Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 469

Sure enough, within a few hours, sporadic reports began pouring in from across the Empire.In one territory, ghouls were summoned from the luggage of a person staying at an inn, causing the territory to be taken over and the people to evacuate in a hurry.

Cantares called Laius, Diana, and Arendt into his office for a brief meeting.

“I questioned the thieves, and they said they were briefly joined by a stranger while camping a while ago.”

Arendt, who had personally interrogated the thieves, reported with a displeased expression.

“They say they couldn’t see his face properly because he was wearing a robe, but the back of his hand that they momentarily saw was covered in wounds.”

“A Chernion Cult priest who had been converted into a ghoul.”

Cantares muttered.

“Yes. Like any thieves, they harassed him and stole several items. But he handed over a jewel, saying it was the most valuable thing he owned. It glowed red, and it was something they’d never seen before.”

Arendt nodded briefly and continued.

“That jewel was used in a bet among the thieves, and the first thief to be sacrificed when the ghouls poured out got it. It was probably a magic stone engraved with a summoning spell.”

“Similar things are happening all over the place right now…”

Diana muttered, her face twisted in frustration. Arendt, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, continued sullenly.

“I compiled the reports coming in from the palace and the information I personally gathered through the Neumann Group. The survivors gave similar testimonies. It seems they used similar methods to approach wanderers, thieves, and peddlers.”

“Then tracking them would be virtually impossible.”

Arendt responded to Cantares’s words with a simple yes.

“Yes. That’s what it seems like. It seems like the target was an unspecified number of wanderers.”

But even though he spoke lightly, Arendt’s expression was not so light.

Cantares, who had been silent for a moment, sighed deeply.

“First, we need to share this information with the temple and issue an alert to be wary of unidentified people walking around with their faces covered.”

“I don’t know if that’s useful now, but it’s better than nothing.”

Arendt responded with a displeased expression.

“I’ve also given instructions to Llewellyn’s subordinates.

Even explorers wandered from place to place, so there was no guarantee they wouldn’t become targets.

Because of Nikephoros’ trickery, Lexion couldn’t immediately detect where and how many of the summoning magic stones had been scattered.

The fact that nothing was detected until the situation escalated to this point spoke volumes.

“It might be faster to move the temple soldiers and search.”

Diana, who had been lost in thought for a while, suggested.

“Because the priests will be able to quickly detect the sacred power of the Chernion Cult.”

“I agree. The palace forces are already struggling to contain the current situation.”

Arendt added.

The ghouls, who had no sense of reason and would kill anything in sight, were too numerous to stop with the police force. So, in the end, the imperial knights and elf warriors had no choice but to take action.

“And they’re so strong that even Warren was injured. That was the case back then, because he was defending the people and holding them back alone. Their numbers and fighting prowess are not something to be underestimated.”

Moreover, there was no way to know when or where the same thing would happen again. If they didn’t resolve this quickly, the entire Empire would be in shambles.

“First of all, Your Highness, I think it would be right to block access to the palace.”

Laius spoke in a subdued voice.

“We should restrict access and thoroughly verify identities upon entry. If necessary, we may also conduct a baggage search.”

“Okay. Let’s do that. Captain Diana, I know it’ll be difficult, but please take care of the internal security of the palace. Captain Laius, do your best to use the Third Knights and the Elf Warriors to hold off the enemies.”

“I will follow your orders.”

Diana and Laius bowed their heads simultaneously. As the meeting concluded, Cantares looked at Arendt again.

“This is a personal question, but why did you go to the Neumann Group’s headquarters?”

“I had some personal business to attend to. Are you interfering with my private life?”

As expected, a harsh reply came.

“You shameless brat… Huh?”

Cantares, who had been grumbling irritably, suddenly stopped talking, feeling a sense of discomfort. He had noticed a pearl earring he had never seen before attached to Arendt’s left earlobe.

“What kind of earring is that? Is it for tracking movement? Aren’t accessories supposed to help with focus?”

“It’s for bug repelling. I didn’t want to go this far.”

Arendt replied angrily.

The old pearl ornament stuck to his ear was, of course, Nereid’s holy relic.

Recently, he’d been having more and more sleepless nights, and as he’d been going on long-distance trips more frequently, it’s become a hassle to always bring things with him.

So he asked Neumann to modify it into a special earring. Other accessories could be lost in battle.

Of course, Diana, who had no way of knowing that fact, asked curiously.

“Bug repelling? I’ve never heard of pearls having such properties.”

“There’s a specific type of insect that it works on. They’re also called Luce and Chernion. It’s quite effective.”

Cantares and Diana were silently disgusted. But Laius was more interested in something else.

“That pearl works? Why?”

“This is Nereid’s sacred relic.”

This time, even Laius had no choice but to remain silent for a moment at the calm reply.

Cantares, who had been staring into space for a moment, muttered in bewilderment.

“You call God like the person next door.”

“I don’t think there’s much of a difference. To be exact, I’d say She’s more like the kid next door.”

Laius pressed his temples, his head aching for the first time in a long time due to Arendt’s shameless behavior.

“How did you get it?”

