Chapter 206 : Chapter 206 The Knight Who Protects the Weak

Chapter 206 : Chapter 206

***Partizan was the name of an old territory in the North that has now vanished, and it also referred to the people born of that land.

The reason they distinguished themselves was not because they lived in a remote frontier far from the Kingdom’s mainland, but because they harbored thoughts different from ordinary people of the Kingdom from the very beginning.

‘All humans are equal.’

It was absurd.

Did that mean His Majesty the Emperor and some beggars were fundamentally the same?

Maybe it was because the liquor was strong, but my head throbbed.

"Comrade Bihen."

I lifted my head at Hugin’s call as he sat across from me, and then I looked around absentmindedly.

Dusk was already settling in.

"Thank you for listening to such a long story."

"……No, the pleasure was mine."

The merchants who had come with me from Bart left for Springeus first. Hugin’s men took charge of their escort.

Crackle, crackle.

The small campfire swallowed up the dry twigs.

As if that was a signal, Kendrick, who was sitting in the middle, rubbed his palms together with a crisp sound.

"Now! Let us have another drink."

Kendrick held his brass cup up to his nose and looked back and forth between Hugin and me.

"I will never be able to forget this moment for the rest of my life. To sit side-by-side with the heroes of the age and drink wine. What greater honor could there be for a man? I can die now with no regrets."

Hugin laughed heartily.

"Take back those words quickly, Comrade Kendrick. A man who lives by the sword should know that words have a way of becoming reality."

"Ah, well, I did not mean that I actually want to die! Now, anyway!"

Hugin and Kendrick drank their wine while with their arms around each other's shoulders.

I did not know how the two of them first met and bonded, but I could guess even without asking.

‘Kendrick overcame his innate status. That part must have resonated with him.’

He was originally a knight.

To be precise, he was a noble from a fallen family.

It did not matter what tragedy he had experienced, and I was not interested.

What mattered was that when I first met him, he was not a noble, but was half-forced into the status of a mercenary.

When we met again, he was unable to find his footing between being a knight and a mercenary, and in the end, I did not see the conclusion of that struggle.

And then there was now.

‘He eventually chose the life of a mercenary.’

To Hugin, Kendrick was a man like a revolution who rejected his innate destiny and chose his own life, a man who broke through his shell with his own hands.

Well, conversely, Hugin might have been the one who helped him break that shell.

Regardless, Kendrick’s life could be called the very spirit of Partizan.

"……."

If it had only been this far, I would have just received a promise from Hugin not to attack Conwell as a matter of urgency and then withdrawn.

I had no intention of baring my fangs further, if only for Kendrick’s sake.

‘The fall of Partizan is deeply connected to the Eight Demons.’

This was my speculation. I was probably not wrong.

I felt a sudden sense of déjà vu when Hugin explained the circumstances and process of Partizan’s destruction.

The walls of Partizan, which had withstood countless monster invasions, gradually cracked due to a mysterious plague.

Through those gaps, Transporters carrying living people appeared, and all sorts of ominous rumors began to spread uncontrollably.

The end of the chaos was mass amnesia and the distortion of memory.

‘Up to this point, it is their familiar method.’

The problem was what came next. As I listened to Hugin’s story, a sense of incongruity arose.

‘Why?’

If those claiming to be the descendants of Partizan had barely escaped with their lives, it would have been understandable.

However, the fact that they, who were targeted by the Eight Demons, survived with their memories fully intact despite the intervention of the Phantom Demon, was a point that was difficult to understand.

‘Unless they were left alive on purpose.’

The Eight Demons never leave alone those who stray from the path they have designed.

That path is the history in which the Empire punishes the Kingdom for ruining the balance of the universe by overusing Karma; in other words, it is the natural order by their standards.

‘There is no way those like the Oesin of the Imperial Family would tolerate such rebellious ideas.’

A mistake? I did not know. I knew they were not perfect beings, but…….

"Our goal is to end this war as quickly as possible, Comrade Bihen."

Hugin said as he wiped the wine flowing down his chin with the back of his hand.

I did not know how many times he had said those words already.

What was certain was that he had said it at least three more times.

‘And that is why I am sitting here.’

At that moment, Kendrick tapped my shoulder.

His eyes were half-unfocused.

The tip of his nose was also red.

"Bihen! It is not that Comrade Hugin is blindly hostile toward the nobles. It is just that they are all the sa. me. people— hm? That is how it is. So— well, what I want to say is……."

"……."

"Do not worry too much about Conwell. We are not going there to fight, but to end the fight."

"Comrade Bihen, I think there are many suspicious parts about this War of the Roses, starting from its outbreak."

I raised my eyes. Hugin was adding strength to his characteristic voice.

"It is clear that there is the intervention of some transcendent something that is beyond human power. We, who have lost our hometown and families entirely for incomprehensible reasons, can understand that through intuition."

Hugin’s pupils flickered fiercely. I could feel the hatred and desire for revenge toward an invisible existence.

"If we stay and hold our ground at the vanguard of the Springeus camp first, the other side will not be able to move rashly either. Meanwhile, our comrades will gather information by moving back and forth between Springeus and Windermere. Then we will be able to find out the identity of the true mastermind."

"……Anyone would think you were the Imperial Capital Knight Order."

"We just want to cut out the insidious truth of this war. Certainly, this war resembles the tragedy of Partizan. I feel certain that if we chase the clues, we will reach the truth."

Hugin was a man with insight.

I wanted to tell him the whole truth I knew, even if just to honor his tenacity.

‘However…….’

The disaster that took your home away from you is now gone, and the culprit behind this war is Deganelo, the Right Camp Leader of the Imperial Capital Knight Order, and the fact that the two were originally in league with each other…….

Would they believe me if I told them? Even if they believed it, the situation would not particularly change.

It would just make my mouth ache and I would only be treated like a crazy person.

‘The time is not yet right.’

Let's do what can be done now.

"I feel the same way. I must end this meaningless war as quickly as possible, one way or another."

As long as Conwell was involved, I had no intention of acting leisurely.

"I will directly settle things with the head of the Springeus family. If I can cool down the heat on one side first, the other side will naturally die down as well."

"Right now, the people of the Springeus family are all out of their minds. The head’s temper is no joke either. If it were as easy as it sounds, it would be the best method, but it will only end up provoking them."

"Even so, they cannot simply ignore me, as I am deeply connected to Conwell."

"That is true, but……."

"This is the best way for now."

"Hmm."

I had to bring Krnock and Deli anyway.

Pursuing Deganelo’s whereabouts while going there was my original purpose.

"Very well. Then I will suppress the battle between both sides at the front line as much as possible. If each of us focuses on the best result we can obtain, it will surely lead to a good outcome."

I took the hand Hugin offered. His grip felt strangely comfortable.

Kendrick wrapped his hands around our joined hands.

"Hahaha! Comrade Hugin! On a day like today, it would be a shame to miss that song!"

"Ah, of course."

Hugin nodded and hummed lowly.

"Standing in the fields at dawn one day—"

The members of the Great Raven Mercenary Band surrounding us took up the chorus.

"Oh, farewell my love—, farewell, farewell!"

At that moment, the flock of ravens that had been sitting neatly all took flight at once.

It was as if a black wave was rising along the mountain ridge.

"Between the grayish mist, the cries of my lost hometown are heard."

The sound of burning firewood, the dry mountain wind, and the damp shadows.

And even Kendrick, who was heavily intoxicated.

Oh, Partizan, take me away