Episode 224: The brilliant light that exploded when golden light and red light collided caught the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
The sound announcing the ending was much quieter than expected.
Kwasik.
However, everyone who witnessed the result of that small burst could not help but widen their eyes.
dump.
“Wow.”
Let the swordsmith kneel down with a small groan.
Push shoo shoo.
Blood spurted from the stab wound on his abdomen.
It was not a simple penetrating wound.
A strange wave that destroyed the aura itself was spreading throughout his body, and a strange sense of helplessness came over him, to the point where he could not move even his fingertips.
Cough.
“K… Oh my…”
He shakes his head.
“Master…”
Logan chewed his lips in sorrow as he watched his teacher coughing up blood and collapsing.
Logan’s condition was not so good as he was staggering around, his whole body covered in blood as if he had been hacked to pieces.
It wasn’t just the sense of helplessness that came with unlocking the trait.
In addition to my exhausted body, I felt the psychological burden of stabbing my teacher oppressing my soul.
But now that all eyes on the battlefield were focused on him, Logan did not forget what he had to do because of his guilt.
Logan gritted his teeth and straightened up, making eye contact with everyone looking at him with shining red eyes.
The battlefield suddenly became quiet as if time had stopped.
“The war is over.”
The moment when Logan’s low voice broke through the silence and echoed throughout the battlefield.
Clink.
Starting with Luis dropping the sword from his hand, the Esperanza Knights all fell to their knees.
“Damn it!”
The same goes for Wicken Callia, who was one-sidedly focused on Luther.
Everyone in the MacLine army who was watching was surprised by this lie-like scene without the slightest opposition.
“By the will of my lord, I surrender to McLane! Everyone, throw away your swords!”
The words of Louis Hyon, who knelt down, signaled the end of the war.
“May I serve you, my lord?”
Logan nodded heavily at the words carefully spoken by Lewis, who was looking at the fallen swordsman with red eyes.
Then, he took out the highest quality potion he had prepared for himself from his chest and held it out.
“It will help you endure until the priest treats you. Take him quickly.”
“Thank you, Sir Logan.”
As soon as Lewis took the potion, he sprayed half of it on the wound on his abdomen and put the other half in his mouth.
However, looking at his teacher’s face that did not get better even after taking action, Logan had no choice but to grit his teeth.
Even if the teacher arrived at the temple on time, he was not sure whether he would survive.
But I couldn’t help it.
It was a decisive battle in which there was no room left.
If I had taken my time, I would have been the one who fell.
So that last moment bothered me even more.
The teacher’s last sword strike, of which I couldn’t tell whether his strength had run out or whether he had stopped on his own.
‘Master…’
That pitiful heart stopped Lewis once more as he hurriedly turned around to support his teacher.
“Why did you surrender so easily?”
When Esperanza’s troops immediately surrendered to Luis’s cry, the Royal Guards and other nobles’ troops, which were small in proportion, also lost the will to fight. Thanks to the declaration of surrender made almost as promised, the war, which could have been long, ended quickly with minimal sacrifice.
And the reason is also.
“My lord told me that if he were to be defeated, I should surrender immediately and cooperate fully with McLane. Avoid meaningless sacrifices…” The
same words he left behind to his father.
Although the directions may have been different and clashed, the priest’s thoughts had a similar context.
So I sighed even more, and my regretful and complicated feelings had no choice but to shift to resentment of the foolish king’s behavior that had created this situation.
Grumbling.
“Gather the elites of McLane and the Esperanza Knights! Charge straight to the castle!”
“Logan?!”
“Father, please clean up the battlefield.”
Heeeeeeee.
“I must capture the king and end this war.”
Logan’s eyes burned with anger.
Soon, more than 1,200 knights followed Logan and began to race toward the capital.
The war ended with MacLaine’s victory. The Esperanza Knights, who have surrendered to him, have joined forces with McLane and are heading to the royal castle.
Rumors travel faster than words.
People were surprised that the war ended so easily, but they were even more surprised that the battle between the two great families that divided the kingdom ended without major sacrifices.
And everyone who heard the news began talking about one future.
– The king is finished. Now the era of McLane will begin.
That guess immediately became reality.
Just three days after the war ended.
When Logan arrived at the capital with his knights, the only people who greeted him with anger were the terrified residents of the capital.
Doo doo doo doo.
“Get out of the way!!”
“Heeeeeek!”
“It’s the old army!”
“Oh, get down!”
Residents lie down on the spot without even thinking about running away.
Logan ran down the street without even looking at them.
‘come!’
Grandpia, a beautiful palace that is worthy of praise just by looking at it.
However, even that ornate and old-fashioned appearance could not quell the anger boiling in Logan’s heart.
No, rather, that sight seemed to fuel his anger.
“joy!”
The golden aura that was fired towards the tightly closed castle gate struck the beautiful castle gate that everyone was praising.
Wow!
The castle gate is shattered and scattering.
In front of him, Logan shouted in a voice so loud that the entire castle rang.
