Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Judgment Square (3)
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Ripord watched the frail old man ascending the execution platform.
A shabby old man with disheveled white hair and ragged clothes.
……Has it already been ten years?
Gazing at him, who had lost his once-imposing stature, Ripord gauged the years that had passed.
Old man, you’re still not dead.
But his blue eyes, overlooking the square, shone brightly unlike his wretched appearance.
Ripord gave a bitter smile as he looked at him.
It was because he saw the man from the past overlapping with the present.
Long ago, as a member of the Royal Knights, the Leonir Lancers, he had occasionally performed escort duties for Lordr.
How strict and finicky he had been.
He’d cursed him every time as that damn old geezer.
His clothes were now shabby, but the spirit in his eyes remained from back then.
Seeing him as if he might any moment unleash a thunderous command like in the old days, Ripord briefly recalled those peaceful times.
The palace back then had truly shone and been warm.
A time he could never return to.
Damn it.
Ripord watched him kneeling atop the Tomb of Stars.
A man who had once been a great pillar supporting Francia.
Seeing his knees bend felt like Francia itself was kneeling, and it pained Ripord’s heart.
Even so, you’ve managed to stay alive until now.
Considering the position he held in Francia, surviving this long was a miracle.
Though he had been used in Halent’s dirty schemes and met a tragic end……
He must know the meaning laid beneath this public execution.
What an ironic fate.
A man who loved Francia so much had to die extinguishing Francia’s new hope.
With his death, he would sever Francia’s last breath.
Halent had kept him alive in preparation for a moment like this.
An enemy, but truly an incredible bastard.
Fucking asshole.
Everything was proceeding smoothly as that guy intended.
“From this moment, I shall proclaim in detail the crimes of the sinner, Lordr Heiser!”
The knight’s voice, infused with mana, stretched to every corner of the square.
The knight unrolled the scroll in his hand and read out Lordr Heiser’s crimes one by one.
The crimes he proclaimed for Lordr were ones no one present would agree with.
The crime of burying the historic merger between the Empire and Francia in the past and undermining its meaning.
The crime of using those who followed him to incite national discord and plot rebellion.
These were his crimes.
It was absurd.
The thief who stole the country was accusing the one who lost it—what could be more ridiculous?
But there were no voices opposing it.
The citizens standing in the square listened to his crimes without even a murmur.
Not because it was justified, but because they knew it was wrong yet lacked the power to correct it.
Among all the stars that had faded in the Tomb of Stars until now, who had crimes that were truly justified?
Countless people who fought for their country had their heads fall as war criminals and traitors.
How could one not grieve?
But people were growing accustomed even to that.
That’s what made it even more fucked up.
It wasn’t a natural flow.
The Tomb of Stars was an execution platform deliberately created by the Governor-General’s office with a clear purpose.
The bards, mercenaries, merchants, and travelers gathered here would spread this horrific and unjust reality to every corner of Francia.
People would rage and despair at it, yet in the end, they would resign themselves to the unchanging reality.
What was fading in the Tomb of Stars wasn’t just people.
It was the light those stars held.
The hope for independence.
Even that flame was dying out together.
“…….”
People covered their mouths with their own hands and watched the unfolding scene.
Despite the countless people in the square, only the knight’s voice rang out clearly.
And finally, the last line of the official document was read.
“As of this moment, the death sentence of Lordr Heiser shall be carried out!”
At the knight’s declaration, Lordr, who had been kneeling, was roughly tilted forward by brutish hands, his neck thrust out.
“Ah—.”
Exclamations scattered across the square.
A hulking executioner holding a massive sword stepped beside Lordr.
The razor-sharp blade was laid against the old man’s neck.
In the end, the White Lion did not come.
It was for the best.
Even if he had, it would have been a futile death.
Ripord widened his eyes, determined not to miss a single moment.
A heavy death didn’t mean the moment of death was drawn out.
Lordr’s neck would be severed in an instant, and his life would end in vain.
The executioner raised his sword.
Sunlight shattered on the blade tip hanging in the sky.
The tremendous roar that shook the execution platform came at the very moment the blade was about to fall.
Kwaaaang!
With the explosion, the central left section of the towering execution platform blasted apart.
It left a mark as if a giant had taken a massive bite.
Kugugugugu.
The platform, shaken by the impact, began tilting to the left.
“This, this crazy—!”
Ripord widened his already bulging eyes at the sight.
What the hell?
As the execution platform tilted, the knights atop it, the executioner, and even the bound and kneeling Lordr Heiser—all were swept down the steepening slope and flung into the air.
