Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 441

“The bleeding is severe, but the vital spots were avoided. There shouldn’t be any major problems. It’s truly a stroke of luck.”At the healer’s words, both Laius and Arthur, who had been waiting on one side of the room, simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

“Whew…”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m really okay.”

Richt spoke sheepishly, pulling a shirt over his tightly bandaged torso. While he was adjusting his clothes, the healer continued speaking.

“If it had been any different, your heart or lungs could have been damaged. Seeing that it ended at this point, it’s clear that Lord Luce truly helped.”

“Thank you.”

Richt, who had been listening quietly, smiled bitterly.

The healer, who had handed him some medicine and told him to take care of himself, quickly left the room to attend to another patient.

An awkward silence fell in the room filled with the smell of medicine.

But that was only for a moment, as Arthur broke the silence and spoke sharply.

“Well done. But what’s so charming about that bastard that you’d protect him? I really thought something terrible was going to happen. You lost so much blood.”

“I had no choice. It rushed at him before I even had a chance to draw my sword.”

Richt averted his gaze, as if trying to hide his embarrassment. But Arthur’s nagging continued.

“Still, what were you thinking blocking it with your body like that? You won’t have any excuse even if Arendt calls you stupid.”

“…Sorry.”

Arthur sighed deeply once more as Richt bowed his head and muttered an apology.

“You should have seen that guy’s face, senior. He was really terrified.”

At that, Richt’s expression grew even more sour. At first glance, Arendt seemed no different from usual.

The moment he judged that Richt’s life was no longer in danger, he resumed the retreat operation without so much as a single word of thanks.

The elf warriors and soldiers who didn’t know much about him were whispering behind his back, saying that he was cold-hearted, so that said it all.

But Arthur and Richt, who were closest, witnessed it clearly.

After hesitating for a while, Richt asked cautiously.

“…How is he now?”

“At first glance, he appears to be fine. He just received some treatment and went to discuss the matter with Prince Llewellyn.”

He was radiating such intense murderous intent that they couldn’t even nag him to take it easy.

Arthur shrugged, imitating Arendt.

“There’s no way to know what that guy’s really thinking just by looking from the outside.”

“Ugh.”

It was safe to say there was virtually no other way to respond. After all, it was a surprise attack no one had anticipated.

If left alone, Arendt would most likely have died or been seriously injured.

Richt grumbled, scratching his head.

“If you think about it, I did nothing wrong. I don’t really understand why I’m being blamed.”

“There’s no helping it. Right now, all the other seniors are just watching that guy’s every move.”

Arthur replied grumpily, crossing his arms.

Before Llewellyn, unaware of the circumstances, took Arendt away, the Third Knights and Salem were on edge, as if they were on thin ice.

The same thing happened when they were dealing with the aftermath of handing all the prisoners over to Ludwin.

“Why is there never a single quiet day?”

Laius shook his head and sighed. Richt, who had been silent, quietly intervened.

“It’s not really surprising. After all, we’re in the middle of a war…”

“You keep quiet. You didn’t do anything right.”

Then came a reply from Laius that was filled with murderous intent.

Caught off guard, Richt immediately fell silent and lowered his head.

“Sorry.”

Laius felt his heart sink the moment he saw the scene as he rushed over. He couldn’t help but recall that moment, the one he hated to look back on.

At that moment, silence fell into the room again.

A rather rough knock was followed by an impatient voice.

“Captain Laius, are you here?”

It was Prince Ludwin’s aide.

“Excuse me for interrupting. An urgent message has arrived from the Caerleon Empire. Prince Ludwin has requested a meeting regarding it.”

Arthur and Richt, sensing something was wrong, exchanged glances. Laius glanced at them and gave a short reply.

“Understood. I will come to see you soon.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I accompany you?”

When Richt made the polite request, Arthur, seeming to share the same thought, stared silently at Laius.

Originally, it was unthinkable for them to attend the senior officers’ meeting, but now, within the Third Knights, there was no one left to question such matters.

“Richt, can you move now?”

“There’s no problem.”

Richt answered Laius’ concerns with a firm voice.

Then Laius also nodded without saying anything more.

“Then both of you go together.”

The conference room set up in the center of the barracks was quite nice for a temporary facility.

Ludwin, sitting at the head of the large table, greeted Laius with an anxious expression.

“I apologize for the suddenness, Captain Laius. This is a very urgent matter.”

Inside the conference room, Llewellyn, Arendt, Salem, and Shekhinah were already there.

Laius briefly checked Arendt’s complexion as he stood beside Llewellyn. But Arendt simply averted his gaze. He looked no different from usual.

Eventually, Laius gave up and bowed to the prince.

“No. Sorry I’m late.”

“I apologize for the suddenness, as you probably haven’t even recovered from the fight yet.”

Prince Ludwin, whose complexion had somehow worsened compared to before, began to speak.

“Before that… I’d like to thank you for safely rescuing the prisoners. If it weren’t for you, Captain, they would have all perished. Or perhaps they would have been blackmailed by the enemy and forced to work for the Evil God. I once again express my gratitude on behalf of His Majesty the King.”

“No. I just did what I had to…”

Just as Laius was about to bow, a curt voice suddenly interrupted.

“Save the empty compliments for after everything’s done. Let’s get to the main point.”

Naturally, the owner of the voice was Arendt, who was standing there with a sour expression.

“I understand this is a very urgent matter, but if you keep wasting time, I might just bluntly say it myself.”

Ludwin and Laius both looked as if they were about to die of a headache.

