The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 195

Chapter 22: Conclusion – The Legendary Scoundrel

Sion’s life was far from ordinary.

Raised in her father’s hands from a young age, she had to learn all sorts of assassination techniques and become familiar with death.

While maids her age talked about their favorite men or pretty tea houses, she pondered how to kill people effectively and discreetly.

Perhaps that’s why.

Even though Sion could have been sociable if she wanted to, thanks to her attractive appearance and unique hair color, she remained strangely aloof.

It was only natural that Sion became the exclusive maid of Henon, who was known as a scoundrel even within the Marquisate.

At first, Sion pitied Henon.

Believing it was a maid’s duty to be loyal to and support her young master.

She may have been drawn to him because his inability to fit into the family was similar to her own situation.

However, that brief pity turned into a deep loathing.

Every single one of Henon’s actions was disappointing and beneath contempt.

No matter how hard she tried to understand, he always showed her the bottom of the barrel, so Sion half gave up on Henon.

Eventually, Henon died.

To be honest, she thought he died well.

She thought it would be beneficial for the family, for her, and most of all, for himself, to disappear at this point.

He had simply chosen a comfortable path for everyone.

That should have been the case.

But this tenacious scoundrel came back to life.

Covered in dirt, he emerged from the grave.

Not knowing his place.

That clueless fool who had no sense whatsoever.

At that time, Sion didn’t know.

That from this day on, her life would be completely turned upside down.

“Sion, follow me.”

The young master, who was uncharacteristically serious.

He became incredibly strong through physical training at an amazing rate.

He thwarted the surrounding obstacles, perfectly carried out the Marquis’s mission, and even tracked down the continent’s dark organization known as Twilight.

Before she knew it, he went to the North, became a Ranger, had Commander Karina of the fort backing him, and honorably discharged.

He broke through the impossible territory war with brilliant wit and quickly resolved the crisis that had befallen the Marquisate.

Sion was always with Henon on that journey.

So she felt it even more keenly.

Young Master Henon was such an outstanding person that she doubted whether he was even human.

After that, Henon moved forward without hesitation.

He saved the free city of Liang and the Elves of the Eastern Great Forest.

He became the de facto ruler of the kingdom, normalized the Holy State, and dealt with Twilight’s top executives in the process.

He visited the underwater city that existed in legends, killed the tyrant who was wielding tyranny, and became a benefactor to the entire city.

In the end, he killed the Twilight cult leader and was fighting the Demon King Baal in the Northern Great Plains.

Is this an achievement that a human being can accomplish?

At this point, Sion even suspected that Henon might be some kind of divine being beyond human.

Of course, Sion was fine even if he was an inhuman being.

Thanks to Henon, Sion also got to live a new life.

She had already vowed to be with Henon, no matter what his true identity was or where he was going.

“Snap out of it!!”

Whoosh!!

In the brief moment she lost focus, the High-ranking Demon’s sword narrowly grazed her side. A few strands of her shimmering purple hair fluttered and fell to the ground.

“Is this the time to be spacing out? You’re too relaxed.”

Campbell grumbled beside her with a disgruntled voice.

The current location is the Great Northern Plains.

A war between life and death is in full swing.

[Water Lizard Footwork]

[Camouflage]

She unleashed assassination skills that were now beyond the level of expertise, piercing the High-ranking Demon’s nape in an instant.

Afterward, she worked with Campbell to deal with the approaching monsters.

“Haa… how long do we have to keep doing this?”

With the appearance of the World Tree, the Allied forces had gained the upper hand and were pushing back the Demon Realm army, but they had now reached an impasse.

The remaining monsters and demons had a strong loyalty to Baal and fought to the death, and the Allied forces, faced with fierce resistance, were suffering a surge in casualties.

In order for this pandemonium to end, a decisive move was needed. And that decisive move was probably…

“Just wait a little longer. Young Master will definitely win and return.”

It was the return of Henon, who had flown off somewhere to fight the Demon King one-on-one.

“Even if Vice-Commander is amazing, wouldn’t this be a little difficult? The opponent is the Demon King.”

