I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 89: Towards the Wall (2)

Baron William’s domain, like other estates, had several villages.

However, the first and second villages encountered upon entering the barony were both empty.

There were no ratmen, nor any villagers.

It wasn’t until they reached the third village, near the village of Mirang, which was known as the heart of the barony, that people began to appear.

“Oh my goodness. Ohhh…Could you be the Black Knight of Lothian?”

As soon as they entered the village, the emaciated villagers bowed and asked the leading meteor, Yoo Seong.

“Yes, I am the Black Knight of Lothian.”

As Yoo Seong got off Alphonse and said this, some of the villagers burst into tears, while others cheered in joy.

The man at the forefront of the villagers bowed again to Yoo Seong and said,

“I am Jacques, the village chief. Thanks to the Black Knight, we survived. Thank you, truly, thank you.”

Although Yoo Seong wasn’t exactly sure what he was being thanked for or why the villagers were saying they survived because of him, he felt he should calm them down first, so he gently patted him with a smile, waiting for them to regain their composure.

After a few minutes, the village chief, Jacques, who had finally composed himself, began to speak again.

“Once the news of the Black Knight reclaiming the Legion spread, the ratmen fled. We were forcibly taken by the ratmen and barely managed to return to the village alive.”

“How long has it been since the ratmen fled?”

“It’s been about three days.”

Jacques answered immediately when Juliet asked.

It had taken three days to get from the Legion to here, and since they had stayed in the Legion for a day, it seemed they had learned the news not long after the Legion fell.

“How many ratmen were there?”

“I’m not sure exactly. At first, there were countless, but later there were probably thousands.”

“Did all of them flee?”

“Seems like it.”

Jacques answered cautiously, afraid of making a mistake, when Juliet asked further.

Yoo Seong glanced at him for a moment and then turned to Edgar and spoke.

“Edgar, distribute food to the villagers.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Edgar moved toward the supply unit, Jacques and the villagers looked at Yoo Seong with grateful eyes.

After comforting them with kind words, Yoo Seong once again began marching toward Mirang, where Baron William’s castle was located.

“It seems they really did all flee.”

By the time the party reached Baron William’s castle just before sunset, all that greeted them were the hungry and weary villagers.

Baron William’s children and vassals had already been executed when the ratmen first took over the land, so the remaining villagers who could be called village leaders were managing the remaining villagers in their own way.

After ordering the distribution of food to the villagers of Mirang, Yoo Seong gave instructions to the soldiers.

“Robin, Edgar. Go check the surrounding area.”

“Yes.”

“We will follow your orders.”

“I’ll send a light bird as well.”

As Robin and Edgar left the castle with a small force, René sent a light bird to the south.

In fact, the ratmen’s retreat was a natural outcome.

Since the Rat Lord had died and most of his Black Eyes and Red Eyes were also dead, fleeing was the best course of action.

It was likely that the southern villages were also empty.

Yoo Seong decided to send a courier to the Legion to inform them of the news and then wait for news from Baron Anjou, who was heading toward Baron Bowe domain.

Then, two days later in the afternoon, news arrived that the Allied Forces, led by Baron Anjou, had also entered Baron Bowe domain without bloodshed.

“With this, it seems we’ve reclaimed the entire Artois County. Congratulations.”

Juliet congratulated Yoo Seong with formal gestures, and other knights also expressed their congratulations.

After the fierce battle at the Robert Barony, reclaiming the Artois County without much damage was certainly a joyful occasion.

The great hero who repelled the ratmen’s massive army that had ravaged the county.

The Black Knight of Lothian who defeated the huge monster that wielded the power of an evil god.

Rumors of Yoo Seong were already spreading throughout the Artois County, and before long, his fame would reach even beyond the west.

For that reason, Juliet couldn’t hide her joy.

With the death of the Count Artois and the disappearance of his heir, Sir Charles, it seemed certain that Yoo Seong would become the new ruler of the Artois County.

And this thought was not just Juliet’s.

Yoo Seong’s knights, the soldiers of the Western Lords’ alliance, and even the residents of the Artois County were all thinking similarly.

‘We really should formalize this sooner rather than later.’

By bringing Yoo Seong and René together, they could further solidify his relationship with the Baltois family.

