CH 37
Yuris hurriedly grabbed her sword and went outside.
As the screams of people, the sounds of weapons clashing, and the crackling of fire grew closer, she felt her heart race even faster.
She opened the tent and stepped out.
“Gaaah!”
“Help me!”
“Block the enemies!”
“The supply depot is on fire!”
“That’s not the priority! Over there, the cavalry… cough!”
An arrow pierced the chest of the commander who was directing the scene.
“#$%@#$!”
“!#%@, kill them!”
It was the cavalry of the Kingdom of Philiphord, her greatest enemy.
The Kingdom of Philiphord was a powerful nation located in the east of the Empire.
It had been a hostile nation that had fought countless wars with the Empire over territorial disputes for a very long time.
Though it had not declared itself an Empire, it was one of the few powerful nations that dared to compare its strength with the Empire.
Nomadic tribes riding horses across the eastern plains.
Unlike the northern barbarian tribes, they systematically used writing, their own sorcery, and technology to continuously torment the Empire.
In particular, their cavalry had long been a demonic presence that tormented the Empire.
The Philiphord cavalry, using long spears and bows strapped to their waists, had ravaged the Empire’s infantry, earning the nickname “Demon Lions” among the citizens.
Even knights clad in sturdy plate armor and armed with mana would fall to their superior archery.
This cavalry had been the main reason the past Empire could not easily cross their borders.
If Yuris had not completely annihilated this cavalry with the First Knight Order, the Kingdom of Philiphord would surely still be eyeing the Empire’s borders with its powerful cavalry.
Yes.
The Demon Lions, whom she had once wiped out, had resurrected and appeared before her once again.
“Ah, the Demon Lions!”
“How did they get here…?”
“This is supposed to be the rear!”
The appearance of the Demon Lions sent the soldiers into a frenzy.
Everyone was looking at Yuris.
As if she was their only hope.
Yuris looked at the cavalry.
Though they were equipped as lightly as possible, their armor was anything but light.
It was made from the black-fluorite leather that only existed in the eastern plains.
A monster adorned with flames that seemed to ride on its horns, its skin was tough and elastic, impervious to arrows and swords unless it was infused with mana.
Wearing that meant that each cavalryman was a skilled warrior capable of capturing the elusive black-fluorite.
The warriors of the Kingdom of Philiphord, with their black hair tied back and red-black tattoos on their faces, were wreaking havoc on the Imperial soldiers who were gathering their weapons from the barracks.
“Hah, hah.”
Seeing that scene, her breath became ragged even though she hadn’t been harmed at all.
Just imagining what might happen next made her lower abdomen burn with heat.
Philiphord.
A past enemy that no longer existed.
The foe she had shattered with her own hands had returned.
Defeat.
The words she had tried so hard to erase began to become clearer in her mind.
Her hand gripping the sword trembled.
“Yuris!”
“Goddess of Victory!”
“Please protect us!”
She heard the soldiers’ cries.
No matter how much of an illusion this was, she could not retreat like this.
If she fell, everyone here would fall.
“@$%#$^!!”
She sensed the enemy’s gas rising from the Philiphord cavalry that had discovered her.
At that moment.
“Commander!”
“Jeco…?”
“Commander, we’ve gathered all the members of the Order that we could!”
Behind the vice commander Jeco stood familiar faces of the knights.
“W-What are you doing here…?”
This must be an illusion, right?
“Commander, what do you mean? If we’re not on the battlefield with you, who will be?”
She felt a sense of disconnection, wondering if this place was real, but Yuris knew clearly.
She was in an illusion right now.
Those cavalrymen from Philiphord were the ones she had personally hunted down.
“Please give the order.”
“…Let’s go.”
She didn’t know what awaited her after this, but for now, she would kill the enemies in front of her.
That was the story she had hoped for in this illusion.
“For the Empire!”
The Imperial knights who had not yet mounted their horses clashed with the Philiphord cavalry.
It was a fierce battle where both sides fought to the death.
Yuris was hopeful.
She anticipated a future where she would ‘lose’ in this battle.
She was excited.
How would she be defeated and brought down?
Who would be the one to crush and dominate her?
Yuris swung her sword.
Whoosh.
Gaaah!
The spear of the Philiphord cavalry broke, and the enemies at the front fell in an instant.
“Wow!”
The cheers of the Imperial army echoed.
Huh?
This shouldn’t be happening.
Yuris frowned at the unexpected turn of events.
Why was her strength coming out properly?
It had been different in the previous illusion.
