Zich and Joachim reached the battlegrounds. Knights and soldiers on Joachim’s side surrounded the inner areas and struggled to break through the inner gate. On the other hand, Biyom’s knights and soldiers were also persistent and resisted inside the narrow gate.
“Sir Joachim has arrived!” Brod cried out loud. The rest of Joachim’s knights and soldiers also cried out in support. Joachim had already gotten off Brod’s back. Even though his health had never been good and it worsened because of his imprisonment, he tried to conceal his poor condition. He straightened his shoulders and strengthened his posture to the point that Brod’s eyes became filled with admiration.
“Stop the battle!” Joachim’s voice was not amplified by mana. However, the intense charisma in his voice was enough to reach the people around him. Even the people who did not follow Joachim became filled with admiration. His hatred for power struggles was clearly displayed in front of everyone. Joachim pushed away Brod who tried to support him and walked to the front. The knights and soldiers opened up a path for him, and Joachim stopped right in front of the inner gate. Then he stared at the people who were guarding the gate.
“…It has been a while, Sir Carlowen.”
“Yes, it has been a while, Sir Joachim.”
A completely white-haired elderly knight greeted Joachim.
“Sir Carlowen, if I am not wrong, you seem to be the leader of that group.”
“Yes, you are right.”
“Won’t you surrender to us?” Joachim requested.
“Sir, that will never happen.”
“I’m disappointed, Sir Carlowen. Don’t you know that Biyom spread infectious diseases and killed countless people? As an aide for my father, haven’t you worked to provide the best lives for the citizens of this estate in the past? Were your past behaviors all lies?”
Rather than anger, Joachim felt regretful. As a top aide for Count Dracul, Gloce Carlowen was known to be loyal, moral, and most of all—strong. Joachim had a hard time believing that Carlowen, who was respected and admired by all the Dracul knights, would side with a power-hungry person like Biyom.
“Biyom. Biyom. You keep mentioning Biyom.” Carlowem muttered Biyom’s name to himself. His mouth was crooked, and he continued with a cynical tone, “Do you think I—no, we are moving for that fat bastard?”
At his words, his surroundings became noisy. ‘Fat bastard’—it was not a suitable way to call his master’s son at all. Carlowen’s harsh words shocked the people around him.
“Are you saying that you don’t follow Biyom? Then for what reason have you thrown yourself into this battlefield! Please don’t tell me that this is my father’s will.”
“How would I know the will of the dying Count? He’s already half-dead, counting the last of his days. As his son, were you seriously not aware of how severe his condition was?”
No. Joachim could not believe the person in front of him was Carlowem. Regardless of how he addressed Biyom, the Carlowem he knew would never talk about his father like that. All of Joachim’s knights and soldiers were shocked that Carlowem talked as if he was mocking the Count’s condition. They were even more shocked because they assumed that while Carlowem was on their opposing side, his loyalty to the Dracul estate was immutable.
“…You have already thrown away your honor and loyalty! How have you fallen so low!” Joachim loudly reprimanded Carlowem. At Joachim’s words, Carlowem’s complexion suddenly changed. The mockery in his face disappeared, leaving only cold bloodthirst.
“…Honor? Are you talking about honor, Sir Joachim?”
“Yes!” Joachim replied. Carlowem laughed hysterically. His laugh was so loud it sounded as if he was letting out all of his mockery, wrath, and pent-up frustration at once.
“Sir Carlowem, why are you laughing!” With a beet-red face, Brod shouted at Carlowem. Brod’s heart was in turmoil as he watched someone he had respected all his life mock the person he served.
“Sir Brod, you are young. You are different from old people like me.”
Carlowem’s army was made up of older knights. A significant reason why Joachim had not been able to easily attack the inner gates was because Carlowem’s army had a lot of experience and expertise.
“You don’t have much to lose, and you are filled with confidence. You also want to constantly improve yourself. But most of all, you don’t know anything at all.”
