The Subjugation Battle (3)
After a chaotic melee with the monster horde that seemed hell-bent on chasing only him, Kent barely managed to carve through a gap in the formation and escape.
That's right. Yeah, this is a monster lure. Who the hell set it? No, it has to be that bitch Anna. But why? Eric. It can only be Eric. That bastard must have seduced her. Probably promised her a spot as his concubine, just like he does with the other maids. Cheeky whore—daring to bite her own master? The second I get back, you're dying on my blade.
Kent ground his teeth so hard his jaw muscles burned, muttering under his breath the entire time.
His blood-soaked body felt impossibly heavy. Both the inside and outside of his armor were slick with monster gore. Deep claw marks from a beast's talons were carved across his cheek in dark, vivid lines. It had been the most brutal fight of his entire life.
But I survived. You idiots. Did you really think trash like that could finish me?
A smug grin spread across Kent's lips.
Then, in the distance, he caught sight of Leona. She didn't possess the lush, voluptuous figure most men craved, but Kent—who had grown sick of such women after countless nights in brothels—knew better. The trained, hardened body hidden beneath that armor was the most arousing, the most delicious kind.
It's not just the face and body. The best part is that stiff, upright personality of hers. Breaking a woman who constantly spouts nonsense about honor and duty, pinning her beneath me and making her sob and beg. Heheheh.
Kent let out a lewd chuckle, utterly unaware that Werner had already accomplished that feat perfectly long ago.
He hadn't expected the chance to come this quickly. But thanks to Eric's reckless decision to scatter the troops across the outskirts, the opportunity had arrived. He didn't even need to worry about Isabella watching him. She was probably locked away by now.
Kent urged his horse forward, riding ahead of his subordinates toward Leona's position as lustful thoughts poured through his mind.
A mere commoner. A woman. And she dares call herself vice-commander? Not long ago she even had the nerve to talk back to me! It's finally time for you to learn your place.
In truth, Leona's beauty wasn't the primary reason for Kent's obsession. Her skill had affected him far more deeply.
Kent took immense pride in his noble birth and equal pride in his swordsmanship. Then this little commoner bitch named Leona had appeared out of nowhere and shattered all of it.
He could never picture her face on the day she joined the knight order—when she effortlessly defeated one of his favorite subordinate knights in a spar and then had the audacity to challenge him—without feeling a surge of rage and an erection.
Deep in his heart, Kent did acknowledge Leona. Or more accurately, he had no choice but to acknowledge her, because he himself was a rather skilled knight.
Her exceptional swordsmanship and her unyielding chivalric spirit. He simply couldn't ignore the talent that could likely overwhelm even him in single combat.
Of course, she wasn't the only woman stronger than him. Isabella was the same.
But Isabella had been born with far nobler blood than Kent. She was an existence so far beyond him that he couldn't even entertain the thought of opposing her.
That was why Kent had nursed a filthy blend of sexual desire and inferiority toward the comparatively manageable Leona all this time.
No, that's not it! What the hell am I thinking? Me, feeling inferior? To a mere commoner bitch? ...Anyway, that ends today. That arrogant whore pretending to be a knight—her little act ends today too.
Kent flicked the blood from his sword and began walking toward Leona.
She stood in a narrow clearing between the trees. Monster blood clung thickly to her silver armor.
Looking at the ground around her, it was clear she had just finished carving through twenty monsters by herself.
The blood-drenched vice-commander. Blood dripping steadily from the tip of her sword. Monster corpses scattered in every direction.
She fought alone until she reached her limit. In that case, I can subdue her easily by myself.
Kent reached that conclusion in his head.
There was a chance she was far stronger than him and simply hadn't tired, but Kent desperately rejected the idea. The arrogance of a nobleman and a man—that he could never be weaker than a commoner bitch—had completely consumed him.
When Kent approached, Leona slowly turned her head. For a brief moment he flinched at the direct, upright gaze of her eyes, but he immediately denied that he had done so.
"Commander. Why are you here instead of holding the designated defensive line with Young Master Werner?"
Kent snorted at her question.
"Why the hell would I care about that crazy bastard?"
"Where are the soldiers? They were assigned to transport supplies. They can't defend themselves against monsters. They'll need the knights' support."
"I don't give a damn about the soldiers' lives. Instead of worrying about such worthless trash, why don't you worry about your own body? Tsk, what a sight. A woman, acting like that."
"...Did you abandon them and come here? Deserting your assigned position during battle is a grave offense punishable by immediate execution—even for a knight commander."
"Immediate execution? You think laws like that apply to me? I have been promised power far greater than such petty rules."
Kent recalled his pact with the dark mage and laughed loudly. With even Isabella now bound by the dark mage, there was no one left in this territory who could restrain him.
After laughing with dark amusement, Kent spoke arrogantly, as if he were about to enlighten Leona about reality.
"What you should be worrying about isn't some law—it's your own body. Don't you understand your current situation, Vice-Commander...?"
Kent's sticky gaze crawled over every inch of her. But Leona was fully armored with no openings. There was no way his lecherous stare could pierce through to her skin. Still, he clearly believed it was only a matter of time, because he continued in that same arrogant tone.
"You're isolated on the outer perimeter. There's not a single soul in this forest coming to save you. After everything I've said, even a simple-minded bitch like you—who's a woman yet struts around swinging a sword—should have figured it out by now. So... what you need to do next... Heh heh heh."
Kent's sticky gaze licked at the gaps in Leona's armor. The plate near her chest had been slightly torn by a fiend's claws, revealing a glimpse of pale flesh beneath.
