Running Away From The Hero!

Their Situation: The Situation of Certain Kingdoms 311

#3 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Kingdom

"Argh!"

"The wall is breached!"

"Stop the monsters from entering! If they get in, it's over!"

Screams and shouts filled the air.

The wall was breached. This meant facing the powerful and evil army of the dark god directly.

"Argh!"

"Sir Bekefe!"

The knight, the city's only hope, began flying through the air.

He didn't fly by his own power.

He was an ordinary knight.

Though he knew simple magic, he couldn't use spells to fly.

The knight had been struck by an orc's blow and was sent flying.

And once in the air, what goes up must come down.

"Argh!"

The knight who had been flying through the air crashed to the ground.

From his short, intense scream and the fact that he wasn't moving, it was clear he was dead.

The thick armor that should have protected him from even such a blow from an evil-tainted orc became a curse in such a situation.

"Damn it! The knight is down!"

"It's over... We have to flee!"

"But where? Is there anywhere to run?"

"We need to survive first!"

With the only knight dead, this city was finished.

The soldiers of this small kingdom's small city lacked the strength and will to fight the dark god's army.

One by one, soldiers began to grab their weapons and flee.

The commanders tried to stop them with shouts, but it was futile.

Most of the commanders had already fled.

The few commanders left couldn't possibly command all the soldiers.

As more soldiers fled, the burden on those remaining increased.

They weren't well-trained regulars but mostly conscripts.

It was virtually impossible to endure the increasing burden.

As time passed, more soldiers died or fled.

And so, another city fell to the dark god's army.

"Already?"

The grand general of the Fusedin Kingdom frowned as he received the report.

He had received a report two hours ago that one city had fallen, and now another city had fallen.

"What did the lord of that place do?"

"Baron Loddet fled. His two knights tried to defend the city, but it was too much."

"What happened to the knights?"

"They fought to the end to protect the city."

"Damn... Those knights were too good for Loddet."

In a situation where every force mattered, the loss of a knight was a significant blow.

Even knights defending small cities were still knights.

Trained professionals capable of using magic, knights were worth more than a hundred soldiers, depending on how they were used.

"Damn it! If this continues, the dark god's army will reach Count Hursch's territory. We must stop them before that."

Count Hursch's territory was the heart of this kingdom.

Connected to all the kingdom's roads, Count Hursch's territory was a logistics hub.

Its fall would mean a massive loss of resources and severe disruption to future supply lines.

"If Count Hursch's territory falls, the kingdom falls. Doesn't the royal court understand that?"

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The dark god's army was twice as strong as regular monsters and couldn't be killed by ordinary soldiers.

At a minimum, an apprentice knight with magical abilities was needed to fight them.

Even a regular goblin became so hard that a sword would dull when struck after being tainted by evil.

If that was true for goblins, how thick would the skin of an orc or an ogre be?

Unless you had siege weapons or dwarf-forged magic swords, you needed at least sword energy to defeat the dark god's army.

Yet the royal court did nothing.

To protect their safety, they ordered the kingdom's main knight orders to guard the royal castle and commanded the grand general to conscript soldiers to stop the dark god's army.

"Damn it!"

It was an impossible order.

The grand general of the Fusedin Kingdom realized this after several battles with the dark god's army.

"There aren't that many enemies. It's not enough to call them the dark god's army. Why doesn't the royal court realize this?"

The general was right.

The dark god's army in the Fusedin Kingdom didn't number over a hundred. Even now, after growing in numbers, there weren't even a hundred.

When the first report came in, there were maybe thirty.

At most, there were no more than fifty.

"Damn it!"

The grand general struck the table roughly, blood trickling from his lip. A sign of his effort to suppress his anger.

"General..."

His subordinates looked at him with pity.

To them, the grand general was a treasure of this country.

The eldest son of a noble family, he left the family to his younger brother and joined the military to protect the country.

He didn't discriminate between nobles and commoners and treated all his soldiers equally.

Even the noble officers, who initially resisted, started following him due to his charisma.

Even now, with the kingdom falling apart, the soldiers gathered because they believed in the grand general.

But the general was also just a man.

No matter how exceptional, he was alone.

He lacked the strength to defeat the dark god's army. It was heartbreaking.

It wasn't hopeless. In fact, they had a higher chance of defeating the dark god's army.

If the royal court were to release even half of the knight orders protecting the royal castle, the grand general could defeat the dark god's army.

But the royal court remains inert. The royalty and nobles do not want to face any danger themselves.

They are using the populace as shields and making the grand general, who didn't follow their orders, the scapegoat.

They don't realize that this will bring about the fall of the Fusedin Kingdom.

"Even now..."

"Don't say such foolish things. There are still people left to protect."

The subordinate's suggestion to flee was silenced by the grand general's words.

If the grand general and his loyal soldiers sought asylum, any neighboring kingdom would welcome them with open arms.

But the grand general's words shut the subordinate up.

"No matter how hopeless it seems, there are still things we must protect. That is the duty of a soldier."

"General."

The subordinate bowed his head in shame.

"Sorry."

He felt embarrassed.

His superior had not yet given up on the country, but he had already considered abandoning it.

"It's alright. I know you said it out of concern for me."

The grand general warmly embraced his bowed subordinate.

"Don't give up. We are still here. And the people who believe in us are still here."

"Yes..."

Clap, clap, clap!

Someone began clapping, watching the two of them.

"Who's there!"

This was a private space with no one but the grand general and his subordinate.

Suddenly, applause in the grand general's room!

The grand general and his subordinate quickly drew their swords and pointed them at the source of the sound.

"Oh... To see a noble who loves his people so... It's beautiful."

Clap, clap, clap!

The man who had briefly wiped his eyes began clapping again.

