let out a quiet sigh.

“But the saint told me to be careful with my words since I’m the hero…”

This was like raising a naive prince.

It seemed the saint, who had become a princess, had been thinking about the future with the hero.

In the end, this was the result.

“Use that kind of tone with people who treat you as the hero.”

“Maybe I should.”

The hero nodded at my words.

“Still, my gratitude isn’t a lie.”

His tone had changed, but the hero didn’t retract his thanks.

“After becoming the hero, people flattered me so much that I thought I had really become something. But I realized after fleeing from the Demon King that it was only because I was the hero who could defeat the Demon King.”

As he continued, I glanced at the boy beside me.

‘Why is he suddenly getting sentimental here?’

“It’s only natural that I’m not recognized since I failed to fulfill my responsibilities. But it was really hard during that time. If it weren’t for the saint, I might have run away. No, I couldn’t even leave the palace, so I couldn’t have run away.”

It seemed he had indeed been trapped in the palace back then.

Moreover, was the saint not a princess but a watcher?

“In that situation, you were the only one who spoke to me properly. In fact, I’ve always admired you, Sir. You refused the position of the hero and always fought at the forefront against the Demon King’s army.”

Should I stop the hero’s mouth?

Hearing words of admiration from the hero made my whole body cringe.

It was true that I had refused the position of the hero and fought at the forefront against the Demon King’s army, but I never thought that would earn me admiration.

Moreover, it wasn’t from a beautiful woman but from a young hero. This was clearly wrong.

‘I need stability…’

I placed my hand on the pouch at my waist and calmed my troubled mind by thinking of the gold ingots inside.

After that unexpected confession, the hero was about to say something I had anticipated.

“Sir, you don’t know my name, do you? My name is—”

“Don’t say it.”

I knew this would happen.

Why do people on the battlefield always do the same thing?

“Huh?”

At my words, the hero looked at me in surprise, and I kindly explained.

“That’s not something you say on the battlefield. No one who says things like ‘My name is this’ or ‘Someone is waiting for me back home’ ever makes it back alive.”

As far as I knew, the only one who had broken that cliché was Hoffman, who was currently out scouting.

‘But Hoffman hasn’t retired yet, so maybe he hasn’t truly broken it?’

In any case, the young hero’s words were no different from a death wish on the battlefield.

Moreover, aside from the cliché, I didn’t want to know the hero’s name.

After all, he was currently heading towards his death.

Hearing his name would only make me more troubled later.

“You can tell me later if you make it back safely. For now, being the hero is enough.”

“But if I die, you’ll have to become the hero, Sir.”

“I won’t. If I refuse, the gods will just raise someone else.”

“But…”

“More importantly, you just need to not die. No matter what the plan is or how dire the situation, we have to think about surviving.”

“…Thank you. No one has ever said that to me before. All I’ve heard is that the hero must sacrifice his life to kill the Demon King.”

As the boy’s complaints seemed about to continue, I waved my hand to stop him.

Indeed, meddling had been a mistake.

If I had pretended not to notice, I could have ignored him even after the operation was over.

Now, it seemed that wouldn’t be so easy.

After sending the hero back to the saint with a wave of my hand, the swordsman who had been standing apart approached again.

“You handle the hero well.”

At the old swordsman’s words, I couldn’t help but let out what was on my mind.

“That wasn’t my job.”

At my words, the swordsman coughed lightly.

“Hmm, hmm. I’m too busy managing the knights.”

I had told the hero that people kept their distance because he was the hero, but in reality, everyone kept their distance because they knew he was bait.

No one wants to get close to someone heading to their death on the battlefield.

I knew that too, but…

“It’s because of my past life.”

The duke didn’t understand the words I muttered with a sigh.

Instead, he asked for my opinion.

“Do you think the decoy operation is the best plan?”

“Yes. This city isn’t a place we can just pass through. Once the gate is activated, we’ll have to protect it, so it’s better to lure out as many undead from the city as possible.”

If we just charged in and ended up in urban combat, it would be a disaster.

If it weren’t for Yerim, it would have been difficult to find all the undead hiding in the castle back then.

But engaging in urban combat with the undead in a city, especially the capital of a nation, would be no easy task even with the current knights and the swordsmen.

Since the duke and I had reached the same decision, it was time to execute the plan.

The knights and mages descended from the mountain and set up camp on the plains overlooking the city.

This plain would be our battlefield.

After setting up the camp, a few people headed towards the city.

“Finally, I get to play the role of bait.”

The hero, leading the way, spoke in a cheerful tone, saying something absurd.

I had told him to speak comfortably, but he was being too casual.

I raised my hand and tapped his helmet.

“This isn’t about being bait or anything. Besides, we’re going together.”

Heading towards the city were the hero, the saint, Yerim, and me—four people in total.

The two swordsmen stayed behind to command the knights and mages, while Hoffman and Zahina also remained at the rear.

The task of luring out the undead in the city wasn’t just the hero’s responsibility; we were all involved.

“But you didn’t have to step forward for this, Sir.”

Indeed, to others, it might seem like I didn’t need to be involved.

The hero’s divine power was unparalleled when it came to drawing out the undead.

While the undead instinctively avoided the saint’s divine power, the hero’s divine power was different.

Perhaps because it was the divine power meant to defeat the Demon King, the undead would recklessly charge towards the hero’s divine power in a frenzy.

That’s what the hero meant by being bait.

And that’s why he said I wasn’t needed.

“The saints can enhance my divine power… Ah, is it for protection? Still, this much should be fine…”

The hero’s words didn’t require a response from me.

“No, Sir Egar is definitely needed.”

Yerim smiled and countered the hero’s words.

The hero and saint looked at Yerim and me with puzzled expressions.

I didn’t explain.

They would see soon enough.

Although I couldn’t draw out divine power on my own since I wasn’t the hero, I could use divine power in another way.

By drawing out Yerim’s divine power and channeling it into my sword.

I didn’t know how this was possible, but as long as it worked, I would use it.

After getting closer to the city, I drew my sword alongside the hero and began channeling Yerim’s divine power into it.

But this time, an unexpected problem arose.

“My God.”

“Good heavens…”

“Uh, what’s happening?”

I had drawn not only Yerim’s divine power but also the saint’s.

The divine power of both Yerim and the saint poured into my sword, and a sacred blade of light shot up into the sky.

Whoosh!

An incredible blade of light, unlike anything I had seen before.

It was several times brighter than the hero’s blade of light.