Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 177 If
After lying in the carriage for a minute or two, Haven felt the noise in his head subside a little. It was a hissing sound like a TV signal dropping, and the kind of blank feeling you get when you've worked overtime until 5 a.m. and finally can't fall asleep even after drinking five cans of Red Bull.

Of course, Haven can fall asleep now, or even fall asleep the moment he lies down on the bed, but he can't fall asleep right now.

After struggling to sit up from Serena's embrace, he rubbed his face vigorously with both hands. He had to admit that the potion the little fat boy had brought out was indeed effective. Of course, his own body's absorption ability was also impressive. After feeling the coolness coming from his head, he picked up another bottle of mental potion and gulped it down.

Watching Havent drink five bottles of high-grade magic potions in a short period of time, a worried expression appeared on He-Man's fat face. After all, while magic potions have powerful effects, they are also highly addictive. Although becoming a magic addict is not a big deal for nobles, it is still better to avoid such a shameful identity.

"Um, Haven, are you alright? Please don't drink anymore, I'm scared~~~~"

"Hiccup~~~~~"

Having drunk his fill of water, Haven let out another burp, the sound of water splashing coming from his stomach. Facing the worried little chubby boy, Haven smiled slightly.

"Thank goodness, I'm not so sleepy anymore, but I can't fall asleep yet."

As he spoke, the chubby boy, with a surprised expression, began to think and review the scene he had just seen in the rehearsal.

First, regarding the riots that broke out in the lower city, our Emperor seems to have lost his mind for some reason, personally leading the First Royal Construct Knights to quell the unrest. Although it's hard to understand, according to the images shown by the tentacle monster, Frederick IV has already left the Platinum Palace, so he still has time to stop him.

But there's no rush. I still need to sort out some other things. Although it's much easier than the siege of Whiterun, as long as I can stop Frederick IV now, as long as this brain-dead emperor doesn't die, the future will definitely be changed.

But considering Hermes' sudden appearance, this mysterious and unpredictable deity—who should be a god, right? Although he looks strange, he shouldn't be here to chat with me for no reason. Come on, gods are all very busy, you know.

With that in mind, Haven began to recall the details of the rehearsal more carefully.

Judging from Aurelion's conversation, this should be related to the church to some extent, but he and the werewolf fought again, so it's hard to say whether it was to cover up the crime or because of some other factors.

Furthermore, according to Aurelion, the werewolf seemed to be performing some kind of ritual, which appeared to have caused the werewolf's strength to surge dramatically after the green beam of light appeared after Frederick IV was killed.

Hmm... wait a minute, something doesn't seem right.

Haven, whose mind was racing, suddenly looked up sharply at the chubby boy, He-Man. His sharp gaze startled the boy, who was tidying up empty bottles, and he stammered:

"What's wrong, Haven? You're looking at me like that, it's a little scary~"

"Before we set off, you seemed to have told me that your Hengdeli Trading Company had secretly transported something to the royal family, and the key point is that even you didn't know what that thing was, right?"

"Ah~ yeah~ right, Havent, that's the one I saved, a magic-sealing box about this size."

As he spoke, the chubby boy gestured up, down, left, and right.

"We were originally going to hand it over to the secret warehouse, but we brothers got so caught up in having fun that we forgot about it~~~"

After listening to the chubby boy's words, a vague idea began to rise in Haven's mind.

Hmm... I have a feeling there's some connection between these two. The werewolf and his beastmen seemed to have a very clear objective when they went to attack the Hendry Merchant Guild, as if they had received some specific instructions.

No, to be more specific, they received instructions. Otherwise, based on the characteristics of the beastmen described in the book, they should have started a disturbance in the residential area of ​​the lower city.

Given the right timing and a bit of luck, infecting tens of thousands of residents wouldn't be too difficult. Instead, a bunch of beastmen have gathered to attack an inconspicuous warehouse camp. Even if the supplies inside are worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, the beastmen probably don't need them, since they can't take them with them.

That means there must be something that werewolf wants in Hendry's warehouse.

