My bond with Marquis Walter von Bertheim began back in my days as a duchy knight, when I took down Frost, a formidable enemy from the slums, in an incident tied to the Finance Minister.
At the time, I was being used by political factions, but the old man showed me goodwill, introduced me to the crown prince, and helped me attend the banquet of Count Palatine Mainhof.
It was there that I met my beloved wife, Hilda. The old man helped me in all sorts of ways, and even secured me the inflated title of Gale Knight.
That’s why, even after the incident ended, I would sometimes visit the old man’s mansion and keep him company with idle conversation. But then a strange incident occurred, and the old man withdrew into the shadows for a while.
I never imagined that incident would escalate into a civil war. The queen’s affair with Baron Constance had borne fruit in the form of an illegitimate crown prince—and Louis had learned the truth.
The Duke of Radensdorf, an ambitious man who sought to topple Grand Duke Karlus and seize power, joined hands with Louis. The grand duke, who had learned all of this through Hoenir, declared civil war.
And that’s how we got here.
Solely to win this civil war, Grandfather volunteered himself as bait. While the grand duke’s army pinned down the duke’s forces, the Western Lords’ Army cut across the south and occupied Radensdorf—a resounding success.
But for the first time in this entire civil war, I was gripped by doubt.
It’s true that I had come to harbor hostility toward the Altringens.
But I also knew that I shouldn’t, and so my heart was in utter turmoil. When I finally calmed down, I realized that all that remained for me was to finish this.
I absolutely could not let the Guard commander escape.
"Klaus, treat Marquis Bertheim’s body with the utmost respect."
"...Yes, sir."
Klaus, once Grandfather’s subordinate, was deeply shaken, as were the Hoenir agents. Entrusting Grandfather’s body to them, I spoke to Margareta’s retainer, who had come along to rescue his mistress.
"The Guard commander dragged your mistress away."
"If anything happens to my lady, I will burn that Italian bastard alive!"
"Calm down. We’re going after them now. Can you help?"
"Of course! We will follow your command, my lord!"
Had they rushed in recklessly, like moths to a flame, to save their mistress, they would only have caused me trouble—so I was thankful they agreed to follow my command. Then I turned my gaze to Anton, who was watching me with worry.
"Um... Master, are you all right?"
"No, I’m not. This burning rage is eating away at my reason."
Grandfather hadn’t wanted revenge. Just as he himself had been tortured, he must have tortured and killed countless people during his younger days in Hoenir.
Hadn’t he considered his death his own karmic retribution?
That’s exactly why I had to capture the Guard commander who fled.
For the sake of rescuing Margareta and Ulrich, who were as good as family.
And the most important key of all—the princess of Bavaria.
"The rest of you, follow me!"
I activated the Searcher Scouter. My target was Ulrich. When I had visited my father-in-law to ask for his blessing to marry Hilda, Ulrich had joined us along with Michael.
Because I had his information, the Searcher Scouter showed me his whereabouts clearly. Ulrich’s trail led toward the prison tower’s underground level. The basement housed a variety of torture chambers.
That distinctive stench of mold and blood hung thick in the air.
And there lay the sprawled corpses of a man and a woman. Judging by their clothing, they appeared to be attendants who had served the princess. Had the attendants been killed because they would have been a burden during the escape? Cruel bastards.
The Searcher Scouter indicated that behind this wall lay a space leading underground. So I searched the entire wall and found a protruding mechanism hidden behind a shelf.
When I pulled the mechanism, the wall slid inward, revealing an underground passage.
The underground space was quite wide and long. Judging by its resemblance to the stonework of the Rosengarden sewers, it was clearly a passage built in Roman times. With my men holding torches in the lead, we advanced down the passage.
[Princess of Bavaria’s Wittelsbach I Quest]
[Eliminate the Obstructor]
[Reward - 20,000 points, 20 gold coins]
[Item Reward - Halberd of Hades]
[Danger Rating ★★★★☆]
A quest had been generated.
Setting aside that chilling danger rating, my interest was drawn to the Halberd of Hades, which gave off the impression of a rare item. But an obstructor? Didn’t that mean someone was guarding the way ahead?
At some point, a massive hall lined with mounted torches came into view. It branched off into multiple passages in a hexagonal pattern, and in the center of the hall stood a figure clad in jet-black plate armor.
Just as the quest had said.
[Warning! This opponent is difficult to face with your current abilities!]
A yellow caution rating dropped.
So he was a monster on par with Leto!
He held a halberd, and he announced his presence by radiating pure, undiluted bloodlust. Even my men, seemingly overwhelmed by the intimidating aura the black knight gave off, couldn’t bring themselves to approach.
"Everyone, stand back!"
I took the halberd Anton was holding. My opponent wielded a halberd too, so facing him with a longsword was out of the question. With a yellow caution rating, I would have to stake my life on this fight.
But I wasn’t the least bit afraid.
The rage that had filled my chest at Grandfather’s death was still blazing. With an opponent before me whose defeat I couldn’t guarantee even if I poured out everything I had, my fighting spirit surged.
Through the Searcher Scouter, I found the passage among the many branches where Ulrich’s trail continued. The place was so complex that without the Scouter, forget searching—we might have gotten lost entirely.
"Anton, I’ll hold this bastard off. Take the third passage on the left and capture the runaways."
"No! I can’t leave you here alone, Master!"
"I’ll be fine, so go—now!"
The black knight struck first. The moment I clashed with the halberd he swung, the heavy force made my wrists throb. Just as the system had warned, this black knight was extremely strong.
"Ngh!"
I was nearly crushed by his tremendous strength, but I barely held on and knocked his weapon aside. My men still hovered nearby, trying to help me. I appreciated the sentiment, but against a foe this strong, they would only get in my way.
"That’s an order! Go after them—now! Move!"
Only then did my men run down the passage I had pointed out.
Rather than stopping them, the black knight focused on me.
Craash!
He slammed his halberd down with terrifying force. Dodging to the side, I immediately thrust with my halberd’s spearpoint, but the black knight scooped my weapon up with his shaft and swung his halberd in a spinning arc.
Whoosh!
Mindful of the longsword on my back, I rolled sideways to evade. Then I extended my halberd to hook the black knight’s leg. The lower edge of my axe blade caught the back of his knee precisely.
Letting out a fierce roar, I yanked hard.
The black knight’s body pitched backward, and he staggered. Not missing that opening, I tried to drive my spearpoint straight into the gap in his helmet, but regrettably, the point glanced off.
Thooom!
Still, my combination had been flawless enough to send the black knight toppling backward. Swinging in a spinning arc, I brought my raised halberd crashing down. The black knight blocked it with his halberd’s shaft.
My Zornhau had merely been blocked; my combination wasn’t finished yet. Thinking of the next move the instant weapons collide is fundamental, and the offensive must be maintained without pause.
I threw both arms high, transitioning from binding (the state where weapons are locked together) into winding (a technique of rolling over the bind), aiming the spearpoint precisely at the gap in the black knight’s helmet.
But the black knight also heaved both arms up with tremendous force, deflecting my spearpoint so that it stabbed just above his helmet.
As a result, my lower abdomen was left completely exposed.
The black knight swiftly swung his halberd and struck my lower abdomen.
"Guhack!"
With a tremendous impact, I was sent flying.