The Guard knew that, in essence, he had two options only. He could either intentionally lose against the King and die a painful death at Azekiel's hands, or he could fight back and defeat the King, which wasn't hard as all the guards knew that the King was quite bad when it came to actually fighting.

It was just a rumor in the Kingdom that he himself spread about him being a great warrior who could defeat many enemies at once, but in reality, he was nowhere close to that.

The Guard was clear that if the King had to win, then he could only do so if he intentionally lost. But in that case, he would get no benefits, and his family would also live a struggling life. And if he killed the King, according to Azekiel, he was going to become the next King! There was no question left in his head as to what he had to do.

Azekiel sat on the chair, seemingly in no hurry. It had been a long time since he actually saw a show like this, but he knew it would be fun. A King was going to be slain by his own Guard that he thought to be lower than him.

There was quite an irony in it since it reminded him of his own past. The only difference was that it was someone else with him in the Guard's place. He also made sure to have this battle so he could be reminded once again.

"You can begin whenever you're ready, but I would advise you not to take much time because if I start getting bored, I might actually get involved myself. So try to finish it fast." Azekiel positioned himself comfortably on the seat as he observed the young Guard lost in deep thought.

Seeing the Guard think, the King was scared. He kept trying to gesture for the Guard to listen to him, but the Guard didn't even look at him.

"Give him your weapon," Azekiel told one of the Guards. The Middle-aged King was the only person here who was without a weapon after all.

A guard stepped forward and gave his Sword to the King before walking back, ignoring the pleading gaze of the King. They couldn't do anything in a situation like this when even their King wasn't willing to fight.

Azekiel's assumption was right as well. The greed worked, and the red-haired man actually raised his Sword, aiming it at his King. Killing his King meant he could have anything he wanted. Moreover, it was also the only way to remove the Royal Family so an actually talented person like him could take the throne instead of a pretentious person like the current King.

The Guard attacked. The King was shocked to see that the Guard was attacking him in full seriousness.

He hastily raised his own Sword as well to block the attack.

"What are you doing? Do you really want to kill your King? You traitor, drop your weapon right now!" Since gestures weren't working, the King actually started outright commanding the Guard before Azekiel. "This is your King's command! Do as I said!"

The King yelled as he kept moving back, blocking each attack. Only one person amongst them was on the offense, and it was the Guard.

The Guard clenched his fist. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline the command! I must fight back this time!"

The King had selected the Guard, thinking he looked the weakest and he was partially right. The Guard he picked was indeed the weakest when it came to raw strength, but he was one of the best when it came to pure skills. That was one of the reasons he was selected in the Royal Guards despite being so skinny.

The red-haired Guard was lightweight, allowing him to move faster and more swiftly, sending the King on the backfoot.

"Not bad at all. You don't look strong, but your skills are quite good." Azekiel started clapping at the display of skills. The Guard was quite strong for a human warrior without any magical skills.

Receiving Azekiel's compliments, the Guard actually felt something proud for some reason. His attacks only intensified following the compliments. He only had one Sword, but to the King, it felt like the Guard had tens of swords.

He was already struggling to keep up with the Guard's attack, let alone having time to counterattack.

"Stop it this instant! We promise that if you die for us, we will take care of your family like it's our own family. We will give your family the Title of Nobles, a castle and vast lands to rule!" The King also offered, having no other option.

"Just listen to us and let us live! Your sacrifice will make your family Nobles! But if you killed us, even if you get the throne, the citizens will never accept you as their legitimate King! You'll always be known as a traitor! There will be mutinies all around, and eventually, your family will be killed even if you get the throne!"

"What do you want? The eventual destruction of your family because you were greedy or for you to be known as a martyr who gave his life to protect his King? Your family would have a much better life if you sacrificed yourself!"

The King knew that Azekiel had offered a lot to the man. First, he needed to get his Guard out of this trap of greed, and he could only do that by offering him another carrot, but this time with an added advantage that Azekiel didn't offer... The well-being of his family in the future!

His trick also looked like it was working as the Guard did slow down. His mind was actually split between the two offers, and the second certainly had merits of its own.

Unfortunately, that small hesitation of the Guard was enough for the King to take advantage of it. The King thrust his Sword, stabbing it through the chest of the Guard before jumping back, worried that in the last moments, the Guard might attack as well.