Chapter 88: Count Corrode and the Eight Knights – 7

Where did it all go wrong?

Liard stared down at the sword in his hand.

It was a sword he’d held since he was 10 years old.

By the time he was 20, there was no one who could rival his talent, and he was confident that no one could best him in swordsmanship.

The sword had been the pillar of his life.

With a talent bestowed by the heavens, he had amassed great wealth and fame.

At 25, he pledged his loyalty to Count Corrode, and by 30, he became one of the Eight Knights.

More wealth, more fame.

Yet Liard never once neglected his training.

Even on days when he was hungover or feverish and dizzy, he would swing his sword.

The first time he encountered a wall, however, was during the war that broke out when he was 32.

Jade Alan.

When he first faced the Undefeated Knight, he thought he was just another hulking northerner.

Nothing extraordinary, just another victim to be shattered by his sword like so many others.

But he was wrong.

No matter how much he struggled, Jade Alan didn’t even spare him a glance.

They crossed swords a few times, and each time, Liard found himself scrambling to hide his inferiority.

It was then he realized just how vast the world was and that there was always someone above.

Still, there was some solace in knowing that everyone feared Jade Alan.

The first man Liard had ever acknowledged was universally recognized by the world.

Jade Alan was a calamity, and as long as he was out of the picture, Liard was confident no one could surpass him.

…Or so he thought.

“…Hah… Hah…”

The beast riddled with wounds, bleeding endlessly, showed no sign of falling.

“…What… are you?”

Liard muttered in a trembling voice.

Kailo Alan.

Liard was more shocked now than when he first faced Jade Alan.

It was eight against one.

Not just any eight—these were the Eight Knights.

In the Kingdom of Delrum, there was no knightly order held in higher regard.

The position required exceptional skill and talent.

Liard had thought killing Kailo Alan would be easy.

All he had to do was take him down and leave Rondor Castle leisurely.

But that plan had long since crumbled.

“…Bariot.”

He called out to Bariot, who lay motionless on the ground.

“…Chris.”

The same went for Chris, his companion since he was 28.

“…Reek.”

Reek, with his arm severed, lay sprawled out like discarded trash.

“…Gunter.”

Even Gunter, renowned for his unparalleled endurance, had fallen.

Not to mention Craig and Gabe.

Every one of them lay still, defeated.

Was this some kind of nightmare?

That eight knights failed to kill a single man and were annihilated—could this truly be reality?

And not against some promising knight, but an 18-year-old novice.

Liard had never seen anyone as adept at fighting multiple opponents as Kailo Alan.

It was hard enough to focus on one opponent in battle, yet Kailo moved as though calculating the actions of three or four simultaneously.

In the darkness, Liard locked eyes with Kailo Alan.

Despite the countless wounds on his body, Kailo’s gaze remained undimmed.

He didn’t look tired or fatigued.

If anything, his eyes shone even more dangerously, like a feral beast.

“Spare… me…”

Kailo’s gaze dropped downward.

In his hand, he held the neck of Hiden.

Hiden, who had laughed about how fun it would be to crush the arrogant novice and watch him break, was now groveling pathetically.

“Spare… please… I have… a mother… at home…”

Kailo showed no reaction to his words.

There was no flicker of emotion in his eyes, no change in his expression.

Instead, he merely wiped the blood dripping near his eyes as if it were a nuisance.

“…Spare me.”

Liard begged as well.

He dropped his sword and raised both hands in surrender.

How could he achieve what eight men had failed to do alone?

Perhaps if he had tried a bit harder, he might have stood a chance, judging by Kailo’s condition.

But Liard’s body was in no better shape.

Above all, the fear of death loomed too large, snuffing out any will to fight.

All he wanted now was to flee from this overwhelming terror.

The heart that had once been brave as a lion was now rotten and gone, a realization that struck him only now.

When Craig and Gunter had fallen, Count Corrode had long since fled.

There was no one left here to condemn him for his actions.

Liard forced his voice to steady as he spoke.

“Spare us, Kailo Alan, it’s enough. We’ve lost. Please… let Hiden and me go.”

Kailo Alan, who was breathing like a beast, looked at Liard again.

And at the moment Liard saw those eyes, he realized everything was wrong.

His gaze was still fixed in the middle of the battle.

It was the look of someone who hadn’t yet realized the fight was over.

Instinct seemed to have taken control of his body for survival, and there was no room for reason to return.

“…Not the Count. Give me the name of the other guy targeting Vivian.”

“I… I don’t know. E-even if I wanted to tell you, I really don’t know. Only the count knows…”

Thwack.

“Aaaaagh…!”

Without a word, Kailo drove Hiden’s broken sword blade into his stomach.

The jagged blade penetrated just enough, and then Kailo pressed it deeper with the heel of his boot.

Hiden flailed, but Kailo’s grip on his throat didn’t loosen, as if he was wielding a two-handed sword.

The grotesque mixture of gurgling, screams, and wheezing was unbearable.

“…You said you’d crush me, didn’t you? Get up. Why are you just screaming?”

Kailo whispered as he pressed the blade.

Hiden, still screaming, shook his head in desperation.

“I’m sorry… no, I… apologize… I don’t… know… I don’t know anything… spare… me… spare…”

As he begged for his life, Hiden’s voice grew weaker and weaker until he finally closed his eyes.

Even until the moment of his death, he thought he could survive.

