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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“The Last Knight of the Lodreim kingdom… Indeed, these days, it’s a legend few know.”
After a brief look of surprise, the Black Knights Commander quickly regained his composure.
“Which knight order was his father in?”
I answered calmly,
“He was in the Royal Knights, but transferred to the Black Knights.”
“His real name?”
“Libero.”
“Oh, very few people would know that… Did you hear it from the Reedval family? That they thought it would convince me?”
He clicked his tongue.
“Don’t play games. I’ll acknowledge that you’ve studied the legends. But inheriting the sword of a man who disappeared 500 years ago? That’s a delusion even novels wouldn’t dare to write.”
His tone was rather harsh.
I had to stop Yuseora, who was about to retort angrily.
I said to him,
“I can show you.”
“Even if you do, would I recognize it? His swordsmanship was lost 500 years ago.”
“But you know what kind of swordsmanship he used.”
I recited a passage from his legend.
“He cut what couldn’t be cut. He cut where the blade couldn’t reach.”
“That’s just the exaggeration typical of legends.”
“What if it’s not an exaggeration?”
It seemed I had no choice but to show him.
I knew from the head of the Reedval family that the Black Knights Commander was suspicious, but I didn’t expect him to be this much.
I stood up.
“What are you doing…”
“Just watch.”
Though I doubt you can see it.
I drew Gravitus Replicant.
In my case, I wasn’t perfectly replicating Libero’s swordsmanship, but rather approximating it using the Authority of the Wind.
So, if the goal was to demonstrate, I needed to use the lightest sword possible to conceal the difference.
‘Authority of the Wind.’
The wind began to swirl around the blade.
“Then…”
Gravitus was the lightest sword.
Therefore, it was the most efficient when using the Authority of the Wind.
By the standards of an ordinary person, just a slight movement of the blade was enough to accelerate beyond perception, reaching the realm of time manipulation.
Click
Therefore, all the Black Knights Commander saw was me drawing the sword and sheathing it.
But then, a heavy thud echoed from behind him.
He turned around and saw a chair with its top sliced off, and the severed piece lying on the floor.
“Reality is stranger than fiction.”
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The Black Knights Commander only fully acknowledged my swordsmanship after he personally touched the fallen chair piece and examined the cut.
However, once he confirmed it with his own eyes, things proceeded quite smoothly.
The Last Knight of the Lodreim kingdom was a legendary figure to the Black Knights.
“I apologize for my earlier rudeness.”
“It’s alright.”
As I said at the Reedval mansion, it would be more unsettling if he wasn’t suspicious at all.
Of course, this time it was more troublesome.
“So, can you tell me the details of the plan?”
At his request, I began to explain the plan in more detail.
And the Black Knights Commander listened attentively.
He looked dazed at times when I mentioned something absurd, but he seemed to overlook it since I could use Libero’s swordsmanship.
“That’s the end of the plan.”
Compared to what we had done so far, the plan was rather crude.
Especially the part about breaching the walls.
But each knight order would devise their own strategy for how to fight after entering the castle.
“And there’s one more thing I’d like to mention.”
He nodded, indicating he was listening.
“The method of breaching the walls is a secret.”
This was the same request I made to the enemy knights.
Information would leak out no matter what.
But I couldn’t avoid explaining the plan to my subordinates altogether.
So, I would hide a minor detail, insignificant to the attackers but crucial to the defenders.
It was a small detail, but such details could make a big difference later on.
“I agree.”
The Black Knights Commander also understood this well.
Our conversation concluded there.
The Black Knights could be assembled at any time, but since the Commander knew this and had been refusing to cooperate with the enemy knights, there was no need to worry about them being recalled.
With this, the preparations for the siege were mostly complete.
“Let’s meet on Nameless Day.”
“I hope everything goes well until then.”
All that remained was a short wait.
Although that was the hardest part, since Elsie wasn’t here.
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The sun didn’t rise or set in the Lodreim kingdom.
Therefore, there was no way to tell the time inside the prison, where even a clock tower wasn’t visible.
Naturally, there was no way to know the date either, and Elsie simply lay in her cell, passing the slow-moving time.
“Anger is a good driving force. But you shouldn’t be consumed by it.”
She muttered the words Allen had spoken to her right before the operation.
It was an obvious statement.
But obvious things were easily forgotten.
“I have enough anger.”
She hadn’t forgotten her anger for a single moment since escaping the kingdom.
She learned how to not forget her anger because she didn’t want to forget it, and she learned how to not show it.
So, anger always simmered deep within her eyes.
“But I shouldn’t be consumed by it.”
Professor Freya’s advice was similar.
“Elsie, I acknowledge your determination. But sometimes you tend to be overly emotional.”
However, understanding it and putting it into practice were two different things.
At least, it was like that until Allen was by her side.
