Chapter 369 - Without the People, There Is No King
How many more of them were coming? The chaos was overwhelming. Owlbear's gaze shifted to the one who had just spoken.
"Enkrid?"
The monster saw yet another familiar face and, almost involuntarily, called out his name.
Enkrid quickly scanned the surroundings. His gaze lingered on those present and the man wearing the feathered hat before locking eyes with the Owlbear.
Their eyes met, and in that moment, Enkrid organized several facts in his mind:
The opponent recognized him.
The opponent was likely a noble.
There was a connection to the Black Blade.
The opponent was mid-transformation into a monster.
The opponent knew how to use that transformation.
The brown eyes resembled someone familiar.
A name surfaced in his mind—someone with a trained physique, a foul stench, and an overemphasis on propriety.
The thought brought clarity: a figure he had rarely seen recently but was once affiliated with Count Molsan.
So, was Count Molsan allied with the Black Blade?
While more questions arose, Enkrid felt he had identified the opponent and said:
"Baron Bentra?"
The Owlbear—Bentra—finally understood why these faces were so familiar. He had brushed past them once while entering the royal palace.
And as the realization struck, he pushed off the ground to flee.
He had to run.
He knew exactly what these people—the so-called Madmen Unit—were capable of.
But the attempt at escape was futile.
Whoosh!
The moment he leaped, a spinning disc soared over his head.
The sound alone sent a primal warning through his body: If you jump, you'll die!
It was a brutally fast throwing axe, one that even his monstrous form couldn't withstand. He ducked instead, crouching to avoid the blow, abandoning his escape and freezing in place.
"Good. I'll carve you up," said the golden-haired swordsman as he approached.
This was the one radiating that ominous aura from the start.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he closed the distance.
With a swift, vertical strike, the sword descended like a thunderbolt.
Bentra, now fully transformed into the Owlbear, puffed up his feathers and crossed his arms to block the strike.
Clang! Crack! Squish!
The blade seemed stopped at first but then bit halfway into his arms.
"Graaaaah!"
A horrible scream, part-human and part-monster, echoed in agony.
"That's for my comrade!"
In that brief moment, another attack came. A thin blade aimed straight for his heart, wielded by Aishia, a knight trainee accompanying Enkrid.
She had been standing inconspicuously behind him before darting forward to deliver a piercing strike.
Damn it!
Bantra clenched his chest muscles and leaped backward to avoid a fatal blow.
Thwip!
The slender blade pierced through the feathers, muscle, and flesh, leaving behind a crimson trail as it exited.
The blood that followed was thick and dark, almost black.
These opponents weren't ordinary soldiers—they were knight trainees, at the very least.
Or perhaps, that wasn't the real issue.
In this place stood at least five others who matched or exceeded Aisha's skill.
It wouldn't have mattered if he turned into an Owlbear or an Owlbear elder. The moment he encountered them, the fight was over.
Their job was to find him, not to fight him. The outcome was inevitable from the moment they crossed paths.
What surprised him, however, was Krang sending his guards and the southern captain stepping forward.
At least, it meant some cared about the city's safety and order.
Roar!
Bentra let out a few more desperate cries.
"Damn it!" he cursed, enduring the onslaught.
"Spare me!" he begged, pleading for his life.
Watching all this unfold, the southern garrison captain quietly cursed his own failure to recognize the monster's true nature earlier.
They're all monsters themselves.
These "madmen" were toying with an actual monster as though it were nothing.
At last, Bentra's resistance ended.
After taking several wounds, including a pierced thigh and a cracked skull, his neck was half-severed by a well-aimed axe blow.
Splurt!
Under Rem's precise strike, Bentra collapsed, bleeding profusely.
His body fell forward, face-first into the ground.
As the blood drained from his monstrous form, the transformation unraveled.
The feathers receded, and his trembling body returned to a human shape.
