Chapter 138: Nicely Done
As soon as the words left my mouth, the knight’s expression changed dramatically.
From laughing like a madman to confusion, then shock, and finally a violent tremor in his gaze—all of this occurred in less than a second, and I was there to witness it all.
Oh…
Looks like he knows a thing or two.
“E-Eastern Continent? You are… You’re the Gate of Truth…”
Well, alright then.
I take back my earlier thoughts.
“The Gate of Truth?”
Continuing to watch his bewildered face with great interest, I paused for effect, narrowing my eyes slightly: “You think I’m the Gate of Truth? Clearly, you’ve never faced those sane lunatics. If you fell into their clutches, do you think you’d still be hanging around here lazily, blowing cool breezes while throwing threats at me?”
“You… d*mn… heretic… d*mn… demon… cough, cough… you will… pay for your actions… you will pay…”
“You idiot, did you even understand what I just said?”
I rubbed my forehead in exasperation.
This poor guy seems completely oblivious…
Oh well.
Just a moment ago, as the conflict erupted, I had this tiny worry in me. I was scared the Church might suddenly come after Father because they found out I was still alive—after all, the ‘Grace Scale’ sent to wipe out the remnants of the heretics got wiped out themselves in the Eastern Continent. But hey, at least there’s still one Sword Saint alive.
Hmm…
Carlos is still alive too.
And that fiery lady… tsk…
Regardless, judging by the knight’s reaction, it’s pretty clear things aren’t as bad as I feared.
The chances of information leaking like “unexpected enemies appeared during the Eastern Continent operation” are slim to none. So when the knight sees me and thinks I might be part of the Gate of Truth, he doesn’t immediately sh**t back with a “Wait, it can’t be you!” or “Wasn’t the Grace Scale wiped out by the Abyss?”
Great…
So far, I haven’t blown my cover!
“Fine, believe what you want…”
With thoughts racing in my head, I faced the knight whose eyes were bulging in fury and shrugged dismissively: “You don’t have to look at me that way. Whether or not I’m the Gate of Truth, I harbor no hostility toward you knights…”
As I spoke, I turned my gaze to the bottom of the icy mountain.
In the storm and snow, from the chaos in the southern valley, a few regiments of cavalry were re-grouping, trying to circle around the mountain and scout the other side.
The buzzing shouts from below reached my ears, though I couldn’t make out the words. But I wasn’t worried they would fall for the same tricks again; to my right, the field where the knights had charged earlier had become a frozen wasteland, turned into the “Frost Hell”…
Countless sharp diamond-shaped ice blocks protruded from the snow, painted a hellish scene.
Many wildebeests and countless knights—roughly two or three thousand of them—had been smashed to bits by the falling ice, severed limbs everywhere, and some had even lost their heads, their armor twisted, innards spilling several feet away…
The knights who perished there looked like tragic ice sculptures, frozen by the spreading frost of the ice shards, maintaining their last moments of fury or fear, their bodies intertwined with the remains of wildebeests scattered through the field. Beneath the mountain, even more gruesome corpses lay piled up in a mangled mess, all frozen together.
I had no idea how many were still alive.
Even those with some fighting power, who managed to survive the indiscriminate onslaught that shocked even me, were likely gravely injured.
No matter how fiercely they struggled, their will to survive could only lead them to gradually losing body heat and dying slowly in despair and pain, or they’d get a mercy stab from the Northern Army rushing in, watching as they thought they could eradicate the “rebels,” only to have the cold blade plunged into their barely-maintained hearts, offering them a final, merciful exit…
“Ha—”
I gazed at the scene, unable to suppress a long exhale.
This is not what I wanted to see…
Definitely not.
“I bear no hatred towards you…”
I couldn’t help but repeat those words as I turned back to meet the knight’s glaring, hate-filled gaze, as if he wanted to etch my true self into his bones.
“At least, no hatred for you knights… I actually admire some among you, very much.”
“Go… to hell…”
The knight’s breath seemed to weaken.
His bloodshot eyes began to lose their shine.
Looks like he’s about to kick the bucket…
Maybe I was a bit too rough.
I should hurry up and ask about his father…
“I know there are those among you who genuinely care for the people, brave and righteous folks. I’m not sure if you’re one of them… I don’t even know your name. But look, you’re going to d*e by my hands… I’m not a villain, but I won’t feel particularly sorry about it; that version of me… might just be a thing of the past.”
I paused.
“There was an old lady who once told me something.”
Crouching in front of the knight, looking into his eyes nearly consumed by hatred, I slowly removed my tattered hood.
“There are countless disasters in this world, and once they arrive… they can’t be stopped. To you knights, I am that disaster. I destroyed your army, perhaps killed your friends who were like brothers to you. You hate me for it, or fear me, want to k*ll me—whatever feelings you have won’t change this outcome.”