The werewolf's fur was gray before attacking the camp, but after it came out and killed about twenty of the Griffin Knights, it turned red. Damn it, I should have observed it more closely back then.

However, it's almost certain that the thing that turns the werewolf red is the purpose of this trip.

So, does that mean that Emperor Frederick IV came out in person because of this?

It's possible, but if it really is because of this, it's still very strange. It doesn't feel like even the most valuable thing would be enough to make an emperor personally leave his safe base camp to take such a dangerous trip.

Unless that thing is extremely important to him.

"Havent? Haven? What have you thought about it? Can we set off now? I'm afraid if we're any later, that thing might get damaged. If my old man finds out, he'll kill me."

There was too much information for Haven to analyze all at once, and time was of the essence for him, since if he continued to think, Frederick IV would arrive at the outer perimeter of the port with the members of the First Royal Knights.

This is somewhat different from the Whiterun crisis back then. Although Whiterun was in danger of being destroyed at any time, the old man was unwilling to run away and wanted to fight to the death. Moreover, he had plenty of time to think things through.

But the situation is different now. If I think about it for another ten minutes or so, Frederick IV will probably be strung up, and then I'll really be Barbie Q.

In the rehearsal, Alice cried so bitterly, so what was her mother forcing her to do? It's obvious it wasn't anything good. Therefore, this less-than-ideal ending occurred...

"No~ He-Man, we're not going to the dock, we're changing course~~~"

"Serena, can you sense where a large contingent of elite construct knights is? I need to find them now."

Serena, still smelling the incense, raised her beautiful blue-violet eyes and looked at Haven, her intoxicated expression as if she had inhaled the substance.

Seeing Serena constantly sniffing him since earlier, Haven felt a little strange, so he raised his arm and sniffed it.

"It doesn't smell anything special. Serena, what are you smelling?"

"It has a fragrant, really nice smell."

Faced with Serena's determined yet infatuated expression, Haven had no choice but to pat the blue-haired girl's head.

"Alright, alright, help me find that cavalry unit I mentioned earlier. It's very important to me."

Upon hearing Haven's words, the obedient Serena emitted a faint magical aura, and her large blue-purple eyes, like two headlights, scanned her surroundings.

In the imperial capital, Saint Mayara, Frederick IV was walking along the Red Lilac Avenue when he spoke in hushed tones with Florian, Grand Master of the First Royal Armored Knights, who was walking alongside him.

“Your Majesty, this old minister still believes that you should stay in the palace. According to the news from Chris the Night Watch and MI8, the capital has not been peaceful recently. These matters should be handled by us ministers.”

Frederick IV, who was nearly sixty but still looked like a middle-aged man, shook his head slightly.

“Professor Florian, as the commander of the army, you should understand that when faced with provocation and testing, constant forbearance and compromise will not bring peace, but will instead breed a greater crisis. Humans are greedy, and so are gods.”

Upon hearing Frederick IV's words, Florian was momentarily at a loss for words. As a commander, Florian certainly knew that Frederick IV was right.

"Your Majesty, I still think we should have a few officials accompany us, just in case."

"Although Lord Osa rode Lord Patunax to Dragon Island, his disciple Lord Garan is still in Dragon Nest. If it is inconvenient for others, we can call Lord Garan over."

Frederick IV chuckled at Florian's suggestion.

“Professor Florian, there are some problems we have to face ourselves eventually. I have great confidence in the First Construct Knights under your command, and I believe you can protect my safety.”

Moreover, there are some things that cannot be known to those people, even if it requires taking some risks.

Florian, his face clouded with worry beneath the veil, was clearly oblivious to Frederick IV's innermost thoughts. As they drew ever closer to the dock, Florian could only pray to the gods that this would go smoothly, that it would pass like a minor incident.

Just as Florian was about to try to persuade Frederick IV again, a legendary gate crackling with electric arcs suddenly appeared in front of the Construct Knights.

Upon seeing this, the construct knights, who had been moving at a steady pace, immediately stopped and became alert after encountering the unexpected situation. The magical armor on their bodies began to glow with magical halos, and a semi-transparent protective shield quickly formed.

"Ugh...ugh..."

