Chapter 87
Thud!
Roll.
The neck of the high-ranking knight soared into the sky.
A satisfied smile formed on my lips as I watched it.
‘Nice shot.’
Kraft, who had cleanly decapitated Helson, now began pressing another high-ranking knight.
Even two couldn’t stop him from slicing through—one wouldn’t stand a chance.
Having taken down two high-ranking knights, Kraft joined Leonhardt.
“Gah!”
The knight who had been pushing back my escort had his head disappear in an instant.
Perhaps due to the screams coming from their comrades in the rear, the movements of the six knights who were fighting Jacob and Malon began to falter.
It was likely because they anticipated Kraft would soon join.
Of course, those veteran knights wouldn’t miss their chance.
Shing!
A gap formed as their focus was scattered.
Through that gap, sharp sword strikes grazed the bodies of the knights.
“Urgh!”
With Kraft and Leonhardt, and now even Emern joining in, the enemies quickly reassessed.
As the knights wounded by Jacob and Malon charged in, disregarding death, the remaining four tried to flee onto the platform.
Four high-ranking knights were attempting to make a run for it.
‘That could endanger the upper ranks.’
I looked at Kraft immediately, and he nodded as if he understood.
“I’ll go.”
“I’ll go too.”
The one who spoke was Emern, the escort knight of the Duke. Leonhardt remained behind, seemingly to protect me and Erciel.
“Please take care of them, Sir Kraft.”
At my words, he nodded.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to protect the Lord and the First Prince. Let’s go, Sir Emern.”
“Yes.”
And so, the two knights began pursuing the four fleeing high-ranking knights onto the platform.
With that, the Marquess and Abel wouldn’t fall so easily.
‘Come to think of it… how did he originally die?’
Marquess Remton.
He was mortally wounded by the betrayal of the son he trusted, and was then killed by the high-ranking knights who swarmed the platform one after another.
I had no intention of letting that happen this time.
Now that Kraft and Emern had joined them, they should be able to hold the line for a while.
In the meantime, I needed to bring order to the battlefield below.
The two high-ranking knights restrained by the veteran knights were quickly put on the defensive.
Once my group joined, they didn’t last long.
Within about three minutes, the veteran knights beheaded the two knights and held up their heads.
“Drop your weapons immediately! Or we’ll cut you down where you stand!”
Jacob and Malon.
The two knights shouted loudly at the knights on Adolf’s side.
Even at the sight of the high-ranking knights’ corpses, no one dropped their swords.
As if willing to fight to the death, they kept swinging their blades at us.
Hmph.
Showing that kind of loyalty, even knowing they’ll die.
‘No, maybe it’s not loyalty.’
Since the knights were completely brainwashed by Adolf, it might just be coercion taking effect.
“You bastards!”
With a fierce roar, the two knights dashed into the battlefield.
White aura rose from their swords.
There were no more real masters left among the rebel knights below the platform.
With those two monsters rampaging, knights’ heads flew in every direction.
Massacre.
That was the only fitting word for the scene.
—
On the platform.
There, four knights were entangled in battle.
At first, Adolf had been pushed back by the combined assault of Remton and Abel,
but when another high-ranking knight joined the platform, they began to press the two instead.
From the outside, it looked like he was holding his ground.
Yet Adolf’s expression was stiff as lead.
‘Damn it.’
Marquess Remton.
The strength of the head of the house was beyond anything he had imagined.
Clang!
Another strike blocked with ease caused Adolf to furrow his brow.
Even with his power fully unleashed.
He had long since surpassed the level of an Expert.
Right now, he was burning through power as if mad.
‘Then why?! Why is he blocking me so easily like this?!’
Wherever he swung his sword, Remton’s blade was already there waiting.
He slashed and slashed again, but there was no answer.
It felt like swinging a sword underwater.
At least one high-ranking knight had managed to cut Abel off.
‘When are they coming?!’
Adolf’s frustration deepened.
If he drew out any more power, he truly risked losing his mind.
Great power always came with a price.
When he first made the contract—
At that time, he had been sure he wouldn’t use more than a certain limit.
He didn’t make that deal to become someone’s puppet.
He wanted to become the king of the Seltarion Family, not a slave to another.
But the current situation wasn’t going his way.
Baron Louis, who should’ve joined long ago, was nowhere to be seen.
The other high-ranking knights seemed to have been held off as well.
“…Adolf. Why?”
Remton.
Amid the clash of swords, he asked quietly.
“…What do you mean why?”
“…Why did you accept such power? That power… it will destroy you.”
With a strangely sorrowful tone, the Marquess asked.
Adolf gave a faint smile.
“Maybe it will.”
“…And knowing that, you still did it?”
“Isn’t this much better than living in someone else’s shadow all my life? I already knew. That in my dear father’s heart… the successor had already been chosen. The eldest brother.”
“……”
“…So no, I don’t regret it.”
Clash!
