Chapter 365: The Avenger with the Shoebill Emblem

Phew, lookin' cool, Mr. Hero!

"Look, Emul. That right there is what you call public humiliation play."

"One of them is trying to run away over there desu wa."

"What!? Eat this, Penal Battalion Arrow!!"

Fired with a completely mediocre trajectory, the arrow embedded itself in the ground right at the feet of the Forest-folk who was trying to sneak away. Perhaps noticing the woman in mourning clothes glaring at him, he hurriedly scurried back toward Tottori. Watching him go, I once again focused my attention on the unfolding situation.

Operation: Mr. Hero. It was a strategy where we used Tottori—who we set up as the explosive trigger—as bait to forcibly drag other players into a situation they'd normally hesitate to meddle in, since it was someone else's quest... Thinking about it again, it's a plan completely riddled with holes.

However, even if he wasn't a system-designated Hero, and even if the entire thing was essentially a farce with him acting as a puppet Hero, Tottori's title was absolutely nothing to scoff at.

After all...

"Hey brother, I won't let you hog all the glory!! (First time meeting)"

"I told you I'd lend you a hand whenever you're in trouble, didn't I? (Never said that)"

"We will protect the tomorrow of the Forest-folks!! (First contact with Forest-folks)"

"You guys...! (Who the hell are these guys?)"

Exactly. After all, he was the player who wandered the sea of trees alongside the Forest-folks, entirely shouldering their hopes of reaching the frontline base.
Those who answer to expectations earn the corresponding trust. And if Tottori—the man who actually achieved that—chose to oppose the Third Knight Order, there would absolutely be people who answered that call.

"Because appealing how good of friends they are with Tottori right here might raise their affection rating with the Forest-folks, after all..."

Ah, the sorrow of outsiders. Somewhere in their hearts, they've realized they can never overcome Tottori's overwhelming advantage, so they want to at least appeal that they're facing the same direction... I completely understand that feeling.

"Alright... Glad to see it's going well."

Ah, that's right, this is a game. "Authority" means absolutely nothing to players. If deemed necessary, gamers are the kind of creatures who would assassinate a King without a second thought. No matter how realistic ShanFro might be, as long as it's a game, players are never bound by the social morals dictated by its setting.

As players continued to side with Tottori one after another, the Third Knight Order was being completely overwhelmed by the pressure. Idiots. They probably thought they could easily handle it by simply surrounding them, but now they were visibly panicking as their numerical advantage was completely overturned.

With the onlookers turning into enemies, the Third Knight Order was now the one being surrounded. While the squad members made no attempt to hide their panic, Julian—the ringleader of this entire operation and a commander regardless of his morals—maintained a composed smile. His dangerous eyes gleamed sharply, locked entirely onto the King... I see, is that how it is? Indeed, that is the fastest, shortest, and most optimal route. Rather than bothering with the players one by one, if he strikes down the King, the First Prince's faction will have achieved their goal.

"Tch... So I lost the bet, huh. Between this and the GGC incident, maybe I'm just weak when it comes to bets I can't actively participate in..."

It can't be helped. I was hoping I could just sit back and watch this end with a one-man-one-rabbit penal battalion, but... Time to deploy. It is time to graciously beat some ass.

"It's honestly a bit painful that the weight reduction and stat enhancements wear off the moment combat ends..."

I can't use Memento Mori. Well, it's not like there aren't ways to force it, but relying on pure brute force is inefficient.
Putting aside whether or not I'll use it as a flashy distraction for now, there's something else entirely I want to test.

"Alright, how about we go show Mr. Superb Sword another nightmare!"

"I'm actually starting to feel a teeny bit sorry for him desu wa..."

Well, thinking about it simply, my current combat power is roughly 1.5 times greater than when we first met... Actually, factoring in my new skills, I'm easily two or three times stronger. Since this is a PvP (Player vs NPC) battle, the wife-and-husband equipment set won't be of much use, but it's perfect for hiding my identity since it comes with a veil.
Now then, let's go.

"Tooh!"

A single knight dashed forward. Even if he couldn't display his true potential, Julian of the Lethal Sword—his drawn blade declaring that his skill had not dulled in the slightest—charged ahead.

"Prepare yourself...!!"

"Whoops."

His sole objective was the King's life. In this world, there are indeed existences whose very act of living is inconvenient to others. In the chaotic crucible of authority, for the First Prince... the current King, Torvante, his own biological father, was exactly that existence.
Therefore, even if he had to abandon the assassination of Arfiliya, he had to take Torvante's life at all costs.

