Chapter 83: Entering the Civil War (2)
Just as Kyle had predicted, Duke Zaira personally led reinforcents and set out to support Deira.
A pitiable son.
He possessed talent, but without a proper master, his growth had co to a halt.
With Deira’s talent, he had been certain that the boy could reach the level of Master, yet he had stopped at the peak of Expert and failed to move any further.
‘……If it were Kyle Ragnar, wouldn’t he have known the reason Deira’s growth stopped?’
Duke Zaira, clad in heavy armor and mounted on horseback, shut his eyes tightly.
If only he had not oppressed Ragnar according to the Clover King’s will, Deira might have had a chance to receive proper guidance as well.
His ambition—to have a family of his own and a nation dominated by that family—had ruined everything.
‘Because of my greed, I ruined my son’s life.’
A child so precious that it would not hurt even if he were held close to the eyes—his only son, gained at a late age.
Duke Zaira had once had two daughters, but both had left the world too early.
And then ca a gift.
Deira was a treasure to him.
Wanting to be an upright father to such a son, he wished to pass down a powerful family.
That was why he had eliminated his political enemies and rcilessly crushed those whose inclinations did not align with his own.
Even the Clover King’s elder brother was no exception.
Thus, he seized control of the royal court, but Duke Zaira had overlooked one thing.
The Clover King’s disposition was far too cruel and tyrannical.
Moreover, he was foolish to the point of lacking any ability to support that disposition.
He thought he could control him, but as the power of the royal court grew, the Clover King began to act unilaterally.
He realized that the king was ruining the country, but by then, it was already too late.
“……I should not have sent Deira to the northern boundary.”
“We must hurry, Duke.”
“I know. The longer the reinforcents are delayed, the more Deira’s safety is endangered.”
With great difficulty, he managed to assemble forty thousand reinforcents.
It was an army ford entirely of Zaira Family’s private troops, without a single bit of support from the royal court.
The Clover King intended to place full responsibility for this incident on Duke Zaira.
It was obvious that a civil war with the Ragnar Family would break out, and his aim was to conserve the royal court’s strength as much as possible.
“If I die in this battle, the House of Duke Zaira will have Deira inherit everything. Rember that.”
He had lived as the highest authority of the Kingdom of Daon, but now, he too was old.
At an age where it would not be strange to die at any mont, he had always said such things.
But the intention behind his words then was different from now.
“Duke…….”
“As a father, I must show at least once that I can stand with dignity. I may follow the Daon royal court to the very end, but Deira will not be the sa, will he?”
He felt relieved.
He had told the Clover King that he would retire once this matter was settled, but in truth, the reason Duke Zaira personally marched to battle was simple.
‘I will choose the place where I die myself.’
No one was evil from the beginning.
Realizing that one is corroding a nation is no easy thing.
People always rationalize.
They convince themselves that they are doing well, that without them, the organization could never function.
Even while holding a position that demands responsibility, they refuse to let go of their dignity and power, pushing that responsibility onto the weak instead.
That was exactly what the Clover King looked like now.
“I don’t want to be rembered as ugly until the very end.”
Denny, ranked third in the Ragnar Knight Order, thought to himself.
That he had never had the chance before.
He had trained harder than any other knight and grown accordingly.
And on very rare occasions, he had even t Seros and received guidance.
In order to master the Light-style Eight Swords, Denny did not train alongside the other knights and was granted separate training ti—a special case.
The knights had always found Denny displeasing.
So even raised their voices, calling it preferential treatnt.
However, he overca those criticisms with his skill.
The ranking matches held once a month.
Unlike the thod used when the rankings were first decided, these ranking matches were determined solely through sparring, and they beca a stepping stone for Denny’s growth as well.
Without a doubt, in a short period of ti, Denny achieved trendous growth.
‘What’s the point of beating Senior Zero? That monster is still standing there…….’
Even after defeating Vice Commander Zero in sparring, he remained ranked third in the Ragnar Knight Order.
Denny silently looked at a monster even more absurd than Akun, the commander.
