WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 175: The Red Banquet (14)
──────
Squeeze.
In the time that seemed to have stopped, Kyle felt the fragile flesh beneath his grip. Philip's neck, held in his left hand, was that thin. The dignity of a king meant nothing at that moment. With just a little more strength, he felt like he could snap it.
Should I kill him?
Countless thoughts swept through his mind in an instant. The current situation and countless possible futures branched out before him. As Prisia's mana stretched his perception of time to an extreme, Kyle shook his head inwardly. Once he set aside his personal feelings, he could judge the situation far more calmly.
No, not yet.
If Philip was to die, it should be later. There would be no point in snapping his neck and killing him instantly.
According to the original plan, Philip of Russel was the only one of the two moderate kings meant to die. Just as Valone was more active than Rustin among the two hardliner kingdoms, Russel, which directly bordered the Empire, was far more closely tied to it than Selaine, which lay in the Federation's rear.
That was why the plan for Selaine had only been to depose its current king. Philip, on the other hand, was supposed to die.
Yet Kyle changed his mind in that brief moment. There were too many things he wanted to know before killing him here, especially about Russel's long-standing secret collusion with the Empire.
So he would not kill him yet.
If he kept Philip alive and could uncover even a little about the Empire and the Emperor...
His body tilted farther.
Kyle, who had been falling under gravity, crashed to the ground while still gripping Philip's neck. A beat later, he saw Sebastian, the king of Selaine, staring at him in stunned disbelief. Ordinary people who could not use mana experienced markedly delayed reactions and thought processes in emergencies. That was why Sebastian had reacted a beat late.
This place is too cramped. It will be difficult to deal with everyone without killing the two kings here. And the knights are stronger than expected. Like that disguised Russel knight who died first by my hand.
What if I lure them outside instead?
Kyle glanced behind him. The banquet hall had descended into chaos. The Ash Knights were there, as was Godfrey, the Commander of the Chevaliers. Even so, they could not completely overwhelm their opponents. The knights of Russel and Selaine were far more skilled than expected.
Felbric, the chairman, could do nothing but panic amid the commotion. Scattered among the crowd, paladins disguised as priests were cutting down the hardliners' knights with holy power as white as Kyle's mana. They would not lose. Still, it would take longer than expected. Both sides were holding back their Sword Aura for fear of causing further casualties.
If this were somewhere more open...
Prisia's mana, which had been racing fiercely through his body, slowly faded. His stretched perception of time began returning to normal.
That was when the commander of the Russel Royal Knights attacked from Kyle's blind spot.
Scarlet mana flared along the tip of the thrusting sword.
"...Crazy bastards."
Kyle cursed without realizing it. The Sword Path ran straight through both Kyle, who was standing awkwardly, and Philip, who had fallen to the floor. Faced with that swift thrust, which did not even spare its own king, Kyle reflexively grabbed Philip by the collar and raised his sword diagonally.
A heavy force jolted through his fingertips.
Clang!
A sharp metallic crash rang out, and Kyle was thrown backward with Philip. The full-length windows along the banquet hall wall shattered all at once.
Quite a few knights locked in fierce combat turned at the sudden disruption. Kyle and Philip were flying through the air.
"Your Majesty Philip!"
"After them! Do not let them escape!"
"His Majesty has been kidnapped! His Majesty Philip has been kidnapped!"
"Knights! Follow me!"
At the very rear, where the moderate nobles stood, the commander of Russel's Royal Knights led several elite knights out of the banquet hall.
By then, Kyle had landed, and Philip was tumbling pitifully across the ground. Kyle hoisted Philip over his left shoulder and kicked off the ground without hesitation.
"Ugh... Urk... Cough... Ngh..."
Philip's pained groans sounded by his ear. Kyle ignored them. He counted the presences racing after him at a terrifying speed and kept running straight ahead.
The night-darkened royal palace flashed past him.
So this was what they were relying on.
A quiet laugh escaped his lips. Kyle drew up Prisia's mana once more. His sprint became even faster than before. His senses spread outward, making everything around him clear enough to grasp in his hand.
The farther he got from the banquet hall, the quieter it became.
As he passed through the courtyard and raced past the towering buildings. As the carefully maintained gardens and the knights' training grounds fell behind him. Even as he approached the distant wall of the inner castle.
It was silent as a grave.
Not a single guard patrolling the royal palace was in sight. It was as though they had all vanished together.
"Urrgh!"
Kyle stopped near the inner castle wall and roughly threw Philip from his back. Philip, who had been hanging there like baggage, could not regain his senses after the motion sickness and impact of the fall.
Naturally, there were no guards at the gate.
"Did they all run away?"
An unpleasant voice scraped at Kyle's eardrums.
He turned. Six knights were slowly approaching from not far away, surrounding Kyle and Philip against the castle wall. They were all knights who had stood close to Philip as his guards. Among them was the knight commander who had first noticed Kyle's Illusion Magic.
"To dare lay a hand on the king of a nation. Even in death, you will not close your eyes in peace."
The commander of Russel's Royal Knights stopped nearby and spoke. The knights following him halted as well, glaring at Kyle.
"Pretty rich, coming from someone who tried to kill him along with me. Were you going to kill him and silence him once he outlived his usefulness? Or was it the Emperor's order?"
Kyle gave a hollow laugh and nudged Philip, who was still lying beside him, with the tip of his foot. Philip had yet to recover. His head was pressed to the ground as he took ragged breaths.
"The Emperor? You mean the Emperor of the Empire?"
"That's right. Your master isn't this man. He's far away in Archandia."
