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Ever since I defeated those three overlords, I was awarded the title of “Crimson Dragon Lady” by Andassis the Seventh.

Titles were a privilege afforded only to those who were as powerful as an overlord. Meaning… Regardless of what my actual star level was, I was now a member of that elite club, a person that could take on three overlords alone.

Not long after the three Ertalonese overlords were slain, General Cleoz announced the news. Without much fanfare, I might add. Not that it was needed, the Ertalonese army immediately fell apart when they learnt of that fact.

Of the five overlords that came to invade, there were only two left. One was the general leading the entire army, while the other was the hierophant who used that forbidden spell on the fort. That same spell was the very reason he was now out of action, seeing as the spell itself was woven with his own Territory.

All in all, the Ertalonese army had no way of resisting our forces any longer.

With no other options left to him, the enemy general, General Moniz, started planning for a full retreat.

Being a veteran general himself, Cleoz knew what his counterpart was planning even without checking. On the night of the victory itself, he invited me for a little discussion. He wanted me to join the pursuit and deal the enemy a decisive blow with my magitek knights.

I did not like the man. That much was certain from my first meeting with him. But for the greater good, I dutifully accepted the order to lead the Magitek Knight Corp.

This time, Cleoz took the lead himself. And in one fell swoop, crushed the coalition army of Ertalon and those rebellious northern nobles who joined the enemy. It was surreal for an Earthling like me… that was 400,000 soldiers!

Next up was to reclaim our lost territory.

Honestly, such a rousing victory wasn’t even imaginable for the soldiers just days ago. They had their backs against the literal fort walls, with only a bunch of new knights to aid them. How ridiculous the situation must have sounded to them, and probably to the history books in the future…

Apparently, the King himself held a banquet that night to celebrate our victory.

And those despicable nobles who were clamoring for their kids to be returned… They immediately jumped on the news like ravenous sharks, vying for rewards that they truly had no part in.

However, those were all small details. Andassis the Seventh gave his tacit agreement to their behavior as well. To begin with, if the entire north rebelled, that meant there were huge swathes of land to be given out. Naturally, he could have just consolidated it all into the royal family’s estate, but in a feudal system like his, he had to divvy up the spoils to his subjects.

But… all that wasn’t my problem. This kingdom did not even belong to me, and I had no intention of caring either.

The final battle of our pursuit ended in a one-on-one battle between the two generals. General Moniz was heavily wounded and had to be evacuated by his troops. Even now, we did not know if he survived with those injuries.

The other overlord, the hierophant, had fled long ago. The remaining troops were crushed by our army…

It was a rousing victory, but for the peasantry of the north, this was a nightmare. The scattered enemy troops were easy targets for our soldiers, but not for the peasants. However, these defeated soldiers weren’t the only plague upon the north. Some devious nobles even had the gall to fake bandit attacks in order to claim credit for themselves.

Once more, the pure evil of these people astonished me.

By putting an end to some of these attacks, I now had the dubious honor of simultaneously being the most welcome person and the least welcome person amongst the nobles.

In order to placate some of these furious nobles, Andassis the Seventh finally had to step in himself, issuing a transfer order, politely sending me off to the territory he gave me. In other words, the northern region of Kesek.

At this point, the defeated army hadn’t extended its tendrils into Kesek yet. Given how close Kesek was to the borders, even these soldiers weren’t able to progress that far. Another three to five days were needed.

But that did not mean the Kesek peasantry were living free of worry either. Every day was spent in fear of the inevitable – that a bunch of ragtag soldiers, dressed in ragged armor and wielding broken swords, would just turn up on their doorsteps to pillage their village. Days felt like years for them. When we first arrived, the despair hanging in the air was palpable for all to see. But only for a while longer…

On the night of my arrival, along with the Magitek Knight Corp, a wave of hope washed over the ailing populace, like the break of dawn on the cold, dark winter night.

In the first place, the traitors were the lords of these regions, not the peasantry. They were merely trying to live their daily lives unbothered. Now, in just the span of a few days, their communities had been upended by the arrival of nearly 200,000 refugees from the neighboring lands who had been pillaged, with no signs of abatement.

Naturally, Kesek wasn’t the only region affected by refugees. When the defeated soldiers came knocking on your doorstep, there wasn’t time to be picking and choosing your safe haven. You just threw on your shoes and ran…

To where? God knows.

The rest were either killed by the pillaging soldiers of the defeated army, or killed by the pillaging soldiers of the army pretending to be the defeated army… Not that those who fled were any better. All that awaited them was a life of hardship, and scraps to show for it.

Truly, the definition of a rock and a hard place.

Thus did my arrival seem like a turning point for the region. The fame of my knight order had spread far and wide, even to this remote region. Realizing that my arrival was brought forward, there was no short of fanfare at the news…

The scene of thousands queuing up just to welcome us was a truly sight to behold…

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