As soon as Havent stepped out of the portal, he swayed and bent over to vomit. He threw up all the magic potion he had just drunk. Because the pre-experience had exhausted his mental energy, the dizziness he felt after passing through the portal was much stronger than usual.

The construct knights, who had drawn their weapons, stared blankly at the white-haired boy vomiting a few meters away and the blue-haired girl standing to the side, unsure of what to do.

After about ten seconds, Haven straightened up, feeling a little better from the dizziness, his face turning unusually pale.

“Serena, I think next time you can wait until I finish speaking before you decide which magic to use.”

He glanced around at the surroundings and street scene, then continued;
"This is Red Lilac Street. It's not actually that far from us. You can just fly me here. I threw up the medicine I just drank. What a waste."

"But Will, you yourself said you wanted me to send you there as quickly as possible."

"Hmm~~~This~~~~~~~"

Protected by the construct knights, Frederick IV looked at the young man and woman ahead, carefully discerning them by the light of the nearby magical streetlamp, and then asked with a hint of doubt:
"Dear Haven? Why are you suddenly here?"

Hearing someone call his name, Haven immediately stopped teaching Serena. After all, the little girl would only selectively listen to what he said, so it didn't really matter whether he said it or not.

"Ah~ Your Majesty, what a beautiful sunny day~~~"

After hearing Haven's words, Frederick IV looked up at the overcast sky and seemed somewhat puzzled.

"Uh... haha... haha... I mean, I never expected to meet Your Majesty on such a romantic night filled with snow."

Frederick IV, trying to suppress the urge to look at Haven, who was speaking strangely, with the same disdain he felt for a fool, reasoned that since Haven was his friend's child, he should be more tolerant; it was a good thing for a boy to be lively.

"Hehehehehe~ Dear Haven, as the little white lion of the North, not being straightforward is not the style of the North. So, you seem to have come here specifically to see me. Is there something you need?"

Seeing Frederick IV, who quickly saw through his awkward attempt to strike up a conversation, I was at least certain of one thing despite my embarrassment: Frederick IV hadn't been fooled or seduced, so his desire to go to the dock was probably his own idea.

With that in mind, Haven decided to stop beating around the bush. After all, if he changed the course of events, who knew what that werewolf would do next? He needed to hurry, otherwise he would feel quite guilty if tens of thousands of people died because of the beastmen.

"Your Majesty, you don't want to go to the border docks? I personally think it's better if you don't go. It's too dangerous there."

Upon hearing Haven's words, Frederick IV's eyebrows twitched slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on his face, but he quickly concealed it.

"Oh? Why would you say that, little Vent? And how did you know I was going to the pier?"

Faced with Frederick IV's slightly scrutinizing gaze, Hevant couldn't help but swallow hard.

This...this...coming in such a hurry, and things are so urgent, how do I explain this? Could it be that I foresaw that you would go to the border dock and then be strangled by that werewolf in front of so many construct knights?

"Hiss~ This, that~ Hmm~"

"Well, the main reason is that I feel it's not safe for you to go to the border docks right now. There's been a riot by beastmen there. As the supreme ruler of the empire, it would be irresponsible of the empire for you to casually go to such a dangerous place."

Frederick IV couldn't help but laugh when he heard Hevent's stammering and clumsy explanation. Clearly, the emperor of the empire also realized that the little fellow was making things up.

"Hehehe, little Went, did your father ever tell you that when you try to persuade someone, you need to be firm in your tone, will, and ideas? Otherwise, if you don't even believe it yourself, then don't expect the person you're trying to persuade to change their mind."

As he spoke, Frederick IV gave Haven a smile that resembled that of an elder caring for a younger person.

"Of course, more importantly, if you intend to persuade someone, you must first tell the truth so that people will believe you more. Okay, I have something to take care of, you can move aside for now."

If you still want to chat after tonight, we can arrange another time.

Seeing Frederick IV about to lead the construct knights forward, Haven, having no other choice, gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and roared:
"You can't go!!!! Your Majesty, it's really dangerous up ahead. There's a trap set for you ahead. You'll die if you go!!"

(End of this chapter)