Chapter 2079 – 2079. The Fallen Empire
I took Carla back to her room before the sun fully rose.
The servants had begun moving around the castle early in the morning, but they couldn’t see through me and Carla, who were covered by the ghost cloak. Just in case, I had roughly wiped Carla’s body with a clean cloth, except for her pussy, which was full of semen. The marks left on her body were hidden by her clothes.
Afterward, I returned to my room and went back to sleep. I woke up around 2 PM. A servant had dared to knock on my door and wake me.
Knock, knock, knock!
“Sir Daycart! Are you in there?! Count Morck is calling for you!”
My drowsy mind snapped awake.
Count Morck was calling for me? Had my affair with Carla been discovered?
‘Should I kill the Count? But if I do, Park Suho will win. Is it better to run? If I run, Carla is likely to be executed, so I should take her with me.’
I quickly made a plan. Weakening Park Suho’s Veroprin city could be done without helping Count Morck. For example, I could become the Red Light again and wreak havoc in Veroprin. There were surprisingly many ways to hinder Veroprin’s development.
“Sir Daycart?!”
“…I’m inside. Don’t raise your voice.”
“I apologize. The Count is urgently calling for you…”
“Why is the Count calling for me? Wasn’t the war postponed by three weeks?”
“I am just a servant, so I cannot know the details, but the Count has also summoned other knights.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t because of my affair with Carla.
‘Hmm. If I had thought more rationally, I would have realized it right away. If my affair had been discovered, they would have sent knights and soldiers to capture me, not a servant. I was out of it from just waking up.’
There was another reason why the knights were summoned. I felt relieved.
“Understood. I’ll get dressed and go.”
“The Count looked quite serious. You shouldn’t be late, Sir Daycart.”
“That’s unnecessary worry.”
• • •
I was one of five knights summoned by Count Morck. As the servant had said, Count Morck had a serious expression. The atmosphere was as cold as ice, as the highest-ranking person’s expression was not good. Even the knights, who were usually fearless due to their ignorance, were busy watching Count Morck’s mood.
“I have summoned you to subdue some ignorant bandits.”
The knights looked at each other. Eventually, Cotton, the most experienced knight, spoke up as their representative.
“Are there bandits daring to attack Count Morck’s territory? Didn’t we conduct a large-scale subjugation before?”
“It seems they are new ones. They robbed war supplies that were being transported to the territory. According to the surviving merchant, it happened this morning. The amount of war supplies is not small, so they couldn’t have disposed of it yet. I want you to go and subdue the bandits and retrieve the war supplies.”
Count Morck’s tone sounded like a request. But it was not a request, but an order. The knights all knew this.
“Your Excellency! Trust us! The bandits will pay the price for their foolish sins!”
“We will use the swords you have given us to wipe out those dishonorable villains!”
“For Morck!”
The knights took turns flattering him. I also joined in, expressing my ambition. It was basically saying that I would kill all the bandits.
Count Morck’s stern expression finally eased.
“I feel relieved to see you all. I heard the bandits are about 60 in number. It’s urgent, so I would like you to go directly on horseback without soldiers. Once the bandits are subdued, I will send soldiers to transport the supplies.”
“We will never disappoint your expectations!”
“Move out right now! Before the bandits leave the territory!”
“Yes, my lord!”
• • •
It wasn’t just the knights who moved on horseback. Eight squires of the knights also moved with them. Squires were treated as personal servants, not soldiers. Even so, they were definitely much stronger than ordinary soldiers.
The five knights, including me, rode ahead in full armor, followed by the squires on horseback carrying the baggage.
The knights were relaxed, even chatting while riding.
“Tsk. I had an appointment with Madame Camille this afternoon… These bandits are not helping my life.”
“Why would bandits be helpful? Let’s go and smash their skulls. That’s what’s good for this world.”
“Haha. Sir Elmeier, you seem to enjoy smashing enemies’ skulls too much. How many skulls have you smashed with that mace?”
“Hmm. I think I’ve smashed about 80 skulls with this mace alone. I can probably kill about 100 more. After that, it would be good to change the mace. How far have you gone with Madame Camille?”
“You know that Madame Camille is not an easy woman. I haven’t slept with her yet, but… it’s coming soon. Her eyes are full of love when she looks at me.”
The knights continued their trivial chatter. More than half of it was about women. I shook my head.
“Sir Daycart. Have you ever subdued bandits before?”
Lacus, who was riding next to me, spoke to me. Although it was annoying, I answered him as a fellow knight.
“Of course. Subduing bandits is nothing special, is it?”
