Chapter 189: 188

Chapter 188

True Soul Song for Her (1)

Some of the Knights of the Sky returned to the citadel shortly after the funeral, those who had left to help recapture the capital. I heard the detailed circumstances of events through them.

When the Templar Knights arrived at the capital, the enemies had already taken full control of the outer walls and were preparing to defend them. The knight reported that the Templars had believed breaking through the enemy’s defense would not be easy, so they prepared themselves for an extended siege. However, the imperials collapsed, unable to defend the walls when an unexpected internal rebellion fell upon them. It was the citizens of the capital who rose up and attacked, with great violence, the gates occupied by the Imperial Army.

The militias were, of course, poorly equipped and severely lacked proper training, so they could not recapture the gates when faced by elite soldiers and imperial knights, the pillars of command.

The Templars did not fail to notice the confusion caused by the citizens, however. York Willowden, a champion of the kingdom and leader of the Templar Knights, led the offensive and forced all four gates of the city open. The imperials had endured the onslaught upon the walls in desperation, but they eventually abandoned the defense and occupied the outer city instead, trying to resist. Their efforts were once more suppressed thanks to the resistance and assistance of the citizens.

It was only later revealed that the civil resistance had been sprung by virtue of efforts made by those commanders and knights who had left the capital. However, even if the imperials had been prepared for the populace’s uprising, it would not have occurred had the queen’s death not spurred the citizens into action.

As the Wyvern Knight’s report continued, all the knights and commanders in the citadel mourned the queen’s death. Still, the king had ordered them to foster anger in their hearts instead of grief, so they swallowed their sorrow and became determined for war. The Wyvern Knight then told of how the queen had fought and held the walls until the very end, basing his report on the testimony of the capital’s citizens. He also told us what lengths the imperial army went to dishonor her.

The imperial forces found the queen’s body and desecrated it. It was not enough for them to mount her head and body on different places upon the wall, so they framed her death as that of a cowardly fugitive, fabricating the details of her end. However, too many people had witnessed the queen’s resistance upon the wall and her final act. One of the citizens told the Sky Knight that a righteous man had come out and fought the imperials to recover the queen’s corpse, then fled.

The moment I heard mention of this ‘righteous man’ I knew who it was.

I must have been Gionne, who brought the queen’s body to the citadel, despite the half-elf missing an arm and with her body full of severe injuries. The image of Gionne ran clear in my mind, with her struggling alone against the Imperial Army. Her demise, quietly breathing in my arms, was drawn so vivid in my memory.

I kept my breathing stable as I tried to dispel the heat boiling inside of me.

Meanwhile, the tale of the Sky Knight ended.

The king commended the knight for his hard work of delivering the news without reluctance by traveling vast distances across the country. The king’s voice sounded dull, without a hint of agitation. When the Sky Knight left, the king instructed that all the details be written down and remembered and be spread through the entire kingdom. He also wrote a letter urging all the kingdom’s nobles to participate in the war.

It was an order of total mobilization.

The king’s horsemen became the heralds, riding from the citadel.

Soon thereafter, the entire kingdom was on the move. Resentful nobles cried out for revenge after hearing about events in the capital, and the sound of knights and swordsmen sharpening their swords rang out after they heard of the queen’s end and began heading to the Gifted Lion Citadel.

Shortly after the king issued the order, nobles near the border led their troops and conscripts to the citadel. Through them, I learned that the other lords were also in a hurry to gather their troops and march here. From the rear came the news that the Great Marshal was arming citizens, tens of thousands of voluntary enlistees who he was struggling to organize and mobilize.

Most of them were citizens of the royal capital who had witnessed the queen’s last stand. As the king had said, it seemed that the queen’s death had become a fire that spread throughout the kingdom. It was clear that the change was not only occurring to the nobles and the capital’s citizens but the general populace as well. The number of civilians began to increase in the citadel, all of them people from the villages and estates adjacent to the border. Most of them lacked the courage to enter battle with spear and sword, but they wished to aid the war effort in their own way.

“This… It’s all I have, but the soldiers can eat it when they march out,” said a middle-aged man as he brought a basket full of grain and food that he had saved especially for the winter.

