Chapter 362: Krang's Scheme
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 362: Krang's Scheme
Five paces from Krang, the whip guard stood on high alert, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
Beside him, Krang had also brought along a bald warrior who looked like he knew how to handle himself. The man stood behind Krang like a statue, his back turned to the pair. His body was well-conditioned—one could tell at a glance that he was no half-baked fighter.
Looking at the two of them, Encrid was reminded of Andrew.
Andrew was likely wearing a miserable expression inside the banquet hall right now. He had mentioned that when he attended these parties, people didn't even treat him like a ghoul. If he were a ghoul, they would at least acknowledge his presence with a grimace; instead, they ignored him entirely.
Who would bother with a non-hereditary noble—a mere baronet, at that—and a fool who had backed the wrong horse to boot?
Even the butler standing at the entrance of the banquet hall had openly looked down on him.
"Baronet Andrew Gardner? Are you certain you have the right place?"
The butler didn't even bother with polite honorifics. Andrew sighed inwardly but replied flatly.
"Why? Is this a place I am forbidden to enter?"
"Your invitation?"
"They must have been busy, as they forgot to send one."
"……You may enter."
With a look of deep displeasure, the butler let Andrew in.
Encrid, acting as his guard, wasn't even allowed inside. He had stepped inside a few times before, and thanks to that, his face had become known, drawing some unwanted attention. Afterward, the host had banned guards from entering entirely.
Not that Encrid had any interest in the banquet hall anyway. He had only come out to gauge the atmosphere and speak with Krang.
To be honest, he had half-hoped that wandering the streets at night might draw out another warning fanatic, but he had no such luck. In the end, he found Krang and asked him his question.
"Knights, you say."
Krang fell into thought for a moment. His eyes didn't waver, nor did he show any sign of tension. Only after carefully choosing his words did he speak.
"Why does the kingdom not punish Count Molsen when he styles himself the King of the Frontier? That was the first question I had."
Because he had asked the question and already found the answer, Krang was able to share it.
"You know of Richenstetten, the great kingdom to the south, right?"
Krang's tone was casual, as if he were recommending a famous tavern in a marketplace. Though it was evening, the air was no longer cold, making it a pleasant time to talk outside.
They sat on a worn-out bench near the bright lights of the villa where the party was in full swing. Insects, like fireflies, began to appear one by one. The setting didn't quite fit the gravity of their conversation, but Krang's voice remained as cheerful as ever, giving the exchange the relaxed feel of a leisurely night walk.
"We've been fighting the Kingdom of Richenstetten for seven years now, yet we've never been pushed back, have we?"
That was true. Encrid had never heard of any such defeat.
"Why do you think that is?"
"Because the southern territories fight well?"
"If that were the case, don't you think they were breached far too easily the moment the monster outbreak occurred?"
"Then why?"
"Because Sir Cypress and another knight are holding the line there."
Objectively, the military strength of the southern powerhouse, Richenstetten, was superior to Naurilia's. They had their own internal issues, making a complete, overwhelming victory difficult, but even so, it shouldn't have been possible to hold them off like this. Yet, they endured. They resisted the invasion.
"I went to see for myself after hearing the news. Those two knights are performing miracles. If they were to leave, the southern front could collapse as early as tomorrow."
As he spoke, Krang nudged a stone embedded in the ground near the bench with the toe of his boot, dislodging it. Once the stone was free, he lightly tapped it with his foot and continued.
"In other words, those two knights are tied down. But are they the only ones?"
"The order of knights must be tied down as well."
Encrid was no fool. What was the best way to avoid being pushed back on the battlefield? Deploying troops and reinforcing their strength. And that was exactly what the kingdom had done.
The two knights were currently guarding the southern border. If even one of them had turned their back on the border, the kingdom would have already been half-ruined by Richenstetten's invasion.
Krang knew just how much of a mess this country was. And now, Encrid realized the depth of the mess as well.
"What about the third knight?"
Naurilia had three knights. Or rather, three known knights.
"The third knight is currently confronting a horde of monsters."
This was news to Encrid. It was a secret among secrets, yet Krang spoke of it with his usual nonchalance.
"Well, some troublesome monsters showed up and formed a colony. On top of that, the Eastern Mercenary King is constantly looking for an opening to strike, so we had to dispatch a portion of the knights there. And they aren't the only threats."
Even during the past all-out war with Azpen, only one knight had barely managed to free himself to join the battlefield. Back then, the course of the battle hadn't been focused on grinding down Azpen's forces; instead, it was centered on striking quickly and pulling back.
Why? Because they couldn't afford to be away for long.
The absence of a knight would leave other areas vulnerable. They had only come because Azpen was the most urgent threat; otherwise, a knight wouldn't have set foot on that battlefield at all.
