*BOOM!*
As a thunderous sound resounded, someone fell to the ground.
However, at the same time the thunderous sound rang out, the one-sided battle in the square of Carne Village, which could only be described as a massacre, officially came to an end.
Fully armored knights either lay around Riezel or fell a short distance away with their backs to him, making it clear what actions they had taken before hitting the ground.
While the fallen knights around Riezel were the ones who fought back fiercely, the knights who had fallen with their backs to him, a bit farther away, were the ones who tried to escape.
Nevertheless, their fates were no different—they were all struck down by lightning, reduced to charred remains lying on the ground, lifeless.
Among them, the last to fall was Londes.
Realizing the dire situation, he chose not to flee but charged forward bravely, roaring in anger and making one last desperate attack before his demise.
All the knights had shown signs of retreat.
Only this man, even when he realized that the young man before him was someone within the Realm of Heroes, someone impossible to defeat, still drew his sword and charged forward bravely.
It wasn't that he didn't want to escape; he just knew it was impossible.
Since there was no escape, he chose to resist until the end, fighting to the last of his breath.
Such was Londes's decision.
As a result—
"Although I'm displeased with what you did, I'll use my sword for you just this once."
Riezel didn't use magic to take down the brave knight but drew the sword hanging at his waist for the first time.
Only then did Londes realize that the young man before him wasn't just a magic caster capable of using 5th-Tier Magic but also an extremely strong warrior.
Why?
It was simply because, in the next moment, he didn't even see Riezel draw his sword and only felt a flash of cold light before his own sword and armor were cut apart.
It was several seconds later that he finally realized he had been struck without even realizing it.
Unfortunately, it was too late to grasp what had happened since his chest had been cleaved open, his heart along with his lungs sliced apart, blood bursting forth in an instant, dyeing him red all over.
Feeling the life draining from him, Londes stared at Riezel for a moment before finally uttering a word with difficulty.
"Monster…"
A monster not yet twenty years old entered the Realm of Heroes in both the warrior and magic caster fields.
Thinking about the possibility of this monster being here to destroy his country's plans, Londes, overwhelmed by despair and anger, collapsed to the ground and let out his last breath.
And just like that, the disguised knights sent by the Slane Theocracy to carry out a secret mission were completely wiped out.
No, there was actually one person left who, from start to finish, hadn't charged at Riezel nor turned his back to flee.
He just stood there motionless, and thus, he survived until the end.
Riezel flicked the blood off his sword before looking at the last survivor.
"HIIIIII—!!!"
Belius was already scared out of his wits, trembling on his horse, so when he saw Riezel looking at him, he let out a strange scream and fell off the horse.
"Do-Don't kill me!" Belius screamed in panic. "I'm not like these guys! I'm not someone who should die in a place like this! You can't kill me!"
It was truly a pathetic plea for mercy.
Riezel looked emotionlessly at the man, who was crying, with snot and tears running down his face, and slowly raised a hand.
"Don't!" Belius shouted in sheer terror. "I'll give you money! A lot, a lot of money! Two hundred gold coins! No! Five hundred gold coins! I can give you a thousand gold coins if you want! Just spare my life!"
A thousand gold coins were indeed a huge sum in this world.
As long as one didn't live extravagantly, ten gold coins were generally enough for a regular family of three to get by for a year.
Needless to say, a figure like a thousand gold coins was something a commoner could never earn, even if they worked hard for a hundred years. Let alone commoners, even nobles would be tempted by such an amount.
Even the villagers' eyes widened in shock upon hearing Belius's offer, as they had never even heard anyone casually mention a number like that.
Unfortunately, Belius had picked the wrong person.
Not to mention that Riezel was someone from another world who could easily create gold—even if he weren't, he wouldn't feel the slightest bit moved by these so-called thousand gold coins.
"Have your family take that money and give you a nice funeral."
As soon as these words left Riezel's mouth, a torrent of dragon-shaped lightning burst from his hand and shot toward Belius.
*BOOM!*
Followed by a thunderous sound, Belius was struck by lightning, and soon, along with his shrill screams, he turned into a charred corpse, collapsing to the ground.
With that, a group of evil knights who had raided countless villages and slaughtered innocent villagers met their end all at once.
===
As the sun was about to set, Carne Village finally managed to clear the corpses from the village.
During the process, as the villagers went from house to house, searching for their acquaintances and even their loved ones, waves of cries echoed throughout the area.
Among these cries were the cries of Enri and Nemu, who found their father and mother near their house's front door, crying as if their hearts were broken.
