Episode 422 How to Live as a Wandering Knight (1)
Above ground. A remote village in the southern continent, ‘Wakework’.
This village, which was always warm and humid and fruit farming was abundant, has been suffering from unprecedented drought and famine in recent decades or centuries.
Extreme drought The land is drying up and cracking, and trees and grass are burning rather than dying.
Forest fires of enormous scale burned mountains and dried up lakes, and wild and water animals were also killed in droves.
Because of the open dungeons everywhere, monster damage was exploding.
Whiiying –
The hot, dry wind carries ashes.
It blows from the mountain ranges on the other side, which have been turned into charcoal piles by forest fires.
These spicy ash, driven by the wind, sucked up even the remaining moisture and made people’s minds even more impoverished.
……and.
There was a traveler crossing over that desolate barren land.
Underneath the tattered black cloak, the matted black armor peeks out.
A plague doctor’s mask with a long stork’s beak hung down from the waist, and an elongated object wrapped in a bandage was carried on his back.
Clap-Clap-
Every time he moved a step that seemed arduous, the sound of the joints of the armor resounding faintly.
wandering knight. not even a word. It is a group of people that can be seen often, if not common, in these difficult times.
The wandering knight in black armor moved with weary steps and arrived at Wakewok.
He headed straight to the nearest tavern, opened the withered wooden door, entered and took a seat in a corner.
Due to famine, drought, forest fires, and monster damage, the food situation in the village was not very good.
It was reflected in the alcohol and snacks served at the tavern.
Two handfuls of boiled beans on a plate with missing teeth and a glass of beer that has not been drained.
At least it was a pub, so it was a boom that you could enjoy even if you paid money.
The Wandering Knight checked whether the mask on his waist was in good condition, and then quietly drank his beer.
at that time.
A chatter began to be heard from the center table of the tavern.
Two men who appeared to be vigilantes were having a conversation.
Since ancient times, taverns have always been a hotbed of rumors.
And there are probably quite a few people who agree with the fact that men who have nothing to do are usually quarreling and arguing about politics when drunk.
“Yes. Are you conservative or progressive?”
“I’m always on the progressive side. What about you?”
“Eh- what are you asking? I’m a conservative, a conservative!”
They confront each other by expressing their own views on the current continental situation.
“Oh, of course, the rightful person should be the emperor! Isn’t it only natural that the first crown prince be crowned? The Donquixote family, the Usher family, and the Leviathan family are doing well!”
“I think the 2nd Crown Prince’s Highness is fine too. I can understand the choices of the Baskervilles, the Morgues, the Bourgeois, and the Quo Vadises.”
“Eh- so they’re saying it’s right that they staged a coup?”
“A coup d’état. It’s just a line-up fight. It’s a political fight, so it’s correct to call it a civil war.”
“So. Is it right that the seven families of the nation to save the country are fighting a civil war? This is it! Also, the second prince whom they appoint as the emperor has not appeared in front of the people of the empire for several decades? A real person now. I don’t even know if I am!”
“Uhh- you seem disrespectful. Isn’t it the same for the 1st prince’s faction to wage a civil war in this country. Why do you attribute it to the fault of the 2nd prince’s faction?”
The current situation on the continent was truly complicated.
Aside from the massive forest fires spreading throughout the empire, and the unprecedented drought and famine monster damage, the political world was engaged in a fierce civil war among themselves.
The seven pillars that support the empire.
Iron-Blooded Swordsman Baskerville Sorceress Morgue Religious Chanter Quo Vadis Changhae Song Don Quixote Consort Usher Extremist Darkness Leviathan Conglomerate Bourgeois.
After the death of the emperor not too long ago, these seven families were in fierce confrontation depending on who should be appointed as the next emperor.
Whether Don Quixote, Usher, Leviathan, or the Old Testament faction of the Quo Vadis family, the 1st Crown Prince, Jack Meridue, was enthroned.
Morgue, the Baskerville family, and the New Testament faction of the Quo Vadis family, the bourgeoisie, were enthroning the second prince, Ralph, as the emperor.
Both crown princes were born with the lineage of the first founding emperor, possessed the power of a prophet, and were also the subjects of an oracle that ‘one of them would destroy the world, the other would save the world’.
So, which of the two would ascend to the throne was inevitably a matter of interest to all the people of the empire.
If the wrong prince becomes emperor, the empire will be ruined.
“Of course, the first crown prince should ascend the throne! It’s only natural that he is the eldest son, and he’s been appearing in front of the people of the empire for the past several years, taking the lead in everything. Even in our family, the only hope is the eldest son!”
“Haha- Is the imperial family the same as your Pungbi Baksan family? And the second child in your family is much smarter.”
“What! Why are you talking about our house!”
“Because you talked about your family first. And realistically, I wonder if it would be possible for the first crown prince to ascend the throne. Now that the Old Testament faction of the Quo Vadis family has virtually collapsed, it is an established theory that the general trend is leaning towards the second crown prince. I heard that the Don Quixote family and the Usher family talk a lot even within the family right now?”
“What? Don Quixote and Usher? Why? Is there some controversy?”
“It’s just a rumor rather than a controversy… It’s a rumor that the current head of household is sick. I hear that he’s very seriously ill. Let’s do it tomorrow.”
