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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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Although he shouted calmly, his subordinates’ hearts were in turmoil. How could they be at ease when the master they served was trapped in an unidentified barrier in the land of vengeful spirits?
“Don’t be anxious. Have I ever disappointed you until now? Or have I ever lied to you?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“Then believe and wait. I’ll be back soon.”
Only then did the two Tower Masters and his subordinates calm down. Looking at them, Raymond smirked and turned his body. Then, he began to move towards the Forgotten Tomb.
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-Long live His Majesty the Emperor!
-We are the vanguard of the righteous subjugation! We must never back down!
-Advance! The two Empires and five Kingdoms are with us!
It’s a staircase going underground. The closer I get to the tomb, the clearer the vengeful spirits’ outcry becomes.
These are the valiant knights who stood at the forefront of the tribal war in the name of the human race’s revival.
They had marched forward with the sole purpose of being remembered by future generations, to carve their names into history, standing at the front lines of the great holy war.
-The future will never forget you!
Posterity forgot. They did not remember and poured everything into the river of oblivion. And they didn’t even try to retrieve it.
The glory of the present was so brilliant that the blood and darkness shed in the past were buried, and only the silent cries of the vengeful spirits were circling in the Black Mountains, which was the front line.
“It’s a truly unfortunate thing.”
He continues to walk while listening to screams close to screams. The words he had in his heart because of his unfortunate feelings suddenly popped out.
-Captain, will we have a place to return to?
-Yesterday alone, thirty-two of my colleagues who were laughing and talking lost their lives. More will die tomorrow.
-Was this war truly worth it?
Time seems to have passed. The cheerful shouts of the beginning have disappeared and it’s a desperate atmosphere.
-The future will never forget you.
Again, someone’s voice, but there is no longer any certainty in it.
“Is this the end?”
The voice stopped. And in front of me is a small altar.
The place where the ‘Soul Sword’ should originally be. Raymond now knows what to do.
Raymond also knows the secret that the hidden warrior Shuhain only tells his grandson, Richard, who appears as the protagonist in 《Empire of the Dead》, the method of making the Soul Sword appear on the altar.
“As a noble bloodline of the two Empires and five Kingdoms, I remember your sacrifices.”
He who tries to draw the Soul Sword, remember its weight.
“You shall walk with me on my path.”
He who takes out the oath forgotten for thousands of years, remember its resentment.
“In front of those who have drunk the sin of oblivion, I will present the fall of blood instead of shining glory.”
The wind blows.
It’s not blowing from the entrance I came through. It’s a wind blowing from the closed wall.
The wind, mixed with the stuffiness and frustration unique to the underground, gathered and became a human figure.
There were seven of them.
-Bloodline of Philios.
-Do you remember our sacrifices?
-Why do you stand here alone?
The armored souls gathered and spoke.
-Why did posterity, why did the future forget us?
-Have all five royal families of the Kingdom Alliance forgotten us?
-Where are the noble bloodlines of the other Empire?
Questions continued to pour out.
-Stop it, wasn’t it the most honorable noble bloodline of the Empire that came to remember us?
A knight who appeared to be the leader of the group said in a hollow voice.
“The other Empire was torn into three, becoming three Kingdoms, and the five Kingdoms were eaten when Haifel of the North descended. As of now, I am the only one who remembers your sacrifices.”
It’s sad but true. These pitiful vengeful spirits also need to know.
-Does the age of glory end like this…?
One of the soul knights in front of me muttered as if lamenting. Raymond cast a calm gaze at him and opened his mouth.
“A new era has begun.”
It’s cold but it’s true.
-He who remembers our sacrifices, what is the reason for coming here?
One of the soul knights asked bluntly.
“I came here to give you back the glory that was promised to you but is now forgotten.”
-The past will be repeated. I no longer believe.
“If you don’t believe in me, who remembers your sacrifices, who do you believe in?”
At the sharp criticism, the soul knights closed their mouths.
“You know very well that I am the only one who can restore your honr, right?”
