Chapter 216: Chapter 239 - Successor (1)
A long time ago.
The first period of the empire, which no one remembers anymore.
In those times, the eastern region of the Empire was nothing more than a desolate wasteland.
Unlike the fertile West, where the World Mother Tree was located, the barren, arid East, where not even a blade of grass could grow, was a land ignored even by the surrounding lords.
"…It seems the children have been very hungry."
A dry and desolate land.
The man who was looking around smiled bitterly at the sight of the children's eyes watching him.
Although they were strangers, the children's eyes, which followed them, shone with anticipation for food.
"Because there's not much to eat."
"Not even the elves can make this land prosper?"
Every time the man took a step, the village children drew closer to him.
However, the man felt a bit sad because the children who now clung to him did so not out of innocent curiosity.
"…This is a land that cannot be saved, even by anyone other than our elves. Your Majesty."
The young Geronimo looked at the man in the deep robe and called him "Your Majesty."
It was a title that could only be given to the most powerful man on the continent, but the man Geronimo was looking at at that moment seemed too worn-out to receive the glorious title of Your Majesty.
"What do you think now that you've seen it? Do you feel relieved?"
The sleeves covering his thin body were wide.
In Geronimo's eyes, which had become very dry after giving away his own food, it seemed that only bitter venom remained.
"In the end, the king of humans only thought about humans. What the elder chief said was true."
"…"
There was once a knight who harbored a radiant intent like a star.
He was also someone who gathered the potential of all the races of the world into a single sword to eliminate the most perfect dragon.
"I'm sorry."
However, the man who was now removing his robe was not the knight who had shone so brightly back then.
The old man, whose face was covered in wrinkles filled with regrets, was a liar who could not even fulfill the promises he said he would keep.
"To destroy the most perfect being, I borrowed too much. While returning them, I could not concern myself with you."
"Please return."
Geronimo stopped walking and murmured quietly.
However, his calm yet clear voice entered Frausen's heart and sank heavily.
"Come back and send us food if you can."
At his feet, where he stopped, was a very small sapling.
The sapling, which did not even reach the waist of an adult, seemed precarious as if it might wither and die at any moment, perhaps because it stood on dry land.
"May your compassion allow us to survive the winter."
"Geronimo."
An elf begging for food and a young World Tree that had not even properly rooted.
Faced with their miserable appearance, Frausen deeply regretted coming here too late.
"…Don't do this, don't beg. You have the right to stand with dignity."
Elves who had to sacrifice their World Mother Tree to destroy the most perfect dragon.
But now, instead of past glory, their lives had been reduced to begging with outstretched hands to others.
Click-
"Your Majesty?"
Their misery was ultimately his fault.
Even though I fulfilled my duties as a knight, it was my fault for not being able to fulfill my duties as emperor.
"I'm sorry it took so long to repay this debt."
Clang-!
Frausen drew his sword and without hesitation drove it into the ground in front of the small sapling of the World Tree.
Although its owner had aged and worn down, the sword still shone with its silver brilliance.
"…Obtained from the Lady of the Lake, blessed by God, and ruled by a flame that never extinguishes."
"What are you doing now?"
The young Geronimo was surprised by Frausen's sudden action, but the old emperor's face only filled with a relieved smile as he looked at him.
"Do not remove this sword. Not until the children here stop starving."
Frausen sheathed his sword, looked at the children who were staring at him with wide eyes, and laughed.
"And until this young World Tree takes deep root."
As the blue grass began to slowly grow around the silver sword, the children, who had never seen that color in the wasteland, opened their eyes wide.
Rumble, rumble-
A man who left his position of glory to assume a duty he had not fulfilled.
As the silver sword wept at seeing its owner walk away, he simply patted it once and covered himself with his hood again.
"At least I'm glad I didn't arrive too late, that brings me some comfort."
A wasteland with nothing, a land where children starved.
And someday, the land from which the sword would be drawn.
The name they would give that place in the future would be the Forest of the Elves, Ausurin.
***
The tall wooden fence seemed majestic, but it couldn't block the ominous air coming from outside the forest.
The young elves of Ausurin simply widened their eyes as if anxious while watching the village become more and more unfamiliar as the adults moved busily.
[There are the children gathered.]
"…"
And the children of the Ruga tribe noticed it too.
Vlad walked forward without saying a word, looking at the children who had different appearances but the same look in their eyes.
"The human army numbers around a thousand men."
"That sounds manageable."
According to Baradis, who was walking with him, the number of soldiers gathered by Count Vitskaya was about a thousand.
There were around 700 Ausurin elves fighting against him, so it didn't seem like there was any reason to be at a disadvantage if they fought behind a fence.
"…The problem is the resurrected ones."
But Count Vitskaya wasn't alone.
Behind him, there were many dark mages who answered Ramashthu's call, and they were probably still burning with desire for Ausurin.
"Three days ago, their number was already about two thousand. Combined with the humans, they form an army of three thousand."
