Chapter 363

“Mersin…!”

Jahan’s eyes widened in shock. An unimaginable event. The core of the Imperial Guard Cavalry, Ha-shal-leur, whom Jahan trusted second only to himself, had turned traitor and appeared before him.

Shock preceded anger.

“You too, you too have betrayed us! Do you not feel any shame?”

“Why should I feel shame? It was she who betrayed us, betrayed me. Betrayed her subordinates, betrayed the pride of a warrior, even betrayed our people.”

Mersin calmly drew her curved blade. As if there was nothing wrong with her actions, she stood tall.

“Surrender quietly, Jahan. A warrior of your caliber has no reason to die a dog’s death following a traitor. Do you intend to be treated as a limb of the traitor who abandoned us and be buried? I, we, will not do so.”

“Mersin-!”

Jahan, gritting his teeth, charged at Mersin. A clear enemy. This was no longer a situation for persuasion.

“How foolish…!”

As Mersin drew her blade, the warriors of the Imperial Guard Cavalry simultaneously swung their weapons at Jahan.

—

Thirty minutes later.

“This… can’t be…!”

The tenth captain, spitting out his last breath, dropped the curved blade he had been holding. Blood gushed from his mouth as it hung open. The Crescent Moon Blade that had pierced his chest had torn apart his heart and lungs.

“Haah… Haah…!”

Jahan, covered in wounds, gasped for breath as he pulled the Crescent Moon Blade from the tenth captain’s corpse.

“…Unbelievable.”

Mersin looked around in disbelief. A sea of blood with pieces of organs floating, emitting a foul stench.

A battle of one against one hundred and forty in Jahan’s quarters. Surprisingly, only he and Jahan remained alive.

The 4th Imperial Guard Cavalry, who had betrayed Ha-shal-leur, had been slaughtered by a single warrior. Even if they weren’t on horseback, it was no ordinary feat.

If he were an ordinary warrior.

“Paladin…!”

The warriors’ duty, the mysterious power they wielded, showcasing superhuman strength. The fact that Jahan had reached the level of a Paladin was something even Mersin hadn’t anticipated.

“Were you hiding your strength? Since when…!”

Instead of answering, Jahan steadied his breath, gathering his dwindling stamina. His overworked arm trembled, and his vision blurred from blood loss. The Crescent Moon Blade he held felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

In truth, Jahan hadn’t been hiding his strength. He wasn’t that meticulous. Rather, he too was surprised by his own power.

‘To have such an epiphany in this situation. Is this what they call divine fortune…!’

He had become a Paladin thanks to this very battle.

—

“Jahaaaan!”

At the cost of cutting down twenty warriors, the moment his side was pierced by a spear, what came before the pain was anger towards the traitors and the desperation not to die like this.

‘…You talk more than I thought.’

Was this what they called a life flashing before one’s eyes? Like a bolt of lightning, old memories vividly surfaced in his mind.

‘I won’t forget. I’ll slaughter every single one of them…! Those who drove my mother to her death, those who insulted and despised her, even those who didn’t bother to attend her funeral!’

A youthful voice echoed in his ears.

‘……Jahan. Will you follow me like this…?’

While burning with blue-eyed hatred, he remembered the girl’s face, anxious and sorrowful, looking at him.

‘…Yes. I knew you’d say that. You’re such a foolish man.’

Relieved, she scolded him with a soft voice, smiling faintly.

Yes. He couldn’t die here. As her warrior, he had yet to accomplish anything for her.

“Do you think I’ll die to the likes of you!”

His body responded to his master’s resolve.

Awakening the duty. Like new veins covering old ones, an endless power filled the Crescent Moon Blade he swung.

The warrior who had pierced his side was split vertically.

—

Several minutes later.

Having reached the level of a Paladin, Jahan slaughtered the warriors who came at him like an unstoppable storm. His left arm pierced by a curved blade, his back deeply slashed, his ribs cracked by a flail, and countless light wounds. In the end, only one enemy remained.

Catching his breath, Jahan charged at the last enemy.

– Clang!

The chipped Crescent Moon Blade and Mersin’s curved blade clashed fiercely, emitting sparks.

“Mersin-!”

“Don’t you understand yet, Jahan! She abandoned us! You know it too!”

Mersin, deflecting the Crescent Moon Blade, stepped back a few paces. Even as a fellow captain, facing a Paladin was no easy feat, especially in her battered state.

“She left us here and became one of the Empire’s own. Not just any Empire member, but their vanguard, slaughtering the White Flag Troops! She taught us nothing! If this isn’t betrayal, what is!”

