"State who you are!"
Putting Rexorem on my shoulder, paying no heed to his instruction, I taunt the soldiers to come at me. They look hesitant as they gulp dryly, but they decided to come at me in the end.
As they rush at me at once, I tell the people, "The rebellion has started. Now, put those weapons you are holding to good use. Take Elijah's head and retain your freedom!"
The people roar heatedly at my instruction and, at the same time, the soldier in the lead enters my reach. I kick him right in the solar plexus, denting his armor and crushing his innards; I send him flying like a bullet and he hits one of the soldiers, who is not fast enough to dodge.
While I can tell the soldier whom I have turned into a human bullet has died, I can't say for sure for the one he hit. Both of them show barely any sign of life but I don't think the soldier who was hit by the human bullet can die that easily considering who he is—a Swordman.
"Watch out!"
"Take this bastard's head!"
Although they are not very competent, their camaraderie and spirit are commendable. They hesitated, at first, but after seeing too many of their friends die, they lost the hesitation and come at me with everything they got…which amounts to barely anything.
The toughest of them all swings his halberd; I don't know what he expects but he is extremely bewildered when I slap it away. I stomp the ground and the earth spike that emerges out of it pierces his stomach.
Turning my attention to the other soldier, I use Rexorem this time. I swing it at the soldier, bisecting him as he foolishly tries to block instead of dodge. I swing Rexorem again and discharge a Mana Sword out of it. The Mana Sword bisects four soldiers at once.
Using [Senbonzakura], I scatter one thousand cherry blossom petals to turn those too close to comfort into mincemeat. When blood decorates the ground and body parts litter it, I look around only to find that I have killed all of the soldiers in the area.
"…this is underwhelming," I mutter.
"We have spotted the Marquess," I hear someone speak.
Turning around, I find the guard who received my gold coin, whose name I have yet to know. "I thought you had already left and joined the others, …"
"Felix—my name is Felix, sir Layne…" the guard, Felix replies, calling my fake name that the girls have been calling me with. "I was about to leave with the others but I figured that I wanted to fight alongside you, so I stayed."
Felix flicks his sword to remove the blood off it, showing that he has indeed fought alongside me earlier. I lightly smirk at that and motion for him to guide me to the place where the biggest idiot, Elijah, is.
As we run, I look around the March. There is not much change even though it is in a chaotic situation currently. I can hear the battle cry and the sound of swords clashing against each other but no crying children. Rather than the day of rebellion, it feels like the day of the festival.
"How many people agreed with your proposal?" I ask.
"It is actually a lot more than we all expected," Felix replies.
"What about those who have a favorable impression of Elijah?"
"Well, apparently, there are no such people. Those who side with Elijah are either criminals or wealthy merchants that exploit this territory for their profits."
"Typical," I comment. "What about those who can't fight? Where did you put them?"
"That is…Miss Winerva told us to entrust everything to us, so I don't exactly know where they are."
At the mention of Winerva's name, I now understand why she excused herself a few minutes before I joined the fray. I don't know what kind of place she came from but she seems to care about this place more than she shows.
'Let's talk to her when this has ended. Knowing his servant better is a Master's job, after all,' I take a mental note.
When we reach another part of the March, we find civilians fighting the soldiers with pitchforks, shovels, and machetes. The scene reminds me of that one B-movie I watched back then on Earth.
It is still ten times better, of course, because it is the real one. Just like the people, the soldiers are unhesitant to cut them. While the former managed to kill some of the former, the ratio is poorly imbalanced. Despite so, they still keep fighting.
I look at Felix and find him looking at the people with sadness. He is gritting his teeth but he doesn't stop and keeps guiding me to where Elijah is; he has his priority right and, because of that, I feel like rewarding him.
Coating Rexorem with wind, I swing it in the direction where the soldiers are butchering the people. A small but powerful gale rushes toward the soldiers, shredding them as they stupidly try to 'disperse' them.
"It is the Supreme Leader!"
"Huh? Oh, it is the Supreme Leader Layne!"
"Thank you, Supreme Leader Layne!"
Blinking my eyes in bewilderment at the way the people call me, I wonder when the trend started. "What the fuck is Supreme Leader? I have no recollection of crowding myself as such."
"You showed us the bright future and lead us as we try to achieve it. Although you don't want to call yourself a leader, everyone has seen you as such," Felix explains. "We have spread tales about you to our fellow suppressed people and they, too, agree with you. I am sorry if we offend you—"
"That is brilliant, Felix," I cut. "The more people see the truth, the more people free people we will see. I may not be able to help them all but, as long as they have the spirit, they will prosper."
None of what I said is sincere but I did say things that I am going to do. Felix and the others have done free advertising about me and I don't want to waste that. I will help those who are willing to liberate their home. The more I liberate, the larger my future Kingdom's territory will be.
What I am going to do next is change their bias toward us, Cursed Creations. It will take a lot of time under normal circumstances but I will not do it the old-fashioned way; as I show them the ugly side of humanity, they will fall hook, line, and sinker for my words.
Humans and Cursed Creations will coexist under my rule and I will reign over them completely. Tyranny might not be liked but it is the most effective way to maintain peace among your people.
"Sir, that is Elijah!"
I am awakened from my thought by Felix. I look in the direction he is pointing and find a middle-aged man with green hair and a fierce look on his face. It is Elijah Crook, the Marquess of the March. Compared to his son, he looks way more fit.
Currently, he is surrounded by guards who want to protect the civilians behind them. All of them are sacrificing themselves for the civilians, so they can inflict little to no damage to the soldiers protecting Elijah and Elijah himself.
"You guys deserve to be soldiers more than the soldiers do," I remark.
Felix rushes at Elijah without wasting a beat. "Sir, I will join the fight!"
Elijah immediately turns to Felix and then to me as he figures I am the stronger one. Pointing his sword at me and shouts, "Take that man's head! He is the one who killed my son!"
I don't know what gives it—the fact that I look suspicious or the fact that he can smell the scent of his son's blood on me—but he can tell that I am the culprit right away. His soldiers come at me ignoring the guards who are trying futilely to kill them.
I kick the ground at this moment and immediately appear before them. Their eyes widen in shock and that is everything they can do as I swing Rexorem horizontally to bisect them at once.
Their bodies drop to the ground in the next moment; despite their state, they still have the energy to lift their head and look at me with disbelieving eyes. Ignoring them, I rush to Elijah and engage him in battle as his frightened soldiers fight the guards and the civilians.
Clank!
"You, bastard! How dare you meddle in my affair!?" Elijah roars as our weapons clash. "And how dare you killed my son!"
"Oh, my…don't you know that Nobles fall off their high ground every day?" I reply, sounding clueless.
"Fuck!"
Elijah tries to push his war axe forward with all his might but Rexorem doesn't move an inch. He grits his teeth and even blasts his Mana outwards but there is still no chance. At this moment, he realized something wrong. He looks up at me and widens his eyes in horror as he sees my horns.
"You…Dem—"
Slash!
I cut his head even before he finished his sentence and hides my horns that I revealed for fun; no one but him, though, saw them. The time when I reveal my true identity will come and now is not the time.
Achtreal March, just like that, is liberated.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freew𝒆(b)novel.c(o)m Only