Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 476

“I’ve never felt this uneasy while patrolling the palace.”Arthur murmured. Richt, walking beside him, responded curtly.

“I guess there’s nothing we can do since the situation is so chaotic.”

The palace was always noisy and lively, but today it was quiet, almost eerie.

There were also quite a few servants and attendants who chose to remain here.

These were people who had no place to return to, or who had decided to bury their bones in the palace if they died.

However, all the young servants were sent away, and many of the nobles who were usually busy with official duties had also left the palace.

Those who remained in the palace lived quietly, trying not to make a sound.

The only people who occasionally caught their eyes were soldiers and knights patrolling with vigilance, fully armed, so it was only natural that the atmosphere was tense.

“…What should I say? It’s strange. Honestly, I’ve always thought the palace wasn’t a place to get attached to.”

At first, he guarded the palace with honor, loyalty, and the pride of being a knight.

At that time, the palace seemed endlessly bright and splendid.

It was because he knew well that, as a commoner, reaching such a position was originally nothing but a dream.

But recently, his thoughts have changed a little.

He realized anew that he didn’t feel much affection for the place called the palace itself.

“Honestly, if it weren’t for the captain and my seniors, I wouldn’t have settled into the Knights. You know that. I’m not the type of person who would fit in well in a place like this.”

“I know. It’s a shame you’ve been held back one way or another.”

“That’s true. I should have come out a long time ago.”

Arthur grumbled at Richt’s joke that didn’t seem like a joke.

“You know, Senior, you’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you? You used to be quite cool.”

“I’m not bad now, though. And you think I’m not cool?”

“So, are you sorry?”

“It’s quite a shame.”

Regardless of the tense atmosphere, the two began exchanging idle jokes.

Even this, they soon stopped doing after realizing that it was a habit they had picked up from Arendt.

Arthur changed the subject.

“The Neumann Merchant Group has moved its base outside the Imperial Capital. They’ve temporarily allied with the East Merchant Group and settled in a city near the capital.”

It was a decision made to ensure the smooth supply of supplies to the battlefield even if problems arose in the capital.

“Once the situation stabilizes, they will return to the main headquarters in the Imperial capital.”

The Imperial capital, the center of the Empire and originally supposed to be the safest place, was now no different from a wasp’s nest.

People who felt uneasy also began to leave the castle one by one.

Those who remained were forced to minimize going out and barely managed to make a living.

Thanks to this, the always bustling commercial districts and downtown areas, as well as the Great Temple, were as quiet as a mouse.

“They made a good choice. I heard recently that they joined forces with the East Merchant Group.”

“I heard they’ve left many volunteers behind in the main headquarters. So, I’m sure there won’t be any major problems within the palace.”

“I guess so.”

Richt nodded.

There was no way Neumann couldn’t have handled things flawlessly.

Arthur, about to say more, suddenly closed his mouth.

They discovered a group of officials approaching them head-on.

Richt also noticed the same and stopped walking.

“Duke Lancelot.”

At the sound of Richt’s call, Duke Lancelot, who was having a serious conversation with his subordinates, raised his head.

“Oh, Sir Richt. And Sir Arthur.”

“It’s been a while, Your Grace. So you were at the Imperial Palace.”

Arthur gave a respectful bow to Duke Lancelot and his party as they naturally joined the group. Duke Lancelot let out a hearty laugh.

“Well, we’ve been short on hands, you see. The young ones still have many days ahead of them, so this old man has to hold the fort. I gave a good number of my men some time off too, and now I barely have a moment to breathe.”

“Don’t overdo it. It’s bad for your health.”

The Duke nodded at Richt’s concerned words.

“Thank you for your concern. Take care of your health as well.”

After a brief conversation, the two men gave way to allow the Duke and his party to pass.

The Duke, after giving them a nod, began to walk again with his men.

But then…

Arthur, who was looking blankly at them, widened his eyes.

He instinctively reached out and grabbed the arm of an official who was passing by his side.

.

“…”

The official’s eyes widened as he was suddenly grabbed.

“Sir Arthur? Wh-What’s the matter?”

“Arthur?”

Richt also asked curiously. But instead of answering right away, Arthur simply stared at the man.

It was someone he encountered quite often.

He was the head of a minor count’s house, someone who sincerely trusted and followed Duke Lancelot.

Whenever they happened to run into each other at the palace, they would at least exchange brief greetings.

“Sir Arthur?”

He called Arthur’s name again. Only then did Arthur speak.

“…Count. I know it’s presumptuous of me to ask.”

Richt noticed the strong wariness in Arthur’s eyes.

“You’ve always had bad knees, so you were limping a bit, weren’t you? You seem fine today, though.”

The atmosphere instantly froze at his suddenly lowered voice.

There was a huge explosion that caused them to stagger.

“Your Grace!”

Richt, suddenly coming to his senses, quickly threw himself over Duke Lancelot. After the shaking subsided, Arthur hurriedly checked the direction from which the sound had come.

“…”

He was at a loss for words for a moment.

It was because he realized that the source of the sound was the Third Knights’ dormitory.

Duke Lancelot, who barely managed to raise his head, and Richt, who was trying to look around to assess the situation, both froze in place.