"…"
"And it is likely to continue growing."
At that moment, a sudden wind blew, and the smell of oil began to waft from the torch beside me.
Suddenly, an unexpected wind brought the scent of oil from the nearby torches.
"That's why we need a barrier to reverse the current situation."
The barrier surrounding Ausurin was protected by the unbreakable promise of the Sword Master's sword.
However, ever since the revived Frausen took the sword, the barrier ceremony that the elves had built over hundreds of years was in a state of failure, like a safe that had lost its key.
"I beg you."
With those words, Baradis stopped, indicating that his guidance ended there.
When he stopped, there were elders waiting for Vlad in front of the young World Tree.
Their eyes, which awaited the new Silver Knight, were as serious as the eyes of the children he had just seen.
"…Baradis."
"Yes?"
As he followed those hopeful gazes, Vlad suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and looked at Baradis.
"Thank you for back then."
Vlad turned around and was smiling.
It wasn't a bright enough smile to laugh with, but his somewhat carefree smile eased Baradis's heart a little.
"I'll try to settle the debt this time. For everything you did for me."
From the devastated city of Deirmar to the forgotten island of the dwarves, Lemnos.
Vlad kept remembering the elf who had been with him all this time.
"Because knights only receive just compensation."
For the elf who quietly stayed by my side when I needed it most.
Baradis was speechless for a moment when he saw Vlad say that he would take this opportunity to repay the help he had received.
"…Yes."
With those words, Baradis remained there for a long time, watching Vlad's back as he walked farther and farther away.
Though he walked to fulfill a great duty, Vlad showed not the slightest hesitation in his steps as he walked towards the young World Tree.
***
"Listen, my soldiers!"
The troops were lined up along the edge of the dense forest.
The soldiers, who were largely divided into two formations, had different appearances and also different positions according to their respective roles.
"Remember how those damn elves suddenly betrayed us!"
The dead were silent, and the living held their breath to match them.
Though the formation was filled with a strange silence as if they were about to go into battle, only Count Vitskaya was shouting loudly to everyone.
"Remember the pain they caused us! Now, while your families starve at home, those evil elves are resting, eating, and enjoying themselves in that green forest!"
As the Count said, the people in his territory were endlessly starving.
The county of Vitskaya, where trade with the elves had been cut off, was like a land without a waterway.
At this moment, when even the support from the Dragon Blood Duke had been severed, the only way to save the territory suffering from scorching hunger was to steal from others.
"Look at that green forest! While your families starve, those damn elves are relaxing and enjoying themselves as if nothing is wrong!"
Accumulated resentment seeks a target, and repressed anger needs an outlet.
Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, they just needed something to unleash upon, and for the residents of Vitskaya, the elves were simply excellent kindling.
"Yes! If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"It's all the elves' fault! They started everything!"
To survive, sometimes one needs the courage to ignore the truth and an excuse to attack others.
Angry shouts toward the elves began to erupt from Vitskaya's army, which fulfilled all the conditions with a single speech.
"In the end, they also seek to kill others to survive."
"…"
And there were those watching them from another camp.
They were among the dead and the ominous creatures that filled the army.
"What do you think, Joseph? Is it right to trample others to survive?"
The voice that spoke sounded as empty as death.
The image of a woman dressed in black mourning clothes looked at him.
The woman, who rejected the world created by God and would not even set foot on the earth, looked at Joseph with a truly mysterious expression.
"God is cruel, don't you think? He is the one who created a world where to survive, we must kill someone to live."
"…"
Seen up close, she seemed like a very compassionate woman.
The sight of her holding each dead child in her arms was similar to that of the Virgin Mary blessed by God. [1]
However, Joseph could glimpse the madness hidden behind her gentle smile.
"That's why we must destroy everything. So that no one else has to die."
Some had come this far driven by vile desires, others by unfulfilled dreams, and others by despair.
Although all the dark mages who had been drawn here by the darkness had their own circumstances, Joseph was sure that none of them were as mad as Ramashthu standing before him.
"And then we will rebuild it."
Because she was rejecting the world that God created with a passion purer than anyone else's.
Joseph could only remain frozen as her maniacal smile of "And then we will rebuild it" stared at him.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, causing great agitation among Vitskaya's troops.
The vibration was so strong that even the undead, who were usually insensitive to disturbances, wavered.
"An earthquake?"
"No."
Ramashthu slightly lifted her veil, pointing toward the center of the elves' forest with her pale finger.
At the end of her hand, a great tree rose toward the sky.
"It seems the elves don't want to die without a fight."
The young World Tree visible in the distance was glowing.
It surpassed its original blue color and came in all sorts of bright colors.
"It's a barrier ritual."
The bright lights were visible even from outside the forest, flickering incessantly like a beacon illuminating the elves' forest.
1: The alternative translation could be: "Her image, holding the dead children in her arms, was reminiscent of a saint blessed by God."