Chapter 57: The Wish of an Imperial General
On the same day when the filming of "Goblin Slayer" was completed, in the mansion of Rock City, the main city of the southern border.
"Movie?"
Upon hearing the sudden mention of the word from the elderly person sitting in the distance, Imperial Knight Commander Wilcliff showed a surprised expression and hastily asked, "Sir, what did you just say? What movie?"
The old man, with a look of interest, replied, "Yes, a movie, Wilcliff. I didn't expect something so interesting to appear in the southern border. I'm quite interested. I heard they have it in nearby Norsrick."
"How can this be, sir? We came here to discuss the upcoming war with the Orc Kingdom with Duke Victor of the southern border. How can we waste time on such things!"
In response to Wilcliff's words, the old man just smiled and shook his head, indicating he didn't want to discuss it further.
Surprised that such a trivial matter would attract the attention of the elderly figure before him, Wilcliff felt a slight headache coming on. He turned and shouted, "Ryne! Where is that scoundrel, Ryne! Get over here now! It was you who blabbered about these nonsense movies to the General, wasn't it?!"
"..."
Never expected to be exposed so quickly, the knight named Ryne scratched his head and walked out from behind the door, saying helplessly, "M-Master, I just let it slip on my way back. I didn't intentionally spread it to the General."
"You rascal! When you return, spend a month training in the recruit camp for me!!!"
"No, please no!!!"
Yes, in the mansion of Rock City, the current Imperial Knight Commander Wilcliff, his disciple Ryne, and General Wilhelm, who now commands all the imperial armies, were staying here due to negotiations with Duke Victor of the southern border.
Facing the antics of this master and disciple, Wilhelm just shook his head with a smile and said, "Don't hold me in such high regard. After all, I used to be nothing more than a regular carriage driver for His Majesty, the current king."
Upon hearing the old man's words, Wilcliff hurriedly said, "General, you underestimate yourself. Everyone knows that you were the prince at the time, now the king's carriage driver..."
Never expected the knight commander to expose his own past so bluntly, Wilhelm showed a helpless smile, then quickly said, "So go watch it. Movies, they say, can change the times with their technology."
"Hmph, it's just tricks made by those people in the southern border who have nothing better to do. For me, instead of watching some theater, the arena in the Orc Kingdom is what excites me. If it weren't for the Empire canceling slavery, I would have wanted to set up a similar arena in the Empire."
Wilcliff's words directly elucidated his values, and indeed, this kingdom's knight commander demonstrated an extremely iron-fisted style after taking office. Not only did the overall discipline of the entire knight order greatly improve, even the imperial army has seen significant growth in recent years.
However, Wilcliff himself was also an ardent advocate of war. In this conflict with the Orc Kingdom, he was the first to support it. Although he didn't have any vested interest groups behind him, his commitment was even stronger than the fervor of those war-mongering interest groups.
Therefore, for someone like him, movies were ultimately just as dull as stage plays, utterly meaningless.
"Anyway, let's go watch it together, Wilcliff. Don't worry, I heard movies are completely different from those stage plays, at least they won't put you to sleep."
"I'm not going. General, you and Ryne go. I need to continue my training."
Faced with the knight commander's obstinance, General Wilhelm chuckled and said, "Training? Do you think I don't know? Since reaching the fifth-order Sword Master, you haven't found any breakthrough direction, have you? Swordsmanship has only five ranks, and Sword Master is the pinnacle. Beyond the fifth rank, the path is unattainable for mortals. In these years, apart from that legendary figure, even with outstanding talent, you still can't find any way to reach the sixth rank. What's the point of training at our level, other than maintaining our own level and not regressing?"
"But General, you're just one step away..."
Upon hearing General Wilhelm's words, Knight Commander Wilcliff appeared quite despondent. Although he knew that what the other was saying was the harsh reality repeated countless times, he still didn't want to accept it. The reason ultimately was that he could clearly perceive the gap between himself and the Imperial General Wilhelm standing before him. It was such an obvious chasm, a living milestone still clearly ahead of him, and it was the driving force that kept him from giving up on his swordsmanship training.
And to this, Wilhelm seemed to be immersed in memories as he murmured, "Yes, just one step away. But, it's this one step that I've spent a lifetime unable to cross. Or perhaps, if it weren't for meeting that person during the battles in the North, I wouldn't even have qualified to reach my current level."
At this moment, Ryne, who was excited about watching the movie, suddenly interjected, "Ah, General, you're going to talk about your lifesaving benefactor again, aren't you! I remember, I remember. They say that when you were separated from the main army and encountered powerful undead, you were on the verge of death beyond the chaos domain outside the North. But in the midst of danger, a headless knight suddenly saved you, indirectly allowing your swordsmanship to break through to its current level, right?!"
"Haha, you little rascal..."
Ryne's sudden interjection caught Wilhelm off guard, but at the same time, it made him realize that he had told this story too many times.
However, even so, it was not enough. No matter how many times he told it, it was not enough because Wilhelm knew the world's disdain for the Headless Knight. Therefore, even if he could only do so little, he wanted to do his best to alleviate any grievances, because he knew that the Headless Knight was not an evil undead; on the contrary, the knight was his benefactor, instrumental in his rise to the rank of Imperial General.
Everything had to go back decades ago when he was still a young and flourishing knight of the Imperial Knight Order, one of the top knights in the empire. In order to challenge himself and break through to the fifth rank in one go, he requested a detachment from the Knight Commander at the time and then set out to the north of the Chaos Domain to exterminate monsters and undead.
Little did he know, the dangers beyond the Chaos Domain northward were beyond his imagination. Just two days after entering the Chaos Domain with his knight squad, they encountered unexpected mishaps. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of a powerful knight who saved him, he would probably have become food for the creatures.
To this day, he still vividly remembered the sight of the dark knight, with nothing above the neck, rushing into countless monsters and then displaying extremely powerful swordsmanship that tore apart all the enemies around him.
Even after returning to the human world, he could not forget the scene. Therefore, over the decades, he had been inquiring about the whereabouts of that Headless Knight.
Unfortunately, human society's hostility towards the undead made it impossible for him to inquire through normal channels. The Church even claimed that all undead were evil beings. Therefore, even as an Imperial General, he could only speak of this past to a select few after careful consideration.
As time passed, Wilhelm had entered middle age, but he had not had the opportunity to see and repay the Headless Knight again. His regret was not limited to this.
He still vividly remembered that the Headless Knight had displayed incredibly powerful swordsmanship when saving him. That unquestionably surpassed the limits of human swordsmanship. It was the impression of the knight's swordsmanship that allowed Wilhelm to reach the unmatched level in the field of swordsmanship. However, even so, he could not take another step forward.
If, if there was a chance to see the Headless Knight again, perhaps...
"Anyway, Wilcliff, stop sulking. Since there's something so fun, we've come all the way to the southern border, of course, we should experience it. On accepting new things, Ryne is much smarter than you."
In response to Wilhelm's words, Wilcliff nodded helplessly. After all, even though he was the Imperial Knight Commander, he had no power to refuse the orders of the highest-ranking Imperial General.
And to this, Ryne, who had been observing from the sidelines, suddenly showed an expectant expression. In fact, on the first day of their arrival in the southern border, he had wanted to go see the so-called movie, but he had been unable to find the time. Now, with General Wilhelm finally speaking up, he could finally go and witness the existence of the movie that had excited the people of the southern border so much!