System (1)

The guard stopped before a door.

''I'll let you go from here on.''

'' Thank you for taking your time, sir?'' Louis asked with a smile on his face, holding out his arm.

''Gabriel, my pleasure'' he shook his hand before going back to his business.

Soon, the guard left our field of vision, at which point I knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

''You may enter''

A woman's voice answered me.

The room wasn't very large. It was about 25 square meters, and the whole space was occupied and set up

as an office. However, there wasn't much paperwork to be seen, the less important ones being delegated.

Though it wasn't worth mentioning in front of the seated woman which was both the descendant of

Cleppe's lineage and the strongest authority in the area: the viscountess.

''Please sit down'', she said.

Although there was a notable difference in status, Alain being Jean's squire, a knight serving the

viscountess, there was no need to kneel or perform any other ritual.

Not that it ever existed, it could be seen in the past. However, this method seemed ineffective, as, in a

world where one person could change the state of war, it was better to play on soft power and abandon the

unnecessary and superfluous. It has completely disappeared after the failed revolution.

Certain politeness was still required, however, at least on the surface.

As he sat down, Alain couldn't help but look at the viscountess, and the power she emanated. As Alain

wasn't a Knight, he couldn't be clear about the strength of someone above him. Still, her mere presence

brought him some pressure

The difference between a veteran and a Knight was colossal in itself. If only one realm separated them in

the power scale, it was hardly comparable, showing the first real change in a person's state.

(Reminder: New recruit --> Militia --> Guard --> Veteran --> Knight --> Paladin)

It could take decades for a veteran to become a Knight, simply because there was no intermediate rank. As

a veteran, you could continue to increase your strength without any problem, but the qualification to

become a Knight was just monstrous. That's why there could be a huge difference in strength between two

veterans at the 'peak'.

It's just that each time we went through the 4 stages of power in each category: elementary -->

intermediate --> advanced --> peak.

To compare, if Alain had just reached the peak of the veteran, Louis was in the late elementary period. Yet

Alain wouldn't have the confidence to beat him consistently if they fought a hundred battles. Against a

Knight, however, even if they increased the cases to thousands, he may successfully escape less than 10

times.

Clearly, there was no need for a guard. Their presence did not matter as the greatest defense was the

person herself, which was already at the peak of the Knight, having a chance to become a Great Knight.

'If I remember correctly, the power levels in the Knight category are Knight --> Great Knight --> Master

Knight --> Grandmaster Knight. How strong can Paladins be ?'

Alain had never seen a paladin. You wouldn't find them in areas that were so low on energy.

''The report? '' Seeing that Louis wasn't speaking, she asked him directly.

''Fifty-seven dead, maybe more, a dozen crippled, more than thirty seriously injured, and nearly 200

wounded. At the very least, revenues will definitely drop by 60-70 heads, with a period of at least a month

when they will drop by about 100 heads. '' As this report wasn't about a defeat, Louis replied in the terms

she wanted to hear.

The viscountess remained silent, thinking.

Louis continued, ''I will give you their names and identification plates tomorrow, as well as the causes of

death and injury.

'That will keep me busy...' he thought

''and send you the bodies of the demonic creatures in the next few days'' he added.

The viscountess nodded, ''You're free to borrow a few wagons to facilitate the transport''

''Thank you''

'' Also... '' The viscountess gave some instructions before closing the report.

...

After the report, we left the castle, heading for the horses to return to Nirl.

''tss'' the visit had pissed me off more than anything else.

''What is it? ''

'' didn't you hear her fucking instructions?! You don't treat lives like that! ''

''Nirl is not very rich and -'' defended Louis

''Even so,'' cut in Alan.

They remained silent for a moment.

''and then the bodies could at least be used as armor rather than this'' Alain knew very well that this was

just an excuse. Although they were unhappy about always having to pass on the demonic creatures'

bodies, they had gotten used to it.

''You know, every interaction is different. The events of the past won't necessarily happen again if it's

because of Eva - ''

'' Eva is! '' He paused for a second before sighing. '' It's not worth talking about anymore, there's nothing

we can do about it. ''

...

Nirl

It was almost dark by the time we got home. There wasn't much activity in the village.

However, no one was sleeping yet. They were all waiting for one last thing.

Alain knew this, that's why, even though he was exhausted, he went straight to the church.

''Ding Dong'' The sound of the bells rang out. This time, however, the sound came from the church.

Soon, all the citizens were gathered in front of the church.

The ceremony began in silence. The priest walked forward followed by some villagers carrying torches.

They then arrived in the pit where the 57 villager's corpses had been piled up.

No part of them was hidden. The parts torn off by the bites of the beasts could still be seen, traces of blood

still flowing over the other bodies, mixing with each other. But the saddest part was the faces frozen in

shock at the approach of their death if they weren't writhing in pain.

''Daddy? Daddy! You were there!'' A boy was approaching the grave.

He came a little closer and put both hands on his father's.

Tears came to my eyes, while most of the villagers were already screaming.

''Huh? Why are you crying?'' The boy didn't seem to understand the reality.

''Tap, tap, tap'' My footsteps were heard as I approached him.

I swallowed my tears and tried my best to smile, "Come here, will you?''

"Huh? No! I want to stay with Dad! He's already a few hours late, if I don't stay with him, he'll forget

again."

"He...'' I couldn't find the words

"Let me take care of it" A nearby villager came to help him.

''Ah! It's you, aunty"

In the end, he was stunned unconscious, unable to accept the truth.

I couldn't bear to watch this any longer. Yet I had to be there. The priest, Emily, was about to begin.

''Gods all-powerful, grant mercy to the valiant warriors, to the innocent believers.''

...

"Frustra animam, frustra. Licet solum pulmentum. Qua reversus es et ire cupit. Quoniam ego adsum.''

Ending with one of the sacred phrases, the ceremony ended by throwing the torches into the pit.

The moment the flame touched them, however, their bodies disappeared.

''They have peacefully joined the gods,'' Emily assured.

...

For the most part, these men and women had come into this world on this soil and had died on this same

soil.

For their entire life, they had only known the passing of the four seasons, dying uselessly, without having

completed anything.

What use had they been? To humanity? As a person?

Had they even appreciated their lives enough?

No! Alain refused to believe it. These deaths were his fault, a fault he would never be able to make up for.

I burned this scene into my brain. Never since the disaster four years ago had there been so many deaths.

...

'Will the same thing happen to me?' Alain shook his head. If he had time to think about it, he had time to

act.

Alan went straight home. Whether it was the fight, the journey, or the ceremony, he had exhausted

himself, both physically and mentally. So he fell asleep quickly.

In his dream, however, he seemed to hear a strange voice.

[Ding! system inherited!]

...

Knowledge: In addition to the empire, called Dhorkar, there are 3 other empires and 11 kingdoms. The

humans are all united because they are under constant pressure from demons, beasts, and demonic

creatures.

Twin knowledge: However, although not as much known, there also exist many human tribes. These are

located all over the humans' territory, having their own rituals. Sometimes comprising millions of

individuals, these tribes have one thing in common: they aren't recognized