288th Episode
When Ray arrived at the manor, the situation was worse than expected.
Signs of battle were evident everywhere, and the number of casualties was significant.
However, considering that they had clashed head-on with an Apostle of the Dark God, the damage was relatively minimal.
It could only be described as sheer luck.
If Genesis hadn’t restrained Arundel’s movements, the toll would have been far greater.
Ulte turned the tide of what would have been a battle where even Expert Knights were expendable indiscriminately.
Arundel, properly restrained, failed to break through the manor gates and instead retreated.
After dragging out the time, upon detecting a massive mana fluctuation along with the severed connection to the horned whale at the coastline, Arundel ultimately fled.
Overpowered by the Empire’s resilience, Arundel cursed under his breath and escaped.
The forces of the Osiris Countdom couldn’t pursue him while he remained hidden; tracking him was too difficult, and any ordinary force would have been annihilated in a confrontation with Arundel.
Without reinforcements, there was nothing they could do for now.
In conclusion, when Ray arrived at the manor, Arundel had already fled, and the Imperial army was tending to their casualties.
“What are you doing? Move.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Ray’s signal, the healers accompanying him rushed to the wounded.
Among those severely bleeding was Saria.
Saria, who locked eyes with Ray, tried to stand after roughly wiping away the blood streaming over her broken armor.
Of course, she was forcibly pulled back down by a healer.
Though her injuries weren’t fatal enough to warrant such a commotion, losing too much blood could still endanger her life, regardless of being a graduate-level warrior.
Saria glanced at Ray while receiving treatment.
“Kid, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Yes, Aunt. I’m fine, so don’t worry and just stay still for your treatment.”
“Just one bottle of potion will do.”
“Just sit and get treated since you’re still bleeding.”
As Ray gestured for Saria to remain still, Matthew nearby groaned loudly.
“Kkkkhhheee!”
“Cut down on the theatrics, Matthew.”
Ray looked at Matthew with a deadpan expression, noting how he seemed to grow less serious with age.
Of course, Matthew, whose left shoulder had been nearly shattered, wasn’t exaggerating.
While gritting his teeth and handing over his shoulder to the healer, he muttered fiercely,
“I haven’t even fully played the part of a noble yet—I can’t die here! I need to produce an heir to pass my title before dying!”
“Of course, that’s what you should do.”
Ray smiled lightly in response.
As Ray moved around checking the situation,
Lea found Bella and hugged her tightly, bursting into tears.
Despite the chaos, Bella worked hard to calm Lea and stop her crying.
As more time passed, troops withdrawn from the defensive line arrived at the Osiris Countdom.
They were quite shocked by the state of the Osiris Countdom upon seeing it firsthand.
With the arrival of reinforcements, the pursuit of Arundel could begin.
Ray instructed them to assist in the cleanup of the devastated Osiris Countdom but also ordered the initiation of the pursuit operation.
Even if Arundel couldn’t be captured, deploying detection magic using something like Genesis as a medium could reveal his approximate route.
“Move quickly.”
Ray no longer felt burdened about utilizing troops stationed at the defensive lines.
One of the top forces from the Rubia Kingdom, Benedict, and the Apostle of the Dark God, Arundel, participated in this surprise attack.
This meant that the movement towards the Sigini Mountain Range was a diversion.
Having wasted resources on raiding the Osiris Countdom, the demon worshippers moving towards the Sigini Mountain Range would be dealt with swiftly.
The defense lines set up to prevent demon worshippers from the Rubia Kingdom breaking through the Sigini Mountain Range were almost unnecessary now.
Ray sighed deeply as he surveyed the smoke rising from various parts of the Osiris Countdom.
Thanks to Luna and the Omega series, he avoided overexerting his physical body, but mentally, he was quite fatigued.
*
The Count of Osiris was feeling utterly wretched.
The loss of lives and property due to this surprise attack was immense.
Firstly, the port was half-destroyed.
Rebuilding it would take a considerable amount of time.
Without some miraculous strategy, financially, it would be akin to bankruptcy.
While the territory wouldn’t necessarily fall entirely, the road ahead was clearly fraught with hardship.
The Count of Osiris, unable to hide his troubled demeanor, spoke as Ray approached.
“I apologize for the trouble caused by this incident.”
Although investigations were ongoing, everyone anticipated why demon worshippers might have chosen to launch a surprise attack on the Osiris Countdom with such elite forces.
Had it not been for Ray, what could they possibly have intended to gain from such a gamble?
Ultimately, the Osiris Countdom became a target because of Ray’s presence.
Naturally, the Count of Osiris couldn’t feel good about this, but he quickly adjusted his expression to appear cheerful.
“Not at all. What makes you say such things?”
The situation was indeed pathetic.
But what could be done? After all, the visitor was a Guardian of the Empire.
Moreover, during this event, the Count indirectly confirmed Ray’s formidable power.
He was truly deserving of his reputation.
Amidst thunderbolts striking, flashes of lightning, and tidal waves surging, Ray returned unscathed from the battlefield.
Not only did he survive, but he successfully eliminated Benedict, the master of the Command Blade and once known as the Kingdom’s Greatest Swordsman.
