Another member of Ram, who was watching the situation, hurriedly shouted at Rick. Rick covered his eyes, not knowing what was going on; looking down at his shoulder, he saw a sword pierce him, and blood dripped from the wound. He thought the flash he had just seen was only the reflection of a sword blade under the light.

“Ugh!”

Rick finally understood the situation and hurriedly pulled back his body, but the Emperor did not let Rick go and thrust his sword with more intensity.

“How long must we watch this boring fight?”

The more force the Emperor put on the sword, the more Rick’s body was pushed back. When his back hit the wall, the blade piercing his shoulder pierced the wall too.

Noel and Irene also looked at the Emperor in shock. An eerie silence blanketed the room.

‘What a monster…!’

Rick made eye contact with the Emperor and bit his lip.

‘It’s like I’m dealing with a first-class monster.’

He had been close to death many times in the past. He once received a quest to defeat a monster of the highest class. But somehow, he managed to catch it, but being in the face of death, he had made up his mind that he would never deal with a top-class monster again.

But the Emperor in front of him felt just like one, and he felt like he had just become his prey.

“Rick!”

Another Ram member couldn’t stand watching Rick in that state and ran to his aid, pushing all the knights away. The Emperor stepped back and quickly withdrew the sword from Rick’s shoulder.

“Ugh!”

“Damn!”

Blood overflowed as soon as the sword was pulled out, making Rick lose his strength and crumble to the floor.

“It’s disappointing to see the Elite Knights being pushed around by a single bunch of scumbags. Make sure to show skills worthy of your title. Or else, I* will cut all of you down.”

*The usage of I is a superior use. It means ‘This King’.

The knights, who had been standing idly in bewilderment, came to their senses and began preparing for battle again. Unlike before, their eyes held a different shine.

Rick groaned in pain. Things took a turn for the worst.

Until just recently, although they were outnumbered, they still held out. However, these knights were not doing their best. If they rushed to death like now, the mercenaries had no choice but to receive more damage. So they resorted to a defence formation.

“Sorry…”

As Rick apologised while holding his blood-soaked shoulder, the mercenary standing in front of him shouted.

“Shut up! Damn, we need to stop the bleeding first…!”

The mercenary unit was in a crisis as Rick’s wound was fatal. If left unattended, he’ll bleed out in minutes. He couldn’t stop the bleeding himself, so he needed help, yet everyone had their hands full.

‘I can’t lose any more colleagues.’

He lost many colleagues in the back alleys, so he vowed not to lose any member of the Ram mercenaries. He said that he would never let his comrades die anymore. That was why he wanted to grow stronger with them. He could not lose another comrade in a place like this.

‘What should I do…!’

“I will treat you.”

A woman’s voice came from beside him, a familiar one.

“Ma, Madame?”

It was none other than Irene. As soon as she crouched next to him, Irene examined Rick’s wounds. He looked at her with a startled look. Not long ago, she was standing next to Noel when…

“But you have to reserve your energy, ugh.”

Rick gritted his teeth in pain as he spoke, it was getting worse, and the blood wouldn’t stop gushing out.

“Anyway, I can’t use my abilities right now, but I’ll try to treat you. You’re tensing up; focus on the battle, and try to forget the pain. I’ll stay by your side.”

The Ram member stared blankly at Irene before he nodded with a stiff expression and turned towards the knights.

“Then please take care of me, Madame.”

“Yeah. Do not worry.”

The sound of swords clashing resonated once again within the room. Ram’s mercenaries could no longer pay attention to Rick, as they had to put all of their focus on the battle.

“Sorry…”

Rick bowed his head and apologised to Irene, but she only looked at the wound seriously.

‘The wound is too deep, I need to stop the bleeding right now, but there is nothing I could use to put pressure on the wound.’