My dark, silky hair blew behind me in the wind.
“You, you are…”
When the knight saw my hair color, his previously fading expression suddenly sparked with a flicker of recognition: “You are… Winter’s… Moon…”
I ignored him.
“You claim to be just, whether it’s because you believe it in your heart or just shout slogans. You think, as a member of the Church, everything you do is a symbol of glory and light. And I appear to you as the embodiment of evil… And you’re not entirely wrong.”
“But if you knew that your so-called ‘pious and holy’ upper-tier believers don’t act out of complete altruism… in fact, their decisions could be dirtier than you think…”
“If you knew the initiators of that flood disaster in the Southern Region two years ago were none other than your knightly order, your Faith Organization, and your almighty Pope… and those refugees from Silgaya, the most innocent and pitiful individuals affected by the heretic wars… do you know what fate befell them?”
“Not everyone was saved as publicized; only a select few were rescued. The majority, believing they finally drove out the heretics and the Holy City began to levy taxes to address the Southern Region’s troubles…”
“Just when they thought they could finally survive and things were getting better, suddenly, there appeared individuals dressed like you knights, declaring they’d take them to a place where they’d have food and a better life, claiming it was the Church’s policy to save the world…”
“They joyfully went with them, only to be locked up and turned into subjects for experiments…”
“You… are talking nonsense—”
The knight, summoning sudden strength from who-knows-where, shouted at me: “Either k*ll me! Don’t you dare… don’t you dare insult the Church, insult me… and the glory of being a knight!!”
His piercing scream nearly pierced my eardrums.
“I saw it all with my own eyes.”
Looking at his frantic state, I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.
Unlike Anseier and those guys…
This knight really knows nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Just waving the banner of “justice” and doing what others tell him is right.
Wasn’t I ever like that once?
“I understand that even after saying all this, you won’t believe it. You’ve never imagined that what you think is ‘justice’ might just be another unavoidable disaster for those civilians…”
“Who the hell are you—!!”
“Who I am doesn’t matter right now.”
Saying that, I removed the iron mask from my face.
The mask, battered from the earlier fight, seemed to be slightly deformed…
“Tell me what happened here. Where is Skarlij? I will stop the war and give those innocent people… your ‘God’s chosen’… a chance to live.”
I tossed the mask off the icy cliff, lifted my head, and stared quietly into his eyes.
“You…”
In his dimming pupils, after several emotions flickered like a storm, a hint of relief seemed to break through.
Oh…
Can he really tell who I am?
“What you said… is true.”
Cold bl**d flowed from the knight’s battered nose, and his lips bore an inexplicable smile.
“Who you are… doesn’t matter anymore…”
Buzz—
Suddenly, the sound of a divine miracle resonated.
In my line of sight, a golden orb the size of a fist shot forth from somewhere on the knight, hovering before us, and in the blink of an eye, it burst into dazzling light!
“Let’s d*e together…”
d*mn.
Boom—!!!
A massive explosion erupted right in my face. I quickly reacted, crossing my arms to shield my face. The shockwave swept through, throwing me into the air. I felt droplets of warm bl**d splatter on me as a deafening buzz filled my ears…
In mid-air, I shook my head and had no clue how far I was flung, scrambling to turn and land. When my feet met the mirror-like ice, I steadied myself but slipped a few more meters before finally stopping.
d*mn…
I patted my slightly dizzy head and caught a piece of torn fabric flying from the explosion, wiping my face and arms haphazardly. I spat and quickly glanced toward the cliff’s edge.
The icy smoke was slowly dissipating.
There…
Only half an arm was left, pinned to the ice by a scythe.
The knight was dead.
In such a resolute manner…
Attempting to take me down with him.
“What a…”
I took a deep breath.
The phrase “sad guy” echoed in my mind but never made it past my lips.
After all, he couldn’t hear it anymore.
“Ah…”
I suddenly felt a bit restless.
Now it seems I need to hurry down into that frost hell, find others, and interrogate them one by one before they kick the bucket.
But doing such a thing…
Is seriously…
Zzap—
Suddenly, lightning flickered nearby, and the figure of Sword Demon Annasiris appeared before me.
“… Is it over?”
She looked dazed, scanning the area.
Huh…
Why is she still dragging someone?
I quickly noticed Annasiris, like a hen with a chick, casually hoisting a figure clad in red armor, wrapped in frost… still breathing.
“What’s this…?”
I was taken aback.
“The fiery warrior you mentioned.”
Annasiris pointed towards the direction filled with corpses: “I saved her from the knightly order.”
I was momentarily stunned.
And then it hit me.
“Nicely done, Annasiris.”
That was Firebird Annie.
