Chapter 19: The Plan Fails

Knight Green, who dismounted swiftly, watched the scene in surprise. The man with a horse-like face lay on the ground, foam dripping from his mouth—clearly suffering severe internal injuries, likely caused by the spear of the fallen knight. The two men whose relationship he still couldn’t figure out were gently lifting the man and placing him on a flat surface. As for the man before him, aside from his unusually pale complexion and bloodshot eyes, he seemed unharmed. Yet Green was certain this man must have used some extraordinary magic to block the attack. The ability to resist an attack from a knight with combat energy solely through magic at close range filled Green with admiration. Though it wasn’t he and his companions who arrived, the man would likely have died here anyway, sparing them a lot of trouble. But Green didn’t want to see this happen—after all, his task was to uncover the secret, not to see its holder perish. He wasn’t the kind to give up on his responsibilities, never had been.

After asking a few questions, Green and his companion learned that the fallen knight had targeted Komer and the others. He failed in his attempt and was instead injured by Komer’s magic. Their timely arrival prevented him from achieving his goal. They found it strange—although the fallen knight was notorious, he didn’t kill for money or power like ordinary mercenaries or assassins. It was said their creed was to kill for love, justice, reason, or any reason at all, but never for money. Yet this assassination seemed peculiar. Duke Philip seemed the most suspicious candidate, but such a rebellious figure as the fallen knight would never work for someone like Duke Philip. This truly puzzled them.

After this battle, Komer and the others realized that without the help of the two Rema knights, they would likely have died long ago. This greatly motivated Komer, Eilot, and the others. Aside from Pube, they all tried, intentionally or not, to discuss martial arts with the two Rema knights along the way. Even Eilot, who usually cared much about his pride, shamelessly asked Green and his companion about swordsmanship skills while his wounds were still healing. These two consecutive battles made everyone realize how fragile life could be. Whether it was Eilot or Fran, they practiced martial arts whenever they had time, hoping to gain even a slight advantage—something that might save their lives in a life-or-death struggle.

Fortunately, although Mare kept a cold expression, Knight Green gave quite a few instructions to others, and even Fran and Baoling gained a lot from it, which made Komer and his group very grateful. If it weren’t for the concern that the other party’s goal was directed at him, Komer even thought it might not be a bad idea to allow the Light Religion to spread in his territory.

In the days that followed, the situation remained quite peaceful. Komer and the five who closely followed Knight Rema were well aware of the dangers along the way, so they stayed by his side at all times. Meanwhile, Komer tried hard to process the vague fragments of scenes and memories that had flooded his mind over the past two days. Through his conscious efforts to recall and digest them, many vague scenes became clearer, and connections between various fragments and individual scenes emerged, gradually forming a systematic consciousness.

This surprised and delighted Komer, as if a child learning new knowledge suddenly found that upon waking, he had acquired many skills and knowledge he had long desired. Yet, applying these skills in practice felt so unfamiliar that more time was needed to digest and adapt to them. What worried Komer even more was the vague sense that someone else’s personality and consciousness seemed to be being imposed on him, constantly changing him. Although it was hard to tell yet whether these changes were good or bad, Komer disliked it. He preferred to be an independent person, free from the influence of anyone else.

The wide Nise River served as a jade belt separating the Greenland Forest from the Leon region. Due to its strategic location, the mouth of the Nise River became the most important castle fortress in the Homer region—the Bruce Fortress. From here, crossing the Nise River via a floating bridge led to the chaotic Leon region. Two thousand mercenaries were stationed here to guard the fortress, preventing mobs and slaves who escaped from Leon from infiltrating other parts of Homer.

Just as Komer and his group arrived at the Bruce Fortress, somewhere in his territory hundreds of miles away, a discussion was taking place in an equally calm manner.

Raising the wine cup on the table and taking a large gulp, a bearded man with a rough appearance spoke impatiently, “Enough! Stop acting all profound here. Things have come to this—it seems our Caucasus is really about to have a true lord. What are everyone’s opinions? How should we deal with this?”

“Hmph, what about your opinion? Just asking us—what can we do? Even your so-called foolproof plan failed. What else can we do but wait until this lord arrives before making any plans? After all, we’ve been running these mines for so many years. He can’t just take them away like that. Even the strongest dragon can’t suppress the local snake. I don’t believe we can’t defeat a kid just by uniting.” A group of men dressed like merchants encouraged each other.

“It’s not certain. Mine ownership should belong to the lord—this is an unchanging principle. When there’s no lord, you can pretend not to know, but once the lord arrives, ownership is likely to change.” An elderly man with a mocking expression wore old, coarse twill clothes that were surprisingly neat and clean. His black hair was neatly combed, making him look more like a conservative gentleman, yet no one dared underestimate him. As the only leader of an adventurer’s guild in the Caucasus region, he had considerable influence there. “Even the magical beasts couldn’t deal with those guys. Who else has a solution? If we want to fight him, we’ll have to find another way.”

“Damn it! We spent a lot of money to set up this trap, only for it to be broken so easily. That kid is really lucky—how did he get two Rammer knights to be his bodyguards? Those Knights of the Light are usually so arrogant. It’s rare to see them outside. Besides matters within their church, why would they suddenly team up with that kid and even go to Leon?” A bearded man expressed regret. “Look at those guys still making a fortune selling wolf pelts. I don’t know if we’re paying to give them loot or to take their lives.”

“Although it was those two Rammer knights who did it, those servants died in the attack by the magical beasts. Only these guys survived. If they weren’t capable, no one would believe it,” the elderly man mused. “We’ll just have to see what happens next.”

“Hmph, if we have to wait for them to arrive, I doubt anyone will even be able to cry. Hes, your adventurer’s guild has high taxes—most of the profits go to our respected lord. Don’t you feel pain about that?” The bearded man sneered coldly.

“Hehe, I just lose a little money. But if some people can’t handle this task properly, their bosses won’t approve. I think you’d better think carefully about how to report this to your masters.” The old man, Hes, smiled carelessly, lit his tobacco with a magic flint, put the pipe in his mouth, took a deep drag, and then exhaled slowly. Thick blue smoke filled the room.

“Well, we’ll see. I don’t believe those two Ramak knights can stay with them forever. Will they even start spreading their religion in the Caucasus? With all of us here, can’t we really do anything about them?” The bearded strongman seemed piqued by something; he glanced around nervously. The representative of the free peasants kept his head down and stayed silent. In such a situation, he had no chance to speak—he could only listen. The others also remained quiet, clearly waiting to see what actions the man behind the bearded strongman would take against the approaching lord.