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96. Beggar Siblings – Revenge

On a night shrouded in deep darkness, an alley in Rutina bustled with activity.

About forty people gathered there, draped in thick robes, perhaps to shield themselves from the cold or to conceal their heavily armored bodies.

In the shadows, Leo spoke.

“Sir Bart, please be cautious.”

“Thank you for entrusting this to me. I will definitely return with the Duke’s head. You be careful too, Your Highness.”

“Ahem.”

Bart offered a heartfelt salute to Prince Leo, who then cast a bemused glance at Hazen, who was awkwardly clearing his throat nearby.

Excluding Jenia, the 215 knights following Leo were split into two groups of 130 and 85.

Bart decided to lead four companions to capture Duke Tertan, while Hazen would take the four knight squads constituting 80 members.

The remaining 130 knights would accompany Prince Leo to capture Prince Eric…

But Bart had a question.

‘Why did Sir Hazen voluntarily take on the task of capturing Duke Tertan?’

If someone were to ask any knight whom they would prefer to capture between the Duke and Prince Eric, they would choose Eric without a second thought.

For Bart, who had a grudge against the Duke, there wasn’t much choice, but for the knights, capturing Eric would be a much more glorious endeavor.

So it should have taken a long time to sort out who would go where, but Hazen’s decision to take Duke Tertan made the distribution quick and easy.

As the Second Knight Commander, his decision left no room for choice among the knights affiliated with the Second Knight Order.

It was an unexpected choice.

Hazen was the most influential figure among the knights gathered by Leo. If he had expressed the desire to go after the prince, it would have certainly happened.

But he had not done so, and Bart shrugged off the minor doubt while lightly rolling his shoulders.

If Sir Hazen had been considering betrayal, he would have been ambushed long ago.

“Jenia, please take good care of Lena.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

After entrusting the princess to Jenia, the prince led the knights away.

Bart had another question lingering in his mind.

‘Why was the prince so adamant about going to the palace himself?’

Although the prince had his reasons, which were quite firm and understandable, he seemed overly sentimental about it.

Was he really set on taking revenge against Prince Eric himself?

Bart felt a tinge of worry, but in truth, at that moment, the person submerged in sentimentality was Bart himself.

Shaking off stray thoughts, he drew his sword to check its condition.

The blade, bent and battered with no sound part to speak of, was particularly long.

Bart didn’t bother sharpening the blade.

As long as the tip was sharp enough, it was sufficient, but ‘these’ were not his.

Bart turned around.

Behind him stood his long-time companions, their blazing eyes undimmed by the darkness.

– Revenge

Bart nodded, chin raised.

His companions nodded back, a minimal but affirming gesture.

“Ready?”

He felt overwhelmed with emotion at his own words, shivering slightly.

An uncontrollable emotion pulsed through his veins.

How long had he awaited this moment?

Now that Prince Leo had returned alive, if he could only kill the Duke and appease the souls of their fallen comrades… truly, he could ask for nothing more.

His companions seemed to feel the same way, pounding their chests in excitement with their right arms.

It was a signal indicating their readiness. They struck their chests forcefully, as if emphasizing that they had been ready for a long time.

One companion spoke up, his resolute voice resonating low.

“For Barin and Neil, who sacrificed their lives for the prince.”

The five of them briefly recalled their fallen comrades.

Barin, who had fled with the prince and princess, was young yet thoughtful, and Neil, though rough around the edges, was always humorous.

They had done well.

They had achieved the greatest feats of saving the prince and princess. Without them, this glorious moment wouldn’t exist.

Another companion spoke.

“For Rudy and Wendy, who bravely fled.”

They envisioned Rudy, the handsome one, and Wendy, the only female knight of the Royal Knights, who had escaped together in a carriage.

They were the best among them at the time, especially lively Wendy, who brought vitality to the Royal Knights, much like her cousin Rudy.

They, too, had done well.

They had later learned that they had fled all the way to the Aisel Kingdom’s border.

The resistance had been so fierce that they ended up throwing nets…

Cowards.

To treat the honor of a knight in such a way. The five of them silently gritted their teeth.

Next in line, a companion took his turn to speak.

“For Ludo and Joen, who sacrificed themselves for their comrades.”

These were the ones who had taken the first sacrifice to delay the enemy’s pursuit while escaping to the Orun Kingdom.

The large Ludo and Joen, who stubbornly insisted on using a ‘spear’, had fallen heroically.

Amidst the cold winds, the former Royal Knights recited the names of their fallen comrades. The knights of the Second Order, including Hazen, prepared to set off and stood watching in silence, unconcerned.

This was their own memorial service.

“And lastly… for that bastard who stole the horses and fled.”

“What a dim-witted guy.”

“A scoundrel.”

Galen, who excelled in horseback riding.

He survived until the end, accompanying them for ten years, but perished trying to kill Palace Tertan, the grandson of Duke Rupert Tertan, while escaping.

Galen had taken the reckless move of fleeing alone with all their horses to the east.

To hide the fact that they had boarded a ship on the Irotashi River…

Had he not done that, the navy would have dispatched and sunk their vessel disguised as a fishing boat.

“Should’ve eaten something before running off. Running off alone while eating is just absurd… damn bastard.”

Though he spat out curses, he didn’t mean it.

The farewell had been so sudden, and given the length of time they’d spent together, it was hard to forgive his rash action.

The five still vividly recalled Galen, waving his hand as he rode off, urging them to escape quickly.

What a fool.

Bart and his companions felt their hearts grow heavier.

“Let’s go.”

