Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 270

The next day, news arrived that Count Stadler had arrived at the palace early in the morning.

Elves, a dragon, Arendt, and Laius gathered in the Count’s private laboratory set up in one corner of the imperial palace.

“This day has finally come. I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for it!”

Count Stadler was very excited.

Surrounded by elves and a dragon, Count Stadler was so excited by the prospect of discovering the true nature of the fake spirit stones that he seemed unable to even properly notice his luxurious surroundings.

“You look good today, Count.”

“…Are you serious?”

Laius found himself asking the same question in response to Arendt’s casual remark.

Lexion and the elves also looked back at Arendt with tired eyes, seemingly feeling the same way.

The Count, who was humming and moving specimens and experimental tools himself with dark circles under his eyes, was obviously not in his right mind.

But the Count looked very happy.

“Of course. It couldn’t be better. I have no idea how many days and nights I’ve spent with this friend and my assistants! To finally be able to do a proper analysis, it really feels like a dream.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re happy. I’m proud too.”

Laius, who was looking at the apprentice knight who was nodding with genuine satisfaction, simply let out a short sigh.

He was an apprentice knight who had made even the Crown Prince, who everyone praised for having the temperament of an emperor, look so shameful, so there was no way he could do anything about it now.

After a while, the Count took out a fake spirit stone and some of the “Miracle Soldiers’ he had recovered earlier and placed them on the desk.

As the box was opened, the ominous blood-red surface of the fake spirit stone was revealed.

“All the various spells that were on the spirit stone have been removed. There was even a wiretapping spell and a spell that would cause a large-scale explosion if the spirit stone was struck in an attempt to destroy it. It seems they were planning for it to cause an explosion the moment the knights destroyed it.”

As they listened to Count Stadler’s explanation, the elves looked into the fake spirit stone that was emitting a red glow.

Salem muttered.

“The wavelength is definitely similar to that of a spirit stone… but the aura it gives off is completely different. It smells just like a rotting corpse.”

“But that’s about it. I know the magical power flowing out is ominous, but the core part is hidden.”

Ragnald also frowned and agreed.

Then Arendt spoke to Lexion, who had been standing aside.

“Lord Lexion, please.”

“They’re using me so blatantly.”

Lexion grumbled and reached out his hand towards the fake spirit stone.

The group watched his movements with great tension.

Count Stadler in particular seemed unable to even think of taking a deep breath.

Lexion, who had been focusing on the energy of the fake spirit stone for a moment, opened his mouth.

“…As the Birch Forest elf said, there is disruption magic mixed in. It is a magic of a different nature that has been cleverly mixed in with the existing magic power. It would be impossible for humans or elves to grasp its true nature. Even I cannot completely remove it.”

“Is that so…?”

Lexion frowned as Count Stadler slumped his shoulders in obvious disappointment.

“It’s impossible to remove it completely, but analyzing it is something I can do as much as I want. What do you take me for?”

“Is that true?”

Suddenly, life returned to the Count’s eyes.

The elves also looked at Lexion with anticipation.

Lexion closed his eyes and focused more on his magic.

“The smell of a rotting corpse… the shadow elf child’s words are correct. Spirit stones are created through the deposition of natural life force over a long period of time. To imitate that, they mixed in the life force of animals.”

“…!”

As the elves’ faces hardened, Arendt asked.

“Only animals? What about monsters and ghouls?”

“Ghouls won’t work. They don’t have any life force to begin with. Monsters might be possible. I heard they’ve already created a chimera that combines all sorts of monsters? If they use that technique, it’s definitely possible.”

Lexion frowned with closed eyes.

“The vitality is supplied by monsters and animals, and the ego that forms the core of the spirit stone is probably made from human materials… well, there is a limit to how many humans they could grind up. You would have to squeeze out 150 orcs to gather this much vitality.”

It was a number that made their eyes dizzy.

Moreover, if they considered the lives lost as test subjects to create this, the number could have been tens of times higher.

Lexion also seemed to feel a little uneasy as he withdrew his hand and opened his eyes.

“To put it simply, they squeezed the life force of living things, embedded it in this small stone, and then transplanted a human ego into it. This is crazy stuff.”

“How could you do something like that…”

Shekhinah muttered.

Count Stadler, who had been desperate to uncover the truth about this, also seemed to be at a loss for words.

Arendt spoke first amidst the silence.

“…The experiments conducted on people at the lakeside lair were probably intended to find a way to extract the human ego. The ego that entered the fake spirit stone was probably a believer of the Chernion religion. The limits of forcibly suppressing the ego of a sane person were already confirmed with the real spirit stone.”

The believers who had their fears and terrors removed by the Breath of Mnemosyne were the perfect material.

Arendt continued, his brow furrowing slightly.

“It seems that intelligence decreases significantly in the process of becoming a spirit stone. No, this problem may have already been solved, because they have succeeded in creating a ghoul with intelligence and self.”

Walking corpses, the first miracle soldier with full intelligence and the immortal body of a ghoul… Crow, whom the knights named a living ghoul, and even monsters that were a mixture of all kinds of beasts and monsters.

Jin’s research was completed step by step in this way.

“Then the next one to appear would be a homunculus with a complete self and intelligence. Maybe it would not even be in the form of a monster. It could even pretend to be a normal human and then suddenly reveal its true colors.”

His tone was calm, but the meaning behind his words was not.