No matter how hard she tried, she had been nothing more than a noble lady.
That was why she hadn’t even been able to resist the bandits.
‘Why is it different now?’
There was no one to stop the Goddess of Victory, who was unleashing her true power.
It didn’t matter how tough the black-fluorite leather of the Philiphord cavalry was.
There was nothing her sword, wrapped in sword energy, could not cut.
‘Disappointing.’
Watching the cavalry crumble helplessly like in reality, Yuris bit her lip in boredom and frustration.
They were weak.
Too weak.
Even in an illusion, now that she could unleash her true power, even the warriors of Philiphord fell in a single blow.
It was a moment of disappointment in the illusion magician.
“Gyaah!”
Suddenly, her sword was deflected by the blade of a strange figure that had appeared.
Yuris looked at the warrior who had blocked her path.
“%$@^&*#$.”
The warrior speaking in the language of Philiphord wore a black mask, unlike the other cavalrymen.
He skillfully parried her sword.
With a larger frame than the other warriors, broad shoulders, and numerous scars visible on his exposed skin, she could tell at a glance how strong this man was.
‘Could it be this person…?’
A slight expectation.
And fear.
Yuris tightened her grip on her sword.
She didn’t want to submit to someone weaker than herself.
Submitting against her will was not her style either.
The warrior on horseback pounded his chest twice.
Yuris understood what that meant.
A duel of honor.
“@!%^#@%#$!, honor^&#!%$@#.”
A fair duel that separates the victor from the vanquished.
“Alright. I accept.”
Realizing the meaning, Yuris nodded.
With her sword held firmly, Yuris charged at the masked man.
For victory?
Or perhaps, for defeat.
The clash of their swords began.
“Gyaah!”
Yuris was defeated.
Overwhelmingly so.
***
At first, it was a stalemate.
It was no exaggeration to say that her skill was equal to that of the masked man.
She pushed the masked man on the offensive, and he countered her attacks.
A fierce duel of back-and-forth between offense and defense.
Yuris was inwardly flustered by the perfect stalemate where even the slightest mistake could not be tolerated.
‘This man is strong.’
He was a strong opponent who did not exist in reality.
But she didn’t feel like she would lose.
She could win.
Just a little more.
If she could land just a few more attacks.
It was the first time.
A warrior who could match her like this.
She was exhilarated.
It was her first time fighting like this.
But it had to end.
For victory.
To drive the enemy away and minimize damage.
She had to kill this man here.
She launched a full-force attack, looking for an opening in the masked man’s defense.
And just before she could accurately target that opening.
A strong male scent pierced her nose.
It was a dizzying smell.
“Ah.”
As soon as she caught that scent, Yuris felt her strength drain away.
The attack she had aimed for the final blow went awry in vain.
That was Yuris’s last attack.
The masked man’s sword struck hers aside, sending Yuris’s sword flying high into the air and embedding it in the ground.
“It’s over.”
The smell reminded her of the past bandit who had subdued her.
It felt like the bandit who had reduced her to nothing more than a noble lady had returned.
Having lost her sword and being defeated, Yuris felt herself trembling.
“Ah, ah…”
So it was this person.
The absolute being who led her to defeat.
Her master, who could never exist in reality.
With each approach of the masked man, the scent of the man grew stronger.
Her body shivered at the increasingly thick scent.
Her breath became ragged, and her blood raced.
Her breath grew rough, and her eyes trembled.
Yuris, unsure of what to do, looked at the masked man who was gazing down at her.
“You were strong. But you. Are not the Goddess of Victory.”
The masked man, speaking in clumsy Imperial language, approached her.
Sniff sniff sniff.
He moved his nose to smell her.
Like a female dog confirming her master by scent.
Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Yuris’s body instinctively revealed the man’s scent.
No, this shouldn’t be happening.
She had to somehow defeat this masked man who declared she was not the Goddess of Victory.
‘Ah…’
The more she inhaled the scent, the more it strangely drew her in, stimulating her sense of smell.
Just by smelling it, she felt every female cell in her body awaken.
A strong male who would embrace her had finally come.
The masked man, looking down at Yuris, spoke in a dull voice.
“My victory.”
“……”
“I will take my price.”
The masked man approached her again, speaking in clumsy Imperial language.
“What, what are you doing?”
“The price. I will take it. Death, or captivity.”
The masked man offered her a choice between captivity or death.
“Either captivity or death.”
He pointed to the knights and soldiers who were watching the battle from behind her.
