My Students Regret It After I Retired

50 – Clash with Nobles

Duke Diascota. In the Peren Empire, he was a true high-ranking noble, ruling over some territory and possessing a large military force. When the Emperor declared he wouldn’t leave the Imperial Palace even after the Red Gate appeared there, the Duke was immediately ready to pull out.

‘Damned b*stard. Even in that situation, he can’t think straight and is trying to protect the artifacts and gold within the Imperial Palace. But it’s actually perfect. If that b*stard dies right there, the power structure will be rearranged.’

Diascota looked at the numerous knights following behind him. Troops he had painstakingly raised for a long time. More than 2,000 knights were following his orders in unison.

“So, if we move into this interior, they say there’s a safe zone?”

“Yes, Diascota-nim.”

“What’s the source of this information?”

“It’s information that has spread on internet communities, but we have personally verified it, so there’s no need to worry. A safe zone certainly exists, and there has been talk about this within the Imperial Palace several times, so it’s not incorrect information.”

“Intriguing. A safe zone within the very vortex of the Red Gate.”

“It didn’t happen naturally. It has been confirmed that Leos, the former director of the Gate Management Headquarters, artificially sealed a higher-level Red Gate to create it.”

“Leos? What the hell is that guy? What’s so special that only *he* seals the upper Red Gates?”

“…As I just stated, he’s the former Head of the Gate Management Headquarters.”

“How the hell would I know about some nobody like that? So, is the guy strong?”

“…Based on the information we’ve gathered, his combat ability seems formidable. But it doesn’t seem like he’s actively leading any faction.”

“You lot can handle him, right?”

“Of course. No matter how strong an individual is, they’re just one person. Our total forces exceed two thousand. Even if Leos has established some kind of force, we won’t be outmatched in terms of sheer strength.”

“Hmm, good. Anyway, let’s go take that safe zone that Leos guy created.”

The Knight Commander’s expression twisted subtly as he looked at Diascota. In his mind, the Commander berated Diascota.

‘He acts like he’s hearing this for the first time even though the Imperial Family has discussed this matter multiple times. It’s not just absurd, it’s downright infuriating.’

But he didn’t reveal his distaste, only lowering his head. Diascota was his lord, the one he had to obey, and the nobleman who held real power in this situation. The more the world’s rules crumbled, and the more apocalyptic the situation became, the stronger power became.

He might expect the knights to all panic and run for their lives, to disobey orders, but they absolutely wouldn’t. They were all like CCTV cameras, watching each other, making such actions unthinkable. And above all, the leash that tightened around them was capital.

“Knight Commander Debigale, if it turns out your information is correct, I will grant you a year’s worth of my rations.”

“It is an endless honor, Duke Diascota.”

The envious looks of the other knights. Duke Diascota smirked at them. These fools, risking their very lives for a pittance. How pathetic was the greed of these traitors, who had thrown aside the honor of knighthood for mere money.

He was their employer, but these men had openly abandoned the Imperial family to follow the Duke; to Diascota they were nothing more than expendable hunting dogs.

Guarded by the knights, Duke Diascota slowly moved towards the inside of the Red Gate vortex. There were some monsters that rushed at them, but they fell lifeless to the ground the moment the knights drew their swords. Diascota mocked the Emperor’s fussiness.

‘Is there any need to bother with the mutated monsters? Just avoid the strong ones and take down the weak ones as we move towards the safe zone.’

Duke Diascota was always a man who prioritized his own selfishness. National security? The survival of the people? The honor of the nobility? Such things held no importance to Diascota. His biggest concern was his own safety and, by extension, how he could profit.

‘I’ve got a good feeling about this.’

Duke Diascota prayed. He wished the palace would be consumed by monsters and meet its end. If that happened, he could immediately move into the palace and seize various artifacts and gold and silver treasures. Of course, it would take quite a long time for the monsters to disappear, but he didn’t care. Duke Diascota simply planned to hide in a safe zone, declare it his duchy, and build strong defenses within, fortifying it.

“The flow is good.”

The path leading into the Red Gate vortex. Numerous knights were slicing through monsters and advancing, and the bizarre creatures called mutant monsters didn’t appear around them. Actually, until coming here, he’d been worried. He’d worried countless times about what he would do if he faced the upper Red Gate surrounding the imperial palace. But contrary to his fears, the advance proceeded so triumphantly.

“Halt!”

Knight Commander Devigail shouted, and all the numerous knights stopped in their tracks. Duke Diascota, startled, climbed down from the carriage-type artifact he was riding and asked Devigail.

“What is it?”

“I sense human energy nearby. It seems there are people occupying this vicinity. What should we do?”

