Chapter 173 : My Warm, Bone-chillingly Cold Hometown

“……It seems the evil cult bastards have completely disappeared from within our kingdom?”

At the words of Iron’s King, Lockhart Iron I, the chancellor immediately bowed his head.

“It has been almost two months since the knights capable of using ‘Veil Lifting’ have been scouring the kingdom. It seems the search is complete, at least among the nobles, knights, and officials.”

“Hmm…”

However, that report was unlikely to please the king.

They had been unilaterally beaten until now, and now the enemy had simply fled.

“Are you certain?”

“I am sorry, but if that weren’t the case, it’s impossible that their tails wouldn’t have been caught by now. ‘Veil Lifting’ is a technique whose effectiveness even that Black Knight acknowledged.”

“……That is true.”

The face of a young knight flashed through the king’s mind.

The Black Knight of the North, who had unraveled the clues in a crisis that could have overthrown the kingdom.

“For now, the tail he found in Aslan is our only clue. Honestly, all the other clues we were chasing…”

“Headed for the Deus Empire, you mean.”

“……Yes.”

At the king’s words, the chancellor’s face darkened as he bowed his head deeply.

Consequently, the king’s expression could not help but harden.

“The evil cultists have hidden themselves in the Empire, and in the worst-case scenario, the Empire may be behind them. Of course, considering past incidents, the possibility seems small, but…”

The chancellor, unable to lift his head, trailed off.

“……All sorts of monsters live in the den of evil that has become the center of the world. Seeing what those bastards are doing, it’s unlikely they’re receiving support at the Empire level, but it wouldn’t be strange if some crazy monster was behind them.”

At the king’s words, the chancellor only bowed his head deeper.

“You said the tail found in Aslan was the Legner family, Viscount?”

“Yes. However, no matter how low-ranking a noble they are, the moment our country directly interferes, a war will break out.”

War.

At that single word, a heavy silence fell upon the king’s office once again.

Then.

“……They are the minions who have continuously carried out acts of terror against our country. We cannot simply let them go.”

“However…”

“Tell the royal investigation team to disguise themselves and wait at the border.”

“Your Majesty!!”

“And deliver the information to the Imperial family.”

“……Pardon?”

A question appeared on the face of the chancellor, who had been trying to stop the king.

“Unless the Deus Imperial family has gone completely mad, they wouldn’t be backing the Demon Cult. I will subjugate them with their tacit permission or cooperation. It would be even better if the Empire stepped up themselves.”

Even as he said so, a deep worry was etched on the king’s face.

He himself was not confident in his own decision.

At that, the chancellor bit his lip and raised his head again.

“Then, what about the Northern King instead of the Imperial family?”

“The Northern King?”

“The poison master who committed terror at the royal palace was a wanted man for killing many of the Northern King’s direct line. If there are any powers in the Empire who are definitively on bad terms with the Demon Cult, it would be the Northern Royal family.”

The Four Directional Kings of the Empire.

Relatives of the Imperial family, royalty who were responsible for and managed a part of the vast imperial territory.

At the name of the royal family in charge of the north, the king’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yes. Since the Legner family is also a northern noble, that would be more certain. A good idea, Lebron.”

“I am humbled, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Then, that matter will be handled that way, tell Anthony. And if a reply comes, pay special attention and report it immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, and one more thing.”

“Pardon?”

“Is the new Red Iron’s adaptation training over?”

“Ah, yes. He was a knight with literally genius-level talent. The experience he gained from the Contest of Virtue and the Knight’s Grand Tournament has been quickly assimilated, and he has now reached the level of a mature 5-Star. Furthermore, Sir Hansen guaranteed that he possesses special martial prowess even among Corporeal Arts users of the same class. He also said that he will possess the highest level of martial prowess among the Red Iron Knights within 10 years at the latest.”

“Indeed, does the master of a remarkable destiny also make those around him grow? How desirable.”

“Pardon?”

“Isn’t it already famous that the new Red Iron has a deep connection with the Black Knight? It feels like the talent of the kingdom is calling to talent.”

At the king’s pleased smile, the chancellor’s expression changed subtly.

It was clear that he did not agree, but instead of scolding him, the king changed the subject to the story of the young knight he had just thought of.

“That Black Knight, Muno Drasen, where is he now?”

“……I heard a report that he has temporarily returned to Drasen to reorganize. But why do you ask?”

The chancellor seemed displeased that the king was paying attention to the movements of a mere knight, but the king just smiled.

“I need to attach a safety device to the rising star of our kingdom.”

“Pardon?”

“Because I want to catch any other tails that might be targeting that Muno fellow. Chancellor, you will separately monitor for any suspicious movements around him.”

“That is too much, Your Majesty.”

“No, it’s not.”

The words left behind by the kingdom’s strongest old knight lingered in the king’s mind.

– That power he has, the power to eat magic. It wasn’t an artifact, but his innate ability, Your Majesty.

– If he becomes a Seven-Star, if that happens, then even those monsters in the Empire…

The words the great Dragon Sword Duke had guaranteed.

‘That fellow, he even deceived me.’

It was audacious, but thinking of the possibility, he could only laugh.

So.

“You can call it overcautiousness. Follow the order. The Black Knight is an indispensable talent in the fight against the Demon Cult. No matter how the Northern King responds, the day of another clash with those bastards will not be far off.”

“……Yes. Your Majesty.”

Apart from having the chancellor watch over Muno, the king was thinking of adding another measure.

