Chapter 313: The So-Called Stigma
"It's finally here."
In the northern Demon King's castle, after sensing that familiar aura approaching, Annalise couldn't help but exclaim excitedly.
She had waited for far too long for that righteous hero to come and kill the villain. Now it seems Kurtz has finally found a way to confront herself and the corrupt divine power within her.
She was pretty happy. "Send all the demons out. Don't leave any demons in the Demon King's Castle, including you," she casually said to the demons below.
"Your Majesty, what if that Kurtz comes knocking on our door..." The demon Simo hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
Now that the few remaining Seven Sages are mainly on the front lines, the Demon King's Castle is already in a state of depleted strength, relying entirely on the barrier released by Kurtz Beze to maintain its power. Now that all the magicians are to be transferred away, who will protect His Majesty the Demon Queen's safety?
"You can't stop him. Go, put some pressure on those humans and elves, and remind them of the fear the demons once instilled in them." Annalise waved her hand, clearly not wanting to waste any more time talking to this man.
Seeing that His Majesty had made up her mind, the demons had no choice but to retreat and head to the battlefield in batches, preparing to fight another great battle with the allied forces.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Kurtz and Serie arrived at the rear of the allied forces. A short distance further ahead, they reached the actual battlefield.
Moreover, Kurtz heard some good news along the way.
That is the unified empire of the south, oh no, it should be the southern states now, which have begun to send their respective armies to the northern battlefield.
Just as they had initially guessed, after losing the ambitious Leggett, the Southern Unified Empire collapsed unexpectedly quickly, and in almost no time, it once again split into many countries.
Thanks to Kurtz's reputation and his earlier actions in the capital, these nations suppressed dissent and made the right choice: to send troops to the northern battlefield to fight the demons, demonstrating their unwavering determination to resist the demons to the legendary hero, Kurtz, the god-slayer.
And this is exactly what Kurtz wanted to see.
"These guys are so slow. By the time they arrive, the war will probably be over by then," Serie said with some dissatisfaction after learning about the situation.
Although Kurtz thought the leaders of these countries were quick enough to make decisions, Serie thought they were too slow.
Now, he and Kurtz have arrived at the front lines of the northern battlefield and are about to carry out a decapitation strike to eliminate the Demon King, while the human army is still slowly making its way here.
"After all, it was their own initiative, and we wiped out their most elite troops, so it's inevitable that they'll be conflicted for a while." Kurtz seemed quite philosophical about it.
He initially thought these guys would have to keep pushing each other and fighting before they would calm down, but he didn't expect them to make a choice so quickly, which was a pleasant surprise.
"It seems humanity in this era has not forgotten where its greatest threat lies."
"You actually spoke up for them?" Serie was a little unhappy with Kurtz's answer. "Do you know that there are already rumors about you among the humans? Because you wiped out the vanguard of the Southern Unified Empire, some people are now calling you the executioner, a butcher."
Serie clearly cares a lot about this. In her view, everything Kurtz did was for the better development of humanity, both in the mythical era and now.
Even the vanguard legion was attacked first by the enemy, and Kurtz even gave them a warning, but in the end, they still earned the reputation of being butchers. This made Serie very unhappy.
"Is that so? That's normal, after all, most people only look at the result and not the process, my accomplice, Miss Elf." Kurtz was clearly referring to the fact that Serie also intervened when he used Divine Strike against the Vanguard Legion.
"Hmph!" Serie chuckled twice, her expression somewhat enigmatic. "Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with me. The title 'butcher' is only for you, Kurtz."
"This is really... taking the blame for nothing." Kurtz was helpless, but he had no intention of explaining himself to others. Anyway, it's just the resentment of a small number of people, so it won't affect him much.
Just then, Serie changed the subject, "So, should we go straight to the Demon King's castle or lure the Demon Queen out?"
We already have a way to deal with that demon king; now we need to figure out where to seal her away.
Kurtz gazed at the distant horizon, the Demon Queens' castle obscured by the mountains. "Let's go straight there. That Demon Queen....seems to be waiting for us."
What he sensed was not a trap or a tense atmosphere, but a kind of relief-like anticipation. It was as if the other party was also waiting for his arrival, which further confirmed some of his previous guesses.
"Waiting for us?" Serie raised an eyebrow. "Did she set up a trap for us?"
Serie was unaware of Kurtz's speculations and thus still viewed the Demon Queen with the utmost malice.
"We'll know soon enough." Kurtz didn't give a definite answer. He turned to Serie and smiled, "But before we go, how about we get some rest for the night?"
Serie glanced at him and said, "Okayy, but I want grilled mushroom skewers."
"Yes, ma'am! The great chef Kurtz is in your service."
Serie couldnt help but laugh, "Pff, Ha-ha, stop that, you are embarrassing."
"Oh, then what about this..."
....
Instead of entering the Allied forces' rear camp, the two rested in a relatively secluded forest.
Kurtz casually set up a protective barrier, then began searching for delicious mushrooms for the elf lady, while Serie gathered some dry shrubs and lit a small campfire.
As night deepened, the starry sky came into view.
Serie sat by the fire, hugging her knees, watching the man in front of her grill mushroom skewers for her; a faint aroma wafted around the campfire.
She was silent for a moment, then suddenly whispered, "Butcher...that's a really unpleasant title."
She still cared in the end. It wasn't that she cared about the world's opinion, but rather that Kurtz had to bear a stigma that he shouldn't have had to carry alone, or if ever at all.
Kurtz was fiddling with the skewer of mushrooms in his hand when he heard this. He paused, then shook his head. "I didn't expect you to be so still hung up on this. A name is just a label; let them call it what they want. As long as..." He paused, looking earnestly at Serie, "The person I care about most can understand me; nothing else matters."
His gaze was so direct that Serie looked away somewhat awkwardly.
"Well, of course I can understand you, after all, we're...husband and wife." At this point, Serie lowered her head and even lowered her voice.
[End of Chapter]
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