WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 163: The Red Banquet (2)

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Kyle looked at the six knights who had appeared out of nowhere. At the same time, dusty memories came crashing over him like waves.

The past, before Hailen fell. A time he could now remember only in dreams.

Back then, the Knights of Ash had just over fifty members. Even including the squires, they barely numbered over a hundred. As a royal order directly under the crown, the Knights of Ash were smaller than other knight orders. They were selective about whom they recruited.

Because of that, they always suffered from a shortage of men during the Northern War. The Empire had several elite knight orders besides the Celestial Knights. Hailen's knights were no less skilled, but the difference in population was overwhelming.

The north was barren, while the Empire was prosperous. The gap in national power was simply too great, so they had no choice but to fight from a disadvantage. Even so, they had not lost hope. At least in the early days of the war, the Knights of Ash had not suffered many losses.

And now, only nine of us remain, including me.

One by one, the knights removed their hoods. Familiar faces emerged in the sunset, and Kyle clenched his teeth without realizing it.

Gerant, Egil, Ivar, Bjorn, Hakon, Sten.

He knew every one of them. More than that, they were dear to him. They were painfully dear to him. Old comrades who had prepared themselves for death, who he had been certain were gone for good, were standing right in front of him. Countless emotions ran through him.

Should he be grateful that this many had survived when they had expected to be wiped out? Or should he mourn most of the missing members, who had died and vanished without even leaving bodies to recover?

Lost in his turmoil, Kyle could not find his footing. It felt as though something had lodged in his throat, and no sound would come out.

What was he even supposed to say? Should he apologize first? Tell them he was sorry?

He had imagined this many times. Yet now that he faced them, fear washed over him. The fear that they might resent him.

But their first words were nothing like what he had expected.

“Kyle...?”

“So it was true. You’re alive.”

“This isn’t a dream, is it?”

The knights slowly approached. Kyle remained standing there in a daze.

“Thank goodness.”

Gerant, the first to come within arm’s reach, pulled Kyle into a tight embrace. Kyle had no time to react. For a moment, his lips moved soundlessly at the familiar embrace. Then he awkwardly placed an arm around Gerant’s back.

“You’ve gotten so thin.”

“Looks like you’ve been through hell.”

“You’re alive. That’s enough. At least all your limbs are intact.”

“I heard Cassius Mortein did a real number on you.”

“That was because of that damned curse.”

After that, the other knights took turns pulling Kyle into embraces. He did not resist. He simply stood still.

“Is your body all right?”

“I...”

“He’s fine. His recovery is abnormally fast, so he’s already healed. The curse is gone too.”

Walter, standing beside Kyle, cut in. Suspicion flashed in the knights’ eyes. They all glared at Walter at once.

“Already healed? Didn’t you say his body was pierced through?”

“That’s right. I could barely believe my eyes at first. It was a fatal injury, one that could’ve killed him, but he healed strangely fast.”

“Cassius Mortein isn’t the kind of bastard to be that careless...”

“What about the curse? You’re saying it’s really gone?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? Ask whether that damned thorn is still in him.”

“If that’s true, the Commander would feel wronged enough to die twice.”

It was a familiar conversation. A familiar sight.

It was something he had often seen before. The Knights of Ash had been informal, with little regard for barriers of status. Since Hailen fell four years ago, it had remained only a memory.

Just as Kyle, overcome with longing, was about to speak...

“Enough. That’s enough.”

Hermann, who had remained silent the entire time, spoke for the first time. As though they had agreed beforehand, the knights in the midst of their reunion fell quiet.

“I know you’re happy to see each other again, but we have things to do.”

“......”

“How is the current situation?”

Hermann looked at Gerant, the most skilled of the six remaining knights.

“So far, there have been no problems.”

“Did anyone tail you?”

“No. We erased every trace as we went, so they won’t be able to find us. Ah, though maybe by coincidence, there was one guy lurking around nearby a few days ago without a shred of caution...”

“So there was one after all.”

Hermann let out a low groan and raised his head.

The light of the setting sun had deepened. Unlike the busy shopping districts and main streets, the outskirts of Renavik were quiet. As a city of a million people, it had many places beyond the reach of the guards. Hermann narrowed his eyes for a moment, then spoke in an even voice for everyone to hear.

“Let’s move first. This isn’t a good place to talk.”

* * *

With Gerant in the lead, the remaining Ash Knights crossed a maze of winding alleys. Kyle quietly followed behind them.

At the same time, he instinctively drew up his mana. Perhaps because he had trained hard, he could use Prisia’s mana more easily than before. That did not mean he could use it freely. Kyle sharpened his five senses and spread the faint mana he had drawn up over the surrounding area.

There isn’t anyone nearby.

Had they deliberately chosen a place like this? Or had they cleared the area out by some means? Either way, it was convenient not to have anyone watching them.

As Kyle entertained that idle thought, Gerant, who had been walking ahead, stopped in front of a rundown building.

“This is one of the hideouts we prepared in Renavik. It’s your first time seeing it, right?”

Walter snickered. Kyle answered with a small nod.

The six Ash Knights, including Gerant, opened the old door and entered first. After exchanging brief glances, Kyle, Hermann, and Walter stepped inside a moment later. The interior was no better than its exterior. Several empty liquor bottles lay scattered around the room, which looked as though it had once been a cheap tavern.

“It couldn’t be helped if we wanted to keep up the disguise. Bear with it. The smell of alcohol...”

Gerant muttered as if making excuses. Kyle asked casually.

“Have you been drinking?”

“A little?”

“You still like alcohol.”

