Chapter 192
Rumble!
The ground trembled ever so slightly. There was a group of individuals that had been running frantically to a certain location, and their frantic footsteps came to a halt when they noticed the tremor.
‘What’s happening?’?Kingaitu thought, but he said nothing.
“His Majesty is traveling in that direction. I think we should go there and check it out.”
“I concur. We have to ensure the safety of His Majesty.”
Hundreds of men, each clad in black full-plate mail, stood behind Kingaitu. Just as Reinhardt had its sentinels, its monarch had his own guard. The first King of Reinhardt, Wilhelm, ordered them to protect the subsequent kings of Reinhardt.
As such, the duties of Wilhelm Knights remained the same.
Their duty and responsibilities were tremendous, but the Wilhelm Knights themselves rarely made themselves known, and they followed the king quietly, acting like they were his shadow.
There were only two scenarios that would make them emerge from the shadows. The first one was to respond to a threat to the king’s life, and the second one was to respond to a threat to Reinhardt’s security.
As a result, most of Reinhardt had forgotten about them. After all, there weren’t many people that could harm the King of Reinhardt, considering that one had to become the Champion of the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle to become the king. As such, the King of Reinhardt was as strong as an entire legion.
Moreover, there weren’t really any fools out there who were brave enough to wage war on Reinhardt. After all, every nation out there had its own foreign affairs to think about, unlike the neutral Reinhardt.
“Let's move a bit faster.”
The men’s faces brightened as the Lion King spoke. He was technically no longer the King of Reinhardt, but since it had been less than a day since the ceremonies were done, it was only understandable that they still hadn’t adjusted.
“Knights six through ten will remain here in case of a further emergency,” Aksion, Wilhelm’s first knight, ordered. “The rest will follow me.”
“Move!”
The other men all moved in sync.
All of a sudden, the Lion King’s expression stiffened.
It seemed that he noticed something as he said, “I’ll go first.”
The Lion King then dashed at breakneck speeds, quickly vanishing from sight.
Aksion watched in admiration as the Lion King disappeared. Once the latter could no longer be seen in his eyes, Aksion quickly yelled, “Hurry up! We have to catch up!”
***
“This is…” muttered the Lion King with a stiff look.
He was the first one among the knights to arrive at the scene, and the first scene he saw was a scene of destruction. Everything was in ruins. The trees sported unsightly holes, and there was a strange odor that made the tip of his nose tingle.
Eventually, his eyes captured a figure practically covered in dust.
The Lion King quickly recovered from his stupor as he slowly approached.
“What happened?”
“...” Joshua remained silent.
The Lion King’s expression darkened at the sight of that. The issue wasn’t Joshua’s silence. What mattered the most here was that conflict had broken out right before Reinhardt’s doorsteps, and His Majesty the King of Reinhardt had no one else with him.
“...”
“This situation could develop into an international issue. Reinhardt’s status is unique.” The Lion King sighed. “More people will arrive shortly, and I’m sure that they won’t be as understanding as I am.”
“I…” Joshua finally started speaking, breaking the ice.
“What?”
“I’ll handle it,” said Joshua.
The Lion King was right. People quickly crowded the scene like a deluge.
“What the heck is this?” Kingaitu and the other knights pulled the same face as the Lion King. They stared with mouths wide agape at the scene of destruction around them.
A harsh-looking man stared straight at Joshua. However, contrary to his scary demeanor, the man spoke politely, “This is my first time meeting His Majesty. Your humble subject’s name is Aksion Demeter, and I am the first of the King’s Knights, I—”
“Your Majesty!” Kingaitu stepped forward and interrupted Aksion. “Are you hurt?”
“...!” Aksion and the Lion King stared in disbelief at Kingaitu.
‘What did he just say?’
Kingaitu had always been obsessed with Reinhardt and Reinhardt alone. Why was he so worried about Joshua, then?
The other members of Wilhelm Knights stared doubtfully at Kingaitu.
“I was careless. I should have prioritized Your Majesty’s safety, and no matter how far you wanted to go, I should have—”
“Kingaitu?” Aksion couldn’t endure it anymore and interrupted. He whispered into Kingaitu’s ears and said, “His Majesty’s opponent had to have been a Master considering the damage that has been done here. I’m sure you know that fights between Masters are complicated to deal with because Masters are the faces of their countries, right?”
“And I’m sure that you’re even more aware that there’s no way you stand a chance against a Master, am I right? It would be like an ant trying to block a carriage, and we all know the result of that kind of fight!”
The true purpose of the Wilhelm Knights finally came to light.
The lords of Reinhardt were from complicated origins, but they had always been Champions of the Masters’ Battle, and they all had the ambitions to match. Reinhardt’s neutral status and symbolic significance meant that its monarch would have to tread lightly if Reinhardt were to remain neutral, but who wouldn’t try to flex their power?
As such, it could be considered that the Wilhelm Knights were more like handlers rather than guardians. They were responsible for stopping fights that could escalate into international issues before they could happen.
“Aksion!” Kingaitu exclaimed.