– I have delivered a tool to summon me, so rest assured, Your Majesty.

Excluding the whimsical Seven-Star, the Dragon Sword Duke, who even the king himself could not control.

‘The new Red Iron and ‘Knight of Perfection’ Hansen. That should be enough.’

They would follow Muno from afar, their identities concealed.

If the Dragon Sword Duke and Anthony’s guarantees were true, the Black Knight had already become a powerhouse that could not be judged by the number of evolutions alone.

He was planning to attach a reliable fisherman to the now more powerful bait.

‘Protect Muno Drasen for certain. Only then can we… those bastards.’

The thoughts of King Lockhart Iron I, who was gauging the potential of the young knight, soon extended beyond the kingdom to the world outside.

He began to ponder the fundamental problem, leaving aside the immediate terrorist group, the Demon Cult.

‘The Imperial family may be hushing it up, but they must have reached their limit by now. The flow of all materials says so.’

Perhaps the Demon Cult is also an impurity derived from that flow.

“But Your Majesty.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you going to do about the suspended succession war?”

“Is the third one in the lead so far?”

“Yes. But the first and second princes are still protesting that they cannot accept it. And the fourth prince also…”

“Haaah…”

Even the giant who was grasping the flow of the world beyond the kingdom could not help but be troubled by the problem of his children.

“That is…”

As the king’s worries shifted in another direction.

The young knight who had received all his attention was gathering new knights in his hometown.

* * *

“New knights… twelve?”

Muno let out a dry laugh as he looked at the knights lined up before him.

After Eli was so thoroughly crushed, there were a total of eleven knights left in Drasen.

But now, they said there were twelve newly recruited knights.

And on top of that.

“McCollin? Are you a 3-Star?”

“Oh, yes. That’s right, Grand Prince. How did you know that at a glance? As expected of the Black Knight…!”

This bearded knight, who was making a fuss, was a 3-Star, and among the other eleven, there were four 2-Star level knights mixed in.

In Drasen, Sir Gunter, who could be called the commander, was a 3-Star, and the only 2-Star knight was Rodney.

Knights with a level of power that overwhelmed the existing forces had been newly recruited.

Wasn’t this literally a situation where the rolling stone was ousting the embedded stone?

‘Well, now there’s my father, a 5-Star knight.’

It seemed like an excessive reinforcement of power in a short period.

“Brother, how is it? Any demonic energy?”

“……None.”

“As expected! Father used Slayer to do that Veil Lifting thing on all of them.”

“Father did? No, before that, where did all these people…?”

He was bewildered with confusion, but then Lian stood in front of the knights with a grin and spread his arms wide as if to boast.

“The land ruled by the Behemoth Slayer, the Knight of Gluttony. And the hometown of the Black Knight. The reason the free knights are applying is clear. Well, there were a few bastards who tried to sneak in with demonic energy and got crushed.”

While Lian was proudly rattling on, many of the knights lined up behind him were seen flinching.

Not just the others, but even the 3-Star level knight McCollin glanced at Lian with fear-filled eyes.

Why on earth?

“……Lian, what did you do?”

“What do you mean, what did I do? I did what was necessary to protect Drasen.”

Seeing his grinning face, it seemed he had no intention of answering properly.

“If you keep avoiding it like that, I’ll have to ask Father directly.”

“……Aww, brother. It’s just that the times being what they are, I thoroughly verified their identities.”

“What?”

“Since there were no knights who could do that Veil Lifting, we conducted a process of double interrogation and cross-verification. And if a lie was discovered, they were made to pay the price.”

…A price? What kind?

A cold smile flashed across the face of his younger brother, whom he had thought was just a child, and even that ordinary word felt strangely brutal.

“That is, until Father intervened with Slayer, saying it was a bit excessive. I had no idea it was possible to do Veil Lifting with the mana of an artifact.”

Hah.

“And Uncle Gunter played a big part in that. Ah! Of course, I compensated him handsomely.”

He didn’t fully understand what he was saying.

No, he didn’t want to understand.

Seeing most of the new knights turn pale at the name ‘Gunter,’ it seemed the rolling stone problem he was worried about earlier would be naturally resolved.

‘Lian, what on earth did you…!’

He couldn’t get used to the completely different side of his cute younger brother, whom he had known for a long time.

However.

“Salute!”

“Saluute! McCollin and 11 others solemnly swear to dedicate even our souls to Drasen!”

Seeing them so thoroughly disciplined, he couldn’t just blame Lian.

But that made his thoughts even more complicated.

“Then the reason I came all the way to Drasen is…”

So much so that a dry laugh escaped him.

Still.

“Sir Muno, why don’t you rest a little while you’re at it? You’ve had a lot going on recently.”

Rauel, who was patting his shoulder from behind.

“Brother, Drasen is no longer weak. No, it will continue to grow stronger. As long as I am here, it will never be your weakness.”

Listening to his younger brother’s words, which seemed to completely read his mind, he thought it might be okay to relax his heart.

“So, while you’re here, please rest comfortably.”

The gaze of his younger brother, who showed him an unfamiliar side yet still looked at him with warm eyes, had the power to calm his heart comfortably even amidst this tremendous change.

‘Should I really rest a little?’

Is that okay?

The moment he had that thought, he could feel a smile slowly spreading on his lips.

Of course, he didn’t think the ill-fated relationship that had held him back since childhood would be easily shaken off.

But at least now that he was in his hometown, the warmth that seeped in reassuringly seemed to comfort his weary soul.

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