Chapter 196

    196. The Conqueror [1]

    Hiiing!

    The rough sound of neighing comes from close to my body. To be precise, it comes from below. On the shaking Carl’s body, I slowly turn my eyes to the scene being sketched before my eyes.

    The groans of countless people, the smoke rising in the distance, and the hemispherical barrier enveloping the ground. The red dragon floating in the air and the witch of ice. Seeing them, I could be certain.

    Ulysses had already begun to act, and in the worst case, Penelope might have lost her ‘benevolence.’

    The chilling imagination that perhaps we had already crossed an irreversible river stimulated my body, and a sense of defeat clung to me like sticky mud.

    No matter how vaguely I had foreseen what situation might come, for me, such a situation was naturally difficult to handle.

    Judging the hearts of others is not something that people can easily do. It is not something that should be done lightly, of course.

    But now I must predict. What are my allies, including her, thinking? How will they move afterward?@@@@

    Penelope is probably exhausted. Others may be the same, but she must kill her own blood relative and her father’s ally in a situation where she already has almost exhausted her stamina.

    Even if the situation were favorable and advantageous to our allies, it would be fortunate, but that is not the case.

    The psychological pressure she must be enduring. Of course, I had always thought that the absurd tension hidden behind the name [Benevolent Princess] would one day become a thorn and pierce her, but in fact, the timing had been greatly accelerated.

    Penelope von Arkheim.

    One of the rightful successors of the imperial family, a genius with innate magical talent. I thought about her, and then repeated the thoughts about other characters.

    About Paracelsus, and Leon, Thalia, Eleanor, and Rona, and many other figures in this world.

    I am a coward, huh.

    At some point, the sudden thought came. I knew their pasts, but hadn’t I hidden myself from them?

    Hadn’t I repeated choices and judgments that benefited me, but drove them to their deaths?

    Continuing to repeat this, I wrote down my cause of death with one resolution.

    It is my cause of death, no one else’s, and I literally wrote down the reason for my death.

    It is not giving up on the situation. It is not being optimistic either.

    The reason for doing such a thing even though I am not yet dead was surprisingly simple. Isn’t there another trial to overcome and an opportunity before death? In the ensuing situation, I must continue to look forward, but at the same time, I had to paradoxically realize that everything could end here.

    Therefore, I clearly wrote it down in my mind.

    So that whoever finds my dead body can describe it as follows.

    Nox von Reinhaver,

    Died heroically while protecting the people he loved——

    Or died in battle.

    What appeared before me, who was ready to put a period, was, for some reason, It was Paracelsus, who should be tormenting me and might have become the leader of the commoner’s resistance. To be precise, it was the moment when a boy, who had admitted his own weakness and thus became stronger, with ashen hair, was bleeding while clashing swords with Ulysses, one of the three Sword Emperors.

    Why? I ran at a speed even I couldn’t comprehend and placed my sword on top of his sword. Then, his characteristic light voice came as if he had been waiting.

    “Aren’t you late, Noble sir—!!”

    In that moment. For some reason, I was sure I had to give him the answer he wanted, and I faintly smiled.

    A cold, white smile rose, shining in the moonlight.

    Looking at him, I whispered as follows.

    “Shut up. commoner”

    **********

    If the four sages are treated like gods in magic, then naturally, those who wield swords have transcendent beings called Sword Emperors.

    Born in various places across the continent, they usually grew up in fragile and difficult childhoods, and finally, overcoming their adversities, they rose to become another mythical existence.

    But the Ulysses before us was a slightly different case.

    If the stories of other Sword Emperors are close to human hymns, her story is close to the desperate survival of a fallen noble.

    The Fritschel family she was born into was one of the most prestigious on the continent.

    The man standing before her. From a man with handsome blond hair and irregularly falling locks, an aura of untouchable presence could be felt

    No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

    A powerful man whose skills were not inferior to Ulysses. His greatest weapon was the [Lightning], a special attribute of magic that only the unique conqueror could possess.

    The thunder that punishes evil. It was so great that explaining it repeatedly would be meaningless, and even before meeting her, Esteban had already conquered several small and medium-sized countries and brought their power under his command.

    The first time she met him was on the central front line.

    When the Arkheim Empire was still too humble to be called a nation.

    But even then, she remembered how he shone.

    — I will unify the central region. And my goal is to establish a nation more prosperous than Catalyu.

    At the time, Esteban was a boy making what seemed like an arrogant declaration, but now he was a man.

    Therefore, she thought she could rely on him. He even made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.

    — If I can get the [Philosopher’s Stone] after unifying the central region, I will bring your daughter back to life.

    It might have seemed like the demon’s talk. Looking back, it was clearly a dangerous proposal. But at the time, she didn’t think so.

    A man who shone like the sun, [Holy Emperor] Esteban.

    The other seven stars also had talents beyond the heavens, but he was slightly different from them.

    Just because one stands at the highest place in martial arts doesn’t mean they have the qualities of an emperor. That is ultimately the role of those who lead people.

    The other seven stars didn’t have that power.

    The power to lead hearts,

    To make people obey and move forward,

    To propose a new future to everyone.

    Thus, she decided to follow Esteban, and he soon unified the central region as he said, and not long after, he ascended to the throne as emperor.

    But soon, he lost his brilliance, and the search for the [Philosopher’s Stone] was halted.

    Feeling disillusioned, she had only one place to lean on. The first prince Louis, who had slightly more power.

    After that, she could no longer see the spirited eyes of Esteban’s past, but she decided that regaining her lost daughter was more important than being disappointed.

    Therefore.

    The promise to support the rightful successor was to support the first Prince Louis. Even if it meant killing Penelope, who was like a daughter to her, it didn’t matter if it left a bitter taste in her heart. Penelope was just pushed aside, after all.

    Like her own family, she would just die due to the schemes of others. She thought she had to adapt and accept it.

    Even Esteban had lost his spirit.

    She believed,

    She trusted, but all that came back was that.

    But why?

    Now, Ulysses’ eyes are filled with astonishment.

    “That eye.....!”

    When she saw the swords of the two young knights who had reached close to her. No, to be precise, when she faced the swords they were swinging and their pupils, Ulysses could see again.

    The spirit of Esteban, whom she had greatly believed and trusted in the past.

    “Please step aside.”

    His clothes were cut and fell, blending with the lavishly shining lavender-colored eyes.

    Thump.

    A black rose, imbued with mana emanating from the dark blade, pulsated Ulysses’ world again, who was abandoned by her ally who had lost his spirit.

    It was the moment when a towering giant tree met two small saplings.