Chapter 170: Never Abandon a Comrade (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 170: Never Abandon a Comrade (2)
Whoooosh—
The northern reaches of Robrus. A snow-capped mountain peak stood locked in the relentless grip of a blizzard.
The three of us stood in the center of the storm, in a place that had suddenly settled into a deathly calm, as if the preceding violence had never occurred.
“Haaah…”
Yelena let out a long, shaky sigh of relief. I offered a thin smile and began surveying the corpses of the Adversaries.
“Ms. Yelena. Did you know?”
There were five bodies in total. I took my longsword and carved open the chests of the bastards sprawled across the snow.
Crack!
“I have quite a knack for identifying sub-species.”
Prying apart bone and frozen flesh, I plunged my bare hand into a chest cavity and grasped a heart that still retained a lingering warmth.
The mana circuits were tangled haphazardly around the cardiac muscle. It was the unmistakable mark of a sub-species.
Yelena’s eyes widened in realization.
“They really are sub-species.”
“Yes. Most likely Izenheim.”
I placed the heart into a specialized box I had prepared beforehand.
Every Izenheim heart was a vital subject for analysis. While we could identify them as sub-species based on the heart’s physical structure, we still lacked the means to specify the particular strain—the Izenheim—without deeper study.
“…You can actually distinguish the Izenheim?” Yelena asked, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Yes. It’s nothing to be surprised about. The Izenheim exude a particular, foul stench.”
As Yelena and Schatz watched in silence, I opened the chests of the remaining two and retrieved their hearts.
“It’s a scent inherent to the Izenheim species itself.”
Flick. Flick. I shook the blood from my hands and let out a cold smile.
“Let’s move. Schatz?”
“Yes.”
Schatz gave a brief nod to Yelena. The two of them moved toward the extraction point first, while I rested the edge of my sword against the Izenheim corpses.
Gwooooh—
The resonance of the Virus hummed. Mana began to drain from the corpses, flowing into the longsword. I didn't know the exact mechanics of how it functioned or what specific power it would eventually grant me; I only knew that the Virus grew stronger by consuming their mana.
“…Are you finished?”
Thump.
The entity had become quite responsive lately. For the record, the Virus’s ‘digestive capacity’ had its limits, so it couldn’t feast on mana indefinitely.
“Good.”
I swung my longsword, dismembering what remained of the corpses. The blizzard would handle the cleanup, sweeping the parts away and burying them under the permafrost.
I turned and followed Schatz and Yelena.
*
Before long, I arrived at the edge of a sheer, precarious cliff overlooking the snowy wastes.
“This is the spot.”
A mana-powered glider Schatz had prepared was waiting for us—its wings a complex weave of reinforced wood and specialized fabric.
“Ms. Yelena. We’ll ride the updrafts and the gale to fly across the border.”
It was a natural method of travel, one that would never be flagged by a detection network. Using only this glider and our own mana, we would soar over the border region and enter the Empire via a vehicle waiting on the other side.
“…Is it really possible to cross with just this?”
Yelena swallowed hard, staring down at the white abyss of the blizzard swirling beneath the cliff.
“It is. The wind is blowing west, regardless.”
I gripped the glider’s handles firmly.
“Get on my back.”
“…”
Yelena glanced at Schatz, who was standing nearby. Schatz simply shook her head.
“I’ll be fine on my own.”
Of course she would be. Schatz could walk across a militarized border without a single soul catching a glimpse of her.
“Then…”
Yelena climbed onto my back, her arms wrapping around me. I lowered my stance, bracing my legs. I could feel her trembling against me.
“Don’t worry. A knight is never more free than when he is in the sky.”
“Ah, but—”
Before her fear could take root, taaah!
I launched forward, sprinting toward the precipice with explosive strides.
In five steps, my feet left the solid earth and met empty air.
We shot upward, caught in the violent embrace of the air currents.
“Aack!”
I ignored the cry behind me, surrendering my weight to the sky.
