In the Forest

Early the next morning, everyone set out again, only this time they had a dejected young knight tied up beside them.

Compared to his bravery yesterday, the young knight now looked utterly lifeless, as if he were barely clinging to life and about to face the end of the world.

"Is this the road to Carcassonne?"

"Yes... my lord..."

Faced with Duanmu Huai's question, the young knight no longer showed the slightest sign of resistance.

"All right, lead the way."

"Yes..."

Seeing the dispirited young knight walking ahead, Elisa looked puzzled.

"How strange. Why has he suddenly become so obedient? I thought he would keep talking back to Black Knight."

"Hahahaha, about that... it's because..."

Hearing Elisa's confusion, the Elf Scout began explaining with a gleeful look, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"When this guy woke up, he seemed terribly ashamed that Black Knight had scared him into wetting his pants and passing out. He kept saying that he wasn't worthy of being a knight favored by the goddess, so he swore to Black Knight that he would become his servant..."

"Eh? But didn't he regard Black Knight as a demon?"

"Exactly. So what he said at the time was, 'I have lost the Goddess's Favor and no longer have the face to pursue her likeness. Therefore, let me become a member of the demons!'"

"...Huh..."

Hearing the Elf Scout's explanation, Elisa was completely baffled. She truly couldn't understand what kind of thought process this was. After all, when Elisa had been kidnapped by the Evil God Believers, she had absolutely refused to become their sacrifice. Thus, even if Duanmu Huai killed her, she still wouldn't let those Evil God Believers have their way. Yet this young knight had become so ashamed after wetting himself that he immediately wanted to become a demon's lackey?

"He was so brave yesterday..."

"That's how it is with people who are enthusiastic for three minutes."

The Elf Scout waved her hand.

"It's like us scouts. Everyone thinks living in the forest and tracking prey is interesting. But when you're actually hiding in the forest, unable to make a sound while mosquitoes bite you, being hunted by wild beasts, and possibly dying there without anyone knowing before becoming food for them, it's a completely different matter."

At this point, the Elf Scout curled her lips.

"That guy's the same. He probably heard some ridiculous story about a knight bravely battling a dragon and thought he could defeat a dragon, obtain countless treasures, and then marry a beautiful princess. So he had a fit of madness and went out to travel. People like that won't even see a dragon's shadow before getting killed by something like Ratmen."

"I see..."

After hearing the Elf Scout's explanation, Elisa was also left completely baffled. She exchanged glances with Christine, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Some young people really are like that."

At this moment, the Old Knight Kado nodded as well.

"Back then, quite a few of the recruits under my command thought knights in armor looked cool. In their imaginations, a knight was a hero who rode a tall horse, wore shining armor, earned people's respect, and was admired by beautiful women."

"But isn't that exactly what you're like, Mr. Kado?"

Elisa looked curiously at the Old Knight, who waved his hand with a smile.

"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment, young miss, but that's only one side of being a knight. In truth, knights also have to undergo extremely rigorous training. They must learn not only how to ride and kill enemies, but also how to survive in the wilderness... In fact, plenty of people can't stand rolling around in the mud during training. There have certainly been people who cried, 'This isn't the kind of knight I wanted to become!' and ran away."

"I see..."

Although people like that young knight might have been a first for nobles like Elisa and Christine, the Elf Scout and the Old Knight had seen far too many of them.

"Hmm?"

Just then, the Elf Scout's ears twitched. She raised her head and looked ahead.

"Black Knight, did you hear that?"

"Yes. I heard the sound of a battle too."

In response to the Elf Scout's question, Duanmu Huai nodded. His detector had also picked up the clash of weapons coming from the distance, so he immediately activated Holographic Projection and zoomed in again. Soon, everyone saw a convoy of wagons being attacked in the holographic image.

The attackers were a group of tall, green-skinned monsters.

"Ugh, Orcs..."

Seeing this, the Elf Scout made no attempt to hide her disgust. Duanmu Huai nodded as well, fully understanding why she had reacted that way.

Greenskin Orcs were also extremely troublesome creatures, with even greater destructive power than Ratmen. If the Ratmen's actions could at least be said to have some kind of objective, the Greenskins had a very simple goal.

The threefold cycle of destruction, plunder, and slaughter.

To the Greenskins, the most important thing in the world was having fun, and having fun meant fighting. It didn't matter whether they were fighting their own kind or outsiders; as long as there was a fight, they were happy. If there was no fight, they were unhappy. Thus, they were either fighting or on their way to a fight.

What was more, completely exterminating these Greenskins was extremely difficult. Strictly speaking, they weren't animals at all, but a kind of fungal plant... Yes, the kind that could perform photosynthesis.

That was also how Greenskin Orcs reproduced. They didn't reproduce through birth, but grew out of the ground like plants.

In other words—plant one Greenskin in spring, and by autumn you could harvest a whole pile of little Greenskins... Their reproductive ability could even rival that of the Tyranid, which ruled the universe.

Greenskin Orcs were neither part of the Chaos faction nor the Order faction. Put simply, they just wanted to find a fight. Anyone who entered their field of vision was their opponent. When outsiders were present, they fought outsiders; when there were no outsiders, they fought their own kind. Honestly, for a small country like Bartonia to withstand the attacks of the northern Orcs was truly... quite a burden.

"Should we help?"

"Of course. After all, having one more friend means one more path forward."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai tightened his grip on his warhammer, then fixed his gaze on the young knight beside him.

"Hey, kid."

"Eek! Wh-what is it?"

"Come fight the Orcs with me."

"W-wait! Orcs? Why?!"

"Hm? Didn't you swear that you would become my loyal subordinate? Then, as a despicable demon, isn't it perfectly normal for me to send you to your death first? Get moving! Otherwise, I'll smash your head in!"

"Eeeek—!"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's threat, the young knight immediately put on a mournful face, took up his longsword, and obediently followed him.

By the time Duanmu Huai arrived with the unwilling knight, the battle had already begun turning against the caravan. The Orcs roared as they began compressing the caravan's defensive line, and the latter was already tottering on the verge of collapse.

"Go! Get in there!"

Duanmu Huai kicked the young knight and glared at him as he issued the order. The young knight, his face deathly pale, gripped his longsword and stared at the group of Greenskin Orcs in the distance, his whole body trembling.

"N-no, I can't... I can't beat so many of them..."

"You're useless. What good are you?"

Duanmu Huai swept an annoyed glance at the young knight, then gripped his warhammer and leaped into the air. The Jetpack blasted out a stream of air, sending Duanmu Huai hurtling down toward the Orcs!!

"Boom!!!"

Duanmu Huai descended from the sky and slammed directly into the middle of the Orc army. The attacked Orcs hurriedly turned around and looked at the warrior standing before them, who was even taller than they were. Nearly every Orc's eyes lit up!

Compared to those cowards hiding behind the wagons, this was the kind of opponent they wanted to fight!!

"WAAAGH!!!"

The next moment, the Orcs raised their weapons and charged toward Duanmu Huai with loud, furious roars!