The youthful arrogance that believed in a future was extinguished like that.

Thud.

Kailo released Hiden’s neck as though discarding a piece of luggage.

“…Speak, Liard. The name of the other one. Then maybe I’ll let you live.”

Liard still couldn’t believe it.

How many holes were pierced through his stomach?

How many slashes marred his chest and face?

Kailo’s left arm, which had gripped Hiden’s throat, was impaled by a broken blade, and half of his right ear was gone.

How… how is he still standing?

It felt like looking at an ogre.

“…I told you, I don’t know.”

“…Can’t you just let me go?”

Still holding his arms up, Liard pleaded desperately.

At that moment, the sound of people approaching echoed through the open door.

It seemed the commotion had dragged on too long, alerting everyone to the disturbance.

“There! Over there!”

Liard chuckled bitterly and lowered his arms.

There was no escape now.

“…So my life ends here.”

He laughed in resignation, releasing the last of his hope.

“To die at the hands of a brat like this…”

He would taste defeat once more, punished for failing to recognize heaven’s chosen talent.

But he didn’t feel regret.

It was his second time, after all.

Perhaps he should’ve given up the moment he heard the name “Alan.”

Gritting his teeth, Liard bent to pick up his sword again.

Kailo raised his two-handed blade.

Whoosh!

That was Liard’s last memory.

***

The loud commotion woke Vivian from her sleep.

The sky outside her window was still dark, not a time when people should be up and about.

Though she wanted to close her eyes again, something about the unnatural noise nagged at her, gradually rousing her mind.

Vivian rubbed her eyes and sat up, yawning with ease before blinking in confusion.

Considering the nature of such disturbances at night… had Count Corrode caused trouble again?

She had suspected as much when he kept drinking.

Dragging herself out of bed, Vivian overcame her reluctance and opened her door.

“What’s going on…”

She froze at the sight before her.

Maids and guards lined up on either side as though they had committed grave sins.

All of them bowed their heads, their unease palpable.

Whatever had happened, it was clearly something serious for them to be so anxious and deferential.

Vivian scanned the chaotic scene.

Usually, Kailo was the first to step forward and explain her confusion.

He would calmly tell her what had happened, guiding her through the situation.

But Kailo was nowhere to be seen.

It was clear that something terrible had happened, but the absence of him was strange.

A faint chill crawled down Vivian’s back.

“…Where is Kailo?”

She asked weakly.

The head butler, Pippin, appeared with a pale, gaunt expression.

Bowing his head, he said,

“…Please, follow me.”

“Hold him down! Don’t let him move!!”

“Stop the bleeding…! The bandage is soaked! Can’t we get another one…? Where’s the hot water?!”

Complete chaos unfolded before her eyes.

Vivian froze in the room where the smell of death hung heavily in the air.

The metallic tang of blood mingled with the scent of various herbs in the air.

The maids, newly recruited commoner medics, and Scholar Crellin were all gathered around Kailo Alan.

“Cough…! Hack!!”

Kailo was coughing up blood, his eyes rolled back, showing only the whites.

His strong body convulsed violently, and the maids struggled to hold him down, being lifted off the ground with every spasm.

“Ah…”

-Thud.

Vivian’s legs gave out the moment she saw him.

“Lady Vivian!”

Pippin and the maids tried to support her, but she was too stunned to react.

She could only deny the scene before her.

Just before falling asleep, she had kissed Kailo, but now he lay on the bed, covered in wounds.

It was clear from a glance that he was in critical condition.

“H-How… how did this happen…”

Pippin swallowed nervously before responding with an uneasy expression.

“…There was a battle during the night. Sir Kailo Alan and the Eight knights…”

At those words, Vivian clenched her teeth, her frustration bursting out.

“Bring them here…! Don’t let them escape from this land—”

“They’re all dead.”

Vivian gaped in shock at his words.

All dead?

The Eight knights?

“K-Kailo didn’t fight alone—”

“He fought alone and killed them all. Then he collapsed. As for Count Corrode, he has already left the city.”

Vivian gritted her trembling knees and forced herself to stand.

Overcoming her fear, she approached Kailo.

“Ah… ah…”

His body was slashed open in multiple places, with exposed flesh beneath his torn skin.

Deep, gaping wounds bled profusely like volcanic craters.

His skin was discolored, his body drenched in sweat.

Foam gathered at the corners of his mouth, blood flowed from his wounds, and life seemed to drain from his entire being.

Steeling herself, Vivian called out,

“Scholar Crellin.”

Crellin turned abruptly at her voice, rising from his seat, but she pressed his shoulder firmly.

“Speak while you’re treating him.”

Crellin nodded and resumed tending to Kailo.

From what little Vivian had discerned, he had some connection to Count Corrode’s faction.

But the annihilation of the Eight knights meant that lifeline had now rotted away.

Crellin must have known this too, and he was undoubtedly calculating his next move.

“What… what’s the situation?”

Vivian asked, steadying her trembling heart.

Crellin froze for a moment, maintaining his silence.

A nervous gulp slid down his throat.

“Answer me.”

The suffocating silence caused Vivian to growl, her voice dangerously low.

The maids recoiled, frightened by her threatening tone.

Unable to meet her gaze, Crellin whispered in a crawling voice,

“…You should prepare yourself.”

A searing pain tore through her chest.

“Ah… ahhh!!”

Vivian’s pent-up anguish erupted into a scream at that moment.