Chapter 526: Finally, You Move (1)

"Wow, you're still alive?"

The mere fact that a gang leader like Crank had made it all the way to the capital was astonishing. Considering how far Auston City was from the capital, it could only be described as sheer luck.

Scratching his head, Crank forced a smile.

"Y-yes, somehow…"

His back was drenched in cold sweat. After all, his history with Claude was full of animosity.

Crank had falsely accused Claude of fraud and even attempted to have his wrist cut off. He had also kept an eye on Claude to monitor his actions.

Now, the very person he had oppressed had returned as an immensely powerful figure. One gesture from Claude, and Crank's life would be over.

'I can't die! Not after everything I've been through! I refuse to die like this!'

Claude, flashing a sharp smile, asked, "Do you know the first thing we do in occupied territories?"

"Y-yes, I do," Crank stammered.

Stabilizing a region wasn't just about distributing food. Ghislain placed particular importance on maintaining order.

Whenever a new territory was occupied, crime organizations were the first to be dismantled. The same had begun in the Seiron Kingdom. Anyone who had engaged in even the slightest misdeeds was apprehended.

Reports from the people were collected and cross-referenced with existing information. The most egregious offenders were immediately executed.

Crank had managed to avoid execution by keeping a low profile after losing his power. But with Claude now here, there was no escaping his past.

"P-please spare me!" Crank pleaded, throwing himself to the ground. He was well aware that the king and nobles had already been swept away by Claude's hand.

Claude, once notorious at the academy for holding grudges, wouldn't let someone like Crank go unpunished.

As expected, Claude reveled in his notorious pettiness.

"Nope. Can't let this slide. Honestly, I was really hurt back then."

"Aaaah! Please, I'm begging you!"

"No. Our policy is 'Let's create a safe place with no criminals.'"

"I've cleaned up my act! I've changed!"

"But you've committed plenty of crimes already. Hey, take him away."

Soldiers immediately seized Crank. As they dragged him off, something suddenly dawned on him, and he shouted loudly.

"Anna! I know where Anna went!"

"What?" Claude's head snapped around. After all his efforts to locate Anna had yielded nothing, here was someone who claimed to know her whereabouts!

"You'd better not be lying. If you are, I'll make sure you die twice," Claude said coldly.

"N-no! Please, I swear I'm telling the truth!"

"Where is she?"

Crank, who had initially intended to negotiate, quickly abandoned the idea.

Messing with someone as vindictive as Claude would only lead to worse consequences later. It was better to comply.

He confessed honestly, "She went to the Byron Kingdom."

"What? Are you sure?"

"I-I think so. I caught a glimpse of her when the refugee groups split. I'm certain!"

Claude scrutinized Crank with a suspicious glare. He wasn't naïve enough to take a criminal's words at face value.

But Crank's expression was one of desperate sincerity.

"It's the truth. I'm not mistaken, and I'm not lying."

"Explain it in detail."

"Well, it was like this…" Crank began.

When the rifts opened, refugee groups formed everywhere. It wasn't uncommon for refugees from different regions to meet by chance.

Conversely, some groups split up due to differing opinions on their destination.

Anna's group decided to head to a neighboring kingdom, while Crank's group believed it was better to go to the capital, closer to their familiar home.

After listening to the explanation, Claude nodded.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

He was already aware that some refugees had fled to other kingdoms. If Anna wasn't in the Seiron Kingdom, it was entirely plausible she had gone elsewhere.

Even if it was just speculation, it was better than thinking she might be dead.

Crank, nervously rubbing his hands, ventured cautiously, "Well, since you're in such a high position now, I'm sure you'll find her soon. You've gotten your revenge, so maybe you could even get married…"

Whack!

Claude smacked the back of Crank's head and snapped, "It's not like that! She's just my mentor's daughter, and I'm worried about her, alright?"

Sure, revenge might bring some satisfaction. But it didn't erase the fact that his own mistakes had led to his mentor's death.

Anna and he had already gone their separate ways. If the world hadn't descended into chaos, they would have simply parted for good and moved on with their lives.

However, in a world overrun by monsters and cults, he needed to confirm that she was safe and alive.

