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“Is he here to get revenge for the knights who died?”

“Damn it all! It’s not too late yet! We have to tell them what we saw that night!”

“You cannot do that,” said an old man. When the old man with a cane stepped into the plaza, the slaves bowed their heads in respect. He was the oldest person on the Farm, and he was also known to be the wisest.

People would usually become stubborn and self-centered as they grew older, but he was an exception. Therefore, the old man had become an unofficial arbitrator among the slaves. The slaves would go over to them for his wisdom and knowledge.

Naturally, many people admired him.

“Elder, what does that mean?” The man who had been insisting that they should go and report hit his own chest with frustration. “Can’t you see them up there? They’re armed and prepared to massacre us.”

“As humans, we must repay the kindness we were shown.” The old man looked at the other with his deep eyes. “We are not being treated like humans here, but that doesn’t mean that we should abandon our own humanity.”

“But…”

“Think about it. Do you really think that he didn’t agonize over the decision to help us?”

The Farm belonged to the king, and the king’s power was absolute. Those with common sense would definitely choose not to cross him.

“And despite all that, he didn’t hesitate to help us.”

If they were to repay his kindness with betrayal, who would help the slaves again? If they were to abandon their humanity to overcome an immediate crisis, there was no way they could regain their humanity.

The man bit his lip at Elder Savio’s gentle rebuke.

“And despite his cruelty, he is still the nominal king of this Farm,” added Elder Savio.

He was trying to say that there was no way the king would kill them without reason or enough justification. Facing the king above them, Elder Savio straightened his back as much as possible. It looked as though his back was hunched over from all the hardships he had endured so far, and he was only pulling himself up with his sheer integrity.

“...He\'s right.”

“Why do we have to cower? What exactly did we do wrong? Is it a crime to be a slave?”

“We can\'t just run away. Let\'s show them our dignity!”

“I don\'t want to backstab our savior either.”

Inspired by the sight, the other slaves started to square their hunched shoulders, and they looked up proudly. Their combined will was so powerful that even the soldiers wavered.

The king propped up his chin on his hand, looking bored.

He was watching them closely, so he didn’t miss a thing.

‘I knew it.’

Once again, he was proven correct.

‘Fear eventually fades.’

Humans were arrogant yet adaptable beings. They could easily recall what happened today, yesterday, or even last week. So what would happen if they were to experience the same thing for a year or five?

‘They would stop being scared.’

The king found their nature to be more annoying rather than the humans themselves. It was all because his job was to routinely instill fear in them—he had to instill fear that was stronger than the previous round.

‘I suppose it was about time.’

Sentencing civilians into slavery was nothing because such a thing had already been happening for decades. Of course, the victim would suffer, but it wasn\'t nearly enough to instill fear in others.

‘I wonder how far I\'ll have to go this time…’

His goal was to kill two birds with one stone by luring the insects’ so-called hero while instilling fear in them at the same time.

“...Audrick.” The king’s voice echoed in the silent cave.

Slam!

Something heavy struck the first floor all of a sudden.

Cough! Cough!

“Ugh, there\'s so much dust! What is this?!”

“Did something fall?”

When the thick clouds of dust settled, a knight wearing shining red armor appeared.

Vrrr. vrrr.

The red magic circuits etched all over the armor let out a resonant hum.

“...A knight?”

“Hey, Look at that sword.”

It was the sword that Knight Captain Audrick would always hold in his hand. Unbeknownst to the slaves, the sword was the king’s favorite sword because it symbolized fear.

The slave closest to him spoke up and asked with concern, ”U-um, did you fall from the third floor? Are you all right?”

At that, Audrick slowly lifted his head.

Huh?

By the time the slave saw the bloodthirsty eyes behind the helmet, Knight Captain Audrick had already slashed the slave’s chest with his sword.

“…”

Silence quickly spread like a plague, and it seemed as if time itself had stopped.

“He killed him…!”

Knight Captain Audrick had just killed a slave with no reason nor justification.

Audrick simply swung his sword, and the slave fell to the ground right there and then.

Unprecedented terror filled the hearts of the people on the first and second floors.

“R-run.”

“Run to the upper flooorsss!”

Audrick started his massacre as the shouts of the slaves filled the air. Yes, it was a massacre. Nothing more, nothing less. Every time Audrick moved his sword, arms, legs, and heads would go flying as the corpses started to pile up.

“Finally….” The king enjoyed the entertaining sight, looking satisfied.

A scream came from nearby.

“What are you doing?!”

He turned his head ever so slightly and saw a familiar face.

It was Tess, the Farm’s doctor.

“Answer me. What the hell are you doing?! Stop Audrick at once!”[1]

Veins popped from Tess’ forehead as he yelled. However, the guards quickly overpowered him and forced him onto his knees.

The king stared at Tess and replied, “It\'s entertainment.”

“...What?”

Tess trembled. Entertainment? He was slaughtering people like animals for entertainment?

Tess felt something inside him snap as he let out a great roar and cried. “You piece of shit! They are your people! They\'re the people of your Farm, you bastard!”

“...”

At that, the king tilted his head to the side. He looks at Tess with a face full of innocence and curiosity. “ I simply do not understand what you are trying to say here. Can someone else other than the king do something like this?”

“...” His shamelessness shocked Tess into silence. With great effort, Tess forced himself to speak. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Every fight has a victor and a loser. I was victorious while you all were defeated. That is all.” The king curled his finger lazily. “Everything on this Farm belongs to me, so I can do whatever I want with it.”

“...”

Tess didn’t know what to say. His vision grew blurry. He tried to hold back his tears, but the pain of betrayal was too great for him to endure.

‘…I believed in you.’

