Chapter 149 : Chapter 149

Chapter 149 : The North (2)

Many believed that the Northern Knights and the Myeolji security force, the Crows, had similar roles.

In reality, the two groups, the Northern Knights and the Crows, performed the role of a shield, preventing demons and beasts from crossing over into the continent, just in different places—the North and the front of Myeolji, respectively.

But there was a crucial difference between the two groups.

While the Crows' goal was to defend the front of Myeolji like an iron wall, the Northern Knights' goal was not merely to defend.

The Northern Knights invade the demons.

The knights of the North hone their swords with the goal of one day making the act of protecting the North itself unnecessary.

Their goal is to slay every demon and beast living there, in the North, the oldest and largest erosion zone apart from Myeolji.

However, contrary to their resolution, it was overwhelming just to eliminate the demons and beasts that poured in every day.

Even with the Northern Archduke, one of the most prominent figures in all of human history, as their leader, they had failed to purify the erosion zone known as the North.

And in front of such an Archduke, I dared to speak.

“Please let go of the chains. His help is needed to prevent the further spilling of the Northern Knights' blood.”

“Eliminating demons with the help of a demon.”

The Archduke said, tightening his grip on the chains.

“Do you think you're the first one to have such a thought?”

“Have you tried it before, Your Grace?”

The Archduke quietly nodded.

Indeed, it was said that he had been protecting the North for some 40 years.

During that time, he must have tried to tighten the noose on the northern demons using every possible method.

“At that time, how did you persuade the demons, Your Grace?”

“……”

“Did you threaten them with your great power, or did you hold them by the leash like you are now?”

As I repeatedly questioned him, the Archduke's expression gradually hardened.

He didn't have many changes in expression to begin with, but now he was almost expressionless.

His face did not turn red or distort.

Nevertheless, I could clearly feel his anger.

A powerful aura pressed down on me. I felt fear, but I spoke without flinching.

“The name of the one you have bound in chains is Derix. He has been helping me win over demons for several years now.”

“So, you trust a demon?”

“Yes, I do. I don't trust him because he's a demon, but because he's a friend, a comrade.”

“Comrade, my foot. He looked like a slave.”

The Archduke's cold voice pressed down on me even more.

It seemed the Archduke had partially figured out the relationship between Derix and me.

It was likely because the aura of mana flowing from me could also be felt from Derix.

But it was urgent to clarify to the Archduke that Derix was not my slave.

Because the Archduke was a person who had negative feelings about slavery.

“No. He is a comrade. We are together for the same purpose.”

Kugh.

Hearing those words, Derix let out a faint groan.

Derix's face was already a mess.

He gasped for breath as if he would stop breathing at any moment, and each time, blood flowed from his mouth.

“Lord Polarin……”

The Archduke's words, asking if he was a slave, were not entirely wrong.

The relationship between Derix and me was not horizontal.

He received my orders and carried out many tasks, and he was often in danger in the process.

Leading Remnant was not Derix's plan from the beginning either.

But Derix followed my orders without complaint and helped me.

But Derix could not be called a mere slave.

Our relationship was connected not by domination and obedience, but by trust.

Even while talking calmly with the Archduke, I felt a surge of indignation.

It was difficult to resist the urge to draw my sword and cut the chains right away.

‘I have to endure.’

The Archduke was someone that neither Tayon nor Pasion would face carelessly.

Could I win even if I gave it my all?

If the conversation didn't go well, I might end up fighting the Archduke.

I was prepared for that as well, but not yet.

“Do you think you and the demons that follow you can subjugate the demons of the North?”

“We have to try.”

“And the demons that cannot be subjugated in the end?”

“I will kill them.”

“Can’t you just kill them all? Why take the difficult path?”

“How can I do what even the Archduke could not?”

The Archduke calmly continued his questions.

But the hand holding the chains never loosened.

“If you fail to persuade me, will you kill me as well?”

The Archduke's voice seemed to have a cold blade embedded in it.

If I answered wrong, I might be the one to die here.

But I steeled my heart and continued my answer.

“Everything depends on the Archduke.”

I did not hide my intentions in front of the man who looked terrifying just by his face.

The Archduke's expression distorted slightly.

It was a subtle difference, but since he had been maintaining an expressionless face, it was rather easy to detect the change.

Strangely enough, my fear of the Archduke had lessened slightly.

But the Archduke actually reduced his sharp, north-wind-like aura.

Just by not hiding my intentions, the Archduke had somewhat lowered the intensity of his pressure.

“There are two beings I do not trust. One is a demon, and the second is a human.”

“You don't have to trust. Your Grace is not someone who needs to trust.”

“Then what am I?”

“You are someone for whom the time has come to prove.”

“To prove……”

The Archduke was lost in thought.

I did not clearly state what the Archduke had to prove.

Because he had to find what he had to prove for himself.

“There is something I would like to ask you, Your Grace.”

The Archduke did not ask if I had the right to ask.

He was quietly waiting for my next words.

Taking that as permission, I continued.

