Chapter 84. We Are Westfalen (3)
The knights preparing for battle froze.
Across the training ground in the distance,
the lord’s residence and even the administrative buildings had already been seized by the pro-Michael faction.
Cain stared through the window with his mouth open.
In front of the lord’s residence, current officials, the Head Maid, and other members of Lorian’s faction were tied together like strings of dried fish and forced to kneel.
Countess Lorian and Lady Sophia were restrained against the third-floor railing.
And thousands,
no,
what looked like more than ten thousand residents were gathering around the lord’s residence.
Damn it! This is bad!
Cain had been completely outmaneuvered.
Eric had publicly acted as if he wanted a direct clash of strength,
then seized everything except the knight order headquarters.
If Lorian and those officials were all taken hostage by Eric,
Cain’s ‘Order for the Suppression of Rebellion’ would become worthless.
Cain jumped through the window and sprinted toward the lord’s residence.
I need to save them!
But at that exact moment,
CRACK!
“Waaaaaaa!”
Lorian and Sophia were pushed from the railing.
The ropes snapped their necks instantly.
Then the cheering continued as knights raised their swords.
More than forty people died within moments.
Cain stopped in shock.
“What? He killed all of them? Why? Why would he kill them?”
Cain collapsed onto the ground.
He had never imagined Eric would go this far.
Even the information he received about the pro-Michael faction had said they only intended to expel Lorian.
He had never imagined Eric would be so merciless.
Then Cain remembered an old nickname he had once heard.
A nickname he had laughed away.
The Executioner of Westfalen.
Cain had spent all his time playing political games and counting knights.
Eric had simply cut off heads.
A chill passed over Cain’s entire body.
Fine tremors shook him.
“This... This is what a real noble is... Terrifyingly ruthless. Hahaha...”
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Every plan he had made was finished.
His dreams.
His future.
His glory.
Everything.
Eric, you son of a bitch! I will kill you with my own hands!
Cain pushed himself up.
He drew his sword.
Then he turned to his knights.
“Knights of Westfalen! Let us kill those Franche bastards and go to hell together!”
Deputy Commander Heinrich and several others immediately ran away.
But twenty knights drew their longswords beside Cain.
How could their feelings be different from his?
They had chosen to drag everyone down with them.
* * *
Rewinding slightly,
to when I seized the lord’s residence.
“Drag out every one of Lorian’s people!”
At my order, soldiers quickly pulled officials and servants outside.
The knights rushed upstairs.
They found Lorian and Sophia and dragged them onto the terrace.
Lorian struggled violently.
She had become skin and bones.
Her thin arms and legs flailed like sticks.
“Release me! Do you even know who I am?!”
Then she saw me.
“You murderer of Noah! You leader of rebels! I’ll... I’ll...”
Ridiculous.
She still did not understand.
I reached out and grabbed Lorian by the throat.
“Ghk!”
“Listen, Lorian. The one who killed your son was Sophia Dijon. She murdered Noah using a black mage’s curse.”
“Ghk... ghk...”
I threw Lorian aside.
Then I placed Soul Reaper against Sophia’s neck.
“Speak. You killed Noah, didn’t you?”
Tears rolled from Sophia’s eyes.
She repeatedly bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
It was practically a confession.
Lorian stared blankly.
Sophia continued crying.
Then Sophia suddenly said something strange.
“Sniff... Older Brother. I miss you so much.”
She meant Janis Dijon.
Well,
I did feel a little sorry for her because she had clearly been used.
But she had still personally murdered Noah.
And this was the fate of nobles.
A noble lived knowing their head might fly at any moment.
Then the officials who had lost their jobs because of Lorian rushed onto the terrace.
Their faces were flushed.
Their breathing was heavy.
They were extremely excited.
The moment the situation turned into an execution,
they apparently wanted to personally hang Lorian.
They dragged Lorian and Sophia toward the third-floor terrace railing.
I did not stop them.
It was finally time to cut away the bad relationship.
Thousands of people watched below.
