Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 149 The Bloodstained Road 4
"So, the old man really killed his good friend with a single sword strike?"

The once clean and tidy desk was now littered with various fruit peels and trash, clearly indicating that Haven was quite satisfied with this two-hour-long, dramatic saga.

After all, in the story, the old man's performance can only be described as incredibly impressive. Although I don't quite understand why a nobleman from a northern fiefdom would make such an obvious show of taking sides, perhaps it's just the bond of friendship.

Looking at the unruly Haven, Louise felt she had rolled her eyes an unusually large number of times today. After it was over, she would definitely use the magic freezing device she bought from 'Xiangding' to take good care of herself, otherwise the fine lines around her eyes would probably increase again tomorrow.

"You can ask your father about this when you return to the North."

I just don't understand it. Even though killing someone caused immense grief and tears, why would someone still choose to kill them?

Clearly, as an observer of the situation at the time, Louise didn't quite understand how her lover, Sirster, could be captured without any ability to resist.

They could have simply knocked them unconscious and waited until everything was over before deciding how to proceed. Instead, they chose to stab the two brothers in the back, which is hard to judge.

"And then what?"

"And then what?"

"Yeah, you crushed the knights led by Sirst, and then what?"

At the same time, in the Palace of Platinum.

"So, when Father Emperor and Earl Hailan returned to the capital, they killed a lot of people?"

Unlike Haven's detached, detached attitude, Alice's face grew worried after listening to her father describe the various arguments and killings throughout the story. Alice, who inherently disliked war, killing, and death, instinctively showed strong aversion to the casualties caused by such conspiracies and intrigues.

Frederick IV, a man who had weathered many storms, naturally understood what his daughter was thinking. He gently patted Alice's shoulder and said, as if with a sigh:

"Yes, after that, Kevin and I led the White Lion Knights back to the capital without any further obstacles. But returning to the capital did not mean the end of the matter; on the contrary, it was just the beginning."

Sensing her father's sorrow, Alice, who had straightened up and was leaning against the sofa, looked in the direction Frederick's head had turned. There, she saw a huge bird's-eye view of the capital standing quietly on the wall. However, some of the buildings in the picture had disappeared and were replaced by some new buildings.

Time is like water flowing down a mountain. No matter how unwilling you are, it will gradually wash you into a new form. This is true for an individual, a city, and even a country.

"Anduette, I want to know what kind of determination you have for what's to come. We are now at a crossroads, and what we do next will largely determine the future of the Empire."

Walking along the road beside the Dakar River, I looked up and saw that the Holy Song Mayara was already close at hand. The Platinum Tower, standing in the center of the capital, shone with a pale golden light under the sunlight. As the most powerful mage tower in the entire empire, it had been silently guarding the empire for countless years.

"Your Highness, as I said before, our views on this matter and other subsequent matters are entirely up to you."

What are your thoughts? What are your plans? To what extent do you need to go before we can go any further?

It seemed that Anduette had pushed the issue back to Frederick, but Frederick understood that what Anduette said was true. Some things were not done because of the support he received, but because of the things he did that earned him support.

Just like gambling, there are very few real gamblers. The vast majority of others are just bettors. When one side has good luck, these people who want to profit will place their bets on that side.

Of course, some people choose to gamble with small stakes for big gains, resorting to unconventional methods. But that requires immense courage, and the awareness that one wrong move could mean the end of their fortune. This kind of situation can be called an alliance, but all of this is predicated on the fact that the gamblers on the side of small stakes must, at the very least, bet their entire fortune before even stepping onto the table.

"I understand. My brothers and I, whoever wins, you'll support them!"

Upon hearing Frederick, who had been silent for a long time, utter such a sentence, Anduette chuckled softly. He was growing to like this somewhat different prince more and more; Frederick was increasingly showing signs of becoming a player at the chessboard.

“Your Highness is right on that point, but there is one difference. Compared to those gamblers who follow the crowd in the casino, we would much rather you win the final victory in the current situation. After all, your victory is a shared victory for all of us nobles. No one wants to live under the control of the Church.”

"all?"

Frederick clearly understood the implication in Andouette's words and turned to look at her.

"Yes, just as Your Highness thinks, all of them~"

Faced with Frederick's questioning gaze, Anduette smiled and nodded, then slowly began to explain.

"Although in your eyes, just like your friend who died in battle just now, it seems that he was deliberately arranged to be by your side by the southern nobles, and when you wanted to return to the capital, they even sent troops to stop you. It seems that they have betrayed the empire or the royal family, or even possibly surrendered to the church."

But in reality, that doesn't mean anything. My father said that sometimes those who draw their swords against you aren't necessarily your enemies. It could just be due to certain considerations of self-interest.

"So you mean these southern nobles, or some other nobles, will support me?"

"Perhaps, I don't know, Your Highness. We are about to arrive at Champagne Gate. After we arrive in the capital, my father will give you a more accurate answer to your questions. As for what I am talking to you about now, much of it comes from what my father has told me."

Returning to the capital, Frederick felt as if he had been transported to another world, surrounded by familiar sights. The flow of people coming and going through the city gates was still as large as ever. Clearly, the turmoil at the top of the country was less important to the people living at the bottom than what they would eat today or whether they would have anything to eat tomorrow.

The only thing that made the lower classes uneasy was the increase in the cost of living, which made them even busier than before, as the emperor had died and many princes had also died. Princesses were not a big deal to them, but the price of a loaf of coarse bread, which used to cost 10 copper coins, had risen to 50 copper coins, which was unacceptable to the lower classes.

Fortunately, it was only a short week, and everyone was able to get through it by relying on their savings. But if it lasted any longer, it would be hard to say what would happen.

"Anduette, besides what just happened, has anything else been happening in the capital lately?"

