Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Second Suppression of the Dreihart Rebellion (1)
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Calix and Zarha emerged from their meeting, and the Black Masks—no, the Bloodkin—watched them from afar.
They didn't bother hiding the hatred burning in their eyes behind their masks as they glared at Calix.
"So that's Calix, huh?"
"Yes, Lord Kyr. That's the lord who killed our kin."
Kyr was the captain of the Balharim unit, a Bloodkin force deployed to the southern region to carry out the Sacred Mission.
Their task was to fracture and weaken the Empire, and they were accomplishing it by aiding the slaves' rebellion and maximizing casualties among the suppression forces.
That mission now included assassinating Lord Calix, who had been growing at an astonishing pace lately.
"They say he brutally slaughtered three of our kin with nothing but a fruit knife."
"Nonsense!"
Kyr snapped at his subordinate Yan.
Yan flinched and bowed his head in terror.
"Rumors are always exaggerated, Yan. Don't get swept up in baseless gossip."
"S-Sorry, Lord Kyr."
Kyr knew their capabilities well.
He couldn't believe they'd die to something as trivial as a fruit knife.
It had to be the vile ramblings of those despicable bards.
"They must have fallen after a fierce battle to his hidden masterwork blade. Can't you sense it too? That man's aura..."
"Yes... I can feel it, Lord Kyr."
They could sense Calix's presence.
More precisely, it was his mana they felt.
From the moment they first spotted him until now, not once had they detected any mana from him.
That meant one of two things.
Either he was a mana-less commoner.
Or he was an assassin like them, specially trained to conceal his presence.
Given his reputation and prowess, it had to be the latter.
"We'll avenge our kin's humiliation. Yan."
"Yes, Lord Kyr."
The Balharim Bloodkin all fixed their gazes on Calix.
They stared him down relentlessly, as if etching his face into their memories forever, even after he vanished from sight.
'Whew, I thought I was gonna piss myself.'
During the meeting with Zarha, I really thought I was done for.
The Zarha right in front of me exuded an insane presence.
His bulk was at least one-and-a-half times my size, covered in blue scales bulging with muscle, topped off with blue horns sprouting from his head.
His face was scarred all over, doubling the terror of his already fearsome look.
If the Hulk stood before me, it'd feel exactly like this...
Especially when he suggested we throw down right then—I swore his fist was about to fly.
But as lord, I couldn't show any weakness, so I unleashed my ultimate technique: Focus Disruption. I stared past him, unfocused, enduring his aura.
It's a trick from my past life—blurring your vision so your eyes are open but see nothing. I used it all the time during horror movies.
Who knew that skill would come in handy here... Life's full of surprises.
Especially exiting the tent—goosebumps exploded all over me.
I felt needles pricking my skin everywhere, but I'm no martial arts master, so I couldn't tell who was emanating that killing intent.
Probably those slave soldiers, no doubt.
Hell, after centuries of abuse as slaves, I'd probably glare the same way.
With the meeting wrapped up, I headed back to our camp and straight to the central command tent where everyone was gathered.
The moment I entered, Noah rushed over first.
"My lord! How did the meeting go? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, no issues. Everything went according to plan, Noah."
"Excellent! Thank goodness..."
She sighed in relief at my safe return and confirmation that her plan had worked.
Our camp was already buzzing with preparations for tomorrow's battle.
The knight order had been briefed on the plan and was gearing up.
Honestly, I felt bad for them—they drew the toughest role.
From their perspective, my stubbornness could get them killed pointlessly.
I turned to Rikain beside me.
"Rikain, I might be asking too much of you and the Cron Knight Order. Sorry..."
He smiled with the most trustworthy expression I'd ever seen—like a reliable uncle.
"Noble combat is a knight's honor! Thank you for granting us the chance at a legendary battle that might etch our names in history."
He dropped to one knee before me.
Every knight in the tent followed suit.
"We stand ready. Give the order, my lord."
Their words filled me with gratitude and a crushing weight.
My command could send thousands to their deaths tomorrow.
Experiencing this firsthand, I finally understood—history's great leaders must have agonized over every order.
Feeling that burden, I issued the command to my Cron Knight Order.
"Cron Knight Order! In tomorrow's battle, subdue the slaves without killing them as much as possible!!"
The die had been cast.
No turning back now.
The next day, Zarha arrived outside the city walls earlier than anyone to prepare for battle.
After the previous day's meeting, he'd returned to Dreihart with the prisoners and food supplies.
The grain from Lord Cron—"western wheat," a flour none had seen before—had been inspected by the Black Masks and confirmed free of poison or magic. For the first time in ages, everyone in Dreihart filled their bellies with bread.
And he reunited with his son, Rakan.
"Rakan! You okay? Any injuries!?"
"Yes, Father! I'm fine! Lord Calix took great care of me!"