Bart moved forward, stepping past his companions. They patted his shoulder as they brushed past.

“Sir Hazen, let’s go.”

He walked on ahead, and Hazen gazed at the revenge-hungry comrades following behind.

Tonight was a night cloaked in deep darkness.

*

The capital of the Conrad Kingdom, Rutina, was a massive city.

It was far larger than the capital of the Belita Kingdom, Orunville, which boasted the strongest military might on the continent.

With abundant food pouring in from the vast plains, Rutina had gone through continuous development to accommodate its growing population.

The original walls had crumbled away to allow for larger expansions, and as the walls expanded, even the low hills east of Rutina had been included within them.

Those hills formed ‘Moritz Avenue’, where the nobles clustered, and it was here that Duke Tertan’s mansion stood.

Sir Hazen and Bart led their knights to Moritz Avenue.

Torches flickered here and there along the avenue, as the guards of Rutina patrolled, but there was no cause for concern.

Sir Hazen fired off a blue flare.

The flare, created through magic, shot upward silently into the sky, forming a thin shimmering pillar, and in response, another blue line rose from near the royal palace.

It signaled the beginning of their operation.

Then, a bloody storm began to sweep through Moritz Avenue.

The knights who had arrived before Bart and Hazen rushed toward the torches, hiding in various locations.

Pairs of soldiers couldn’t even shout “Who goes there!” as they met their fate.

Sorry, but if the guards reported unauthorized movements of the knights, there could be minor complications.

As the torches on Moritz Avenue were extinguished, the thirty knights led by Bart and Hazen hurried their pace. Some guards stationed at the front gates stealthily headed inside, but it didn’t matter.

This wouldn’t count as a variable.

Nobles generally wouldn’t move until they were sure of what was happening.

The nobles, knights, and retainers inside that mansion would soon awaken and go on high alert, yet they wouldn’t step outside.

When they did step outside… they would realize that the world had changed.

Leaving behind some mansions on Moritz Avenue that now blazed with light, Bart and Hazen kept advancing steadily.

Knights who had been scattered began to join their group, one or two at a time, dripping the guards’ blood as they went.

By the time they reached the magnificent walls of Duke Tertan’s estate, their numbers had swelled to fifty. The remaining thirty went to the back entrance.

The grand walls blocked their way.

The Duke’s wall, nearly four meters high at a glance, slanted forward to prevent any potential intruders and to illuminate the garden.

How much money did they spend just to tilt this thing? They must have dug extremely deep into the ground. They would’ve employed every construction method to keep the wall from collapsing.

The guard at the front gate shouted.

“Who goes there!”

Upon confirming that suspicious figures were approaching, one hurried inside, while the other remained tense and called out.

“T-this is Duke Tertan’s residence. If you have business, please identify yourself, aagh!”

– Crunch.

Bart lunged forward like an arrow, stepping on the guard and leaping high. Hazen followed closely behind, taking off the guard’s head.

The spear the guard held was little more than decoration to the two of them.

With a leap, Bart landed on the wall.

“R-ring the bell! Quick!”

The guard peering out of a small hole from inside shouted, but his wish was futile.

As the one heading to ring the bell ran, Bart threw his sword. The sword pierced directly through his back, bursting his heart.

‘The one who ran inside just now… is heading over there.’

Bart spotted the guard darting across the garden.

If he hurried, he might catch him. It wasn’t like opening the door had to be done quickly. If it came to that, they could simply all jump the wall.

Just finishing that thought, Bart leaped down from the slanted wall.

But suddenly, bam! He was dazzled by an unexpected flash of light.

‘It’s magic!’

He couldn’t see ahead.

Nevertheless, Bart calmly landed and regained his balance. Then he slowly inhaled, regaining his composure.

This wouldn’t last long.

For experts imbued with sufficient mana, the effects of magic typically diminished significantly.

That was partly why knights were considered the only branch capable of taking on mages.

“Hah!”

With a bellowing battle cry, the guard who had earlier called to ring the bell charged at him.

To the right, he heard stomping.

A diagonal vertical slash—his attack.

In an instant, Bart assessed the guard’s move and turned sharply, throwing a punch.

– Crack.

The guard’s face crumbled grotesquely beneath his fist. And as if the magic had worn off, the previously obscured view before him slowly cleared…

Bart couldn’t help but lisp in disbelief.

“Of course.”

Light flooded the Duke’s mansion.

It wasn’t candles lighting up, but countless orbs floating, illuminating the garden and mansion dazzlingly.

Before the running guard could even arrive, chaos erupted inside the mansion.

Magic.

A spell had been cast that would blind anyone who jumped the wall and awaken everyone inside the mansion.

There was no avoiding an all-out battle now.

Though the situation had become somewhat tricky, Bart smiled.

It was probably for the best. He had no desire to behead those who were asleep.

‘I’ll take them all down.’

Starved for the blood of the Tertan family, he drew his sword from the guard he had just slain and shouted.

“Don’t jump the wall! There’s magic on it!”

He lost the need to chase after the guard running away and unlatched the bar at the front gate.

With a rush, Hazen and the knights poured in. Along with them, knights, retainers, and collateral family members of the Tertan house rushed out from the other mansion.

“Who are you!”

A man, his dark brown hair tousled as if just awakened, bellowed heavily. In his left hand was a red shield symbolizing the Tertan family, and in his right hand was a broadsword.

Midian Tertan.

Son of Duke Rupert Tertan and the Marquis of the western frontier in the Conrad Kingdom.

And he was also the father of Palace Tertan, whom Bart had killed.