Shekhinah, unable to listen any longer, spoke in a complicated manner.

“…Sir Arendt is too calm.”

“What can I do? It’s already happened. Even if you scream and say it’s horrible, nothing will be solved.”

But all she got in return was an indifferent response.

Arendt said to Laius: “This should also be relayed to the First and Second Knights. Tell them to be careful. You never know where something might pop out.”

“Okay. And we also need to tell them not to destroy the fake spirit stones recklessly. It could easily lead to a major accident.”

Laius nodded and explained to the elves.

“And regarding the ghouls that appeared in the previous plains battle, their regenerative ability was much stronger than the ones that appeared elsewhere. Furthermore, they even attached parts of another individual’s severed body to their own wounds to regenerate. It’s no longer possible to deal with them just by aiming for the head and heart.”

“Then how should we deal with them?”

Arendt answered Ragnald’s question.

“When their bodies are completely shattered, they can’t regenerate anymore. From what I’ve seen, the seniors seem to handle them by stabbing a sword in and then making the sword’s energy explode, completely tearing the bodies apart. But that method consumes too much magical power. It’s not something anyone can do, so there are also methods like burning them with fire or freezing them.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders after saying that.

“The police, the regular soldiers, and even the knights of the local lords won’t be able to deal with them. If necessary, it would be better to pour oil on their heads and set them on fire, and prepare a place where they can escape to.”

Ragnald’s face hardened.

“It is shameful to run away in the face of the enemy…”

“Wouldn’t it be better than saving face and losing everything?”

But his words did not end there.

Ragnald, whose speech was cut off by Arendt, frowned.

“You have a bad habit of speaking, Sir Arendt.”

“That’s just how I was born like, Ragnald. What good is it to cling to the trouser legs of enemies you can’t even fight against by being reckless?”

Now Shekhinah’s expression was also gradually hardening.

But Laius, who was accustomed to Arendt’s speaking style, seemed to understand the meaning of the words.

“So you’re saying we should use a hit-and-run strategy. Since those who can’t use magic won’t be able to deal with ghouls properly anyway, it’ll just result in unnecessary damage.”

“Yes, so those who can do it should deal with them as quickly and reliably as possible.”

“We need to prevent the regular troops from making contact with the ghouls as much as possible. To do that, we need to prepare a stronghold and a strong defense in a safe place in advance to buy time. We also need to prepare ample firepower.”

As Laius nodded, Arendt added:

“The information network has been spread far and wide, and there will be soldiers in the border areas, so we will be able to prevent any surprise attacks to some extent.”

“Then we must make sure we can sortie as soon as we receive the report. If ghouls or homunculi appear, we need to respond as quickly as possible.”

“It would be a good idea to set up a headquarters outside the palace, so that we can move to any area and join as quickly as possible.”

The elves watched in astonishment as the apprentice knight and the knight captain exchanged ideas.

It was unimaginable for them to think that the leader and the apprentice knight could exchange opinions on an equal footing.

Arendt continued.

“We need to quickly assess the level of the enemy and send the right personnel to the right places. If we carelessly deploy troops based on sheer numbers, people will just end up dying. So…”

Golden eyes glanced at the elves.

“If you don’t want to see your subordinates become corpses, make sure to tell them not to show any recklessness in front of the enemy.”

An indifferent but unusually clear voice filled the Count’s study.

“Of course, I know that it’s impossible to run away every time, but it’s not like you can always win just by foolishly throwing your life away, right?”

“…”

“Fill the positions left by your subordinates by taking the lead yourselves. After all, your chances of surviving are higher than your subordinates’. If you don’t want to run away, then the strongest person should fight the hardest.”

“…”

No one was able to respond readily.

Arendt’s every word scratched at their pride as warriors.

However, it was something they couldn’t point out as wrong, because, after all, it meant prioritizing life above all else.

Arendt was lost in thought as he looked at the elves who had hardened faces.

In “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, whenever a strong enemy appeared, Laius was always at the forefront fighting against it.

However, before the protagonist appeared, countless knights had to lose their lives while relentlessly attacking the enemy.

He was frustrated as he reread the novel over and over again, thinking that if Laius was going to be forced to take them on anyways, there was no need to rush to them like a moth to a flame.

There were many ways to catch an enemy off guard other than a head-on confrontation.

‘At that time, the only one who could handle the enemy was Captain Laius.’

Since more people were now able to go to the front lines, it was also possible to spread out the forces and confront the enemy.

Silence flowed with a slightly different meaning than before.

Laius, who had been staring blankly at Arendt, started speaking.

“Arendt.”

“What.”

“I am much stronger than you.”

It was a line that was unexpected and not at all like the humble Laius.

Arendt frowned slightly, looking puzzled.

“Are you bragging?”

Despite the question laced with sarcasm, Laius answered calmly.

“Yes. That means you shouldn’t act recklessly either.”

“Then why don’t you make the seniors work harder? What’s the point of just having the captain be strong? The seniors are as slow as ever.”

The moment Arendt answered rudely, Laius’s eyes sparkled.

“That sounds like a good idea. While we’re at it, you should train more as well. There’s still some time before we sortie.”

At that moment, a dumbfounded sound came out of Arendt’s mouth.

“Yes?”

But Laius said nothing more.

Lexion clicked his tongue.

“You dug your own grave.”

“…”

Arendt’s face became complicated.

It was the moment when the shadow of death fell over the heads of the Third Knights.