This time, I won't be the devil.

As a result, the children around him starved to death one by one, but Jacob survived.

At that time, Jacob didn't know why he was living. He just followed the instinct of a living being and tried to find ways to maintain his life.

Jacob only felt a little sad when he helped collect the bodies of the children who died near his hideout.

When Jacob was 10 years old, he heard that the Hikari Religious State in the north had launched a great expedition against the demons.

At that time, Jacob had no idea what the demons were like. He only knew that since the Great Crusade began, there were more and more hungry people around, and stealing became increasingly difficult.

When he was 12 years old, Jacob stole a priest's wallet on the street, but he didn't expect that there were two Holy Knights in plain clothes with the priest.

The knights captured Jacob all the way back to the Theocracy and sent him to the Court of Inquisition.

"What should we do with this child? He's too young to be sentenced."

"Looking at his skills, I think he might have some talent. Why not send him to Cardinal Aesop..."

In this way, Jacob was received by the local court. A few days later, he was tied up, blindfolded, and loaded onto a carriage like cargo.

When he woke up, he was already in a huge white house.

"From today on, you have no name. This number is your name."

Jacob took an iron plate with 007 written on it, and from then on, 007 became the name people called him.

Later, many children of similar age to him were sent to the White House.

The number on the iron plate once reached 300, and this group of children was called the numberers.

Here, clergymen provide special education for children.

Ideologically, they were instilled with hatred for the demons and loyalty to the Theocracy.

"We must expel the demons from this world without a single one left alive!"

"For His Holiness the Pope, give me your heart!"

"May the glory of mankind last forever!"

These are the words that the numberers say every day.

These children were all homeless orphans, and the clergy taught them: "The sufferings you have endured were all trials given by God."

"You children bear the mission of defeating the demons and becoming heroes."

Physically, they also underwent arduous combat training.

In addition to this, they have to take medication every day and are taken to a special place every month.

There is a huge magic circle here. The children will be injected with medicine and then enter the magic circle one by one.

Every month, the number of children in the White House decreases. Now that I think about it, they must have undergone some kind of human experiment.

After several years, only 300 of the original 50 number holders remained.

The Holy See decided to form the 50th Company out of these final 86 numbered individuals and send them to the front lines of the Great Crusade to fight against the demons.

After several years of brainwashing education, Jacob, like other children, had a great goal.

Fight for humanity.

Fight for the happiness of all mankind.

As long as all enemies are eliminated, there will be no more sorrow and suffering.

As long as the demons are defeated, there will be no more children wandering in the wilderness.

So, fight, fight, fight...

This is the only reason for the survival of the numberers of the 86th Company.

At least, that's what they once believed.

……

After entering the demon territory, the 86 members of the 50th Company fought bravely, causing huge losses to the demons, and members of the company continued to die.

Whenever someone dies, Captain No. 016 will find a way to retrieve the numbered iron plate from the other person and put it in a small box.

According to the captain, this is proof of their existence.

When they triumph over the demons, these former companions will also be praised by all mankind.

Because of this behavior, everyone gave the captain a nickname - "Send-offerer".

Jacob's number 007 is the highest number currently in existence. The only one next to him is the captain with number 016.

But Jacob, the most senior one, is the weakest one in the entire company.

The rest of the numbered people have already broken through level 30, but Jacob's level has been stuck at 29.

This is because he has never been able to obtain the blessing of God.

Jacob didn't know why this happened. He just felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him since he entered the demon territory.

Relying on his agility and thief's skills, Jacob served as a scout in the company and rarely participated in direct combat.

It was because of this that he was able to survive to the end.

In the year 970 of the Aiden calendar, the Great Crusade drew to a close. After defeating the main force of the demons, the 86th Company received new orders:

Go to the Demon King's Castle to conduct reconnaissance, obtain intelligence, and prepare for the attack of the large force.

The success or failure of the holy war depends on this one move.

So, the last 13 members of the company left the main force and headed for the Demon King's Castle.

The night before entering the Demon King's Castle, the captain found Jacob and said to him:

"Cardinal Aesop has already told me that after the Great Crusade, the fifty members of the 86th Company will be awarded the medal of humanity's hero. This is the highest honor ever bestowed upon us."

"007, if I die, you will be the one to award me a medal..."

When the members of the 86th Company overcame all difficulties in the Demon King's Castle and completed the task of collecting intelligence, the rat-headed man Keblis, one of the three great kings of the demon clan, took action personally.

In front of the powerful Demon King, the company members fell one by one, and Jacob also lost his left leg.

At the last moment, the captain made a decision and asked the others to stay behind to hold the enemy back, while he asked one person to deliver the intelligence.

This task finally fell to Jacob, who was good at hiding.

At the captain's request, the rest of the people took off their number tags and handed them to Jacob.

"From now on, you are the new farewell person of our 86th Company..."

After escaping from the hellish battlefield, Jacob hid from place to place, traveling day and night.

During this process, Jacob, who was seriously injured and lacked supplies, was on the verge of death several times, but he still persevered with his tenacious will.

He must hand over this important information to the expeditionary force.

This is for the victory of mankind and to ensure that the sacrifice of the 86th Company will not be in vain.

But when Jacob finally returned to the expeditionary base, what was waiting for him there was real hell.

……

"Where did that guy go?"

"It must be still nearby, hurry up and look for it."

"Cardinal Aesop has ordered that he must not be allowed to leave alive."

After several days of escape, Jacob finally understood the truth.

There was no mission at all, and the sacrifice of the 86th Company was worthless.

Just as they were heading towards the Demon King's Castle, the main force of the expeditionary force had already retreated.

The last group left in the expeditionary base were the silencing troops arranged by Cardinal Aesop.

There are no heroes at all, they are just a group of abandoned experiments.

The reason they received the order was that Cardinal Aesop wanted to cover up the truth about the human experiments, so he sent them to die.

There is no honor at all, and the achievements of the 86th Company will not be recognized by anyone.

At this moment, the sky was covered with dark clouds and it was raining heavily.

Everything that supported Jacob collapsed completely at this moment.

And he himself is about to disappear from this world.

The silencing troops have surrounded the area and are conducting a carpet search. It is only a matter of time before they are discovered.

Jacob's strength was exhausted, the wound on his broken leg was infected and festered, he had a high fever and was unconscious.

The rain was like the restless beat of drums, as if mocking him.

Jacob laughed himself.

There was no sadness or resentment in his heart, only anger and unwillingness.

He would not pray to gods, nor would he ask for help from anyone.

At this moment, there was only one thought left in his mind.

If he could survive, he would rely on his own strength to take back those things that belonged to him and them!

This is not theft, but return.

Thinking of this, Jacob's consciousness fell into darkness.

He saw a clown with a weird smile.

Thus, this soldier who once vowed to expel all demons received the blessing of the evil god and a special skill.

Skill: [Return]: Level A, can be used once a day.

Skill Effect: Return a stolen item within sight to its original owner.

Chapter 31 The Punishment of a Thief (6K)

Since then, Jacob has changed from being numbered 007 to being the phantom thief Robin Hood.

The name Robin Hood was the name of a knight-errant outlaw that Jacob read in a fairy tale book when he lived in the White House.