Unfortunately, their parents had ultimately died and didn't survive.
A heavy atmosphere of sorrow enveloped Carne Village, intensified by the bloodstains scattered in every corner, making the place extremely desolate.
Afterward, someone who seemed to be the village chief, along with a few burly men, came to Riezel to express their sincere gratitude, bowing before him with tears in their eyes. Knowing from Enri that she had asked him to save the village, they were immensely thankful to him.
Although Riezel didn't really care about their gratitude, he still felt a bit sentimental seeing them so thankful.
'From what I remember, the protagonist didn't get this kind of treatment after saving Carne Village, right?'
Riezel couldn't help but remember Momonga in the original work.
In all honesty, it couldn't be helped.
In the original work, Momonga dressed suspiciously because he wanted to hide his undead, skeletal appearance.
Given that, it was perfectly normal for the villagers of Carne Village, who had just suffered a brutal massacre, to be wary of someone suddenly appearing with a questionable appearance.
Moreover, Momonga had also summoned a Death Knight to slaughter the Slane Theocracy's knights, which worsened his image in the villagers' eyes. Controlling such a frightening monster while being a particularly unusual-looking magic caster, it was impossible not to be seen as a villain.
Riezel, on the other hand, was not only a human like them, but he also never used any evil powers and instead flew around while casually throwing majestic lightning bolts like a god of thunder.
Needless to say, such an image was incredibly heroic.
As a result, the first impression he left was entirely different from Momonga's, as shown by how quickly he earned the trust of the simple villagers of Carne Village.
Nonetheless, when they offered to give him a thank-you reward, Riezel firmly refused.
"I'm not short on money, and I help you all just because I want to, so you really don't need to worry about rewards."
While speaking, Riezel pulled out a bag of gold coins and showed it off, causing the shiny, golden color of the coins to nearly blind the village chief and the others.
In the end, they dropped the subject of rewards, but of course, the trouble was far from over.
"You all should've heard what I said in front of those knights earlier, right?"
In the village chief's house, Riezel addressed all the representatives of Carne Village.
"All of these massacres aren't just about war but the result of a clash between the higher-ups of both countries."
"Soon, your village will likely become a battlefield again."
"What you need to do now isn't to settle down but to find a safe place to take shelter quickly, to avoid getting caught up in this mess."
Upon hearing Riezel's words, the village chief and the others started to panic.
"Not over yet?"
"Why is this happening to us?"
"We just want to live our lives in peace!"
Saying these words with a helpless tone, a few of the burly men nearly shed tears.
Meanwhile, the village chief looked worried and glanced at Riezel, trying to open his mouth to say something but seeming at a loss for words.
Clearly, the village chief wanted Riezel to help Carne Village once more.
If it were him, could he handle this crisis?
Although the village chief didn't understand anything about the Realm of Heroes or 5th-Tier Magic, and he didn't know just how strong Riezel really was, seeing Riezel easily defeat those tall, strong knights gave him a glimmer of hope that Riezel might be capable of resolving the current situation.
Riezel naturally noticed the village chief's hesitation.
After being helped by Yuri and Loki when he had been at his lowest, he now had the mindset of being a good person to the end, helping those who deserved to be helped when he had more than enough power to do so.
As a result, Riezel smiled faintly and promised the village chief.
"Don't worry. I'm not sure how things will develop, but I can promise you that the people of your village will be safe."
Upon hearing this, the village chief felt relieved.
However, just then, the situation Riezel had mentioned arrived.
"Chief!"
A villager rushed in with a panicked expression.
"O-Outside the village, a large group of armed people on horseback are approaching!"
===
Carne Village, Entrance.
As thick clouds of dust rolled in from the front of the village, the villagers had already followed the village chief's instructions to retreat into their respective homes, no longer venturing outside.
Riezel, along with the village chief and a few burly men, arrived at the village entrance and gazed into the distance.
Watching the clouds of dust approach, the village chief and the others seemed tense and uneasy. But when they noticed Riezel casually standing by with a calm expression, they felt slightly more at ease.
Riezel looked toward the swirling dust and began to ponder.
'I wonder how strong is he?'
He knew that the approaching group wasn't made up of enemies, but rather a group of allies.
Among them was the important figure targeted by the Slane Theocracy—the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff.
Riezel found himself intrigued by this man.
Knowing that this man had been recognized as one of the strongest figures among the natives of this world, Riezel became curious about how strong this so-called strongest truly was and what kind of person belonged to the Realm of Heroes.
'Let me take a good look...'
Riezel folded his arms, waiting in place with an imperceptible smile.