“What do I not know!”
“It’s fine. The plan has already been ruined. We will all probably die here. I don’t even want to continue living. Ask the rest to the person behind us.”
And with these words, Carlowem pulled out his sword. His action clearly indicated that he no longer wanted to continue this conversation. The atmosphere turned violent and tense again. However, Joachim’s army hesitated to approach the inner gate.
A few minutes ago, they were caught in the heat of the battle and pointed their swords at Carlowem and his army, but they used to be on the same side. Moreover, the knights who stood guard in front of the inner gate were all knights that the younger knights greatly respected. It was a difficult battle not only because of the older knights’ skills, but because of the younger knight’s affection towards them. However, they could not continue to stand still.
“I will go.”
When Joachim was about to make an order to attack, Zich stepped up.
“Since your soldiers highly respect Carlowem and his army, I think it will be better for me to fight them since I have no connection to them.”
“Are you sure? Carlowem is the best knight in our estate.”
“That’s fine.”
After Zich relieved Joachim’s concerns, Zich walked towards the elderly knights. Carlowem’s eyes sparkled.
“You were the extra variable that ruined our plans.”
“I don’t really have anything I want to say to you folks.”
He had no information to obtain from them. Zich drew out his sword. Even though Carlowem was the strongest in the Dracul estate, he was nothing compared to the strongest knights in Steelwall such as Tiner and Chris Nunn. Steelwall possessed a military force so mighty that it was dubbed as the Kingdom’s metal fortress. Compared to the knights in Steelwall, the knights in Dracul could not compare. There was an unbridgeable gap between their skills.
Tap!
Zich jumped past the inner gate. Swords came down to pierce him. All of the older knights’ movements were precise and skilled. As older knights, they had less muscular strength, but their mana control and experiences made them much stronger than younger knights. However, Zich was different. The amount of mana he had was similar or more than the older knights. Moreover, Zich had more muscular strength, and his experience and skills were far superior.
Classsh!
Zich blocked all of the older knights’ swords that came down upon him like a wave. The older knights’ eyes were filled with surprise. They realized that in terms of strength and skill, Zich was far superior to them. But it did not make sense. Unless he was a person from Steelwall that went to war as often as eating dinner, they should have been the ones who were more experienced and skilled. They couldn’t believe that a young person like Zich who looked as if he had just reached adulthood was more skilled than them. However, that was the hard truth.
Clash! Clash! Claaaaash!
Although the old knights had blocked parts of the entrance to hinder Joachim’s forces, it was backfiring on them now. Of course, since it was an entrance to a castle, it was much wider than normal, but with his skills and experience, Zich was able to use the entrance’s width to his advantage.
“You bastaaard!”
A knight with a completely white mustache dashed towards Zich, but he completely missed his attack. Then, he paid the price for attempting to attack Zich.
Crack!
“Kuaaah!”
Zich’s sword swirled violently with mana and pierced through the knight’s armor and sliced the knight’s heart. The knight clutched onto his bleeding heart and retreated back. Other knights pointed their swords at Zich to save the knight with the mustache, but Zich’s movements were always one step ahead of them.
Push!
Zich struck his sword into the mustache knight’s face, and the knight dropped his sword.
“You bastard!”
At their companion’s death, the other old knights burned with rage. Joachim sensed their momentum falling and didn’t miss his chance to strike.
“It’s time! Move forward now!”
It was only one death, but the old knights’ forces’ powers had been chipped. Moreover, Joachim used the mustache knight’s death to actively guide the knights and soldiers.
“Even if we became enemies, our opponents are the seniors we admired. Are you going to let them die in another person’s hands?”
The looks on the knights and soldiers’ eyes changed, and they put more strength into their grip while holding onto their weapons.
‘He is different from Biyom.”