It all made sense. Every piece fell into place—the absence of the knights, and the fact that only a fraction of the order remained at the royal palace. And all of this presented a golden opportunity for those harboring ambition and dreaming of rebellion.
They even allowed the Royal Guard to become entangled in the factions.
The same went for the guards defending the city gates and the guard captain. It had become a situation where everyone was forced to choose a side. Reality and facts intertwined to tell a single story.
Why did everything align so perfectly? Why was such a perfect board laid out for those dreaming of rebellion? Why was a stage so well-suited for their schemes set up?
Encrid's intuition lent weight to his sharp judgment. Even though he wasn't in combat, his focus sharpened naturally, and his senses grew keen. His rapidly spinning mind drew a single conclusion.
What did Krang stand to gain from all of this? Why did he come to the royal palace and stir up trouble?
Ever since his arrival, the nobles had been acting as if their houses were on fire. An heir had suddenly appeared, demanding the throne, and he had a decent faction behind him, too. Everyone knew that Marcus of Centerpole had already sided with him.
Impatience breeds action. And that was exactly how the nobles had reacted. Looking closer, this could serve as a signal, forcing the nobles to reveal where they stood. In this situation, if you didn't choose a side, you would be pushed out. They had to declare their allegiance clearly.
"Am I right?"
There was no need for a long-winded question. Encrid asked, and Krang replied with a broad smile. His smile looked incredibly bright and innocent. He didn't look like someone capable of such deep, calculating schemes. To some, it would have been a terrifying smile.
"I was just about to tell you."
He had no intention of hiding his motives. In fact, it seemed he had told Encrid precisely so he would figure it out.
Krang brushed off his knees and stood up. As he rose, he kicked the dislodged stone. With a sharp clack, the stone flew and rolled into the shadows.
"I'm going to gather everything useless into one place and sweep it away. That's why. We need a civil war."
Once you gather trash, you must either burn it or bury it. A civil war would serve that purpose. That was how he had set the stage. Of course, the prerequisite was quietly driving these noble factions out of the royal palace first.
Krang hadn't come to prevent a civil war. He had come to accelerate it. No, he intended to fully achieve his own goals in the process by setting the board and subtly forcing them to take sides. He planned to separate the pieces he could use from those he couldn't.
And the foundation for that, of course, would be martial force.
He intentionally emptied the royal palace of troops to weed out those who would betray or turn on him.
That was the conclusion.
Encrid stood up as well. It was time to go. He saw Andrew emerging from the villa with an exhausted face. Watching him, Encrid asked the second question that had brought him here.
"Do you know who the leader of the Black Sword is?"
The leader of the bandit group held a position within the royal palace, and that person was a member of the Black Lily. That was as far as Sachsen had managed to find out. However, Sachsen had said it was impossible to discover how the leader hid himself so thoroughly. In the midst of this, a request had come from someone presumed to be from the Assassin Union.
"……It must be a coincidence, but our goals align. That fellow is my biggest headache right now. I'll compile the necessary information and send it to you, so think it over. I'm trying to find him myself."
Encrid nodded. He had achieved his purpose in following Krang around from party to party. His curiosity was satisfied, and he had been promised assistance. At this moment, Encrid had essentially chosen his side.
"Ah, Enki. You have no intention of becoming my knight, do you?" Krang stopped in his tracks and asked out of nowhere.
"What?"
"I just don't think you're the type to be satisfied serving as someone's knight. Well, just saying."
He spoke with that same innocent smile from earlier, then turned and walked away, as if the answer didn't matter at all.
Encrid didn't dwell on it either. His focus was on becoming a knight. He had never considered becoming someone's knight. It wasn't an important matter right now.
What mattered was that Krang was currently separating friend from foe. To do so, he had set the board. He had spoken to all the nobles through his actions, revealing his intent. Of course, only a select few among the nobles would grasp his hidden intentions. Yet, even if they did realize, they wouldn't be able to ignore it.
Krang had essentially issued a challenge to all the nobles: There are no knights, and there is no order of knights, so go ahead and run wild in the royal palace.
The effect was undeniable. Everyone was raising private armies, plotting to overthrow the royal family, or playing underhanded tricks. Count Molsen claimed to be the King of the Frontier, and within the royal palace, the number of those openly displaying their ambitions grew.
I wonder if he'll end up dead like that.
A brief moment of concern crossed Encrid's mind. With the board set up like this, Krang was in the most danger. The sudden appearance of someone with a claim to the throne was an eyesore to everyone. Yet, even in this situation, the fact that Krang took it for granted that he would become king and looked toward the future showed a difference in the caliber of their vessels.
Encrid brushed aside the worry. If the guy was smart enough to pull this off, he would have surely planned for his own survival. After all, this was a board set up with martial force as the ultimate premise.