Having been defeated by Yuris, they were kneeling, captured by the cavalry.
No one could resist, and their state mirrored her own.
It was over.
The Empire’s spirit, victory.
‘It all ended with my defeat.’
A strange sense of betrayal tickled her heart.
The despair of having lost pricked at Yuris’s mind.
Her breath grew even rougher.
“Answer.”
In the meantime, the masked man demanded an answer.
As if to say he would kill everyone if she didn’t speak.
“Hah, hah, I understand. I will… be a captive.”
Yuris struggled to speak.
As if understanding her words, the only two eyes visible on the masked man’s face curved into crescent moons.
“Good choice. Remove your armor.”
“What?”
Yuris looked at the man in front of her.
“I decided to be a captive. Obey.”
“B-but…”
“Obey. Or death.”
As he raised his massive sword, the muscles beneath his skin rippled.
Gulp.
No matter how much she struggled, this man had a strength she could not overcome.
“Understood. I will take it off.”
Yuris removed the armor that had been protecting her body.
A knight stripping off her armor in front of the enemy.
Where could there be a more humiliating act than this?
“Commander!”
“It’s not allowed!”
“Please…”
The desperate voices of the vice knights echoed.
Yuris felt a thick excitement to the point of dizziness at the act of declaring herself no longer a knight.
The voices of the vice knights intensified her sense of betrayal.
‘I’m sorry. I’m using you all.’
Right now, they were being used in her illusion.
An illusion solely to fulfill her desire for defeat.
‘I’m sorry, everyone.’
Because I’m an incompetent commander.
Because of me, you are suffering.
She knew it was something she shouldn’t do, but under the gazes of the knights who knew her and whom she knew, Yuris felt her body heat up even more.
Her nipples hardened.
Now, she gasped in fear of what might happen to her.
Yuris glanced at the knights.
They were gritting their teeth in frustration, eyes closed.
Only Jeco, the vice commander, seemed to be glaring at her, as if he would take revenge by capturing the sight of her defeat.
Jeco.
Vice Commander Jeco.
Though he could have played a role at the commander level, he remained her reliable comrade as the vice commander of their Order.
Holding his injured shoulder, he stared intently at her and the masked man.
‘I’m sorry.’
The sense of betrayal chilled her heart.
She could barely shake off his gaze.
The masked man took another step closer.
The scent grew even thicker.
Now it was a scent so strong it was hard to even stand.
Ah, that terrible smell.
Yuris knew where that scent was coming from.
The bulging lower body.
It was the foul smell emanating from the groin that housed that heavy, large object.
Ah, this shouldn’t be happening.
Her gaze kept drifting to that place.
The masked man looked down at her, seemingly oblivious.
And then.
Whoosh!
“Gyaah!”
He tore her clothes apart.
Her white chest was exposed.
“Commander!!!!”
The cries of the vice knights echoed as they witnessed her humiliation.
If this continued, everyone would die.
That must not happen.
Even in an illusion, they were her comrades.
She didn’t want to see them die.
Yuris raised her hands to calm them.
“I-I’m fine. So please preserve your lives.”
Before Yuris’s words could finish, the masked man roughly grabbed her chest with his large hand.
“Ugh!”
The masked man began to touch Yuris’s body as if evaluating her.
He kneaded her breasts, swept down her waist, and groped her buttocks.
And when his thick hand slipped into Yuris’s groin.
“Ugh…”
Yuris let out a moan that was unbefitting of the battlefield.
“A large chest. A firm butt. A body that gets easily excited. A woman good for bearing children.”
He looked down at her as if judging her.
Yuris, meeting the gaze of the masked man who was staring at her, thought.
‘It feels like I’m being violated by that gaze.’
Her body trembled as if she had already been raped several times.
What could a defeated person like her say?
She could only hope for mercy as a captive.
“You. I will make you my wife.”
“What?”
“If you refuse, everyone dies.”
The masked man’s hand pointed toward the vice knights and soldiers.
“……”
She had no choice.
If she refused the offer here, everyone would die.
Yuris could painfully realize what the humiliation of a loser was.
A defeated person truly could do nothing.
She bit her lip in misery.
But for some reason, the corners of her mouth lifted.
She looked at her subordinates, who had been captured like her.
To save them, she would ‘sacrifice’ herself.
Yes.
That’s right.
So I did nothing wrong.
“Alright.”
Declaring that she would become the captive of the enemy commander, Yuris felt her heart tighten.
It was a declaration of defeat that she had uttered herself.