Chapter 438: The End of the War
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 438: The End of the War
Slap—
Unable to accept the scene unfolding before him, Marquis Kailix slapped his own cheek.
But the stinging pain that spread across his face made it impossible to deny that this was all real.
Squelch—
“Aaargh!”
“R-Run away!”
“How are we supposed to stop that thing?!”
A knight in ink-black armor was charging toward them, slaughtering soldiers as he came.
Other knights tried to block his path, but the result was the same.
With every swing of his sword, dozens of soldiers fell like autumn leaves, and he drew closer in the blink of an eye.
Just moments ago, he had been so far away that they needed a magic tool just to make out his form. Now, he was clearly visible to the naked eye.
This realization brought with it an indescribable terror.
“S-Someone… anyone… please, just stop him…” Marquis Kailix muttered vacantly, his spirit broken.
But no one answered him. Even the nobles who were usually so busy fawning over him remained silent.
They were always coming up with novel ways to exploit the residents of their territories, but right now, no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't think of a single solution.
This was only natural.
A 7th Circle Mage or a top-tier Aura Master, beings who could single-handedly act as a deterrent in war, were called living natural disasters.
And in their eyes, the ink-black knight trampling over the corpses of countless soldiers as he approached was no different from a natural disaster.
It was a fundamental truth that humans were utterly powerless before nature.
Thud—
The moment the knight, unscathed despite the magical bombardment that had filled the sky, stood before them, everyone present was seized by a primal fear.
They couldn't even think of resisting.
The ink-black armor was stained red with the blood of their allies, and a gloomy light emanated from behind his helmet, making their bodies tremble uncontrollably.
Kang Hyun-woo averted his gaze from them and turned to Marquis Kailix, offering a polite suggestion.
“Surrender. Surely you don't wish for your innocent relatives to be massacred as well.”
“S-Shut up! I am the emperor! I am destined to become the first emperor of the Orsia Empire! What are you all doing?! Kill him now!”
Clang!
At Marquis Kailix’s command, the knights surrounding Kang Hyun-woo drew their swords in unison and charged.
There were at least thirty knights, yet Kang Hyun-woo didn't seem tense at all. He simply let out a deep sigh.
Fwoosh—
In the next instant, his figure vanished.
Not just the apprentice knights, but even the full-fledged knights couldn't keep up with his movements.
The result was beyond gruesome.
A black gleam from the ink-dark armor traced a beautiful diagonal line through the air, and blood spurted along its path.
“Aaaargh!”
“Gah?!”
“My… my arm!”
In a single breath, Kang Hyun-woo had incapacitated seven knights.
But he didn't stop there. He moved at a speed no one present could follow, swinging his sword.
He wasn't using some unparalleled sword technique or even an Aura, yet the knights fell one after another like leaves in an autumn wind.
The nobles could only stare blankly at the scene.
From their perspective, they had no idea what was happening.
Of course, those with sharp instincts tried to flee, but unfortunately for them, their opponent was not foolish enough to leave loose ends.
—!
““?!!!””
The moment Kang Hyun-woo fully unleashed his inner killing intent, the nobles were frozen, unable to lift a single finger.
They were like rabbits before a tiger.
They couldn't even collapse to the ground, and a few of the weaker-willed ones even soiled themselves.
The knights were no exception.
Seeing their comrades dismembered and maimed, they lost all courage to face Kang Hyun-woo.
Their will to fight had been shattered.
Clang—
“I… I surrender…!”
“Darion, you bastard!”
Marquis Kailix was enraged when his own guard knight, one of his closest confidants, surrendered on his own.
But Kang Hyun-woo paid him no mind and slowly approached the marquis.
His eyes, which had likely cut down a thousand men, were steeped in thick killing intent, and his black hair was matted with blood.
At the sight, Marquis Kailix’s face went pale.
“S-Stay back!”
“He still thinks he’s a noble.”
CRACK!
“G-Gaaahhh!!!”
Instantly closing the distance, Kang Hyun-woo kicked the marquis in the shin.
He had held back as much as possible, but it was still enough to snap the marquis’s leg, bending it at an unnatural angle.
“A traitorous bastard like you should have known to crawl when I treated you like a noble.”
“Q-Quickly, a priest…!”
“A priest? For what?”
Kang Hyun-woo scoffed at the marquis and pressed an acupoint to stop the bleeding in his leg. He then pressed a paralysis point to ensure the man wouldn't die from shock.
But it was just enough to keep him from dying.