"It's beautiful. I thought this country was doomed! I thought it was already in ashes! But to see such a beautiful ember glowing in those ashes!"

The man stretched out his arms in an exaggerated gesture, pointing at the grand general.

"Oh... The last spark of hope in this rotten Kingdom, do you want to save this country? Do you want to save this Kingdom?"

"You... who are you?"

He acted like a clown.

His voice felt like listening to a demon, and his actions were repulsive just to watch.

But the grand general and his subordinate couldn't move. They were paralyzed by fear.

It wasn't because they were weak.

The grand general was the only Swordmaster in this Kingdom, and his subordinate was his bodyguard.

If you had to pick the strongest people in this Kingdom, the grand general would be first, and his subordinate would be third or fourth.

The strongest in a Kingdom.

Yet, the man before them exuded such a bizarre aura that they couldn't move.

"Who am I?"

The man tilted his head at the grand general's question.

"Hmm... How should I put it...? I am a low-ranking soldier in an unnamed organization acting as a scout?"

That couldn't be. Such a person couldn't be a mere scout.

The grand general, having made his judgment, bit his lip and glared at the man.

"Such intense stares make me shy, you know?"

"Enough! Who are you? Speak clearly!"

The man flinched at the grand general's loud voice.

"Oh, speaking so harshly is scary."

He shrugged his shoulders and avoided the grand general's gaze, as if genuinely frightened.

But the grand general and his subordinate felt an even stronger pressure.

'This is...'

He was not someone they could defeat alone.

If they faced him together?

One of them would likely not survive, and even if the other did, they wouldn't be whole.

"Hmm... There's no need to be so scared. I really am just a low-ranking member. I was recently demoted for making a mistake. I used to be more like a mid-level boss."

"Mid-level...?"

The fact that such a monster claimed to be mid-level implied there were several others like him.

And there would be someone leading them.

'We can't win.'

The grand general realized that if this was their fate, then the fate of Fusedin Kingdom was sealed.

"What's your objective? Is it this Kingdom?"

"Yes."

"Pardon?"

The grand general, speaking with conviction, didn't expect the man to answer so straightforwardly.

"Our boss is looking for someone, but found it limiting to operate only in the shadows. So, we thought we'd take over a few Kingdoms during the chaos caused by the dark god's army..."

The man looked at the grand general with a peculiar gaze.

"It would be a waste to take over a Kingdom with such a remarkable person in it."

"What do you mean?"

"Would you like to become King?"

"What?"

The grand general was momentarily at a loss for words, not understanding what he had just heard.

"What do you mean?"

"Just as I said. We intended to secretly absorb the Kingdoms about to fall to the dark god's army, but we don't need honor or power. We just want to find someone more easily."

The grand general couldn't comprehend it.

Conquering Kingdoms wasn't child's play, and they talked about taking over several just to find someone!

"What are you... no, who are you people?"

"Well... um..."

At the grand general's words, the man looked troubled.

"Well..."

For a moment, it felt as if the mask had slipped off.

Seeing the man genuinely troubled, the grand general and his subordinate felt an indescribable, eerie emotion.

'What is this?'

'Is this guy an idiot?'

The man, seemingly oblivious to their scrutinizing gazes, finally spoke after much hesitation.

"We are a conglomerate of all evil organizations, forcibly united to find one person. We are the Alliance of Evil, Naruan."

"The Alliance of Evil, Naruan?"

"Yes, that's right. By the way, the person we're looking for is also named Naruan."

"What in the world..."

It sounded so ridiculous that it felt like a joke.

But the next thing the man said left the grand general speechless.

"Oh, the royal court has fallen."

"What?"

"The Fusedin royal court was just blown up in a sudden explosion. It appears they were attacked by the dark god's army. Quite unfortunate."

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

A blue aura began to emanate from the grand general's sword.

"You scoundrel!"

As the grand general prepared to unleash a powerful strike that could cleave the entire room,

"Oh, please don't be so angry."

The man drew his sword and blocked the grand general's attack.

"Ugh!"

Not only was his attack blocked, but seeing the dozens of magic circles appearing around him made the grand general break out in a cold sweat.

"A Swordmaster and a magic swordsman..."

Where had this monster suddenly come from?

The grand general felt a crushing sense of despair.

"It's not like the royal court was any help anyway. Our boss is quite efficient, only targeting the royal court and the nobles hiding there. The capital is in complete chaos! If you, Grand General, lead your army to restore order and establish a new kingdom, it would be the perfect situation."

That was the voice of a devil.

It was not worth listening to. But with the dark god's army invading, he had no choice but to consider it!

"Are you asking me to abandon my people?"

If he withdrew his forces to return to the capital, Count Hursch's territory would fall to the dark god's army, and countless civilians would be slaughtered.

But if he didn't go to the capital, what horrors might these fiends unleash?

Seeing the grand general's dilemma, the man tried to reassure him.

"There's no need to worry. The more people there are, the easier it is to find someone. If you help us, we'll cleanly eliminate the dark god's army."

It was an offer the grand general couldn't help but consider.

He was currently unable to stop the dark god's army.

But what if this was a trick? What if the royal court hadn't fallen?

How would the royal court view him if he marched on the capital with his army?

And what if they didn't help him? What would happen to Count Hursch's territory?

"Damn..."

The grand general weighed countless thoughts, searching for the best path he could take.

Finally, he made his decision.

"Alright..."

He chose to trust the man before him.

"A wise choice."

The man smiled brightly and introduced himself.

"My name is Beral, Beral Lyke. I am a low-ranking member of the Alliance of Evil Naruan and the master of the evil organization Darkness. I swear in my name and my master's name, as long as you help us, we will be your allies."

And from that day on, all the dark god's army in the Fusedin Kingdom vanished, and a new kingdom was born.