29 Mercy and Compassion

As though marking the end of the battle, the heavy rain had let up into a light drizzle and the rays of the sun finally started warming up the ground.

Unfortunately, that also meant that the blood stains on the ground would be remaining for a while longer.

As the soldiers rushed past Roland for the pursuit into the valley, they could not help but steal glances at the young king.

He was a man in his mid-twenties, younger than many of the soldiers themselves, yet with his own two hands he was able to completely turn the tides of battle.

So this was the capability of their leader, King Roland of the Great Manta Kingdom!

If they had already respected him before the battle today, now he was more like an idol deserving of worship in their eyes!

Roland ignored all the looks thrown at him as he slowly made his way back to the camp, his emotions a mix of both relief and disappointment.

With this, the threat from the goblins was largely resolved.

Even though they were not able to completely eradicate every last goblin, they did manage to slay the Goblin Kings.

Without the lead of the Goblin Kings, goblins were not likely to launch repeated raids on human villages, and were prone stay within their own territories instead.

If the villagers around the area refrained from entering the Dragontail Valley, there would probably not be any more cases of deaths caused by goblins, or at least not many.

At least Roland had successfully accomplished his main goal for marching the entire expedition army to the Eastern border.

However, the gains were far too little this time.

Back in Waterfall City, Roland had heard the voices of the commoners which were completely devoid of hope for the nobles, causing him to burn with shame.

At that time, Roland had resolved to make full use of this opportunity and announce to the world that he was a man who deserved the throne, and the throne similarly was one that deserved the support of the masses.

In order to accomplish that, he not only needed to resolve this goblin threat, he also needed to do so in a spectacular fashion that would completely shut out any chances of criticisms or negative rumours about him.

Only by displaying a superior combat capability and strategical mind would he be able to confidently announce his rightful ascension to the world stage.

That way, he could also deter all future threats in one fell swoop and maintain the integrity of his rule.

However, for some reason the goblins just had to launch a ridiculous suicide attack on their fortified encampment.

This practically handed all the advantages of battle to his side on a silver platter.

Of course, it was important to win, but winning in this manner provided no aid to his cause!

And because of that, Roland was feeling extremely disappointed.

His ideal outcome of assassinating the Goblin Kings and then easily taking out the rest of the goblin horde with his expedition army was now nothing but a pipe dream.

Roland sighed.

Perhaps someone like Erin would have the intellect to still pull it off despite such unexpected circumstances, but it seemed that he still had much to learn.

Even though Roland might be thinking this way, if any other commander knew of his thoughts right now, they would probably be pulling their hair out in frustration.

While there were many spearmen who were wounded by the goblins that charged over the barricades, there were miraculously no deaths on the side of the expedition army.

Not a single death against a goblin horde led by three different Goblin Kings!

Anyone else would be shocked from just thinking about it, not to mention actually seeing such a feat being realised!

In fact, even with Roland's tremendous strategical advantage in this battle, it was only a matter of time before the fortifications were overwhelmed by the goblin horde had it not been for his ridiculous individual strength.

"Your Majesty," Alexander immediately stepped forward to greet him when Roland finally returned to the camp.

There was no longer too much of a threat left from the remaining goblins, and Alexander had thus given out the necessary orders for his subordinates to handle the rest.

"Did you notice anything strange?" Roland asked, hoping to glean some answers about the goblins' unexplainable offense.

"What might Your Majesty be referring to?" Alexander was surprised.

Even though Roland was the king, he was still a young man in his mid-twenties.

Alexander was expecting to see the young man return with smiles on his face, all excited about his first victory.

However, he was actually met with a frowning face.

What could be the reason that caused the young king to act this way?

Alexander simply could not think of anything.

"It is nothing of importance," Roland shook his head. "At least the battle is finally over. You can handle the rest, I will be taking a rest back at my tent."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Alexander bowed.

However, Roland had not even taken another step when he was once again greeted by another group of people.

"Phoenix Sentinels," Roland muttered out subconsciously when he saw the group approaching him.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty for the overwhelming victory!" Klint was the first one to speak this time round, surprising even the other members.

"Overwhelming victory eh? I guess some might consider it as something like that," Roland voice was lacking strength as he replied.

Roland's response was definitely something out of their expectations.

What was with that weak reply?

Where was the man who had single-handedly slain two of the three Goblin Kings and slaughtered thousands of goblins within a span of moments?

Even if he was not such a powerful person, couldn't he show a little more enthusiasm about winning the battle?

"Y-Yeah, it definitely can be considered as an overwhelming victory," Baroc awkwardly followed up. "I don't know how many casualties were incurred on the side of the expedition army, but it would probably be less than a hundred! Against a goblin horde that comprised three Goblin Kings, this is an unthinkable result!"

"According to the reports that I have received, there have been no deaths!" Alexander proudly added from the side. "This is a feat that is unthinkable indeed! How many men could only dream of such a result? This is an unprecedented victory! Overwhelming! Perfectly executed!"

Alexander had been eager to report this matter to the king, but seeing Roland's weary expression, he simply did not think it was the best opportunity to do so.

Now that he saw a chance, Alexander would definitely not let it go!

