We charged each other silently. He smirked as he flipped over me. I was waiting for that. I shot a large ice spike at him. It knocked him out the air and I ran to kick him in the face. I called Eta over to subdue him and throw him in the dungeon. He took the Death Knight and I healed myself. When he came up to us, he said "The battle is practically over. We just had a few run-ins with the other Death Knights. We killed most of them. Some of them are other worlders. Players are so annoying." I was shocked and asked "Do you know what the Players are?" He shrugged and said "They come from other worlds. It makes them near impossible to kill. The only way to kill them for real would be to go to their home world. The seals in our anus can banish them, but that is a final resort." I sighed in relief. They did not seem to know that this was all just a game. He then leaned in towards me and said "I know that you're a Player, Canan. I don't care, but don't make any false steps. I'll put you down." I nodded and allowed him to get the knight and take him away. I did not ever want to be in their way.
A large popup appeared detailing the battle. The city of Beshran was the winner. We had a pyric victory. The hunting guild and the city guards were totally wiped out. All of us were battered and bruised. From the original 235 men we had, we only had 97 left. There were even less survivors on the opposing side. Their side seemed to have a no step back doctrine. The ones who were not killed were knocked out. They were then taken over to the dungeon. It meant that we were weakened and a new assault would not be able to be defeated. The city celebrated the victory for three days straight. On the third day, the mayor brought the soldiers out and executed them all one by one to the ecstatic cheers of the crowd. Iron Maidens, Bronze Bulls, Hangings, Quarterings, and burning at the stake were all ways they died. It was like watching a crowd of demons. I smiled as that would hopefully let them feel enough morale to sign up for service. If not, they might be able to be concripted without many complaints. Of the 45 Death Knights, there were 7 imprisoned. They were left to rot in the dungeon.
I could see the progress of the crusade in the menu. It was on a scale of -100% to 100%. We were at 23% after that battle and keeping the war goals out of the enemies' hands. I also received letters from the others about the progress. The shrine was great. The four guardians were more than a match for the enemies that tried to assault it. The Protectors that were roaming around found squads of the enemy and slaughtered them on sight. All we would need to really send it in our favor was to siege their holdings. To that effect, Inquisitor Ollie sent us all a letter. In it he stressed the fact that we did not have the resources to let the home field advantage accrue. "In order to do the best we can, we have to rush this through. As the only inquisitor in Sacrilmon, I have to decide what we do in these matters. That is why I am ordering that all the holdings for Gristomales are cleared out and those inside are executed swiftly. We can not survive for long. I've heard that, because of the facts of the Causus Belli, other member from other countries are not willing to get involved. We are alone here."
That was that. Ollie had the authority to decide it. I went to the mayor and handed him the letter. A cruel spark flashed in his eyes. "Of course. I've never seen the people so happy as when they saw those that tried to invade die gruesome deaths. I will rescind the order immediately. We can make it interesting." The next day, the good citizens of the city went to the church and dragged out the clergy. They put up a fight, killing several members of the crowd. It was too overwhelming and they were torn limb from limb. It was taken over by a monk from our chapel. In the coming days, it went up to 43%. With that out of the way, we led the Death Knights up to the execution blocks. Because they were knights, we had to behead them. I was offered the role and I immediately refused. It fell to the highest ranked remaining knight of the city, Sir Merek the Meek. He was a mousy looking young man with glasses. "Does it have to be me, Lord Mayor?" he asked when he was brought to us. We just stared at him until he whimpered. "If you wish it of me, it will be done." he said before scurrying off.