It was guilt from the past driving him to help Anna, nothing more—at least, that's what Claude genuinely believed.

Crank, nodding fervently, said, "Of course, of course. Governor, sir, your mercy and generosity are well known. So… since I told you where she went, you'll spare me, right?"

"Why didn't you come to me with this information sooner?"

Claude had spent days turning the kingdom upside down in his search for Anna. Many people might not have recognized her or been able to report seeing her, but Crank, who knew her, could have.

Crank widened his eyes and replied, "If I had shown up, you'd have killed me or at least sent me to hard labor. You were planning to do that just now! So, of course, I avoided you."

"You… you know me too well."

"Hehe, well, we did gamble together back in Auston, didn't we?"

"Fine. Since you told me her whereabouts, I'll spare you."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Governor! Long live the Governor!"

Crank threw himself to the ground in relief, but Claude suddenly draped an arm around his shoulders and said, "Enlist."

"What?"

"You're joining the Seiron Reconstruction Army. Got it?"

"..."

"If you refuse, you die."

Day by day, Claude was becoming more like Ghislain.

"I'll enlist…" Crank muttered tearfully, resigning himself to his fate. It was better than being executed.

As he bowed his head and walked away, Claude pondered to himself.

"The Byron Kingdom, huh… That works out well."

Ghislain's next destination after Seiron was the Byron Kingdom, and Claude was also set to head there soon.

Finding Anna in Byron would be even more challenging. It was larger than Seiron and harbored Salvation Church forces.

Anna might have already died there or fled to yet another kingdom.

Even so, until he was certain of her fate, Claude would continue searching for her.

***

The Byron Kingdom was already more than half overrun by the Salvation Church and rifts.

The only reason the small nation hadn't been completely consumed was Lutania's civil war.

Many priests stationed in Byron had withdrawn to Lutania, giving the kingdom some breathing room.

The inability to contain the rifts was another factor. Even the nobles who had allied with the Salvation Church in rebellion avoided the rift zones.

"Damn it! This isn't what we prepared for! You said it would be under control!"

Bang!

Marquis Brodus, leader of the Byron rebels, slammed his desk in frustration.

It was maddening. His forces had to avoid the rift zones to minimize losses, giving the kingdom's army time to fortify their defenses.

While the kingdom's forces only needed to block the rift expansions, the rebels had to move around them to attack the kingdom. It was an infuriating disadvantage.

But that wasn't his only problem.

"When are the superhumans coming back?!"

The rebel army was now bogged down by the kingdom's fierce resistance.

Originally, the rebels had been slightly weaker than the kingdom's forces. But with the Salvation Church's superhumans, they had been able to push forward relentlessly.

That changed when Lutania's civil war broke out, and most of the superhumans in Byron were recalled. Without them, further advances were nearly impossible.

"Get in touch again! Beg them to send just one back!"

As he was berating his subordinates, devastating news arrived.

"The priests… they're all gone!"

"What?"

"The Salvation Church priests have disappeared! They've fled!"

"This… this can't be…"

Marquis Brodus' face turned pale.

Even without superhumans, the Church's regular priests were a significant asset. They could act as mages and serve as the rebels' connection to the Church.

For them to vanish overnight? Now, the rebels faced both the kingdom army and the rifts alone.

"Those bastards fled the moment things got tough!"

Marquis Brodus seethed with betrayal. The Church had promised him the kingdom and courted him for years, only to abandon him at this critical moment.

Then came an even more shocking update.

"The Lutania civil war has ended! Duke Delphine's forces and the Salvation Church have been defeated!"

"The Duke Fenris has marched with an army of 100,000!"

"The front lines are collapsing against Duke Fenris's vanguard of 20,000! We must act quickly!"

Marquis Brodus trembled. No superhumans, no priests, and now an army of 100,000 was marching toward them?

Even if they gathered every soldier at the front lines, their forces would barely reach 100,000. They didn't have a single superhuman to call their own.

They were barely holding their own against the kingdom's army as it was. If the enemy's forces grew by 100,000, there was no chance of victory.

Marquis Brodus urgently commanded, "Summon all our forces and block the chokepoints! They'll have to avoid the rift zones, so we just need to defend those areas! In the meantime, contact the Salvation Church in other kingdoms and—"

"It's… it's no use," one of his aides stammered.

