Chapter 360
Chapter 360
Chapter 360
'Julius?'
Zeke knew well what kind of person Consul Julius was through his previous life.
While outwardly renowned as a great general and bold politician, in reality he was someone who would do anything for his own power.
Since Julius had solidified his position within the Rom Empire while opposing the Imperial faction, Zeke thought he had instigated this civil war by putting forward Abel and Jiemens.
That's why Zeke found it strange that Julius would contact him separately at this point.
Boris explained more specifically to Zeke.
"He wants to meet the boss secretly in the Dorta Republic."
Zeke rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
After a moment, he raised his head and said to Boris.
"Wasn't Julius the one who led this civil war?"
Boris made a slightly ambiguous expression at those words.
"Certainly, without the help of Great General and Consul Julius, Abel Draker couldn't have stepped forward. He wouldn't have been able to prove his bloodline qualification as an Elector Prince eligible for the imperial family in the first place."
Zeke already knew through Abel and Cain's relationship that imperial blood flowed through his veins. But he hadn't expected Abel would actually appear claiming he would become the Rom Emperor.
He asked Boris.
"Did Julius guarantee that Abel inherited the imperial bloodline?"
Boris nodded.
"Yes, thanks to that, Abel was able to strike Rom immediately before other imperial family members could make their move."
"Even with Julius's guarantee, the other consuls and senators wouldn't have stayed quiet."
"Yes, that's where the problem arose."
Boris swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.
"After Abel seized Rom, he brutally massacred not only the imperial family members but also the Rom Empire's senators, major nobles, and even citizens."
"What?"
The moment he heard Boris's words, the image of the destroyed Atlas flashed through Zeke's mind.
In his previous life, Abel the Knight of Massacre had occupied Atlas using Carus, and carried out a horrific civilian massacre.
As a result, Atlas, which had been the most sophisticated and developed city in Midland, turned into ruins and became a city of death.
What happened then had now occurred in Rom in this life.
Zeke said with a hardened expression.
"Did Julius and Abel's side fall out because of the extreme massacre?"
"Based on the circumstances, it seems so. Several of Julius's associates were among those executed by Abel."
It meant he killed anyone he could kill without discrimination.
It seemed even more serious than during the time of Abel the Knight of Massacre that he saw in his previous life.
'Did something go wrong when Ramon Jiemens resurrected him?'
It seemed like he had gone completely mad rather than just carrying out massacres for occupation.
If that was true, it made sense why Julius would reach out to Zeke's side first.
After thinking briefly, Zeke asked Boris.
"Do you think it would be better to proceed with the meeting with Julius?"
Boris remained silent for a moment before nodding and answering.
"If you're asking for my opinion, I would say yes."
"Why?"
Boris answered slowly.
"There are two reasons. First, the Second Prince who Julius supported is our prisoner. Using this, we can gain justification to recapture Rom by putting forward the Second Prince through Julius."
"What's the other reason?"
"We can use it to persuade Daria Calvi and the Knights of the Horse Palace."
Zeke nodded at Boris's words.
Daria Calvi still hadn't betrayed the Empire's side.
Her loyalty was deeper than Zeke had thought.
However, if she heard that Abel had massacred Rom's citizens and executed the imperial family members before seizing Rom, there was a high chance Daria Calvi would change her mind.
Zeke looked at Boris and said.
"So you're saying we should secure justification by putting forward Leo and Julius, and cause internal division within the Rom Empire through the Knights of the Horse Palace."
Boris nodded.
"Yes. If the Second Prince, Daria Calvi, and Julius all step forward at once, we can draw in those who are dissatisfied with the current situation within the Empire."
At those words, Zeke recalled one person in his mind.
'Duke Craven di Panion, the Black Knight of the Empire and one of the top five strongest warriors on the continent when counting the most powerful.'
He was the one who had passed down the King's Spear to Daria Calvi.
Duke Craven belonged to the moderate faction within the Empire.
Even when Zeke fought the Continental War in his previous life, Duke Craven had never stepped forward to the front lines.
If Duke Craven had entered the war, the Northern Continent would have fallen to the Empire's power much sooner.
After all, the Black Knights were like ultimate forces and secret weapons representing each faction.
That's why Duke Craven may have also been observing the situation without moving in this civil war.
However, if Leo and Julius moved together and began fighting in earnest against Abel and Jiemens's side, Duke Craven would have no choice but to move as well.
After considering Boris's words, Zeke nodded and answered.
"Tell Julius's side. Tell them to meet in the Dorta Republic. Request help from the Zayed family regarding this."
He had been maintaining contact with Muhammad bin Abuda Zayed, the second son of the Zayed family with whom he had previously formed a connection.
Since Muhammad was favorable towards Zeke, he would certainly be willing to arrange this secret meeting.
Boris bowed his head at Zeke's order.
"Understood, boss. Also, Shadia says she has completed the selection preparations."
It meant she had selected who to keep among the Salmak members, as Shadia had told Zeke.
"How many are there?"
"About one-third of those who came with us."
"That's more than I expected. Will there be any problems?"
"Even if there are betrayers among them, considering the newly recruited personnel, we can handle it internally, so you don't need to worry."
Along with his words, Boris snapped his fingers, and surprisingly, two figures emerged smoothly from the floor.
A man wearing a skull mask and a silver-haired woman bowed to Zeke.
They were the Six ability users from the Nostra Family who had previously tried to assassinate Zeke.
