Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 468

The palace became more chaotic than expected due to an unexpected turn of events.The nobles fought every day.

Although there was constant condemnation of the Third Knights who betrayed Luce, there were also many who expressed resentment towards the Great Temple that punished the Third Knights who always fought at the forefront.

“Even so, I think this is an excessive action. Considering what Captain Laius and his knights have been doing…!”

“However, insulting Lord Luce is an unforgivable sin. If you lose your roots, any merit becomes meaningless.”

Is now the time to get to the root of the problem? If it weren’t for the Captain, half of us would have died in the war!”

Some people stopped going to the temple altogether, while others, as if to show off their faith, began donating unprecedented amounts of money.

Even in the midst of all this, Lumiel and the Third Knights were only focused on the task at hand.

Lumiel focused on supporting missions by consistently operating the temple’s troops and priests, while Laius steadily monitored the battle situation and even led the knights on expeditions himself.

The same was true for the Second Knight Order led by Diana.

Despite countless questions, Diana remained silent. She simply focused all her energy on calming the battlefield with Laius.

Time passed quickly, and the war intensified. Even in the Empire’s once-quiet borders, enemies began to rise up.

Even the entire city rose up in rebellion, raising its hand against the Evil Cult.

As more and more lands were devastated by the Evil Cult, the exploits of the excommunicated heroes also increased.

The elves who had been silent about the current situation finally spoke.

“We have reached an agreement with the Grand Elder. The four kingdoms have decided to fully follow Captain Laius and the imperial family.”

Salem came to Laius’ office and expressed his opinion on behalf of the elves.

Instructor Zakar, Lady Shekhinah, and Lord Ragnald have also agreed to join us. They say they’ve reached an agreement with the other elders of the kingdom. I apologize for the delay.”

“No. Thank you for your efforts, Salem.”

Laius smiled faintly. Salem then gave a bitter smile, unbecoming of his young face.

“Instuctor Zakar and the Elders of the Second Kingdom have put in the most effort. After all, within the Elf Kingdom, the Elders of the Fog Forest tribe have the most say.”

The elves also supported Laius and Lexion rather than the Luce Temple… no, to be precise, they supported Arendt.

“First of all, the elders have agreed that they do not wish to go against Dragon Lexion’s wishes. And…”

Salem swallowed hard and added.

“It is said that Grand Elder Altair of the Fog Forest Tribe said that it would be good not to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors.”

Laius, who had been silent for a moment, nodded.

“I see. Do you know about the previous incident, Salem?”

“Yes. I just found out.”

Salem answered, lowering his eyes.

“I also heard that Grand Elder Altair was the first to inform Sir Arendt about it.”

The Knights Templar also recently learned the full story of the incident through information shared by Arendt.

“Grand Elder Altair has convinced the other elders about what happened. The Elf Kingdom’s intentions will soon be relayed to the other allied forces.”

Salem was explaining things simply, but it was easy to guess how much conflict had occurred.

It wouldn’t have been easy to persuade the elf warriors currently in the Allied Forces.

Yet, Zakar, Salem, Shekhinah, and Ragnald quietly took care of the matter so that Laius and Arendt would not be bothered.

“Thank you so much, Salem. Please pass this on to the others.”

Laius spoke slowly, meeting Salem’s gaze.

“Someday, I will visit the Elf Kingdom in person and express my gratitude. When the time comes. I will definitely do so.”

“….You fight for everyone, so I think this is only natural.”

Only then did Salem smile more comfortably.

“When that time comes, I’d like to guide you through the land of the Shadow Tribe. And Sir Arendt as well.”

Salem paused after saying that.

“…This isn’t the time to be talking about this. I’m sorry.”

“Just hearing your words makes me excited.”

But Laius shook his head slightly.

“Arendt is a more curious person than he seems, so he’ll like it.”

Only then did Salem smile awkwardly again.

It was certainly too optimistic to be bringing it up now.

No one could guarantee that such a day would actually come, but Laius didn’t want to point that out.

Salem quietly changed the subject.

“By the way, where did Sir Arendt go? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Huh? You haven’t seen him either?”

Salem nodded awkwardly as Laius frowned slightly.

“No. Didn’t he just return from a mission to subdue the enemy at the Imperial border yesterday? I don’t even think he was in his room.”

“Haaah…”

A sigh suddenly escaped Laius’ mouth.

Salem smiled awkwardly, as if he understood how he felt.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

If you see him, it’s a headache in its own right.

But just because he’s out of sight didn’t make it better.

Because they never knew when, where, or what kind of accident he would cause.

“First, I have to ask Arthur to look for him.”

The moment Laius, who had been pressing his temples, started speaking…

Outside the office, the sound of the dormitory door being roughly opened was heard.

Soon after, the knights who remained in the dormitory heard the sound of dragging.