Carlowen looked at Joachim. Joachim, the second son of Count Dracul, had managed to erase the hesitation of his knights and soldiers. If he didn’t have such a weak constitution, Joachim would have inherited his father’s place a long time ago.
‘But it’s useless.’
It was too late to think about this now, and Carlowem had to accept his fate and meet his end in peace. Joachim pushed ahead with his forces. Long spears pushed them back and knights pierced their swords in gaps between the old knights’ defenses. The old knights counterattacked with all the strength they had, but in the end, they couldn’t beat their opponent’s numbers.
Besides, Zich was also attacking and causing them a huge headache. Thanks to Zich’s lead, Joachim’s forces moved smoothly without blocking each other, and even without receiving direct commands, they naturally followed Zich’s movements.
‘How is this possible?’ Zich’s movements were so impressive that Carlowem couldn’t help but mutter this to himself.
Punch! Slice!
Armor collapsed and bodies were sliced. Old knights began to fall to the ground one by one. In the end, even Carlowem’s head rolled to the ground. The gate fell below them.
“Advance!” Joachim shouted, “Go inside and find Biyom Dracul and Besnol Shalom! I will go to the Count!”
Soldiers rushed into the castle, and Joachim also went inside with Brod and a couple of other knights. Zich, who had been waiting, joined Joachim, and Hans stuck to his side. They immediately headed towards the Count’s bedroom. The old knights at the castle’s gates had been the main ones resisting Joachim’s army, so nobody else in the castle blocked their paths.
They jumped down the stairs and crossed through the hallway. A fancy room soon appeared.
Bam!
Brod kicked the room’s door open. The hinge broke off, and the door crumpled and rolled to the ground. They were able to see the room in full view. In contrast to the chaotic situation inside the castle, the Count’s room was peaceful and calm. It was fancy and clean as usual, and on top of the bed, the Count lay there with his eyes closed. His complexion looked poor, but he was still alive. People sighed in relief at the sight. But when they saw another figure appear behind the bed, they heightened their guard.
“…You arrived in the end.”
“Shalom…!”
Joachim got off Brod’s back and glared.
“Yes, Sir Joachim. Seeing that you are here, it seems that the stupid robed man failed. He kept going on about corrupting people and all that, but I guess he was just all talk.”
“…Where is my brother?”
“Do you still have some affection for him after going through so much? That’s some touching brotherly love. Even the pigs at the barns would admire you for it.”
Shalom’s mocking speech wasn’t like that of a person who worked under Biyom.
“Carlowem told me you guys don’t follow my brother. It seems you are like him and his comrades.”
“…What happened to Carlowem and the others?”
“We killed them.”
“…Is that so? They are all dead?”
Shalom expressed a bit of sadness. It was a completely different reaction than the one he had shown while talking about the Count and his family. However, that didn’t last long.
“…I was caught up in my emotions for a moment. Did you say you wanted to know where Biyom Dracul is? There’s no reason why I shouldn’t tell you.”
Shalom arched his back and reached his hand to the back of the bed. He moved his hands roughly like he was dealing with a piece of meat and dragged something out. What came out of his grasp was a human—but it was not a human in normal condition.
Zich and Joachim’s task force had seen a person in a state like that before. Patients infected by severe infectious diseases in the villages they visited had looked like him.
“He is here. Why don’t you greet him?”
“Uh, ooh, uhhhhhhh….” Biyom moaned lightly; because of the intense pain he felt, he couldn’t even properly moan and left his viewers in shock.
“…Brother?”
“Yes. This is your brother.”
Shalom hit Biyom with the edge of his feet. Biyom spluttered like a fish taking its last breath after having been dragged out of the water. Someone had spread the infectious disease inside the castle; Joachim thought that the culprit was Biyom. However, after hearing the old knight’s words and seeing the situation in front of him, he realized the truth.
“It was you, Shalom! You were the mastermind behind everything!”
“You realized it too late, Sir Joachim.”
Shalom admitted to Joachim’s words coldly.