“That’s true. But we shouldn’t be careless. Most bandits are nothing special, but… sometimes there are real ones mixed in. I mean, knights who have lost their honor. I met a knight who became a bandit two years ago. And, would you believe it, the bandit was able to parry my sword strikes? The shock I felt at that time is still vivid.”
‘This bastard is starting again.’
Lacus was talkative, especially when it came to stories about his own bragging. I didn’t want to listen to him, so I decided to change the subject.
“Sir Lacus. Isn’t this incident a bit strange?”
“Hmm? What do you mean? Bandits are always everywhere in the Empire.”
“Isn’t the timing of the bandits’ appearance suspicious?”
“Timing?”
“Morck is facing a war. He bought war supplies from all over for that. The bandits must know that fact.”
“That’s why they robbed the war supplies.”
“Even though they clearly know that the owner of those war supplies is Count Morck? Wouldn’t they expect that Count Morck would be furious and send a subjugation force if they touched it?”
“……Now that I think about it, it’s strange. It’s as if the bandits openly declared war on Morck. They wouldn’t be that daring…”
Lacus looked up at the sky and pondered.
I also belatedly realized it was strange. The words I had just said to change the subject were quite plausible.
Bandits are likely to be petty criminals trying to survive. Would they have the guts to mess with a big shot like Count Morck? If they had any brains, they would know they would be screwed.
“…The bandits might not be bandits.”
“Sir Daycart. Does that mean… that some guys are pretending to be bandits?!”
Lacus’s voice was loud. The gazes of the knights and squires turned towards us.
“It’s just a guess. They might not be simple bandits, but mercenaries. Mercenaries hired by someone.”
“Gasp! That’s possible! Yesterday, the mayor of Veroprin came and begged the Count for time! That guy must have been up to something!”
“Hmm… The mayor of Veroprin is a dishonorable man. Besides, Veroprin is known to be a wealthy city.”
The knights and squires all joined together in cursing Park Suho, the mayor of Veroprin.
I cursed along with them.
Considering Park Suho’s insidious nature, it was very likely that he was up to something. Moreover, Park Suho had a motive. The incident where poison was put in the barracks well! He must be almost certain that Count Morck was the culprit.
We arrived at the place where the merchant group had been attacked by the bandits.
The corpses of horses and people were scattered on the road. The stench of blood and guts was terrible. The carriages were broken, and the wreckage was scattered, but there wasn’t much of it.
“I heard there were six carriages, but there’s only one broken carriage. It’s clear that the bandits took the other five.”
Cotton looked around carefully and grinned.
“There are obvious traces left. The amount of goods was so large that they couldn’t erase the traces. We just need to follow these traces and kill the bandits.”
“Haha. My mace wants to taste their skulls! Let’s go!”
The knights excitedly followed the traces.
I felt uneasy.
If they were really mercenaries disguised as bandits, they wouldn’t have handled things so carelessly. At least, mercenaries are experts in combat.
‘I have a bad feeling. But they’re just mercenaries, right?’
Suddenly, my unease disappeared. How could a tiger be afraid of a puppy?
“For justice! Ah, gentlemen. Don’t kill them all.”
“Sir Daycart. They don’t deserve mercy.”
“Mercy? No. They should become slaves and serve! Especially their leader, he should be torn apart in front of everyone! That’s how we warn those dishonorable villains, right?!”
“Ohh. Sir Daycart, you have a long-term vision. I will gladly join you in that! For justice!”
The horses galloped along the traces of the carriages.
And in the distance, we could see the bandits’ camp. The bandits, who should have been busy running away, had absurdly set up their own camp.
As a knight, I spurred my horse and charged forward more bravely than anyone else.
“You damn bandits! It’s time to pay the price!!”
Lacus, who was running next to me, shouted in surprise.
“W-wait, Sir Daycart! Calm down! The situation is too strange! It might be a trap…”
I couldn’t hear Lacus’s voice until the end. I was already leading the charge. Bandits hidden throughout the camp revealed themselves. They were too well-equipped for bandits.
“We got you!”
“You stupid knight! All you know is to charge!”
The ground suddenly collapsed, and the horse fell into a pit. There were spears and swords sticking out inside the pit. I kicked off the falling horse and jumped upwards. Blue sword energy burst out from the sword I had drawn like lightning.
Thunder Heaven Style (雷天流) Empty Path (虛道).
I kicked off the air and plunged my sword into the head of the nearest bandit. Instead of pulling out the sword, I slashed downwards. Blood and guts poured out of the corpse.
The smell of blood and iron was thick. The bandits, who had been cheering just a moment ago, closed their mouths as if they had made a promise. Fear was visible in their eyes.
“Justice has arrived. You vermin. Heh heh.”
Blue sword energy blazed.