As expected, there are no words. Raymond’s words hit the nail on the head, and they also know it. It is too distant a story to regain the honor of the tribal war.
-Noble blood of Philios, what do you want?
A soul knight holding a spear asked.
-All that remains of us are our souls and our resentment.
The way they answered according to the setting of the novelist was like NPCs, so Raymond barely managed to hold back a laugh even though it was a serious situation.
“That’s exactly what I want. Your souls and resentment.”
A sword tempered with the resentment of thousands of years, using the souls of strong knights as materials, that’s what I want.
-That’s an interesting answer.
-You resemble the late Emperor.
-Truly, what else would you expect from the bloodline of Philios…
The soul knights sighed, but they were not unpleasant.
“A true history has begun, so if you join me now, not only the past but also new glory will shine on you.”
The prologue of this novel has long ended. Now that the full-fledged story is about to begin, it would not be difficult to engrave your names in the epilogue if you participate.
“With your souls bound to mine, betrayal is not an option.”
Holding the Soul Sword means being with a thousand knights.
-That’s not a bad offer.
-I agree.
-I’m also curious about what’s beyond the Black Mountains.
The souls whispered. They have a pure side, like knights. In fact, they were not to the extent of being seduced by Raymond’s words.
It was simply that their desire to escape from here and their curiosity about the outside of the Black Mountains were great.
And above all, the fact that a member of the imperial family had come all the way to this place, the Black Mountains, and was remembering the sacrifices of the tribal war was giving them some trust.
-Noble blood of the Philios Empire, I will follow you.
After much deliberation and short discussion, the seven soul knights representing the thousand vengeful spirits
made a decision.
With this, have I obtained the Soul Sword, which is said to have the same power as an Aura Blade?
-One, I still don’t completely trust you.
Of course, the memories of being betrayed will not be forgotten even though thousands of years have passed.
Although they remember the sacrifices, they have not completely withdrawn their doubts.
“What does that mean?”
But this is a slightly different development from the novel. This is a case that is not written in the settings.
Raymond calmly asked, hiding his bewildered expression.
-I will be with you, but I will limit the output of the Soul Sword.
I didn’t expect it, but it’s not the worst case. Raymond nodded silently, and the soul knight opened his mouth again to continue the explanation.
-Even with the output restricted, you can at least expect the power of a mana sword, so do not be too concerned.
If it’s a mana sword, you can meet the minimum qualifications to receive the ‘Blessing of Sword and Magic’. That was fortunate.
It seems like it’s a common novel cliche that you have to be recognized by the souls to produce an Aura Blade-level output, but I was willing to accept that much.
Raymond didn’t want the ultimate level of Aura Blade.
The Soul Sword was just a lucky chance that made Richard the protagonist, an intermediate process to receive the ‘Blessing of Sword and Magic’ to become a Demon Sword Master.
-Are you ready to proceed?
When I slowly nodded, the soul knights stepped aside. The path to the altar in the center was opened.
Raymond slowly moved towards the altar. The soul knights bowed their heads and stepped back as Raymond passed, disappearing into the darkness.
When he finally arrived at the altar, he was left alone in the wide open space.
As I saw in the novel, when I reached out over the altar, white energy gathered and became a sword.
‘Soul Sword.’
It is tempered with the resentment of thousands of years, using the ‘souls’ of a thousand knights who stood at the forefront of the tribal war as materials, and it has a sharp blade that can cut anything.
“Is this the Soul Sword?”
I tried swinging it once as a test. The output seems sufficient, but the problem is swordsmanship. Since I have never learned about swords, I won’t be able to use it right away even if I get the mana sword.
But swordsmanship can be learned from Gestain. There’s an excellent high-level knight by my side, so why bother looking for someone else?
Raymond put away the Soul Sword with a calm heart and left the Forgotten Tomb.
“Your resentment, I will remember it.”
With those words, he walked along the dark passage again. How long had he walked? When he came out of the tomb, the
opaque barrier slowly stepped aside as if the fog was clearing.
“Master!”
