"I'm sorry, Father."
As the deepening twilight cast its shadow, the man bowed deeply.
The red twilight, the red head bowed down, and even the blood-red bandages wrapped tightly around the man's hand.
Ladhu who came with the strong warning sent from the north engraved on his body, was at a loss as if he did not know what to do.
"It couldn't be helped. I understand."
A strained voice echoed through the thickening shadows of twilight.
Ladhu carefully raised his head, listening to a breathing sound that sounded like a moan.
"The Iron Duke of this generation... He wasn't such an easy person."
At the end of Ladhu's gaze stood an old man, struggling to rise while clutching a cane.
The old man walked down the stairs, stepping on today's fading sun.
His unsteady steps were slowly coming down the soft carpet towards Ladhu.
"Nevertheless, it's a bit disappointing, my son."
"..."
Despite his unsteady steps, the old man came down quickly and hugged his son as if to comfort him. But Ladhu, in his embrace, remained tense.
"After receiving such hospitality from the north, you should have reciprocated a little."
"I apologize, Father."
A clear voice, different from the strained one just moments ago.
The middle-aged man was looking at Ladhu's red-stained left hand and stroking his rough beard as if displeased by something.
"To one who inherits the blood of the dragon, such humility does not befit."
Defeat, disgrace, and a fierce challenge to oneself.
Duke Sarnus, the Dragonblood Duke, could only keep his lips tightly shut as he looked at his son who had come all the way here with all sorts of impurities.
"You've worked hard today. Rest now."
".....Yes, Father."
The dim hall, where only the two of them were present, suddenly filled with the light from candles, even though no one was lighting it.
In the shifting light, the young face of the father was visible.
Ladhu, looking at the obscured face of Duke Sarnus, bowed his head once again.
".....Mirshea."
"Yes, Father."
And so Ladhu left with his head bowed.
At Sarnus's call, there was a shadow that slowly raised its head from the space where they believed they were alone.
"It seems this kid has reached his limit."
".....Is that so?"
Mirshea, who had exactly the same color as his father, was able to immediately understand what Duke Sarnus was talking about.
"If you hang on to a fruit that is not ripe, it will only rot."
The man compared his son, who inherited his blood, to a rotting fruit.
Unlike Ladhu, Mirshea, who knew how to see through the darkness, could understand what expression his father was wearing.
"Nevertheless, I wonder how far that son of mine will grow."
The hand of Duke Sarnus, which had become smooth without a single wrinkle, carefully put down the cane that was no longer needed.
"I've never seen such potential sown in mud before."
Candles light up throughout the dark hall, from places where sunlight does not reach.
Their flickering light illuminated the blue eyes of the oldest dragon.
※※※※
The blackened char still clung to the walls of Deomar's fortress, even after the war had ended.
Amidst the ashes and the lingering stains of blood scattered throughout Deomar, the occasional sound of someone's sobbing echoed, indicating that Deomar still groaned under the wounds of war.
"Cough, cough."
Though victorious in battle, the only thing left here was an inevitable melancholy.
In this city filled with the corpses of the dead and the moans of the wounded, Josef lay silently on his bed, gazing out the window.
"...Nothing has changed."
Josef's frail body eventually succumbed to the aftermath of the fierce siege.
Still, it was fortunate that he collapsed after completing all his duties to the best of his ability, but Josef's eyes as he looked toward the west were filled with anger that was difficult to calm down.
From childhood to now, Josef's cursed body had constantly held him back.
"By now, they must have reached Nassau, right?"
"Most likely. The nearby lords wouldn't have the means to stop them."
Zayar, who was beside him, seemed to understand Josef's feelings, just looked out the window while quietly stroking his eye patch.
As Zayar said, the army of Bayezid would still be marching unabated towards the west.
The battles may have ended, but the war had just begun, and the western lords who dared to raise their swords against Bayezid had to pay the price.
"...Yeah. Is Vlad still weak?"
However, unlike those moving forward, those who remained here had to face the wounds they had accumulated.
It was inevitable that such injuries would arise amidst fierce clashes, and Josef, who inadvertently remained behind, had the obligation to tend to those wounds.
"Is this the first time he has lost?"
"Officially, yes."
Josef chuckled softly upon hearing Zayar's words.
"To think his first defeat would be against Gaidar's Godin..."
Though their current situation was grim, there was still a reason to smile, albeit faintly.
Despite everything appearing bleak in Deomar, there remained a small remnant of glory in the city.
"Should I call this a good defeat? If he lives up to the name Godin, he won't be ignored anywhere."
"At least he is not dead, that's surely fortunate."
Zayar frowned slightly at Josef's words, as if something didn't sit right with him, but he couldn't refute his words.
As Josef said, there was a mountain in the world that was highly regarded just by climbing it.
These are rugged mountains where you can be applauded just for trying, no matter the outcome.
And Vlad, having faced Gaidar's Godin head-on, was undoubtedly worth it.
"Whatever the outcome, Vlad will now enter the world of full-fledged knighthood."