Duke Diascota spoke as if annoyed.

“What are you asking that’s so obvious? Kill them all.”

Devigail pointed his sword forward, and the knights scattered all at once, starting to ferret out those who were hiding.

“Kaaah!”

“Guhh…”

One by one, those who had been hiding to avoid the monsters were hacked to pieces by the knights’ blades, their lives taken. Some tried to flee, but it was pointless. No matter how dense the undergrowth, making it hard to see, the knights had nearly 2,000 soldiers. Spreading out in all directions like an unfolding fan, it was nearly impossible to escape their encircling net.

“P-Please…spare us. We haven’t done anything. We just…we just wanted to live, so we hid here.”

Gazing at the man begging for his life, Devigail closed his eyes and swung his sword.

– *Thwack*

At the same time, Devigail stared at the man’s body collapsing to the ground and said,

“We, too, have no choice but to do this to survive.”

It wasn’t long before they hunted down and slaughtered several dozen people hiding nearby.

“Duke Diascota, there is no longer any human presence felt around us. Shall we proceed further, or shall we observe the situation from this vicinity?”

“What is there to examine? We just need to push forward.”

“Something feels off. The ones we just killed weren’t particularly strong.”

“And what’s the problem with that?”

“It’s not the weakness itself, but the fact they’re still alive at all. This is inside the Red Gate vortex. There should be mutant monsters present, and if anyone had encountered even one, those nearby would’ve been dead by now. Yet, so many people gathered here means there are no mutant monsters nearby.”

Duke Diascota spoke, sounding annoyed.

“What are you trying to say? That we’re just lucky? If the mutant monsters are out of sight, then fortune favors us.”

“It’s not that simple… the number of reported monsters overall is too low, and the number of mutant monsters is extremely low. It’s as if… someone is artificially decreasing their numbers.”

Dubigail felt uneasy and ordered a few of the knights to check the entire area inside the Red Gate.

“Sir Dubigail! There’s a Red Gate sealed here!”

“Here too! Found one here as well! Someone sealed them!”

Dubigail’s expression twisted.

‘According to the information reported, the safe zone should be much further ahead…?’

He made several assumptions out of unease.

The first assumption was that the report could be wrong. However, the possibility of the information they heard before leaving the Imperial Palace being wrong was very low.

The second assumption was that there was a force coming here, sealing the Red Gates in that short time.

‘Could it be…Leos himself…?’

That’s absurd. For one person to seal this many Red Gates spread across a 10KM zone in less than a day was illogical.

Feeling uneasy, Dubigail ordered his knights.

“We move to the rear. Turn back and observe the situation…”

“What are you doing!”

Duke Diascota exploded, slapping Devigail hard across the cheek.

“We’re in a goddamn rush! Who authorized a retreat? Just push forward!”

“B-but, Duke Diascota…”

“You know better than anyone what happens to a Knight Commander who disobeys orders, right?”

“…”

Devigail, with no other choice, slowly moved her troops forward.

Not long after, they spotted a figure rustling in the bushes.

“Who’s there?”

This one was different from the ones they had encountered before. An imposing size, and muscles that even from a glance seemed incredibly well-trained, the man raised his head and asked.

“Are you the elder brother?”

“…”

Devigail was silent. The man, Benedict, scanned Devigail and Duke Diascota, then sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t go spilling any blood, go somewhere else. The elder brother is searching the area to kill intruders right now.”

Duke Diascota, with a bewildered look, stared at Benedict and said,

“We’re the only ones around, are you calling us intruders?”

“Ah… Is that so? Shit… this is bad. I’m gonna get another earful. They told me just to scout and stay hidden… ah… can’t you just go? I’ll pretend I didn’t see any intruders or anything.”

Benedict started scratching his head furiously. Knight Commander Devigail cautiously gestured to her subordinate.

“Go, kill him.”

They sent only one knight to get a sense of their power. As the knight charged, sword drawn, Benedict instantly leaped forward, dodged the sword, grabbed the knight’s neck and slammed him straight into the ground.

-THUD!

With a deafening crunch, the man’s head was pulped, and silence descended.

“I’m warning you, just get going. I’m worried my brother’s gonna go completely nuts if he kills any more people. Let’s pretend we didn’t see each other. Let’s all just do our own thing.”

“Ha. You kill him first and then talk like that?”

“Don’t think you’re the one to talk, considering you tried to kill first, huh?”

Duke Diascota scoffed, then commanded,

“Kill that insolent b*stard right now!”

Bendict, having already drawn his sword, quietly muttered,

“People ought to know their place when someone’s being nice and smiling…”

Bendict and the knights clashed in an instant.