Chapter 130: 129

129

One Lost, One Left (2)

Some of the imperial nobles that we killed had been great lords. However, the Marquis of Yvesinth was a true high-ranking aristocrat, so different from those other great lords.

Security was tight, and even if Jin Katrin didn’t warn me that he felt magical barriers, I would still have been alert. If we failed and were discovered, the kingdom would be engulfed in war.

Everyone asked me to reconsider, but I didn’t heed their caution.

I might have done so had I never seen the empire, but now I had studied it with my own eyes.

Since I had awoken in the kingdom, it did not feel as if a full four centuries had passed while I had slept. The kingdom of fallen lions and knights who no longer believed in Muhunshi: That was the only change. The world I saw was not much different from the world of four-hundred years ago; there was only that difference. However, I realized my mistaken judgment the moment I left the kingdom.

Time might have run slowly in Leonberg, but the empire has prospered to a surprising extent. All manner of things that did not exist in the kingdom overflowed in abundance in the empire.

A level of civilization that did not exist four-hundred years ago was now in effect, and the imperial nobles were enjoying this luxury to the full.

I was ignorant, and the kingdom was also ignorant.

I didn’t know how truly advanced the continent had become and how backward the Leonberg Kingdom was.

It wasn’t just a difference in military power that the kingdom had to overcome. The spirit of the countries was different as well.

If you use the metaphor of Muhunshi poetry, the empire is [mythic] while the kingdom was so insignificant that it couldn’t even reach [extraordinary].

If you visualize both countries as knights, then the empire is a Sword Master while the kingdom was on the level of a Sword Beginner who had only recently grabbed a sword.

If the image of nobility is used, then the empire is a king, while the kingdom wouldn’t even be the mayor of some remote village.

It was as if a rabbit has chosen to fight a wolf; it was a battle between an adult and a child.

This was the essence of the battle that I, that the kingdom, would need to wage in the future.

The odds were near-impossible to beat.

To increase our chances even slightly, we had to confuse the empire so that they would doubt each other, finally taking up the spear and the sword in a civil war.

Of course, even that wasn’t easy to achieve.

As long as the foresighted descendants of Burgundy held onto their power, any conflict of considerable proportions would soon be suppressed.

But fortunately, such a time has not yet come; the turbulence was still in the future.

The fierce Warlord of the greenskin race has already risen in the north.

The greedy, magical sword-dancers of the faerie race now wandered the world outside of their forests.

The Prima Meister of the dwarves has set out to found a new Eternal Furnace.

All the non-human beings who had hidden in obscurity were appearing across the world, one by one.

My case was the same: I had fallen asleep for four centuries and had been unaware that the descendants of my friend were dying out. I wasn’t so stupid that I believed that all such events happened only in the northern part of the continent, where my eyes had reached.

It was no coincidence that the descendants of Agnes Bavaria, who had forgotten their roots, had appeared before me. It was not by chance that the scion of Umbert Dortmund, the forebear of a family who had been awaiting this time, had met me.

I had seen countless wars and tumults through the ages; therefore, I was more sensitive to the signs than anyone else. Something was happening in this world, and the humans were unaware of it.

Still, I couldn’t figure out what it was. My powers as a watcher had been sealed away. Now I was just a human. However, I had experienced turbulent times, and some of that insight remained within me, so I felt it, even if only weakly.

I was sure that whatever was about to happen would not be trivial, and it would not benefit humanity. It was a huge event that would sweep over the continent.

Now, I wanted to lift myself into the air as soon as possible. Such turbulence could only be an opportunity. Taking the head of the Marquis of Yvesinth would only be the advent of the chaos that the empire would have to face in the future.

I was careful and bided my time.

After waiting for the opportune moment, we were able to corner the marquis and his followers and slit their throats.

“When we return, I am going to tell His Highness that I don’t want to go flying with his friends again,” Jin Katrin said as he looked at the corpses, his face yellow. It seems that he was quite weakened after dealing with Yvesinth’s wizard, who had been of a fairly high rank.

However, I was satisfied with our work.

“Now all these nobles will be arguing over the position of the marquis.”

It was as Jin Katrin said: Since all the direct lineages with succession rights have been wiped out, all families with even a slight hereditary claim will be rushing to strengthen their positions.

I wanted to stay and watch the imperial dogs quarreling, but unfortunately, a lot of time has passed, and I could no longer delay.

It was truly time to return.

“Go,” I said, and Jin began to gesture.

All the wyverns took to the air at once.

* * *

The Sky Knights dropped our party off near the border between the empire and the kingdom and then disappeared over the horizon. I didn’t say goodbye; we would meet them in the royal capital anyway. The delegation slowly moved north.

On our journey, we encountered the imperial border guards several times.

Among them was De Gaulle de Devisch, the senior knight of the 112th Knights who had insulted me and was so insulted in turn.

“Hut!?”

The high-ranking knight of the wicked empire widened his eyes when he saw me. It was as if he had seen a ghost.