Even so, the grievous wounds remained. The transformation back to human did not change the fatal outcome.
"Ugh."
As Bentra collapsed, vomiting blood, Enkrid crouched down in front of him.
"Why are you here?"
He asked.
There was no intention of answering, of course.
However, as the regret surged while he was dying, Bentra spoke with resentment.
"It's unfair."
The arrow of resentment was not directed at Enkrid.
It was aimed at the one who had caused him to become this way.
Indulging in desire and pleasure was a side effect; it was not what he truly wanted. Though he had lost his human identity by becoming a monster, before his death, he had found a part of his humanity again. For that reason, he felt it was unfair.
"How did you become a monster?"
Enkrid asked.
"Drugs... drugs."
Bentra whispered as he died.
The light in his eyes slowly faded. He was about to die.
Enkrid could ask no more. Bentra gathered his remaining strength.
He couldn't die without saying this.
***
"I am not the last."
Count Molsan nodded after receiving the report.
"He was discovered and killed earlier than expected."
The subordinate stood in the middle of the study, speaking, while the Count, leaning back in his chair, responded indifferently.
"It doesn't matter. He was a disposable piece anyway."
Was this another of Enkrid's doing?
Those guys sure were troublesome.
But the Count's words were sincere.
"Are the preparations ready?"
"Less than two weeks left."
"Alright."
It was the night of the full moon. The Count, drinking wine with the night as his companion, set down his glass and spoke.
"Let's meet in two weeks, Your Majesty."
Whether the one sitting on the throne would be him or the queen would be known by then.
***
In front of the corpse of the now-Baron Bentra, the Feather Hat Guard Captain showed his respect to Enkrid.
"Please forgive my previous rudeness."
"It wasn't rudeness."
Guarding the door was something that had to be done, after all.
"I thank you for your assistance."
He said.
Enkrid dismissed it casually. He thought it was something anyone would have done.
What bothered him more was what Baron Bentra had said before crossing the river.
"By the way, is it okay for you to leave your post?"
Enkrid asked Matthew. He didn't know what was happening inside the palace, but he knew it wasn't a typical dangerous situation.
But Krang's guard had come here?
"If there is no king, then I am no one. If there are no citizens, there is no king."
Matthew replied. Enkrid understood. This was likely a message from Krang.
If someone could become king while ignoring the death of people at the hands of the Moonlight Beast, then it meant nothing to him.
That thought was something he deeply agreed with.
It made him want to help. Someone like KArang.
"Anyway, it seems like it was cleaned up."
Enkrid said, and Rem suggested they spar since things were slow.
Ragna wiped the blood and oil from his sword.
On the side, Dunbakel nodded as she picked up her scythe.
"Nice, this."
She seemed pleased as she held the item that had been in the assassin's hand.
"Was there another one with a scent like this?"
Enkrid asked. Dunbakel shook her head.
"I didn't see anyone with a similar scent."
But if there was someone else, why weren't they causing a commotion?
Wasn't the Moonlight Beast the only one?
No, the opponent had been intoxicated by the blood of monsters. He had succumbed to his instincts and sought pleasure through carnage.
Even without the Gatekeeper's words, this was a deduction gathered from questioning.
Enkrid thought that Bentra might have been spouting nonsense as he died, but at that moment, Bentra had been sincere.
He wasn't dull enough to miss that.
So, where was this other person?
It wasn't in the capital.
Then what else was there? What was it?
A brief contemplation followed.
"Count Molsan made a Chimera."
By uttering that sentence, Enkrid concluded.
"Hey, we need to report that to the palace immediately."
Enkrid said and left. This was an urgent matter, no matter the time of night.
"Wait."
Before leaving, Matthew approached. In the end, he hadn't even seen the man use his whip.
It had been Rem, Ragna, Dunbakel, and Aishia who had caught Aulbear.
"Do you have something to say?"
Matthew hesitated for a moment, selecting his words carefully, then seemingly decided, biting down on his teeth before speaking.
