episode_0035

“Judge-nim.”

As I arrived before Mulifen, a jurist greeted me.

Behind his thick armor, glowing orange, flame-like eyes shone, making him appear like an undead, a Death Knight at first glance.

And he was indeed a Death Knight.

Of course, he wasn’t an undead from the Army of Death, but an undead created by Gram’s Executor.

Furthermore, most of the army surrounding Mulifen had similar appearances to him.

……..

Covered in ocher, worn down as if by long periods of wind and rain.

At first glance, they looked like terracotta soldiers, but they weren’t terracotta soldiers; they were corpse soldiers buried using the unique embalming methods of the old empire.

Lerei, the [Emperor].

An emperor of an old empire that existed even before Shahlnu, and even before the Golden Age, but which was now destroyed.

All of these undead, which looked like terracotta soldiers, had been his soldiers in life.

El Cid asked the jurist, who was silently bowing.

“What is the extent of the damage?”

“Thirty percent of the legion suffered catastrophic damage, and Executor Red Beard has fallen.”

She looked at the jurist with an expressionless face at his words, but having known El Cid for a long time, I could tell.

That expression meant she was quite troubled.

“How in the world could things have been handled so-”

“El Cid.”

At my call, as I stood ahead, looking at the city, she immediately responded.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Now is not the time to assign blame.”

I gave a slight nod, and she approached my side.

“Look at that.”

At my words, her gaze turned towards Mulifen’s city walls.

“That’s.”

“They are the knights of the Oleg family.”

The Swords of Oleg.

They were knights who knew how to wield a sword powerfully, having been directly taught by Duke Hergil Oleg, the Sword of the Empire.

“Nikolaus (Red Beard) must have underestimated them and died for it.”

“I find it hard to believe.”

“Why do you think that?”

She said, looking at the knights on the city walls.

“Even if the Oleg family’s standing has noticeably risen due to the current head, isn’t the Oleg family still a family of civil servants?”

“Civil servants…”

Yes, they were undoubtedly a family of civil servants.

If Impurity represented the Empire’s Spear, and Balium the Empire’s Shield.

The Oleg family had, throughout its long history, represented the Empire’s pen.

A significant number of the capable administrators who left their names in history were from the Oleg family or Mulifen.

“You don’t believe they killed Nikolaus because they’re a family of civil servants?”

“That’s right.”

“But just as they were a family of civil servants, Nikolaus was also not a combatant.”

The Tenth Executor, Red Beard Nikolaus.

Though he seemed strong due to the strong military power implied by the title of Executor, his true profession was originally the head of Johann’s trading company, the third-largest trading company on the continent.

However, it was notable that he was a magus possessing a large amount of Golden Age technology.

But that was all.

Aside from that, Nikolaus was just an ordinary merchant, nothing more, nothing less.

Despite this, her assessment barely changed.

“But the Oleg I knew was just a household of bookworms.”

And that was understandable, because just before she was sealed, the Oleg family had existed as a family of civil servants, even at the end of the Golden Age.

The last image of the Oleg family deeply ingrained in her mind before she was sealed was of that, so her continued reaction was understandable.

There was no need to go back to the past, to the Golden Age; even before the appearance of the current Duke Oleg, the ducal family was no different from how it had been in the past.

‘That’s why the Oleg family is still underestimated.’

A great knight, who could aim for the realm of Grand Master, had appeared, and that knight had passed on his wisdom, training numerous knights.

But due to the common perception that had been ingrained in the public for a thousand long years, even Gram’s Executors tended to underestimate the Oleg family despite the power they possessed.

Thinking of the many people, both past and present, throughout any era, who held such narrow-minded prejudices.

I briefly recalled the face of the deceased Nikolaus before warning her.

“Never underestimate the Swords of Oleg.”

Because they were no longer a family that only wielded the pen.

Because they were a family that had gained strength comparable to Impurity’s Spear, which represented the Empire, and Balium’s Shield.