Leona raised the hand holding her sword to subtly cover the tear and took up a stance. She had not failed to notice his lecherous stare.
"If you want to live, throw away that sword right now and spread your legs, Leona. Become my personal toilet. If you spend night and day swallowing my cum... I'll take you as my concubine. There's no need to struggle with a sword anymore. Just grab my cock instead. Uahaha!"
"If I don't hold a sword, how will I protect the people of the territory from the monsters that will soon arrive? I am a knight."
"The people? What do those lowly worms matter? The Kraus family barely earns anything from them anyway. Our real income comes from the mana stones mined in the mountains. Those will remain safe even after the monsters come."
"Sir Kent, you are also a knight of the Kraus family. You have a duty to protect the people. Didn't we swear an oath? Beneath Lady Isabella's sword."
"I'd rather look at your bare cunt than keep that worthless oath! Uahaha!"
When Kent's vulgar, humiliating insults rained down on her, the last trace of hesitation vanished from Leona's eyes.
Clang!
But the one who suddenly swung his sword in a surprise attack was not Leona—it was Kent.
He had expected her to block it, but he hadn't anticipated her doing so this cleanly. Kent was momentarily flustered.
Without hesitation, he swung powerfully at her again. Kent didn't believe for a second that he could lose. If things turned bad, he could always coordinate with the knights following behind him.
And if that doesn't work... I can just use that.
The side effects were unpleasant, but there was not a single chance he would be defeated. Convinced of this, Kent swung his sword once more.
His blade traced a heavy arc, crashing down from above. Leona angled the flat of her sword and smoothly deflected it.
"Hup."
A rough breath escaped Leona's lips. She took a step back.
Noticing her labored breathing, Kent became certain he was completely dominating her.
Perfect timing! Your weakness is that pathetic mana vessel of yours—since you weren't born a noble like me, Leona!
Clang!
"Good, good. Keep receiving it like that, Vice-Commander. Don't end it too quickly. I want to enjoy this. Uahaha!"
Leona no longer answered his words. She simply deflected his strikes at an angle and retreated step by step.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every clash of their swords drove Leona further backward.
Kent forced her in a direction that took her farther and farther from the main force.
Originally he had only planned to capture her here and wait until nightfall, but he couldn't be satisfied until he completely ruined the expression of this knight who always pretended to be so pure and noble.
So Kent shook off even his subordinate knights, drove Leona deep into the isolated forest, suppressed her with his overwhelming swordsmanship to teach her her place, and then...
I'll start by groping those armpits that always turned me on when she swung her sword in the training yard.
Certain of his victory, Kent burst into loud laughter and swung with all his strength. Leona was pushed back as she blocked it.
Kent chased after the retreating woman, continuing to harass her.
*
When they reached a narrow path in the deepest part of the forest, beneath the thick canopy of overlapping branches, Leona's steps finally stopped.
The smug smile on Kent's face grew even deeper.
"It's over, Leona. Stop resisting and take off your armor with your own hands. Act like a proper woman—show me some seduction."
"Commander... you really are irredeemable trash."
"What? Uahaha! How ridiculous. You're calling me the villain? That's just the excuse of the weak. Such words have no value! What is honorable and what isn't is decided by those with power! Now choose. Will you become a whore who serves my cock, or a corpse torn apart by my sword right here?"
"I will become a corpse torn apart by your sword."
"Uhihit, uhiheit. Yes, I knew you'd say that! That's the attitude that makes breaking you so—"
"You will."
"What?"
After Leona's provocation, Kent noticed the sound of unfamiliar footsteps approaching from behind him.
He had been about to pull down his pants, so the interruption startled him badly.
"Whether you're taking them off or putting them on, just pick one. Not that it makes much difference either way."
The voice was familiar. It was that mocking, arrogant tone he heard often in the meeting room. Kent's shoulders stiffened. He whipped his head around.
"W-Werner?"
"Yes. It's me."
The coward who had clearly been terrified of the monsters, screaming and fleeing just moments ago. Werner von Kraus stood there with a blood-stained sword resting casually on his well-defined shoulders in a sloppy posture. Yet even like that, his shoulders were not slumped, and the way he held the blade left no openings.
Kent was first flustered by Werner's sudden appearance, then his mind flooded with questions. Soon, however, he burst into laughter.
He assumed Werner had run away in fear of the monsters, gotten lost, wandered in circles through the forest, and coincidentally stumbled upon them. Even if that wasn't the case, it didn't matter.
What could a crazy bastard like him possibly do? This wasn't the castle where he had to watch his behavior. This was a forest where killing one or two people wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
"My, young master. Got lost again? If you were scared of the monsters, you should have stayed hidden in your tent instead of coming all the way out here."
Kent spoke while creepily gripping his sword hilt, intending to kill Werner as well on this occasion.
But Werner's blunt words sliced through Kent's sneer. There was none of the usual arrogance in his voice. If anything, he sounded mildly annoyed.
"Kent Garcia."
"Yes?"
Kent had never once considered Werner his superior. But the bloodline supremacism carved into his very bones, combined with Werner's unmistakably aristocratic demeanor, made Kent's attitude turn polite for a single moment.
"With the current head of house, Isabella von Kraus, absent, I hereby exercise the authority of acting head of the family as the next in the line of direct succession, in accordance with Article 27 of the legitimate territorial law."
The sneer vanished completely from Kent's face.
"What?"
"From this moment forward, I permanently revoke your position as knight commander."