"Not having incurred any deaths might be a good thing for our side, but that is not enough! This expedition…" Roland turned around and let out a sigh as he looked at the battlefield behind him littered with goblin corpses. "…this is not the outcome that I wanted!"

As he spoke his mind, Roland's eyes revealed a tinge of sadness as he looked at the fallen goblins that covered the battlefield.

The glory that he wanted so badly, all hopes of it was gone along with the lives of these demihumans!

Unable to read his mind, everyone around him was stumped when they saw Roland's saddened expression.

Not having incurred any deaths might a good thing for our side, but that is not enough.

What exactly did the king mean when he said such a thing?

What could be better than not having any deaths in battle?

And what was with that forlorn expression when he just managed to completely decimate his opponents?

Baroc's gaze followed Roland's line of sight and finally landed on the disfigured landscape stretching out before him.

The other members of Phoenix Sentinels did so as well, and so did Alexander.

Just last night, it was still a beautiful slope filled with grass and flowers.

Yet now, deep craters and charred soil filled up majority of the area, and that was not even considering the goblin corpses and innards that dirtied the ground.

For a moment, everyone was silent and taking in the sight before them, each with their own thoughts.

That was except for Rose, who finally took the chance to neatly adjust the attire on Roland.

"Now then, I shall take my leave," Roland's words broke the silence.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Baroc bowed in acknowledgement before the king left, followed promptly by Alexander who went to tend to his own matters.

"What do you think was the outcome that His Majesty wanted?" Adel asked as she watched the departing back of the young king.

Even her way of addressing Roland had changed to one of respect after personally witnessing the battle.

"Who knows? Maybe His Majesty wanted no injuries at all?" Baroc shrugged.

Klint remained silent as well.

Despite the fact that he was the one among them who had the greatest amount of admiration for King Roland, he simply did not understand why the king was feeling so down even after such a wonderful display of power.

"That is definitely not the case," Winstart shook his head with a smile.

"You sound like you understood something?" Baroc turned to the monk in surprise.

"I believe I did," Winstart's gaze returned to the battlefield once again.

"Stop acting mysterious and tell us!" Klint snapped at his comrade in impatience.

"Hahaha! All right, all right," Winstart laughed at the oldest member of the group before continuing. "Did you not notice the disappointment in his eyes when he looked at the battlefield?"

"Of course I did, but what about it?" Klint was quick to respond.

"If I am not wrong, the reason that the king was saddened…was due to the death of the goblins!" Winstart exclaimed.

"The death of the goblins?!" the other three members were stupefied.

There were demihumans that were friendly towards mankind, but goblins were definitely not one of them!

Especially this group that had committed raids that killed off hundreds of villagers in the region.

It would be good enough not to hate them, so why would the king be saddened by the death of goblins?

"Are you kidding me, Winstart? Are you trying to say that His Majesty is on the side of the goblins?" Baroc frowned.

"You are thinking too narrow-mindedly, leader, and so have I until what the king said finally opened my eyes. What I gained today is true wisdom that will definitely aid me on my future path!" Winstart did not lose his cool despite being questioned.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Baroc frown turned into one of confusion.

"In this world, all life is born equal. That might be an idealistic school of thought, but perhaps to the divine beings, our lives are truly no different from that of ants!

For the goblins to kill the weaker villagers for food, it could perhaps be comparable to us raising animals simply to slaughter them for their meat.

But this is all dictated by the World Laws, necessary for the sustenance of life.

We do not think we have committed a crime, yet why do we believe the goblins have committed a crime?

From that point of view, perhaps the goblins have truly died for nothing here, not even having offered their bodies to maintain the sustenance of life!

While we still longed to avenge our brethren, the king is likely already looking at the bigger picture by standing on a whole higher level, perhaps even on the level of the World Laws itself!

In doing so, the king's mercy and compassion must have transcended the limits of an individual's race, reaching an incomparable state of selflessness!"

The more Winstart continued, the more he felt an honest admiration for the king.

He was a monk, a man who had devoted his life to his religion.

Yet at this moment, Winstart felt that his level of enlightenment was nothing compared to that of King Roland's!

Hearing this, the other members of Phoenix Sentinels were shocked silent.

What was it that the monk had just said?

Was it really possible to think beyond the limits of one's race?

If a man accidentally stepped on an ant, was it really possible to sincerely mourn for the ant's death in a similar fashion to a man's death?

It was difficult to imagine that the God of War from moments before was actually able to feel sad for the deaths of the countless goblins that he had just caused with his own two hands, but what other explanation was there?

A merciful and compassionate God of War!

What better traits are there for a King?

If that was all, then it might not be sufficient, but King Roland possessed an intellect that was able to predict the seemingly completely unexplainable attack by the goblins!

Under his rule, the Great Manta Kingdom was destined to flourish!

The quartet did not exchange any other words, but in their hearts, they all had similar thoughts.

As adventurers, they were not bound to serve the kingdom.

And in comparison to the king, their strength might not be much.

However, from this day onwards, they would align their interests with that of the Great Manta Kingdom, striving to lend their strongest support to aid the king in his endeavours no matter where he required assistance.

Even though they were definitely not capable of matching his standards, they would still strive to contribute in whatever small ways possible.

As S-ranked adventurers, surely there must be some ways that they could help!