Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 375

“What are you thinking about?”“I think Captain Laius must be having a really hard time.”

It was Arendt who asked the question, and it was Llewellyn who answered.

That was not an answer that Arendt particularly liked.

“Don’t you think I’m the victim?”

“No, you brought this upon yourself. It was your usual behavior that was the problem.”

Llewellyn pointed out calmly.

Since he had no excuses to make, Arendt decided to just go about his work.

In front of him, who was sitting on the floor, was a map of the entire Lucain Kingdom. Llewellyn was sitting on the sofa, just staring blankly at Arendt.

As Llewellyn said, the Lucain Kingdom was a spiderweb-like structure centered around the royal castle.

Of course, since the terrain was not a perfect circle, there were also small cities and towns in remote areas or outside of the territory.

But even those were easier to access than the remote areas of other kingdoms.

“What are you looking at?”

Llewellyn asked, leaning back on the sofa. Normally he would be there to meddle in things, but he seemed quite tired over the past few days.

Arendt responded curtly.

“What can you know from just a map? Don’t stay up and get some sleep.”

He had been staying up all night with Arendt for several days already.

He thought he would at least complain, but there was no answer from Llewellyn.

Arendt looked away from the map and turned around.

Llewellyn was leaning back on the sofa, blinking slowly, as if he hadn’t heard.

“…”

He was going to fall asleep soon. Google seaʀᴄh NovєlFіre.net

Arendt, seeing that, did not say anything more and just left him alone.

After a while, a ragged breath could be heard from behind.

‘He’s a guy who’s been through a lot of adventures, so he must have confidence in his stamina…’

It seemed that staying awake for several nights under intense psychological pressure had taken its toll.

Arendt hesitated for a moment, then clicked his tongue and sat up.

Then he took the blanket off the bed and roughly threw it over him, covering him with it.

It was starting to get brighter outside the window.

Suddenly, an unusual flow of magic was felt. Almost as soon as Arendt noticed it, a man dressed entirely in black suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.

It was Lexion.

“What were you doing that took you so long?”

Lexion frowned at Arendt’s remark.

“What kind of nerve do you have to say something like that when you know the situation so well?”

“What do I know? I’m just stuck in the palace right now, digging through other people’s family history.”

Arendt retorted irritably. Lexion clicked his tongue and cast his spell again.

Magic lightly swept through the surroundings, and he transformed back into the form of Explorer Lec.

“Since you said it was a family feud, I guess you’ve concluded that one of the royals is the culprit.”

“I guess so. The King has become a ghoul.”

Arendt shrugged.

He briefly explained the situation to Lexion. Lexion’s previously expressionless brow furrowed slightly.

“I’m going crazy. And judging from the way you’re looking at the map…”

Lexion added, glancing at the map spread out on the floor.

“I guess you noticed?”

“I just kept it in mind as one of the possibilities.”

Arendt responded calmly.

“It’s particularly prevalent among the servants, and there hasn’t been any particular changes among the royal knights or nobles.”

There was no sign of a transfer of power, nor was there any movement by the high-ranking officials to undermine the authority of the royal family, despite what was essentially the assassination of the King.

“I thought they might have infiltrated from the bottom up rather than from the top down…”

Arendt, who had spoken up to that point, looked at Lexion.

“I guess my guess was right?”

Although the exact route was unknown, the belief in the Evil God spread among commoners, merchants, and servants, eventually reaching the royal family.

That was the hypothesis that Arendt re-established.

“I don’t know what on earth happened in this kingdom…”

Lexion nodded slightly in agreement.

“While the chaos was going on inside and outside, it seems like they have infiltrated the people deeply. Unlike inside the palace, there are quite a few outside who have been baptized by them, that is, by the Breath of Mnemosyne. They are currently the core of the Evil Cult within the Lucain Kingdom.”

“Have you checked to see who the baptized people are?”

“Of course. The captain of the territory’s guard, the oldest person in the village, and the young man who plays the role of the neighborhood boss… there are all sorts of people.”

Lexion clicked his tongue.

“They’re moving by forming a secret group with those guys as the main focus. The speed at which it’s spreading is extraordinary, and it’s definitely not something that happened in a day or two.”

They operated in a surprisingly organized manner, and there were even signs of active exchanges with groups from other regions. There were even young people voluntarily gathering to conduct military training.

“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”

Arendt, who had been listening quietly, muttered.

It was something he had guessed after hearing the news that there were idiots who attacked Laius.

“Then of course they would have placed surveillance around the Caerleon Empire as well… Those idiots who attacked Captain Laius and his party must be them.”

It meant that it wasn’t just a problem for the Lucain Kingdom.

“And the most important thing.”

Lexion strode over and sat down next to the map Arendt had spread out on the floor.

His hands began to mark the cities near the palace, one by one.

“Here, and here.”

A black mark was left where Lexion’s finger had touched.

