Chapter 222 - Bright Starry Night (1)

It was a bright night without any visible clouds, and the floating stars shone.

Timur, the Iron Lord, watched the fire burning in front of him as he sat on the carpet of accumulated white snow.

It had been a long time since he had spent the night outside the steel walls, and even longer since he had last met the man who was laughing in front of him.

"When did you lose your tooth? Did someone hit you?"

"Yes, I got hit. By time, no less."

His smile was comical, perhaps due to the missing front teeth, but the old man currently warming by the campfire in front of the steel ball was once a Baranov knight who left a glorious name.

Over time, he put down his sword and retired, but the reason he couldn't help but be happy was probably due to the memories he had with the old man for so long.

"Then I suggest you don't drink so much."

"Ah, the old days. When I was young, I could drink an entire barrel and be perfectly fine the next day."

The old man, reminiscing about the past years, turned his head and looked at the house covered in white snow.

Most of the houses around were made of logs, but the house the old man was looking at now was a large, spacious brick house built with great effort.

"But after all these years, I got my own mansion, so I don't think it was a meaningless life."

"Yes?"

Timur looked at his former subordinate lamenting the passage of time and took a sip from the bottle of alcohol he was holding.

The mansion the old man spoke of was given directly by Timur and was an honorable gift to reward his lifelong loyalty.

"Anyway, I heard you're planning to fight the central guys now?"

"I have to. They say they're going to come crawling, so what can I do?"

"Wow. It feels like my heart is racing after hearing a war story for the first time in a long time."

The old man opened his mouth as if he were happy, holding the bottle of expensive liquor that Timur had personally given him.

However, Timur only had a bitter smile on his face as he watched the old man get more excited.

"You must be very busy. Even in the midst of all this, you didn't forget me and came to visit…"

"How could I forget you?"

Timur drank the alcohol he was holding.

Timur's head was slightly tilted, as if he were exhausted, but his eyes shone as if he had decided something.

"Of course, I won't forget you, my loyal knight."

"What?"

Ching!

The campfire flames reflected on the sword.

The old man was surprised when he saw Timur suddenly draw his sword and didn't know what to do with his wide-open eyes.

"I even brought an antidote just in case, but it was completely useless."

"Lord Timur."

"In fact, what you drank wasn't alcohol, but poison."

A loyal knight who had been with me all my life.

But the person in front of me now is just a cowardly fugitive trying to escape death.

It was a potent poison that could kill even a large horse, but Timur silently raised his sword when he saw the old man drinking it without hesitation.

"…Please don't leave. Remain as my knight until the end."

Perhaps this is my last retirement gift for you.

For his subordinate who abandoned his beliefs, Timur restored the honor he had lost without saying a word.

Swish-!

A round face floated above the sad, outstretched sword.

The old man's face appeared in the cloudless night sky, gazing at the full moon above, and then slowly began to fall towards his lord.

"…Make sure the grave is deep. So no one finds it."

"Yes, Duke."

To prepare for a great war, you must first ensure the ground you stand on.

Timur felt relieved that the preparations weren't too late, but he was also saddened.

"…"

Timur crossed a name off the paper he was holding and watched as the campfire slowly died out.

Timur threw an old memory into the still-burning fire and took a sip of the last drink remaining.

***

'Don't trust Joseph Bayezid too much.'

'The Vatican targeted him for a good reason.'

"…"

There was a man sitting alone, with his back to the moonlight streaming through the window.

The blonde hair reflected in the blue moonlight now looked quite attractive, but he didn't seem to have time to enjoy it.

"What could he gain from this?"

Vlad, pondering Rodrigo's last words, was having difficulty understanding what he really meant.

"Is this a strategy to undermine the north?"

The senior knight of the Imperial Guard tried to plant a seed of doubt in Vlad's heart, but that seed had already withered away without a trace.

That was because Vlad's trust in Joseph was strong.

It made more sense to suspect Rodrigo than Joseph, who was his lord and benefactor and helped him become who he is today.

Knock, knock.

"…!"

But is it because I am in too much trouble?

It was already too late for Vlad to notice the black shadow tapping on the window.

The shadow that silently approached without anyone noticing was so stealthy that even Vlad's keen hearing couldn't detect it, and it was skilled enough to deceive even the sense of atmosphere he had extended.

"The night wind is cold. Can you open the window?"

"Marcus?"

Since the window was wide, it seemed there was space to step through.

Vlad couldn't hide his surprise seeing him in such an unexpected place.

"No, how are you here…"

"I have something important to tell you."

Bayezid's crow, Marcus, climbed through the window as if nothing had happened and sat in front of the guest table.

Seeing him take the hot teapot and pour it was so comforting that Vlad was left speechless.

"By the way, you still call me Marcus."

"Did you change your name again?"

"I'm called Sandor now."

From intruder to guest.