“Occupy the capital and cut down all who resist! Capture the king, Cleo, and all the new ministers of state!”
“yes!”
With Logan’s shout, the knights pour into the castle.
There was no one blocking the way.
* * *
“Is this what happens in the end….”
Underneath the spire of the royal palace.
The king, standing at the highest point of the capital, saw flame-shaped flags running towards the capital in the distance.
Under the flag, knights wearing armor with the same pattern led the way, and knights wearing eagle-shaped armor supported them.
“I sent them to fight, but in the end, they end up as one…”
Laughter flowed out.
The gamble he made with faith in the swordman’s loyalty ultimately failed.
“You need to run away now, Your Majesty. Logan McLane…”
I could hear the voice of Cleo, a servant who had always supported me, next to me.
“Where?”
King Rogers I’s voice had already lost its strength.
“yes?”
“Where are you running away to and what are you doing?”
“You should plan for the future. There is a refuge in the royal magic tower…” “
That’s it. What’s the point in hiding like that? The swordsman’s loyalty, not the swordsman’s, was the last card I could bet on. Since that hand was wrong, my Fate is over.”
“Your Majesty! How can you say such a thing…”
Cleo bows her head with a dark face.
“Thank you for your hard work. There is no need to risk your life, so leave now.”
“Your Majesty! How can I… come with me? If you go to the royal magic tower I told you about…” “
No, it’s done. What can I do if I survive so poorly?”
The king turned his head away as if he would no longer be questioned.
From where I looked, the sight of the castle gate being shattered and falling apart was unfolding.
The king laughed again as it seemed like it was showing his future.
“I will die as king. So you must find a way to live separately.”
“…your majesty.”
“Logan McLane won’t leave behind anything related to me. If you don’t want to die, move quickly.”
The only retainer who remained by his side until the end.
The king decided to remember Cleo that way.
Cleo, who was biting her lip while lowering her head, tried to speak again but stopped.
His gaze was focused on the glass of wine the king was continuously sipping from.
Cleo, who had been watching this for a while, came down the stairs, bowed her head deeply towards the king’s back, and quickly disappeared somewhere as if she had made up her mind.
* * *
“Search from the corners of the villa!”
“The first group goes to the king’s office and bedroom!”
“There’s the new Minister of State!”
Jump and jump.
Logan walked straight toward the main hall of the palace, listening to the knights’ voices echoing throughout the castle.
The huge and majestic door that decorated the entrance to Daejeon was open at an angle without anyone guarding it. That seemingly neglected sight aroused deep bitterness in Logan’s heart.
It was because of the feeling of déjà vu brought about by my past life experiences.
‘Is the end of a ruined country always like this?…’
I feel like I am now reliving the devastation caused by the imperial army in my past life.
Looking at the magnificent but shabby gate of Daejeon, Logan had no choice but to stop for a moment.
But he soon bit his lip again and clenched his fists.
‘No, it is to avoid creating that ruined country.’
All the plans I had planned from the beginning have already gone awry.
However, if he were to completely seize real power in this country and start over, this level of change would actually serve as a stepping stone for an even bigger leap forward.
Logan strengthened his resolve and took a powerful step again.
Then he checked what he had to do and organized his thoughts again.
The most important thing was clarity.
‘I don’t know about the others, but I have to catch Cleo. That job in the dungeon is not something a mere treacherous person can do. It’s putting the king in danger, and the only result
is…’ a confrontation between himself and the king.
And those who benefited from the conflict were also clear.
‘Empire.’
The emperor’s distribution in the empire instilled in the subconscious the idea that although he may exert force, he is not a person who will plot behind the scenes.
But when things got to this point, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.
‘Maybe that appearance is just a trick, and maybe it’s not the emperor… but the second prince.’
A suspicious communication sent by the 2nd Prince just before the war.
Of course, there was no basis for speculation that he might be related to Cleo.
But if there are no other cases….
‘No matter how absurd the conclusion, it is the truth.’
Additionally, the point at which the king began to fall into disrepair was quite unfortunate.
This coincided with the time when Cleo appeared as a close associate of the king.
‘It cannot be considered a normal change that the king whom the teacher so highly praised disappeared so suddenly. He must have been up to something.’
Recalling the information Damian provided just before the war, Logan came to a tentative conclusion.
“Even if you run away, we will chase you to the end of the world and catch you.”
Puzzle.
As his anger rose again, Logan’s steps became faster.
Although I came to the royal castle as quickly as possible, three days still passed.
Enough time to run away.
Of course, Logan had no expectations from the beginning that he would be able to correct the king or Cleo in the castle.
This demonstration of force by mobilizing knights was simply to symbolize that real power of the country had now been transferred to him by occupying the royal castle.
The idea was that he would take control of everything and catch those who ran away.
Okay.
bang!
An unexpected sound came from between the doors of Daejeon that had been forcibly pushed out.
“Now you’re here, Logan McLane.”
It was the king’s voice echoing from the throne room in Daejeon.
