In the Forest

Early the next morning, the group set out once more. This time, however, they had an additional companion: a dejected young Knight, bound hand and foot.

Compared with his bravery yesterday, the young Knight now looked utterly lifeless, as if he were half-dead and about to face the end of the world.

"Does this road lead to Carcassonne?"

"Yes... sir..."

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

"All right. Lead the way."

"Yes..."

Watching the listless young Knight walk ahead of them, Elisa looked puzzled.

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

"Hahaha, well... that's because..."

Hearing Elisa's question, the elf scout eagerly explained, clearly delighted by the spectacle.

"When this guy woke up, he seemed terribly ashamed that Lord Black Knight had scared him into wetting himself and passing out. He kept saying he didn't deserve to be a Knight blessed with Goddess's Favor, so he swore to become the Black Knight's servant..."

"Huh? But doesn't he see Lord Black Knight as a Demon?"

"That's right. So what he said was, 'Having lost Goddess's Favor, I no longer have the face to pursue her footsteps. Therefore, let me fall and become one of the Demons!'"

"...Haaah..."

After hearing the elf scout's account, Elisa was utterly dumbfounded. She simply could not understand that line of thinking. When she had been kidnapped by Evil God Believers, she had absolutely refused to become their sacrifice. Thus, even if Duanmu Huai had killed her, she would never have let those Evil God Believers get what they wanted. Yet this young Knight was so ashamed of wetting himself that he wanted to become a Demon's lackey?

"But he was so brave yesterday..."

"That's just a three-minute burst of enthusiasm."

The elf scout waved her hand.

"It's like us scouts. Everyone thinks living in the forest and tracking prey sounds fun. But when you're actually hiding in the woods, unable to make a sound even while mosquitoes bite you, hunted by wild beasts, and possibly dying unnoticed and becoming their food, that's another matter entirely."

At that, the elf scout curled her lip.

"That guy is probably the same. He must have heard some nonsense story about a Knight bravely fighting a dragon, thought he could defeat one too, gain countless treasures, and marry a beautiful Princess, then ran off on an adventure in a rush of excitement. People like that probably won't even catch a glimpse of a dragon before something like Ratmen gets them killed."

"I see..."

After hearing the elf scout, Elisa remained bewildered. She and Christine looked at each other, neither knowing what to say.

"Some young people really are like that."

At that moment, the Old Knight Kado nodded.

"Among the recruits under my command back then, quite a few 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 Mr. Kado is like?"

Elisa looked curiously at the Old Knight, who laughed and waved his hand.

"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment, my lady, but that is only one side of being a Knight. In reality, Knights must undergo extremely rigorous training. They have to learn to ride, kill enemies, and survive in the wilderness... In fact, many people cannot endure the training that involves rolling around in mud. Some even cry, 'This isn't the Knight I wanted to become!' and run away."

"I see..."

For nobles like Elisa and Christine, people like the young Knight might have been a first encounter. But the elf scout and the Old Knight had seen far too many people like him.

"Hmm?"

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

"Black Knight, did you hear that?"

"Yes. The sound of fighting. I heard it too."

In response to the elf scout's question, Duanmu Huai nodded. His scanner had also picked up the clash of weapons in the distance. He immediately activated the Holographic Projection and magnified it. Soon, the group saw a caravan under attack in the holographic image.

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

"Ugh, Orks..."

Seeing this, the elf scout openly revealed a disgusted expression. Duanmu Huai nodded as well; he understood perfectly why she looked that way.

Greenskin Orcs were also an extremely troublesome species, even more destructive than Ratmen. If Ratmen's actions at least had some sort of objective, then Greenskins had a very simple objective.

A three-part cycle of destruction, plunder, and slaughter.

For Greenskins, the most important thing in the world was having fun, and having fun meant fighting. Whether they fought their own kind or outsiders, they were happy as long as there was a fight. No fight made them unhappy. So they were either fighting or on their way to fight.

Moreover, completely exterminating Greenskins was difficult, because strictly speaking, they were not animals at all, but fungal plants... Yes, the kind that photosynthesized.

That was how Greenskin Orcs reproduced. They did not give birth; instead, they grew from the ground like plants.

As the saying went—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 dominated the cosmos.

Greenskin Orcs belonged neither to the Chaos faction nor the Order faction. Put simply, they just wanted to fight. Anything that entered their field of vision became an opponent. If there were outsiders, they fought outsiders. If there were no outsiders, they fought each other. Honestly, for a small country like Bartonia to withstand the Orks from the north was truly... no easy task.

"Should we help them?"

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

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai gripped his Warhammer and stared at the young Knight beside him.

"Hey, kid."

"Eek! W-what is it?"

"Come fight the Orks with me."

"W-wait? Orks? Why??"

"Hm? Didn't you swear to become my loyal subordinate? Then isn't it perfectly normal for me, a despicable Demon, to send you off to die first? Move! Or I'll smash your head in!"

"Eek—!"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's threat, the young Knight immediately pulled a miserable 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 Orks roared as they compressed the caravan's defensive line, which was beginning to waver and looked unable to hold out.

"Go! Get in there!"

Duanmu Huai kicked the young Knight and glared at him as he gave the order. The latter clutched his longsword with a pale face, staring at the Greenskin Orcs in the distance as his entire body trembled.

"N-no, no, I can't... I can't fight so many..."

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

Duanmu Huai shot the young Knight an annoyed glance, then gripped his Warhammer, leaped into the air, and his Jetpack burst with exhaust, carrying him hurtling down toward the Orks!!

BOOM!!!

Duanmu Huai descended from the sky and smashed straight into the Ork horde. The attacked Orks hurriedly turned their heads, and when they saw the warrior before them, taller even than they were, nearly every Ork's eyes lit up!

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

WAAAGH!

The next moment, the Orks raised their weapons and charged at Duanmu Huai with furious roars!