Chapter 150: Black Knights (2)
“The last knight of the Leim Kingdom… indeed, it’s a legend that’s hard to find someone who knows these days.”
With a look of surprise momentarily, the leader of the Black Knights quickly regained his composure.
“Which order was his father in?”
To his question, I answered calmly.
“He was in the Royal Knights but transferred to the Black Knights.”
“What is his real name?”
“Libero.”
“Ah, that’s something hardly anyone knows… Did you hear that from the Reedval family? If so, you might be able to persuade me.”
He clicked his tongue.
“Foolishness. I’ll give you credit for studying legends. But claiming to have inherited the sword of a man who vanished 500 years ago? That’s a delusion that wouldn’t even make it into a novel.”
His tone was somewhat harsh.
Thanks to that, I had to restrain Yusera, who was about to fly off the handle.
And I said to him, “Isn’t it enough to just show you?”
“Even if you show me, how would I know? His swordsmanship was lost 500 years ago.”
“But you know what kind of swordsmanship he had, don’t you?”
I recited the words that were written about his legend.
“He cut where the sword could not reach. He cut what shouldn’t have been cut.”
“That’s just a typical exaggeration of legends.”
“What if it’s not an exaggeration?”
It seemed I had no choice but to show him directly.
I had heard from the head of the Reedval family that the leader of the Black Knights was quite skeptical, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.
I stood up from my seat.
“What are you trying to do now…”
“Just watch.”
I wasn’t sure if he’d even see it, but anyway, I took out the Relic Gravitas Replicant.
In my case, I wasn’t so much embodying Libero’s swordsmanship as I was using Wind’s Power to mimic it to some extent, so if the goal was to demonstrate, I needed to use the lightest sword possible to hide the differences.
‘Wind’s Power.’
Then, the wind began to swirl around the sword.
“Then…”
Gravitas is the lightest sword.
Thus, it was quite efficient when utilizing Wind’s Power.
For most ordinary people, just a slight movement of the sword could accelerate to reach the realm of time.
Clang
Therefore, all the leader of the Black Knights saw was me drawing my sword and then putting it away.
But soon, from behind the leader, a heavy sound of something falling could be heard.
As he turned his head back, he saw a severed piece of chair and the top part that had fallen to the floor.
“The world is stranger than fiction.”
*
The leader of the Black Knights first touched the fallen piece of chair, inspected the cut surface, and then fully acknowledged my swordsmanship.
However, after confirming it with his own eyes, everything proceeded quite smoothly.
The last knight of the Leim Kingdom was a legendary figure for the Black Knights.
“I apologize for the rudeness until now.”
“It’s alright.”
As I had said at the Reedval Mansion, if there was absolutely no doubt, it would be more unsettling for him.
Of course, this time was a bit more complicated than last time.
“Then, could you tell me more about the detailed plan?”
At his request, I began to explain the plan in more detail.
The leader of the Black Knights listened to my plan with a serious demeanor.
Though occasionally he’d look blank when something absurd came up, it seemed he was willing to overlook that because I knew Libero’s swordsmanship.
“That’s it for the operation.”
In truth, there were many foolish parts compared to what we’d done so far.
Especially regarding breaking down the castle walls.
However, once we entered, each knight would strategize on how to fight.
“And there’s one more thing I want to mention.”
He nodded as if he was ready to listen.
“The part about breaking the castle walls is a secret.”
This was a request I made to the Enemy Knights side as well.
No matter what, information would leak out.
But that didn’t mean I could explain the operation to the subordinates entirely.
So while it was minor from the attacking perspective, it was crucial from the defensive perspective to keep that detail hidden.
It was a seemingly trivial detail, but such nuances could lead to significant differences later on.
“That’s indeed the case.”
The leader of the Black Knights was well aware of that fact.
Our conversation concluded like that.
The members of the Black Knights could gather at any time, but understanding that, the leader had also refused the attack cooperation with the Enemy Knights so there should be no need for worries about the Black Knights being reassembled.
Then with this, the preparations until the siege battle were roughly completed.
“Let’s meet on the day of the Unknown Festival.”
“I too hope nothing goes wrong until then.”
Now all that remained was a bit of waiting.
Without Elsie, that was the most challenging part.
*
The Leim Kingdom neither rises nor sets with the sun.
Thus, even in the prison where the clock tower cannot be seen, there was no way to tell the time.
Naturally, there was also no way to know the date, and Elsie merely lay in her room, letting the slow passage of time drift by.
“Anger is a good motivator. But you mustn’t be swept away by it.”
What she muttered was something Allen had told her just before they entered the operation.
In a way, it was a rather obvious statement.
But because it was obvious, it was also easy to forget.
“I’m plenty angry.”
Since she escaped the kingdom, she hadn’t forgotten her anger for a moment.
Not wanting to forget her anger, she learned how to remember it and also how to conceal it.
Thus her anger always thickly pooled deep beneath her gaze.
“But I mustn’t be swept away.”
Reflecting on it, Professor Freira’s advice also had a similar vibe.
“Elsie, I acknowledge your will. But sometimes you tend to be overly swayed by your emotions.”
Yet understanding that and putting it into practice were two very different matters.