The Lethal Sword—that title was by no means mere vanity or falsehood. The man standing at the pinnacle of the knights was simply Too strong; in system terms, Julian's TEC and DEX had reached terrifyingly high values.
Rather than high-speed mobility, Julian's thrusting skill "Lethal Stab" elevated a single strike to the realm of certain death, forcing a high-probability instant-death check on the target if it connected. Against Torvante, who possessed zero direct combat ability, it would easily strike him down without even needing to trigger the instant-death check.

But, however.

Why was Deep Slaughter floating a triumphant smile while looking at something that was explicitly Not Julian? Why, even at this final moment, had King Torvante not broken his composed demeanor? What was this repulsive presence burning against his skin?

"───I announce the drawing of the sword."

The answer presented itself.

A single shadow in the sky. Obstructing the rising morning sun and casting a black shadow, It concluded its falling trajectory and stabbed deeply into the earth, completely severing the path Julian was advancing on.
Only those who had participated in the battle against the red monster knew exactly what it was. However, if you broadened the condition to anyone who had simply seen Its form...

"This... sword...!!"

"───We are the Wandering Swords. We have none to bear us, yet we are blades that entrust our bodies to those who wield us."

Tap. For someone who had Rained down from the sky, the pitch-black figure landed on the massive sword embedded in the ground with astonishingly quiet and light footsteps.
A monochromatic sword, and a woman in mourning clothes—though what she mourned was entirely unknown. She appeared much like a ghost manifesting atop a gravestone, or perhaps a reaper drawing the dead toward herself.

"───We are the Swords that reel in feeble wishes. We are the Swords that sever the accumulated karma."

Holding two golden swords in her hands, her face completely obscured by a veil, the words she spun like a song echoed across the frontline base, completely overwriting the silence.

"───The Sword stands to obstruct karma, and here and now, declares loudly to strike down evil."

Her left arm remained relaxed by her side, but she pointed the tip of her right sword directly at the Third Knight Order Commander, Julian... a man who had accumulated Karma (Vice).

"───We are the Avenging Swords. Here and now, the sword is drawn, evil shall be struck down, and the wish shall be fulfilled."

Behind the mourning woman, an emblem appeared, as if drawn using pure light for ink.
It was the emblem of a brand-new Avenger—bearing a gaze sharp enough to shoot enemies dead, a massive beak, a right wing of flame, a left wing of lightning, and the motif of a sword integrated into the design. Floating behind her, it made it look as though the woman herself had spread wings of flame and lightning.

"Making such a flashy entrance like that... You really can't complain even if this gets recorded and goes completely viral, you know, Sunraku-kuuuun..."

When the declaration of the Avenging Sword is made, vice has no choice but to perish.

Fueee... This is way too much work...
I successfully struck the victory pose perfectly, but in my heart, I was complaining nonstop. What the hell is this skill? Are you telling me to do a tongue-twister challenge while sprinting?

The skill "Revenge Call." As obvious as the name makes it sound, it's a skill exclusively learnable by those who have taken the "Avenger" job. A common trait among these skills is that the target's Karma value plays a massive role.

The skill "Revenge Analyze" visualizes the Karma value of the target being looked at while the effect is active.

The skill "Revenge Call" requires the user to fully recite the "Declaration" displayed in a special window, which then applies a stat enhancement proportional to the target's Karma value.

The skill "Revenge Fatality" is a weapon enhancement skill that increases damage output proportional to the target's Karma value. Furthermore, if the target is defeated while the effect is active, it apparently triggers some sort of additional effect.

And the target in question, the Commander of the Third Knight Order... Julian of the Superb Sword? His Karma value is... 5120.
I have no idea if that's high or low, but at the very least, the enhancement multiplier currently buffing me is pretty damn significant.

Well, what I mean is... simply put...

"I don't feel like I can lose this."

Author's Afterword

Karma Value:
A parameter implemented as a countermeasure against PKers. If you accumulate too much, you will be relentlessly hunted by executioners functioning almost like TAS speedrunners.
It's often misunderstood, but "PKing" is ultimately just one of the triggers to summon Bounty Hunters. In reality, Karma accumulates even if you don't PK or NPC-K. For example, unnecessarily torturing weak monsters or using Mob Trains to force carnivorous monsters to attack docile ones will also accumulate Karma.
The reason Julian's Karma is so high is because his usual fighting style is incredibly vindictive.

Furthermore, when a Bounty Hunter spawns, the higher the Karma value, the higher the probability of Tias spawning... What I'm trying to say is, "The methods used by the Dress-Up Squad are the absolute pinnacle of inefficiency if they're exclusively trying to farm Tias."
However, there's no one around capable of pointing that out to them...