Chapter 125
It had been a few hours since the meeting concluded.
Charles sat in her room with her chin cupped in her hands with a smile of adoration.
“Icarus-nim really did well earlier, and she made those dumbasses dance like puppets on her palm,” Charles muttered, and her ruby-like eyes twinkled as her voice echoed once more amidst the silence of her room. “Ah, It would be rude for me to press her to answer, but I’m really curious. If Icarus-nim was really a woman, can I be like her?”
“In any case, Icarus-nim and Sir Cain are a godsend to us during these difficult times, but everything is all thanks to him.”
Charles' cheeks flushed upon recalling someone’s face. It was all Cox’s fault.
It was because he said those things earlier about repaying the debt with her body.
“Cox, that fool who only thinks about money…”
Charles grumbled, but she was startled by a knock on her door.
“Who is it at this hour?”
“My lady, my apologies for the disturbance, but you have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
Charles tilted her head upon hearing that.
It was late in the evening, far past supper time. During these hours, most people would already be in their own dreamland, but someone was actually visiting her.
However, the maidservant’s words dispelled Charles’ worries.
“It’s the guest you welcomed yourself, my lady… Icarus-nim.”
“Ah!”
Charles jumped up and flung the door open.
Bang!
Charles’ gorgeous figure appeared behind the wide open door, and behind the maidservant, Charles saw a familiar figure.
“My lady…” Icarus started. “I know this is impolite and inappropriate, considering that it’s already late in the evening, but may I come in for a moment?”
“Yes, you may come in.”
“Since my lady has said it like that, then I shall obey.”
The maidservant gave them a brief bow, leaving only Charles and Icarus in the room.
“Please take a seat, Icarus-nim.”
“Thank you.” Icarus didn’t decline Charles’ offer and sat down.
“I apologize if it seems late, but thank you. Thanks to you, everything worked out.”
“I don’t think that it will be too late for you to express your gratitude to my l-l-lord later…”
“Oh, well…” Charles seemed uneasy as Icarus stuttered on the word ‘lord’.
Icarus stared right at Charles and asked, “I will be direct: I came here at this hour to ask you something—if you don’t mind me asking.”
Charles was silent for a moment before nodding.
“Ask away.”
“I wasn’t around when the territorial war started, so I am unaware of the facts. However, I have heard that the war was extremely unbalanced, favoring the enemy’s side, is that correct?”
Icarus’ words seemed to have made Charles remember the unpleasant memories, but she only bit her lips before saying, “It’s like what you said. Before the Mercenary King joined the war, we were on par with the enemy in terms of strength and all.”
Icarus shook her head in disbelief and said, “I am well aware of the immense influence that a Superhuman could exert in a war. However, he was only around at the beginning of the war, right?”
“Yes, but he appeared on important and critical locations, and his appearance alone was enough to set the tone of the war—”
Icarus spoke before Charles could finish. “From what I know, the Pontier Family is not inferior to the Crombell Family in any way. Setting the Mercenary King aside—Military strength, financial strength—even your leaders were superior. In that case, there has to be an unknown variable.”
“That’s…”
“In every conflict, the defenders would always have a natural advantage against the aggressors. I’m sure the Pontier Family has received vigorous support from many families in the beginning, correct?”
“There’s something wrong…” Charles muttered. It seemed that she finally realized it.
“Yes. It’s too much of an exaggeration to say that all this was only because of a lone Superhuman. However, something else is bothering me more than anything.”
“Something is bothering you more?” asked Charles with wide eyes.
Icarus nodded and said, “Your father, the patriarch of the Pontier Family, His Grace Pontier.”
“...!” Charles remained silent.
Icarus continued. “He’s one of the Five Dukes and the head of the Pontier household, but his food got poisoned?”
Charles started trembling as Icarus continued in a low voice. “It’s very odd. As the head of the ducal household, his food should have gone through a rigorous toxin screening procedure, am I wrong?”
“Are you trying to say that there’s a traitor among us?” Charles muttered, bewildered.
Icarus’ expression turned grim as she continued. “Given the situation, the probability is high. The basics of mastering the enemy's strategy start doubting every minor thing. To unravel our adversary’s schemes, we must remain wary.”
“Remember this from now on, my lady…” Icarus raised a finger and said, “Trust no one, even those who claim to be your savior. Trust only yourself.”
***
“Haaa…” Joshua let out a deep sigh. The kid from the inn had finally stopped bothering him. However, what did he even expect from a kid who had just met his idol? Of course, it was only natural for Joshua to be exhausted when he was up against an energetic kid.
'But it’s not that bad….'?Joshua muttered to himself before smiling brightly.
