Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 491

“…”“…”

After the flames died down, silence fell over the area. The bloodied apprentice knight forced himself to sit up.

“I finally get to see that damn face… .”

With each cough, crimson blood gushed out. Arendt twisted his blood-stained lips into a bitter smile.

“What should you do? Now you can’t even do your job wearing a pervert mask.”

The bracelet, bathed in moonlight, gleamed white. It was an artifact crafted by Count Stadler, capable of momentarily blocking surrounding magical energy.

Arendt, who didn’t miss a moment during the battle, created a barrier for a moment, temporarily nullifying the ‘Blessing of Karma’.

A frozen white mask lay a few paces away from Roger.

It couldn’t withstand the blow and fell off his face.

For him, the mask was a testament to his faith that he would never reveal his face under the accursed light.

It was left to roll around carelessly under the hateful moonlight.

Cracks appeared on the mask, unable to withstand the cold from the frost.

And then, with a crunching sound, it completely turned into dust.

“…”

Roger didn’t answer. Instead, he just touched his face, as if in disbelief.

The burn scars covering the entire left side of his face were clearly visible under the night sky.

It was a scar left by the ‘Blessing of Karma’, and had been thoroughly covered with a mask for a long time.

A cool breeze touched his maskless skin. The sensation of the moonlight pouring down from the sky felt disgusting.

“How dare you…”

Roger gritted his teeth.

Arendt, who had tried to stand somehow, eventually lost all strength and collapsed again.

Even the slightest movement sent blood gushing from all of his wounds. It was a natural consequence of taking Roger’s blast head-on.

Roger, his sword ready, strode towards him.

“It was a last-ditch effort.”

A sinister voice flowed out.

Since he seemed to have no more strength to resist, it seemed like a good idea to cut off his leg and give it as a gift to the hero who was about to come running.

It was fine as long as he was still alive.

But just as Roger was about to take a step forward, he felt a murderous aura behind him.

“…!”

A reflexive swing of his sword deflected a surprise attack. Roger quickly turned, putting some distance between himself and the attacker. A beat later, he was able to see the intruder’s face.

“…”

Roger’s face contorted.

Beneath the dim moonlight, the Hero of the Holy Sword stood. Beneath the night sky, the Holy Sword, covered in the flesh of ghouls and priests, glowed with a cursed light.

“Arendt, you held out well.”

Laius sheathed his sword and spoke briefly.

Arendt, who gave a faint smile instead of answering, finally relaxed and collapsed.

“Arendt!”

As soon as he fell, Arthur rushed to his aid. Roger tried to move towards the two, but Laius’ voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Don’t move.”

“…”

Roger hesitated and gripped his sword tightly.

Meanwhile, Arthur had already carried Arendt on his back and hurriedly left the place.

“Arthur!”

Laius shouted at Arthur.

“You’re responsible for moving Arendt to safety. This is an order!”

“Yes!”

After the two men hurriedly left, only Laius and Roger remained at the scene. Roger glared at Laius with blatant hatred.

“You’re interfering again, hero.”

“Unfortunately, I have no intention of merely interfering.”

Roger decided he would leave no lingering attachment to Arendt. The man was already dying anyway…

There were more than enough men besides himself who could capture him. Roger’s real mission here was to deal with Laius de Winfried. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel-fire.ɴet

Their gazes, distorted by anger, collided in midair. Roger was the first to let out a ferocious growl.

“You will never return alive, hero.”

The sword held in the wolf-like hand was once again engulfed in bright red flames.

“What a coincidence.”

Laius gripped his sword and activated the Shadow of the Strong.

“I was about to say the same thing.”

“Fuck, fuck!”

Arthur ran frantically, carrying Arendt on his back, cursing several times.

The palace was already a battlefield. They had been fully prepared after the last attack. However, to meet the enemy’s desperate offensive, they had no choice but to risk everything.

“There’s Arendt von Eckhart!”

The enemy priest, having spotted Arthur and Arendt, shouted. In an instant, the enemy’s attention was drawn to the two.

Arendt, behind him, remained motionless. Arthur was finally forced to draw his sword with one hand.

‘Can I do it?’

Frankly, he didn’t have the confidence to protect the unconscious Arendt and deal with those who were already difficult to deal with. But with his blood boiling like this, it all felt like nothing.

“The Saintess’ orders are to capture him! If he resists, he may be killed!”

As the commander of the battle priests shouted, Arthur also shouted in anger.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on him, you fanatic bastards!”

“Anyone who interferes will die…!”

The priest who had been issuing the order was cleanly decapitated. The stiff priest was shattered into pieces, and Richt appeared behind him.

“Calm down, Arthur!”

“Senior!”

Richt’s face crumpled as he saw Arendt being carried by Arthur.

“Get out of here for now. Wait somewhere safe with Arendt.”

“Yes? But…”

“Weren’t you supposed to be moving him to safety? This place could easily be handled without you two.”

Richt cut off Arthur as he tried to refute him.

“You heard them earlier. The enemies are targeting Arendt. You take responsibility and protect him. I’ll open the way.”

Arthur nodded with a stiff expression.

“Yes. Please leave it to me.”

Arthur turned around without hesitation and started running out of the palace.

The priests immediately began to pursue them, but Richt stood in their way.

“All the Third Knights in the vicinity, listen up! Cover Arthur!”