“Eh? The spear king Cervantes and the nobleman Rodrick? That’s ridiculous! You didn’t see the two of them when the devil appeared in the ecliptic the other day? I saw them with my own two eyes! They’re superhuman! Masters! These are not people who would succumb to disease!”
“Well, I’ve also heard rumors. Anyway, it’s already been several years since the two of them stopped holding their current positions. I heard that the younger brother of the head of the Don Quixote family and the younger sister of the head of the head of the Usher family are acting as regents.”
“Hmm, I heard that too. Well, originally, there weren’t many members of the Don Quixote family and the Usher family, so I heard that the collateral characters were also struggling, so is that why?”
Although the quarrel between the two men was superficial, it summarized the situation on the continent well in its own way.
1 Don Quixote Usher Leviathan Quo Vadis Old Testament, starting with Crown Prince Jack Meridue.
2The Baskerville Morgue bourgeois Quo Vadis New Testament faction, starting with Prince Ralph.
Now that the Quo Vadis Old Testament faction had disappeared, the civil war was intensifying.
This confrontation, which has been going on for a very long time, began to flare up in earnest just a few years ago due to the ‘Night Hound’ incident.
Justification. The Hound of the Night offered it to the 2nd Prince faction and went.
A fight over whether the hound of the night is a wicked man or a rather violent but righteous man who expelled a demon hiding among humans.
Coincidentally, all three of the demons from among the convoy belonged to the faction of the first prince, so the other families protested.
Isabella of the Baskervilles who accused Pedro of the House of Don Quixote of the Usher family and Thomas of the House of Leviathan of being a demon. Banshee of the House of Morgue. Love Bad of the House of Bourgeois.
Their statements were complete and the evidence was complete.
‘I request a retrial on the Hound of the Night.’
However, the claim, led by Morgue Banshee, was dismissed.
Don Quixote immediately tried to cut off Usher’s tail in Leviathan, and in the end, even the first prince came to the fore and denied it.
‘Doubting them is the same as doubting me.’
Rarely, the attitude of the 1st Crown Prince, who took a hardline attitude, eventually caused this long civil war.
However, it wasn’t that the 2nd Crown Prince faction didn’t have something to gain from this trial.
The 2nd Crown Prince, who did not show up enough to be rumored to be missing, was able to cover up the lack of influence with a strong justification.
The Baskerville Morgue Bourgeois Quo Vadis rallied under a very basic and ethical tenet that those who colluded with the devil, the devil, should be rejected.
Seven families, each rivaling the power of one kingdom, entered the Civil War.
They began to tighten the grip on the entire territory and cut off all trade with the enemy camp.
The civil war was intensifying.
And apart from this, the people of the empire, who were suffering from various natural disasters such as drought, wildfire and monster damage, had to suffer even more.
Public sentiment was heading for the worst.
However, in the meantime, there was also a rumor that was like a ray of hope for the people.
“Now, let’s stop talking nonsense.”
“That’s right. It’s a story that all the high-ranking ones talk about.”
“Rather than that, did you hear that rumor?”
“What rumors?”
“You mean vigilantes who roam all over the continent.”
“Aren’t we vigilantes vigilantes?”
“Yeah, this guy! Not the poor vigilantes like us. The knights who operate throughout the empire.”
“What about a knight. In this situation. All of those things are nonsense.”
“No! Listen!”
A hopeful rumor that soothes the hearts of the people devastated by all kinds of natural disasters.
It was a story about ‘NIGHT WALKERS’, a private group and vigilante group.
“They say they travel thousands of kilometers a day to subdue monsters. They say they are made up of extremely strong people.”
“Does that make sense?”
“Yes! I went to the city across the street, but they showed up and destroyed a group of monsters! Is that all? They say that if you follow them, the gods will bless you with food and water, and they take refugees in droves! Whopping half of the city’s population Did you follow me?”
“Wow. If there are righteous people like that, why don’t they appear in our village?
“…Well, isn’t it because there are few people and the affected area is so wide?”
“Yeah- let’s say that it is. You have to have that kind of hope to survive somehow.”
The only force that receives the support of the people.
They are the ‘night walkers’, vigilantes.
Mysterious people gathered under the slogan, “Even the strongest darkness is driven back by the weakest light.”
They traveled all over the continent with rather childish nicknames such as ‘Night Saint’, ‘Night Knight’, ‘Night Sniper’, ‘Night Warrior’, ‘Night Wealthy’ and ‘Night Queen’.
And, like the old folktale ‘The Pied Piper’, he whispered salvation with sweet words and took many people away.
People were afraid even while waiting for them.
I was hopeful, but also wary.
Longing, curiosity, hope, anxiety, alertness, fear… or just nonsense, they follow them without fail today as well.
Right then.
…bang!
The tavern door cracked open and a vigilante soldier rushed in.
“Raid! Raid! Let’s play!”
At the same time, the sound of hornets announcing the monsters’ attack began to resonate throughout the village. Touuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
–
Before the sound could be heard, the people in the tavern moved in a hurry. The
two soldiers, who had been bickering over politics just before, hurriedly Grabbing the sword and spear, the tavern owner left everything behind and took refuge in the
warehouse . It was at that time that
the wandering knight
,
who had been sitting in the corner like a statue,
moved
.