57 [1-57] 疑心暗薔薇




 The cold stone dungeon is actually warmer than the ground.
 In the gray corridor lit by a magic lamp, the footsteps of the leg armor reverberate high in the air.

"This way, sir.

 Gomez, a stern, middle-aged knight, guides Lawrence.
 Gomez is Lawrence's subordinate, and he is in charge of a squad. Gomez is Lawrence's subordinate, in charge of a squadron, and Lawrence highly values his honesty and loyalty to the king. Although he has passed his peak as a soldier and is beginning to show signs of decline, he is still the best man under Lawrence's command in terms of personal strength.
 That was why he had sent his troops to capture Bertil. Against a truly strong opponent, even a hundred ordinary soldiers would be reamed out.

 As Lawrence entered the steel-doors of the cell, a man chained to a crude bed barely looked up.

"Lawrence, ......! What the hell is this!

 It's Bertil.

 Bartyr, stripped down to his upper body armor. His statuesque body was exposed.
 But he's missing from the shoulders down. Only blood-soaked bandages were wrapped around them.
 Despite the coldness of the stone prison, Bertil is sweating profusely. His breathing is labored.

"Good catch, Gomez.
"Well. He resisted, so we cut off his arms and captured him as you requested.

 As soon as Gomez said that, Barthil snapped his chains and twisted.

"You're lying! I've been--
"Shut up!

 Gomez plunged his sword into the side of Bertil's head, piercing the flimsy, cookie-cutter pillow.

Gomez thrusts his sword into the side of Bertil's head, piercing the cookie-thin pillow.
 I knew this day would come when you rebelled against His Majesty's decree!
"What the hell, ......?

 I knew this day would come when you defied His Majesty's decree! Gomez yells at him with the fury of a god of war, and Bertil's eyes just go black and white.

 Lawrence understood the situation. Gomez, unable to control his overflowing sense of justice, must have gone a little rougher than necessary.
 Even after realizing this, Lawrence could not help but think, "Well, look at that.

Let me just state the facts straightforwardly.
 About twenty members of the Second Order attacked the south gate tower and broke down the gate.
"What the ......?

 Bertil's eyes peeled back in disbelief.

What's ...... going on?
"Are you kidding me? Are you sure you don't know?
 Well, whatever it is, you brought it on yourself.

 Lawrence snaps back. Instead of slashing with his sword, he slams his words down.
 Even if Bertil hadn't betrayed him, Lawrence was sure that the reason the Second Order members had acted this way was as a result of the meeting they had just had.
 The naive idea of trying to negotiate with the diabolical undead had led to this result. And the cause, Lawrence believed, was the mind of Bertil, who had been friendly to the former king.

What happened to the undead army?
"What's the use of you knowing?

 "You don't need to know that," said Barthil, smiling sarcastically as if he could see right through him.

I can only guess.
 The gates have been breached and you've left your command post to come and see me. There's a lull in the ...... standoff across the city walls, or maybe the undead are retreating while the attack is halted by the redeployment of the city.
 The city walls have ...... been completely breached.
...... Tsk.

 Lawrence clicks his tongue.
 It seemed useless to talk to Bertil any more. It just pissed him off.

"Recovery magic?
No, sir. We're dealing with a renegade.

 Gomez answered the question with a serious look on his face.
 I thought Bertil looked strangely distressed. It's a miracle he's bandaged up.
 He thought he could make him suffer a little more, but Lawrence still gave him pragmatic instructions.

"...... will interfere with the interrogation. Give him the minimum amount of treatment.
What?
He might have some information. I don't care how you do it, just get him to talk. Don't kill him.
Yes, sir.

 Gomez followed Lawrence out of the cell, locked the door, and strode away to call for the Interrogator.

God protect the people of ...... Ciel-Teira!

 Barthil's muttering was probably only heard by Lawrence.
 Biting his teeth in abhorrence, Lawrence left the prison with his shoes clicking loudly.

 I'm not sure.

 In the event you have any questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at .......


 The cooperation of the temple is essential to carry out this operation. If we wanted to perform the "consecration" on a large number of people, we would inevitably need a large number of priests.
 However, what came in response to my request to the temple, which I had expected to be accepted with a simple answer, was a scream from the head of the temple.

We are at our wits' end! We can only heal the retreating knights. Half of the priests have already collapsed.
Can't we hold them? What about potions to restore magic?

 I've been told that if you can gather enough catalysts you can put up the wards again.
 In other words, if we gave up on that, we would have a lot of magic resources to spare.
 But the temple chief's reply was the same.

'I've used up all of it, too! If it weren't for the resuscitation earlier ......
"Resuscitation? In this situation, we can't afford to use any resurrection magic unless something happens to you! Why did you do that!

 How much magic does it take to revive someone? Even Lawrence, who is not a sorcerer, knows that it is not an ordinary effort.
 Even in a city the size of King's Landing, a single temple can only revive two or three people in a day. Without a large supply of potions to restore magic power, it is impossible to do so.

