Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 231

The Count they met again looked even more haggard.“I’m sorry I couldn’t treat you all properly due to the circumstances.”

“No, I understand. It’s because of the situation. You handled it really well. Thanks to you, Count, the damage has been greatly reduced.”

Richt answered calmly to the Count, who was sitting on the head of the sofa and repeatedly bowing his head.

They weren’t empty words.

This was a small estate in the outskirts of the countryside, and the Count and his people were simple people who had settled here their entire lives.

The work of the police, soldiers, and knights was limited to catching runaway livestock and occasionally stopping drunken brawls.

Fortunately, thanks to the intelligence officers of the security force receiving information about the evil cult from the palace and reporting it to the Count in a timely manner, they were able to respond appropriately.

If not, the territory would have already been taken over by ghouls by the time the knights arrived.

The Count smiled bitterly with a pale face.

“I don’t know what to do with myself when you say that. If you all hadn’t come on time, even that would have gone down the drain.”

At the innocent reaction, just as Richt was about to smile slightly, Arendt suddenly intervened.

“Isn’t it a bit early to relax? The situation isn’t completely over yet.”

“…”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that to you, Count. You did well. I meant that to my seniors who were having a hard time because of killing a few rascals, so don’t worry about it, Count.”

“Haha…”

The Count’s smile became slightly awkward at the spiteful words.

Richt rubbed his temple.

The warm atmosphere shattered in an instant.

Regardless, Arendt just said what he had to say.

“Have you checked where they are coming from?”

“…No, I tried to track them but failed. Judging from the direction they’re coming from, I can only guess that they’re probably coming down from the mountains.”

The Count’s expression became slightly clouded.

“I tried to send people because I thought it might help. Some people volunteered, but no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed dangerous, so I stopped them from going. I’m sorry.”

“Well done. It’s much better than doing something beyond your ability and dying.”

The Count’s eyes widened as Arendt responded indifferently.

Arendt asked him blankly, as he blinked absentmindedly.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Excuse me, are you Sir Arendt von Eckhart?”

“Who else would I be?”

“That…”

The Count was unable to continue speaking.

Just as Arendt was about to raise his eyebrows in question, Arthur, who had noticed the Count’s intentions, intervened first.

“Count, do you know this guy?”

“Oh, no. It was just a rumor a while ago…”

“It’s fine. As the rumors say, he really is a wild brat, but he still knows how to pick his targets. Even though he bites anything that comes his way, there are occasionally people he doesn’t bite.”

“Not, not someone he bites?”

While the bewildered Count stammered and asked again, Arendt snapped back sharply.

“That’s ridiculous. Why are you treating a person like a dog?”

Richt also added.

“He may be a strange guy, but he’s not that bad. He does his job well, so you can rest assured.”

Such questions rose to the tip of his tongue, but the Count simply nodded his head to suppress his dangerous curiosity.

But even so, he couldn’t easily take his eyes off the young knight.

‘The infamous apprentice knight of the famous Third Knight Order…’

There were sporadic incidents of ghoul attacks recently.

The Imperial Knights marched across the Empire and took to the front lines.

Since then, the dazzling performance of the Imperial Knights had been a subject of great interest to both nobles and commoners.

Among them, the fame of the Captain of the Third Order, Laius de Winfried, was rising sky-high.

Everyone who saw Laius in person praised him.

Of course, since he was a person with a big heart, he would make a lot of enemies.

But people couldn’t show their hostility outwardly.

Because to anyone, Laius was absolute good and justice.

‘But…’

The reputation of that apprentice knight was almost as notorious.

It was common for him to cause commotion in the territory he was dispatched to and make the lords swear at him.

It was said that it would be difficult to find a noble who did not suffer troubles from him among the nobles who frequented the palace.

Everyone said that although he seemed like a child who didn’t know how high the sky was, his mind was so great that they were helpless and could not help but be defeated.

‘And yet, he has the trust of both His Highness the Crown Prince and his Captain.’

It was the most famous anecdote that spread along with his handsome appearance and remarkable personality.

Thanks to the many remarkable achievements he made, it was said that the Crown Prince personally suggested that he be appointed without completing the full apprenticeship period.

But he rejected it outright.

The reason was not clearly known.

“What are you looking at? Even if you look at me again, the fact that I’m handsome won’t change.”

“…No. I’m sorry.”

The Count averted his eyes without realizing it at the haughty tone.

Arendt crossed his legs and crossed his arms leisurely.

“Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now. The work isn’t over yet.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

It was a strange situation where the lord was bowing lowly and the apprentice knight, who was his guest, was speaking in a commanding tone.

But no one pointed that out.

“Before the sun sets, gather only those who can move right away. We’re going to attack the base tonight.”

“The base… you mean? The base of those monsters?”