“It’s been a while, polite knight,” I greeted him, and De Gaulle held an ugly expression, which he quickly corrected as he started chatting with a friendly face.

“If you go now, we don’t know when we will see you again. So how about we share our goodbyes?”

Of course, his words scarcely reached my ears.

When De Gaulle could not persuade us, he began following us from a distance. When I saw a rider coming and going during this time, I assumed that he had sent a messenger out to the fortress.

“We must be bothering him.”

I straightened my face and knew I had nothing to worry about. I urged the weary delegation to head straight into Leonberg territory. We reached a spot where we could see the border between the countries in the distance.

‘Dukkudukukkuduku,’ came the sound of horses being ridden hard from behind us. The rising dust gave away their position, and I saw that they were riding from the imperial fortress.

De Gaulle, at their lead, closed the gap with us. I glanced at them and silently instructed the delegation.

“Be ready.”

Arwen picked her father up onto her shoulders, and Carls carried Niccolo.

“Run!”

Hearing my order, the party started running for the border.

“Your Highness! Where are you going!” the embarrassed De Gaulle cried as he tried to block us off with his steed, but he could not catch up to us: We were running by expending mana.

“The last one over the border has to run all the way to the capital!”

As they heard me, the Templars sped up even more. Carls, carrying Niccolo, protested, but when he saw Arwen and her father pass him by, he shut up and increased his pace.

As we ran for the border, De Gaulle’s pursuit continued. At every moment, the imperial forces were closing the gap.

“Your Highness! Wait a minute! His Excellency, the commander, has something to tell you!” De Gaulle exclaimed eagerly, but I saw no value in stopping and playing games with the Imperial Border Guard.

“He can tell me later!”

Still, De Gaulle and his border patrol persisted in following us. However, it wasn’t long until they had to call off the pursuit.

“Your Highness! There are the knights of the Southern Legion!”

Those of the southern legion had noticed the rising dust clouds, so they had hastened to the border.

“Their response speed is good!”

“Disclose your affiliation and identity!” the southern knights shouted as they halted before us. Only after I heard their alert voices did I realize the state of the delegation.

After wandering so long through imperial territory, our faces were unwashed and haggard, our clothes were torn and tattered by repeated battles, and even our coats-of-arms, with the lion of Leonberg, were dust-covered.

We were an unknown group running excitedly for the border, and one of us was even carrying an old man. It wasn’t strange that the knights did not recognize us; they were right to be suspicious. The Templars grasped the nature of the situation, shrugged, and polished the center of their breastplates until their heraldry could be seen.

“Oh!” When the symbols were revealed under the dirt, the southern knights caught their breaths.

“Well, that’s no way to greet us!” Siorin shouted with a red face after he had climbed from his daughter’s shoulders, reminding the knights of their duty.

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The delegation’s mission was finally completed, and we had returned.

“The Southern Legion welcomes His Highness the First Prince!” the knights exclaimed as one as they all knelt before me. I smiled and accepted their greeting. Then I suddenly looked back.

The imperial border guards were looking our way.

I waved my hand at them. I could see the distorted faces of the imperial soldiers as they saw my goodbye. This made me wave my hand even more enthusiastically.

“Thank you for the great drop-off!”

* * *

“We are thankful for your safe return.”

The Knights of the Southern Legion were those who had seen me off the day we had left the kingdom. I felt their sincerity, for they had waited long for our return.

It wasn’t just me who felt that way, for the Templars were also talking to the knights in friendly tones. The southerners were thrilled that the Templars had defeated the imperial knights.

“Now, they can no longer look down upon the knights of Leonberg.”

Whenever they met with imperial knights, the southerners were ignored and dismissed, so they now treated the Templars as great heroes.

“But who was it that defeated a paladin of the empire?” one of the knights asked in excitement.

The reactions of the Templars were different as they heard the question. Some looked at Arwen while others looked at Gwain and his comrades. Some even looked at me.

The southern knights were confused by the different stares directed at different people.

I smiled and pointed towards Arwen and Gwain.

“Oh, oh!”

“To have such gifted young people born into the kingdom!’

Arwen was embarrassed by the reaction of the southerners, while Gwain and his comrades did not show any emotion. The knights constantly praised the newly born champions all the way to the fortress.

“If you achieved such a feat, you deserve praise and the ball they will be throwing for us,” I said with a giggle and told them to just have fun with it. “Here we are.”

Only after we arrived at the fortress could the new champions escape the uncomfortable situation.

“Heaven helped you all. It is clear that the ancestors of the kingdom looked down upon you with favor,” the commander of the Southern Legion said with some emotion once confirming that we were safe. He condemned the brutality of the empire and praised our party for not giving in.

The same sentiment was felt by his knights.

Many of their compliments were directed at me. They said that due to my outstanding leadership, the overblown prestige of the empire had taken a knock. I could not easily get used to the situation.

I had been struggling for months, so to suddenly receive praise like this made me uncomfortable.