“Yes!”

The Third Knights, each frantically engaged with their enemies, also began to move more fiercely. Arthur, leaving his comrades behind, focused solely on fleeing.

“Ugh…”

Just then, a short groan was heard from behind. Arthur asked urgently, not slowing down his pace.

“Hey, are you awake? Are you okay?”

“…”

Arendt remained silent for a moment. He moved his lips a few times before finally uttering a short phrase.

“The Great Temple…”

“What?”

“. Actually, it’s the Great Temple.”

Every time he coughed up blood, it spurted out.

Arendt continued speaking with difficulty, his voice seeming ready to break at any moment.

“…This is a trick to keep us tied up here. Damn it, you idiot! We should have realized it a long time ago.”

“Just keep your mouth shut and stay awake! You’re thinking about that when you’re dying?”

He shot back fiercely, but there was no further response.

Arthur’s back was getting damp from the blood Arendt had shed.

He had a gut feeling that if he didn’t get first aid as quickly as possible, his life would be in danger.

“Fuck, fuck!”

His heart was getting more and more anxious.

“The Great Temple?”

He was able to understand the whole situation with that one phrase.

‘It must be chaos outside the palace too.’

The continuous explosions could be heard even outside the palace.

The capital was guarded by the security guards and elf warriors.

If, as Arendt said, their goal was to completely take over the Great Temple, they would have also launched an attack to shake them off.

The easiest way to catch the elf warriors off guard would be to massacre civilians in the capital’s houses.

In that case, the only people capable of guarding the Great Temple were the temple troops.

Even the Imperial Knights and elves were struggling to handle these enemies.

‘Perhaps it’s already too late for the Great Temple.’

The Chernion Cult staked its life on this incident.

.

‘And they even ordered Arendt’s capture?’

The enemy was definitely up to something.

The palace was no longer a safe place, as the bastards would be out to get their hands on Arendt.

After much thought, Arthur changed the direction he was running.

The most important thing for him was to save the guy on his back.

Arthur began to run desperately towards the nearest exit from the palace.

Arendt, slumped over his back, remained motionless.

A satisfied smile spread across Iris’ lips.

“I was just wondering…”

It was a beautiful, but mocking voice.

“You are indeed wise, High Priest.”

Lumiel closed her eyes tightly and silently listened to Iris’ taunts.

As if Iris’ orders had already been delivered, shouts and screams began to mingle from outside her office.

The Chernion priests began to capture and imprison the Luce priests.

Iris let out a pleasing laugh and said:

“If that’s so, at least tonight, I won’t harm a single hair on the priests. I am deeply grateful for your decision, High Priest Lumiel.”

As Iris tilted her head, her black hair, which flowed down to her toes, fell like a waterfall.

“Thanks to you, things will become a little easier.”

“…Saintess. How presumptuous of you to say such things.”

Slowly opening her eyes again, Lumiel spoke calmly.

“I assure you, Saintess, things won’t be as easy as you think. You’ll surely regret giving me that choice. I swear it on Lord Luce’s name.”

The old woman’s eyes gleamed with deep light as she regarded Iris. Iris smiled faintly in response.

“I have no regrets, High Priest.”

A pleasant, soft voice continued to speak.

“I have lived for eons under the grace of Lord Chernion. My past has been and always will be for Him. Regret holds no meaning for me. All that remains is hatred towards that lineage.”

When Iris opened her eyes, silvery eyes resembling the crescent moon at dawn were revealed.

“Therefore, today seems like it will be a particularly blessed night.”

Her pupils seemed to have completely lost their vision. But Iris seemed to be able to see much more without relying on mere sight.

“Tonight, the destruction of the Caerleon Empire begins. And High Priest Lumiel, you will be the crucial key to our victory.”

Lumiel felt momentarily overwhelmed by the silver gaze that held the passage of eons.

Although she had not lived a short life, the age contained in Iris’ eyes was terrifyingly overwhelming.

But she straightened her back even more and lowered her head coldly.

Iris’ leisurely voice continued.

“That child was very affectionate and kind. The hero is the same. They can’t bear to see the High Priest and the priests dying. Even if you were the first to turn your backs on them…”

Iris’ beautiful lips curved into a subtle smile.

“Sir Arendt won’t be able to ignore the High Priest. If they survive tonight, quite an entertaining stage will unfold.”

“…You said it would be a blessed night.”

After a long silence, Lumiel slowly began to speak.

“It certainly will be. From tonight onward, the Chernion Cult will disappear forever from the pages of history. This old life of mine is of no consequence…”

As she continued speaking, the tension in her shoulders slowly eased.

“I don’t want to bring despair to the kind Sir Arendt. So, I, too, will do my best to find a way to survive.”

Then Lumiel added in her usual gentle tone.

“I guarantee that no one will die. It will be a fun show, just as you said. It’s always wonderful when a hero defeats an evildoer.”

“…I see.”

Iris paused briefly, smiled, and nodded slowly.

“Then, we shall watch together to see whether I will become the villain or the pioneer of a new era.”

Even with Lumiel’s provocative words, she seemed completely unshaken.

Iris smiled pleasantly, as if she were having a casual conversation with an old friend.

“First, let’s look at the young leader of the imperial family… Will His Highness the Crown Prince be able to survive tonight? Shall we watch and see together?”