Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 271

“Mr. Roger.”Roger opened his eyes to the sound of a man’s cautious voice calling him.

Ain, a close aide with a worried expression on his stern face, came into view.

When Roger’s eyes met his, he spoke calmly.

“You look tired.”

“There’s no problem. Don’t worry about it.”

Roger straightened his posture and removed his back from the wall.

“Is it ready?”

“It took quite some time because the plan suddenly changed, but we were able to complete the work without a hitch,” Ain reported.

Roger gave him a slight nod.

“That’s great. What about Jin?”

“It seems that things are going smoothly for Lady Jin as well. Nikephoros said that Lady Jin will be resting for the time being.”

Ain, who had been speaking up to that point, paused for a moment and then added.

“I’m just a little uneasy that they’ve caught wind of it.”

“That can’t be helped. I didn’t expect another dragon to join them.”

Roger answered calmly.

That being said, it wasn’t as if his mind was completely at peace.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Who would have thought they’d even involve a dragon?

Roger, who remembered the apprentice knight who resembled pure white moonlight, pressed his temples again.

It’s been quite some time since he’s become aware of Lexion’s existence, because Nikephoros once mentioned him once.

Roger recalled a conversation he had had with Nikephoros a few years ago.

“If there is one dragon left in this land that we should be wary of, it is only one. The others have already fled, having lost their heads in the last war. But that one will not back down easily.”

.

He is a man with the magic of darkness who helped the hero Khan in the past Great War.

It was said that he was hiding his identity as a human wizard because his magical properties were not welcomed in the Light Faction.

Even the hero Khan might not have known his true identity, Nikephoros added.

“But you don’t have to be too conscious of him. He went into a sleeping state before the war ended. It doesn’t seem like he’s woken up yet, and he doesn’t really like going outside… I don’t know what his whim was before. Maybe he just liked Khan.”

Since Hero Khan was no longer in this land, Lexion had no reason to get involved in the war again.

Above all, he was said to have been seriously injured towards the end of the war and was forced into a deep sleep.

But it seemed like it was a miscalculation.

When he first heard that he had appeared in the Nephele Kingdom, he never expected that he would establish himself in the Caerleon Empire.

‘More than anything, Lord Nikephoros was also resting at that time…’

It was also true that there was no way to respond.

He never would have guessed that in the meantime, a reckless apprentice knight would be roasting Lexion.

‘I should have killed him then.’

He gave up killing Arendt to save Jin’s life, but he began to think that even that might have been a mistake.

Maybe it would have been right to deal with him even if it meant giving up on Jin.

Arendt von Eckhart was that dangerous.

This was especially true because it was impossible to predict what he would do.

‘They should have killed him in the Western Plains.’

But he survived as expected.

It was expected that killing the next great hero, Laius de Winfried, as predicted by Nikephoros, would not be easy.

‘I’d never expected he could kill two homunculi and ghouls without having any damage done.’

Even Jin, who would normally be furious at the absurd result, burst into laughter.

If they dug deeper, the sudden change of strategy was also a result of the actions of the apprentice knight.

Because the true nature of the Evil Cult was revealed much sooner than expected, the various countries of the continent quickly united around the Caerleon Empire, and even the elves began to cooperate.

‘Learning from the failure of the last great war, the plan was to first destroy the Caerleon Empire, the legacy of the hero Khan, before attacking the other kingdoms.’

Before the Caerleon Empire could be properly shaken, the Chernion Cult had become the enemy of the entire continent… so in the end, they had no choice but to change their strategy.

“…Roger? What are you thinking?”

As the silence grew longer, Ain spoke cautiously again.

“It’s nothing.”

Roger shook his head slightly to shake the thought away.

“How much time is left?”

“It’s been three days. I think Lord Nikephoros will have fully recovered by then.”

“Be prepared until then. Tell Jin not to let her guard down.”

Roger paused for a moment and then added briefly.

“Once everything is ready, light the fuse.”

“…I will obey your command.”

Ain, with a hardened face, bowed politely.

“Chernion will always be with us.”

“May the blessings of darkness be with you.”

Roger also responded to his subordinate’s prayer.

Ain bowed his head once more and took a step back.

There really wasn’t much left now.

Roger habitually stroked the jewel-studded rosary inside his sleeve.

, the jewels clashed against each other and let out a small scream.

Roger’s eyes became gloomy and sunken.

‘To do that…’

The blood of a hero must be offered as a sacrifice.

And in order to kill the hero, they had to first eliminate the venomous apprentice knight lurking next to him.

Four days had passed since Lexion had been thrown into the Crown Prince’s training grounds.

Lexion was right when he said that if they didn’t give advance warning, the elves would have nightmares for a whole week.

No one said anything, but their faces were pale, and it seemed as if they were feeling a great deal of pressure just from the fact that a dragon was staying nearby.

“…It’s quite an interesting sight to see.”

Looking at the elves who had gathered again to discuss strategy, Arendt blurted.

Laius, who could not bear to hit Arendt on the back of the head in front of guests from a distant land, gave a quiet warning.

“You be quiet. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Thank you for your concern.”

