“Are you saying you’ll kill them yourself?”
“Yes, it’s better than letting them escape now.”
“......”
The chief knight commander, though he had only met Zion briefly, did not find him particularly disagreeable.
Zion displayed no arrogance and instead acted humbly, asking for his help.
However, this time, his words seemed like a forceful command rather than a simple request.
“If our forces advance, they won’t stay put. There might be casualties, but we can completely blockade this area. Even if they try to escape, we can quickly capture them...”
“I understand most of their forces are gathered here, correct?”
“Th-that's right. We’ve gathered the troops to ensure not a single one escapes.”
“If any manage to escape, capturing them will become much more difficult, won’t it?”
“We will make sure that doesn’t happen...”
“If you can’t guarantee that, it’s better not to say anything. I want to kill the leaders, at the very least. If even one escapes...”
Zion stared silently at the chief knight commander.
Caught in Zion’s gaze, the commander felt an uncanny sense of unease.
Zion’s purple eyes seemed to slowly darken to an inky black.
“I don’t know what will happen to me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I-I understand. We will ensure we capture all the enemies.”
The chief knight commander belatedly grasped Zion’s emotions and determination.
When they first met, Zion appeared calm, and even until a moment ago, he seemed relaxed.
But the moment the rebel leaders were mentioned, a murderous intent filled the air, and Zion's demeanor turned unyielding and authoritative.
Perhaps he had been hiding his hatred for the rebels all this time, waiting for this moment.
“I hope you understand one thing. I am not giving you orders. I’m merely stating the conditions and my course of action. Did you think I was issuing an order?”
“N-no! You were giving me options, weren’t you?”
“I don’t want to take action myself, so I hope you can capture at least the leaders.”
“Understood! I will inform my subordinate units.”
The chief knight commander signaled to his adjutant and stepped away from Zion.
It didn’t matter if Zion took action himself, but considering the aftermath, it was better for the subordinate forces to handle it.
They needed to capture the rebels and extract information to uncover other hideouts in different regions.
Moreover, to administer legal punishment, capturing the rebel leaders was essential.
‘The west should manage on its own...’
Zion sighed and withdrew his magical power.
The northern region was covered in snow and cold, and the eastern region was near the front lines and supply bases, making it hard for the rebels to act.
The western and southern regions remained, both hiding rebel strongholds.
‘The leaders will head to the south.’
In the southern region, descendants of the fallen Duke family had been living in hiding.
The rebels’ funds came from the southern region, and the leaders were embezzling a portion of that money.
Because of the significant amount of money involved, they couldn’t leave the southern region.
‘It seems about right.’
Zion had deduced the headquarters' location based on the information he already knew and additional intelligence he gathered.
Although not everything matched perfectly, the headquarters and hideouts were among the suspected locations.
The settings and details of this world aligned to a certain extent.
‘Why is the information about Hanette different?’
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed his hypothesis was true.
Nothing had been incorrect when he got engaged to Hanette, obtained Exceed Rain, or when the protagonist formed the knights order.
But things started to go awry from the first time Hanette was attacked.
He began to doubt from the second attack and became certain when he connected with the Magic Sword.
‘Hanette was supposed to die before the beginning of the story.’
Zion accepted this but quickly denied it.
Not all his assumptions were correct, and he needed to verify more.
If he had intended to succumb to fate, he wouldn’t have sought Exceed Rain.
‘Not anymore.’
Zion summoned Exceed Rain and gripped the hilt slowly.
He had already rejected his fate as an extra and was carving out a new life.
Hanette’s destiny might have changed after meeting him.
‘Hanette will not die. As long as I’m here, never...’
Zion led the troops in a swift assault on the rebel headquarters.
The vanguard was the first to break in, followed by the support units, who completely surrounded the area.
Zion quickly entered with the vanguard, searching for the leaders with his guard unit.
“Find the leaders first. If capturing them is difficult, kill them immediately.”
“Understood.”
Zion moved swiftly, channeling magic into Exceed Rain.
With increased magical power, he could easily use sword energy.
Moreover, having learned swordsmanship, he could swiftly cut down any rebels who attacked.
‘Their numbers are few… and there are no strong ones…’
Once inside the headquarters, no one could stand in his way.
The rebels were busy fleeing, and those who resisted were quickly killed.
Perhaps the leaders had anticipated this situation and fled secretly.
‘There must be a secret passage.’
However, Zion had stationed troops throughout Rodab, not just at the headquarters.
He covered the routes to other cities or towns, other hideouts, and possible emergency shelters.
By thoroughly understanding Rodab’s geography and the rebel leaders' tendencies, he had prepared in advance.
‘They must have hidden funds somewhere…’
He wasn’t particularly greedy for money.