The silver-haired woman bowed to Zeke.
"Greetings to the boss."
They had been treated by Zeke after their brainwashing was undone by Arina.
Zeke nodded as he looked at them.
"You're Adol with the sand ability, and you're Serina with the crystallization ability."
Serina nodded with a surprised expression when Zeke remembered her name.
"That's right, boss."
"How are you feeling since receiving treatment?"
In the Nostra Family, the Six were always objects of fear.
While they were treated as experimental subjects, it was difficult to expect human communication or interaction.
However, there was no such atmosphere at all in Zeke's camp, including Arina.
That's why Serina and Adol chose to defect to Zeke's side.
"I'm fine, boss. Thank you again for saving our lives even though we were enemies."
Thanks to Zeke's treatment, although their abilities were lower than before, they no longer had to live depending on drugs.
Serina felt genuinely grateful to Zeke.
Zeke nodded at her words.
"I'm glad you're okay."
The intelligence unit had grown larger with Shadia and the Salmak assassins, former Six members Serina, Adol, and Zion, and former Knight Killer Aaron joining under Boris.
Zeke decided to trust Boris's words that they could handle problems internally.
"Tell Shadia to bring the selected personnel. Handle the rest as you see fit."
Boris bowed to Zeke and withdrew from the office.
Zeke decided to meet with Julius first before responding to the Sultan's invitation.
Since there was a portal installed in the Dorta Republic, it seemed it would be convenient to move right away.
'Then it would be better to go to Dorta together with Lord Hades and Lady Yelin this time.'
Just as Zeke, who had organized his plans, was about to get up and return to the reception room.
THUD! THUD!
'Huh?'
There was some commotion outside the mansion.
Zeke opened the window and looked outside.
Hundreds of guards and dozens of knights had gathered outside the mansion.
'What's this?'
He felt something was strange since they wouldn't attack Zeke openly with just that many people.
Then something caught Zeke's eye.
He realized that the guards and knights were actually being cautious of more than a dozen people standing in front of the mansion wearing cloaks.
'That's...'
Zeke launched himself out the window in an instant.
* * *
The captain of Atlas's 5th District Guard couldn't believe the current situation.
'Monsters, they're monsters.'
When giant figures wearing thick cloaks and hoods appeared at the gate and tried to force their way in without revealing their identities, he tried to stop them.
But the well-trained soldiers were thrown into the air and slammed into walls, overwhelmed by the giants' strength.
Since the guards alone couldn't handle it, they eventually had to call for knights.
But even knights using Aura were no match for these giants.
The giants devastated the gate, slammed knights into walls, and eventually entered Atlas city.
Atlas, famous for its good security, had been breached by less than twenty people.
Eventually, all of Atlas went on alert, and guards and knights had to run around everywhere to chase these giants.
Soon, they found traces of the giants, and surprisingly, they were gathered in front of Knight of Salvation Zeke Draker's mansion.
The guard captain, worried these people might harm the renowned Knight of Salvation, hurriedly brought all the personnel he could mobilize to try to stop them.
Toward the giants trying to break down the mansion's door with their fists, the guard captain shouted.
"Stop right there! Drop your weapons and get down on your knees! If you don't follow orders, we'll execute you on the spot!"
But the giants paid no attention to the guard captain's words and continued striking the mansion's door.
Then one of the knights beside the guard captain said to him.
"Captain, this won't do. If they somehow get inside, it would greatly trouble Sir Zeke Draker, so it would be better to execute them here."
This knight hadn't seen how the giants had devastated the gate earlier.
The guard captain broke into a cold sweat at the knight's words.
'Can we capture those monsters even with this many people?'
Honestly, he wasn't confident.
But in this situation, there weren't many other options.
The guard captain squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.
"Attack!"
At those words, the knights stepped forward with their swords.
They enhanced their bodies by raising their Aura and approached where the giants were.
As Purple Knights, they had enough skill to imbue their swords with Aura.
"HAAAH!"
The knight who had urged the guard captain to attack charged boldly toward them.
His sword flew toward a giant's back.
THUNK!
Surprisingly, the knight's sword failed to cut the giant's back and bounced off.
The giant merely scratched his back as if he'd been bitten by a mosquito.
Other knights approached them too, and only then did the giants turn their heads.
Then they removed their hoods and revealed their faces.
The charging knights faltered and stepped back in shock.
"B-Barbarians!"
The knights were well aware of the Barbarians' notorious reputation.
Their remarkable physical abilities that were impervious to both swords and Aura were known to be the natural enemy of knights.
The Barbarians glared at the knights with fierce expressions.
The knights retreated step by step, intimidated by the Barbarians' stern gazes.
The guard captain also thought his life might end here.
But then.
CRASH!
Something flew through the air and a figure landed in front of the Barbarians.
The guard captain and knights were shocked when they identified who it was.
"Sir Zeke!"
The Knight of Salvation Zeke Draker had appeared in person.
Zeke slowly stood up and turned toward the Barbarians.
The guards and knights swallowed hard as they watched Zeke face the Barbarians.
Then one of the Barbarians approached Zeke.
He moved his body quickly and rushed at him.
The guards and knights cried out in horror.
"No!"
But something surprising happened.
"Brother Zeke!"
The Barbarian rushed to Zeke and hugged him.
Zeke grinned at the Barbarian and said.
"King Fist. It's been so long."