Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 503

It was Arendt’s usual guiding principle, one he would never admit was knightly even if he died and came back to life. And this time, too, Arendt proposed his unwavering conviction as a strategy.“We’ll strike first. And when a fight breaks out, we’ll gather the priests together and fight while protecting them.”

People couldn’t help but be astonished by the clear yet absurd operation.

Arendt continued, taking in the incredulous stares that gathered around him.

“They said that if we did anything, the priests would turn into ghouls. That couldn’t be a lie, and they probably plan to use the priests to set a trap.”

“That’s right. The moment we exchange hostages, they could mutate the priests into ghouls… Or they might have set up an ambush around the Great Temple.”

As Laius nodded calmly, Arendt answered.

“It’s probably both. They’ve never done things differently. The moment they swap the hostages for me, the ghouls will be summoned, and those guys will likely turn into ghouls and die.”

“It’s all well and good, Arendt. But you shouldn’t call the priests ‘those guys’.”

Although the captain pointed it out, Arendt, of course, pretended not to hear.

“So, we strike first. Or, more accurately, we make it look like we’re striking first. Then we exploit the weakness of those who rely on visual perception.”

“How can you exploit that weakness?”

“By using illusion magic.”

Arendt answered Zakar’s question plainly.

“The one used before to train other kingdoms’ troops and security forces. Let’s try it out. With a little tweaking, it could be quite useful.”

It was a rather shallow tactic, but if successful, it could effectively strike at the enemy’s weakness.

“Because their other senses are dulled, they react a bit slowly, especially when something unexpected unfolds before their eyes. They struggle to figure out what’s going on.”

It was something he personally learned while fighting against beings like Vincent and Roger.

“First, we need to bring as many priests as possible to our side. Well, that’s something I’ll take care of.”

“…Well done, you little brat.”

Arendt continued, ignoring Arthur’s interjection.

“The moment I step into enemy territory, we strike first. At the same time, we hide the priests from their sight with illusion magic, and before they notice, we guide the priests toward our lines as much as possible. Then we set up a magic barrier to block their power and fight while protecting the priests.”

“…How reckless. If even one person makes a mistake, irreversible consequences will occur.”

Diana groaned. Even if they could deploy a barrier to protect the priests from mutation, the task of protecting them and fighting the battle remained.

Count Stadler, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.

“But it is also true that it is the only sure way to rescue everyone.”

It was a very Arendt-like approach. Laius, who had been silent for a moment, began to speak.

“Then I don’t think there’s any point in worrying about it any further.”

“There’s no guarantee that everything will work out, though, as always.”

Arendt added leisurely, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“Wouldn’t it be cooler to make the impossible possible? And at the same time, to give those disgusting bastards a taste of their own medicine.”

“…”

Not many people could argue with Arendt when he spoke like that. Laius sighed deeply and spoke.

“All right, but there’s a condition.”

“Huh?”

The apprentice knight’s brow furrowed instantly.

“I know we can save all the priests, but no one wants you to be in danger.”

But Laius, as always, was resolute.

“Once you’ve rescued all the priests, you too must return to our side as quickly as possible. This is the captain’s order.”

“You really don’t listen to any orders.”

Even as he ruthlessly slaughtered his enemies, Laius’ displeasure was clearly visible. Arendt responded indifferently, his surroundings covered in a pure white frost.

“If I suddenly start listening, that would be scary in its own way.”

“If that’s really the case, I’m thinking of taking you to the infirmary.”

“Look at that.”

Despite their constant verbal sparring, Laius and Arendt steadily reduced the number of their enemies.

During the brief gap, Laius glanced at Arendt, who had his back turned to him.

‘Am I imagining things?’

Before he knew it, Arendt was back to being the arrogant apprentice knight he knew.

The fiery, reckless persona from moments ago had completely vanished.

‘No.’

It definitely wasn’t his imagination.

Just now, Arendt was truly pouring out hatred toward his enemies. It wasn’t a show or a distraction; he genuinely wanted to annihilate the enemies before him.

For a brief moment, he hadn’t even heard his comrades’ voices.

Only after Laius approached and spoke to him did he suddenly come to his senses and return to his original self.

He couldn’t tell if this was a good omen or a bad omen.

“We’ll talk later.”

“If we are both alive by then,”

Arendt gave a short answer, then kicked the ground and walked away. It was a move to clear a path between Laius and the allies, to prevent Laius from being surrounded.

It was the precise movement characteristic of Arendt that he knew.

Yet even this left Laius somewhat uneasy.

‘Something…’

Something felt suffocating. He couldn’t figure out why. He felt like he just needed to take one more step, but that last step was missing.

Then, from a distance, Arendt’s voice suddenly invaded his thoughts.

“Why are you thinking of something else without even answering?”

“…”

“You said we’d talk later.”

At those words, Laius took up his sword again.

As expected, the enemies weren’t easy. With all their senior priests dead, their strength was practically halved, but the Evil Cult’s priests still held their own.