 Currently, not only potions, but even the magic of the priests is a valuable strategic resource.
 If Hilbert were to die, he would be the first priority for resuscitation, but there was no time to use resuscitation magic on anyone else.

"Reinforcements from Noa Curio are requested by ...... Theo Colin Edfelt.
"Theo, ......?

 Theo ?" Lawrence tilted his head, not knowing what to make of the Temple Chief's answer.
 He knew the Marquesses of Edfelt, but the name Theo didn't ring a bell.

 Lawrence, who had recently become a courtier, looked at Hilbert and asked, "Who are you?

"Who is it?
"The third son of the Marquis of Edfelt. He is involved in diplomacy against Noa Curio.
I told you we can't afford to resuscitate him for the defense. But he insisted.
Why didn't you insist?

 Theo, of course, was an idiot for requesting a resuscitation spell at a time like this, and the priests were incredibly stupid for accepting it and wasting their precious magic power.
 But the head of the temple, with a hint of sarcasm, defends himself.

"Consider the words of a man who works for his country to be the words of his Majesty," ...... you told me the other day.
 Mr. Edfelt is engaged in diplomacy at the behest of the Emperor. I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more information on this in the future.

 Lawrence gritted his teeth.
 As for the rebelliousness of the Temple people, Hilbert has been trying to bring them to their knees. Lawrence himself had helped with that. He had implicitly threatened to condemn the Temple in the name of the First Order if they did not listen to him.
 Lawrence is aware that he is a national hero. He knew what the consequences would be if he condemned the Temple.
 For its part, the temple is finally becoming more understanding.
 It has been wasted by the extreme idiots who have surpassed even the ...... great idiots!

"What happened to ...... Resuscitation?
"It failed.
Where's Theo? Is he still in the temple?
The skeleton assassin who attacked the temple earlier is hiding in the temple. ...... was attacked and lost his life.

 That's all I could think of.
 It was a suspicious explanation, but even if it was a lie, it didn't seem to matter. At least for now.

"If you can't help it, then--
"This is Falcon Squadron, please respond!

 As Lawrence pondered the next best course of action, one of the callers barked.
 It's Falcon, one of the First Order's platoon leaders.

"It's Lawrence. What's going on?
'It's the Revenant! There's a Revenant in the Second Order!
Revenant?

 Revenants!
 They're not zombies or skeletons, but undead that can't be distinguished from humans at first glance. They can use the knowledge and physical skills they had before they died, and can even control magic if their entire soul is turned into a Revenant.
 Its nature makes it ideal for infiltration. From time to time, an evil sorcerer transforms a living human into a reverend and infiltrates the human city.

"Are they the ones who attacked the gate tower? Or else?
I'm not sure if it's the knights who attacked the gate tower, but ...... one of the knights retreating!
 I'm not sure what to make of that. I'm not sure what to make of that.

 I could feel Hilbert gasp.

You're not alone, are you ......?
Yes .......

 Lawrence also felt as if a cold hand was stroking his back.
 If there was a traitor, or if there was going to be a traitor, that was understandable.
 But to secretly replace the enemy camp with the undead in the middle of the battlefield is a blasphemous strategy that defies comprehension.

 --d*mn it, he's a monster. I guess I should've expected this from the start!



 The knights of Ciel-Teira may go out to defeat the demons that appear in the country, but they have almost no experience fighting the armies of the demons.
 In the beginning, the power of the Demon King's army was weakened, and countries far from the battlefield would only send money and goods to provide logistical support to the United Forces of Mankind. Even the battles in which the human nations formed allied forces have been going on for more than ten years now.
 Even Lawrence did not have much experience in fighting against an army of demons and monsters. He was not prepared for the demonic way of fighting.

I'm not sure that's a good idea.
I don't think so. ......

 I'm sure you're not the only one.
 I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will help you.
 The second knight's plan to turn Revenant was going on without Bertil's knowledge, you should think.

 --Was it a mistake to capture Bertil ......? No, the Revenant is not the only one who attacked the south gate.
   Above all, it's dangerous to leave the Second Order in the hands of Barthil under these circumstances. How can we trust him? We don't know what he'll do!

"Thank you. Give priority to retreat.
"Ha!

 Lawrence, who had given the order, now took up the caller to the Temple Head.

I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference between an undead and a human, no matter how much magic you're running out of.
"Yes, of course I can.
Good. I've been informed that there's a Revenant mixed in with the Second Order. ≪I'm sure you can tell the difference. If there are any, leave it to the Second Order to deal with them. It's not like there are more Revenants out there.

 But before I could hear his reply, Falcon's caller raised his voice again.

"Lord Commander!
What is it this time?

 "What is it this time?" It was a cry of desperation.

"The Rose Princess of Hell has appeared!