“I can’t do much, but I’m good at chores. If you need a laborer, I will work hard.”

A few young men had come to the citadel, saying that they were workers and would help with the general labor.

“I have become a big and old aunt, m’lord. But in all my time, the peasants in the nearby villages always come to me to get fixed up. I can’t just sit back and watch these men who fight for me die with broken heads and torn flesh, right? So, I lagged behind them peasants who came here, knowing that it’s difficult to care for one that’s got his hand injured.”

One talkative woman made it her duty to care for the injured in the citadel, saying that it was routine for her to take care of villagers who injured themselves.

The atmosphere at the citadel had been tense, up to a bursting point, that tension was now slightly diluted by the presence of good-hearted common folk.

The knights and soldiers were still crying out for bloody vengeance, but they became very thoughtful when they saw the civilians. Besides the independence of Leonberg that the royal family cried out for, these warriors seemed to become aware of the existence of the people they were meant to protect.

And while the knights and soldiers became cognizant of this new sense of duty, civilians continued to flock to the citadel. Not all of them came to help the soldiers; rather, the vast majority came up to the citadel to say a few words.

“I saw a group of people out there on the plains, m’lord. They looked real suspicious.”

Some hunters had roamed the plains for prey when they found tracks they had never seen before.

“The words and behavior of that one man who settled in our village a while ago… It ain’t like that of us Leonberg folk.”

Most of the stories that flowed from their mouths were nothing but groundless superstitions that sprang up in the clutter of war. Some of the reports were too detailed and consistent to be mere rumors, however. They had to be checked.

The king sent out the citadel’s cavalry, ordering them to trace and track the rumors of the people. The result was surprising, as a number of spies were flushed out, so close to the king and the border guard. A hundred spies resisted and were killed on the spot, while the number of those captured while fleeing reached ten.

The commanders in the citadel were amazed, for they had not imagined that imperial spies would be operating so openly.

I wasn’t surprised at all. It had been just a while ago when the nobles were executed, those nobles who should have been the eyes of the kingdom but chose to serve the Empire. It would have been strange if there existed no gaps in Leonberg’s information network. Of course, the royal family had swiftly dispatched officials to take over the traitors’ estates, but it requires time to grasp the true nature of the estates in detail and to manage them as efficiently as the nobles who had ruled there for generations. Moreover, the aftermath of the corrupt acts committed by the turncoats was too great for a quick fix.

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The populace had grown tired of exploitation and abuse, so they were hostile to the new officials and even the royal family and became very uncooperative. Even if imperial secretaries spoke the imperial language in broad daylight in the middle of these estates, it would not be strange at all if no one reported this to the authorities.

In fact, legions of the Imperial Army had lived in hiding in Leonberg’s lands for years without the kingdom being aware of their existence.

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It would have never happened if the nobles had properly done their duty toward the royal family and if the family had not lost the trust of the people.

But what could I do? Things have already transpired, and that which is done cannot be undone.

Now, I was merely grateful for the small, positive changes brought about by the queen’s death. If it weren’t for her acts, the people would never have come to the citadel to share their rumors.

Some time passed, despite the fact that the king cried out for revenge and proclaimed the total mobilization order. It had seemed that the Royal Army would advance upon the Empire at once, but it stationed itself at the border, not crossing that line. Everyone knew, though, that such a stasis would not last forever. The kingdom was just catching its breath.

Time was needed to form the nobles and their soldiers who arrived late at the citadel into a single corps, and time was needed for the inexperienced Eastern and Western Legions to become war-ready.

I was just waiting.

About a month and forty-five days had passed after the queen’s funeral, and it was around that time that the champions of the kingdom had all assembled in the citadel. The kingdom had taken its breath.

“I would like you to hold the border.”

In stark contrast to the king’s call for bloody vengeance in front of the soldiers, he left me with only that short request. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but the only words that escaped my lips was a greeting of good luck. The king smiled gently at me and patted my shoulders. He then left the citadel in silence.

Many troops of the Central Army and nobles had finally been formed into a single force, and they would board the Eastern Fleet with the king and sail to the front lines. The Wyvern Knights of Dotrin, who had been spread through the kingdom as messengers, followed the fleet.

