Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Return - 4
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In the past, I'd nearly died fighting Wolf, who was at the level of a 4th Hierarchy Knight. His attacks forged from aura and his body enhanced by mana were equal to mine—or even superior.
But to me now, having grown through expeditions alongside Helen and Camilla, a 4th Hierarchy Knight was no match at all.
Holy power—the divine strength that had now firmly taken root as my own—was guiding me into a new world.
'But there are too damn many of them.'
I could confidently say they weren't on Wolf's level, but there were nearly twenty knights, each one a 4th Hierarchy Knight.
If every single one could bloom aura at the tips of their swords, I'd have to steel myself for death to fight them.
'It'd be fine if I just had to protect Elsia.'
Trying to save the villagers caught in those knights' clutches as well would be far too risky.
I raised Robera, intending to seize the initiative with a blade of divinity.
"Sian, stop."
Helen, who had come with me, stepped in front of me to block my path.
"We'll handle things here."
"...Got it."
Deep down, I wanted to rip apart that earl who'd leered at Elsia with lust, but he was a noble.
It was wiser to avoid making an enemy of him needlessly.
"Are you, perhaps...?"
"I am Helen, the Second Apostle of the Holy Kingdom."
"I am Anitul Earl."
His eyes glazed over at Helen's otherworldly beauty, and the earl dragged his hefty frame forward, extending a hand toward her. But unlike with me, Helen ignored the proffered hand entirely and began interrogating him instead.
"Was the reason Anitul Earl visited this place to meet us?"
"Indeed. To serve the great Apostles of the Holy Kingdom."
"Then why did you assault the villagers here?"
"Because they refused to submit to me, an earl. What could I do? They're uneducated, lowly born—best ruled with the rod."
"All for that?"
His words left me dumbfounded.
'Are all nobles like this?'
He'd tossed noble obligations to the dogs and wallowed in power like a pig.
Ah, but that might insult actual pigs.
"Earl, have you abandoned your duties as a noble?"
"No. I rule my subjects strictly, as is a noble's duty."
"Anitul Earl, you've obtained information tying you to the slave trade. Even rumors of selling off your own territory's people to the underground city."
At the mention of the slave trade, Anitul Earl looked visibly flustered.
'Hold on.'
The slave trade—that was the reason the mercenaries had raided Lugeron Village, too.
But it was connected to the piglet standing right in front of me?
"Haha, nothing of the sort. And there's no proof, is there?"
"No, there isn't."
With the earl answering smugly, Helen caused the golden disc above her head to glow with holy light, then made her declaration.
"Anitul Earl, you stand guilty of the following: first, assaulting and attempting to rape the populace in our presence, we who serve the Goddess Hestia of love and hearth; second, lusting after Hero Sian's woman."
"Apostle, what is the meaning of—"
I realized she wasn't speaking to the earl.
Several voices echoed from near her.
"As of this moment, all authority granted to House Anitul by the Imperial Family is revoked, and all wealth accumulated through noble status shall be confiscated."
"......"
Demoted from noble to commoner, with his assets seized to boot.
The earl and his knights could only laugh hollowly in stunned silence at the absurdity.
But was this even possible?
'Even with the Holy Kingdom backed by the Imperial Family, can they strip a noble of power like this?'
Even ignorant farmers in remote villages knew their lord's name and which noble faction they belonged to.
It was like soldiers memorizing their chain of command.
I was no different. I knew Lugeron Village's lord was Hippo Baron, that Hippo was a vassal to Anitul Earl, and that Anitul commanded half the western imperial territories as a great noble.
Could they wield such power against a great noble like that?
Just as incredulous as I was, the earl kept laughing before suddenly turning serious.
"Hahaha, I can't entertain such nonsense, even as a joke."
"You, who were once a noble, should know better than anyone that Apostles possess such authority."
"...This is absurd. Abusing such power over something so trivial."
"It's precisely because nobles like you exist that we have such authority."
"Kill that woman!"
The earl jabbed a finger at Helen and bellowed at his knights.
"She's no Apostle—she's a witch! Kill the witch now!"
At his shout, the knights hesitated at first but soon swung their swords at Helen.
Clang!
"Sian?"
"You okay?"
I pulled her into my arms, shielding her from the knights.
"I'm sorry. I anticipated this, but I didn't expect him to be so utterly depraved."
"It's fine. The world doesn't bend to our whims every time."
In the end, we'd have to fight the knights right in front of us, but it was okay.
Thanks to the time Helen had bought, her Holy Knights had arrived right on schedule.
"The Hero is correct."
Camilla, who arrived first, snatched up her shield and repelled the knights with aura like a fortress wall, protecting the villagers.
"Even the gods don't control all things—how could we make everything go our way?"
"Camilla, you're fighting harder than on the expedition."
"Just your imagination."
Unlike in the north's chill where they couldn't unleash their full strength, the Holy Knights now rampaged like mad here.
Even outnumbered five to twenty-plus, they overwhelmed the knights.
"Feels like I got scammed somehow."
I couldn't help but wonder why I'd suffered alone back on the expedition!
"It's proof of how amazing you are, Hero."
"Don't brush it off with flattery."
"But you grew tremendously thanks to that expedition, didn't you?"
"True enough."
And just like that, the knights were subdued in an instant.
Over half the knights died in the process, but we had no injuries on our side.
"Even among 4th Hierarchy, the disparity is huge. I didn't expect it to be this bad."
"Of course. We're called the continent's strongest knight order for a reason."
"But you're just the second squad."
"That's right."
The 1st Holy Knight Order I'd met in the north had few members but was led by a 2nd Hierarchy captain, with the rest all 3rd Hierarchy.
"But isn't the Hero even more impressive?"
"Me? Yeah, I guess."
I had no choice but to agree with Camilla's half-joking remark. Strength aside, my bloodline was no joke either.
Anyway, I yanked the earl's collar like a dog on a leash and asked Camilla,
"Let go of me! Do you know who I am?!"
"Camilla, what do we do with these guys?"
"Hand them over to the Imperial Family. They need to face judgment for their atrocities."
"The slave markets, right?"
"That's part of it, but there's something bigger."
Camilla glanced at Helen before whispering cautiously in my ear.
"Attempting to assassinate an Apostle will bring them even harsher punishment."
"Huh?"
"Under imperial law, harming a nymph means extermination of three generations. Assassination calls for nine."
"What? What kind of collective punishment goes to nine generations?"
"No choice. It's a law from the founding emperor."
The founding emperor kept coming up. Even after a thousand years, her influence remained potent.
What a remarkable figure.
"The first emperor must've loved nymphs a lot."
"In the founding myth, Emperor Astillen was raised by twelve nymphs. It's the origin of the famous fairy tale The Twelve Dwarves."
"I see."
"That's why the Imperial Family has maintained ties with nymphs across generations to preserve the bloodline. The current fifth emperor will soon take a nymph as his empress."
"Wait, fifth? Hasn't the Astillen Empire stood for a thousand years?"
"Half-breeds between nymphs and humans live at least three times longer. Naturally, the imperial blood blessed by nymphs is extraordinarily strong. The current emperor is a 2nd Hierarchy powerhouse."
"...So that's why their power is so immense."
With such an Imperial Family as their backing, stripping the earl of everything was child's play for the Holy Kingdom.
"Knowing this, we've always tried not to wield power recklessly."
Helen, joining the conversation, approached Anitul Earl and placed a hand on his head, reading his memories.
"As expected. Anitul Earl and most western nobles were involved in the slave trade in the underground city."
"Underground city—you mean Hardron?"
"Yes. Remnants of the fallen ancient kingdom, one of the great evils."