“Ugh! Hey, what are you bringing?”

“Wait a minute, is that a dog? No, a wolf?”

“Don’t be a bother and step aside. It’s already so heavy I could die.”

Among them, Arendt’s voice, expressing his irritation, stood out.

It was clear something unusual had happened. The two exchanged glances and hurriedly ran out of the office.

The first thing that hit them was the smell of blood.

“What’s going on?”

“Captain!”

As soon as Laius appeared, the knights quickly gave way. Then Arendt appeared, holding the back of a giant wolf’s neck.

The bloody smell came from a wolf. After a moment of stunned silence, Laius quickly recognized the wolf.

“Is that Warren?”

The wolf, which had been lying down, struggled hard and escaped Arendt’s grasp.

Warren, who barely escaped his grasp, quickly reverted to human form and lashed out in frustration. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on N0velFire.ɴet

“Don’t treat me like an animal! I clearly told you that I can walk on my own two feet!”

“Where is that barking coming from? I can’t hear it very well.”

Warren was about to explode again when Arendt responded bluntly, but Laius quickly stopped him.

“First, calm down. You can’t reopen the wound. More importantly, what happened to you two? And what are those injuries?”

Warren was suffering from a number of injuries that looked serious even at first glance.

There was only one being on this earth that could inflict such a wound on a werewolf, who was not easily harmed by anything and easily recovered from wounds.

Arendt replied angrily.

“What the hell, obviously they were from a battlefield.”

Looking closely, Arendt, who was dressed in plain clothes, also had minor wounds.

“I had some business to attend to at the Neumann headquarters, but then I received word that they had been attacked, so I rushed out to provide support. I thought that dog alone wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

After finishing the battle and returning to the Merchant Group’s headquarters, they had no way to immediately treat Warren’s injuries.

So, he was dragged to the palace without warning.

Warren growled ferociously even as he was bleeding profusely.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m a werewolf, not a dog!”

“If you’re not satisfied, should I call you Frozen Wolf?”

Warren looked like he would collapse from excessive bleeding if he was left alone for just a little longer.

Laius gave an order with a tired look.

“For now, let’s start with first aid until Lord Lexion returns. I’ll call the healer. Glenn, take Warren to the inner room.”

“Yes!”

Glenn, as if he had been waiting, rushed over and helped Warren up. Warren didn’t refuse his hand and obediently followed his guidance inside.

Only after he left was Laius able to have a proper conversation with Arendt.

“Do you know where Lord Lexion is?”

“He went out on a reconnaissance mission with Stellar. I think he’ll be back soon.”

Arendt answered, shaking his bloody hands.

His Frosty Touch was stained crimson with the blood of the enemy and Warren. Even the white shirt he wore instead of his uniform was stained with enemy blood and flesh.

Laius took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to him.

“Explain what happened. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“It’s nothing but a few scratches. . I was exercising for nothing.”

Arendt took the handkerchief and wiped the blood away, grumbling.

“As I just told you, the merchant group was attacked on their way back from an outing. I happened to be at the headquarters when I heard the news.”

Arendt, who had quickly cleaned himself, shamelessly handed the soiled handkerchief back to Laius.

“They were a group of merchants supplying supplies to the border battlefield, returning after a few months of supply. Warren was at the front of the convoy, and when he heard they were near the Imperial Palace, he went out to escort them.”

This was because public sentiment had been in turmoil recently and there had been an increase in the number of thieves targeting the market.

Laius didn’t say anything to Arendt, and took the dirty handkerchief and folded it.

“And?”

“While they were moving along, we were attacked by a group of bandits. Warren and the mercenaries started to fight them, thinking they were just normal humans and could be easily defeated, but…”

Arendt’s expression crumpled.

“A horde of ghouls were suddenly summoned.”

“What?”

Surprised voices erupted from all sides. Laius, too, frowned.

“Ghouls?”

“Yes. Warren said one of the thieves acted as a medium for the summoning spell. But I guess they didn’t even realize they were the host.

One of the thieves’ bodies burst open and ghouls began pouring out from its place.

The thieves were shocked when they encountered this unexpected sight.

The mercenaries were also of little help in the battle against the ghouls.

“Warren could have easily dealt with them alone, but there were some ghouls among them who were as strong as priests.”

So the merchants who were hiding in the carriage asked the main headquarters for help.

Arendt, who happened to be at the headquarters, ran straight there.

“By the time I arrived, Warren had already defeated more than half of the enemies.”

“I see. You’ve had a hard time.”

As Laius nodded with a stern face, Arendt added irritably.

“No one’s dead except some of the thieves. The captured thieves are locked up in the police prison. They might know something, so I’ll investigate later.”

Except for the time when the Great Temple was attacked, no ghouls had ever appeared near the Imperial Palace.

Amidst fierce fighting in various places, ominous signs appeared.