The man, whose face was covered in scars making his original appearance unrecognizable, drank the tea he had poured and silently handed a letter to Vlad.

"What is that?"

"This is a letter sent to you by the Northern Orthodox Church. To be exact, it was sent by Lord Gunther, the second leader of the Northern Orthodox Church."

A Holy Knight who faced the Black Woman together in Moshiam, a place filled with mist.

Vlad, recalling Gunther's appearance, quickly took the letter Marcus handed him.

"Where have I seen this document?"

"It's an indulgence."

The envelope contained several sheets of paper.

One of them was a letter written by Gunther himself, but the attached papers were nothing more than documents filled with a rigid format.

"As expected, you recognized it immediately."

"Why are you giving me this?"

Others coveted it, but for Vlad, it only brought back bad memories.

Moreover, unlike the secular Vatican, the Northern Orthodox Church did not grant indulgences easily, but it was natural for Vlad, who accepted them, to feel bewildered.

"It's already signed by the Pope himself."

"Then, why…?"

"The Northern Church wants you to kill someone."

An indulgence written by the Commander of the Northern Orthodox Church Knights, signed by the noble Pope, and delivered by Bayezid's hidden sword.

Vlad swallowed hard, sensing that the sin being compensated through this indulgence would not be light.

"Who do they want me to kill?"

Feeling a sinister premonition, Vlad stared at Marcus's face, but the man's disfigured face showed not the slightest expression.

"To Joseph Bayezid."

The sound of the teacup Marcus was holding falling echoed.

Along with the sound of Vlad's heart pounding.

"They want you to eliminate the northern stain that has made a pact with malevolent entities."

Vlad's hands trembled at the familiar sound he heard.

Joseph Bayezid.

The name uttered by the sinister crow was the first name that recognized me in this world and was also at the core of what constituted Vlad's world.

"Because in the land…"

Boom!

Vlad wanted to ask the reason for this incomprehensible situation, but his entire body was shaken by the loud noise he soon heard.

"…Seems I arrived a bit late."

-It's an attack! The enemy has invaded!

-They have assaulted the underground prison!

Dense smoke visible from outside.

And even the rough shouts of soldiers rising among the smoke.

A sudden roar shook his vision, but Vlad quickly looked through the broken window.

[Manifest your aura, Vlad. He is watching you.]

However, as Kihano said, there were eyes watching Vlad outside.

The man standing in the distant bell tower had all his colors faded, but the pressure he exerted was greater than any of the knights.

"…Frausen."

Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!

Vlad's heart pounded heavily.

The world that had supported me all this time trembled with strong vibrations, but the sword that cried shone intensely, telling me that I had to deal with the person in front of me.

***

-Stop them!

-Damn them!

"What a noisy entrance."

Just a moment ago, it was a prison where light couldn't enter, but now it has become such a wide space that you can even see the sky.

Jager, who was descending the half-collapsed stairs, knocked down the guards blocking his path and signaled to Joseph behind him.

"Come on, Lord Joseph."

"…You don't have to do this."

At Joseph's words, Jager brushed the stone dust off his eye patch and immediately began shaking his head silently.

"Don't worry about me. If it weren't for Lady Oksana, I would have been dead a long time ago."

I dedicate my sword to those who recognized me.

The One-Eyed Knight, who had followed Lady Oksana from the Oscar family to Bayezid, knew it was now his turn to sacrifice his honor for her son.

"Please, do what you want and what you have to do. I hope Lord Joseph will."

"…"

From the first time he saw him, he was a stubborn knight.

Joseph knew that Jager wouldn't budge with vain persuasion, so he hurriedly descended the stairs to do what he had set out to do.

"Shortness of breath is a relief. Is this how people normally live?"

It was cold, the path downward was difficult, and black swords were still flying everywhere, but Joseph's body didn't flinch in the slightest.

Feeling a sense of liberation, Joseph hurriedly ran to the deepest part of the dungeon.

Joseph's racing heart had always been overwhelming, but today he was quite happy.

-Is it you…

"I came here because Ramashtu sent me."

In the deepest part of Arnstein's dungeon, there was a headless knight floating in chains.

It was a chain with a piece of paper with sacred verses written on it tied to each place.

Clang!

With a single blow, Jager broke the lock.

Jager's world became clearer than ever and seemed to show how determined he was.

"I will get you out of here."

What was poison to the dead did not affect the living. Under the light of a star, Joseph reached out to the sinister entity.

"…The sky is clear today."

Even if my true self is rough and ugly, I still want to shine.

Though his true form was coarse and weak, he still wanted to shine.

So Joseph decided to do this.

Even if lying in a place where no one could see, my burning flame from now on would be as bright as the stars above.

Sss!

Everything in life depends on my choices.

Though he had no control over his birth, Joseph decided that his death would be in the way he chose.

____

Join the discord! 

https://dsc.gg/indra

____