Though currently an equal match for Akun, he believed that one day, this man would beco the true monster of the Ragnar Knight Order.
“Sir Denny, why are you looking like that?”
“Ah…… no, it’s nothing.”
A man who wore a faint smile and looked at Denny with gentle eyes.
He was Taro, Zero’s older brother and known as the eldest son of the Saie Family.
The talent of this man, who had suddenly appeared and rapidly climbed to rank second in the Ragnar Knight Order, was frightening.
“Don’t worry too much. I don’t plan to remain affiliated with the Ragnar Knight Order until the very end.”
“I…… Sir Taro, may I ask you one question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Between Ragnar and the Daon Family, who do you think will win?”
“Of course, the Ragnar Family will win.”
“I think so too.”
“Then what’s the point of this question? It sounds like you had an intention behind it. It’s a bit out of the blue.”
Faced with Taro’s gaze filled with pure curiosity, Denny scratched his head.
He had just wanted to ask.
No—truthfully, he simply wanted to strike up a conversation, even if only briefly.
During training hours, Taro focused so intently that he minimized conversation even with his younger brother, Zero.
It was likewise rare for Denny to have conversations like this with Taro.
“I just wanted to say sothing, even if only once.”
Taro looked at Denny and let out a small chuckle.
If one were to choose the knight most likely to grow further in the Ragnar Knight Order, it would naturally be Denny.
Reaching Expert at such a young age was already an impressive feat.
He was also curious about why Kyle had taken an interest in him.
‘But even if I ask out of curiosity, he probably won’t tell .’
In truth, Taro wanted to beco close with Denny, but now was not the ti to build relationships with anyone.
He needed to devote himself to mastering the Black Ice Sword Art that Kyle had passed on to him.
It was a difficult sword technique, and since Kyle did not teach it directly, he had no choice but to train and refine it on his own.
Still, Taro felt grateful that Denny had approached him first, and decided to exchange a few more words.
“No matter how this turns out, the important thing is that after this war, the Ragnar Family’s standing will rise. Those with ability will be given opportunities, but those who don’t even make an effort won’t be given any chances at all.”
The knights who had been quietly listening to the two’s conversation averted their gazes into the air and busied themselves with other things.
To their eyes, both Denny and Taro simply looked like monsters.
Especially in Denny’s case—he had broken through from a low-ranking knight to an upper-ranking knight and risen all the way to rank third, so there was no choice but to look at him with changed eyes.
“I’m looking forward to it as well. I wonder how the Ragnar Knight Order’s organization will change.”
“The Grand General will show no rcy.”
This was both a warning and a piece of advice that Taro was giving to all the knights.
It ant they should not feel at ease just because they belonged to the Ragnar Knight Order.
Acacia’s training thods were intense, and there were knights who could not endure them.
However, if Ragnar won the civil war and newly leaped forward as a dynasty, the knight order—the symbol of the family—would be the first to undergo reorganization.
It was a clear fact that knights without talent, or those who made no effort and rely settled into their positions, would be expelled.
Even so, there were those who refused to accept that reality.
“Well now, you sure talk a big ga. There’s no way the family would abandon us. If they reorganize, they’ll just take in rookies. That’s all.”
The personality of the knight who had first been singled out by Denny had not changed at all.
Even though he knew that the rankings changed strictly by skill, he was becoming even more negative than before.
He firmly believed that the family would never abandon those like himself, who had endured steadfastly even while the Ragnar Family was shaken.
At those words, Taro montarily wiped his expression blank and looked at him.
“You’ll have a hard ti surviving.”
“What did you say?”
“No skill, no effort. You’re the main culprit ruining the knight order’s atmosphere. Of course you’ll have a hard ti surviving.”
Taro had a disposition for blunt, unfiltered honesty.
To those who respected him, he was endlessly kind, but toward those who were hostile or rude, he was rcilessly cold.
“So now that you can swing a sword a bit, you’re showing off?”
“A knight is skill itself. You must be stupid enough to have forgotten what Instructor Acacia has always emphasized.”