At least it had been that way until Allen had been by her side.
‘It was thanks to Allen.’
The reason she could take charge of this operation was because of Allen.
Whenever Allen was nearby, her heart mysteriously calmed.
Of course, calming her heart didn’t mean extinguishing her anger.
Instead, she learned how to control her anger through the proximity to Allen.
That meant she was able to risk defeat against her adversary in this operation.
It was a strategy that would have been impossible for her in the past.
But thanks to Allen being right there, it had become possible.
‘But…’
Right now, Allen wasn’t by her side.
How many days had it been since she was locked up?
‘I don’t know.’
The slowly passing time gradually stripped away Allen’s warmth from her body.
Despite having embraced the warmth from Allen just last night, this prison at the top of the tower was far too chilly.
As she felt the warmth of Allen slowly fading and the inability to control her anger creeping back, she couldn’t help but repeat the words Allen had told her.
“Don’t be swept away by anger…”
It was probably not long now.
As she was thinking that, a phenomenon finally occurred which allowed her to discern the date.
‘This is…’
It was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time since escaping the Leim Kingdom.
Through the small window, the light of the barrier was gradually dimming.
What that signified was clear.
‘It’s finally the Unknown Festival.’
Only then did she rise from her seat.
Perhaps because of not moving for so long, her limbs had fallen asleep.
But with a little bit of stretching, it would soon come back.
‘I hope everything’s fine with Allen.’
He still had the task of persuading the Black Knights ahead of him.
However, she had no doubt that he would do well.
She approached the small window and stood there.
Outside the window, she could see the shadows darkening with the barrier along with the candles that had started to flicker.
Those candles gradually increased in number, slowly beginning to illuminate the now darkened Leim Kingdom once more.
‘It’s beautiful.’
Suddenly, she thought about how she would have liked to see this scene with Allen.
But it was equally clear that if she had seen this scene outside with Allen, she would have been unable to protect the kingdom.
Once the kingdom was secured, she would have many opportunities to see this sight again later.
But…
“Still, it’s a shame to miss it.”
Understanding something and feeling regret about it is different.
Feeling that, she awaited the siege battle that was about to begin.
Steeling her heart for the role assigned to her.
*
I had been waiting for today.
There couldn’t be a better phrase to express the current situation than that.
For several days since Elsie was taken away, I had honestly been looking forward to this day.
And in fact, it wasn’t just me.
It was obviously the same for my companion Yusera, who had also been waiting for today.
The Enemy Knights, who had sharpened their swords to retake the kingdom, were also waiting for today.
And perhaps the people gathering in the streets with candles had also been waiting for this Unknown Festival since last year.
However, I had to ruin their Unknown Festival.
It was inevitable for them.
The Enemy Knights and the Black Knights had gathered as expected.
Both the leader of the Enemy Knights and the leader of the Black Knights did not mention breaking down the castle walls as I requested, and I figured their subordinates were currently utilizing the underground passages.
They were still on the surface as there was no order to advance yet.
However, regrettably for those waiting in the underground, there would be no order for them to dive down.
Because Yusera and I would break down the castle walls first.
“Ready?”
Yusera nodded.
‘Then I’ll go first.’
I drew out Resonance.
And placed my finger on the bowstring.
At this moment, arrows that had been secretly set up using Night’s Shadow, waiting for the castle walls to dim briefly due to the Unknown Festival, had already been positioned.
‘Wind’s Power.’
The wind’s power wrapped around my finger, and I could feel the taste of blood in my mouth as the level of the power increased.
I wasted no time and snapped the bowstring.
Thus, a shockwave spread throughout the castle walls, causing resonance.
Without hesitation, I flicked the other bowstrings.
Even though I was using Wind’s Power, the recoil was still quite strong, leading to an instant headache.
But in the end, I flicked all the remaining bowstrings.
With that, cracks had been created.
Now all that remained was to bring down the castle walls.
“Yusera.”
Dark, ominous energy was swirling fiercely around her sword.
Overloading.
She tilted her sword up and shouted.
“Sky Cleaving!”
No matter how much she trained, she had returned to square one with that name.
And with that shout, the castle wall, which had cracks in it, crumbled like cake.
A slight tremor, and with one swing, one side of the castle wall was demolished in an instant.
The shocking sight stained the festivity of the Leim Kingdom with screams.
Even the leaders of the Enemy Knights and the Black Knights, who had been forewarned, froze at the sight.
But that was for a moment; they soon regained their senses and issued commands.
“Charge!”
“Charge!”
The Enemy Knights and the Black Knights began their assault through the broken castle wall.
Their morale seemed higher than ever.
They looked almost as if they had already secured victory.
But…
‘This is just the beginning.’
The regular members, except for the two captains, would not know.
That there were Demon Kings inside.
To ensure their morale did not falter upon seeing the Demon Kings, Yusera and I needed to give it our all.
I said to Yusera, “Then let’s go save the Leim Kingdom.”
“We also have to save Elsie.”
“That’s obvious.”
With that last exchanged word, we surged forward, outpacing the knights who had already charged in, entering inside the fallen wall.
Though the outer castle had collapsed, the inner castle still remained intact.
Thus, the siege battle began.
*