"Help my lord."
"Alright."
"If danger comes, just once..."
"Yeah."
"...Hm?"
"I'll help."
What did they think? Why was he staying here instead of going home?
He was here to wield his sword by Krang's side after witnessing what he had done.
He would become a king for Naurilia.
More than that, by sending the whip guards here, he had proven his actions matched his words.
He said he would protect the nation, the people, the citizens.
He said he would be that king.
And at the same time, he said he would be a friend.
For someone like him, even if he wouldn't become his knight immediately, he was worth wielding a sword for.
Enkrid had already thought this through, so his answer came quickly.
It was a response so fast it startled Matthew.
"He's not someone who would stop by my side. So, I won't expect help."
Those were Krang's own words.
He said he would handle this on his own. It was a gamble, but he said it couldn't be won otherwise.
"Alright."
Matthew turned away.
The next morning, news reached Andrew's mansion.
It wasn't about the events of the night.
The story of Baron Bentra's death was already buried. Everyone kept it quiet.
The story of capturing the Moonlight Beast had faded into the background.
What reached them was news of the Grand Duke title ceremony.
It was the signal Krang had sent up.
Perhaps because of that, Aishia no longer showed her face.
It felt empty after spending days together and then suddenly not seeing her.
"Hey, isn't that junior-knight coming?"
Rem asked.
"They say the title ceremony is happening. She must be busy."
Enkrid replied, dripping with sweat. He, too, was disappointed.
"I wish we could have had a hundred, no, two hundred more matches."
Then, he would have been able to break through that swordpoint.
But in reality, it would have taken much more time to truly overpower Asia.
It was all regrettable.
She was the kind of opponent he wanted to face dozens, even hundreds of more times.
"Well, since it's a shame, I guess I'll have to beat the captain instead."
Rem said, scratching an itch with a grin. Enkrid felt the same way.
The internal affairs of the palace changed day by day. Everything was going according to Krang's plan.
And Krang further fueled the fire.
"Are you just going to watch? A Grand Duke!"
"Am I digging my own grave?"
It was something that would provoke all the nobles.
Within the palace, where the Marquisate was the highest rank, the queen had declared that she would bestow the title of Grand Duke upon Krang.
"Where is Baron Bentra?"
Viscount Mernes asked.
He was the one who had united all the factions within the palace.
The factions, once scattered, had come together partly because of the existence of Krang on the opposing side.
Having subdued Marcus Baisar and several other nobles, he immediately backed the queen and aimed to receive the Grand Duke title.
Everything he did was a threat to the nobility.
From the institutional reforms to strengthen the monarchy, it was clear that they couldn't just sit by and watch.
He had to be dealt with. He was threatening the entire nobility.
It seemed the queen had lent her strength behind the scenes, but usually, the loudest ones were the first to be taken down.
"Is he being arrogant just because he has the queen's backing?"
Viscount Mernes thought that Crang's actions were ultimately the queen's will.
"Why, Your Majesty?"
This would surely lead to a catastrophe.
It was inevitable. The factions had gathered and united. If they didn't direct their combined strength outward, it would lead to a headache.
The queen had essentially dug her own grave.
The title ceremony was in one week.
Viscount Mernes had moved the assassination guild.
He had used the strength that supported him.
The remaining forces of the Black Blade bandits entered the palace.
Among the Royal Guards, he had some on his side.
He also informed some of the knights who had switched sides about the impending war.
"This is loyalty."
The tide had already turned.
Civil war would only devour the nation.
If that's the case, the solution was to quell everything before it even began.
If the queen planned to use her suddenly appearing brother as a shield...
"That brother will die."
Then the queen would no longer engage in such acts. She would become a puppet on the throne.
Afterward, the true king would rise.
"That's where my work ends."
The Viscount muttered quietly.
Everything would be over by the day before the title ceremony.
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