“Enough nonsense!”

Jahan denied Mersin’s words. Ha-shal-leur couldn’t have betrayed them. There must have been a reason, one she couldn’t convey to them.

His unwavering belief. Between him and Ha-shal-leur was a bond even Mersin didn’t know about.

Since that day, nine years ago.

“You betray because you didn’t get an explanation? Such light loyalty, Mersin! Were all the words you spat at me lies?”

Jahan’s momentum grew more violent. Anger filled his mind as the shock subsided.

The Imperial Guard Cavalry’s betrayal was understandable. They had gathered not for Ha-shal-leur herself but for her strength, cruelty, and ferocity. Even spies were among them, so loyalty in such a situation was unlikely.

But Mersin was different. One of the two captains of the Imperial Guard Cavalry. Ha-shal-leur, who didn’t trust the Ka`har warriors, trusted only their loyalty.

Thus, her betrayal was even more unforgivable.

“You too swore to make Ha-shal-leur the Khan!”

A tearing metallic sound. The broken curved blade spat fragments as it was deflected.

“Yes. That was the plan!”

Rolling back to avoid the follow-up, Mersin discarded the broken blade and grabbed a spear lying on the ground.

“I swore it! I swore it. To kill Amin, to kill Sahalyan, to kill Targyen, even Ser Khan if necessary, to help her ascend to the Khan’s throne!”

Her voice began to mix with passion. Pretending to be calm, but mentally, she was just as overwhelmed.

“She was the one most fit to be Khan!”

Even Mersin had been loyal to Ha-shal-leur. She hadn’t wanted to betray.

Rather, despite differing directions, she too had been one of the most loyal warriors to Ha-shal-leur. To the extent of swearing to eliminate even their own Ser Khan, Or-han, if he stood in her way.

She believed Ha-shal-leur was the one to conquer the great plains and beyond, a great conqueror worthy of the title Kagan.

The difference between Jahan and Mersin’s loyalty lay there.

Jahan had pledged his loyalty… no, his heart to Ha-shal-leur herself.

To protect her, fight alongside her, and fulfill her wishes. It was more akin to familial love than the loyalty between a lord and vassal.

On the other hand, Mersin’s loyalty was solely to Ha-shal-leur the warrior.

A warrior who knew no mercy, reveled in battle and slaughter, possessing unbelievable strength and cold rationality. The seed of a hero who would lead Ka`har to world conquest.

That was the Ha-shal-leur she saw. Thus, she couldn’t accept the sight of her abandoning them, abandoning Ka`har, becoming a hero of the Westerners.

What he desired was Ka`har’s strongest Khan, not some Western hero.

“But she betrayed us! Not as a warrior of Ka`har, but as a protector of the Westerners!”

Mersin, more intelligent than most, easily grasped Ha-shal-leur’s intentions.

Her promise to return was a lie. Her promise to ascend to the Khan’s throne was a lie. She had abandoned them, left for her mother’s land, and chosen the life of a knight protecting it!

‘Yes, for revenge, it might have been better to borrow the Empire’s power than to solidify her position here. But…!’

It was an unforgivable betrayal. Using the Empire’s power to attack Aishan meant handing Ka`har’s fate to the Westerners.

To Mersin, who dreamed of an even stronger Aishan under her, Ha-shal-leur had handed them a future of a doomed nation and enslaved kin.

“That woman is no longer our future! Why can’t you understand, Jahan!”

“…Our future? That’s the future you desired. It has nothing to do with me.”

Jahan understood Mersin’s reason for betrayal but couldn’t sympathize.

Having watched Ha-shal-leur grow over nine years, Jahan had built such deep affection that he wouldn’t hesitate to betray Ka`har if she wished.

Blocking the Crescent Moon Blade with the spear, Mersin was knocked back, rolling on the ground. If Jahan were in normal condition, the spear would have split him in two, but in his battered state, defeating a warrior of Mersin’s caliber was no easy task.

“You don’t understand. You too were betrayed! Abandoned like a sick dog, why can’t you see reason!”

“I wasn’t betrayed. You just couldn’t believe in Ha-shal-leur until the end!”

Jahan had unwavering faith in Ha-shal-leur. If she had abandoned them and joined the Empire, there must have been a reason.

So, all he had to do was go and ask.

Having made up his mind, Jahan raised the tattered Crescent Moon Blade, pointing it at the staggering Mersin.

—

“…So, is Mersin dead?”

“She’s still alive. Other troops started to gather upon hearing the commotion, so I had to retreat without finishing her off.”

Hersela remained silent for a while.