Whoooooooosh—!
Tearing through the biting blizzard, I spread the wings wide and glided over the Robrus border.
A sharp, pleasant wind rushed to meet me.
It was a flight that seemed to vent all the tension and stress that had accumulated within me.
I smiled brightly and began my descent—one that carried a weight far different from the usual.
*
Meanwhile, in the heart of the Empire.
The office of the Vice-Commander of the Sentinel Knights.
“…Hah.”
Chiron was seething, struggling to swallow his mounting fury.
This was a total clusterfuck.
“That worthless piece of shit.”
Thump! He slammed his fist onto the solid wood desk.
“…Ah.”
He glanced down immediately, checking if he’d left a permanent mark. Thankfully, the wood held.
“…”
Wipe. Wipe. He smoothed his palm across the surface.
Feeling it wasn't quite enough, he reached for a cloth, but suddenly froze. Cliff’s voice replayed in his mind like a broken record.
‘I have nothing to say.’
That was the only bullshit that so-called knight—who wasn’t even a knight at all in Chiron's eyes—kept repeating.
‘The Imperial Palace will use this as a pretext to dismantle us.’
Chiron had sternly reprimanded the man, but…
‘You people who drove out Vice-Commander Anton—’
‘I am the Vice-Commander, Cliff.’
‘You people who drove out Vice-Commander Anton.’
‘I am the Vice-Commander, Cliff!’
‘Weren’t you the ones who were so eager to be put on the Imperial Palace's leash in the first place?’
Cliff had the audacity to spew those words to his face.
‘In the first place, Sir Chiron, you too—’
‘It’s Vice-Commander.’
‘Sir Chiron, you also borrowed the power of the Imperial Palace to sit in that seat.’
“…”
Chiron had glared at him then. A white-hot rage had risen from the pit of his stomach to the crown of his head, but he had forced a smile and endured it. There was no point in dragging out the conversation with a dead man walking.
He’d never liked the blockhead anyway.
‘You’re dismissed. There’s no coming back from this.’
As Chiron had stood to leave, Cliff had spouted one last bit of nonsense.
‘Yes. Thank you, Sir Chiron.’
Chiron had frozen, glaring back at him.
‘It’s Vice-Commander, you crazy—’
Knock, knock—
A sharp knock on the door shattered his recollection. Chiron swept his hair back, his forehead burning with stress.
“Enter.”
Chiron’s adjutant stepped in and spoke.
“Vice-Commander. We’ve received a report that Knight Maximilian has returned.”
*
The moment I returned to my office after completing my solo mission, a series of interesting reports were waiting for me.
“…There was quite a disturbance in your absence, Sir Knight.”
While my ears took in the adjutant’s briefing, my eyes scanned the file regarding Cliff’s explosion incident.
“Is this a knight order or a political theater…?”
I tossed the document onto the desk and stood up.
“Where is Knight Cliff now?”
“He is being held in the temporary disciplinary committee’s waiting room.”
Cliff’s disciplinary action had already been set in stone during my absence. Now, it was merely a matter of debating the severity.
Grossman and the other leeches from the Imperial Palace wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this to tarnish the prestige of the Sentinel Knights.
I made my way to the holding area.
[Waiting Room]
When I opened the door, I found Cliff sitting with a hardened, hollow expression.
He spotted me, and his face instantly twisted into a look of pure, murderous loathing.
“…”
A heavy silence stretched between us.
I let out a quiet sigh, and Cliff grit his teeth so hard I could hear the bone grind.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Don’t you know? I have the authority to conduct internal audits of the Knight Order.”
It was a right granted to me by the Imperial Family after I had judged Adria with "fairness and impartiality."
“Sir Cliff. You seem to have many grievances.”
At my question, Cliff let out a jagged scoff.
“Of course I do.”
Anton’s reputation was just that formidable. It was strong enough to cause incidents that Anton himself would never have wanted—a testament to the righteous life he had led.