Elite Guard Captain, Gestain, ran first. The two Tower Masters and Desia also reached Raymond’s side by a narrow margin.
“Are you okay?”
Red Tower Master, Berenus Kyle, asked. The Blue Tower Master had a lot of questions in his eyes next to him, but he tried to keep his mouth shut.
“Tell the soldiers to prepare to move as the fog will soon clear.”
Raymond said, looking at Cron, who was a little far away.
The young aristocrat initially had a hard time believing it, but soon, as the fog really began to clear, his doubts turned into joy.
“The Fifth Prince has opened the way!”
The Imperial Army commander shouted, thinking this was the time to do it. The soldiers cheered.
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A month had passed since the news that the Fifth Prince, Raymond, had entered the Black Mountains was delivered to the Imperial City.
It wasn’t that the Emperor and the imperial family had been doing nothing during that time. Although they couldn’t send a large-scale search party, it wasn’t impossible to dispatch a small number of royal knights.
Not long after hearing the news, the Emperor sent skilled royal knights to Marquess Crayer’s territory, and ordered the border guards to support three special forces units. The dispatched royal knights were divided into three groups and entered the Black Mountains with the special forces to search for the Fifth Prince.
“Sir Felton. We will arrive at our destination soon.”
At the voice of a fellow knight, the royal knight Felton shook off his sleepiness and raised his head.
Despite the cold wind of the north, it was difficult to resist the sleepiness due to the fatigue accumulated from patrolling the Black Mountains while reducing sleep.
“Are you sure that the temporary base that the messenger mentioned is correct?”
“Yes, Sir Felton.”
The fellow knight answered Felton’s question in a voice filled with strong conviction. But his mind was not at ease.
This was because it had been two weeks since Cron, the eldest son of Marquess Crayer, had sent a message.
Two weeks in the Black Mountains was enough time for a person’s life to perish.
So Felton was even more afraid. An ominous thought that the Fifth Prince’s body might be waiting for him in the place he had worked so hard to reach was swirling in his head.
“It would be good to increase the speed a little.”
At Felton’s words, the fellow knights also nodded and agreed.
The special forces increased their marching speed, and before long, they arrived near the temporary base where Cron’s infantry was stationed.
The Fifth Prince’s flag was flying on the central tower of the temporary base. Felton was relieved to see it. If the Fifth Prince had been killed in battle, they would not have continued to hang his flag on the tower.
“Sir Felton, is that you? Could you send the order document through the messenger?”
At the request of the infantry officer, Felton sent the order through the messenger.
The verification process did not take long. Soon the door opened and Felton and his troops were able to enter the base.
“Where is the Fifth Prince?”
Felton found the Fifth Prince first as soon as he entered the base. It was a natural reaction since the reason he came to this barren and dangerous Black Mountains was because of the Fifth Prince.
“He’s in the training grounds.”
An officer belonging to the imperial army ran and reported. Felton ordered the soldiers to rest and asked for
guidance.
The two moved first, and several of the royal knights sent by the Emperor followed.
“Kuaaaaack!”
As soon as he entered the open space being used as a temporary training ground, he saw the figure of a sturdy man writhing on the hard frozen floor with a sharp scream.
“Your Highness!”
As the dust settled and his face was revealed, Felton exclaimed in surprise. The man wearing light leather armor covered in dirt was none other than the Fifth Prince, Raymond.
Felton had been protecting the Emperor at the banquet hall, in the center of that horrific scene, so he had seen the face of the Fifth Prince who had rushed over before anyone else.
The man lying in front of him now had lost a lot of weight and his physique had become sturdier than Felton remembered, but it was definitely the Fifth Prince.
“Ugh… If it had been a real sword, my arm would have flown off.”
With a short complaint, the Fifth Prince, Raymond, got up. He roughly dusted off the dirt on his leather armor and turned to Felton.
“I don’t recognize your face.”
Raymond had taken the Soul Sword and had been focusing on swordsmanship training with Gestain to use it effectively, so he hadn’t heard the news that the royal knights were coming with troops.