“That’s not like you, Campbell. Didn’t you used to believe in Young Master more firmly than I did?”

“That’s true, but the situation is so difficult this time. The Demon King isn’t just any Demon King. He’s the one who unleashed this hell.”

Even while talking, he cut off the head of an approaching Orc and threw a dagger to sever the legs of a Kobold.

“I believe that Young Master will definitely win and return.”

Sion firmly believed.

That this time too, Henon would bring back results that would surprise everyone.

She had already witnessed several times the miracle of making the impossible possible.

It’s the same this time too.

The Young Master will definitely do it.

Slash! Slash! Thud!

How long had they been fighting?

Her whole body was sticky with blood.

Her white skin had turned red, covered in blood.

The bangs, soaked in blood and hanging like seaweed, obscured her vision.

All the weapons she had been using were either dull or too slippery due to the oil on the blood, so she discarded them and used weapons she picked up from corpses.

Later, she smashed monsters with just a wooden club.

The physical recovery power from the World Tree buff was tremendous, but mental recovery was impossible.

The humans who had witnessed the successive deaths of their comrades and friends right in front of their eyes were gradually going insane.

A soldier whose arm had been cut off four times eventually couldn’t bear the pain on the fifth amputation and became an idiot.

Shisan Blood Sea (屍山血海) [A Chinese idiom referring to a scene of carnage, mountains of corpses and rivers of blood].

Corpses piled up like mountains and blood flowed like rivers.

If you opened your eyes for even a second, the gruesome and horrific sight tormented your optic nerves.

“How long do we have to do this?”

“It might be easier to just die…”

“I think I’m going crazy.”

“I can’t fight like this anymore.”

The morale of the army wavered.

At this rate, the human camp will collapse first.

The Demon Realm army, which had been fighting to the death, would seize this opportunity and come out.

This would lead to the collapse of the unstable balance, and the aftermath would only be a mass slaughter.

In fact, Sion was also breathing heavily. If she, a Sword Master, was like this, there was no need to mention the average soldier.

“Please…”

Sion muttered to herself without realizing it and looked at the distant sky.

Unlike the hell spread out on the ground, the sky was, damn it, clear.

If they lost today’s battle, it was a sky they would never see again.

Humans would become slaves of the demons or food for the monsters, and the rotten magical energy spewed out by the devastated land would dye the sky red.

A terrible world just to imagine.

If the Young Master was defeated by the Demon King, that’s what would happen in reality.

“Huh? Someone’s coming over there!!”

Campbell’s shout.

Because his voice was so loud, the soldiers exhausted from the battle turned their heads like meerkats without realizing it.

For that moment, it was as if someone had pressed the pause button.

The monsters and demons also stopped moving and checked who was approaching.

Sion was also included in that.

She also stared at the other side of the sky with her neck stretched out.

And…

Roar!!!

A dignified roar.

Shining silver.

Widely spread wings.

The majestic appearance of the dragon, which was reassuring just to look at, and the handsome man riding on it. Black hair fluttering in the wind and enchanting green eyes looked down on the battlefield.

“He really… did it…”

Campbell knelt down with a thud.

Some soldiers fainted on the spot, as if their tension had been relieved.

However, the majority of the reaction was a frenzy of shouts.

“Waaaaaaah!!!!”

A stream of clear tears flowed down Sion’s cheeks.

Her eyes met with Henon, who was looking down from the sky.

Sion realized that he was seeing her accurately even from a distance.

Was it because of the relief that spread in her heart? Was it because of the gratitude for rewarding her faith? Was it because of the respect for the hero who had created a miracle?

“You’ve worked hard, Young Master.”

Sion waved her hand.

She unknowingly pulled up the corners of her mouth with all her might.

It was the first bright smile she had ever made in her life.

* * *

After defeating the Demon King.

For a while, it didn’t feel real.

How much had I run for this moment?

All the efforts I had made so far flowed like a panorama.

“Kyu! We finally did it, kyu!!”

Coco hugged my neck tightly.

Her wide tongue licked my cheek.