"Lord Calix?"
Rakan had returned plump and healthy after just a few days, well-fed.
From the stories, Lord Calix had personally shared his own meals with the prisoners.
"Father! I tried grapes for the first time! They were so sweet!"
"I see... Good for you."
Seeing his son, the venom drained from him, left Zarha troubled.
His safe return was a blessing, but he kept finding himself admiring that lord's humanity.
And then the words slipped from Rakan's mouth.
"Father... that lord seemed like a good man. Could he be... the one from the legends?"
"Don't spout nonsense, Rakan!!"
"S-Sorry! Father..."
Dreihart had a legend.
One day, a blue light would descend from the heavens, heralding Him—the one who would free the slaves.
But legends were just that.
He hadn't come when Zarha's parents died untreated, nor when his wife perished giving birth to Rakan.
On the day she died, Zarha vowed to free his brethren with his own hands.
He didn't dislike the lord who showed them pity, but that was one thing—this was another.
Zarha steeled himself.
'Lord Cron, I won't kill you. But to survive, we have no choice. Understand.'
Time passed, and everyone assembled on the plains.
Their numbers were fewer than last time, but Zarha stayed vigilant.
Intel from the Black Masks warned of mighty mages, and even from afar, he could tell.
Their disciplined movements, the resolute aura in every knight's eyes.
His battle-honed instincts screamed they were no easy foes.
Then noon arrived, as agreed.
As the sun reached its zenith, Zarha roared.
"Brethren! Charge!!"
He didn't care what stratagems they'd prepared.
Crush them with raw power.
Following Zarha's charge, the slave soldiers surged forward.
In response, the Cron Knight Order began their own charge.
"Cron Knight Order!! Let the honorable battle begin!!"
Vice-Captain Brock led the cavalry straight at them.
Slave soldiers and Cron knights closed in rapidly.
At this rate, it'd be a head-on clash like before, with massive casualties on both sides.
Just as collision loomed, Brock bellowed.
"All units... scatter!!!"
The mounted knights suddenly veered left and right.
The slaves, braced for impact, panicked as the cavalry dispersed.
But the real shock was yet to come.
"Fire at will!!"
Whoosh—! Whoosh—whoosh—!! Whoosh—!
On Brock's signal, the knights unleashed a volley of bows and crossbows.
Slaves reeled as the knights they'd expected to crash into them scattered and shot arrows instead.
"Arrows! Dodge!!"
"Shields! Raise shields!!"
This was the Cron Knight Order's signature: the Parthian Shot, firing arrows from horseback.
Their strength couldn't match the beastly Lion Family in a frontal brawl.
To compensate, they'd mastered the Parthian Shot—leveraging cavalry mobility to harass rather than clash head-on—earning them renown as elite mounted archers in the Empire.
To Dreihart's slaves, who'd braced for a Lion Knight-style slugfest, the sudden archer cavalry was a nightmare.
But the nightmare didn't end there.
Thuk—!
"Argh! Arrow hit me!"
"You okay!?"
"Just the arm, I'm fin—ghk!!"
"Hey!? Hey, Sharan!! Hey, stay with me!!"
The arrows were coated with knockout poison.
No threat to life, but to the slaves watching comrades drop instantly, it looked like lethal venom—enough to shatter morale.
"Zarha! This is bad!!"
"Cowards... resorting to dirty tricks."
Zarha had suspected foul play, but poison? From that lord?
He was disappointed—the least warrior-like tactic.
But deep down, relieved too.
No lingering doubts now; he could fight without hesitation.
Zarha immediately dragonized and roared.
"Brethren, fear not!! This battle ends when we take that lord!!"
"Y-Yeah!!!"
"We've got Zarha!!"
Rallying behind him, the slaves ignored the archers and charged straight for Lord Calix's main camp.
Cavalry were annoying, but the key was capturing the lord.
No warriors like Hadem to stop him there, Zarha thought, barreling toward the command post.
Heavily armored knights guarded Calix, but dragonized, he'd smash through easily.
"Cron Knight Order!! Form shield wall!!"
"Yes, sir!!"
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Spotting his charge, the captain barked orders, shields up to brace.
Zarha hurtled toward them, ready to pulverize the wall.
BOOMMM—!!!
"What!?"
At impact, Zarha couldn't hide his shock.
Centered on the vanguard captain, the knights had united as one, halting his charge cold.
As Zarha reeled from his first-ever blocked rush, Rikain shoved the shields aside, revealing himself.
Blood trickled from his head from the impact, but he ignored it, facing Zarha solely as a knight guarding his lord.
"Not one step toward my lord!"
Unlike the mad beast Hadem, this was the strength of an unyielding knight.
For the first time in this war, Zarha broke into a cold sweat.
He sensed the battle slipping from his grasp.