Chapter 318: I Was Once A Knight
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
In Dragon City Barrack Area, thousands of people divided into two camps and fiercely fought each other—Dragon City Guards on one side, and the church’s priests, holy knights, as well as inquisitors on the other. The war has been going on for half a day after the sword of holy war was unveiled.
During which, numerous foreign forces were alarmed. In the surrounding Dragon City, more than ten cities have sent their people to observe. Some were relatives to City Masters, and some were trusted aides of City Masters. In addition, shadow brotherhood, mercenary associations, and other such forces were also there to varying degrees.
Everyone knew that the outcome of this war would greatly affect the strategic situation in Brettonia in the coming decades and even hundreds of years. Of course, the victory of Holy Light Religion seemed to be certain, meaning that it didn’t have much suspense. However, exactly how much resources and manpower the Holy Light Religion has to spent to destroy Dragon City Guards and Bedivere who was once a Knight of the Round Tables? Would the power of Holy Light Religion in Brettonia grow stronger or weaker? Would those forces who once had a dealing with Dragon City Guards be encumbered by it?
If, incidentally, Dragon City managed to win this battle, then what next? Would Holy Light Religion give up Brettonia? Or would they abandon the chaos in the east and destroy Dragon City first instead? If Holy Light Religion gave up this land, what would happen to the forces here that were intimate with Holy Light Religion?
Also, in addition to quietly waiting for the results here, perhaps they could personally participate in it, wouldn’t that be a bit more beneficial? For example, the Holy Light Religion were obviously going all out in besieging Dragon City Guards, which meant that their rear was very empty. In the past, people only dared to covet the treasury of Holy Light Religion, but now no one was there to guard it. For example, Dragon City, as the most populous and affluent city in Brettonia, definitely has many hidden treasures. Right now, most of the civilians have taken refugees outside the city, so many parts of the city were basically unowned!
And conversely, whether Bedivere won in the end or Holy Light Religion held onto their advantage and thus gained victory, after the war, they must recuperate and restore order. It was impossible for Dragon City to be discarded. If anyone dared to do evil in the city, they would face justice afterward. Therefore, to help maintain the city during the power vacuum would of course win the friendship of the victor—regardless of which side was the winner.
There were so many possibilities, making it really hard for the factions to decide. All of their forces have their own inclinations, but they also have their own concern. Although this incident was a hasty one, it was still the highest profile war in Brettonia in recent decades. In the war, there were nearly a hundred high order professions, which was comparable to a war between any common country. In this chess-like game, any step can have extreme consequences. Either they would enjoy endless splendor, or… die without burial, never having a comeback forever.
Over half a day, the various forces have made their own judgments. Some took the most insurance and decided to just stay on the sideline, not making any move at all. Some were bold enough that they sent people into Dragon City to try to get some small advantage. Some, relying on their strength, decided to join Dragon City and Holy Light Religion, helping in the fight...
However, different from people’s imagination, those who made their move were mainly small forces. The powerful forces around Dragon City, as if by prior agreement, chose to be onlookers.
The greater the force, the more cautious it was. Moreover, there were so many doubts in this battle that it was far more complicated than it seemed. For example, the simplest question, which of the two sides should they support? Most people might choose Holy Light Religion; even without the timely assistance, being the icing on the cake would never go wrong. However, the news that came out of the city had caused these forces to hesitate. The one who provoked Dragon City was the madman from Holy City. That madman was unscrupulous and without any bottom line. A few words from him could frame a faithful Holy Light believer into a traitor, and a single move from him could cause the heads of a hundred priests to fall into the ground. If this kind of person became the future master of Dragon City, who knew if there would be something untoward happening in the future?
For example, he could force the business association to give up all their properties. If they were to refuse, he would say it would be disrespectful to the Holy Light. He then could send an inquisitor to forcefully take away the businessman property, while the lead resistance would be burned to death at a stake… This was something that already has a precedent in the past. Right now, the liveliness of Dragon City, in large part, depended upon the popularity of Archbishop Rowan, making people feel safe to come here to invest. If it were to be led by Faceless One, who would feel safe?
And would the high level decision maker of Holy Light Religion really be assured to let such a madman take charge of Dragon City? Perhaps after the war, he would be recalled back to Holy City and the church would send a new Archbishop, who would start a new public relation process. However, if at this time they rashly went all out to try to curry favor, no one was certain whether the new Archbishop would appreciate their effort or not.
Because of these uncertainties, the big forces have largely chosen to sit on the sideline.
The show within Dragon City really did not disappoint them.
Fifteen kilometers outside the city, at the foot of a snow-capped mountain, a great knight sighed in admiration.
"Dragon City is indeed the most powerful city in Brettonia. This city’s strength is at least equal to less than half of Brettonia. The powerhouses in this place seem to be only Dragon City Guards and Holy Light Religion, the other forces can’t even be compared to them."
This great knight was the son of the city master of Riddle City, which was also the strongest man in that city. He had always prided himself as an intermediate high order profession. However, witnessing this meat-grinder-like war, this great knight was filled with a strong sense of frustration. In just half a day, there were already four or five intermediate high order professions who died in battle. Moreover, the strength of many beginner high order professions on the battlefield was not inferior to him. He was the strongest man in Riddle City, yet if put in this battlefield, perhaps no one would even realize his shadow!
"Hahaha, Mr. Viscount, if you say so, wouldn’t we in Blue Tile City be even worse? As a protector of a small city, I am merely a beginner high order profession. If put on that battlefield, I would be no more than a small fry."
