Betrayal Knight’s Joyful Faith - Chapter 435



Only Noblemtl

The Cheerful God of Betrayal Chapter 435

Chapter 103. Came with the bright sunlight

It was early in the morning. Even the priests had not yet woken up.

As usual, the first to start work was the Archimandrite Lumiel, who was sitting alone in the small prayer room, quietly facing the statue of Luce.

At the end of the long prayer, the high priest opened his eyes and raised his head to meet Luce’s compassionate smile.

“… … I’m sorry, Luce.”

A bitter smile appeared on the corner of the High Priest’s mouth.

“As a weakling, I could not stop the young man who longed for the wide world.”

The evidence that Arendt brought at the risk of her life was faithfully conveyed to the Archbishop.

The situation of the imperial family was shared with the temple, and what happened in the temple was relayed to the imperial family.

Before the fighting began in earnest, the former High Priest Theodore stepped down, which led to an increase in the connection between the imperial family and the High Priesthood.

‘It’s definitely a desirable thing.’

But if we look only at the present, Arendt may have strangled herself.

As an adult, you should have corrected and appeased a child who was going down the wrong path.

But Lumiel couldn’t do that.

Rather than even trying to persuade Arendt, he ended up deciding to block the young man’s path…

All the prayers she had offered before Luce recently were atonements for that.

‘Breaking the safe cage of God.’

Lumiel, who had become the guardian of the cage, could not bring herself to say that it was wrong in front of the young man who said nonchalantly that that was exactly what he had to do.

It was because I knew that it wasn’t just a childish rebellion.

Even now, Arendt and the hero were fighting on the front lines of the Kingdom of Everan.

And the troops of the Luce Temple were also busy with their work and were submitting reports periodically.

Lumiel lowered his gaze.

On her lap lay a letter, still unopened.

“… … .”

It was a report that arrived yesterday.

Recently, a phenomenon has occurred in which public sentiment toward the god Luce has been shaken, unrelated to the war.

The temple soldiers were on the hunt for the mastermind, and this was the fourth report related to it.

A wrinkled hand gently swept down the white envelope.

But soon, Lumiel broke the seal without any further hesitation.

* * *

“… … Tsk.”

Arendt, who had been leaning against the wall to catch her breath, clicked her tongue in annoyance.

‘I’m losing stamina faster than I thought.’

The enemies were all ghouls with modified bodies.

Trying to deal with those guys without making a sound made me feel out of breath.

It was the result of using more magical power than usual to end the attack in one go.

At first, it was common for one to become half-idiot or lose all reason when acquiring a ghoul’s body.

However, after repeated experiments, Jin seemed to have succeeded in creating a body that would not die even if all the priests were killed.

Thanks to this, it was impossible to sneak in without killing him in one fell swoop with a frosty hand.

“Phew… … .”

But now the destination is not far away.

Arendt, taking a deep breath, looked at the building that was the destination of this mission.

Unlike the other buildings in the castle, which were decorated in a quiet manner, it had a rather rustic and almost unadorned appearance.

‘This is the entrance to the dungeon.’

Naturally, there was strict security standing in front.

‘Five people?’

If you count the people inside the prison, it would be several times more than what you can see right away.

It would have been possible to infiltrate alone, but now he had to consider bringing civilians with him.

‘There’s no time to be careful.’

Arendt gripped her sword and drew on the power of her frosty hands.

It needed to be ended as quickly and quietly as possible.

* * *

“You traitorous bastards.”

A man crouched on the prison floor and muttered these words. He was the owner of a bar and inn near Yeongju Castle.

“This…

He muttered the curse again, but no one responded.

It was because she already knew that the man was not of sound mind.

He lost his wife in a fight.

And he was captured along with his daughter and son, but he left them, saying he wanted to be with the men who killed his mother.

Thanks to that, he was the only one locked up in prison now.

“You bad boy… … . You dare betray your father? You bad boy. You want to live alone, me, the people you’ve lived face to face with your whole life… … . Luce… … .”

When the name of God was mentioned, a middle-aged woman nearby flinched. After a moment, she burst into laughter.

“… … Is that great god going to save us? If not, why are you looking for him so much?”

“The royal army will come to rescue us soon.”

The young woman, who had managed to maintain her composure, spoke comfortingly.

“Until then, please bear with it for a little longer. I know it’s hard, but… … There’s a fight outside. I’m sure the royal family has come to rescue us.”

“… … .”

Silence fell within the prison.

It would certainly be so. However, no one could guarantee that the Kingdom’s forces would succeed.

The lord they trusted was defeated and suffered the humiliation of being hung on the castle wall.

Soldiers who were someone’s sons and daughters were also slaughtered.

When I heard that a local lord had come to rescue me, I had a brief moment of hope.

But finding the prisoners was a vain ending of defeat.

“Will it be much different this time?”

Another man murmured in despair.

“Maybe your son or daughter was smart.”

“what?”

The bar owner, who had been slumped over, suddenly sat up.

“You dare to abandon my father, to abandon Lady Luce, is that the right thing to do?”

“What wouldn’t you do to survive? And your children aren’t the only ones who have made such choices.”

But the man didn’t even look at her and just muttered in a weak voice.

“Half of us are dead, and the other half are on their side… … Only the foolish ones are stuck here, waiting for the day to die. I’m scared to throw away my life like a blade of grass, but my pride won’t allow me to beg for my life in a mean manner.”