Moreover, as it was close to a head-on confrontation, the Allied Forces, who had to fight while protecting the priests, were bound to be at a disadvantage.

Besides, Lumiel was still inside the Great Temple.

“Prepare to fire!”

The doors to the Great Temple were firmly locked, and archers appeared on the wall separating the temple and the plaza.

Salem, who witnessed the countless flashing arrows, shouted urgently.

“Luna, Ray! Stop those arrows!”

“Fire!”

Almost simultaneously, the arrows escaped the priests’ grasp.

The two spirits flew quickly and scattered the arrows, but they were no match for the large number.

“Ahhh!”

“Ugh!”

Victims hit by arrows began to fall all around. Diana gave a loud command:

“Move the injured to the rear! Those who can fight, fall back and provide cover!”

“Yes!”

But it was impossible to stop the knights and elf warriors trained to endure even arrows.

The Allied Forces advanced diligently, cutting down the enemies.

The distance between Laius and Arendt, who were rampaging at the forefront, and the main Allied force that was lagging behind was gradually closing.

“Second summoning!”

The enemy priest roared loudly. Then, once again, red summoning circles sprang up everywhere, and an even greater number of ghouls poured out.

“You crazy bastards, you went to all this trouble to kill Arendt?”

Rider, who had been fighting the enemy, swore in frustration.

In the end, Arendt was right this time too.

If Llewellyn had not fired his arrow at the enemy line according to plan, the moment Arendt set foot on enemy territory, the summoning circle would be activated and all the priests would turn into ghouls.

Arendt would have been surrounded by ghouls and enemy priests in an instant.

No matter how strong his Frosty Touch was, it was impossible for Arendt to deal with this number of people alone.

Even if the main force that had been watching had quickly joined in, they would have been blocked by the ghouls and priests.

If that had been the case, they would have had to just watch Arendt being murdered.

‘Scary bastard.’

A chill ran down his spine.

Even though he clearly anticipated the existence of the trap, Arendt volunteered to be the bait for the operation.

He was a crazy guy.

‘And there must have been a single-minded desire to save the High Priest.’

But now that Lumiel had not appeared, Arendt’s mind was in shambles.

That’s probably the reason for the disheveled appearance they just saw.

“You vile bastards.”

Eventually, curses came out of Rider’s mouth.

“Do not stop swinging your sword until the Great Temple is reclaimed!”

As if he had just had the same thought, Richt shouted in a loud, angry voice.

Now that Laius had gone to the front lines, it was Richt who was in charge of commanding the remaining knights.

“Yes!”

The knights, their morale boosted, fiercely attacked the enemies.

Llewellyn’s arrows, which flew from behind, accurately cracked open the heads of the enemies and assisted them.

Occasionally, enemy arrows would fly from above their heads, but the knights paid no attention to them.

That was completely left to Salem.

“Protect the priests! Don’t let them touch a single finger!”

Shekhinah, who was in charge of protecting the priests, also gave orders to her subordinates.

Enemies surged toward the Luce priests trapped within the barrier. Some ghouls simply lusted for their blood, while others threatened to break the barrier.

“How long do you think that trick will work!”

Shekhinah calmly responded to the shouts of the Chernion priest.

“For now, we’ll do our best.”

A gentle breeze blew around her, and a pure white magic circle appeared beneath Shekhinah’s feet.

A moment later, another translucent protective layer formed over the magic barrier.

It was a defensive spell cast by Shekhinah.

“Everyone, focus on the enemies in front of you! I’ll take care of the defense!”

The elf warriors responded loudly to Shekhinah’s command.

“Understood!”

Shielded by the translucent barrier, the elf warriors began to cut down the enemies before them.

At that moment, arrows flew fiercely towards the Luce priests. The priests flinched and ducked, but the arrows struck the shield with a sound and bounced off.

The priests let out short exclamations. One of them habitually moved their lips.

“Lord Lu…”

“I will set just one rule.”

At that moment, Shekhinah, who was concentrating on maintaining the magic, spoke firmly.

“At least for now, praying to Lord Luce is forbidden. It’ll only lower morale.”

“Yes?”

The priests asked in bewildered voices. But Shekhinah didn’t respond. Neither did the other warriors and knights guarding the area.

They neither denied nor confirmed Shekhinah’s words, and focused only on eliminating the enemies.

Only then did the Luce priests painfully realize…

“…”

At least on this battlefield, and among those who followed Laius, there was no one left who offered a sincere prayer to Luce.

Luce couldn’t protect them. No, He didn’t protect them.

Those who were now risking their lives fighting for them were traitors who have turned their backs on their god.

Not Luce.

“…”

This war must have been God’s intention. It was Luce who chose Laius as a hero, and it was Luce who showed mercy to Arendt and spared his life.

But all of this was only a mercy born from the desire to win the war against the Chernion Cult.

There was a hero who truly set out to save the world.

Luce, the being they had dedicated their body and soul to until now, was no longer justice.