“If I make it so that you no longer have to protect the North, where will your sword be aimed, Your Grace?”

The Archduke paused for a moment, then answered my question.

“Demons, or perhaps humans.”

He was still expressionless.

***

Surprisingly, the Archduke released Derix readily. Of course, it was not without conditions.

– While I contemplate what I must prove, you shall prove it to me.

– Yes, I will prove to you, Your Grace, that I can dominate the North.

The Archduke was called the guardian and ruler of the North, but he had only effectively ruled half of it.

I seized on that point and said that I would rule the entirety of the North.

The Archduke understood the intention of my words and released Derix.

“That was really…… terrifying.”

Keldric said, his body still trembling as if he had the chills.

Seeing the puffs of breath coming from his mouth, it might have been because he was cold.

“Yes, he was truly incredible. It was a relief that I saw Lady Hike first, otherwise, I would have been more flustered than I am now.”

“Indeed…… he was certainly strong.”

It seemed the meeting with the Archduke had left a strong impression on Bea and Everchen as well.

However, I had decided. Today, I would check on Derix's condition before my other companions.

“How are you feeling?”

“I am fine. It was not enough to kill me.”

Derix looked almost like a corpse right now, but he didn't complain and only said he was fine.

“Are you alright, my Lord?”

“Me? Nothing much happened to me, did it?”

“You may not have felt it because you were facing the Archduke, my Lord, but we who were behind saw everything. The Archduke was pouring an immense amount of mana at you.”

“Ah, he did do that. It's fine. I might not be sure about other things, but I'm confident in my amount of mana.”

I answered nonchalantly and asked Derix.

“By the way, what happened?”

“As soon as we arrived in front of the North, that is, at the castle wall you came through, the Archduke leaped over the wall and came before us.”

“……He leaped over that wall?”

“Yes, and without asking anything, he swung his sword. Six of the Remnants lost their lives to that blade, and the rest of us, including myself, were sent flying by the sword wind. When I came to my senses, I was bound in chains.”

For the result of a single swing, it was too gruesome.

Could I really fight the Archduke if things went wrong?

Such anxiety surged up first, but for now, it was a meaningless hypothetical.

First, I would prove myself to the Archduke, and if I still failed, I would fight him.

The answer had been decided since we headed for the North.

“Even if you win over the demons of the North, my Lord, the Archduke did not say where his blade would be aimed afterward.”

“Well, still, he said demons were the first thing he didn't trust, right? We have no choice but to trust in Evernite.”

At my words, Keldric and Everchen flinched in surprise.

“Why? Didn't we come to the North with that in mind in the first place?”

“No, it's not that…… you shouldn't say that name carelessly.”

“Evernite? What does it matter? It's not like the Archduke is in front of us right now.”

We had crossed the two castle walls and entered the territory of the demons.

Because of the blade-like wind, we had to speak in loud voices.

Even if the Archduke's senses were superhuman and he heard me call his name through this noise, what of it?

It was an undeniable fact that it was his name.

‘Come to think of it, Evernite. What a ridiculously protagonist-like name.’

The strongest of mankind, a former slave without even a family name, Evernite. That was the Archduke's name.

The reason the Archduke was a character befitting a protagonist was not just because his name was cool.

He was a former slave who had risen to the title of Archduke with his military might alone.

It was an unprecedented case in the history of the Empire, but it was possible because his military might was also among the best in the Empire's history.

‘Of course, the process must not have been smooth……. I heard he has a deep distrust of humans who abused him as a child, but to think he would put demons and humans on a similar level.’

It seemed a protagonist-like narrative wasn't just made out of thin air.

But there was no reason to be intimidated by that name.

‘The only protagonist I know is Adjak. Or, it would be Polarin.’

The Archduke was not the protagonist of this world.

I, who inherited the history of Adjak, am the protagonist of this world.

As the protagonist of this world, I will cut off the new Demon King's head and return to my original world.

That was a vow I had not forgotten for a single moment since I was reborn in this world.

“For now, let’s focus on what we have to do.”

I ordered the surviving Remnant members to move separately from us for the time being.

Not only were they in bad shape, but I also needed to grasp the state of the northern demons 'as a human'.

“We will follow from a short distance and join if it seems necessary.”

“See you soon.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The Remnant members moved away.

My companions and I crossed the cold lands of the North and strode forward into the continent's largest erosion zone.

As soon as we entered the erosion zone, a gruesome sight unfolded before our eyes.

A hellscape.

That word came to mind first.

The rotten smell unique to the erosion zone and the corpses of countless beasts.

Not only that, but the bodies of demons and Northern Knights were also scattered here and there.

Everyone's expression, without exception, hardened.

But we now knew that only the first step was difficult.

Pang! Pang!

Keldric slammed his fists together and went ahead.

Everchen and Bea followed, not wanting to be outdone.

The backs of my companions were so reliable that I believed we could overcome whatever appeared in our path.

I also followed my companions.

It was the first step to becoming the ruler of the North.

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