Chapter 291

EPISODE 291 – MEETING (2)

There was a reason why Jude did not seriously consider a war against the empire until the border blockade had been imposed.

The first reason was that the war itself was not in the game’s storyline, and the second reason was that the structure of the empire itself made it difficult to wage war with just the arbitrary decision of a single group.

“As you know, the power of the empire is now divided into three.”

The Imperial Family and the loyal nobility centered on the emperor who was at the top of the empire.

The Chancellor and the subordinate nobles he led.

The elves who meddled in all kinds of affairs in the empire with the power of their immense wealth.

It was not a very pleasant story for the Royal Knights who were loyal to the Imperial Family, but Leon was a realist so he properly understood the situation.

“Not long ago, the Chancellor rebelled and intimidated the Imperial Family. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, as well as Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager who is now the regent, and the other members of the Imperial Family are currently being detained in the Imperial Palace.”

It was a story they could roughly guess.

If the Chancellor had not intimidated the Imperial Family, they would not have issued orders such as a border blockade.

‘A lot has changed from the original.’

In the original storyline, the demon followers could not completely manipulate the Chancellor.

Or rather if they think about it now, it was not necessary in the original storyline.

The Sälen Kingdom was destroyed due to the events in its northern, central, and southern regions, and the empire was also in the midst of collapse due to the 7 major calamities that occurred in succession.

They had definitely expected that the demon followers who were defeated in the kingdom to be more active in the empire, but they were a bit surprised that the Chancellor had been completely controlled.

‘Because it hasn’t been that long since the kingdom’s demon followers joined them.’

Moreover, the communication network of the Guardians of the Holy Cross had been cut off.

It was hard to imagine that the Devil’s Eye had done all these things alone when their power had been weakened from their huge loss of low- and mid-ranking demonic humans due to the events in the wild lands.

‘If the other demon follower groups moved…’

The Devil’s Hand from the kingdom.

The Devil’s Eye that had taken root in the empire.

The Devil’s Mouth that had already taken over the far east.

The Devil’s Horn and the Devil’s Ear were pretty much destroyed in the battle against the Guardians of the Holy Cross, but there were still one or two high-ranking demonic humans left, so they couldn’t ignore this two groups too.

There were five groups of demon followers in the continent.

At worst, all five groups might be working together in the empire.

‘No, we have to assume the worst first, so that is possible.’

In the game, the five groups were not enemies, but neither were they friendly and cooperative with each other.

One of the reasons why the two were able to escape the pursuit of Saluzia, a high-ranking demonic human of the Devil’s Hand, when they first entered the wild lands was the fact that they had entered the domain of the Devil’s Eye.

In other words, the demon followers were separated by conflict whether in the game or in reality, but they had now put that conflict aside and united themselves.

‘And that’s because of me and Cordelia.’

They were the messengers of peace who united the demon follower groups.

Jude erased the ridiculous thought he had in his mind and focused on Leon again.

“If this continues, the Chancellor… no, that traitor will instigate war between the empire and the kingdom. So rescuing His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and the members of the Imperial Family is a must for the kingdom as well.”

In the game’s storyline, Leon was far from an eloquent speaker.

He was a typical swordsman in the first place, so he preferred swords to words.

Regardless of whether that was the same in reality, Leon tried to convince Jude and Cordelia with his own reasoning, though his words were unsophisticated.

‘Anyway, that’s how desperate their situation is.’

And Leon was not wrong.

If the Emperor and the Imperial Family were rescued, it might be possible to truly prevent a war.

‘The capitalist elves would not be controlled by the demon followers… so war can be prevented in this situation.’

It was when Jude had thought this far.

“By the way, can I ask you one thing?”

Cordelia who had been silently listening was now looking at Leon as she asked.

She was usually a bit inattentive when Jude talked to others, but now that it was a matter of concern and the other party were strangers, she smartened up and gave a rather sharp feeling.

“Yes, go ahead.”

When Leon replied with a slightly nervous look, Cordelia continued.

“What is the heavenly voice? And why did you two come to visit us? In order to rescue the Imperial Family, isn’t it more realistic and appropriate to go the capitalist… I mean, the elves? And… if one actually considered the power of the Royal Knights, I wonder if the two of us joining would make such a huge difference.”

Jude was a bit amazed by her reasonable questions.

At some point in the kingdom, Cordelia had passed on most of the thinking to Jude.

Furthermore, the last part stood out in terms of content.

Jude and Cordelia were only famous in the kingdom, and not in the empire.

