The Lich of Glory Knight Spirit: Moving towards Krimasha!
Chapter 95 - 27: Guardian of Justice (5) (Second Update)

Chapter 95: Chapter 27: Guardian of Justice (5) (Second Update)

"At the very beginning, being a soldier was just a job for me."

"I didn’t care who my employer was, nor who my opponent was. Whoever paid me—I listened to them. If I couldn’t win, I’d run. I had plenty of war experience and was very confident in my ability to escape."

"When I learned our opponent was a Holy Knight not protected by the sacred spirits... hmm, what’s the difference? If he were protected, I’d probably feel a little uneasy, as I’d never encountered one before. If he wasn’t, then what sets him apart from a regular lord?"

"The first time I saw Lord Gray—please allow me to call him that—was outside Pearce Church. I had been stationed not far from King Benedict II, and I heard their conversation clearly."

"It seemed the King wanted to kill his own brother, while Lord Gray wanted to protect him. That was how it started. The boy stood less than two hundred meters away from me on the steps—a thin, frail figure hiding behind two other children. He looked as though a single finger could topple him."

"They were debating the matter of justice. Honestly, I didn’t care—justice wouldn’t fill my stomach. As for the boy... well, I did feel a small amount of sympathy for him, but only a little. Thinking about how he’s a prince who enjoyed a life far better than mine, I even felt a hint of schadenfreude. After all, nobles are always hypocritical—how could you trust what they say?"

"Overall, my feelings back then were just like that—no more, no less. You must understand, I was just a destitute soldier. The quarrels of nobles had nothing to do with me. My job was simply to take the money, then kill people, or flee—that’s all."

"To be honest, Lord Gray scared me that night. Really. He was terrifying. One man, facing an army of ten thousand, fighting for what he claimed was justice, without the slightest trace of fear. It was like... like something out of a novel. I never thought such a person could exist in reality. And the key is—he was strong enough. He truly held back that entire army, all alone... just by himself, holding an entire army at bay. Too terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. They said Lord Gray had lost the protection of the sacred spirits, but with power like that, what other explanation could there be besides divine intervention?"

"When dawn broke, the Silver Moon Knight Order arrived. We retreated with the King, set up camp, and prepared for new battles."

"I heard that Lord Gray had fallen into unconsciousness, and at the time, I felt some relief. A formidable enemy had fallen, hadn’t he? The King actually considered taking advantage of the opportunity to seize Lion King City, but he abandoned the idea later. After all, it might’ve been a trap. I suppose he’d been frightened by Lord Gray too."

"And then came that famous raid. It was relentless—day and night, continuous charges. We never imagined he could traverse such a vast distance to launch a surprise attack on us. Nor did we imagine they could execute such a strategy. Initially, we suspected their forces were enormous, taking turns to assault us, creating an illusion to instill fear. So, we sent people to track them. Unfortunately, we found it was real—no deception, no doubt. The Silver Moon Knight Order genuinely fought nonstop, twenty-four hours a day, tirelessly."

"That feeling—utterly hopeless. Just a day earlier, we’d been informed that the Allen Kingdom would enter the war and support us... Of course, I wasn’t a traitor—the traitor was the King, and it had nothing to do with me. But I was still relieved; at least it meant we would win. Yet only a day later, we doubted whether we could even survive until the Allen Kingdom’s army arrived."

"Honestly, I had never wanted to see the Allen Kingdom’s troops so desperately. If they had appeared before me at that moment, I would’ve rushed forward to embrace them. I’m not kidding."

"It was so unbelievably terrifying. Not only was the Holy Knight terrifying, but his Silver Moon Knight Order was even more so. That was an invincible army. To this day, I cannot fathom any strategy capable of defeating them. At the time, I actually wanted to flee, but I feared I couldn’t outrun them, which would’ve been disastrous. So, I had no choice but to stick with the King."

"Later, Duke Fernandes—that old man—had a stroke. Yes, a stroke. It was the first time I’d ever heard of a military commander suffering a stroke in the midst of battle. But in any case, he was indeed incapacitated. After that, they left, and we were left to face the Silver Moon Knight Order alone."

"At that time, I... I was starving, exhausted, drained, terrified, panicked—my nerves close to breaking. My condition was terrible. Worse than it had ever been. The King led us in maneuvering, eventually entering Absburg—a modest fortress."