“Good timing. There was something I wanted to ask you.”
Cliff’s next words were predictable.
“At the closed hearing… the one who was the first to expose and pick at Vice-Commander Anton’s wounds… that creature lower than a beast…”
He ground his teeth, his eyes bloodshot as he spat the words at me.
“Was it you?”
I scratched my eyebrow.
I couldn't exactly explain the truth here. The laws of the Imperial Palace forbade it. What if, by some chance, the future was altered and the transcript was never released? That would simply be a failure of my own calculations, a risk I had to accept.
Either way—I wasn't the least bit afraid of being misunderstood. Not when I still had tens of millions of Izenheim to exterminate.
I simply asked back calmly, “And if it was me?”
The moment I spoke, Cliff’s brow furrowed with a menacing intensity.
“Does that justify your actions now?”
“…”
“What difference does it make? Do you really think that stunt you pulled—getting innocent civilians caught in an explosion—is going to help Anton now?”
Cliff couldn't contain his rage any longer. Crash! He shot up from his seat, vaulted over the table, and seized me roughly by the collar.
“You inhuman piece of—!”
Bang! The door burst open as the knights stationed outside rushed in. They tore Cliff away from me, pinning him to the floor as the room descended into chaos.
“You son of a bitch! Because of you! Because of you—!”
A hand was clamped over Cliff’s mouth, muffling his screams.
I lightly brushed down my rumpled collar. I looked down impassively at the struggling Cliff, then turned and walked out.
The hallway was already crowded with knights. Jerome, Tiana, Reynel, Leon, Hannah, and many others—both commoners and nobles alike.
No, I found such classifications tedious now. In the Sentinels, they should be nothing more than fellow knights.
“Max. Don’t pay him any mind.”
Chiron approached and clapped me on the shoulder. The other noble knights behind him nodded in agreement, casting looks of pure contempt toward the room where Cliff was held.
“That blockhead is getting dismissed regardless. His knighthood, his pension—it’ll all be revoked. The fool.”
“…”
I left the Knight Order without a word.
I summoned my adjutant to have a car prepared and headed straight for the scene of the explosion Cliff had caused in Central District 14.
[No Entry]
Acrid stains and the skeleton of a demolished building greeted me. At the site, where debris still smoldered, stood not only police officers but also members of the Royal Guard.
“So, you’re telling me that crazy knight just recklessly swung his sword-wind in this dangerous warehouse from the start?”
“Look at the remains of the mana condenser. It’s absurd to think he just mindlessly smashed it without knowing it would explode. It was intentional, definitely.”
“And thanks to him, all the evidence of the illegal mana stones is gone…”
Their conversation, its intent blatantly clear as they pointed at the wreckage, drifted to my ears.
I approached them.
“What is this?”
A large Royal Guardsman controlling the perimeter tried to block my path, but he flinched when he caught a glimpse of the uniform beneath my coat.
“Who… who are you?”
“I’m from the Sentinels.”
“Ah, ah. Yes, sir.”
The Royal Guardsmen saluted reluctantly with sour expressions. Someone who recognized my face walked over.
“Ah, it’s you, Sir Knight.”
The rank on his shoulder was that of a Royal Guard Colonel. His face… I vaguely remembered it. His name was ‘Wolfgang.’ Another future war criminal. He was the scion of a prestigious family; it seemed the Imperial Palace had dispatched someone with both seniority and a solid background to handle the optics.
I asked him directly, “What is the Royal Guard doing here, meddling in the Sentinels’ affairs?”
Wolfgang tilted his chin up, his voice haughty. “This is a special mission directly ordered by the Imperial Palace. They’ve judged it necessary to transparently investigate whether the Knight Order was at fault for this tragic explosion.”
Tragic explosion. They were already beginning to manipulate the narrative.
“This is a crime scene secured by a Sentinel Knight. The investigative authority and jurisdiction belong entirely to our Order. It would be best if the Royal Guard returned to their posts.”