“Guuuhhh!!!”
The nobles turned their heads away from the sight of the marquis weeping in agony.
Because Kang Hyun-woo had also struck his mute point, he couldn't even scream despite the excruciating pain.
Unless he passed out from exhaustion, he would have to endure that horrific agony for a long, long time.
“Vice-commander, raise your hand.”
At Kang Hyun-woo’s words, the nobles exchanged glances for a moment before a man with a half-bald head slowly raised his hand.
“I am Oswin Cardamon Orion.”
“That was informal.”
“…sir.”
“Order the army to surrender. Now.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Hey.”
Ssshh—
Kang Hyun-woo placed a hand on Marquis Orion’s shoulder.
No one had seen him move.
Marquis Orion trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat. Kang Hyun-woo’s eyes narrowed as he watched him.
“Does it look like I’m asking you?”
“…”
In the end, Marquis Orion nodded.
The Noble Faction had no resolve to fight to the death.
If they had that kind of will in the first place, they wouldn't have started a rebellion by taking advantage of the nation's chaos.
And so, the civil war that had plagued the Orsia Duchy for the past three months finally came to an end.
*
Due to an unprecedentedly severe drought and the sudden outbreak of civil war, the chaos surrounding the Orsia Duchy had spiraled out of control.
The capital, Pendria, was especially tense, with a hostile atmosphere that felt like a large-scale uprising could erupt at any moment.
On top of the drought, tens of thousands of refugees had flocked to the capital, causing food prices to skyrocket. Public safety had deteriorated drastically, and several merchant guilds had gone bankrupt due to travel restrictions.
With rumors circulating that the Grand Duke had collapsed from a mysterious illness, it was obvious that public sentiment would turn sour.
But today was an exception.
“Waaaaah!!!”
“Finally, the war is finally over!”
“Long live His Highness the Grand Duke!”
The war was over.
At this news, citizens poured into the streets, cheering and throwing flowers at the triumphant ducal soldiers.
Meanwhile, a constant barrage of rotten eggs and pebbles rained down on the captured rebels being transported to the ducal castle in chains.
The citizens particularly targeted the nobles of the Noble Faction.
Thwack! Thump!
“The war burned down our village! Take responsibility! Take responsibility!”
“You pieces of trash! You call yourselves nobles?!”
“Our taxes were wasted on you!”
“Bring back my father!”
“Send them to the guillotine!”
The nobles, forgetting all dignity, could only curl up into balls. The pebbles hurt too much to worry about appearances.
Watching this, Count Alestro, the commander-in-chief of the ducal army, deliberately slowed the pace of the march.
He found it deeply satisfying to see the nobles of the Noble Faction, who had always been a thorn in his side, getting pelted with stones.
Besides, with public sentiment so volatile, allowing the people to vent their frustrations like this was a net gain.
Of course, he couldn't let them die, so he had arranged with the church to have priests on standby.
“That’s a nasty hobby you have.”
“This is nothing,” Count Alestro said with a smirk at Kang Hyun-woo’s comment.
“If I had my way, I’d make them crawl on all fours.”
Learning of the fierce-looking count’s peculiar tastes, Kang Hyun-woo just shook his head and urged his horse forward.
He had been forced to the front of the army by Count Alestro.
Thanks to that, a slight turn of his head revealed a sight that was hard to watch.
“Oh, oh?! It’s the knight!”
“It’s really him! The Knight of the Dark Moon!”
“Aah! Sir Knight! Please look over here!”
“…”
Kang Hyun-woo quietly pressed an acupoint to temporarily deafen himself.
He wanted to wear his helmet, but Count Alestro had pointed out that it wasn't proper for a war hero.
The Knight of the Dark Moon.
That was the epithet given to him by a messenger who had returned to the capital ahead of them with news of the victory.
Less than half a day had passed since the war ended, but rumors had already spread throughout the capital: Kang Hyun-woo had boldly challenged the rebel army to a series of duels and defeated five of their knights without a single scratch.
Furthermore, it was known that among them was Drake Uldran, one of the Continent's Top 10.
This alone was an incredible achievement, but the people were ecstatic over the absurdly heroic tale that sounded like something out of an old fairy tale: he had broken through the enemy lines with a single sword, cut down thousands, and stormed the main camp to capture the rebel leader, Marquis Kailix, alive.
Thus, Kang Hyun-woo had instantly become the hero of the war. People began to call him the ‘Knight of the Dark Moon’ out of reverence for his ink-black armor and the black Aura Blade that had swept across the battlefield.