Arthur and Richt blatantly started to look the other way, while Shekhinah and Salem also showed their unwillingness to get involved by staring into space.

Ludwin swallowed a sigh and pressed his temples.

“You’ve worked very hard, Captain Laius.”

“…I’m sorry. I’ll correct his manners.”

Laius bowed his head in guilt. The conversation veered off course again, and Arendt began to open his mouth, but Llewellyn quickly intervened.

“Rather than that, let’s get to the main point first. Captain Laius needs to understand the situation quickly, doesn’t he, brother?”

“…Yeah. That’s right.”

Prince Ludwin, who had barely managed to calm his migraine, began to speak.

“We just received urgent news. They say fighting has broken out in other kingdoms as well.”

The faces of Laius, Richt, and Arthur froze at the same time.

Prince Ludwin, changing the mood, continued speaking seriously.

“They say they contacted Captain Laius via the communication channel, but he was in the treatment room, so it seems he didn’t receive it. Currently, the Caerleon Empire, the Nephele Kingdom, and the Lucain Kingdom have all been attacked.”

“An attack… is that what you mean?”

“Yes. It seems like there wasn’t even time to respond.”

Ludwin nodded at Laius’ question.

“I’ve received word that one of the Nephele Kingdom’s territories has been completely occupied, and that the neighboring territory is currently engaged in a defensive battle. The Lucain Kingdom’s outer territory has been engulfed in flames, and the fire has yet to be brought under control.”

“…”

“His Majesty Victor has relayed that there are no survivors. And the whereabouts of the man named Roger, who raided the territory of the Lucain Kingdom, are also unknown.”

As the story continued, Laius’ face grew colder. Arendt, who had been silent, intervened.

“And it’s said that Nikephoros appeared in the Caerleon Empire. He massacred people in a city not far from the palace, kidnapped the survivors, and then suddenly disappeared.”

“What?”

“Lord Lexion noticed that Nikephoros had moved and immediately responded, but by the time he arrived, he had already disappeared.”

As Laius frowned, Arendt shrugged.

“So, I heard that Stellar is tracking down the missing people and is tracking down Nikephoros. But it won’t be easy, since they’re up against a dragon.”

“…”

The situation was more dire than they had imagined, and the knights were left speechless.

“They say they’ve dispatched reinforcements to the Nephele and Lucain Kingdoms. Captain Diana and Lexion will remain at the Imperial Palace, while the First Knight Order will head to the Lucain Kingdom, and Instructor Zakar and Lord Ragnald are on their way to the Lucain and Nephele Kingdoms.”

In the silent meeting room, Arendt slowly spoke in a voice that carried a relaxed tone, oddly out of place given the situation.

“The High Priest has personally dispatched priests to treat the injured and repair the damage. The Neumann and East Merchant Groups have also temporarily joined forces to provide necessary relief supplies.”

“…I see.”

After a long time, Laius nodded with a stern face.

Arendt added curtly, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has instructed us to focus on this matter for now. Since other places have already begun responding, we’re to handle the situation in the Everan Kingdom first and then return.”

“…Amid all this, I have quite a simple question, though.”

Ludwin, who had been silent for a moment, finally gave in to his curiosity and spoke again.

“How come Sir Arendt was able to get the news faster than I was?”

“I heard from Lord Neumann. I have a significant stake in the Neumann Merchant Group. After receiving a brief explanation of the situation, I contacted His Highness the Crown Prince directly. Is there a problem?”

The problems were numerous, to the point where they were overflowing. First of all, a mere apprentice knight was contacting the Crown Prince so recklessly.

“…No. Forget it.”

But Ludwin decided not to pursue personal matters. He had already realized that a lengthy discussion would not be beneficial.

“That said, we can’t just sit around here forever.”

Arendt added, nodding his head cheekily.

“For now, let’s get things under control as quickly as possible and then return. It’s not a good idea for us to be tied up here for too long.”

“That’s right. But I don’t think things will end easily….”

As Llewellyn, who had been silent until then, sighed, Shekhinah cautiously added.

“This time, it was a quick operation, so there wasn’t much damage, but the enemy’s strength was beyond imagination.”

“I don’t have much experience, but it seems like the enemies have gotten stronger than before.”

Salem muttered, his face clouded.

It ended like this thanks to the Third Knights who were accustomed to dealing with ghouls and the elves who could attack from a distance. It was understandable that the preceding expedition force and the lord’s forces were completely annihilated.

Llewellyn nodded and pointed out.

“That’s right. And it seems like there’s no longer a limit on the number of entities they can summon.”

“That must be because of that damned miracle soldier or that homunculus.”

Arendt answered coldly.

Among the homunculi created by Jiklin, there was one that constantly created ghouls within its body.

It seemed that once it was completed, ghouls poured out endlessly.

“It won’t be easy, as you said, but there is a simple solution.”

Arendt tilted his head and spoke briefly.

“Get rid of the leader first.”

In an instant, the air in the conference room became cold.

There was a blatant murderous tone in Arendt’s voice.

Even Ludwin, who was unfamiliar with Arendt, froze for a moment.

“Let’s start by catching and killing that crazy elf bastard. We can wipe out the rest of the bastards after that.”

Considering that Arendt rarely showed his emotions, this was quite unusual.

He seemed fine, but his judgment was definitely distorted because of what happened earlier.

‘What are you going to do about that?’

‘…’

Richt quietly avoided Arthur’s accusing gaze.

Honestly, he felt very wronged.