“This ball is to praise you and what you have done. Just enjoy it,” Arwen said. Didn’t I say the same thing to her some time ago?

“Damn it,” I spat out and then quietly studied the delegation.

Everyone looked shabby, but their eyes shone brightly.

Arwen had become a quad-chain knight by confronting a paladin, so she has unquestionably grown. The other Templars had also gained much experience during our trip through the empire. The same held true for Gwain, Trindall, and Kampra. Within them, the three Ekyon brothers were working hard to digest the traces of mana scattered throughout their bodies. As a result, they seemed to have overcome the sundering of their rings, having performed well against the imperial knights.

I wasn’t sure, but I believed that they were the three knights who had achieved the greatest results in the shortest span of time.

Adelia had been present, but she hadn’t played a big part in our trip.

It was because her [War Mania] and [Butcher] were not easy to control, and also because she was not willing to wield her blade against other humans by her own volition.

That didn’t mean that she didn’t gain any experience, though. Born with her ancestor’s natural talent, she has learned a lot of things whilst watching the others do battle. The greater depth in her eyes was proof of this. I was sure that, with a little luck, she would soon become a Sword Master. Then she would be able to overcome her inherent weakness to some extent. Of course, the lunacy will still remain within her.

The commander didn’t bother us for long, rather taking care of the rest of our group who had returned. We welcome his consideration, as we were not yet in the place where we wanted to be. There was still a need for secrecy.

Publicly, it was believed that our delegation had left Hwangdo, faced challenges from knightly orders, and then returned, barely alive. No matter if this fortress was in the kingdom, it would be folly to talk about what we had truly done in the empire.

So everyone emptied tankards of alcohol without saying anything.

“Hahah.”

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Occasionally, the sound of laughter flared up, but in general, the atmosphere was quiet as everyone tilted back drinks.

I was drinking moderately, but Erhim Kiringer had chosen to encourage me.

“Your Highness, have another glass.”

I almost refused him, but then I saw that everyone else was holding their drinks, waiting for me to make a toast.

“You all worked hard,” I said, and the Templars looked at with expectant eyes. When they realized that it was my entire toast, they booed.

They had looked forward to a big speech from me.

After they had jeered for a while, they soon began to pour themselves more drinks.

At that time, the mouths of the Templars, which had been locked, began to loosen up. However, even as they laughed and spoke, not one of them mentioned what had occurred on our return journey.

I watched on as the Templars relaxed and took joy in life.

I was happy.

The fact that no one had died under my command made me more proud than our fair victories and achievements.

‘Chik,’ someone grabbed the cup from my hand.

“Overdrinking is bad for a leader,” Arwen said.

I grabbed a bottle from the table and said, “Don’t tell it to me. Tell it to those guys over there.”

‘Chik,’ someone grabbed the bottle from my hand as I joked with Arwen.

“You have been drinking far too much alcohol these days,” Carls nagged at me, counting the bottles that I had emptied. The two of them teamed up against me, and I had not the resolve to deal with them. I lifted my hands and feet in surrender, and Adelia served me a steaming cup of tea.

“Your Highness seems wound up, yes?”

Before I could snarl, the door was suddenly flung open.

A man appeared, and even if he looked like a beggar among beggars, it was not difficult to recognize him.

“Jordan?”

He was the 17th Platoon commander of the Balahard Rangers, Jordan.

Jordan approached me, and as he stared at me, he shouted, “I’ve been wandering for months looking for Your Highness!”

His eyes looked exhausted, and his voice was hoarse. Jordan momentarily grabbed the bottle from Carls and downed it in a single gulp. Then he started pouring out how much he had been searching for me. His tone was full of dissatisfaction, and his mouth set in a sneer, but I could feel that the emotion in his voice was one of relief and endearment.

Perhaps because of the alcohol, a strong feeling welled up in my heart.

I went and hugged Jordan without hesitation.

“Oh, that’s bad!” The odor that slammed into my nose quickly made me break off the embrace.

“First, wash yourself, Jordan. That’s the most urgent th-“

“This is not the time for taking baths!” Jordan suddenly shouted. “The empire is preparing for war!”

His face was deadly serious.

I sobered up real quick as I heard this. Siorin jumped from his seat and asked Jordan to elaborate on the immediate military situation.

“I wandered through the empire as I searched for you all, so I found out about it.”

Jordan explained how he headed back into the empire, vowing that he would not return before he had found me. As he scouted, he noticed a sudden increase in military movement and training of troops, as well as the large-scale deployment of units.

All were sure signs of war.

My face felt suddenly dry as if my muscles had hardened and my skins beset by grit.

“What is the destination of their deployment?”

“It has been confirmed,” Jordan answered me, taking the map that he held and spreading it out on a table. I glanced at the ranger’s map. Lines were drawn, all pointing to the eastern border of the empire. Then the long lines headed down along the southern border, where a small kingdom lay. I groaned.

Dotrin: That was the name I saw on the map.

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