I politely ordered him to leave. But Colonel Wolfgang frowned and shook his head.
“…No. We are proceeding with preserving the scene and collecting evidence under clear orders from our superiors. This means we, not the Knight Order, have been tasked with handling this case.”
He was trying to weather the storm using the authority of the Imperial Palace as his shield.
How amusing.
The Royal Guard was like this sometimes. Because they lived and breathed within the palace walls, they tended to forget how the world outside actually functioned.
I gave a faint, cold smile.
“Then, let me ask.” I took a step toward him. “From whom?”
At my sudden question, Colonel Wolfgang blinked stupidly. “…What did you say?”
I closed the distance by another step and murmured, “I asked, from whom, exactly, did you receive such an order?”
Wolfgang’s pupils trembled. He couldn't answer immediately, his mouth clamped shut.
It certainly wasn't an edict from the Emperor. At best, it was the shallow influence of Kents Bertem, who was desperate for a ministerial position, or the top brass of the Royal Guard.
“You can’t answer. In that case.” I leaned in close to his ear. “Compared to your ‘superiors’ who gave that order…”
My expression vanished. The smile on my lips dissipated into nothingness.
“How do I, the man standing before you now, seem?”
Thud. The sound of debris falling from the ceiling echoed in the silence.
My gaze lingered on the fallen dust for a moment before returning to Wolfgang.
“Can you handle Ebenholtz?”
“…”
Wolfgang swallowed hard. The joint of his jaw trembled as if in a spasm.
Perhaps, belatedly, the weight of the name Maximilian was flashing before his eyes. The heir to Ebenholtz. The monster who had crushed Genen with tanks and slaughtered a cartel overnight.
A bad reputation comes in handy at times like these.
“…Ahem.”
Still, he didn't abandon that last shred of pride. He shot me one final sharp glare, then gestured to his men.
“…We’re pulling out. Withdraw.”
The troop of Royal Guardsmen receded like the tide.
The local Police Chief, who had been huddled in a corner, cautiously approached.
“Ah, Sir Knight…”
“Preserve the scene exactly as it is. Don’t let a single speck of dust be touched,” I commanded as I surveyed the wreckage. “What about the suspects?”
“Yes. Well, they’re currently hospitalized. They’re just small-fry who were distributing illegal mana stones. They don’t seem to have any direct connection to the Revolutionary Group.”
Click-clack.
The sound of heels echoed from behind me. I turned to see Sonette Kandel standing there in a sharp, professional suit.
My brow furrowed slightly. “What brings you here?”
She pushed up her thin, gold-rimmed glasses with her middle finger and answered, “I seem to have a few occupations. As a real estate developer… one of the buildings caught in this explosion happens to be in my name.”
She glanced impassively at the scene, then fixed her gaze on me.
“I heard the rumors. That Cliff grabbed you by the collar.”
News travels fast. Or perhaps, it was a sign of how important I had become.
“Have you ever been grabbed by the collar before in your life, Duke Ebenholtz?”
Sonette’s question was simply amusing.
Many times. Before my regression.
During my days as a fugitive, drifting through back alleys after the Empire’s fall. I’d get grabbed by the collar for no reason, tripped up, and dragged into fights even in my sleep.
You could say I’m used to it. In fact, I welcome it. It had been a while since I’d been reminded of that initial, raw resolve.
“Knight Cliff must be in significant trouble now. To dare lay a hand on you.”
At Sonette’s words, I looked around the scene once more.
“No.” I straightened the collar of my disheveled coat and shook my head. “A Knight of the Empire—”
Sometime in the past, was it Chiron? Or Adria? One of them, or perhaps both, had said it.
‘The Sentinels are, in the end, the Sentinels.’
Therefore, this incident was, in fact, an opportunity. I would lead the investigation in a way that favored Cliff. I would use any means necessary to prove his actions were justified.
“—never abandons a comrade.”
We had to unite. We had to become an unbreakable wall against the external pressure of the Imperial Palace.