The Count asked several times, doubting his ears.

Richt nodded in Arendt’s stead.

“Yes. They settle in one place and attack the land where people live. We have to start from there.”

“…Understood. I will gather all the troops except the wounded. We must be prepared to fight them with all our might.”

The Count, who had been pondering, spoke with a sense of solemnity, but Arthur shook his head.

“No, that’s not necessary. Just gather the people who are willing. That’s enough.”

“Yes? But…”

“No matter how many people there are, it won’t help. Let’s only have those who can fight come.”

Arendt cut off the Count in the middle of his argument, trying to refute it.

“I saw yesterday that you had set up a barrier along the road to prevent them from entering the houses. Deploy all your troops there.”

“All of them?”

But the instructions that followed were still difficult for the Count to understand.

“Did you just say all?”

When the Count asked, doubting his ears, Richt answered calmly.

“There are only three of us, so there may be some we miss. Please take care of the ones we missed.”

No matter how strong they were, there were only three of them.

In contrast, the ghouls pouring out could be called an army.

“Are you sure you’re all going to be okay?”

“If it wasn’t going to be okay, why did we come all this way? If you just hang around trying to help, you’ll only be bothering us…”

.

Arthur silenced Arendt’s mutters.

“He’s trying to say this:. I hope there’s no misunderstanding.”

“Yes…”

The Count could only nod his head in bewilderment at that sight.

Arendt pushed Arthur away in annoyance.

“Oh, damn it. Get your dirty hands off of me. And put as many torches as possible near the barrier. They’re weak to fire, so they still have some instinct left and will hesitate at the sight of fire.”

“Fire attacks are quite effective. So, before the battle begins, please prepare a few buckets of oil and water around the defenses.”

Richt added.

His attitude was one of not caring at all about the apprentice knight babbling about his senior’s dirty hands or whatever.

Eventually the Count gave up following the conversation.

“Okay, I’ll prepare it that way.”

“Please take care of us, Count.”

The Count also bowed his head in surprise to Richt, who bowed politely.

Unlike the previous battles where people retreated in fear, there were quite a few volunteers willing to join the battle.

The knights who had arrived at the stockade a step ahead could not help but look surprised when they saw Wigens bringing more people than they had expected.

“I didn’t know this many would come.”

“It’s about protecting our homes. We can’t back down.”

Wigens answered Arthur’s words resolutely.

“I am the captain of the knights who protects my lord. I will never show myself being ugly in front of the enemy, for the sake of my fallen comrades.”

Even if they were called knights, they were nothing more than men who knew how to use swords from small fiefdoms, put on armor, and trained appropriately.

This was the first time they had ever fought a battle worthy of being called one.

So, it would be natural for everyone to be terrified, but everyone who could move volunteered to fight the ghouls.

Arthur and Richt could not have been unaware of that sentiment.

Arthur chuckled and tapped Wigens’ armor.

“Wonderful. The lord will be proud to have such a great knight.”

“Thank you. Since you are willing to risk your lives to fight, how can we stay still?”

Just as Wigens was smiling faintly, an annoying voice suddenly came out from the side.

“We never risked our lives. We just had the confidence that we wouldn’t die.”

“…!”

Wigens, startled, turned toward the direction where the sound came from.

Arendt was staring at the other side of the fence with his characteristically indifferent face.

Wigens remembered his face clearly.

It was he who suddenly appeared at the moment of crisis and saved his life.

Wigens suddenly came to his senses and lowered his head.

“It’s late, but thank you for saving me. Thanks to you, I was able to save my life.”

“…”

Arendt glanced at him, then looked away without saying anything.

Wigens was taken aback by the cold response.

Arthur laughed bitterly.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just like that. Anyway, make sure to keep your guard up until sunrise. We’ll reduce their numbers as much as possible, and then we’ll chase down the ones who retreat. When we start chasing them, you guys stay here and wait.”

“Huh? Aren’t we going together?”

Arthur’s smile became a little awkward at Wigen’s question.

“…You guys have your own work to do.”

“Yes?”

The sky, which had been gradually getting darker, was soon completely engulfed in darkness.

Even the last ray of light was taken over by shadows, and the torches that were lined up along the path burned red.

Richt spoke instead of Arthur.

“Have you prepared everything you need?”

“Preparations were made without a hitch.”

Wigens nodded.

The knights were ordered to prepare as many torches, several jugs of oil, and large buckets of water as possible before the battle began.

With a slightly nervous heart, Wigens checked the items the knights had requested once more.

Then soon he realized something strange.

“…How many bottles of oil are missing?”

It was clearly prepared as the knights requested.

He checked back and forth several times during the day, so there shouldn’t have been any problems.

But there wasn’t much time to think about other things.

“They’re coming.”

It was because of Richt’s words after he sensed the presence of the enemies.