The great knight sneered and didn’t bother to reply to that magician. That guy has always been known for his insidious cunning; although he seemed to be just a beginner high order profession, but there were already quite a lot of intermediate high order professions that have already died in his hand. If he were to fight with him, the great knight at most only has fifty percent winning assurance.
Seeing that the great knight just ignored him, the magician said with a smile, "Moreover, no matter the outcome of this battle, Dragon City would surely suffer a serious decline. See, Dragon City Guards’ resistance is so tenacious that even if Holy Light Religion wins in the end, they would still lose at least half of their people. By then, perhaps us small fries would increase our chances."
The great knight frowned as he looked at the distant battlefield. Suddenly, a burst of warning came through his heart and he hurriedly took a few steps to the side. Immediately, a sharp sword light flashed towards the spot where he previously stood, creating a bottomless crack at the foot of the mountain behind them.
The magician sucked in a mouthful of cold air. "The sword light of Dragon City Master is really overbearing, even after traveling far away, its power is not reduced. I think we should go back a little bit, no?"
But the great knight didn’t answer. He stared at the figure of Bedivere who was tenaciously engaging in a fierce fight in a distant sky. The bloody fighting posture of this Knight of the Round Table has aroused a strong resonance in the heart of this great knight.
After a long time, the great knight subconsciously asked, "Seriously, which sides of this battle that you, Blue Tile City, really hope to win?"
The magician did not expect that there would be such a question, so he was a bit stunned. After seeing that no one was around them, he put out a laughing expression and somewhat reluctantly said, "This kind of thing, is actually not in my mind."
"It’s just an opinion."
The magician looked at the great knight. "Isn’t this question not a problem for most of Brettonia?"
"Do you think so?"
The magician quietly said, "Fifty years ago, I was once a knight just like you, but then I took an arrow to my knee and had to change profession and learn magic. However, to this day, I actually still prefer to be a knight. You know, one of the three cards that I have in my hand is a knight incarnation. Many of the people who tried to fight me in close combat died under this trick."
The great knight froze for a moment, thinking that this magician had actually exposed his card to him. He said without smiling, "Your kind of magician is rare."
"It’s actually not uncommon in Brettonia, this is, after all, a knight’s kingdom. Therefore, most of the people had at least dreamed of being a knight. So if I can choose, I certainly hope for Bedivere to win."
"I remember that once Dragon City and your Blue Tile City had a disagreement."
The magician said, "The last City Master that I previously served was killed by Bedivere, so I really hope for Bedivere to die. However, if he were to die, he should die in the hands of a knight, not in the hands of a sinister and ruthless fanatic. Of course, in view that perhaps there is no knight in the whole Brettonia that could kill him, he also could die in our magician’s hands."
The great knight sighed again. "Brettonia should be the knight’s kingdom, but Dragon City is perhaps the last bastion of the knightly spirit. If it falls today, the spirit of Brettonia will be defeated and scattered."
"Mm, but their opponent is really strong. I’m afraid Bedivere will not be able to hold on for long. That Faceless One of Holy Light Religion is too powerful."
The great knight said, "Advance high order profession, a half step away from the legendary level. Even in the entire Brettonia, only a few could match him. I’m afraid only the former Knights of the Round Table that are a bit more powerful, or even the Knight King himself that could defeat him."
While speaking, in the sky above Dragon City, Bedivere and Faceless One resumed their fierce confrontation. The energy from their fight continued to frantically surge, further tearing the broken sky. This caused the all sort of strange visions in the sky to be even more disordered.
"Tsk, these two guys are really amazing. They even smashed the sky. In this broad daylight, I can actually see a shooting star!" The magician exclaimed, then chuckled and said, "In the legends, if you see a shooting star and make a wish, your wish would be realized."
The great knight knew that this was just a random talk from the magician to suppress his own anxiety, so naturally, he didn’t take it seriously. He just looked at the distant shooting star in one of the sky’s broken pieces and whispered.
"I hope the Knight King will come back from the dead and unite the whole Brettonia."
"Cough!" The magician almost choked. "Don’t you think that your wish is too much?"
However, as soon as his voice fell, in the sky battlefield above Dragon City, there was a decisive change.
The Holy Woman Marina, who was taken hostage by Faceless One, suddenly wriggled her arm and a massive giant sword emerged out of thin air in her hand. And then, like a lightning, she pierced it into the chest of Faceless One.
This stunning change shocked and awed everyone. Thousands of laughing-in-the-face-of-death Dragon City Guards and Holy Light Religion priests, as if by prior agreement, even stopped fighting and looked up to the sky.
Faceless One tossed his other hostage away and forcibly held the giant sword in front of his chest. The majestic holy light magical power was concentrated in his palms, trying to shock the sword into pieces. However, upon colliding with the sword, his magical power bounced back instead and blew away his hands, turning them into a group of blood mist.
At this time, the stature of Holy Woman Marina gradually began to distort. Her tall figure rapidly shrank, and in the blink of an eye, she turned into a petite young woman. Her full brunette hair also changed into blonde. The girl’s deep green eyes were filled with fierce sword intent, her exquisite fine jade nose slightly wrinkled, showing that she was going all out this time.
And the sword that she held, though full of blood, still displayed its uniqueness.
It was the sword that none in Brettonia could mistake for.
The legendary proof of royal power in Brettonia, the bearer was the King of Brettonia.
Caliburn!