"Here we go again," was all Horus could say.
-Ding
[Infinite Time Loop has been activated]
Once again, he was killed, but with each passing timeline, Horus could feel Volka growing impatient.
"Make this stop!" yelled the latter.
He died a total of ten times before Lady Vi finally caught on to what was happening. When she realized what Horus was doing, she was taken aback.
In the timeline where she noticed, they both attacked Volka as if there could be a match, but they stood no chance against the demon.
"You cannot win," Volka's voice thundered.
"I'm not the one trying to win, you are," Horus said with a smile. "You are trying to win in order to escape, but I'm sure you have realized it. You've kept losing to a human, over and over-"
"Set me free!!" Volka demanded. He didn't even let Horus finish his statement before he burned him down, leaving nothing but his skeleton.
Horus was right. Volka couldn't help but admit the tactics used by the former were something he'd never expected.
There was no way he could escape. It was like playing a pig's game. Horus enjoyed reliving the moment again and again.
He noticed that, from the childish way Volka had called his name earlier, the demon was growing frustrated, and that realization excited him.
'This human, isn't he supposed to be a fool?' he thought. 'How could he have thought of something like this?'
"I have come to bargain for the release of my people," Horus said.
At his words, the present orcs were about to laugh. However, their king's next words did not just shock them, but Lady Vi as well.
Although she knew Horus had been repeating the timeline, she thought he was doing this to find a chance to kill Volka.
She never imagined the plan was to frustrate the Orc King. Now it all made sense why she never saw him fight more than once in the timelines.
"Fine," Volka said through gritted teeth. He tightened his palm on his throne to the point where he cracked the armrest. "Release his people."
To the orcs, everything happened within a minute. Horus had just come in, and their king quickly agreed.
They had no clue these two had been in battle for more than one hour.
---
In the dead of the night, the troops had gone to sleep, and only a few were on guard duty.
The knights who were guarding the south side of the camp started a conversation about their king, Horus.
"He's probably dead by now," said the one with a shield and spear. The other was equipped with a bow and arrow and a blade belted around his waist.
"If the news reaches the empire, nothing is stopping the rebels from taking over. They believe their leader would be fit to rule," he said.
"Don't you? I don't support the rebels, but I honestly think we need someone man enough to lead us. King Horus is a born fool."
"Lower your voice. The commander's loyalty still resides with the king."
As they both began whispering, a sound pulled them out of their gossip.
Then they saw someone whose hands formed a ball of flame. Looking further, they saw hundreds of people behind this individual.
"Shit, are we under attack? Sound the alarm."
Quickly, the latter blew the horn, signaling every individual in the camp to be on guard.
They all armed themselves. "Seems the orcs are here to return the king's head."
However, to their astonishment, they recognized these people. After all, it was the same dragon crest on the plates of their armor.
"Fuck, it's our men," one of them pointed out.
"It really is them... they've returned!" another yelled jovially.
The mages quickly stepped out to help the wounded, starting with the civilians.
As Horus approached his troops, he heard the familiar notification sound, accompanied by the system's interface.
-[Ding]
-[Congratulations: Troops' trust has increased by 10%]
Horus smiled. 'This is my life now, huh,' he thought.
As he reached the soldiers who had been chanting and celebrating, they immediately fell silent.
They all turned to face him, their faces filled with awe and respect, and those who had doubted him couldn't meet his eyes.
One by one, they knelt, bowing their heads in reverence. "Long live the emperor," they greeted him simultaneously.
Horus gave a nod. "We camp tonight, and by morning, we return home."
---
-[Congratulations: You have completed Act One]
-[You have gained an achievement and 10,000 upgrade points]
-[Achievement: Unscathed Victory]
-[System Notice: Each mission passed will automatically grant the player healing]
After reading through the interface, Horus confirmed it was true, as the injury he once had had completely disappeared.
'I wonder why something like this never existed in my previous life,' he thought.
-[The next act will begin soon]
'Next act? Still, this interface keeps making me question if this is a game or reality.'
Horus sat, resting in the cave while sharpening his blade with a coarse rock.
He gazed at his reflection through the blade. His sharp jawline caught his attention, along with his long black hair.
'I've gone from a mob leader to this, battles, leadership, and magic,' Horus sighed. 'A ruler... I should be able to get used to this.'
Pulling him from his thoughts was Lady Vi, who walked into the cave unannounced. A tent had been set up at the entrance, the cave serving only to make the emperor's tent look bigger.
"I'm guessing you're here for answers," Horus said, still sharpening his blade.
"Answers? Of course not. I'm not wasting my night on a simple conversation," she responded.
"Your night?" As he asked, he finally turned to look at her, and suddenly, his heart skipped.
She was no longer wearing her knight armor, but instead a transparent gown that revealed every curve of her body.
By day, she appeared to be a ruthless killer, and by night, who would have guessed she'd be a seductive goddess?
"This is my night. You had sex with Morgana the last two nights."
"Did I?" Horus sighed. He stood and rested his sword against the wall. "Well, sorry but I'm really exhausted right now, maybe-"
Before he could finish, Vi tied her robe and left the cave, it was clear Horus doesn't fancy her anymore.
And this hurt her feelings deeply because she had been hearing rumors about the emperor preferring Morgana over her.
But that wasn't the case. Horus was simply getting used to this new life. He couldn't just have sex with her.
He sighed. He still needed to get himself together and fully accept things.