“How about giving them a wave?”
“I’ll pass.”
“So cold. Back in my day, I was dying to show off whenever I achieved something.”
Kang Hyun-woo let Count Alestro’s words go in one ear and out the other, glancing at the streets from the corner of his eye.
The capital was in a festive mood.
Just a day ago, fights would break out between citizens and refugees at the slightest eye contact. Now, they had their arms around each other's shoulders, clinking glasses and laughing boisterously.
Kang Hyun-woo pulled his gaze away from the crowd and rode on.
A short while later, the ducal army entered the ducal castle, welcomed by the cheers and applause of the citizens.
But the faces of the nobles, who were forcibly dragged from the prisoner carts, were pale and bloodless.
Trembling with fear and looking around frantically, they seemed to have finally realized their predicament.
But it was too late for regrets.
Creeak—
The massive gates swung open.
As the knights, led by Count Alestro, entered the audience hall, the Grand Duke greeted them from his ornate throne with a dignified gaze.
Only a day had passed, but the Grand Duke’s complexion looked so much better that he seemed like a different person.
The knights knelt before him in unison.
“I, Kairban de Alestro, under the command of Your Highness the Grand Duke, have subjugated the rebel army and brought their leaders in chains!”
“Mm, you have done well, Sir Kairban. This victory was surely possible thanks to your loyalty to the duchy and the wisdom with which you led the army. Your contributions will not be forgotten.”
“You are too kind! This victory was only possible thanks to Your Highness’s grace!”
They’re really laying it on thick, Kang Hyun-woo thought.
Ignoring the two men’s cliché exchange, he subtly turned his head.
There stood Amelia, dressed in a beautiful gown.
When their eyes met, Amelia beamed and gave a small, careful wave. After a moment of hesitation, Kang Hyun-woo began to channel his Ghost Divine Art, preparing to slip out of the formation.
I went through hell for two straight days. I deserve a break.
Just as he was about to sneak out of the audience hall for a private castle date with Amelia…
“Sir Hyun-woo.”
“Yes?”
His eyes met the Grand Duke’s.
He was certain he had completely concealed his presence with the Ghost Divine Art, yet the Grand Duke’s gaze was fixed precisely on him.
…Ah, right. This guy’s an Aura Master, isn’t he?
And one at the perfected Flower Realm, at that.
There was no way his 5-star Ghost Divine Art could deceive his eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“…Just to the restroom for a moment.”
“The restroom is in the opposite direction, is it not?”
“I must have gotten confused, as I am still unfamiliar with the castle’s layout.”
“Your real intention?”
“…With my dull mind, I am not sure I understand what Your Highness is saying.”
The Grand Duke glared fiercely at the kneeling Kang Hyun-woo.
How dare a womanizer with so many girls covet my daughter.
Tsk, damn old geezer.
As a tense standoff unfolded between the two, the nobles kept their mouths shut, cautiously observing the situation.
While Kang Hyun-woo’s attitude was indeed disrespectful, everyone knew he was the fiancé of Amelia, the sole heir to the ducal family.
Although he was a commoner, his distinguished service in the war made it a foregone conclusion that he would ascend to the position of the next Grand Duke.
Interfering rashly in this situation could mean getting on the bad side of both the current and future Grand Dukes at the same time.
“Um… Father?”
As the atmosphere grew unnecessarily hostile, Amelia, unable to watch any longer, spoke up carefully.
The gazes of both the Grand Duke and Kang Hyun-woo turned to her.
“Everyone has returned after much hardship. Perhaps it would be best to wrap things up?”
“Hmm, you have a point.”
Swoosh—
The Grand Duke rose from his throne and slowly looked over the nobles and knights before continuing in a solemn voice.
“Tonight, a banquet will be held to celebrate our victory. The awarding of merits will also take place, so I expect everyone to be present.”
““Yes, Your Highness!””
As the subjects’ resounding reply echoed through the hall, the Grand Duke’s gaze shifted to Kang Hyun-woo.
“And the hero of our victory, the ‘Knight of the Dark Moon,’ must attend.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
Grit—
Kang Hyun-woo answered through clenched teeth, hearing the blatant mockery in the Grand Duke’s tone.
…If he weren’t my father-in-law.
Afterward, stewing in his anger toward the Grand Duke, Kang Hyun-woo spent some… quality time with Amelia in a secluded corner of the castle where no one would find them.