Chapter 252. You Think I Don't Know That? (2)
Patrick let out a faint smile.
Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon.
Honestly, even he thought it was funny.
No matter how he thought about it, his innate character was not that of a person who deserved to be called a Great Master.
The reason he had to beco a Great Master was for the honor of his precious Master and the Twin Dragon Sect.
It didn't matter if the individual nad Jin Cheon was a ruffian, but the great disciple of the Twin Dragon Sect had to be a just and righteous Great Master.
By doing sothing so unbecoming of him, he had beco a real Great Master.
That hadn't changed even in this new life.
“I can’t just give up without even trying. There are quite a few chicks following
around, chirping away.”
The people of the Schneider fiefdom.
The warriors of Tutan and the Orc tribe.
The Elves entrusted to him by the World Tree, and so on.
No matter how he thought about it, he was not suited to be a lord, but there were those who followed him.
To repay their trust, Patrick could not easily give up his position.
“And crucially….”
Patrick glared at the man nad Lust next to Noah and spoke.
“Even if I were to bow my head to soone and serve under them, it wouldn’t be him.”
“……”
“No matter what, this body cannot share a al with bugs like that.”
The existence of Black Mages.
And their atrocities.
Knowing that, Patrick would never enter the service of the Hegemon King.
Noah had also anticipated Patrick’s answer.
‘Was it impossible after all?’
It couldn't be helped.
He had done his best.
He thought he could persuade him, but Patrick Schneider's stubbornness was beyond his expectations.
No, this was more than just stubbornness….
‘It’s close to a compulsion.’
He knows he is not a righteous person.
But he tries to live righteously.
He knows he is not suited to be a lord.
But he tries to wear ill-fitting clothes for the sake of his followers.
This is extrely unnatural.
It feels like a tiger that could reign as a self-sufficient emperor is deliberately forcing its way into a herd of bison, taking on the role of leader, and living on grass.
As if soone had ordered him to do so.
If this isn't a compulsion, what else would you call it?
‘Anyway, it’s a failure.’
It was impossible for him to bring in the Double Dragon with his skills.
No, it would probably be impossible for anyone.
Having confird this, Noah let out a sigh and spoke.
“Before I leave, I’ll clear up one misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding?”
Noah spoke with a cold face.
“I was the one who pulled the strings behind the scenes for my lord to join hands with the Black Mages.”
“……”
“When His Highness was young and knew nothing, I used the Black Mages' ritual to plant demonic energy in his Aura Hall. My lord did not know it was with the help of Black Mages.”
“Hey, you….”
“I was also the one who helped the Black Mages carry out massacres across the continent to gather demonic energy. With the power they gathered, we trained knights. Most of the knights do not know what helped them.”
“……”
“It was also
who had Princess Heminia assassinated to create a pretext for war with the Fla Kingdom. That woman had been an enemy since my lord was a prince and was also the culprit who killed his mother, so I made sure her death was particularly miserable.”
“……”
“It was also
who controlled the Black Mages from behind on the battlefield, assassinating the enemy’s leaders and making a deal to offer their blood and lives as sacrifices. My lord never once permitted it.”
Listening to those words, Patrick looked at Noah with cold eyes and spoke.
“So what? You did all the dirty work, so the Hegemon King is clean?”
“……”
“If what you say is true, it might have been so at first.”
“……”
“But if he knew what kind of person you were and condoned it, then he’s just the sa as you.”
Noah lanted and continued.
“As expected, you cannot escape the shackles of a hero.”
“What did you say?”
“Do not force your standards of a hero on others. To force an ideal that even a strong person like you struggles with onto soone else.”
“And you call that an excuse?”
“Yes.”
“……”
“This is just an excuse. I’m not asking for forgiveness, it’s just an excuse.”
At Noah’s self-deprecating words, Patrick retorted with a surge of anger.
“What’s the point of making excuses if you’re not asking for forgiveness?”
“It is just….”
Noah hesitated before continuing.
“I just hope that your disillusionnt and anguish towards my lord will subside, even if only a little.”
“……”
“That is really all.”
Noah’s face looked sincere.
Patrick looked at Noah, sighed, and spoke.
“I get it, so get lost.”
At that, Noah bowed his head towards Patrick and spoke.
