Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Land of the Forgotten Knights (1)
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“Crimson Tower Lord, you fool! Do you think it's safe to spout such nonsense right now?!”
Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior raised his voice. Raymond, who knew exactly what the Path of the Forgotten Ones entailed, could understand Risefield's sharp reaction.
It was the domain of spirits from which no one ever returned.
Many people vanished without a trace in the Black Mountains. Most were devoured by monsters, but some left no traces at all.
Those who loved spinning tales about such cases would say it was the work of paths belonging to those who had fought and died in the ancient racial wars, spirits that led wanderers astray.
But that was true.
Raymond's lips twisted into a smirk.
The 'Path of the Forgotten Ones' was a territory steeped in the grudges of knights who had joined the racial wars to slay monsters but were now forgotten. It was also the gateway to the 'Forgotten Grave,' where the Soul Sword lay dormant.
Even those who believed in the spirits didn't accept the idea of an intangible sword forged from their vengeful souls slumbering there. That was why legends never mentioned the Soul Sword.
But I know.
He had seen it in the setting documents. And he had read the scene in the early part of volume 2 where the protagonist met Cron, who had become a marquis, acquired the 'Soul Sword' in the Black Mountains, and learned of the dark swordsman's revival.
Obtaining the Soul Sword would mean snatching all three of the protagonist's fortunes: the Spear of Sacrifice, Desia Heli, and this. But Raymond felt no guilt.
In the novel Empire of the Dead, a world where side characters and extras met cruel fates, survival meant becoming the protagonist.
And the best way for an extra like 5th Prince Raymond to become the protagonist?
Steal the protagonist's things.
He had no regrets about this decision.
“What's there to fear?”
Raymond spoke in a voice laced with dignity, but the fear etched on the two tower lords' faces didn't fade.
Seeing the confident 5th Prince, the two lords tried to calm their anxiety, but it wasn't easy.
The fog grew thicker as they advanced, and the darkness deepened. Retreating wouldn't change anything, and the soldiers were growing weary bit by bit. Along with physical fatigue, unease began to stir in their hearts.
Almost no one in the northern border forces was ignorant of the 'Path of the Forgotten Ones.'
Even those who didn't know caught whispers from comrades about the legend of no return, and anxiety spread quickly.
“Your Highness, is it wise to continue like this? The troops' morale is hitting rock bottom.”
Gestain approached cautiously and voiced his concern in a low whisper. Raymond nodded silently and turned toward the soldiers.
“Soldiers of the Philius Empire.”
He began in a calm voice. The troops, who had been trudging along with downcast eyes, halted in unison and looked up.
Amid the thick fog, the 5th Prince shone brilliantly.
It was due to his golden armor, but the exhausted soldiers saw that light and thought he might hold the answer.
Like castaways flailing in a vast ocean, grasping at any shred of hope, the 5th Prince Raymond opened his mouth with a bitter expression.
“Don't worry too much. The imperial blood of the Philius Empire does not perish in a place like this.”
It was too short to call a speech—a mere 'declaration.'
He lacked eloquence, so he figured a long talk wouldn't help much. But it worked.
The Philius Empire's soldiers began nodding in agreement with the 5th Prince's words.
“Right, the bloodline of the founding Emperor His Majesty wouldn't meet such an ignoble end.”
“Let's pull ourselves together.”
“Yeah, we can't show such a disgraceful sight to His Highness the 5th Prince.”
It was a reaction possible only because the Philius Empire's soldiers revered the imperial descendants as divine blood.
“Do you truly know the way?”
Azure Tower Lord Risefield drew close and asked in a quiet voice.
The way out of here? Of course he knew.
“Didn't you see Desia and me searching for something earlier?”
At Raymond's words, Risefield recalled. Come to think of it, the 5th Prince and Desia had been unusually vigilant of their surroundings.
He had thought it mere anxiety, but apparently not.
“May I ask what you're looking for?”
“A gravestone.”
Risefield recoiled at the 5th Prince's eerie answer about suddenly seeking a gravestone.
“A gr-gravestone?”
“It doesn't have to be a proper stone. Any graveyard, tomb, or something similar. That's the key to escaping this 'spirits' territory.'”
“Then shouldn't we tell the knights and soldiers as well?”
Raymond shook his head with a look of disbelief at Risefield's suggestion.
“Old man, in this situation, ordering everyone to search for graves—don't you think I'd look insane?”
It was a brief explanation, but enough to convince Risefield. The elderly Azure Tower Lord nodded calmly in response.
“I'll help look as well.”
“Me too.”
Gestain and Crimson Tower Lord Berenus, who had been listening quietly, pledged their cooperation. And how much time passed?
Just as the spark of hope from the brief speech began to fade.
As Gestain walked among the weary soldiers, he spotted a small mound with a rusted sword stabbed into it. Drawing closer, he noticed a stone half-buried in the dirt.
“Captain?”
His subordinate approached cautiously at Gestain's sudden change.
Gestain kept his eyes fixed on the stone and spoke calmly.
“Fetch His Highness the 5th Prince.”
“Yes, sir.”
Soon, 5th Prince Raymond arrived with the tower lords and his guards. Gestain bowed quietly to his lord.
“There's a gravestone here.”
He stepped aside carefully.
Raymond advanced slowly. Right beside the rusted sword embedded in the ground was a stone nearly buried.