Marquis Brodus furrowed his brow. "What? No use? What do you mean?"

"Th-the Duke Fenris is…"

"What about the Duke Fenris?"

"He's… just pushing through the rift zones as he advances. Reports indicate they've suffered almost no losses."

"…"

Marquis Brodus felt dizzy. Was that even possible? Could a human army be that strong?

If such a force existed, why had humanity been helpless against the rifts for so long?

The answer was clear: that army had surpassed the limits of humanity.

"No wonder the Lutania Kingdom was the first to resolve their internal conflict," he muttered.

To his knowledge, all the high-ranking priests from nearby kingdoms had flocked to Lutania.

Yet the Duke Fenris had defeated them and was now supporting other kingdoms. It was beyond belief.

"R-run! We need to prepare to escape! Quickly!" Brodus barked, making what could have been a wise decision. The problem was that he insisted on taking everything with him.

If he had fled with only his closest aides, he might have escaped safely. He could always regroup with the Salvation Church elsewhere.

But he started moving his army and supplies instead. He wanted to maintain his power in whichever kingdom he went to.

"We'll have enough time," he reasoned.

Given the distance, it seemed logical. What he hadn't anticipated was the speed of the Fenris cavalry.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

By the time a cavalry force of 20,000 caught up with them, it was too late.

"What… what is that? How is that possible?" Marquis Brodus felt like he was seeing ghosts. The Fenris cavalry arrived before his messengers could even deliver a warning.

Boom!

"Arghhh!"

There was no declaration of war, no parley. They simply charged and crushed everything in their path.

He tried to organize resistance, but it was futile. The difference in combat power was overwhelming.

Watching his army get annihilated, Marquis Brodus was struck dumb.

The world is often called the Salvation Church demonic.

But that was only because they hadn't seen the Duke Fenris's army.

This was the true army of demons.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At the forefront, a figure with glowing red eyes tore through the soldiers like they were nothing. No one could stand against them.

The individuals beside this figure were no different. They slashed through soldiers as if cutting through bundles of straw, advancing relentlessly.

Marquis Brodus wet himself without realizing it. That demon with the fierce smile had appeared before him.

"Y-you… Are you the Duke Fenris?" he stammered.

"I am."

"I-I surrender…"

"Not needed."

Slash!

With those curt words, Ghislain severed Marquis Brodus' head.

Thus, the Byron Kingdom's rebellion came to an end. While a few remnants of the rebels remained, Claude was following closely with his forces to eliminate them.

Ghislain and the 20,000-strong cavalry focused on securing key strategic locations.

Though he had anticipated an easy victory—and it indeed was—Ghislain couldn't shake a sense of unease. He tilted his head thoughtfully.

'The priests are nowhere to be seen.'

Aside from the first few encounters upon entering Byron Kingdom, the priests of the Salvation Church had vanished. They had fled entirely.

It made sense that the high-ranking priests from nearby kingdoms had been called to Lutania for its civil war.

But the complete absence of even the lower-ranking priests was undeniably strange.

'They must be consolidating their strength somewhere.'

It was clear they were gathering to avoid being defeated piecemeal.

When those cockroach-like fanatics gathered, they could muster terrifying power. The other kingdoms needed to ready their forces swiftly.

It meant more work for the northern army of Lutania, who would have to move even faster.

As Ghislain clicked his tongue and prepared for the next battle, he received good news.

"The civil war in the Kingdom of Turian has ended! They've sent word that they want to join the alliance!"

The Kingdom of Turian was the second to resolve its internal conflict after Lutania.

The news left many people wide-eyed with surprise.

Turian had long struggled to fend off the rampaging monsters even before the rifts and the rise of the Salvation Church. This had prevented them from joining the allied forces.

For such a kingdom to have already ended its civil war was an unbelievable achievement.

But Ghislain was not surprised. He knew that one of the continent's Seven Strongest was in Turian.

A delighted smile spread across Ghislain's face.

'He's finally moving, huh.'

The man once called the Continent's Finest Sword.

Soon, Ghislain would have the chance to meet him again, and the anticipation filled him with excitement.

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