As the atmosphere suddenly turned hostile, Zero, who had been watching, shook his head.
No matter how he thought about it, that knight seed unlikely to survive, just as Taro had said.
But then, the knight frowned and pointed a finger at Taro.
“Don’t get carried away just because you’re riding on Elder Saie’s na.”
“……Take that back.”
Seeing that he had uttered the remark Taro hated most, Zero hurriedly stepped forward.
“Brother, we’re about to begin moving soon. Please calm down and—”
“Step aside. I can endure anything else, but I cannot tolerate words that insult my father.”
“……Brother.”
Taro removed the glove from his hand and drew his sword.
He wanted an apology for what had just been said.
“It seems like the one ruining the atmosphere isn’t , but you.”
At the knight’s snide remark, Taro could no longer hold back and grabbed Zero’s shoulder.
But soone moved even faster than that.
Thud!
Denny burst forward and struck the knight’s abdon hard with his fist.
The knight, struck by a fist infused with Aura, let out a choking sound and was sent flying backward.
“I don’t like it.”
“Khk…… you bastard…….”
“Can soone who can’t even distinguish friend from foe really be called a knight? If that’s the case, you shouldn’t be flaunting your inferiority complex.”
“You son of a—!”
“If you lack skill, at least keep your mouth shut. And where do you get off spouting informal speech and running your mouth like that?”
As the Ragnar Family developed, it was only natural that the knights beca busier.
Between training periods and carrying out missions, even sleep ti was scarce.
That was why Denny had avoided provoking the knights as much as possible.
Because it was an important ti.
But he could not tolerate this attitude any longer.
“You’re not a child. Stirring up factional strife among the knights, going around inciting them, and even talking behind Instructor Acacia’s and the Grand General’s backs—do you think no one knows about that?”
“So what if I did! You don’t badmouth people behind their backs too?”
“Even shalessness has its limits. This won’t do. You need to get hit a bit.”
As Denny loosened his neck from side to side and clenched his fist, the knight’s face turned pale.
“What are you all doing? Stop that bastard!”
At the sight of him barking orders at the knights as if they were his subordinates, Akun, who had returned from reconnaissance, frowned behind him.
It was almost ti to move.
Yet for a commotion to break out within the knight order—internal division at such a critical mont was an extrely shaful matter.
The knight, unaware that Akun was standing behind him, bulged the veins in his neck.
“With an incompetent commander at the front, insolent brats, unlucky trash, and so stone that we don’t even know where it rolled in from running wild! Are you all just going to endure it? If we’re going to vent our grievances, now’s the ti—how long are you going to keep bottling it up inside?!”
Looking at the back of his head, Akun thought—
He had really let things slide too much.
For the sake of the knights who must have been exhausted by Acacia’s training, he had tried not to interfere as much as possible.
But those words had crossed the line.
Perhaps this was for the best.
Before the battle even began, the one who would lead internal strife within the knight order had stepped forward on his own.
He had already been holding himself back enough.
“If you’re that dissatisfied, then you can disappear from the Ragnar Knight Order.”
At the cold voice coming from behind, the knight flinched in shock.
Shing—
In the anti, Akun drew the sword at his waist with a frigid expression.
“I expel you from the Ragnar Knight Order.”
“……Commander!”
“For the sake of the attachnt I’ve had watching you all this ti, I’ll spare your life. However, you will never live as a knight again.”
Akun rcilessly struck the knight’s abdon with the sword hilt.
It was to destroy the Aura Hall, the source through which knights gathered Aura.
“Gaaah!”
“I have no need for knights who do not acknowledge .”
There was no need to drag along soone who openly insulted and hated him.
He realized that trying to embrace everyone was nothing but greed.
‘If I don’t act decisively here, not only I but others will suffer as well.’
Because his decisions were directly tied to the lives of the knight order’s mbers.
After coldly looking down at the fallen man, Akun soon turned his back.
At that mont, soone standing atop the defensive wall caught Akun’s eye.
Kyle was calmly watching the disturbance unfolding on the Ragnar Knight Order’s side.
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