There were the exaggerated rumors in the kingdom, the royal family’s propaganda, and all sorts of rumors that came out about them, so it was highly unlikely that the empire would even trust the two that much.

‘In addition, the rumors are a only a small part of what actually happened in the first place.’

But they were asking Jude and Cordelia for help despite those rumors being a fraction of the truth.

Of course, there was the possibility that they had already asked the elves for help.

Perhaps they only wanted to increase their power by adding even a little help.

But the ‘heavenly voice’ came out at the beginning of Leon’s narration, and he spoke in a way as if only Jude and Cordelia could help them.

‘Moving on, we can learn a lot if he answers Cordelia’s questions.’

So instead of interrupting them, Jude pressed the ‘Like’ button in his mind and waited for Leon’s answer.

“That is…”

Leon’s words trailed off and he turned to Sarah whose facial expression was unknown because of her helmet. But Sarah was clearly nervous given her drooped shoulders, and she nodded her head to him as if they couldn’t help it.

“Well, it can’t be helped. It’s something you should know if we’re going to be working together anyway.”

Having said that, Leon slightly shrugged his wide shoulders and began talking again.

“The heavenly voice… is a voice from heaven that the Empress Dowager hears. You can even call it a revelation. A few days ago, there was a story about you two in the last letter of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

He appeared to be serious given the look on his face.

Therefore, Jude and Cordelia exchanged glances and sent magic.

[Jude, that heavenly voice. Is it literally a voice from the heavens?]

[Are you talking about the heavenly race?]

[Yes, because there’s that possibility.]

Her thinking was simple and not complicated.

To begin with, the angels in Legend of Heroes 2 did not involve themselves with the human world until the Great Summons took place.

But Heaven is now involved?

[The possibility of it being from Hell cannot be completely ruled out.]

The demon pretends to be an angel to seduce the faithful.

It was a story that was quite common.

[But if it is really from the demon’s side and they’re able to contact the empress like this, can’t they just send a group of high-ranking demonic humans to assassinate us instead of sending Leon? Ah, assassination is not the right word. Anyway, if it’s from the angels… maybe they know to some extent that we’ll be meeting Kaplan? Uh…that… I can’t remember their name, but there’s an angel with the power of foresight, right?]

Cordelia seemed to be logical and sharp today.

Therefore, Jude was seriously moved.

[I see, my Cordelia is a child who can do it. In the future, please continue to think on your own, okay?]

[Hey, I often think on my own, okay? Anyway, don’t you think what I said earlier is possible?]

[Hmm, I’m not entirely sure.]

With the current situation like this, a third party other than Heaven or Hell could also exist.

Though the chances of that happening were slim.

“Uh… May I continue my words?”

“Yes, please.”

Leon had stopped talking for a while when Jude and Cordelia had exchanged glances, so he now continued his words.

“Unfortunately, the Royal Knights are currently unable to properly move. Most of the knights including Knight Commander Galahad have their hands tied… so only a few are actually active, and that includes me and Sarah here.”

“Have their hands tied… Have they been poisoned or attacked?”

“There were cases like that. But in the case of Knight Commander Galahad… he was sealed during his Closed Door Training.”

What did he mean?

Leon further explained when Jude and Cordelia blinked their eyes as they did not understand what he meant.

“He was in the middle of Closed Door Training in the training center… so the Chancellor sealed the training center itself.”

In short, he was confined alive.

[…Maybe Galahad should be rescued too alongside the Imperial Family.]

[…I think so.]

Jude and Cordelia felt a bit sorry as they exchanged magic, and Leon spoke again in a desperate tone.

“The Chancellor is planning to move the Emperor and the Imperial Family to another location soon. And perhaps… that will be our last chance to save the royal family. So please help us.”

Leon and Sarah both bowed their heads at the same time.

Seeing their actions, the two seemed to have come here while grasping at straws.

[What should we do?]

[We’ll do it.]

Their answer had actually been decided from the beginning.

“We understand. But from now on, I want my party to listen to your story. Is that fine with you?”

“Eh? Oh, yes. Of course. It’s fine with us.”

Leon replied with a bright smile. After all, Jude’s response was positive.

And less than 5 minutes later.

Lucas, Kajsa, Kirara, and Kaplan who were in the living room on the first floor had all come up to the second floor.

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

But at that moment.

“Uh, well… this Kirara will wait outside.”

Having sensed the strange atmosphere in the room, Kirara spoke out and tried to leave.

Because Kirara was a betrayer in trivial stuff and not important ones.