‘It was thanks to you, Allen.’
It was thanks to Allen that she could push for this operation.
For some reason, her heart calmed down when he was near.
Of course, it didn’t mean her anger subsided.
Instead, being with Allen, she learned how to control her anger with anger.
That’s why she was able to lose to her nemesis in this operation.
It was a strategy she wouldn’t have been able to execute before.
But it was possible because Allen was by her side.
‘But…’
Now, Allen wasn’t here.
How many days had she been imprisoned?
‘I don’t know.’
The slow-moving time gradually stole Allen’s warmth from her body.
She had embraced his warmth on their last night together, but the top floor cell of this tower was too cold.
As Allen’s warmth faded and she struggled to control her anger, she could only repeat his words.
“I shouldn’t be consumed by anger…”
It probably wouldn’t be much longer.
As she muttered those words to herself, something finally happened that allowed her to know the date.
‘This is…’
It was a phenomenon she hadn’t experienced since escaping the Lodreim kingdom.
The light of the barrier, entering through the small window, was gradually dimming.
The meaning was clear.
‘It’s finally Nameless Day.’
She finally got up.
Her limbs were stiff from not moving for so long.
But they would loosen up quickly with a bit of stretching.
‘I hope things are going well for Allen.’
He still had the task of persuading the Black Knights.
But she had no doubt he would succeed.
She walked over to the small window and stood there.
Outside the window, she saw candles being lit one by one as the barrier dimmed.
The increasing number of candles gradually began to illuminate the darkened Lodreim kingdom.
‘Beautiful.’
She wished she could have seen this sight with Allen.
But she knew that if she had watched this scene with Allen from outside, she wouldn’t have been able to save the kingdom.
Once the kingdom was saved, there would be plenty of opportunities to see this again later.
But…
“It’s still a shame.”
Understanding and feeling regret were two different things.
Feeling that, she waited for the siege that was about to begin.
Steeling her resolve for the role she had to play.
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He had been waiting for this day.
There were no better words to describe his current situation.
Since Elsie was taken away, he had truly been waiting for this day to arrive.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Naturally, his companion, Yuseora, had also been waiting for this day.
The enemy knights, who had been sharpening their swords to recLodreim the kingdom, had also been waiting for this day.
And perhaps the people gathered in the streets with candles had also been waiting for this Nameless Day since last year.
But he had to ruin their Nameless Day.
It couldn’t be helped, for their sake.
He confirmed that the enemy knights and the Black Knights had assembled as planned.
The commanders of both knight orders, as he requested, hadn’t revealed the plan to breach the walls, and their subordinates believed they would be using the underground passages.
They remained above ground, as there were no orders to attack yet.
But unfortunately for the coup forces waiting underground, there would be no orders to enter the underground passages.
He and Yuseora would breach the walls before that.
“Ready?”
Yuseora nodded.
‘Then I’ll go first.’
He took out Resonance.
And placed his fingers on the bowstrings.
He had already placed arrows on the walls, using Shadow Walk under the cover of darkness while the barrier was temporarily weakened by Nameless Day.
‘Authority of the Wind.’
The Authority of the Wind enveloped his fingers, and he felt the taste of blood in his mouth, signaling the increase in the Authority’s power.
He plucked the strings without hesitation.
Impact sounds echoed from various parts of the wall, creating resonance.
He didn’t hesitate and plucked the other strings as well.
Even with the Authority of the Wind, the strain was considerable, and a headache quickly set in.
But he finally plucked all the strings.
The cracks were created.
All that remained was to bring down the walls.
“Yuseora.”
An ominous, dark aura was already swirling around her sword.
Overload.
She raised her sword diagonally and shouted,
“Sky Splitter!”
The same name, unchanged despite all his attempts to correct her during training.
And with that cry, the cracked wall split apart like a cake.
With a slight tremor and a single sword strike, one side of the wall crumbled instantly.
The Lodreim kingdom, which had been in a festive mood, was instantly filled with screams at the shocking sight.
Even the commanders of the enemy knights and the Black Knights were momentarily stunned.
But they quickly regained their composure and gave the order,
“Charge!”
“Charge!”
The enemy knights and the Black Knights began to charge through the collapsed wall.
Their morale seemed higher than ever.
As if they had already won.
But…
‘This is just the beginning.’
The ordinary knights, except for the two commanders, wouldn’t know.
That Demon Lords awaited them inside.
To prevent their morale from plummeting when they saw the Demon Lords, he and Yuseora needed to show their strength.
He said to Yuseora,
“Let’s go. To save the Lodreim kingdom.”
“And rescue Elsie.”
“Of course.”
After exchanging those last words, we passed the charging knights and entered the castle.
The Outer Castle had fallen, but the Inner Castle remained.
Thus began the siege.
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