“… … .”

“After all, what can I hope for now when I have not made any choices? All I can do is wait for my punishment. Either I will be punished by Luce, or I will fall into the hands of the evil god. Or I will become a monster that cannot die.”

“No, sir!”

The young woman raised her voice slightly.

“Even if I could save my life, how could I breathe the same air as those who killed my family and neighbors?”

“If this fails again, I’ll just go with them.”

Someone, curled up tightly, muttered.

He was a very skinny young man.

“I don’t want to die. If I just live, I’ll be okay… … Do you know, sir? If I join their side, I might be able to see my son and daughter again.”

“Don’t talk like a dog. I’ve never had a kid like that!”

“Think about it. If, like you, both of you had lost your lives right in front of your eyes, would you have felt relieved? And that’s something you can only complain about while still alive… .”

But the young man couldn’t finish his words because the bar owner suddenly rushed in and grabbed him by the collar.

In an instant, the prison became a scene of chaos.

Those who talk back to men, those who take the side of the youth, and those who raise their voices and end up crying… … .

“Are you crazy? Why are you hitting people?”

“Don’t play with my mouth, kid!”

“Will Lady Luce feed us? Or will she save us? Will she save the people who were taken away? What’s the point of doing that now!”

Everyone was shouting and raising their voices, and the clanging noises resonated through the small space.

Thanks to that, they didn’t notice that something was strange.

If there was this much commotion, it would have been normal for someone to come running already.

But no one came until the fight between the people escalated into a fistfight.

It was a momentary, alien cold air that stopped their fight.

“… … .”

The young man who was swearing even though his nose was bleeding after being hit in the face, and the man who was swearing and trying to hit me one more time.

All the others who had been clinging to the two men and trying to stop them all stopped for a moment.

The sudden silence was punctured by someone’s heavy breathing.

“Gasp… … . Gasp… … .”

People’s gaze naturally turned towards the direction where the sound came from.

Beyond the bars a dark hallway was visible.

And there, leaning against the wall, was a young knight, slowly catching his breath.

“… … .”

Thud. The hand that had been holding his collar lost its strength, and the young man fell to the floor helplessly.

The young, if not young, knight looked quite tired.

The uniform I was seeing for the first time was covered in blood, and the pale face looked pale.

It was evidence of the tremendous struggle that had been put into getting here.

The knight seemed to notice the gazes gathered around him, and smiled slightly embarrassedly before quickly adjusting his posture.

“Have you been waiting for a long time? I’ve come to save you.”

“who…….”

The young woman was the first to ask, bewildered.

A slight wariness appeared in the eyes that examined the unfamiliar article.

Then the young silver-haired knight answered calmly.

“I am Arendt von Eckhart, a trainee of the 3rd Imperial Knights of the Kallion Empire. I have come to rescue you under the orders of Commander Raios and Prince Ludwin of the Everan Kingdom.”

“… … !”

The people’s eyes suddenly lit up. The bar owner licked his lips in a daze.

“If it’s Leo… … that hero?”

It was a single word that melted away people’s anxiety and resentment. Arendt looked him in the eye and nodded vigorously.

“Yes. I don’t have time to talk for long, so I’ll explain everything after we escape.”

“Now, wait a minute. My son or daughter, over there, that is… …!”

The bar owner, who was about to say something in a hurry, quickly covered my mouth. It occurred to him that it might be difficult if it became known that his family was a traitor.

Arendt, who had read his thoughts, answered seriously.

“It’s okay. I understand the situation. Those who were forced to cooperate due to their evil threats will soon be rescued. Commander Leos is fighting for it outside right now.”

It was a remark befitting a hero’s comrade, but it was also something that would have sent shivers down the spine of others who knew Arendt.

Luna kept pecking my cheek and head as if she didn’t like it.

Arendt, accustomed to ignoring the spirit’s protests, drew her sword.

“So, the first priority is to get out of here.”

Crunch!

The iron bars that had seemed so strong were shattered into pieces.

Perhaps it was the pure white frost sitting on the shattered iron bars, or perhaps it was the sudden arrival of a helping hand, but somehow this situation felt unreal.

But the moment they stepped outside, stepping through the broken iron bars, feeling bewildered, people could feel it.

The time to tremble in fear is over.

A ray of hope for survival appeared before my eyes.

* * *

As she led the men out of the prison, Arendt grumbled inwardly.

‘This is so annoying.’

After all the enemies were dealt with, the sound of prisoners fighting each other was heard.

As the people who were cursing Luce were threatening to go along, some even refused to go, so in the end he had no choice but to keep his performance short.

‘There’s no time to drag it out for no reason.’

He intentionally got blood on his clothes and was panting, revealing his presence with an alien cold air.

A hero’s representative who appears to save the helpless civilians through fierce fighting.

That was the role today.

This was possible because the fame of the hero Laius spread all the way to the Kingdom of Everan.

… … The spirit that accompanied him seemed to really dislike his role.

Luna, who had settled into her seat on the throne, was nervously biting his hair.

“Follow closely behind me.”

Arendt instructed, roughly pushing Luna’s beak away.

“Even if a monster appears or someone right next to you gets hit and falls, you must never let go of me. If you fall behind, you never know what might happen.”

People with disheveled appearances nodded their heads hurriedly.

Although he looked haggard, his eyes were still full of life.

These were people who had almost given up on life, but they found courage again when they realized that a hero was right in front of them.