Once Yoo Seong’s fame truly spread, all kinds of factions would be rushing to align themselves with him, so it was wise to hurry.

After all, even in the royal capital, wasn’t there the ‘Bride of the Century,’ the princess?

‘Yes, rushing is the right thing to do. René likes it, after all, right?’

What a fortunate political marriage this would be.

‘If necessary, I might even have to step forward myself.’

To be honest, a husband like Yoo Seong, the Black Knight of Lothian, would be more than satisfactory.

When Juliet, like René’s older sister, started imagining the wedding scene, Yoo Seong, after praising the efforts of his knights and soldiers, slipped away from the scene.

It wasn’t that he was avoiding Juliet, nor was he unhappy with the current situation.

But once he returned to the office of Baron William, he sat down and instead of smiling and celebrating, he looked at the map, deep in thought.

‘The ratmen likely headed beyond the borders.’

The uncharted land marked on the kingdom’s map.

Yoo Seong now had a rough idea of what lay in that empty land.

‘The Wall.’

A barrier created to hide the human flame.

A human wall built to separate the human world from other worlds.

He didn’t intend to lead an army to the wall just to kill more ratmen but he also didn’t want to sit idly by, waiting for something else to come over.

He had to go to the Wall.

Only by seeing for himself what the wall truly was and what beings were coming from beyond it would he be able to move forward.

With his mind made up, Yoo Seong stood up from his seat.

There was no need to delay.

The one heading toward the wall was Yoo Seong himself.

And—

“René.”

“Yes, Successor.”

As soon as he opened the office door, he met René, who had been waiting outside.

As if she already knew his thoughts, she showed him a bag full of supplies from her magical pouch.

“Did you know?”

“I am the royal magician, after all.”

René said, chest out, in a playful manner, and Yoo Seong chuckled before speaking.

“Alright, then let’s bring Jillian with us.”

“Should I bring my sister too?”

“Well, we’re going to the Wall.”

It would be best to go there and come back without incident, but that was unlikely.

Having experienced the benefits of civilization, the ratmen would likely settle near the wall rather than leave, or it was even possible that other monsters were crossing from beyond the wall.

So, Jillian had to come.

There might be an opportunity for a level-up, and in any case, Jillian, who had been playing an important role in recent battles, was necessary.

“Hm, Jillian will probably end up sulking again.”

Even though she would pout, Jillian would always do her part.

René had long realized that whenever she asked for something, Jillian, the saint, would always agree.

Moreover, this wasn’t a private matter but a public one.

As a responsible person, Jillian would no doubt join the journey even while pouting.

“It’s fine, René. This time, Jillian will like it.”

“Really?”

“We’re going to see the Wall, after all.”

“Oh, right, I see now.”

The Wall.

The barrier.

And though it might sound strange, Jillian was actually a lover of walls.

“No, it’s just natural since she’s the Saint of the Wall, right?”

René tilted her head, but as she began to continue her thought, Yoo Seong gently patted her shoulder and said,

“Anyway, let’s hurry. I’ll go talk to Ruan, and René, could you look after Jillian?”

“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”

“Alright, then let’s meet at the castle gates.”

“Yes, Successor.”

After exchanging smiles, the two of them headed in different directions.

And thirty minutes later Yoo Seong, René, and Jillian, whose expression seemed to be a mix of crying and laughing, left Baron William’s castle and headed for the uncharted land.

A few days before, Yoo Seong and his party headed toward the Wall, in the capital of the Cabal Kingdom.

The royal castle, boasting over four centuries of history, collapsed overnight.

This was not a metaphor, but a direct, realistic description.

The castle truly fell.

The walls crumbled, the spires collapsed, and the main keep was more than half destroyed, barely holding onto its shape.

It wasn’t due to an earthquake, nor did a meteor fall.

The duel between two people led to the current result.

A knight who had achieved the third stage of chivalry and one of the seven kings from beyond the wall engaged in a battle that could not be judged by common sense.

Especially the Lion King’s attacks, each one capable of shaking the heavens, caused parts of the castle to collapse or the ground to crack as though an earthquake had occurred every time the Skull Crusher was swung.

“He’s really a monster.”

The Guardian General said with a tired expression.

