Chapters Chapter 22. The Weight of War, the Weight of Order (1/2)

Kang Chul-In silently swung the metal bat.

He did not swing it with everything he had. If he did, Kimura’s hipbones would break after two or three hits, and he would die after ten blows. He controlled his strength as well as he could and hit as much as Kimura would be able to endure. However, even that was too much for Kimura.

“Ugh, Mmmm!”

Every time the metal club swung, Kimura screamed, but the gag in his mouth muffled the sound.

Crack, crack!

Kang Chul-In hit like a machine. He looked so emotionless that, for those who were watching, the hairs on their backs rose.

And this lasted for about 30 minutes.

When Kimura had received about 50 blows, Kang Chul-In spoke.

“Untie him.”

“Yes, Lord.”

One of the soldiers quickly did as he ordered.

“Please spare, spare me!!”

Kimura, who had been untied from Podolski’s rope-tie and gag, begged and pleaded until his hands became his feet. He was crying and making a big commotion. Kimura looked like a young boy who just had gotten in serious trouble with his father.

“I-I will never do that again!! Please, please spare me my life! Don’t kill me!”

Kimura, who was begging on his knees, had lost any last sense of dignity he had as a Lord. He was so servile and desolate that even those looking clicked their tongues.

“What have you done wrong?” Kang Chul-In asked.

“I am sorry for causing the war. I am sorry. I’m sorry for cursing.”

“Wrong.”

Kang Chul-In shook his head.

“Put the gag back on him.”

The gag went back on Kimura’s mouth.

“Mmmm…Mmmm!!!”

The metal club swung again.

“Speak. What did you do wrong?”

Kang Chul-In, who had delivered the second blow, asked Kimura again.

“I-I’m sorry… I was in the wrong.”

“So, what did you do wrong?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sorry for everything! Please just spare my life…”

“Put it back on.”

Kang Chul-In seemed dissatisfied, as if the answer was again not what he was looking for.

Crack!

After the blows landed again for the third time and Kimura was almost unconscious, the iron club finally stopped.

“Urgh.”

“Do you still not know what you did wrong?”

“Please, if you could tell… if you tell me.”

Kimura seemed like he did not even have the strength to beg anymore. Indeed, although Kang Chul-In controlled his strength, he had been hit almost a hundred times.

“Lord, why don’t you just take his head instead?”

James came forward, unable to watch further. Kimura was in so much pain that James asked for a clean death.

“No, I am not going to kill him.”

Kang Chul-In shook his head.

“Feed him the potion.”

When the order was given, Kang Chul-In’s subordinates shook in terror. It sounded like he was going to heal Kimura, then hit him some more.

“The person who you should be begging is not me but over there.”

Kang Chul-In went against everyone’s predictions and put down his iron club.

“Since you ask to be taught, I will teach you.”

Kang Chul-In’s finger pointed outside.

“The one you should apologize to is not me but your soldiers. Those who died for nothing because of the orders you gave with your incompetence.”

“You have the authority to give orders, no matter how incompetent of a Lord you are, but have you ever thought of the weight of those orders? Have you ever thought of the things that were going to happen because of your orders?”

At Kang Chul-In’s criticism, Kimura could not say anything. It was even more so because they were all true.

“Of course, you are extremely young and probably were not able to completely figure out the Grand Summoning that suddenly happened. This situation may have felt like it was a dream or a game. It’s not that I cannot understand. But.”

Kimura flinched at his loud voice.

“No matter how ignorant and incompetent you were, what you did is not easily forgivable. Giant centipedes, sure, but ants are a kind that has emotion and intelligence. And over two hundred of those ants are dead. Because of your orders.”

The Lord’s Hall fell silent at Kang Chul-In’s words.

“If you are in a high position, you need to be able to carry responsibility. How could you not, for the lives of your soldiers depend on your decisions?”

It was not for Kang Chul-In to say since he was the prime example of a conquest Lord, but it was also something that only Kang Chul-In could say. How many had their lives or deaths depend on his orders? Kang Chul-In was once a man who controlled thousands of lives. There were probably few who knew better than himself, knew the weight of a Lord and the weight of war.

“If even one of my soldiers died, I would have killed you without hesitation. But I guess you are quite lucky, seeing that not one of my soldiers died in this battle. But even if I forgive you, who will listen to the cries of your soldiers who died today? How about the emotional state of your loyal Timothy who you abandoned?”

“Ah, ah!”

It seemed like Kimura finally understood Kang Chul-In.

“Beg for forgiveness, to those who died because of your foolishness.”

“I am sorry! I’m so sorry!”