Monarchy Down

Kogure flicks off the blood from the spear he used to stab Geoffrey. He didn't know he could easily exploit the [Shadow Strike] like that. The main reason he managed to sneak inside his tent of Geoffrey is due to the [Shadow Strike] skill he got from leveling up. He shouldn't have been able to move using it but he took advantage of the "blending into the shadows" part of the skill and blended into the shadows like a master shadow manipulator. After blending in, there was also the info on the skill that he can't move around, meaning, he cannot move while in the shadows. However, he can cancel the skill anytime and the moment he cancels the ability, he can choose where to emerge as long as it is part of the shadow, that is connected to his own shadow. Since the area where the tent of Geoffrey is pitched is located under a big tree that cast a shadow underneath, the shadow is big enough for Kogure to exploit.

Using that, he decided to emerge inside his tent of Geoffrey. That's when Geoffrey turned around to look where he was. Thankfully, for Kogure, [Shadow Strike] has no cooldown, allowing him to use it again at the expense of his stamina. He used it again to blend again into the shadows, causing Geoffrey to miss Kogure.

Then the fatal strike happened as Kogure attacked Geoffrey with [Shadow Strike] and the spear as his weapon, fatally injuring the poor guy. Kogure then finished him off before he can recover. That's where we are today.

Kogure crouched and checked the dead body of Geoffrey, especially his face.

"System, does this guy the one who fatally injured last time?"

"[System Scanning. Facial Scanning of the target. Scanning Complete. Based on the result, it is 100% affirmative. This guy is indeed the one who almost killed you.]"

"Ha, good riddance. It's clear he is trying to find and finish me off that's why he set up camp with the other soldiers so that he can fully surround the forest with his soldiers huh?"

"[Now that the general of the kingdom is dead, shall we go and escape the forest now?]"

"What are you talking about system? I know that you are against me killing people but they are not innocent you know? They also condoned and tolerate all of the things that the people of Earth suffered. If we don't cull the root of the cause, then more people from Earth will be transported here and who knows what kind of torment will they experience as a result?"

"[But, this act is a sign of evil, Sir Hero. A hero should never do this!]"

"No, I already told you, I am no hero. I am just trying to survive and for me to survive in the future and return home, then I have to eliminate all of the things that would block my way to achieving that. You can say this is the necessary evil needed for the people of this world to understand that we people on Earth aren't just that easy to die."

The system can't do anything about Kogure. His goal is already established and even if the hero she bestowed her powers with will falls to the villain's path, she has to continue and serve the hero until the very end.

...

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...

A week has passed ever since. The kingdom is now in a buzz the moment the news about the king and prince's death came to light. Not only that but the death of their strongest General that protects the kingdom has been killed and found among the dead bodies in the forest that were being hanged using their own innards. It was also revealed that all the soldiers that are deployed are also dead and since the Kingdom of Callacas used up all of their soldiers to look for the fugitive, they ended up losing all of the abled soldiers that remained in their kingdom.

Reports stated that the dead bodies are all broken beyond recognition. Some of them have even had their body parts chopped to pieces while some have their guts pulled out from their stomachs, and some have their faces mushed to paste that they cannot be recognized anymore. Even the scouting party who have discovered the scene can't help but have their bowels turned over.

Without anyone to rule the kingdom, the council decided to hold off the decision on what will happen to the Kingdom of Callacas now that the sovereignty and the royal blood that was supposed to inherit the kingdom are now dead, it is now an inevitable thing that the Callacas will be absorbed by another kingdom. However, that is a story for another day.

...

...

On the barren road away from the now chaotic Callacas Kingdom, the young man carrying a small backpack is currently following the road, hoping to get to reach a settlement or a nearby forest to camp the next night out. He chews the last jerky as he looks all around the nearby trees, also hoping to see fruit hanging down from one of its branches. The young man is none other than Kogure.