Shekhinah answered with an awkward smile.

Ragnald and Salem also seemed to ignore Arendt’s words.

When Laius sat down and Arendt stood behind him, Zakar opened the discussion first.

“I was having a brief meeting while I was here, and since you’re here, I’d like to ask for your opinion, Captain. I’m thinking of bringing some of the warriors we left behind in the kingdom back to the empire. What do you think, Captain?”

In the case of the Second Kingdom alone, the Captain of the Royal Guard, Sylvian, and half of the warriors were left behind in the kingdom.

It was agreed that all four kingdoms would send reinforcements, and it was because of the strong insistence of the elders that there was no need for both Zakar and Sylvian and risk emptying the Second Kingdom.

Laius thought for a moment and then shook his head.

“Thank you for your kind words, but I will decline. We must leave enough strength to fight back if the Elven Kingdom is suddenly attacked. I will monitor the situation and ask you to do so when necessary.”

“I see. I understand.”

Even as he nodded, Zakar seemed to be concerned about Arendt behind Laius.

The same was true for the other elves.

Arendt noticed those gazes and asked oddly.

“What?”

“…I just thought that you look in good condition.”

Zakar answered on behalf of the elves.

On the way here, the elves witnessed the members of the Third Knights, all with faces as if they were dying, swarming and viciously tearing into Arendt as if they were going to kill him.

Plus, he started grumbling that he was going to die because Richt and Arthur suddenly started pestering him.

But it was strange that Arendt seemed more refreshed than anyone else.

“I ate well and rested well.”

Arendt answered plainly.

By then, he could roughly guess what the situation was.

Apparently, a few days ago, Laius announced that he would be increasing everyone’s training amount.

However, Arendt, the real culprit, seemed to have escaped under the pretense of being sick.

Laius, reading the subtle air flowing among the elves, changed the mood with a short cough.

“It is said that the knights who went to the Everan Kingdom and the Lucain Kingdom joined forces with the home country’s troops and began a search. And just this morning, traces of a large number of people moving along the Everan Kingdom’s border were discovered.”

“…It’s the enemy.”

Salem muttered.

Laius gave him a slight nod and added.

“It seems that the traces were erased with magic, so it was not discovered by ordinary soldiers until now. And the Lucain Kingdom also found traces of large-scale logging and quarrying. It is presumed that the enemy used them to build a stronghold.”

The other three also had stiff faces.

Arendt opened his mouth, spreading out the map he had brought on the table.

“It seems that the cult has divided its forces into three and has taken up positions near the Caerleon Empire, the Lucain Kingdom, and the Everan Kingdom. If so, it would be right to assume that the key commanders have also been divided and deployed accordingly.”

The map showed where the First and Second Knight Orders and the Royal Army were currently stationed.

Then, Laius explained while pointing his hand towards the Everan Kingdom.

“In the Everan Kingdom, there is the Second Knights led by Captain Diana, and in the Lucain Kingdom, there is the First Knights led by Captain Kendrick. And on the Everan Kingdom side where traces of magic were discovered, there will be the elf traitor Jin and the dragon Nikephoros, and around the Lucain Kingdom, there is likely a man named Roger. However, this is just a guess.”

“What kind of person is Roger?”

Ragnald asked a question.

Instead of answering, Laius looked at Arendt.

Arendt met the captain’s eyes and opened his mouth.

“I’ve only met him once, but he seemed to be taking orders directly from the saint. In terms of rank, he would be the closest confidant to the saint.”

Arendt paused for a moment before adding:

“He uses an artifact that burns everything, and he’s insanely strong. With just a regular group of people, they wouldn’t even be able to handle him, let alone leave any ash behind.”

Shekhinah’s face hardened.

“…It seems like the situation is more difficult than I expected.”

“It’s amazing that you’ve managed to block him with almost no damage so far. You’re truly amazing, Captain Laius.”

Ragnald also gave his compliments with a serious face.

But Laius shook his head indifferently.

“You are too kind. It is all thanks to His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“In that sense, let’s divide up the roles in advance.”

Arendt blurted out the words in a tone that was out of place in the tense situation.

Naturally, the elves’ gaze turned to Arendt again.

Shekhinah asked curiously, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“What do you mean by divide up the roles in advance?”

“I’m saying that we should literally decide in advance who will deal with whom. It’ll be much better than just being confused when the time comes.”

The apprentice knight shrugged.

“For a while, we can handle them with just the First and Second Knight Orders that have been dispatched. However, the moment the two monsters and the dragon enter the battlefield, it will be chaos. The casualties will be countless. So, the moment Jin and Roger are seen, let’s decide in advance who will grab their ankles and hang on.”

It was an extension of a conversation they had in the Count’s laboratory that day.

Shekhinah and Ragnald’s expressions also became serious as they realized this.

Arendt cast an indifferent glance at the elves who had taken up a listening posture.

‘The actors are already ready.’

With them, he had to lead this rotten stage without a script into a comedy and make Laius a praised hero.

Dividing the roles while considering the balance of power was the first step in preparing for a bloody showdown.