With Duke Adelaira’s support, he wasn’t short on funds.
His goal was to prevent the rebels from regrouping and offer the funds to the king.
‘I need to stay in the king’s good graces.’
Even in this rebellion eradication mission, the king trusted him enough to grant him command.
If he continued to achieve success and prove his loyalty, he might be able to borrow troops in the future.
‘Killing a few leaders won’t be a problem…’
“Urgent report! The chief knight commander has captured the rebel leaders!”
A knight rushed to Zion with the report.
Suppressing his murderous intent, Zion gave a cold glance.
“Lead the way.”
Zion and the guard unit followed the knight back.
Soldiers were constantly moving, and screams echoed from all directions.
In a large room, the chief knight commander and dozens of knights had gathered.
“Ah, you’ve arrived?”
“You said you captured the leaders?”
“Yes. As you suspected, there was a hidden passage. We followed it and captured the leaders.”
Zion nodded and approached the prisoners.
Several older men and young women were bound with ropes.
The smell of alcohol suggested what had transpired.
“Where are the others?”
“They are being pursued. We will capture them soon.”
“Do you have proof they are leaders?”
“Would you like to see this?”
Zion dismissed Exceed Rain’s form and examined the documents handed to him by the chief knight commander.
The documents roughly recorded the amounts of funds received and the locations from which they were sent.
“Is there anything else besides this?”
“We confiscated items from them.”
At the chief knight commander’s gesture, knights laid out bags and boxes on the ground.
The bags and boxes contained numerous gold bars and glittering jewels.
“We also found documents detailing the locations of hideouts and methods of contact. There were also papers on future plans and troop deployments.”
“Have you interrogated them?”
“Yes, they claimed they aren’t leaders. They say they are middlemen responsible for delivering documents and funds, but it’s hard to believe.”
“...Sword.”
At Zion’s curt command, a knight hurriedly presented his sword.
Zion grabbed the hilt and pointed the blade at the rebels.
“Are you the rebel leaders?”
“No! I was only given orders to deliver items. I handle transportation and don’t know anything.”
Zion asked no more questions.
He simply infused the blade with magic and stared down coldly.
Who among the rebels would possess such significant funds and critical documents?
Moreover, since they were drinking with women, it was clear they were the leaders.
“Do you... want to live?”
Zion asked the women softly.
The women nodded desperately, their eyes pleading.
“If you help us capture the rebel leaders, I might spare you. But... what do you think will happen if you don’t?”
Zion turned the blade towards the women.
They recoiled in fear, trembling.
The chief knight commander remained silent, watching the scene unfold.
“For hiding rebel leaders, you could be executed... or spend the rest of your lives in prison. Is that what you want?”
“N-no! We want to live!”
“Is the man next to you a rebel leader?”
“Well... I...”
The women glanced at the men, hesitant.
Zion waited briefly, then turned away.
“Chief knight commander.”
“Yes!”
“They don’t seem to be leaders... can we kill them all?”
“......?”
The chief knight commander hesitated, meeting Zion’s gaze.
Zion’s purple eyes were still shadowed, but a subtle twitch in his eyes was noticeable.
The change was small, but the meaning was clear.
“As you said, if they aren’t leaders, we can kill them now.”
“W-wait! These men are leaders! I’ve heard them say so!”
“I’ve heard it too! They... they said they were leaders!”
The women, in their terror, began to tell the truth.
Zion turned back, showing interest.
“Y-you wretches...”
“Do you know who I am...”
The man tried to protest but fell silent as Zion’s blade pressed against his neck.
Zion placed a finger on his lips, speaking slowly.
“Quiet. If you make noise... you’ll be the first to die.”
“......”
“Whether you are a leader or not doesn’t matter to me. I can wipe you all out. It’s only a matter of time.”
Zion struggled to suppress his anger and continued speaking.
It was easy to kill them right there.
But doing so would make it difficult to find other leaders and hideouts.
To handle this more efficiently and thoroughly, he needed to use reason rather than emotion.
“I’ll give you a chance to live. It’s simple. Just tell me everything you’re hiding. It’s not hard, right?”
“I... I...”
“It’s better not to say anything unnecessary. I might kill you in a fit of rage.”
“......”
“You need to answer well. I’ll ask one more time. Are you the rebel leaders?”
The man avoided Zion’s gaze and then lowered his head.
The sharp blade was pointed at him.
There was no point in maintaining loyalty or ideals now; nothing would change.
It was better to find a way to survive.
“...We are the rebel leaders.”
“Do you know where the other leaders and hideouts are?”
“Yes, I know.”
“One last question. Where is the fallen Duke’s family? They must be backing you.”