Though the exact details of the battle were unclear, judging solely by the outcome, Ray was undoubtedly a hero worthy of the Empire’s Guardian Medal, awarded for the first time in hundreds of years.
Furthermore, Ray was incredibly young—an age that was almost unbelievable.
Given how long he might continue wielding immense power, showing hostility towards someone who inadvertently caused damage to the territory would yield no benefits.
Thus, the Count of Osiris forced a smile.
“It was an honor to assist the Guardian of the Empire.”
“There’s no need to be overly formal. However… I’ll try to compensate for the damages incurred to your lordship this time.”
“Hmm… Have you checked the remains of the demons?”
He was referring to the carcass of the horned whale.
Due to the aftermath of the battle, the horned whale eventually succumbed and was washed ashore by the waves.
Its size was colossal, and traces of the Dark God’s influence still lingered, prompting mages to carefully examine it while restricting access.
Recalling the bloated carcass that filled the sandy beach, Ray nodded.
“It was a troublesome creature. It exuded demonic energy, corrupting the area and creating a landscape akin to the Demonic Realm. Thanks to that, Benedict kept resurrecting despite being dismembered multiple times.”
“Oh, my… Nevertheless, Ray, is Benedict…”
“He’s dead. Definitely. Though it’s regrettable that we couldn’t recover the Command Blade.”
As Ray said this, he picked up and waved a small shard lying on the desk.
The shard radiated with the Dark God’s energy.
It was a fragment of the Command Blade.
Though the fragment was small, the power contained within was anything but light.
A Templar standing nearby fidgeted anxiously.
After shaking the fragment a few more times, Ray handed it over to the Templar.
The Templar sealed the fragment inside a sacred iron box imbued with divine energy before stepping back.
The intense aura emanating from the fragment made the Count of Osiris shiver slightly as he sincerely praised Ray.
“Once again, you’ve achieved a remarkable feat. Your name, Lord Ray, will be etched into the history of the Empire, never to be forgotten.”
“Yes… Somehow, I’ve managed to achieve another great feat.”
Recognizing that the Count’s praise was genuine, Ray felt a mix of emotions.
He had accumulated too many significant achievements.
Already teetering on the edge, he unintentionally added another accomplishment to his list.
Unless planning to overthrow the nation, excessive accomplishments could be toxic.
At this point, Ray began paying attention to the Emperor’s reactions.
Despite having a limited lifespan, which allowed him to move freely without directly engaging in politics, the Emperor couldn’t help but find Ray somewhat irksome.
Additionally, Ray wasn’t the type to openly flaunt all his cards.
Hadn’t he concealed figures like Luna and Jimy’s level?
While it was common for powerful families to secretly maintain strong subordinates, from the Emperor’s perspective, it wasn’t a pleasant situation.
“Hmph…”
Ray let out an involuntary groan.
The Emperor wouldn’t unnecessarily provoke Ray, whose days were numbered.
Conversely, if Ray had a normal lifespan, the Emperor would have already seized every opportunity to pick faults.
“…”
Ray felt the need to reconsider his approach to handling situations.
Even after his death—whether in a year or ten—he needed to plan accordingly.
After concluding his conversation with the Count of Osiris, Ray stood up.
As Ray walked down the corridor after leaving the reception room, everyone he encountered bowed deeply and respectfully greeted him.
Among them were appointed knights, high-ranking mages, and nobles affiliated with influential families.
All of them greeted Ray first and refrained from raising their heads casually.
Ray indulged in the modest pleasure derived from such deference as he entered the room assigned to him.
After closing the window in the room, Ray stood gazing at a corner.
Karen still hadn’t awakened.
Her physical wounds had healed significantly, but consciousness hadn’t returned.
Ray hesitated whether to visit Karen again and then slumped into a chair.
His gaze remained fixed on the corner of the room.
And in that corner, a Command Blade with a partially broken blade stood silently.
The Command Blade had lost its master.
That was a literal statement.
The Apostle of the Dark God was gone, and the last owner who wielded the Command Blade had also perished.
There was no entity left in this world capable of exerting overwhelming control over the Command Blade.
Due to the premature use of blessings by the Greedy Dark God, it was unlikely that another comparable Apostle would emerge anytime soon.
The Command Blade fell silent, seemingly waiting for a new master.
Ray couldn’t wield the Command Blade unless he formed a pact with the Dark God.
Of course, Ray didn’t consider forming a pact with the Dark God, which would negate all his previous efforts.
Thus, he should have simply handed over the recovered Command Blade to the Templars and requested its sealing process.
But…
Ray hid the fact that he had recovered the Command Blade.
He couldn’t turn away from the “option” for whatever hypothetical future it represented.
Ray extended his hand toward the Command Blade with a heavy-hearted look.
Although most of the Command Blade’s functions had ceased, Ray could still perform basic actions like “storage” while holding it.
The Command Blade vanished into the shadows of the dimly lit room.
Before the knock came, Ray sensed someone outside and spoke.
“What is it?”
“…We have a visitor.”
“Who?”
“An elf.”
“An elf, here of all places.”
Ray rose with a smirk.