"Everyone was crammed together; the stench of sweat was everywhere. Not enough latrines—some people even relieved themselves wherever they pleased. It was the worst place I had ever lived. Worse than sleeping in the wilderness. But, thankfully, we finally managed to get a proper night’s sleep."

"By then, if I had any feelings toward Lord Gray, it was probably just fear. A powerful enemy that makes your blood run cold—what other emotion could you possibly feel?"

"I thought the war would end there. We wouldn’t last long enough to see the Allen Kingdom’s army. Truth be told, even if they appeared immediately, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’d fought in many wars and didn’t believe any army in the world could defeat the Silver Moon Knight Order. We’d stay holed up in Absburg until the food ran out, and then open the gates—either scatter and escape or surrender. What third outcome could there possibly be?"

"Later, Lord Gray made us realize—there was. There truly was a third outcome."

"This was the most astonishing thing about him."

"He came alone, carrying a Holy Bible to the gates. He said he wanted to preach to us."

"At least at the time, I thought it was a ridiculous joke. Preach to us during such circumstances? Did he think we would surrender because of it? If we were going to surrender, we would do so regardless of his preaching. And if we refused to surrender, no amount of his words would change that."

"He came day after day, whether through rain or snow. His voice was remarkably loud—no matter where we hid in the fortress, every single one of us could hear him clearly. He persisted, preaching to us about the righteousness of divine faith, repeating, endlessly repeating. Although his words weren’t eloquent, he kept repeating, repeating. He said he was willing to pray for us, to petition the sacred spirits for our absolution..."

"Can you imagine that? Praying for one’s enemies—not to demand that we surrender. But he did it anyway. Compared to whether we would surrender, he cared more about whether we truly listened to his preaching, whether we believed in the sacred spirits, whether we were willing to uphold justice."

"The food ran out, and we began to seriously consider leaving the fortress to surrender. And then..."

"Something absolutely unexpected happened—he brought us food. He said, yes, we were his enemies, but we were also followers of the sacred spirits. Followers of the sacred spirits... should not starve. He did not take the opportunity to demand our surrender."

"You cannot imagine how I felt at that moment."

"If a man is simply powerful, it’s no big deal. He can only destroy your flesh. But if he’s so great—so great that you can’t bear to meet his gaze—I believe that isn’t war. It simply isn’t. He held the power of life and death over us and could easily have forced us to open the gates. But he chose not to do so—he deemed that beneath him."

"We were like unruly children—rowdy, mischievous, full of trouble. And he emerged before us, like a father, just as he proclaimed he loved us as the sacred spirits do. He came forward and kindly said to us, ’As long as you repent, I will forgive the wrongs you’ve committed.’"

"In front of him, we were nothing more than a gaggle of misbehaving children..."

"Our pride, our dignity, the rules of survival we old soldiers held dearly—all of it was shattered by him. Yet, we were joyful, extraordinarily joyful. To have encountered such a righteous, kind, and powerful Knight—we were overjoyed. To have the privilege of being his opponent—it felt like an honor. Truly."

"He steadfastly upheld his Knight’s vow, his divine faith, showing mercy and compassion. Every word he spoke I remember clearly—because every word was sincere, every word was fulfilled."

"He said his war was fought for justice, not to kill anyone."

"We began to take his preaching seriously, though his words remained clumsy. Everyone claimed to listen for the sake of the food—but who knows? Personally, I wasn’t. Many people I knew weren’t either."

"I had never studied the Holy Bible so intently, never pursued the truth of faith so fervently. That war gave me the purpose of existence."

"He was the sacred spirits’ embodiment in this world—the true Guardian of Justice. I was convinced. Otherwise, how could he remain so spotless?"

"He conquered us. He conquered every single one of us."

"Later, the King disappeared—we had no idea where he went. But that didn’t matter. None of us cared about him anymore."

"We opened the gates wholeheartedly, prostrating ourselves before him, swearing in the name of the sacred spirits to fight for him willingly. Even if the rumors about him losing the protection of the sacred spirits were true—it didn’t matter. Even if he led us to hell—it didn’t matter. We only wanted to fight for him, to fight for justice like him, and to be righteous and kind like him."

In the Holy Calendar year 10754, February, on the twentieth day of the Siege of Absburg, King Benedict II vanished. His forces, inspired by Holy Knight Gray, opened the gates and unconditionally pledged their allegiance to him without any battles or negotiations.

This event once again shook the entire continent.