"Catch… what?"
"I told you to catch a giant."
""?????""
The group is filled with questions and even the serfs seem to wonder what they heard.
"You… you mean… you want us to…catch the giants who are the field bosses here?"
The orange gates are held by the Association.
This gate is used to train players to defeat raid bosses, as it contains powerful, high-value drops such as giant skin and nails.
However, because the giant is so powerful, only the Association's elite raiders, who are at least Class B and Class A, can come here for training.
Ha-ri knows how powerful these giants are, having been here as a rookie.
They reach a base height of eight meters, and their weapons are nothing more than bats, but they are the size of a hundred-year-old tree.
With a single blow of his club, the serfs will die by the dozen.
A field boss of at least Class A was a target that normally requires multiple raiders to raid and it is impossible to solo unless you are an S-rank Hunter.
"Oh, so you're going to distract them with serfs and then see how we handle them?"
"No, it should only be slayed by serfs."
"But...they only have daggers?"
"The literature says they were slayed with daggers."
How?
To the four questioning knights, Leon flipped through a leather-bound book as carefully as he would a sacred text.
"The Holy Knight, Sir Gratas, in his book, 'How to Slay a Giant with Serfs,' says that five hundred serfs armed with daggers are sufficient to slay a giant."
'Five hundred were enough?!'
Ha-ri and the knights understood Leon's nonchalant demeanor.
'His Majesty doesn't care if all the serfs die!'
Even if the serfs' combat strength was high, they were still D-class Hunters. No matter how many D-class Hunters they gathered, there was no way they could win against a giant A-class Field Boss.
"Don't judge beforehand. This king isn't doing this with the intention of killing all the serfs. Lord Gratas actually captured the giant with only five hundred serfs."
"And how many were killed?"
"About three hundred."
"Well, well, look at that, what a carnage!"
Three hundred out of five hundred died. The serfs' complexions turned pale as they listened, but Leon didn't care.
"Who cares about the lives of serfs?" he said.
"Well, I do care, don't you?"
"Uh, senior Ha-ri, I'm um...."
Jae-hyuk wanted to say, "Why are you including us?" but the idea of a suicide mission that required the sacrifice of three hundred out of five hundred was unacceptable to him.
"I don't care."
"Chun So-yeon?!"
Everyone turned their heads in astonishment at Chun So-yeon who had a cynical expression
"His Majesty must have meant something. Since they're demon followers, why not kill a few of them?"
"No, no…! But oh...!"
Ha-ri was frozen in place by her junior's callousness.
"Your Majesty… you mean something deep, don't you?"
Han Soo-ho asked since he knew that this barbaric, seemingly discriminatory classist words always had a deep meaning.
Was there something they didn't know this time?
"No, this king wants to recreate the legendary Serf Challenge of Lord Gratas."
""....""
Selflessness Lv. MAX.
He's not particularly interested in keeping the serfs alive, turning them into powerhouses, or making them useful.
Ooh, a serf slaying a giant? That's a bit of a feat, huh? I'll have to give it a try.
The white plantation owners who forced their black slaves to fistfight would have been better than this.
At least they didn't throw them to the monsters to die.
"Your Majesty...."
Ha-ri made a sad face at Leon's stern demeanor.
She knew he hated demons but cruelty against humans was too much to bear, even in Leon's service.
"You gave the serfs… a chance. Fifty years to wash away their sins...."
"I did."
"Then at least… you shouldn't have sent them to their deaths like this."
Ha-ri is absolutely right.
In the warmth of 21st-century rule of law, she believed that even criminals have certain human rights.
If criminals are treated unconditionally and harshly, not only will they not be rehabilitated, but society will collapse. The law must be fair, impartial, and just.
Leon knew what Ha-ri was worried about and that was also why the gods love this child because she is so pure and good.
But
"A serf is not a human."
"Ugh…!"
Ha-ri is not convinced so Leon gestured to a serf.
"You there, pig. Come closer."
"Yes, yes…!"
The man, trembling at being called out by Leon, was Veron, a village chief from one of the villages in the Demon World.
He was a man from the same world as Leon, and a former soldier in the Imperial Army so Leon asked him.
"What sin have you committed as a human being?"
"What? That, that...."
Veron hesitated to answer. But even though he didn't want to answer, he couldn't help but answer.
-Gee!
"Kaaaargh, I will answer, I will answer, I will answer!"
As the leash of the Tatar god of judgment burned Veron's neck, he had no choice but to fulfill the order.
"Murder, murder, murder!"
"Tell me more."
"I murdered my wife, I murdered my daughter! I scooped up the corpses and ate them, I made human sacrifices!"
"...."
Veron glanced at Ha-ri out of the corner of his eye since he could feel the cold contempt in Ha-ri's eyes even though she pitied the serfs.
"Tell me, which sin did you enjoy the most, what did it feel like?"
"You're an asshole!"
Overhearing, Jae-hyuk kicked Veron in the face and a series of relentless beatings rained down on the fallen man.
"...."
Ha-ri's eyes were sad as she watched, but there was no pity in them.
"This king despises serfs. If I get the chance, I want them to die in agony. In some ways, I hate them even more than the devil himself. Do you know why?"
"Why…?"
"People who are born evil and do evil deeds or people who can be good and do evil deeds. What is more evil?"
Leon's words gave Ha-ri a lot to think about and she remembered the excuses Veron had given.
Those who could have been good, but chose evil had no room for pity.