"What are you..."
"I know the sword form you used earlier to kill Philip and me. You cleverly twisted the Celestial Sword of the Celestial Knights. Did you think I wouldn't recognize it?"
As Kyle sneered, emotion appeared on the otherwise expressionless man's face for the first time. He did not open his mouth, but that reaction alone was an answer.
"It isn't just you. Most of Russel's Royal Knights must be from the Empire."
Kyle spoke with certainty.
The young Russel knight who had challenged him to a spar had possessed strangely exceptional skills. The moderates, including Philip, had remained so calm despite knowing something would happen at the banquet.
It explained everything.
The commander of Russel's Royal Knights himself had been an Imperial knight from the beginning. The rot had spread all the way to the roots.
"You're a wyvern knight, aren't you?"
Kyle spoke as he slowly looked around.
The banquet hall was now so distant that it was hidden behind the palace buildings. All that remained were the bright moon hanging in the clear night sky and the angled shadow cast by the towering castle wall.
"When did it begin? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Or much earlier than that?"
There was no reply.
The disguised Imperial knights, including their commander, stared silently at Kyle.
Then the wyvern knight disguised as Russel's knight commander began to chuckle. The small smile soon became a roar of laughter.
"Ha, haha, hahahaha!"
The wyvern knight's dry laughter echoed loudly through the silent inner castle.
For an instant, the moonlight dimmed. His laughter rolled along the castle wall and stopped only after drifting clouds covered the moon.
"Who are you?"
The wyvern knight cast aside his previous arrogant attitude and looked at Kyle with interest.
The moon, which had been hidden behind the clouds, shone brightly again. Philip, at Kyle's feet, barely regained his senses and lifted his head. He looked back and forth between Kyle and the men who had once been his knights, confusion written across his face.
"Did your Commander not tell you?"
Kyle answered shortly.
The wyvern knight tilted his head, then his gaze stopped on Yurian's sword in Kyle's hand.
"The Blue Wolf is dead. Unless he crawled back up from hell, he cannot be alive."
"Really?"
"...Then I must be seeing things. Or you're simply an impostor."
"It doesn't matter. The end will be the same either way."
The wyvern knight's lips twisted. The other knights surrounding Kyle were no different.
Kyle stared at the wyvern knight. As expected, it was a face he did not remember. Kyle remembered every wyvern knight he had faced during the Northern War, yet this man had not been among them.
He must have held the position of Russel's knight commander for a very long time.
For ten years, perhaps. Maybe even long before Kyle had fallen into this world.
"Tiberon? Why... Why me..."
Philip, still sprawled on the ground and gasping for breath, finally managed to speak as he looked up at the wyvern knight.
Every knight turned toward him. Their gazes were nothing like before, filled only with contempt and mockery. Philip murmured helplessly.
"Why..."
"Why did we try to kill you?"
Philip's body flinched.
The Celestial Sword Tiberon had unleashed in the banquet hall had clearly targeted Kyle and Philip at the same time. If Kyle had not been there, Philip would have already been pierced through by a sword wrapped in red Sword Aura.
"Because you've outlived your usefulness."
"W-what...?"
The wyvern knight spoke without even trying to hide it. Philip's eyes shook violently as though refusing to accept reality.
"Your usefulness has run out. There is no reason to keep you alive any longer."
"His Majesty the Emperor has abandoned me?"
"It was your responsibility to prove your value to the Empire. Isn't the responsibility for failure entirely yours? Had you brought Chairman Felbric over beforehand, it would not have come to this. The Church's paladins would not have needed to intervene either. They were not originally meant to be used today."
"After everything I've done! For His Majesty the Emperor, I endured even as half my kingdom was handed over! And now you're abandoning me?"
"Some things cannot be achieved through desire alone. Do not resent it too much. We will make your final moments comfortable."
The knights gradually tightened their encirclement.
Kyle stepped forward, as though shielding Philip. The knights' brows twitched. As Philip stared blankly up at him, the wyvern knight narrowed his eyes at Kyle.
"What are you doing?"
"After hearing that conversation, I have even more reason not to kill him."
"You cannot kill him?"
"I've changed my mind. I'll kill all of you here and learn the details from him. The Grand Duke can decide what to do afterward."
Philip stared with his mouth hanging open. The wyvern knight looked between Kyle and Philip as though amused.
"Such confidence. Do you think you can face all of us alone?"
"You'll find out once we cross swords."
"I was a little surprised earlier, but it won't happen twice. One stroke of luck is enough."
"You speak as though the moderates will hold out inside the banquet hall until then."
"We only need to kill you here, return, and finish the rest. Don't underestimate the Church's paladins. There will be no need to protect that troublesome burden for appearances any longer. There are no witnesses here, after all. Thanks to you."
The moment the wyvern knight finished speaking, all six knights, including him, charged as though they had planned it in advance.
Sword Aura of every color rose along their blades.
Kyle took in every detail. Prisia's mana raced through his body again, stretching his perception of time.
He pushed the mana he had drawn up through the tips of his feet.
When he stepped forward, invisible blades poured in every direction except behind him, where Philip was.
Blade Storm.
Kwooooom—!
With a thunderous roar, the ground overturned. Through the shredded weeds and scattering grains of sand, Kyle saw the knights hesitate.
It did not last long.
They instantly knocked aside the dozens of flying wind blades with their swords and closed the distance. Six blades were already coming at him from every direction along bizarrely altered trajectories.
Following the countless possible futures unfolding before his eyes, Kyle threw himself into the wave of blades.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