Today’s encounter was the first for him. In his past life, such moments were far from what he was familiar with. Back then, he would immediately plunge his blade into his colleague’s neck upon receiving the order to do so. It didn’t matter, even if he had just dined with a said colleague.
His spear had no regard for relationships. As long as the order was given, he would point it at anyone, and Joshua’s hand was always stained with blood.
The previous Joshua Sanders was the emperor's spear without a will, and he had become someone everyone dreaded. He had been living a life like that before, but now, a kid could actually approach and ask him questions casually…
“Hey, newbie! Move!”
Joshua was deep in his thoughts, but a loud voice startled him awake.
Three medium-sized wagons were approaching from the distance.
As Joshua stared at the mercenaries, he recalled the words of Eiden, the branch manager of the Mercenary Guild’s Haiburi Castle Town branch.
“Your face is too famous, so you have to wear a robe if you don’t want to get recognized. And tell everyone that you’re a newbie. It’s a bit troublesome to do, I know, but you can do that, right?”
“Apologies…” Joshua said to the mercenary.
“I’m not asking for your apology. Let me tell you one thing, if you don’t man up anytime soon, you will not survive for long in this profession!”
The mercenary had a harsh, scarred visage that made his profession easy for anyone to deduce. Joshua had no idea, but the considerate mercenary was actually Bear, who had been talking about the Masters’ Battle in the inn for quite a while now.
“Stay here, Bear! Did you know? Maybe that robed fella over there is the one who showed off with aura in the guild before.”
“What? This clumsy-looking fella over here?” Bear laughed.
Bear laughed out loud as his friend, Dirk the pushover, said those words.
“Why? Is the aura the name of someone’s dog? Talented men are those buffed ones, like Mercenary King, or the Mercenary idol, Akshuller! Not some sissy-looking kid.”
“Hmmm.”
“Oh, come on. That’s so stupid—are you going to tell me that the little man driving that wagon is strong, too, Dirk?” Bear gestured towards a small figure in a worn-out robe on a trio of wagons.
Dirk stared at Joshua for a moment before nodding. “If it’s an aura, then as per knight’s standard, he must be a B class at the very least.”
“Anyway…” Bear said to Joshua. “It’s just a 2-Star Quest, yes, but it’ll be hard for a newbie like you to handle. You don’t seem to know anyone else here, so just stick to us, and we’ll keep you safe!”
‘2-Star Quest?’
A mercenary saw that Joshua wasn’t moving, so he scoffed and said, “The kid’s cold in fear, are you really going to charge someone like him a protection fee?”
“Greg!” Bear glared at the mercenary named Greg. “You—
However, Bear could not complete his sentence.
‘This feeling…!’?Joshua also felt the dangerous presence descending upon them.
“Prepare to fight!” Eiden screamed.
The mercenaries immediately arranged themselves into a formation.
A few moments later, the mercenaries’ eyes widened when they finally saw their opponent.
“The undead?”
“The rumors are true? It’s undead!”
“It feels strong as well.”
The mercenaries seemed bewildered, but Bear’s eyes widened upon taking a closer look at the enemy.
“D-Dullahans?”
“...!” Joshua’s eyes widened as well.
Dullahans, Headless Knights.
Dullahans were incredibly strong, and they always carried a greatsword as large as their own bodies in one hand. A swing of their sword could crush even steel in a single hit, and since Headless Knights were undead, they would never get tired from swinging their sword incessantly.
Most undead had mediocre defenses compared to their offensive abilities, but Dullahans were exceptions. They could not manifest an Aura, but their bodies were covered in full plate armor.
Indeed, Dullahans possessed an incredible balance between defense and offense, so they weren’t categorized as part of the advanced undead in vain.
'I knew it, they have been here for a long time...'
Joshua took a step forward with a grim and icy look.
There were about ten Dullahans approaching them.
Despite how Joshua could dispose of them all by himself, he still needed assistance to reduce the number of casualties. After all, this was a request after all, and he had accepted the request.
“Hey, newbie! Stay close to us if you want to live.”
“Look…”
Joshua had been ignoring Bear’s words, but he stiffened when he heard another voice.
The mercenaries were staring at the leader of their caravan.
The leader was a thin figure clad in a robe.
Joshua’s eyes widened when the saw the figure’s blue eyes.
“No way…” Joshua muttered in disbelief.
A pure and flawless white hand soon emerged from between the robes. It swayed softly from left to right as if it were shooing insects away.
It was a seemingly meaningless action, but it resulted in a catastrophe.
Following the gesture, white ice frost started blanketing the lush pastures. Winter was still a long way off, but Joshua couldn’t see anything else aside from ice.
It was a terrible spell that covered everything in its path with a bitter cold.
“Frost Nova,” the figure muttered in a voice audible only to Joshua.
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