“And you’ve become too stiff to be any fun. You were better when you were young...”

“More importantly, tell us more about what you were saying earlier. Izra’s Thorn disappeared because of Prisia’s Dragon Heart? That treasure of the imperial family?”

As they chatted, Sten, one of the Ash Knights, pulled out a map from behind the bar. He spread it over the largest table in the middle of the tavern.

“All right, quiet.”

Hermann spoke briefly. The expressions of the knights who had been trading pointless jokes changed at once.

“Kyle, as I told you before, we intend to replace the Council. More precisely, we’re going to get rid of those imperial collaborators who call themselves moderates. Otherwise, we have no hope of fighting the Empire.”

Hermann tapped the map with a thick finger. It showed not only Renavik’s major streets, but also the detailed alleys and underground waterways of its outskirts.

“Our operation is simple.”

His finger glided over the map before stopping at the royal castle in its center.

“At the banquet before the Council’s grand assembly in ten days, we’ll weed out the moderate nobles and royals. The King of Russel and the King of Selaine in particular, no matter what. The Chevaliers will block off the outside, so we only need to focus on the interior.”

“Are we killing them?”

“With the exception of a few nobles, including the King of Selaine, yes. Some can be negotiated with, and some cannot.”

“There must be quite a few skilled knights and mages among those attending the banquet. If they have any sense, won’t they prepare in advance?”

“Probably. But that won’t be much of a problem. Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

Hermann looked at Kyle. His eyes were calm, utterly free of concern. Kyle shook his head.

“No.”

“There will be nominal security, but it won’t be a problem. The important thing isn’t whether we succeed or fail. It’s how quickly we can finish this.”

At first, it sounded almost arrogant. But Kyle could not deny it. Though they had fallen, the Knights of Ash had once been renowned as the strongest knight order on the continent. Guards who were not even Chevaliers could not stop them.

“The nobles who chose to watch from the sidelines will join our side once the tide turns.”

The sharp-witted nobles would have already sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the city. Still, they would not expect them to act this radically.

“Have you identified the high-ranking nobles who have entered the city so far?”

Hermann turned to Gerant.

“Yes. The Grand Duke’s informants are quite useful. We even cross-checked the information, so it’s certain. Though not everyone has arrived yet...”

“They’re gathering from all over the Federation, so that can’t be helped. They’ll do whatever it takes to come before the banquet anyway. Have you met the Council Knight?”

This time, Hermann questioned another knight.

“Not yet.”

“Have they discovered that we’re active?”

“No. A few observant people may have guessed, but they won’t be certain. On the surface, only the Deputy Commander, Walter, and Kyle are known to be the Grand Duke’s escort knights here. They’d never imagine who we are. At most, they’ll realize after everything is over.”

“Then there are no issues on that front...”

Hermann checked each potential obstacle to the operation one by one. He did not forget to coordinate the smaller details. There was still time before the banquet, but there was no harm in being thorough.

Nothing has changed.

Kyle watched the scene with an oddly familiar feeling. Even when Rowen had been Commander, Hermann had handled the actual operations and command. His martial skill was formidable, but his ability to read the situation and his accumulated experience were unmatched. That remained true even after Kyle was made Commander following Rowen’s death. Hermann was the person Kyle had relied on and who had helped him the most.

“As for what’s left...”

Hermann gestured to Gerant. Gerant signaled to another Ash Knight, and Ivar and Bjorn, who had been listening in silence, went down into the tavern’s basement and dragged a man upstairs.

“This is him.”

The man they dragged in was a complete mess. Blood and pus seeped from wounds scattered across his body. He was the man Gerant had mentioned, the one who had been lurking around nearby without a care. Perhaps he had lost his mind. Even as his face twisted with pain, he wore a foolish grin.

“He’s a merchant, at least according to him. He says he was waiting to meet someone in these nearby alleys for smuggling purposes...”

“An imperial spy?”

“That’s right. We worked him over a little, and whether he lost his mind or gave up, he confessed on his own. A merchant carrying several blades intended for assassination, too.”

Ivar answered Kyle without hesitation. Kyle did not so much as twitch a brow at the mention of torture. He had already seen the worst the world had to offer, so there was no point reacting to such things.

“May I take a look?”

Kyle looked around as he asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. He approached the man, who was on his knees and still had not come to his senses. Kyle bent down and forced the man to meet his gaze.

“Name.”

“......”

“Staying silent is useless. Who are you?”

The man slowly raised his head. Then, as if he had gone insane, he started cackling.

“You fucking bastards...”

“......”

“You’re all knights, right? Acting like you’re so noble, but you’re not that different from gutter trash like us. So... you think this will change the Federation? You think you can really unite it? Huh?”

The man sneered. It was unmistakable mockery. Kyle did not react. He only spoke in the same low voice as before.

“We’ll see.”

“Yeah?”

“How many imperial spies have infiltrated Renavik?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where are your companions?”

“I said I don’t know. How am I supposed to tell you something I don’t know? Torture me all you want, and it’ll be the same. Ah, maybe I’d remember if you untied these...”

Still grinning, the man raised his rope-bound hands in front of Kyle’s eyes as if showing them off. Instead of answering, Kyle rose to his feet and drew Yurian’s sword from his waist.

“Yeah. Hurry up and untie me. Before I change my mind...”

The man brought the rope to the coldly gleaming star iron blade.

Kyle immediately reversed his grip on the hilt and drove the blade into the man’s shoulder blade.

Crunch.

The man’s body convulsed violently. Kyle’s expressionless face was reflected in the man’s eyes, stretched wide with agony.

Footnotes:

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