A blood-red barrier completely covered the living quarters of the Third Knights.

“What is that…”

Behind Duke Lancelot, who was moving his lips silently, an unsettling sound suddenly echoed.

“Ugh. Cough.”

The Count, who had been captured by Arthur, was vomiting repeatedly.

Anyone could tell that this wasn’t normal. Duke Lancelot was dumbfounded.

Richt asked quietly, protecting the Duke.

“Has the Count ever left Your Grace’s side?”

“I went back home last night… and met him again this morning. We’ve been together ever since.”

The Duke, who was trying to remain calm while, noticed that the Count’s nausea soon turned into laughter.

“Ugh, ugh… Cough…”

Bright red blood began to flow out from his mouth, which he had covered with his hand, and from his nose and eyes.

The man raised his head and glared straight at Arthur, grinning.

“Lord Chernion’s curse… will be with you forever.”

The sight of him spitting out blood and crying bloody tears while talking was incredibly bizarre.

But there was no time to lose focus.

“Run away!”

As soon as Arthur drew his sword, the man’s body began to swell into a grotesque shape. The others, who had been watching in stunned amazement, also turned and began to run.

“Your Grace! Hurry, this way!”

The officials who had been supporting the Duke under Richt’s protection began to leave the place in a hurry.

“No one in this filthy Holy Empire will escape Lord Chernion’s judgment!”

The priest of the Chernion cult let out a mad cry, baring his blood-stained teeth.

“The grace of darkness is with me!”

The man’s limbs were torn apart and exploded.

Flesh splattered everywhere, writhing in strange shapes, and wet blood gathered on the floor, forming a bright red summoning circle.

Ghouls would soon pour out.

Richt, who had turned his back on Duke Lancelot and his party, was now in a battle stance, and shouted.

“Someone, go to His Majesty and inform him of this situation! And have everyone evacuate the palace!”

“Senior, Arendt is in the dorm! Senior Glenn and Senior Rider are still in there too!”

Arthur shouted urgently.

The Third Knights’ dormitory was the first to be raided, not anywhere else in the palace.

Moreover, the fact that they were targeting a time when only Arendt and a few other knights remained meant that their target was Arendt.

“…It’ll be okay.”

Richt answered with a stiff face.

It was a tone more like a promise to himself than an attempt to reassure Arthur.

“We have to focus here. Otherwise, everyone here will die.”

“Damn it, these fucking bastards!”

Arthur also just swore and didn’t bother saying more.

The magic circle burst into a red light and began to summon ghouls.

Ghouls that looked like they had just crawled out of hell began to rise one by one.

“Keeeeeeeek!”

A humanoid ghoul with its mouth agape let out a terrible scream.

When Glenn and Rider hurried down to the lobby, the battle between Arendt and the ghouls had already begun.

The thick, bloody scent of the ghouls stung their nose, and they felt a bone-chilling chill.

“What the heck is happening…”

“Do you have time to be surprised?”

While Rider was muttering in bewilderment, Glenn quickly drew his sword.

Arendt’s situation as he was facing a huge number of ghouls alone, looked dangerous even at first glance.

A pure white frost storm engulfed the ghouls.

The frozen ghouls, unable to withstand the extreme cold, turned into a handful of silver frost and scattered into the air.

“Kaaaaaaah!”

A ghoul with its mouth agape rushed at Arendt to bite him.

Arendt tried to respond right away, but !

Glenn’s sword flew straight in and lodged itself in the enemy’s jaw.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?”

“Can’t you see? We’ve been attacked.”

Arendt, who had responded irritably, quickly stepped back.

“The entire dormitory is covered in a barrier. The windows don’t break, and the doors don’t budge. You can’t even break them.”

“What about breaking the barrier?”

Glenn asked, wary of the ghouls surging in.

“Will that work? I’ve tried several times already, and there’s not even the slightest gap left.”

It meant that it was a barrier that Nikephoros had planned and created.

It might not be impossible to destroy, but trying to break the barrier while facing so many enemies would be tantamount to suicide.

Meanwhile, Rider who had run into the captain’s office shouted.

“The communication port is down!”

Because of the barrier, all contact with the outside world was completely blocked.

“Fuck, damn!”

Glenn finally lost his temper.

It meant that they had no way to escape until they dealt with all the enemies.

What made him more anxious was not being able to check the situation outside, but being trapped right now.

But the reaction of the apprentice knight next to Glenn was quite different.

Arendt, gripping his sword, swung it cleanly at the rushing enemy.

“Ugh…!”

The ghoul froze in the same posture as when it was screaming.

The clean, no-frills strike was truly a move worthy of Arendt von Eckhardt.

The ghoul was instantly reduced to icy dust and disappeared.

His golden eyes had grown cold and piercing.

“Let’s wrap this up quickly. Now that things have come to this inside, it won’t be quiet outside either.”

His eerily calm voice was completely out of place in the chaos of the dormitory.

Thanks to this, Glenn and Rider were able to regain their composure.

It was foolish to be upset over something that they couldn’t change right now.

What was important now, as Arendt said, was to subdue the enemies as quickly as possible.