And because Oleg himself, the head of that family, was one of the men closest to the title of Emperor.

Even if he had aged and was much weaker compared to his prime, not only the knight order but also Oleg’s own presence should never be ignored.

I advised her sincerely.

“…I understand.”

Had she finally realized the sincerity of my words? El Cid adopted a serious expression and nodded.

Then, after sending her to the Emperor, who was said to have suffered fatal wounds, to prepare for war, I stood alone, looking up at Mulifen’s city walls.

“…”

Nearly twenty years had passed, but Mulifen’s appearance was still the same.

*Whoosh—*

The wind brushing past my nose stirred a faint nostalgia.

The time I first met Oleg.

The time I joined the knight order.

The time I faced discrimination and scorn.

And the time I met good comrades.

The time I persevered steadfastly and eventually rose to the position of military administrator.

Those memories unconsciously flashed through my mind.

‘Anastasia.’

The female knight with sky-blue hair.

She was truly an honorable woman with a warm heart, who loved children.

‘Nikita.’

He was an iron-willed man with an unyielding spirit, never knowing how to give up, but also a doting father with a hidden soft spot for his daughter, utterly weak when it came to her.

And.

‘Helena.’

During the time I thought of myself as cursed and kept people at a distance.

The tomboyish woman who, despite knights of the same cohort despising me, was the only one who approached me.

With an endlessly pure heart, she had a bubbly personality yet also a strong, outspoken character, like a woman general.

‘…I won’t see them again.’

Anastasia.

Nikita.

Helena.

One by one, they had fallen in battle, I heard, ever since I joined the penal legion.

…Enough.

What good was it to think of their faces now?

They were among the few people in my life who left only good memories, parting ways with good memories until the very end.

But now they were dead, and I couldn’t even see them or talk to them.

‘Such thoughts are utterly useless in the current situation.’

War is important now.

Mulifen, the only city I thought would not fall.

As the leader of this coup, I must capture all six cities before the expeditionary force returns.

Instead of getting lost in past nostalgia, it was a priority to consider how to capture that impregnable city.

‘The Swords of Oleg.’

I had told El Cid that the Swords of Oleg were comparable to the spears and shields of the two martial families.

But honestly, I personally rated the Swords of Oleg highest among the three families.

It wasn’t because I was part of Oleg.

Unlike Impurity or Balium, which had fatal flaws, the Swords of Oleg appeared objectively quite perfect.

“…”

‘Duke Oleg.’

Hergil Oleg.

A great knight who achieved legendary feats, catching up to martial families with a thousand-year history in less than a hundred years.

As I briefly recalled the face of the greatest knight I knew,

I suddenly remembered what Cerebus had told me just before the coup.

‘There is no perfection.’

“…”

This was something the old prophet had said to me while we were discussing Mulifen.

When I said that as long as Oleg and his swords remained strong, it would be impossible to capture the city with Gram’s power before the expeditionary force returned, he had said:

“If Your Excellency had said that a few years ago, I would have readily admitted it and given up on Mulifen.”

“But not anymore.”

“You may think others are looking at the Oleg family with the wrong perspective, but you are no different.”

“Go to Mulifen.”

“And with your sword, gauge theirs by clashing with them.”

“Then you will understand what my words mean.”

“…”

Had he also spoken using foresight?

Probably.

Prophets usually base most of their words and actions on foresight.

‘Destiny.’

Personally, I hoped Cerebus’s words were wrong.

Regardless of the outcome of the siege, I didn’t want to see the most perfect sword I knew weakened by something like destiny.

The Swords of Oleg, and the pride contained within them.

Even I, who had little interest in swords in the past, found the sword Oleg displayed at that time to be incredibly beautiful.

Because of that feeling, I still wished for the Swords of Oleg, and the Duke’s sword, to remain strong.

*Clank— Creak—* *Thud— Thud—*

The invasion began at dawn.