Even if he was a tyrannical king, half of him was human, just like Tess. Therefore, Tess thought that the king would change as long as they tried. Tess had firmly believed that a day would come when his voice and the people\'s voice would reach the king\'s ears.

‘Tess, you idiot.’

Little did they know, their voices had reached him long ago.

However, the king simply ignored their cries.

It was Tess\' fault for thinking that the other half of the king was human.

“...Damn you, demons.”

Even though he was only half, the king was clearly a demon.

Why couldn’t he see the obvious?

Why had he been naively clinging to hope, only to be struck down like this?

‘I never should have had hope in the first place.’

If he had only abandoned hope long ago, then he wouldn\'t have to feel this miserable.

All the strength left his body, and Tess sat there as if he had given up completely.

Even though people could overcome many trials, most people would outright give up if they knew that there was no end to the trials that they would have to overcome. What would be the point of working hard if there was no light at the end of the tunnel?

‘It\'s over… it\'s all over.’

From now on, the people on the lower floors would have to live like insects under the tomb of a monster.

Tess’ head drooped in defeat.

“You shouldn’t lower your head,” said a firm voice next to him.

The person who spoke then lifted him up and said, “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“… Mr. Sonny?” Tess stared at him in shock. “W-why are you here?”

Tess hurriedly looked around, and his eyes widened. He didn’t notice Sonny’s approach at all, and he was astonished to find the soldiers collapsed on the ground.

“Ah…” The king’s eyes filled with interest. He lifted his chin and sat up straight. “So it’s you. The hero of these insects…”

“Tell me,” Seo Jun-Ho ignored the king and spoke to Tess.

Tess was confused. “Tell you, what?”

“Tell me what you want,” clarified Seo Jun-Ho. The way he spoke made it seem like he could grant whatever Tess wanted. The temptation was hard to resist, but Tess couldn’t reply right away.

‘Dreams can bring a great deal of pain.’

Didn’t he just learn that lesson the hard way not too long ago?

The king actually stood up from his seat. With an amused look, he said, “Funny. You speak as if you are some god who can do anything—”

“Shut your mouth.” Seo Jun-Ho’s sharp eyes pierced the king. “Wait your turn.”

“…”

Tess’ heart rose up to his throat upon seeing the stiff look on the king’s face.

He tugged Seo Jun-Ho’s sleeve and asked. “W-why are you doing this?”

“I want you to give me an answer first.”

“…” Tess went silent.

However, he started trembling when he met Seo Jun-Ho’s clear and sincere eyes.

‘Those eyes…’

Finally, Tess realized why Seo Jun-Ho felt so familiar to him.

“Tess, you’ll have to help the people from now on.”

His parents were sentenced to slavery simply because they rightfully spoke against the king. Back then, his parents would often leave in the morning to become the knights’ sparring partners, but they would stumble their way home every night while covered in blood.

“I am sorry for leaving you with such a heavy burden.”

Despite coughing up blood, they forced their worn bodies to stand up and pass their medical techniques onto Tess.

They wanted to make sure that their son would survive once they were gone.

‘Mother… Father…’

Fat tears spilled from Tess’ eyes. What did he want? He could go on for days about everything he wanted. But right now, he could only think of one answer to Seo Jun-Ho’s question.

“The people. Save them. I beg you.”

Seo Jun-Ho nodded at the young doctor’s emotional plea.

Meanwhile, the king started stretching. “Are you done playing?”

“No, but I’ll be done soon enough.”

Unlike the way he looked at Tess, Seo Jun-Ho’s gaze at the king was colder than a thousand-year-old icy cavern.

“Heh, are you going to be like that fool and tell me that a king should treasure his people?” asked the king.

“A true ruler leads their people forward rather than perching at the top. They inspire admiration rather than fear.” These were the words of the former ruler of Niflheim, so Seo Jun-Ho believed that they were true.

“You naive fool. Don’t you know that your words are the mere delusions of commoners?”

“…”

“A king is a king. A king is an absolute being that rules over everything, and everyone should bow to them and obey them.”

“Is that so?” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes closed. He suddenly recalled a conversation he had with the Frost Queen. It had only been a few days, but he was already missing her dearly.

“Contractor. Do you know what a ruler needs the most?”

“Royal blood?”

“No, wrong! You’re absolutely wrong! A ruler needs comprehension the most.”

“Why would they need that for?”

“They have to comprehend the hearts of their people.”

“There’s no way I’ll become a ruler, then. How am I supposed to do that?”

“Heh, quite the contrary. You will make a fine ruler.”

Back then, he couldn’t understand it at all.

But now, he finally realized what the Frost Queen was talking about.

‘Why was it that I couldn’t understand until now?’

Were his ears covered? Was that why words couldn’t reach him?

An oppressive power spilled out of him like a deluge.

“…!”

The air around them abruptly changed.

The king looked down at his trembling hands with disbelief.

‘I-I’m afraid of him?’

Even the demon inspectors that would sometimes visit the cave couldn’t intimidate him anymore, so why was he trembling right now?

“The Emperor of Neo City commands…”

[Dignity of an Emperor (S) has been activated to boost the emperor’s all-encompassing aura.]

[The emperor should always be dignified no matter where he is.]

[You are temporarily at the Transcendence Stage.]

[You have temporarily met the conditions to handle a soulstone.]

Seo Jun-Ho opened his eyes once more, and they were shining in an otherworldly luster.

“Hart Weeper. My knight.”

Whoosh!

Seo Jun-Ho clenched his fist powerfully, and the air itself whistled in response.

“Arise.”

And show them what it meant to be a true knight…

1. He speaks very respectfully at first and switches in the middle. The final sentence is formal, but he speaks disrespectfully/casually from here on out. ☜