Hearing a story that was too important would make it hard for her to move. She would be pursued more harshly when she betrayed them later.

Kirara clearly didn’t have any intentions of betraying them due to her love for money and Cordelia’s affection, but the habits she had developed all her life were beyond her control.

“No, Kirara. Let’s listen together. Kirara is also a part of our group, so we should listen together. It’s something that involves all of us. So come over here and sit down.”

As Cordelia patted the seat next to her, Kirara briefly hesitated before she ran to Cordelia’s side and sat down. Given the look on her face, she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Our group.

Our Kirara.

“Hehe, hehehe.”

Kirara giggled as she unconsciously wagged her tail and leaned against Cordelia who wrapped her arm on Kirara’s shoulder.

‘What would happen if she knew that Cordelia is an angel?’

Would she completely worship Cordelia?

When Kajsa thought that and snickered, Jude warmly looked at Kirara and Cordelia.

‘It’s really heartwarming.’

Jude had now stopped counting down whenever Cordelia hugged someone.

The biggest reason was that his relationship with Cordelia had progressed a lot, so he was fine with it now.

In any case, Leon quickly repeated what he already said when everyone was seated, and the eyes of Lucas and Kajsa, who understood the seriousness of the situation, turned sharp.

“So are you saying that we should rescue the members of the Imperial Family with only the people here?”

“There are still some Royal Knights left. Except for us two, there’s also five…”

It was better than nothing, but it was too little.

However, Kajsa frowned as she tapped her thigh with her fingertip before saying.

“Having a small number of elites is better than a ragtag team. Especially in battles that require hit-and-run tactics like this. But what about the opponent’s defense? What about their guards?”

At Kajsa’s question, Sarah suddenly began to fiddle with her fingers, and Leon’s bleak expression turned even more bleak.

“Frankly… it’s not easy.”

“No one thinks that saving the Imperial Family will be easy. What’s their defense force like?”

Kajsa questioned him again, and Leon gulped before speaking again.

“There aren’t that many soldiers. It seems like two platoons will be mobilized.”

Considering the military organization of the empire, the number would be around 60, so it was understandable when Leon said that it wasn’t many.

In Pleaides where superhumans existed, the power of properly trained knights surpassed that of a dozen ordinary soldiers.

Even Leon who was right in front of them could destroy an entire platoon by himself.

“The problem is the knights. It seems like around 20 Imperial Knights have joined that despicable and traitorous Chancellor. I think that there’s also three, or even five, wizards who belong to the Imperial Family.”

But the real problem was the next one.

“And… it seems like Sir Jay will appear.”

Leon’s voice was filled with despair.

The distressed Sarah also lowered her head.

Jay Karniak.

One of the Twelve Sword Masters that the empire was proud of.

They were master swordsmen that could compete with the Ten Great Swordmasters of the kingdom.

“D-do you mean that Sir Jay is one of the guards?”

Kaplan said in surprise while Kirara’s eyes also widened.

They couldn’t help it.

Because he was Sir Jay.

Because he was a Sword Master!

How would they break through the defense forces when there was a Sword Master there!

Kaplan sighed while Kirara shuddered with fear and hugged Cordelia’s waist. Leon and Sarah also deeply sighed as they continued to bow their heads.

So Cordelia asked in a slightly reluctant voice.

“Uh… and then?”

“Excuse me?”

“Is that all?”

“Eh? Uh… T-that is all, I think?”

Leon unknowingly answered with a slightly stupid look, and Cordelia frowned before she turned to Jude.

[Jude.]

[Yes, Cordelia.]

[I’m just asking for confirmation, but are the empire’s Sword Masters equivalent to the Ten Great Swordmasters?]

[Yes, that’s right. They’re on the level of the Ten Great Swordmasters. Perhaps like Sebastian?]

The Ten Great Swordmasters.

And there was one present here.

Lucas had an awkward smile while Kajsa had a pleased smile.

“E-everyone?”

Kaplan asked with a puzzled expression.

So did Leon.

Because they did not understand the reactions of those who came from the kingdom.

It’s a Sword Master! Someone like a Sword Master is guarding them from escaping!

‘Ah, this is power inflation.’

Cordelia thought with a smile, and Jude looked at Leon. He spoke in a clear tone.

“Let’s proceed then.”

The operation to rescue the Imperial Family.

They would easily resolve it.

It would be easy for one of the Ten Great Swordmasters here.

Smiles spread across the faces of those who were born and grew up in the kingdom.