Chapter 135: Classified Code #34-34, Ranking 34, Lord #04
Unedited*
"If we draw a straight line from the west side of the building we’re in to Sunset Mountain—which, incidentally, was the epicenter of what happened 20 years ago—the line runs straight west the entire way without a single deviation."
"But Sunset Mountain is in the territory of the..."
"Duke Vire—Duke Vire is the ruler of Sunset Mountain!" Gideon roared. Suddenly, a whole bunch of dots connected in his head.
"Lyssandra Vire—isn’t she the most respected woman in the Western Trading City? Her status even surpasses that of local politicians. "That’s very convenient," Edward said, but he frowned.
"Wait... Sunset Mountain is near the academy, right? You can even get there via one of the roads leading to the Western Trading City," Edward said.
Gideon frowned.
Plank! Plank! Plank!
Suddenly, the incessant sound of tallic footsteps echoed through the air. It wasn’t coming from the castle’s corridors...
It was coming from below.
"The royal soldiers!" They both roared in unison as they realized the terrible mistake they had made.
"Get out of here fast, we have to blow this place to smithereens! Tell Elder Owen that Count Hazzard is a traitor and that, perhaps, the leader behind it all is Lyssandra Vire!" Edward roared as he himself began to run.
But Gideon stopped him suddenly.
"No... Wait. They’re not the royal soldiers. They’re undead in tal armor. I’m sure of it," he said, though he was actually confused.
No one who had ever heard the Royal Army would ever doubt the sound of their armor clanging against the ground.
And this sound...
"Undead? It can’t be. This footstep..." Edward was cut off mid-sentence when suddenly sothing leaped out of the cave.
Out of the corner of his eye, Edward could see that he wasn’t a royal soldier. He was truly an undead.
But his armor... was that of a royal soldier.
"Just as you said..." Gideon swallowed hard, though he wasn’t afraid. "Duke Vire and Lyssandra Vire are traitors."
"You don’t look scared," Edward said, seeing him smile.
"Why should I be? Please, little brother, I’m not a pure Lux like you, but I have so of your blood. We are Lux. Why would we be afraid of a little Vire? Rember, dear brother Edward Lux, we are of the true Royal Blood."
"You... Are you a Lux?" Edward looked at him, perplexed.
But Gideon only answered with a smile and threw himself into the fight.
Why there were undead wearing royal armor was sothing they weren’t going to ask themselves right now. Why the troops hadn’t arrived, they weren’t going to ask themselves that either.
They just had to fight.
---
"Sotis I think the students at the academy are either complete idiots or incredibly arrogant." Count Hazzard stepped down from his carriage and looked at a lone figure standing in the middle of the road, bringing his entire army to a halt.
They had never been stopped twice on the sa mission before, but it seed people had gone mad today. More and more were tempting fate.
On the other side of the road, facing all of the Count’s carriages, stood a lone man. He wore a three-star student uniform, though it was much tighter than the one normally worn. He wore a black hood that covered his face.
Behind him were several wrecked carriages burning in flas.
"I’d think you were the one who dumped that pile of trash in the middle of the road earlier, but you’re so weak I seriously doubt you could lift even a quarter of that weight. So tell , who the hell are you and what are you doing here? Blocking roads is a cri!"
The man on the other side laughed. "Weak?" Suddenly, his figure flickered and appeared in front of Count Hazzard in an instant. In his hand, a small dagger blade glinted in the moonlight, and his attack landed, striking the count’s head.
Although the Count managed to dodge the attack in ti, several strands of hair on his head were cut off. The Count stared intently at that figure wearing a mask beneath the hood before trying to defend himself, but his attack missed its mark.
"I see." He looked at her hair falling to the ground and then turned to the culprit. "You’re soone who hides their power. I’ll kill you."
"Heh heh, really?" The man managed to land precisely on the ground and quickly backed away.
Hiii! Hiii!
Suddenly, the neighing of horses rang out, and cries of agony reached the count’s ears.
The count frowned and looked behind him.
Several of his horses were dead, with small daggers piercing their necks and a variety of weapons embedded in the rest of their bodies.
The royal soldiers frowned at the sight of such an attack, and so of them, including the General, dismounted and stared intently at the figure.
The Count turned to face the perpetrator of the attack. "You are not a student."
"Why wouldn’t I be?" The man laughed and tossed his student token to the ground, where it landed at the Count’s feet.
The Count grabbed the token and checked to make sure it was real and not a fake. Although it had no na on it, the weight was right, and so was the material. It wasn’t a counterfeit.
"Did you steal this from a student?" he asked again, causing the man on the other end to burst out laughing.
"Why would I need to pretend to be a student? I thought Count Hazzard was smarter than that. At least I thought he was better inford."
"You..." The Count was furious at his mocking tone, but the General of the Royal Guard grabbed his shoulder to calm him down.
"He didn’t steal it. He is a student," the General assured him, stepping forward. "Just a peculiar one."
"A peculiar student?" The Count frowned. "There aren’t many peculiar students in this day and age. And the ones who do exist shouldn’t be able to do that."
The general laughed out loud. "Heh heh, that’s because it’s a military secret."
He stared intently at the man in front of him. "There are military secrets that only the royal guard knows, and others that even the royal guard doesn’t know. These secrets are so well-kept that only high-ranking commanders or generals have access to them. But among all those secrets, there is one classified at the very top, which most of the Royal Guard knows."
"The secret of Code #34-34, ranked eleventh in importance and 34th in the ranking. You are... #04, right?" said the General.
The man on the other end sounded lazy, but despite the mask, the general sensed that the man had smiled when he ntioned that.
"Soone in the know. It doesn’t surprise
coming from the Royal Guard," the lazy man laughed. "Since you know, why don’t you turn around and go on your way?" he asked.
The general frowned and looked at the dead horses behind him. "Lord #04 isn’t really a dangerous person. He’s very powerful, and thanks to his combat tactics, he could cause trouble for an entire army, but he’s still just a young man. I heard you’re already in your third year; it’s been a long ti since you beca Code #34-34, but you’re still weak."
The lazy man shrugged and didn’t respond.
"Lord #04, you are an honorable mber of the ard forces at a young age and a legend in your own right. You know the consequences of standing face-to-face with the Royal Guard, so why do it? We’re on an important mission; right now we have so much power that not even a Duke could stop us."
"I don’t care." The lazy man shrugged again. "Everyone fears the Royal Guard because of the exalted status the King has bestowed upon them. As you said, not even the nobles would dare stand up to you. But I’m not a noble, and I don’t fear you either."
The general frowned. "You understand that we now have full authority to do whatever we want with you, right? I am a General of the Royal Guard. Do you think you can stand up to us?"
"I know the rules, General. Why don’t we start playing by them once and for all? I’ve said it." The lazy man raised the dagger in his hand and pointed it at the general’s neck. "Send your soldiers to fight . I haven’t moved in a long ti, so I’d like to get so exercise."
The general stared at him intently, but seeing how determined he was, he sighed. "It seems we won’t be able to resolve this through discussion, Mr. #04. I am generally a man who respects classified military secrets, especially those with a higher level of secrecy than ours, the Royal Guards. And since you’re soone who outranks us by more than 50 positions, I must say I have no intention of harming you."
"But you leave
no choice." The general looked at the count and nodded. "If you want to get rid of a military secret, you have two options. Retreat or fight him. He isn’t strong, but he’s cunning—that’s all I can say."
The count was already reeling from all the information he’d received, and when he heard that, his mind descended into chaos. Who the hell is this kid?
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