He wasn’t mortally wounded, but on the contrary, his entire body was covered in small wounds.

The clothes he was wearing were in a state close to rags.

The Guardian General third-tier chivalry was not intact either.

If wizards lead changes in the world through their magical powers, knights lead their own changes through their aura, and when they reach the ultimate stage, they create a microcosm within themselves.

The microcosm created in this way can be said to be an embodiment of the knight’s thoughts. By manifesting the completed microcosm into the world, they force their thoughts upon the world and, in some way, dye the world with their philosophy—that was the third-tier chivalry.

The world created by the third-tier chivalry of the Guardian General made the image of the beautiful castle disappear and reappear repeatedly.

The rapidly alternating worlds slowly began to lean toward the destroyed castle side.

The Guardian General was looking at the Lion King, the monster king who shattered the tower with a light swing of his weapon.

Although he wasn’t as strong as the Guardian General, he was covered in dust and had several small wounds, and after a brief smile, he rested the Skull Crusher on his shoulder and said:

“In my eyes, you also look like a monster.”

After crossing the Wall, he had seen many knights of the Cabal Kingdom, but the difference in strength between them and the Guardian General before him was so vast that it seemed like they were from entirely different races.

Legends had spoken of it.

Most humans were so weak that they could never be superior to any race beyond the Wall but there were monsters even among them:

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Humans who fought and defeated all the races except for humans.

The old man in front of him, the Guardian General, might not compare to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table but he was someone who had reached the same level as those human monsters, having attained third-tier chivalry.

The Guardian General shrugged his shoulders as if to show his own state, then looked at the Lion King and said:

“Beyond the Wall, you’re probably quite a strong one too, aren’t you?”

“That’s about right. I am one of the seven kings.”

“Seven kings? There are six others like you?”

“Not all are like me, but there are seven, that’s for sure.”

Seven transcendents exist in the world beyond the Wall.

The Lion King, one of them, lowered the Skull Crusher resting on his shoulder and asked:

“I want to ask as well. How many like you are there in your era? Could you be the strongest human of the age?”

At the Lion King’s question, the Guardian General gave a bitter smile and sighed before replying:

“I would like to lie and create confusion with information, but I don’t feel like it. No, I’m not the strongest. I’m just one of the ten Master Knights.”

“Master Knights?”

“Those who have reached the extreme of chivalry. I am one of them, and among the Master Knights—there are some stronger than me. If we’re talking about the strongest living human… it would be the Sword Sage of the Empire.”

“The Sword Sage of the Empire… an interesting story.”

Nine beings like the Guardian General.

Among them, could there be those like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?

After glancing momentarily in the direction of the human empire, the Lion King looked back at the Guardian General and said:

“Let’s finish this soon.”

The battle with the Guardian General had been enjoyable, but it was no longer a sparring match—it was a confrontation.

Now it was time to end it.

At the Lion King’s words, the Guardian General took a deep breath, straightened his posture, and said:

“Marcus, I’ve left a little leeway in my hand, so let me return the favor by speaking.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s not the end.”

“Do you think you can escape?”

“I’ve already escaped. No, I’m in the process of escaping.”

At the Guardian General’s words, the Lion King tilted his head and then suddenly widened his eyes.

He understood what the Guardian General meant.

Boom!

The Lion King swung the Skull Crusher through the air.

The monstrous speed of the attack, accompanied by overwhelming force, caused the world the Guardian General had created to collapse instantly but the Guardian General was a bit faster.

The gemstone containing long-distance teleportation magic, the kingdom’s artifact, which the great wizard Merlin supposedly created, released its magical energy at that moment, and the Guardian General form disappeared as if it were a lie.

Rumble—!

Even in the midst of the battle between monsters, the castle, which had barely maintained its shape, collapsed and crumbled.

Through the dust and debris, the Lion King scowled as he looked at the Skull Crusher.

It wasn’t entirely unsatisfying.

He must have caused some damage but what he had missed was certain.

“Is this the legacy of the great wizard Merlin?”

Long-distance teleportation was a magic that could only be used by beings of the seven kings’ level.

“Looks like I’ve enjoyed it too much.”

The Lion King muttered quietly, then let out a hollow laugh and turned his gaze toward the north—the direction of his next destination, the kingdom of Silatein.