The officials placed ropes around the women’s necks.
At that moment,
Count Michael finally reached the terrace.
He looked horrified.
“Eric? Why are they... Stop! Release those two immediately!”
“Just stay still.”
“‘Stay still’? Call me Father.”
“My father has already been buried inside my heart.”
“What does that even mean...”
I ignored him.
“Remember this moment. I am making you the King of Westfalen.”
Before Michael could stop them,
the officials pushed Lorian and Sophia over the railing.
CRACK.
Then,
“Waaaaaaa!”
Both necks broke simultaneously.
The crowd erupted.
The knights raised their swords next.
Every current administrative official and lord’s residence servant installed by Lorian was executed.
“Ugh, Eric...”
More than forty heads fell.
The smell of blood suddenly filled the air.
Count Michael staggered from the shock.
I quickly grabbed his arm and raised it high.
Then I shouted,
“We won! Long live Westfalen!”
The residents had gathered for many reasons.
Some wanted entertainment.
Some wanted to see Lorian’s end.
Some wanted to watch corrupt officials bleed.
Pascal and the former officials had traveled through the territory stirring people up.
More than ten thousand people had gathered to watch the executions.
Now they followed my shout.
“Sniff...”
Count Michael shook my raised hand while tears streamed down his face.
Was he mourning Lorian?
Wait.
His mouth was smiling.
Those were not tears of grief.
He finally understood what I meant.
“Long live His Lordship! Long live Young Master Eric!”
“Waaaa! We are Westfalen!”
“**We are Westfalen!**”
“Gods, bless the great Westfalen!”
Count Michael waved to the cheering residents one by one.
I shook my head at his incredible recovery speed.
We finally did it. But where is Cain?
I looked toward the knight order headquarters.
Cain was standing there.
He glared directly at me and drew his sword.
Then he shouted something.
Twenty knights drew their swords with him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just run away.”
I could not help cursing.
The bastard spent all his time playing politics,
and now, of all times, he decided to become a true knight.
“Sir Pierre! Cain is coming! Everyone, battle formation!”
“Battle formation!”
The knights answered immediately.
The ordinary soldiers and residents, however, fell into confusion.
I shouted orders as loudly as possible.
“Soldiers, do not enter the battle! Protect the residents!”
If this many people all tried to flee at once, someone would get crushed.
Once they heard the soldiers would protect them, the residents began moving away more calmly.
A shocking number remained behind because they wanted to watch.
At least complete chaos had been avoided.
They have twenty knights. We have twenty-one, two ghouls, eight Wood Golems, and me. If we only watch out for Cain...
“Aaaaaagh!”
A knight screamed.
Cain had cut off his arm in a single exchange.
As expected from a Sword Master.
I almost needed to stop our own knights from charging him recklessly.
“Do not fight Cain head-on! Ambrose! Ramita! Take Cain! Sir Pierre, help them!”
Pierre and both ghouls rushed Cain.
While they occupied him, we needed to eliminate the other knights quickly.
I jumped from the third-floor terrace and charged forward.
“Golems, harass the enemy knights!”
The Wood Golems searched for things to throw.
There were no convenient rocks nearby.
So they picked up the decapitated corpses and threw those instead.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Knights screamed as bodies smashed into them or were deflected away.
Surprisingly effective.
The knights of Westfalen were powerful.
But fewer than expected had experienced real bloodshed.
Most of the veteran knights were stationed in the colonies.
Like Martin in the past, many young knights became confused and hesitant when they saw blood.
Unless someone was a psychopath,
most people hesitated the first time they cut down another human.
Which made it easier for me to cut their throats.
Slash.
“Grrrrk...”
Knights collapsed while choking on bloody foam.
Deciding to die did not suddenly raise someone above their limits.
In many cases,
thinking about death only made them expose their necks more easily.
Once the Wood Golems ran out of things to throw and directly entered the battle,
the situation rapidly shifted.
Young knights with no experience fighting large monsters struggled badly against the long arms of fifteen-meter Wood Golems.