Only after my whole body was covered in saliva did I come back to my senses a little.

“It’s not over yet.”

Now that the Demon King was dead, the portal to the Demon Realm would be closed.

But the remaining remnants were still killing our allies.

The sooner we go, the more lives we can save.

“Coco, I’m counting on you.”

“Okay, kyuu!!”

Finally, we arrived at the battlefield.

In order to create a dramatic scene, I rode on Coco’s back and looked down.

The giant body of the Holy Dragon floating in the sky is easily noticeable by itself.

The allies, exhausted from the war, saw me and Coco and realized that the Demon King had met his end.

“Waaaaaaah!!!!”

A thunderous roar.

Morale soared like crazy.

There’s a saying that you should row when the water comes in [idiom meaning to take advantage of a favorable situation].

I also took advantage of this momentum and poured out Druid skills without holding back.

[Crystal Meteor]

[Enhanced Bind]

The monster army waiting in the rear was instantly smashed by the crystal meteorites falling from the sky.

Tree roots with sharp thorns moved like snakes, and the corpses of demons were scattered wherever they passed.

The Demon Realm army was plunged into fear and confusion as a result of the brutal attack.

“Heeek!! Run away!”

“No way!! Did Baal really fall?”

“He’s a crazy human! It’s all over!”

The demons who had believed in Baal and persevered to the end were the first to abandon their subordinates and leave the group.

I have no reason to keep them alive.

[Crystal Mountain]

A mountain skill developed from the shield series.

A huge mountain is created on the spot, completely blocking their escape route.

Those who became rats in a trap had to give their necks to the Seven Stars in turn.

Once the commander was taken care of, the monsters were finished too.

The war, which had been going on for over ten hours, came to an end with the last demon’s neck being cut off.

“W-We won…”

A soldier muttered, covered in blood. He couldn’t believe what was happening. But after a little time passed, he regained his sense of reality and shed hot tears.

“Uwaaaa!! We won! We won!!”

“I’m alive! I thought I was dead.”

“Keuek! Keuek!!”

They each put down their weapons and hugged each other, reveling in the joy of survival.

Some lowered their heads in front of the corpses of their dead comrades and offered a silent prayer.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.

Various emotions burst out from all directions and melted deeply into the battlefield where victory and defeat were divided.

It was then.

One of the soldiers ran out and saluted me, who was floating in the sky.

There were no words of gratitude in particular.

He just kept shedding tears and put his fingertips on his forehead.

He was the beginning.

Others also began to salute me one by one.

It wasn’t like anyone told them to do it.

Everyone saluted.

Ordinary soldiers, commanding officers, and even Seven Star generals. Even leaders like Sasha and Merian.

The vast plains, which had been noisy until a few seconds ago, became quiet as if nothing had happened.

Everyone is just looking at me.

An atmosphere that makes me feel like I have to say something.

I glanced down.

I saw Sion and Campbell.

Thankful friends who have been with me from the beginning to the end of the long journey.

I stared at them intently and opened my mouth.

“Let’s go home.”

* * *

The war is over.

The soldiers collected the bodies, packed their equipment, and then withdrew.

The Great Plains of the North regained peace.

The Demon King is gone and the monsters are gone, so now this place has become an ordinary snow mountain.

Except for one thing.

The black sphere floating in the sky.

It is the isolated space where the Demon Duke Astaroth and the Heavenly Demon Grandfather were fighting.

The sphere, which had been silent for a long time, finally began to shake.

Clatter clatter

It started with a subtle vibration at first, but soon developed into a violent tremor.

The sphere, which had been holding out well for a while, split from side to side due to the strong force pushing from the inside and spat out the contents inside.

“Hoo, have you ever seen such a damn tenacious guy!”

The Heavenly Demon came out with a fed-up expression.

Behind him, Astaroth was slowly disappearing.

“It’s nothing special, but it’s just running away.”

The Heavenly Demon, who was grumbling, suddenly felt something strange and looked around.

Nobody is there.

Only the desolate wind caressed his beard.

“What? Where did everyone go?”