"Behold. They are absolute evil. They are not worthy of life. Their only chance is as serfs!"
For they are not demons.
They may have committed diabolical sins, but they are not pure evil they received a chance at purification and to redeem their souls.
This alone is a great act of mercy.
"Before you are put to the test, I will give you a demonstration."
Leon took only five hundred serfs and turned to face one of the giants.
* * * *
The giant in front of him stood nine meters tall, and the club he held was as big as several men glued together.
Being big is itself a form of physical power. In that sense, the serfs were at a loss as to how to take down the giant.
Veal, the bravest of them all, was at a loss.
"Your majesty…uh, how do you expect me to take down a giant?"
It was a cardinal sin for a serf to dare to speak to the Lionheart King, but Leon was too busy flipping through the pages of the holy book Gratas had left him, How to Catch a Giant with a Serf.
"Hmm… Let's see, according to Lord Gratas' theory...."
"How to capture giants with serfs"
If the giant's health is said to be 3,000, then the attack power of a serf wielding a dagger is 1.
Then.
1,000 successful attacks will cause non-negligible bleeding,
2,000 successful attacks and he will bleed to death.
3000 successful attacks will surely kill it.
"Hmm, a very intuitive and logical argument."
So Lord Gratas told his serfs that they could take down a giant if each of them stabbed it at least six times.
Haha, five hundred men can't stab a giant three thousand times. If they can't, they'll die.
"That's right."
""......….""
When he explained how to catch the giant, the serfs turned white.
This madman is trying to kill us!
Veal sensed that this would not be the last time.
Over a thousand serfs had died in the Demon World, and he hadn't even counted them in his 'body count'.
Would they last fifty years? Certainly not. Veal had a flash of genius.
'Yeah, let's just kill them now! It's easier to die early!'
Rather than suffering fifty years of vicious bullying, it would be better to die now than to live a life of not knowing when you're going to die!
"Ooooooooooooo!"
Veal suddenly charged at the giant, and just then, Jae-hyuk saw a system message.
['How to capture giants with serfs' grants buffs to serfs]
-Increases Attack by 20% against giants.
"Oooh…Increased damage for all serfs!"
But that 20% boost to their damage just takes them from 1 to 1.2. Of course, that was assuming the attack was successful.
-POOF!
Veal, who had been screaming at the top of his lungs, was instantly killed by the giant's club. Bits and pieces of what had been Veal stuck to the giant's club.
"Hmm."
Leon realized what Veal was trying to do and tried to absorb its soul with the Holy Grail. But then──
-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
The soul that flowed out of Veal let out a tearing scream and was quickly absorbed somewhere else.
['How to capture giants with serfs' grants buffs to serfs]
-Gain 20.0001% increased damage against giants.
-Buff is permanently applied on success.
The holy book absorbed Veal's soul and Jae-hyuk, noticing the different buffs from before, shouted.
"Lung, Your Majesty! It's gone from a 20% attack buff to 20.0001%!"
"Huh?"
""......…!!!!""
What did those words just mean? The serfs' survival instinct made their brains spin fast.
One serf died and his soul was absorbed and the buff amount increased by 0.0001%? Then where did the previous 20% come from? No way....
"Doesn't it mean that he drained the blood of 200,000 people and gave them a 20% buff!!!"
"Indeed, a holy book with mysterious powers, Lord Gratas has left behind a great treasure!"
"It's not a holy book, it's a man-eating demonic book!
"Well, now you know. Go and die."
"...."
"...."
Is that a slip of the tongue? No, I don't think it's a slip of the tongue.
In the midst of everyone's dreaded quandary…someone shouted.
"Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Kill or be killed. Even if you die, your soul will be captured by that magic book!
Then I have no choice but to kill and live!
Four hundred and ninety-eight serfs rushed forward in unison, following the leading serf.
* * * * *
The giant was captured and the damage was less than expected.
One hundred and forty-three people were killed by the giant's club, but only because the serf-eating giant choked for a moment.
After devouring three serfs in one fell swoop, the giant's airway collapsed and he fell backwards, allowing the serfs to capture him with relatively little damage.
It was a miracle.
["How to Hunt Giants with Serfs" grants a buff to serfs]
-20.0144% increased damage against giants.
-Buff is permanent.
-Burp!
For a moment, it sounded like the book had burped, but the serfs and knights dutifully ignored it.
"Ho-ho~ A permanent buff, indeed… Lord Gratas must have gone to great lengths to create this holy book."
Leon worshiped the magic book made with the blood of 200,000 serfs and turned his gaze to the knights.
"Now that I have set the example, you may try. To the one who slays the giant with the most damage…nay, the least damage, I will award the position of Knight Commander."
"Your Majesty, my heart is in it...."
That's when "How to Capture a Giant with a Serf" suddenly began to glow.
"What? The system window has a new message!"
[Holy Knight Gratas' How to Hunt Giants with Serfs blossoms into true power]
[Holy Knight Gratas' 'Serf Challenge' generates a new table of contents]
1. Hunt Giants with Serfs: 20.0144% increased Attack Damage (Permanent)
2. Hunt Trolls with a Serf: 43.5668% increased damage (temporary). If successful, proceed to the next step.
"......."
"......."
When everyone who wanted to look away from this horrible reality was silent, Leon slammed his palms together in disbelief.
"How can this be, Lord Gratas, how can this be, how can this be!"
Leon beamed like a child receiving a Christmas present.