God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 240: Episode _Ruler of the Battlefield (2)

3.

It wasn’t a particularly premeditated move. Simin had simply been about to set off when an idea flashed through his mind. "Ah! Wait, wait!"

As everyone stared at him with expressions ranging from confusion to annoyance, Simin ignored them and gave his order. "Everyone, strip."

"I said, strip."

The absurd command was met with stunned silence. The Imperial Knights, the Holy Knights, and even the priests looked at him as if he had lost his mind. It was so baffling that they couldn’t even begin to process whether they should obey. The question wasn’t about the intent behind the order, but rather what the hell a person had to ingest to become such a raving lunatic.

Nevertheless, Simin pressed on. He might have seemed thoughtless, but he was always, always thinking about money. Every word he spoke was the result of a calculated decision. Unless he was forced to submit to a greater power, he would never back down.

"You there."

"...Yes, sir."

Of course, Simin wasn’t the kind of dictator who demanded obedience without explanation. He could be stubborn, but in a situation like this—one that wasn’t time-sensitive, wasn’t for immediate massive profit, but concerned their future actions—he kindly elaborated.

"You see that Holy Knight uniform of yours? Do you know how much it’s worth?"

"It’s iron mixed with silver, so the price is..."

"Right? It’s expensive stuff, isn’t it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Okay, now imagine you’re just some black mage on the road. He’s got nothing, so he’s just wearing a simple, breathable black robe. A guy like that has been hiding his whole life and just came out into the world for the first time, right? To fight a war, no less. Do you think he’s going to be skipping along like he’s on a picnic, or is he going to stick to deserted paths, constantly on guard?"

He fell silent.

"Now, let’s say he spots us. Your armor is so shiny, he’d probably see the glare before he saw you. How would that black mage react? Wow! Holy Knights! Oh? And Imperial Knights, too? They haven’t seen me yet. Maybe I should go say hi. Is that what he’d say?"

The knight remained silent.

The explanation was perfectly reasonable. It was a point the Holy and Imperial Knights hadn’t considered. Still, they hesitated to remove their armor. It was their lifeline. They began to disrobe, but their anxiety was palpable.

Simin offered them words of comfort to soothe them. "Are you guys gonna piss your pants just because you’re not wearing armor? Squeaker here is wearing just her holy garb with no underwear."

"Ahem."

"Hmph."

Involuntarily, the knights’ gazes shifted to Squeaker, who was standing beside Simin. Her holy robes were so form-fitting—either because they were perfectly tailored or because they couldn’t quite contain the class of the wearer—that Simin’s comment sparked their imaginations.

"You punks. Alright, hand over your armor to me and put one of these on."

"Sir?"

"Hand them over?"

Taking advantage of the knights’ awkward posture as their blood circulated a little too vigorously, Simin held out a magic pouch and began distributing black robes. ’Why is he taking our armor?’ Anxious and suspicious glances stabbed at Simin, but he remained unfazed.

"What, you want to carry it yourselves? Are you poor? You think I’m going to rip you off? You guys really hurt my feelings."

The knights were too stunned to speak.

"And you call yourselves knights, relying on your gear like this. See? This is why you’re not improving. No progress at all. Just trust me and hand it all over. I’ll wash it nicely, and if I’m in the mood, I’ll even enhance it a bit before I give it back. Got it?"

Simin’s expression was as kind as a parent collecting their children’s New Year’s money for "safekeeping." Reluctantly, the knights had no choice but to nod.

"Don’t worry about dying. We have priests, and besides, the only way you’ll die is from black magic. You think wearing a bit of armor is going to reduce magic damage?"

He had a point. If one were to dissect his words, the person relying most on gear was Simin himself, decked out in two layers of +15 enhanced equipment. But the knights, unaware of this, only saw the concerned face of their temporary commander.

And so, a special unit clad only in black robes was born, though they still didn’t understand why it had to be black robes of all things.

The rest was easy.

"Black magic mages use a magic circle of subjugation as a sign to identify each other," Kardian supplied.

"Ooh. One praise point for you."

"That makes forty-one."

They had Kardian, who knew all about black magic mages.

"Squeaker, use that whenever you see black magic mages."

"Okay, Dad!"

And they had Squeaker, who, for the low price of five gold, could use black magic despite being a Saintess.

Thus began the black magic mage cosplay.

The expressions on the Holy and Imperial Knights were grim, but the results were undeniable.

"What, you punk? Got a problem with it?" Simin said. "We’re not even real black magic mages, so what’s the big deal? They cosplay as civilians and slaughter them, so we should return the favor."

"You’re right, sir," a knight replied, though the constant brainwashing, repeated dozens of times a day, was what was truly wearing them down.

"But how can the Saintess use a magic circle of subjugation...?" another knight wondered aloud.

"Ahem! How insolent! Are you doubting the Saintess chosen by God himself?"

"No, that’s not what I meant..."

"The line between black and white magic has always been paper-thin. What God despises are demons and their foul demonic energy, not black magic itself. Tsk, tsk."

"...Ah!"

"That’s right. So watch your mouth."

These little embellishments gradually erased their reluctance to don black robes and slaughter black magic mages. That was how they had gotten here. Now, it was almost natural, as if they had truly become black magic mages themselves.