“I will make one final announcent.”
His tone beca polite again.
He was drawing a line from now on.
Patrick frowned and spoke.
“I told you to go. If you don’t want to die, when I’m being nice….”
“Within the next two months, we will annex the Decator Kingdom and the Kaisar Kingdom.”
“……?!”
Patrick’s expression turned serious.
Regardless, Noah said everything he had to say.
“The international situation may beco sowhat chaotic, but I ask that the Atronia Kingdom, to which the Double Dragon belongs, remain neutral.”
“You bastard… how can you say that?!”
“Well then, farewell.”
“Hey!”
Patrick shouted, but Noah unilaterally bid farewell.
The mont his words ended, the robe of the man nad Lust fluttered and enveloped both himself and Noah, and they disappeared as if sinking downwards.
Patrick, left alone on the turret, let out a sigh.
“That crazy bastard….”
And Patrick looked up at the sky visible through the small window of the turret and spoke.
“Master, I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”
***
The place where Noah teleported to and reappeared was several kiloters away from Latenop.
And there, a colleague was waiting.
“Good work, Marquis Gregory.”
“I did not expect Sir Karvan to co out to et
in person.”
Matias Karvan.
The Hegemon King’s closest confidant and a powerful figure who had gained fa in the war under the alias of the Black Knight.
He had personally co to et Noah.
He spoke to Lust, who was beside Noah.
“I will escort him from here, so you may go.”
“My, you’re making more work for yourself. It would be faster and more convenient to travel through us.”
“I do not like to repeat myself.”
When Matias placed his hand on his sword, Lust shrugged and then vanished.
When the two were left alone, Matias spoke.
“Did you succeed?”
“I failed.”
“Even you couldn’t do it.”
Matias let out a sigh. At that, Noah smiled faintly and spoke.
“Still, there were so gains. Just learning what kind of person the Double Dragon is was a great gain.”
“……”
“And I have planted a seed of anguish in his mind. If it goes well, it might beco an insurance policy in the future.”
“Will that work?”
“He is a man who is strong but has a vulnerable side. Like a child who has lost the parents he relied on.”
“……”
“At the very least, we won't be at a loss.”
Matias nodded.
If Noah said it, it probably wasn't just empty words.
The man he knew as Noah Gregory was soone who, even if dropped into hell and given a rope, wouldn't climb out until he had gained sothing.
“Let’s hurry. There is much to do when we return.”
“We must.”
And the two n rode their horses north.
***
After sending off Noah Gregory.
Patrick once again sat across a table from a man.
It was for post-war negotiations.
Usually, in such a case, the person who should be sitting on the other side was King Derius, but….
“Then let’s begin. Mister.”
“…Hoo.”
The man sitting across from Patrick was Duke Krupa.
King Derius did not attend the eting.
He had delegated full authority to Duke Krupa and decided to focus on his recovery.
“Should I have hit him a little softer?”
“Don’t you think the very idea of assaulting the king of a nation is wrong in itself?”
“No, I don’t?”
“……”
“It’s not the first ti I’ve beaten up a king.”
‘What a crazy bastard.’
Duke Krupa let out a sigh.
But it was true.
Although it was a secret duel, the fact that Patrick had dueled with the Hegemon King Cierion was already widely known.
The Hegemon King himself had acknowledged it and admitted his defeat.
The negotiating partner before him was a being with martial power and a capacity for action that transcended common sense.
Duke Krupa reminded himself of that fact again, collected his thoughts, and began to speak.
“Let’s begin the negotiations. First, state your country’s demands.”
“To officially acknowledge that the cause of this war lies with the royal family of the Harbor Kingdom. To pay just reparations. And to recognize the legitimate migration of the Dwarves.”
At Patrick’s unhesitating demands, Duke Krupa spoke.
“Those are very one-sided demands.”
“Because we won.”
“Keep in mind that our Harbor Kingdom still has 70,000 elite soldiers and four 7-star knights.”
“Ah, about that. I wanted to ask you sothing about that, mister.”
“……”
“Those four 7-star knights you’re talking about?”
“What…. surely not?”
The emotion of ‘foreboding’ was clearly visible on Duke Krupa’s face.
And Patrick spoke as if it were truly regrettable.
“They all defected to the Empire and the Holy Theocracy.”