The crow bastards below scattered left and right like ants fleeing the collapsing platform.
Kuwaang!
The tilted platform crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Along with it, Lordr Heiser was falling.
At that moment, something dark shot toward him.
Upon closer look, it was a long cloth.
The black cloth instantly wrapped around the falling Lordr and yanked him away.
It was like a frog extending its tongue to snatch prey.
Ripord urgently turned his head, following Lordr as he was pulled somewhere.
And at the end, he saw a figure catching Lordr.
The White Lion, whom he thought wouldn’t come, was there.
* * *
I watched Lordr Heiser ascending the execution platform.
His appearance was completely different from the one I remembered.
But the blazing intensity in his blue eyes, like the Blue Ghost Flower, remained the same.
While his crimes were being proclaimed, I observed him closely.
Even in the face of death, he did not lose his composure.
Seeing him, I recalled my father from my previous life.
Lordr had been my father’s loyal vassal and close friend.
Since I had no direct relation with him, I had always seen him through my father.
Was that why?
In his gaunt frame, I strangely felt a swell of emotion as if seeing my father.
By then, the proclamation of his crimes had reached its end.
I lowered my gaze to those blocking the path to him.
The crows surrounding the execution platform and the formidable forces positioned around, though not visible.
Breaking through all that to rescue Lordr Heiser wouldn’t be easy.
The enemies needed only an instant to sever his neck.
So, first, I had to separate him from the enemies.
“As of this moment, the death sentence of Lordr Heiser shall be carried out!”
At the knight’s declaration marking his death as certain, I donned the White Lion mask and stepped forward.
Those who saw me widened their pupils as if they had seen something impossible.
The crows guarding the platform were the same.
On the platform, the executioner had already placed his sword against Lordr’s neck.
Before they could react, I pulled back my fist. And as the executioner lifted his sword to swing, I began thrusting.
Kung!
First, the leg bearing the explosive power planted firmly into the ground, taking root.
Then, the fist pulled back began extending.
A storm of qi swirling like a vortex around my fist.
The power enveloping space itself struck a point, and it all exploded at once.
Heavenly Spirit Divine Art, Fist Techniques Chapter.
Chapter 4: Giant God Cannon.
It was as if a giant’s fist overlapped on my small fist.
The power contained within was like that.
The inner force concentrated on my fist took the shape of a giant’s fist and shot out like a cannon shell, swallowing the execution platform whole.
Kwaaaang!
The left flank of the platform tore away in a massive semicircle, shattered debris scattering like driving snow.
Kugugugugu!
The platform, having lost its side supports, tilted sharply to one side.
The others atop it, and Lordr, were falling to the ground along with it.
Some moved to catch him, but my steps were faster.
Heavenly Spirit Divine Art, Movement Chapter.
Chapter 2: Chasing Thunder.
Kwang!
My form shot forward like a streak of lightning, closing the distance between us in an instant.
But even so, it wasn’t quite enough to reach him.
I released the black cloth wrapped around my left arm and flung it toward him.
Whirlick!
The cloth, strengthened with inner force, instantly wrapped around the frail Lordr and pulled him into my embrace.
‘Good.’
The moment his bony frame settled into my arms, I intuited that the events unfolding ahead would proceed as I intended.
His face, drawn along with me, was tense. He was clearly flustered. I immediately hoisted him onto my back.
Light as a sheet of paper, he followed my movements without resistance.
“Hold on tight.”
I used the black cloth I had pulled him with to secure him to my body, wrapping him like a mother swaddling her child on her back.
“Block him!”
The enemies, regaining their senses, shouted as they saw me.
The square was boiling with chaos. The citizens screamed in response to the sudden events and fled the square.
Crows racing in like arrows surrounded me.
Those who saw my divine presence prioritized blocking escape routes over rash attacks.
Crows enveloping me layer by layer, swords aimed.
At the center of the black typhoon, I leisurely finished the final knot.
With Lordr in my arms, the plan was as good as complete.
Now, all that remained was to escape this place.
Of course, for some, that would be the hardest part.
The thoroughly prepared forces had woven a tight siege net over the entire city.
The enemies’ vigilance was like a fortress.
There was only one way to break out.
Piercing their siege with overwhelming force.
No other path.
At that moment, Lordr on my back spoke.
His voice was parched like a desert, as if he hadn’t spoken in ages.
“……Leave me and go. Escaping this place with me is impossible.”
I pulled tight the ends of the looped cloth in opposite directions, tying the final knot.
Then I lifted my head and straightened my back.
I said,
“No. Now we’re getting out of here.”