When they joined other groups, their hearts still pounded with the fear of being discovered, but when they perfectly deceived their targets and stabbed them in the back, an unbearable thrill surged through them. ’So this is betrayal!’ It was a temporary game, a means to punish evil, but they began to understand the rush the black magic mages must feel when they massacred people.

"Alright, let’s head in," Simin announced.

"Why are we going into the castle...?"

"Why do you think? We saved them from being conquered. Surely it’s fine to rest here for a day, right?"

The knight was dumbfounded.

"Your gear is a bit lacking, too. We should restock."

He was too stunned to speak.

And to these men, whose walls of conviction had begun to crumble, the next stage of darkness extended its hand.

*

"Is this really...?" a knight began.

"Ahem! What do they say about Geumgangsan Mountain?" Simin cut in.

"...Even that is best seen after a meal."

"Exactly. In our world, there’s a mountain called Geumgangsan that you have to spend a lifetime climbing. Even the world’s greatest knights who scaled that mountain always filled their bellies before a challenge. There’s no mountain like that here, but you need a full stomach to hunt down black magic mages."

"...But still."

"This castle is grateful to us for ensuring its safety. We, in turn, will continue to protect this castle by going out and killing black magic mages, so they’re grateful that we’re taking some of this useless equipment off their hands. This is how the world works—win-win."

A magnificent feast was laid out before them. On one side was a pile of armor and weapons. They were embarrassingly inferior to what the knights had been wearing, but for common soldiers, they were high-quality. Added to that were the gold and jewels already lining Simin’s pockets. ’Is it really okay to be taking things like this during a war?’

The thought crossed their minds, but Simin had already taken everything. The special unit had eaten the food provided and been given comfortable beds, so they couldn’t really complain. They just felt a prick of conscience. If the lord had offered his hospitality from the heart, they might have felt a little better, but that wasn’t the case. It was clearly coerced.

They had been welcomed at first, of course. The lord might have worn an expression that said, ’It would have been nice if you’d helped before the gate was breached’, but since they had prevented a large-scale massacre, he was still grateful. He had readily agreed when Simin requested food and lodging. But as Simin’s demands grew, the lord’s expression soured. When Simin shamelessly demanded gold and jewels as "travel expenses," it looked as though a torrent of curses was about to spill from his lips.

"Thank you," Simin said smoothly. "I will be sure to speak well of you to His Majesty. I’ll tell him that the special unit moving covertly under his orders was treated very well."

The lord fell silent.

If he hadn’t shamelessly used the Emperor’s name, he probably would have been cursed out and thrown out on the street.

The special unit spent a fruitful night in the castle before departing. The knights’ faces were filled with resignation. ’To follow this man, I’ll have to abandon my convictions.’ The Imperial Knights, having experienced Simin’s antics a few times before, adapted relatively quickly, but the Holy Knights struggled.

Simin, however, paid them no mind and clapped them on the shoulder. "Don’t worry. Humans are all selfish by nature. You’ll get used to it after a while. Let’s go."

’Today will be better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be better than today!’ Defiling such a positive sentiment, Simin pulled up the hood of his black robe. The real black mage hunt had begun.

After the encounter between the Specialists and Simin, Grokile had remained with the Specialists. With his obviously demonic appearance, it was an unavoidable choice. It wasn’t a bad option for Grokile, either.

"Stay here and help the black magic mages," Simin had ordered.

"Does that mean I can slaughter the humans?"

"Do whatever you want. Just be sure to help them wholeheartedly. And on your conscience, at least try to listen to Seolah."

"As you wish. As long as you don’t interfere with the slaughter of humans."

"Just don’t attack the Rich Territory."

"Understood."

At least being with people who couldn’t directly influence him was more comfortable than being by his master’s side.

"Lord Grokile, if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask," a black mage said deferentially.

"I know, now get lost."

"Yes, sir."

It was a good opportunity to reacquaint himself with the status he had momentarily forgotten.

As they advanced, Grokile suddenly rose from his position and called to the black magic mages. "I need a hundred of you with decent skills."

"Yes, sir!"

Unquestioning obedience! A satisfied smile spread across his face as he broke away from the main force. "I’m going to summon more demons."

"Yes, go ahead," Jeong Seolah replied as he passed, not forgetting to report to her. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He began the summoning. He didn’t perform it directly; though he had crossed over without restrictions, he didn’t have that kind of authority. If a demon could summon other demons, a single one crossing over would be enough to facilitate a mass migration for continental conquest. Then there would be no need for black magic mages.

A demon could only provide the instructions.

"Use this incantation on a gate imbued with demonic energy," he told the black magic mages.

"Yes, sir."

One hundred black magic mages channeled their dark power, chanting an incantation they didn’t understand. The blood of the people they had slaughtered on their way served as the offering. After pouring in their magic for some time, the gate began to glow. At the same time, lesser demons poured out.

"Good."

It didn’t matter that a single spell had exhausted one hundred high-ranking black magic mages and consumed the blood of tens of thousands.

"This is something only you can do. It is a special reward I bestow upon you alone."

"Thank you, my lord!"

A temporary enhancement of the gate, connecting them to the demon world! Unaware that he himself had been summoned in a similar fashion, Grokile felt a sense of pride.