Kevin, who had been silent the whole way, suddenly turned to look at his brother-in-law. When Kevin suddenly asked him a question, Anduette obviously didn't understand what the other person was talking about and looked over blankly.

"Huh? What do you mean by other things, Kevin?" The White Lion Cavalry Regiment, which had already passed through the gates of Chancellor, was slowly walking down the street. The imposing aura emanating from the White Lion armored cavalry, who only had one hundred men, caused pedestrians walking on the street to quickly scatter to the sides of the road, watching cautiously with expressions of curiosity, caution, and fear.

"It's nothing, I just feel that there seem to be more homeless people on the roadside than before I left."

Upon hearing Kevin's words, Anduette also turned his head to look at both sides of the road, and his expression quickly became puzzled.

"Wait a minute... that shouldn't be the case. When I left the capital for Roteslo, I also went through the Champagne Gate area, and there weren't this many homeless people there then. Besides, prices only went up for two days already. This shouldn't be happening..."

Just as Anduette was also wondering about this, a sudden change occurred.

A dull thud sounded.
The next moment, a highly concentrated beam of light shot towards the White Lion Cavalry Regiment in the middle of the road.

The moment the sound rang out, Kevin, who was already on alert, unleashed his fighting spirit, and in the next instant, he flew towards the oncoming beam of light.

But clearly, the person who planned this attack was also very well prepared, intending to block the seemingly incredibly powerful Kevin beam. The next second, upon colliding with the beam, he was blasted away and crashed into the distant clock tower amidst thick smoke.

Realizing what was happening, Anduette instinctively shouted:

"Enemy attack!!!! Protect His Highness! Protect His Highness!!!!"

The citizens, who were stunned by the sudden scene, also reacted one after another. The next moment, screams and cries blended together. The panicked crowd, like a group of frightened rabbits, began to run wildly in all directions. Many citizens even rushed into the White Lion Cavalry Regiment like headless flies.

Seeing the ordinary citizens charging towards their formation, the knight commander, unsure of his leader's identity, had no choice but to order the formation to contract and regroup, awaiting further developments.

But soon, as hundreds of alchemical bombs were hurled from all directions, a series of intense explosions followed, and the White Lion Knights, who were in defensive formation, were thrown to the ground by the powerful blasts.

Although the White Lion Construct Set is a standard magic rune product, its formidable defensive capabilities are only slightly inferior to those construct armors known for their defense. This meant that even when subjected to an explosive attack in a dense formation, the White Lion Cavalry did not suffer significant casualties. The only problem was that the intense dizziness rendered most of the White Lion Knights unable to fight.

Frederick and his men, who were protected in the very center of the formation, were not seriously injured. They shook their heads, and fine sand fell directly from their heads.

"How is Kevin? How is Kevin?"

Louise, who had just gotten up, looked anxiously in the direction where Kevin had been blasted away. Tears streamed down her face, which was covered in dust, and streaks of tears ran down her cheeks.

"He'll be fine. Kevin is a Sky Knight; he can't be killed so easily."

Despite saying that, Anduette, who was supporting her sister, couldn't hide the worry in her eyes. However, compared to worrying about Kevin, the situation of the group seemed even more dire.

As the smoke cleared, a group of ragged assassins with murderous intent surrounded the remaining dozen or so White Lion Knights who were still protecting the group.

Like a group of puppet-like assassins, they launched an attack. Despite being hit by a wave of alchemical bombs, the White Lion Construct Knights still displayed formidable strength, managing to hold off the group of assassins with just a dozen or so men.

As time passed, the White Lion Knights who had been lying on the ground, stunned by the explosion, recovered one by one, slowly got up, drew their knightly swords from their waists, and began to join the battle.

Just when Frederick and the others thought that the assassination attempt would be dropped and that they only needed to stall for time, the Royal Armored Knights guarding the capital or the Eighth Military Intelligence Bureau led by Duke Clement would arrive.

With a loud bang, a huge sword aura slashed down, cleaving the two unarmored assassins in two and sending the white lion knight in front of them crashing to the ground.

A clear sword mark appeared on the bright silver breastplate of the White Lion armor set, and the once gleaming armor now appeared dull.

This sudden scene stunned both sides, causing them to stop fighting. Then, a series of crisp footsteps rang out from afar.

Looking at the iconic two-handed greatsword, Anduette's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly.

"Damn it, this is really bad."

Frederick watched the tall swordsman slowly approach, his face grave as he drew his sword from his waist. This was probably the most dangerous moment of his life.

"What a pity, Your Highness Frederick. If you could have stayed in the North and waited for things to end, you really shouldn't have come back."

The heavily armored knight, who had already reached the group, made muffled sounds from inside his full-coverage helmet. The magical runes on his dark construct armor shimmered rapidly. Although there were no markings or badges on the armor, Frederick and Anduette recognized the newcomer.

"Commander Madkelah, do you know what you're doing?"

Anduette, shielding Frederick behind him, roared at the tall knight who was slowly approaching. But Madkelah, fully armed with not a sliver of skin showing, naturally refused to admit her identity.

When the magic of the magic rune construct is activated, the orange-yellow aura emanating from Madkelah's body resembles a burning flame.

The broad blade of the sword pointed at the group as they prepared to complete their mission.

Just as Anduette was about to cooperate with the remaining White Lion Knights in a desperate fight to buy Frederick time to escape.

A deep lion's roar resounded, followed by a highly refined phantom image of a white lion's head attacking Madkela.

The heavily armored knight, who had been forced back a distance by the white lion phantom, moved his two-handed sword away from his face and looked solemnly at the figure slowly descending from mid-air.

"They even brought out the Central Magic Cannon. Looks like you're getting much better treatment than your brothers and sisters~"

(End of this chapter)