“...!” Aksion flinched as if he had been struck by lightning. He was greatly surprised by Kingaitu’s outburst using his moniker.
“You heard what the previous king said, right?”
“That’s…”
“How much longer will we have to endure being treated as rootless fools?” asked Kingaitu.
Aksion shut his mouth. The other knights fell silent as well.
“Fools, wandering marauders, savages, lawless degenerates,” Kingaitu seemed dejected as he momentarily paused before continuing. “The people of the continent have been calling us those.”
“...” Kingaitu’s eyes briefly lit up when he saw Aksion biting his lip. He took it as a sign to continue speaking, “Our dream had always been about turning Reinhardt into a truly independent nation, am I right?”
“...!” Aksion’s eyes widened.
“The king lit a fire. It’s up to us to use it.” Kingaitu swept his gaze across the other knights and said. “I gave His Majesty my word. I made an oath. Rather than spending the rest of our lives in the shadows of other nations and letting them shower us with insulting monikers, I suggest we take a bold step toward change. Honorable Wilhelm Knights, are you truly satisfied with your lives so far?”
Clench.?
The knights clenched their fists as their hearts started to race at the inexplicable power contained in Kingaitu’s words.
“I’m not satisfied at all. I’m not satisfied just yet.” Kingaitu placed his clenched fist over his chest, where the crest of Wilhelm was emblazoned and said, “I am no longer Kingaitu, the Guardian of His Majesty the King…”
”I am now Leo de Grans, a proud Wilhelm Knight.” With that, Kingaitu—no, Leo De Grans, tore the Necklace of Magic Suppression on his neck and hurled it to the ground.
Shwaaa!
“...!” The Wilhelm Knights stared wide-eyed as a deluge of energy rushed out of Leo’s body.
Kingaitu had never revealed his power to even the Lion King, but for the first time in twenty years, he finally revealed his true power as an A-Class Knight.
“My friend…” Aksion’s eyes trembled. He unsheathed his sword and exclaimed, “May the will of Naga always be with the Knights of Wilhelm!”
“May the will of Naga always be with the Knights of Wilhelm!” The other Wilhelm Knights exclaimed as well.
Meanwhile, Leo de Grans stepped forward and asked, “Your Majesty, may I be permitted to ask you a question?”
Joshua had been staring at the knights with a smile on his face. He stared at Leo de Grans without saying anything.
At that, Leo de Grans asked, “May we follow you, Your Majesty?”
Joshua’s smile widened. “If you want, yes.”
“It is my honor to follow Your Majesty.” Leo de Grans smiled before turning around to look at the other knights. After briefly sweeping his gaze across the other knights, he shouted, “From now on, the Wilhelm Knights will directly serve His Majesty the King!”
Shwing!
The other knights drew their swords in response.
‘Am I dreaming, or is this actually happening?’
Joshua knew that Reinhardt could be considered a kingdom, not just a neutral city. It was about time for them to prove to anyone that they were a force to be reckoned with.
“Let our king pass! We shall march until we reach his destination!”
“Sir, yes, sir!” The hundred-or-so men exclaimed at once, and their loud voices filled the entire woodlands.
***
Two men were in the middle of a lavishly-decorated room that was seemingly covered in gold. The man on the left was one of the most influential men in southern Avalon. He was the Patriarch of the Crombell Family, and he was easily identified by his shifty eyes as well as his unique head that looked like an inverted triangle.
“You ticked that superhuman, didn't you?”
“...”
Marquis Gehor don Crombell started tapping the table in front of him, and it seemed like he didn’t even want to hide his unease as he said, “I received reports from our spies in Fendra Castle just now. Shouldn’t we go out there and seize their remaining territory at once? After all, their headquarters have already fallen.”
”If they resort to guerilla warfare, this war will last for a long time. Even worse, what if that dreadful Dark Knight shows up once again?” Gehor scowled. The reports were unambiguous.
If he lost his seat while the war was still ongoing…
“Don’t worry.”
“What?”
“I will never lose my seat.”
Gehor took a deep breath and asked, “How can you say that for sure? How are you so sure that you won’t be forced out of the ranks of the Twelve Superhumans?”
“It doesn’t really matter. I’m sure that I’ll become a marquis like you once we’re done with all this.” The man across Gehor revealed a strange smile before saying, “Becoming a marquis of one of the three great powers is better than being a Superhuman with nothing but your name, don’t you think?”
“...!” Gehor licked his lips at the man’s words. It was a typical crass, mercenary-like statement. He was the king of a million mercenaries, so his subordinates would surely suffer along with the reputation of the Mercenary Guild if he did what he was planning.
‘It’s not like it’s bad for me. After all, it’s not really my problem.’ Gehor thought to himself. Of course, he didn’t say his thoughts out loud.
Eventually, Gehor sat up straight and asked, “Do you have any other ideas?”
“This might be the last time, but I’ll give it a whirl,” replied the man.
“...?” Gehor stared at the man, seemingly confused.
The man smirked at the bewildered look on Gehor’s face before saying, “I’m going to use the Mercenary King’s Order.”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