Arendt just watched him quietly. Lexion, who had left traces on five cities, stepped back.

“A large-scale spell is being set up there.”

“…Spell?”

“It must have been supported by the Cult. I guess they’re probably summoning circles.”

When it came to summoning circles, there was only one thing that came to mind. Arendt’s face hardened.

“It must be homunculi.”

“Yes.”

Lexion’s face crumpled.

“It looks like the Cult handed over magic stones with summoning circles engraved on them to the civilians.”

“You couldn’t get rid of them?”

“It seems to be the work of that Nikephoros guy. The moment I approach, the city will be blown away.”

When Arendt fell silent, Lexion added briefly:

“It would be the same for you, your captain, and the other knights. Anyone with magical powers who approaches will immediately activate the self-destruct spell and release the homunculi. Of course, the humans who installed it won’t know about it.”

Lexion glanced at the map again.

“And as you can see from the locations…”

The black marks he left behind seemed to surround the palace from a certain distance.

“The goal, of course, will be to trample on the palace. They will crush everything that gets in their way along the way. Those who joined the Cult…”

“They will join the ghouls and march together to the palace.”

Arendt responded dryly.

“To be honest, they’re probably the more troublesome foes, especially against leaders with the temperament of Captain Laius or Crown Prince Victor.”

Since the Breath of Mnemosyne did not work, their loyalty would be less than that of the fanatics.

But…

“…Those insolent bastards, there’s no way they gathered just out of faith, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Lexion nodded.

“Faith is merely a connecting link, and most of the members are dissatisfied with their current situation. It seems that they believe that if they follow Chernion instead of Luce, they can achieve their wishes.”

The expressionless apprentice knight’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Because they are idiots.”

If things had gone as planned in ‘The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword’, this would have happened in the original Caerleon Empire.

The Chernion Cult had attempted several rebellions within the Empire so far, but had been foiled each time at the hands of Arendt and Laius.

So, they took their failures in the Caerleon Empire as lessons and started attacking other kingdoms.

If things continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before the palace was reduced to rubble.

“…”

Arendt’s complicated gaze turned to Llewellyn.

He was completely unconscious, his mouth agape.

Lexion read his gaze and asked.

“Why? Are you trying to sneak that little prince out first?”

“No. It’s probably not what he wants.”

But Arendt refused with a displeased look on his face.

Lexion asked again, as if he didn’t understand.

“Does that matter?”

“It’s probably important. I guess human opinions aren’t that important to the great reptile.”

“Are you being sarcastic? What do you mean by the great reptile?”

As Arendt shrugged his shoulders, Lexion responded incredulously.

“Anyway, I guess I have to figure out what to do from now on.”

“Hah…”

Arendt ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Regardless of what happens, we must first consult Crown Prince Victor. The King is currently incapable of sound judgment, and from this point forward, it is he who will govern the realm.”

“…You really are impossible to figure out.”

Lexion frowned.

“It seems like you’re extremely self-righteous, but I don’t know why you back down at times like this.”

“That much isn’t my responsibility.”

“This is a bit off topic, but do you know something?”

Lexion let out a short sigh at the indifferent answer.

“Rather than taking everything on alone, pushing others to do it is the most annoying and exhausting thing. And it seems you have a hobby of willingly putting yourself through that trouble.”

“That way, my workload will be reduced even a little.”

“You’re funny. You’re the kind of guy who creates trouble when you have nothing to do.”

Before he could finish his words, Lexion burst out laughing.

“Anyway, what are we going to do now? If things continue this way, a civil war will surely break out. Ghouls, homunculi, and a group of disgruntled civilians will flock to the palace.”

Lexion paused for a moment before adding:

“In a few days, they will become the holy army carrying the name of Chernion.”

“…”

Arendt was silent for a while.

It wasn’t on a scale that could be brushed off with a sloppy act like they had done so far in the Caerleon Empire.

After a while, Arendt rubbed his face once and said coldly.

“Holy Army, that title doesn’t suit them. Rather than calling them something so grandiose, it’s better to call them a ragtag bunch of clowns.”

“But those rabble are probably the most difficult enemies for you to deal with. Didn’t you say that earlier?”

“That’s right, so we have to find a way. One that will cause less bloodshed.”

Whether they were all defeated or the Lucain Kingdom was turned into chaos, it would be a satisfactory result for the two gods.

Luce could use the hero’s hand to enforce justice, and if a catastrophic war were to break out, Chernion would be able to show his influence to the world through that alone.

After a brief pause, Arendt spoke again.

“Lord Lexion.”

“What.”

When Lexion answered curtly, Arendt asked again.

“You remember roughly where those ragtag bunch of bastards live and who they are, right?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. Then…”

Now that Lexion had his eye on them, it was safe to say that the lives of those inept cultists were in their hands.

“Now, all that remains is the Crown Prince’s choice.”