He was curious, though. What was the hidden force Krang kept up his sleeve? A sudden urge to witness it welled up within him, though he doubted Krang would show it anytime soon.
"Can we please stop attending these parties? I'm truly suffering here," Andrew grumbled as he approached.
"Training is better, isn't it?"
At those words, Andrew's mouth shut. If he had to choose between parties and training, which would it be?
"I'll take training," he spoke, breaking into a cold sweat in that brief moment.
"Right, let's do that."
In any case, chasing after parties was over. He had even brought Sachsen along to gauge the reactions of those around them, but no one else had dared to challenge them. It would remain quiet until the spark Krang had thrown exploded.
In the meantime, he would hunt down and beat the leader of the Black Sword, watch Krang's show unfold, and lend his blade when the time came. That would be all. And in doing so, he might get to fight an unexpected opponent.
Would those ambitious factions really charge in without a plan? A speech not backed by martial force is bound to lose its power—especially now, in the royal palace, where might had become right. Hadn't they said the sheriff was incredibly threatening?
"Let's go. Time to train," Andrew spoke, gritting his teeth with determination, and Encrid set off as well.
*
They returned to the mansion, and as soon as the next morning arrived, Encrid had to receive a guest.
"The rumors were true; you really have come to the capital."
It was Kin Vaisar, the woman rumored to be the greatest beauty in the capital.
Encrid was currently dripping with sweat, swinging a halberd. Rem had always said that gaining experience with various weapons was just as important as facing opponents. And indeed, it was helpful. Sweat poured from him as he performed the absurd feat of swinging the halberd while holding the very end of its shaft with a single hand.
"Your manner of receiving guests is as charming as ever."
"I don't think you came alone," Encrid said. He lowered the tip of the halberd toward the ground and turned around. His thin training clothes clung to his body, soaked in sweat, making the definition of his muscles stand out prominently. Kin thought about how she wanted to run her hands over them as she spoke.
"Yes, there is someone who wishes to see you. Do you not intend to wash up and receive them properly?"
He could feel a certain presence radiating from outside the mansion. There was a formidable expert out there. They weren't emitting any intense bloodlust, but they weren't hiding their presence either. To project oneself like that meant they were at least an associate knight.
"Is there any need to dress up just to meet an old man?"
Someone spoke as they entered the mansion. It was a white-haired noble. Though he was close to old age, there was a subtle strength in his stride—a robust, steady step.
As he entered, Mac hurriedly came out, and Andrew stepped forward as well.
"What brings you all the way here?" Andrew looked flustered.
In the current kingdom, the one closest to the Queen was Vaisar. The one with the most formidable martial power, excluding the order of knights, was Count Molsen. However, if both the commoners and the nobles were to unanimously name the most noble-like figure, a different name would arise.
There was a man who was respected by everyone in his own territory for his benevolence and clear-headed handling of affairs, and who commanded respect from all on the outside despite never taking sides or forming factions. Naturally, he belonged to one of the Five Fingers families, held the largest territory in the kingdom, and was also the Queen's teacher.
The Marquis of Okto. The fourth finger supporting the kingdom.
On the surface, he looked like a grandfatherly neighbor absorbed in a game of chess. Entering with a smile, the Marquis spoke.
"I have come as a guest, but if I am unwelcome, please tell me. I have no intention of making things uncomfortable."
At those words, Andrew shook his head. "Not at all. It is a humble place, but you are welcome to stay as long as you wish."
Seeing even Andrew show such deep respect made it clear what kind of reputation the man held. Encrid felt a similar impression. He was different from the other nobles. He was a man who had accomplished much on the foundation of his own territory. Among all the so-called nobles he had met since coming here, this man felt the most pure.
Not that he was someone to be taken lightly, of course. The aura of the guard standing behind him proved as much. And so did the gaze he directed at Encrid while sitting at a stone table on one side of the training ground.
"Please, continue what you were doing. Since I arrived unannounced, it is only right that I wait."
"Your Grace," Kin spoke from the side, gesturing with her eyes for Encrid to come over and sit down.
Encrid looked at her and spoke. "If you insist."
Since the Marquis's offer to wait wasn't mere pretense, it seemed only right to respect his wishes. It wasn't a battle of wills. However, in response to his choice, the aura of the guard standing behind the Marquis grew slightly more menacing.
Encrid found this amusing. The two guards looked ready to pounce at the slightest provocation.
"Who's here?"
Naturally, there was a reaction from behind Encrid as well. Rem spoke as he took a step forward, while Ragna, sitting beside him, cast a sharp glance. Sachsen had already leaned his back against the wall near the mansion's entrance, while Dunchabel and Esther stepped up to Encrid's side.
In terms of sheer presence, they were a group that would back down to no one.