“……”
“Why did they do that? Do you happen to know the reason?”
“Those bastards….”
A lanting sigh escaped Duke Krupa’s mouth on its own.
***
The Harbor Kingdom was a nation founded by the rcenary King.
What this ans is that from the beginning of its founding, most of its leaders were forr rcenaries.
As a result, even after becoming nobles, they took their subordinates under their wing and accepted them as vassals.
This naturally ford factions, and the founding contributors beca warlord nobles.
In fact, there were no problems at first.
No matter how much power they gathered, the rcenary King was a transcendent being who had reached the realm of 8-stars.
Furthermore, the warlord nobles themselves were strongly loyal and faithful to the rcenary King.
So, even if the warlord nobles occupied all the upper echelons of the state, there was no problem.
But as ti passed, serious problems began to arise in this structure.
The descendants of the rcenary King had neither the power nor the charisma of the first king.
On top of that, the thick bond between lord and vassal had worn away with the passage of ti, and eventually, the royal authority began to weaken due to the proliferation of retainers who possessed strong military power.
The Harbor Kingdom beca the country with the weakest royal authority among the three central nations.
That is, until the figure of Duke Krupa ca to the fore.
“I’m telling you… I spent my entire youth trying to keep those X-like bastards in check and weaken their power. Do you know how hard that was?”
“Ah, yes. You must have had a hard ti. Here, drink more.”
“Keeeeuh…. It’s bitter. The alcohol is bitter, my life is bitter, everything is bitter!”
“That’s life, isn’t it? Another drink… Huh? Hey! What are you doing? We’re out of alcohol. Bring more.”
“Yes. Young Master.”
Since when?
In a place that should have been for post-war negotiations, Patrick and Duke Krupa had started a drinking party.
‘When did it get like this?’
‘More importantly, is this okay?’
‘Weren’t we in the middle of important negotiations?’
The onlookers could only be dumbfounded by this scene.
At first, Duke Krupa started spewing eloquent curses at the 7-star knights who had defected abroad, and Patrick chid in, and then….
“Keeeeuh…. Those bastards, I had a feeling they’d backstab . Damn it, but why now? Those disrespectful things… keeeeuh!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, I understand. Getting backstabbed feels like shit.”
“You know it well. Have you been backstabbed before?”
“Many tis (in my past life).”
“Let’s drink. Drink!”
“Let’s do that. What’s life anyway? Let’s just drink.”
This is what they were doing.
In fact, though his drunken, staggering appearance might be displeasing, Duke Krupa's political skill was formidable.
Having gained the trust of King Derius, whose royal authority had weakened, he used cunning strategies to sow discord among the warlord nobles, weakening their solidarity and subtly strengthening the power of the central governnt.
The process was carried out like slowly boiling a frog in lukewarm water, but by the ti the warlord nobles ca to their senses, the water was already boiling fiercely.
The central governnt had monopolized various military supplies such as food, weapons, and uniforms needed to maintain military power.
No matter how much of a knight one is who has pioneered the realm of 7-stars, one cannot raise an army without money.
And no matter how great an individual's realm is, a noble with a weak military force is just an excellent knight.
They could not beco a warlord who threatened the royal authority.
Duke Krupa was the man who had accomplished that.
Assisting King Derius, he strengthened the royal authority of the Harbor Kingdom and established a strong centralized system.
“But you ruined it all, right? What are you going to do?”
“…Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I should have just lifted the siege on the Iron Mountains and focused my military power on you.”
“Then, all the 7-star knights in this country would have died, you know?”
“Exactly!”
Ah, so it’s better to destroy them than to give them to soone else?
This mister is quite a scary person.
Patrick refilled Duke Krupa’s empty glass and spoke.
“So what are you going to do now? I know you fought well, but from a results-oriented perspective, it seems like you’ve been completely ruined.”
“Keeeeuh….”
Duke Krupa downed the drink in front of him in one go, then looked at Patrick and spoke.
“What will you do with His Highness?”
“That mister?”
“Will you kill him?”
“Can I?”
At Patrick’s words, Duke Krupa let out a deep sigh.
King Derius is not such a competent king.
When you think about it, all this trouble started because he failed in his child's education. But….
“Without him, I would not be here today.”
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