“In the underground temple of the Lucain Palace. I don’t want to go into more detail because it’s annoying, but it wasn’t stolen, robbed, or extorted through coercion.”

As Arendt shrugged, Laius nodded.

“I see, what you mean by ‘annoying’ is that it’s something you can’t say, or something better left unsaid. I understand.”

“…I think about this every time, but Captain Laius is truly amazing. He suddenly showed up wearing a sacred object as an accessory. And you’re just going to let that slide?”

Laius calmly responded to Diana’s bewildered question.

“Anything is fine as long as it doesn’t cause harm. It’s easier if you give up trying to understand.”

“Aha. So you’ve found a strategy.”

Only then did Cantares understand and nod.

Well, if they were to go through every single move he made, it would take a whole carriage full of stomach medicine for them to get through it all.

Laius changed the subject and asked.

“How are you doing these days? It’s nothing special, except that I’m up at night. I’m fine. And you asked me about this last week as well.”

“Take care of your physical condition. If you notice any changes, report them without delay.”

“Okay, I get it. This is so annoying.”

Cantares, who had been watching the conversation between the two, suddenly thought of something.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think he’s been saying he’s not okay these days.’

Whenever he asked him if he was okay, he would always respond with a grumpy, “No.” But at some point, Arendt, though irritated, stopped saying anything.

‘Is that a pretty significant change?’

Although he himself didn’t seem to realize it, Cantares decided not to point it out.

“I need to find out if anything similar has happened on the Allied side. Arendt, if you hear anything from the Explorers’ Union or the informants, report it immediately.”

“Yes.”

Arendt answered dryly. But there was no one present to point out his attitude.

“Well, that’s enough of the small talk. Let’s get moving. Everyone’s probably busy. If anything unusual happens, report it immediately.”

The hastily convened meeting, finally convened at the Crown Prince’s direction, had come to a close.

Arendt, who had returned straight to the dormitory, discovered that the guest had already arrived in his room.

It was Lexion.

“The wolf returned to the Neumann Group’s headquarters. There were no injuries that would leave any lasting effects. Since he’s such a resilient species, he should be able to move right away.”

“What about the search? Did it yield any results?”

Arendt skipped even the customary greetings and got straight to the point. Lexion, too, seemed unconcerned about that and answered.

“Even in this chaos, I can’t even see their noses. I was just wandering around and cleaning up the ghouls.”

“There’s still no trace?”

Lexion nodded as Arendt’s eyebrows furrowed.

“It seems like they’re deliberately hiding. I looked around the places Nikephoros used to use as lairs, but they were all empty.”

The war escalated, and Roger occasionally appeared, laying waste to the cities, but Nikephoros and Iris remained unseen.

“Have they been more cautious since Jiklin died?”

“It looks like they’re just making and distributing summoning stones indiscriminately… Nikephoros might be focusing on that. Roger is concentrating on procuring materials.”

The only one capable of such a feat within the Chernion Cult was now Nikephoros.

Arendt clicked his tongue.

“Unlike before, when Jiklin was in command, the number of humanoid ghouls has increased. I heard that some of the ghouls that appeared today were carrying the heads of missing people?”

“As expected, most of the kidnapped humans were used as material.”

As fewer people voluntarily joined the cult, Roger and Nikephoros’ options were inevitably limited.

“What on earth are they up to?”

“Using the pretext of a rebellion to shake things up from within has failed, and if the front line drags on in one place for too long. Captain Laius will show up and sort things out…”

Above all, Iris also inherited the memories from “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”.

She probably knows that the techniques they used back then were almost ineffective now.

Because Arendt, who knows the same thing, was here.

“They’re coming up with new countermeasures, too. We’ll have to wait and see what they’re up to.”

Lost in thought, Arendt habitually clutched his wrist. Lexion noticed this and gave a brief warning.

“Hands off.”

“Huh? Ah.”

Arendt, suddenly coming to his senses, let go. Only then did Lexion bring up the original topic again.

“They won’t have the willpower to prolong the war. It’s become difficult to attract more followers, and Jiklin, who created the troops, is dead.”

Moreover, the allied forces centered around the Empire were holding up better than expected.

Thanks to the proper use of troops, efficient coordination, and the active intervention of the elves, the war took on a considerably different balance of power from the one-sided domination in “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”.

Lexion furrowed his brow.

“They’re likely aiming for a single move that can turn the tide of battle as quickly as possible. With the temple and the hero divided, this could be their opportunity.”

The dragon’s voice sounded gloomy.

Feeling a tingling sensation in his fingertips, Arendt quietly clenched and unclenched his hands a few times.

After a while, he spoke again.

“That means it will be an opportunity for us as well.”

Lexion raised his gaze at the unusually clear voice.

At first glance, he seemed emotionless, but his golden eyes held a bright light.

What he just said sounded more like a pledge Arendt made to himself than a statement of fact.

‘Even though it’s not just his problem.’

Lexion became upset.

He didn’t like the arrogance of thinking that he could somehow change the course of the war by himself.

So Lexion quietly raised his hand, !”

“Oh, hey! Why are you doing this again!”

“I felt angered looking at your shameless face.”

Lexion answered by giving Arendt a flick on the forehead.