Doris had remained in the citadel, and he comforted me as I watched my comrades leave.

“Don’t worry too much. I will be with his Majesty – and don’t worry about me. All the Knights of the Sky will be rushing in against the Empire. It’s a real monster.”

“I know it’s a monster.”

“Do not think too much about it, and don’t worry.”

When the Wyvern Knights who came late arrived, Doris left with them. And it was a few days after everyone had left for imperial lands when the imperial troops launched a massive offensive against the citadel, struggling through the great cold.

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I led the soldiers remaining in the citadel and defeated the imperial forces, again and again.

Whenever I woke up, I grabbed my sword and climbed to the wall, cutting down any foe I saw. Once the enemy’s offensive began slowing, I immediately opened the gates and marched to the border. We destroyed the fortress at the forefront of the Empire, located a day and a half away from the Gifted Lion Citadel, and annihilated several legions.

Upon my return to the citadel, I reorganized the additional troops of Leonberg that arrived and deployed them all along the border. Arwen was entrusted with two legions and the Silver Fox as well as Templar Knights, and she marched to the eastern border. Two legions, as well the Dawn Knights and Blizzard Knights, were sent to guard the western border under the command of Bernardo Eli.

The battlefield was no longer restricted to the Gifted Lion Citadel, with sporadic battles being fought all along the border.

The Masters and I guarded the front without retreating a single step, and I became so busy that I forgot to sleep at night. It was a hectic time, and meals were rarely eaten on schedule.

At some point, I went out to study the prisoners of war. One of them caught my notice, a lieutenant who served as an aide to a young legion commander. His attitude was consistently relaxed despite his captivity, and the sharp energy I felt flowing from him was hidden, kept secret, and lean.

“Hoh,” I exclaimed. He could have been a paladin, and if he was, he would’ve steamed and eaten the imperial paladins with his level of skill. I was not familiar with him, and while I searched my memories, I suddenly checked his status screen.

The information floated clear above his head, and tears flowed from my eyes. When my ancient friend wasn’t a king yet, when he was called the Northern Lion, a visitor came to him, a hybrid who was neither wizard nor knight. My memory flashed.

The Mana Chain: Basic Theory written by Burno Bourdof, eighth successor of Werner Rachel, the sixteenth disciple of Ernest Altringen, founder of the mana chain; compiled by Gregory Hessler.

It was only later that I noticed the name ‘Altringen’ written upon the book my uncle had handed me, and it was then that I learned that the hybrid of times past had been the founder of mana rings, the technique which had pushed mana hearts aside.

And the young paladin before me was named Altringen.

“Are you a descendant of the Altringen family?” I asked him, and his permanently joyous face hardened into stone. An explosive spike of energy flared from his body.

I smiled as I quietly looked at him, completely baring my own spirit and energy. The descendant of the Altringen family stared at me with curious eyes as he resisted my force, his face stern.

But it was useless. The guy had resisted me up to a point but eventually stepped back as he began retching blood, just like his ancestor did so long ago.

“It’s the first time I see Percival beaten back with energy alone,” a quiet voice spoke from next to me. It belonged to the young legion commander. I twisted my head as I looked at him, saw him staring at me. His expression annoyed me. I had heard that he was a commander who had surrendered without fighting properly, yet he looked at me as if I was an interesting oddity. The way his mouth stretched expressed a feeling of peculiar ridicule.

He was my prisoner, and yet the superiority and scorn in his eyes bothered me. This came at a time when my heart was as sharp as a sword after repeated battles against the Imperial Army, at a time when my nerves were on edge due to my concern about the king and the army that sailed with him. At another time, I would have pulled back my fist and punched him through the face, but I couldn’t, not now.

I had activated the power of [Judging] to confirm the descendant of the Altringen family, and that was all that was important now: The presence of the hybrid’s scion, not the blatant expression of disrespect by the legion commander. Here was a gem, and none recognized its worth.

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“Oh my… Such a precious thing in such a shabby place.”

The phrase ‘He who picks it up, owns it’ was probably the best one to use in this case.

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