The Lord Is Too Overbearing

"That was impressive." Iliana walked toward Basil.

Although they were 20 meters apart, they could still hear Iliana just fine, so everyone was awaken from their daze by her exclamation. Upon waking up from their daze, Whitney and Cray quickly approached Basil.

The group of Mercenaries looked at each other for a while, before deciding to follow the two students. Of course, they were smart enough to not intrude the students' private zone; they kept their distance.

"That was awesome, Basil!" Cray exclaimed. "I can't believe you can cut this giant in half." He pointed to the lifeless Minotaur Warrior behind them.

"Yeah, I can't believe you have reached such height in Knight Principle," Whitney added.

Basil's response to this was, "There is nothing to admire about it."

He was being true to himself. Although he welcomed praises, he didn't think his current prowess was enough to receive admiration. Still, he couldn't blame them from admiring him; they hadn't seen the whole world yet, after all.

Turning his gaze to the six Mercenaries who were slightly away from them, Basil quirked his eyebrow. "Do you need something from us?"

One of the mercenaries stepped forward, and scratched his cheek awkwardly. "U-Uh, no. I—I am here to thank you." He bowed his head, and the other five behind him followed suit. "We are sure we wouldn't have survived if it wasn't because of your friends."

Basil turned his head to Whitney and Cray, before turning his gaze back at the Mercenaries. "You are thanking the wrong person; you should thank the people who saved you."

Raising his head, the frontmost Mercenary looked at Basil awkwardly. "I mean, they moved under your order, right?"

"No," was the only response Basil gave, before turning his body away, and walked away with Iliana.

"E-Eh? What does that even mean...?"

Whitney shook his head helplessly at the flustered Mercenary, before saying, "Your gratitude is heard. You may leave." He waved his hand in dismissal.

Turning their body around, Whitney and Cray also followed Basil and Iliana who were already a few meters away from them, leaving the confused group of Mercenaries behind. Luckily the couple wasn't running, so they could easily catch up to the couple.

They had expected to not be thanked by the group of Mercenaries since the moment they had decided to help the Mercenaries; they were a Mage, and the other side was a bunch of Knights after all.

Therefore, they had been slightly surprised when the Mercenaries had bowed their head at them. Upon remembering something however, they had quickly realized that the Mercenaries had been bowing to Basil, not them.

Who was Basil? A Mage and a Knight; this was reason enough for the group of Mercenaries to show their gratitude to him, instead of the Mages who had helped them.

A few minutes into the walk, Whitney could see another group of Mercenaries fighting the Demons. Since they held their ground well, he and Cray had no intention to help.

"There are so few of them coming here," Whitney commented.

Without turning her head, Iliana responded, "Mercenaries are not paid by their merit, but the recognition the Kingdom gives them." Snorting coldly, she continued, "Raneil Barony holds no importance to the Kingdom, so naturally no one wants to come here."

"They won't get recognized," Whitney muttered.

"Exactly. People are crazy about being a Noble these days; they are enthusiastically amassing the 'recognition' now," Iliana sneered.

Although Iliana didn't say anything wrong, Whitney still felt awkward at how open she was showing her disdain on that kind of people. Turning his head to Basil, he wondered why Basil decided going to Raneil Barony.

"Although you are definitely ahead of your peers, you are not recorded in the Top 200 List yet, Basil. Unlike us, you don't really need to come here. Why are you coming here?"

"To protect my property."

"Property?" Whitney furrowed his eyebrow, wondering what Basil meant by his word. It didn't take long until he came to realization. "Oh, your family's hotel. But, they must have been pretty much ... Destroyed at this point."

Whitney looked carefully at Basil to see his reaction; he was afraid he had just offended Basil somehow. To his surprise, Basil shrugged nonchalantly.

"Who knows? There is always a chance in everything; you just have to try." Unsheathing his sword smoothly, Basil drew his Qi. "There is an incoming Nightcrawler, be careful."

All of the students knew what kind of horror a Nightcrawler could bring, so they quickly readied themselves. Whitney, who was well-versed in Earth Magic, concentrated himself in detecting the Nightcrawler that was under the ground.

Rumble.

When he could detect said Demon, he widened his eyes in bewilderment. "It's not just one, there are 10 of them! Watch your ground!"

"Holy cow! Who the one invited them here?!"

Surprisingly, Cray's exclamation didn't go unanswered. "I did," Basil replied.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Mate?!" Whitney was the one who responded Basil instead.

Smirking to himself, Basil stabbed his sword to the ground. Infusing his Qi into his Sword, blue lines appeared on the ground like a tree root. Exploding the Qi he had gathered in his stabbed Sword, the ground surged upward.