Where there are falling stars, there are also rising stars.
By the time the results of this war spread far and wide, every courtier in the empire would hear of a new rising name.
The rookie who broke through Gaidar's formation and survived despite facing a powerful enemy called Godin.
Vlad of Shoara.
Now, it is a name that others recognize first without Vlad having to shout it out first.
Seeing Zayar trying to deny that it was still a long way away, Josef just coughed and smiled.
※※※※
Who's that guy climbing the walls? What's going on!
It's Vlad! Blue-eyed Vlad!
Nassau, the city of the Barony of Iznik.
The city, which had already been burned down by Rutger, pointed its spear at Bayezid's army, but it was not a very meaningful action.
"Are you going to open the gate or not?"
"Ugh..."
The path he walked was overflowing with blood, and his blue eyes filled with bloodlust.
Indeed, the young knight of Bayezid was as merciless as his infamous reputation in the west.
"If you don't answer this time, you're dead. You're the only one here who could have opened the gate, right?"
"I'll open it, I'll open it."
Nassau, a city with barely a few hundred ground troops to begin with, had further weakened due to the already damaged walls and the excessive support sent to sympathize with Gaidar. Peter, the commander-in-chief of this war, was fully aware of such weaknesses.
"By the way, what did you say to me earlier?"
"M-me?"
Though they were merely ten knights, they seized control of the walls splendidly, just as Peter had anticipated.
Even if their numbers were few, the weight of a knight was heavier than hundreds of soldiers combined.
"He said something about blue eyes. Blue-eyed Vlad."
Vlad smiled as if it was fun and frowned when he saw Rutger passing by.
Blue eyes, huh? Wasn't that title too lightweight for a knight?
Thunk!
Regardless of Vlad's dissatisfaction, Nassau's drawbridge began to sink beneath the moat along with its heavy iron chains.
The only thing that can stand against a knight is another knight.
Unfortunately, Nassau did not possess skilled knights capable of facing Bayezid's knights.
"All commanders, make it clear to your soldiers."
Watching the drawbridge slowly descending before him, Peter issued another cold warning.
"In Nassau, no looting will be tolerated. Anyone who violates this will be severely punished."
At Peter's command, the soldiers around involuntarily swallowed hard.
No matter how strict military discipline might be, looting was an inevitable occurrence.
However, Peter Bayezid, with a presence more chilling than the northern frost, had perfect control over his army.
"Enter."
"Yes, my lord."
The city of Nassau.
The northernmost port city that never freezes.
Although it was customary in fief wars to guarantee each lord's right to rule according to an implicit promise, Peter had no intention of following this tradition in Nassau.
"If possible, I'd like to take it without much damage."
From the beginning, he had intended to claim this city.
The desire for a broader world was not a privilege exclusive to the young boy alone.
Bayezid, too, had no desire to remain confined to the north.
"To the port! Do you know where it is?"
"The way we came in is completely different this time!"
As the drawbridge descended, the knights quickly leaped from the walls and began sprinting towards Nassau's port.
In the distance, a massive ship unfurled its sails, a sight they hadn't seen before.
"Looks like they were planning to escape all along!"
Perhaps Baron Iznik had planned this from the start.
Gaidar, who was on board, was defeated, and he would not be able to stop the northern army, which had marched to the west, with his own strength.
"Run!"
The knights of Rutger, each with their own world, hurriedly began sprinting towards the harbor.
"To the one who reaches the port first..."
"Noir!"
Before Rutger could finish speaking, Vlad began shouting loudly towards the gate.
Missing Baron Iznik would be unavoidable, but the temptation of the wealth he had amassed was inevitable.
War was a monster that devoured gold coins, and those coins were assets that the losers had to pay.
"What awaits the one who reaches first?"
"...Anyway, I will give you a lot."
Vlad just called out a name, and Rutger found himself sighing as he looked at the black horse that was suddenly close by.
"I'm looking forward to this winter when the settlement money will come out."
"That'll be nothing but wishful thinking if that ship sets sail now."
Even though he said so, Rutger knew that Vlad with Noir would arrive at the port faster than anyone else.
The sight of him disrupting Gaidar's formation was still vivid in his mind.
"Let's go!"
With Vlad's shout, a black horse raced down the slope towards the port.
The blue sea sparkles under the summer sun.
The blue moonlight that had hung in his world lingered in Vlad's eyes as he looked at that light.
"We can't let them go to the port!"
"Stop them! Stop them!"
Watching the soldiers blocking their path, Vlad closed his left eye calmly from atop the running Noir.
Now, Vlad's world had found his own color.
"Get out of the way, you bastards!"
Now out of reach, yet there were things that remained unchanged.
Gaidar's moon no longer hung high in the night sky, but to Vlad, it was still a shining moon.
Vlad's own color, neither white nor green nor blue, began to ripple like waves from the tip of the sword.
Perhaps the beginning of that golden world started from the blue moonlight that had once flickered next to the bonfire.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: - https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]