"It's been a week since I killed everyone on that camp. I never think I would become like this huh? A cold-blooded murderer," Kogure stares at his now clean hand. Occasionally, he will see some flashbacks from a few days ago with his hands full of blood from the enemies he just killed.

"[Are you regretting what you did?]" the system asked.

"Me? Regret what I did? Ha. Not happening. If I was regretting anything, that is I didn't hunt more in that forest before I left to go on a journey."

"Are you perhaps a killer back in your own world too, Sir Hero?"

"No. I might be a ruthless killer here in this world but I am not a killer back in my own world. I am a laid-back person. I don't do much except hang out with friends, play, eat and work. That's all about it."

"Then how come you seemed to be nonchalant about killing humans? Isn't it like some kind of traumatic experience if you kill one yourself by your own hands as a result of your actions?"

"I have abandoned all of that. If I remained the same here, then the people will only take advantage of me. Being hesitant will result in certain death in this world. If someone needed to survive in a dog-eat-dog world, then I won't hesitate to abandon all of my emotions to survive.

Even with the explanation of Kogure to the system, the system can only wonder what is going on with Kogure. However, only Kogure knows the answer.

As Kogure continues along the path, he saw a cart that is being held hostage by a bunch of bandits. Although Kogure does not know whether they are bandits, based on how they look and how they are covering their mouths with bandanas it is clear that they are indeed bandits.

"So bandits also exist here too? I am not surprised but I didn't expect to see a daylight robbery like this."

"[Are you going to save them, Sir Hero?]"

"Normally, no. But seeing we are in a dire need of food, perhaps we can demand food as a reward if we get rid of these f*ckers who think they are the boss of this land."

"[Wait, you are asking for a reward?]"

"Hey, system. You know that hard work pays off right? Then that's what I am doing. I need to work hard so that I get paid. With how little I gain to get a pull in the gacha, I have to do my own way to survive."

...

...

...

While the system and Kogure are arguing in the distance, the seemingly bandits that Kogure and the system thought of, were not actually bandits but assassins that were sent to kill whoever was on the carriage.

"Who sent all of you?" the blonde man who has a bleeding hand writhes in pain as he questions the motives of the assassins.

"Dead men, ask no questions. Why would we answer you, if you are going to die anyway?"

They are already resolute in killing the blonde guy as soon as they can. The leader of the group pulled out his sword that is just hanging on his waist and was about to drop it down to the blonde guy when he heard a tiny shriek behind his back.

"Huh? What was that?" the bandit leader turned around, only for a blade to appear out of nowhere. It was a very sudden thrust that his eyeballs were squashed like paste the moment the blade penetrated his face. Kogure just pushes through the blade, straight to the assassin like he was just cutting butter with a hot knife.

The other assassins who were caught off guard were stunned as they saw their leader fall down with his face, squashed to pieces, brain matter and flesh scattered around as the fresh blood flowed from his broken head.

"I didn't expect this blade is quite sharp. Looks like I will be having a blast!" Kogure grinned as he inspected the blade on his hands, still covered in filthy blood.

"He killed the leader! Retreat!"

The assassins were quick on their feet but because of Kogure's training, he is not just someone who can be trifled with. Pulling the crossbow of the dead assassin that is just attached to his back and taking out the arrows, he loaded it up and shoot the fleeing assassin in the legs.

"GAAAAH!"

Screams of the assassins after their legs got shot echoed around.

"I thought they would start attacking me because I killed their leader, who would have thought these f*ckers are this smart? Definitely worth killing indeed."

As he loaded the crossbow again, Kogure turned to look at the blonde guy but he only took a single glance before he turned away and began to chase the assassins who fled. After all, for Kogure, every kill will net him more earnings to pull for his gacha. The more kills he got, the more he can pull.

The blonde guy wondered about the one who rescued him. Although he was thankful that he was rescued, he was confused since the guy who started killing the assassins seems to have no interest in him. It was like he was not even there.