“I didn't touch it, just in case.”
“Good call. If you had, you'd have lost consciousness for a day.”
A powerful magic barrier was active, just as in the setting.
Raymond, at the mid-level mage realm, could see it. But it wasn't something he could destroy himself. It merely appeared in his vision.
Destroying that would require at least an advanced mage.
So how? With two tower lords right here, why hold back?
Subordinates existed for a lord to use.
“Desia Heli.”
“Yes, Your Highness the 5th Prince.”
Desia stepped forward with her thin, beautiful voice at Raymond's call.
She was an advanced mage too. She gauged the barrier's level and knew exactly what to do.
“I'll destroy the barrier.”
Desia was quick-witted and understood fast—no need for explanations.
Aiming her staff embedded with a magic stone at the gravestone, faint mana flowed out and danced. Then the erosion began.
A certain 'energy' started seeping from the stone. One thing was clear: it wasn't pure mana.
“What is this ominous energy?!”
Azure Tower Lord exclaimed at the opaque gray energy, not blue.
Crimson Tower Lord couldn't tear his curious gaze away, and Desia's eyes trembled uneasily.
Only 5th Prince Raymond remained composed.
“Your Highness the 5th Prince, what is that?”
It was before the mana clashed with the mysterious energy. Desia asked in a trembling voice.
She believed the 5th Prince knew, given his mystical knowledge so far and his calm amid the spirits' territory. Desia was convinced.
The 5th Prince knew.
Raymond didn't ignore the trust in her eyes.
“A soul. More precisely, a vengeful spirit.”
At the simple explanation, the two tower lords' curious gazes fixed on the spirit energy.
Experts in magic and mana, they found spirits and souls mysterious.
“A vengeful spirit... How intriguing.”
Desia couldn't hide her interest either.
She manipulated her mana to dismantle the barrier. The spirits resisted, but they couldn't hold long against an advanced mage's overwhelming power.
A spark cracked! The intense grudge toward the living couldn't breach the mana wall. The blue light shattered the opaque gray energy.
“Barrier destroyed.”
Desia announced. Raymond nodded and extended his hand toward the stone. Brushing away the dirt revealed the inscribed text.
[Without the Lament of Truth, oblivion shall persist. End it with us, and it shall be so.]
The stone was worn, but the inscription was legible.
“What a grudge-filled inscription.”
Raymond nodded calmly at Azure Tower Lord Risefield's words and replied.
“Naturally. They were once hailed by all, yet now even their existence is forgotten. If there's depth to their resentment, wouldn't it reach hell itself?”
“Your Highness the 5th Prince, where do you learn such things? Even ancient tomes in the Mage Towers rarely hold this knowledge...”
“Have you forgotten where we first met?”
Imperial Vault 7. A place storing old, rare histories—plausible to find records there.
Risefield had no choice but to nod at Raymond's answer.
“It seems Your Highness the 5th Prince knows how to escape this hell.”
At Crimson Tower Lord Berenus's question, Raymond smirked and placed his hand on the stone, injecting mana. The way out of this spirits' territory?
Of course he knew. And more?
“I pay my respects to you all.”
The stone resonated.
Now it needed imperial blood and an oath. The novel's protagonist struggled for imperial blood, but as royalty himself, Raymond required no such ordeal.
“By the blood of the imperial house, I swear to you.”
He drew his dagger and slashed his arm. Crimson imperial blood splashed onto the stone. Everyone around gaped at the 5th Prince's sudden act.
“Your Highness the 5th Prince!”
“Wh-what is...”
No need for fuss. Raymond raised his left hand to calm them and continued the oath.
“You are no longer forgotten nameless knights. You shall be reborn as proud knights of the empire.”
The ground trembled.
“Wh-what's happening?!”
“What is this?!”
The spirits wailed.
Panicked soldiers drew weapons. Even knights trembled in fear, but Raymond remained at ease. He knew this wasn't an enemy's cry laced with malice.
This was a cry of joy at reclaiming their 'names.'
Sorrowful voices. The spirits' clamor. Raymond and his subordinates listened in silence. Even the chatty Azure Tower Lord kept quiet.
The path to the Soul Sword had opened.
“My lord!”
“Your Highness the 5th Prince!”
It was Gestain and Desia's cries.
But for shouts so close, they sounded too faint, like whispers in his ear.
Raymond turned toward them. An opaque something blocked his subordinates.
Desia lost her composure in the sudden turn, panicking. The two tower lords were at a loss too.
“My lord! I'll save you!”
Gestain swung his sword. But even a high knight's mana blade couldn't cut the barrier formed by spirits hurling themselves at it.
“Oh no! Your Highness the 5th Prince!”
“Stay calm! Azure Tower Lord! And Your Highness the 5th Prince! Fall back! I'll smash these wretched spirits' grudges myself!”
While the frantic Azure Tower Lord ranted, Crimson Tower Lord unleashed a shower of flames. Sparks flew, but the wall of resentment didn't budge.
They seemed to mistake this barrier for hostile. Their reactions revealed pure loyalty.
A clear smile spread across his lips.
“Oh dear! Your Highness the 5th Prince! You can't smile in a situation like this!”
Azure Tower Lord fussed again. Meanwhile, Desia and Crimson Tower Lord analyzed the barrier, and Gestain relentlessly swung his mana blade fueled to its limit.
“Nothing will happen, so don't worry too much!”