Adolf, who clashed swords with the Marquess once again, let out a chilling smile.
“So, die here. Both you, Father, and you, Brother.”
“…Even if the two of us die, it won’t justify your claim to the throne.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”
As they continued their swordfight—
Four high-ranking knights climbed onto the platform.
Abel’s expression darkened when he saw them.
He was barely managing to hold back just one high-ranking knight himself.
Remton.
Even with his exceptional skill, there was no guarantee he could win against Adolf and four high-ranking knights.
If those monster-like knights charged in with their overwhelming power, at best it would end in mutual destruction.
Seeing Remton, Abel hastily spoke.
“…Father. We must retreat! There’s no telling how many more of them will come!”
“……”
High-ranking knights under Adolf.
If they could all unleash power like that, even top-tier knights wouldn’t be able to repel them easily.
The energy they exuded was beyond imagination.
As the four high-ranking knights approached, Adolf’s face brightened.
‘Good.’
Their arrival had been delayed unexpectedly, but it was still within the margin of expectation.
With them, he was confident they could bring down the Marquess.
The high-ranking knights charged.
Just as Adolf was about to rush forward with all his might, his face twisted.
The knights hurriedly whispered something into his ear.
“My lord, we have a serious problem. The situation is not in our favor.”
“…What?”
“…We’re losing ground.”
Adolf’s face showed a trace of panic at the knight’s words.
He had only considered up to three top-tier knights as potential variables.
Could it be that they’d lost?
‘They lost to just three top-tier knights?’
It was unbelievable.
Once knights opened their power, they became overwhelming.
He had assumed they had finished off the top-tier knights and come to support him.
But they were actually stragglers?
What the hell happened?
“…Why?”
In response, the knight whispered quietly.
“…There was a variable. The Fourth Prince. He joined the battle.”
“…Kyle? You’re telling me he changed everything?”
Kyle Seltarion.
He might have shaken off his hand and gone to help Abel.
But he was only a 1st Circle Mage.
Was his mere presence enough to cause such a shift in battle that it left even this knight flustered?
It didn’t make sense.
To that, the knight whispered again.
“The Fourth Prince’s maid possesses a power that directly counters ours. Also… the Fourth Prince is now 2nd Circle. The magic he used was far from ordinary. By supporting the knights with various spells, the battlefield has rapidly turned against us.”
“…The other knights?”
“…Most likely dead. The situation was so dire, we had no choice but to abandon them.”
While the battle momentarily entered a lull—
More people began to arrive on the platform.
“My Lord! I’ll go!”
It was none other than Kraft, one of the veteran knights.
And with him was Emern, the escort knight of the Duke.
At the sight of them, the Marquess’s face darkened.
“Emern! What about the Duke?”
“He moved separately!”
Emern’s expression didn’t look like someone who had lost their lord.
Seeing that, the Marquess wore a similar expression of relief.
It seemed his son had dispatched his escort knight elsewhere for their sake.
The two of them, seeing the enemy knights gathered on the platform, charged in powerfully.
Naturally, Adolf’s knights began to peel away one by one to engage them.
“You bastards! Get lost!”
“Haaah!”
As the four high-ranking knights withdrew to intercept them, the situation returned to its original state.
And so, the frenzied swordfight between Adolf, the Marquess, and Abel resumed, growing increasingly tense.
The tide of battle would change entirely depending on who next climbed the platform.
‘……’
Among them, the most anxious was undoubtedly Adolf.
He had drawn his sword believing he could win.
But the situation was turning against him.
Grit!
He bit down hard on his lip.
If this rebellion ended in failure—
There would be no future.
Even if he fled, where could he possibly go?
‘If we lose here…’
He would be reduced to a vagabond.
The crown that had been within arm’s reach was drifting farther and farther away.
It was a bitter, devastating feeling.
‘Abel…’
As the battle continued, more knights climbed the platform.
All of them were loyal to Abel.
And when the last two veteran knights and Kyle joined—
The expressions of Adolf and the five knights beside him turned grim.
Rebellion.
They instinctively realized it had failed.
The only remaining hope was the 5th Corps,
but by now, they should have long since entered the inner castle—yet they had not shown themselves.
Something had clearly gone wrong.
“Adolf! Drop your sword, traitor!”
“There’s no chance of victory left!”
Jacob and Malon raised their swords, surrounding Adolf and the five knights.
The knights encircled them on all sides.
Adolf looked around and gave a bitter smile.
“…So, loyalty ends in death. My apologies.”
“…No, my lord.”
“…Even in death, we are with you.”
‘……’
Surrender?
They had come too far.
At this point, raising the white flag was worse than death.
As the resolve burned in Adolf’s eyes, all five knights nodded.
Immediately, explosive energy surged from their bodies.
Enormous power!
They were discarding even their lives for the sake of strength.
And the one at the center, radiating the most intense aura—
Was none other than Adolf.
—
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