Fifteen against twenty-six.
Ten against twenty-four.
Four against twenty-three.
“Finish them quickly!”
Raul, a former war mercenary who had already reached Mid-rank Sword Expert, moved like he had wings.
Martin also overwhelmed opponents of equal level through sheer experience.
A few knights who had fought during colonial campaigns resisted fiercely.
It did not matter.
Our numerical advantage crushed them.
Is that all of them?
No enemy knight remained standing on both feet.
Then,
Splat.
A lump of thoroughly tenderized meat landed in front of me.
It had once been Ghoul Ambrose.
Cain!
I immediately ran toward Cain.
I could not afford to lose Ramita or Pierre.
Several knights tried to follow me.
I stopped them.
They would become fertilizer for graves in seconds.
“Mid-rank and above only!”
To be honest, even a Mid-rank Sword Expert could have their head removed in one strike by a Sword Master.
But I had no better strategy against Cain than ganging up on him.
Damn. We should have taken a hostage. I acted too proud.
Before entering Westfalen, someone had suggested taking Cain’s daughter hostage.
I had rejected it as dishonorable.
One swing of Cain’s sword sent me flying.
I regretted my pride while crashing into the ground.
Raul landed beside me.
He growled.
“Grrrr. My lord! That bastard is fucking strong!”
“I know!”
Even Raul, whose level had risen after the battle in the goblin village,
was still far beneath a Sword Master.
Orian’s mana-scattering technique was also almost useless against Cain.
The difference in total mana was simply too great.
A clever trick became nothing more than a trick.
Still,
this was one against many.
Eventually, numbers had to win.
Even a Sword Master did not possess infinite mana.
Bam, bam, bam!
Almost as soon as I thought that,
Ramita was beaten out of the fight.
At least all her limbs were still attached.
“Ramita, fall back!”
If Ramita returned to being an ordinary corpse,
I would never be able to face the King of Berber.
Pascal, who had been watching nearby, dragged Ramita into a corner.
Instead, I sacrificed the remaining golems.
Kuuu.
“These monsters! I’ll turn every one of you into firewood!”
Cain screamed and charged.
The Wood Golems had strength equivalent to Lower-rank Sword Experts.
He turned them into actual firewood.
Cain was accumulating more wounds.
This would not last much longer.
But our casualties were becoming too severe.
In desperation, I placed my hand on the corpse of a random knight.
“Create Ghoul.”
Bweeegh, pfft, pfft.
Ah.
This corpse had holes in its lungs.
Whatever.
I sent the new ghoul charging toward Cain and followed behind.
“Raul, Martin! I’ll create an opening. Use continuous attacks! Shield!”
I summoned [Flare Shield].
Cain had his longsword buried inside the ghoul.
I thrust the burning shield toward him.
“Stop with the petty tricks!”
BOOM!
Cain overloaded his aura and released it in every direction.
Raul, Martin, and I were all caught and thrown backward.
Ugh! He’s spending mana like that? He really intends to die here.
The battlefield briefly became still.
Cain stood alone, bleeding.
Ten knights surrounded him from a distance.
I could feel it.
Cain’s stamina and aura were nearly exhausted.
Only one final clash remained.
Raul seemed to realize it too.
His hands trembled.
“My lord, what do we do?”
“We fight. This is the last one. Cain is almost finished.”
“Why haven’t our reinforcements arrived?”
“I don’t know, asshole. Just fight and die.”
“Hehehe.”
If I charged now,
I really might die.
Should I try attacking with words first?
“Cain. Run away. Take your family too. I swear on my honor as a noble that I will not pursue you.”
He reacted slightly to the word ‘noble.’
But he did not lower his sword.
He already knew the truth.
Even if I let him escape, he was still dead.
If I did not kill him,
Count Michael or the Germania Imperial Family eventually would.
“Noble... Terrifying. I lived all these years without realizing how frightening nobles were.”
“Then leave.”
“But you. Eric, you are the one person I must kill.”