Boom!

Along with that was the emergence of the 10 Nightcrawlers.

"Let's compete on who kills the most," Basil muttered before dashing at the Nightcrawlers.

Iliana smirked, then twirled Sinister Piercer once. "Don't cry when you lose." Following Basil, she dashed forward.

Whoosh!

The wind that was caused by Iliana's launch slapped the other two students right in the face. After reorganizing their disheveled hair, they turned to each other.

"Are we even needed?"

Boom!

One Nightcrawler was put to an end by Basil's gracious swing.

"I don't know, but we can't just stay idle, can we?"

Boom!

One Nightcrawler got its head pierced by Iliana's Sinister Piercer.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Cray heatedly exclaim, "I don't care about whether we are needed. I will ruin their fun!" Just like that, he shot forward at the unoccupied Nightcrawler; he joined the game.

Whitney scratched his head helplessly, before sighing in defeat. "Why do I have to be the only normal one?" Still though, he wasn't as normal as he thought as he still felt competitive toward the other three; he, too, joined the game in the end.

None of the students questioned about the fact that Basil could call that many Nightcrawlers, nor did they question about what was his purpose of doing so.

While they later figured out Basil called the Nightcrawlers with a piece of heart of the Minotaur Warrior he had slain, they didn't get to know his reason for calling the Nightcrawlers; they were too occupied by the endless wave of Nightcrawlers to mind that.

Poor them, they became a victim of Basil's insane training regime ... At least, Iliana was enjoying herself the whole time.

...

Familia Hotel.

Night had descended upon the world, and it further amplified the terror people were feeling. Familia Hotel was the only place in Raneil Barony that was safe from from the Demons—the only place that could stand the attack of the Demons.

When the Demons had appeared for the first time, many people had panicked and fled the hotel immediately, while the people who didn't know what to do had remained, and accepted their fate.

There were also some people who had decided to stay because they knew they would be okay: the Hotel Familia's employees. They always remembered one of the instructions their Young Master had instilled in their mind.

—If you find the world is dangerous, stay. This place is safer than your mother's womb.

Although they didn't understand what their Young Master meant by that, they believed him. Luckily for them, their trust in their Young Master wasn't wrong; they were alive because of it.

By the time the Demons had first entered the Barony, the hotel was quickly enveloped in a Magic Barrier, protecting everyone inside from the Demons.

Unfortunately, the people who stayed inside weren't only the employees and the good people—

"Let's have a vote on who will be thrown outside!"

—but also the troublemakers.

"W-What are you talking about?! Are you trying to kill people?!"

The Orange Core Knight, who had uttered the suggestion, turned his head to the person who had just spoken. "I'm surprised you got it so quickly. Congratulations!" He clapped his hands. "We need to reduce the mouth we have to feed, after all."

"You selfish bastard! I know you will hoard the food in the end!"

At that, the Orange Core Knight laughed. "So, what can you do about that?" Utilizing his Movement Technique, he reappeared before the civilian old man. "Are you going to kick my arse?" He sneered, before kicking the old man square in the old man's stomach.

Bang!

Or that was what he had intended.

"You?" The Orange Core Knight looked at the green haired, beautiful lady who had blocked his kick in surprise; she was one of the Familia Hotel's receptionist. Retracting his foot, he smirked. "I like strong women."

"I abhor weak men," the receptionist replied coldly.

Glancing at the receptionist's name tag, the Orange Core Knight said, "Does that mean I fit your criteria, Cecilia?"

"Hmph! A dog can never become a tiger," Cecilia snorted in disdain.

"Alright, alright. Let's be real, lady." He waved his hand mildly. "We will be stuck in here until someone saves our arses. None of us is strong enough to fend for ourselves outside, you know?" Smirking, he continued, "But, I am the strongest here."

"Your point?" Cecilia sneered.

Instead of answering, the Orange Core Knight grabbed Cecilia's hand, and pulled her body close to his. "I am the one in charge here."

Cecilia glared at him coldly, and tried her best to let go of her body from his hold to no avail. He was close to bury his lips in Cecilia's, when all of them heard something.

Knock! Knock!

The Orange Core Knight turned his gaze to the door. "Tsk! Another one, huh? Can't they see we don't receive anyone." He was referring to the people who stumbled upon the Hotel, and asked to be allowed to enter the hotel.

Turning his head to the middle-aged man he had attempted to kick earlier, he gestured his head to the door. "Hey, old man. Tell the bastard to screw off."

The middle-aged man wanted to retort, but he could do nothing under the Orange Core Knight's glare.

Sighing in resignation, the middle-aged man was about to do what he was told, when another voice was heard.