Chapter 190: Consequence of Arrogance (5)

“Pretty impressive.”

Siegfried nodded as he saw Marquis Catel fighting bravely.

“Like a candle on its last flicker, is this his last attempt before dying? It’s amazing.”

Jake agreed with him. Marquis Catel’s fight right now definitely seemed better than Jake’s previous opponent, Marquis Burkel.

“If we leave him alone, the damage to our soldiers and officers will most likely be severe. Should I send in the Ghosts, sir?”

Siegfried thought for a moment at Jake’s questions.

‘Looking at his momentum, there will be damage even if we sent in the Ghosts. Should I go in with Jake instead?’

Looking at Marquis Catel fighting, it was clear that he was even better than Siegfried himself, but it wasn’t anything that Jake couldn’t handle.  So if Siegfried and Jake fought against him together, then they could easily capture Marquis Catel. Having finished calculating, Siegfried spoke. 

“We need to create a suitable hunting ground to hunt a beast. Group 2.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the leader of Ghost Group 2 responded, Siegfried gave him his orders.

“Separate Marquis Catel from his troops. Move according to your instructions.”

“Yes, sir!”

Under Siegfried’s command, the entire Republican Army changed their movements.

“I’ll kill you al… Guh!”

“This here is your limit.”

The Imperial Knights who had been relentlessly following after Marquis Catel were stopped. The ones who stopped them were the elite even amongst the other Ghosts, it was Ghost Group 2. Their leader had attacked the knights who had been following the Marquis. 

“So you’re the Ghosts?”

“That’s right. So we’ve become quite famous.”

“Ha. Then, die!”

As if there was no need to talk any further, the knights of the Imperial Army rushed forward. 

“What foolish bastards they are. Kill them all.”

The group leader gave the order with a cruel smile. The Ghost members of Group 2 all drank the elixir and attacked the knights of the Empire. 

***

“Marquis! Please slow down, sir. The other knights can’t keep up.”

The knights who had stuck close to Marquis Catel realized that the others who had been following behind them weren’t able to keep up. But Marquis Catel responded firmly.

“It’s too late. Those who can, will follow me!”

Marquis Catel did not stop even after learning that most of his knights had fallen behind. Instead, he charged forward, swinging his sword even more violently.

‘So they’re thinking of isolating me. Right… Fine. Try it.’

He knew it too. He knew that this was a trap. He knew that they were planning to isolate him, then to surround and capture him. But what meaning was there now? A trap? Even if he was caught by it, the worst that would happen was his death. What reason was there for him to be afraid of dying when he was a part of the death squad and prepared to die? Instead, he looked at the trap as an opportunity.

‘If you’re trying to herd me into your hunting ground, then I’ll gladly go. But don’t think I’ll die easily.’

Even Marquis Catel thought he himself was a big shot. If his enemies wanted to hunt a man of his level, then it was clear that they would also have someone who was on par with him.

‘If possible Siegfried, or even Jake. Won’t even matter if it’s both of them. I’ll definitely take one of them down with me to the next world.’

Their mission as the death squad had already been accomplished. In that case, if he was able to take down Siegfried or Jake as his last military service, then Marquis Catel believed he could die smiling. 

“All the small fries should piss of!”

Marquis Catel slashed at the soldiers in front of him as he swung around his Aura Blade roughly around him. 

“U… ugh…”

“This monster…”

Covered in blood and a cruel smile on his face, Marquis Catel was a beast that the Republican soldiers could not handle.

“Are there only cowards in the Republic? If anyone wants to cut off my head and make a name for themselves, feel free to come.”

When Marquis Catel domineeringly said that, an officer from the Republic stepped forward.

“I am Lieutenant Patrick of the Great Republic. Fight against me!”’

Marquis Catel grimly smiled as he watched the enemy running proudly towards him

“A greenhorn who doesn’t realize how precious his life is…”

“I’m going!”

Perhaps he had grown ambitious from seeing such an influential person in front of him? Or maybe he thought that Marquis Catel must be exhausted by now? The officer who had revealed his name to be Patrick bravely ran forward. However…

“How insolent!”

Even if a tiger was exhausted, a tiger was still a tiger. It was obvious what the results would be if a wolf rushed in. With one flash of his Aura Blade, Marquis Catel drew a line.

“Guh.. I… I stopped… it.”

Marquis Catel’s one strike had sliced through Patrick’s sword, armor, and cut his body in half. After dealing with his opponent with a single blow, Marquis Catel charged forward laughing

“Hahaha… It’s a great day to die and to kill!”

“That psycho… Kuh!”

“Ughh!”

The Repblican soldiers and officers became casualties in the face of Marquis Catel’s relentless advance. 

The Imperial knights felt their hearts pounding as they looked at Marquis Catel’s appearance from behind him

‘Maybe it’ll be possible?’

Watching Marquis Catel’s performance, they couldn’t help but wonder whether it wasn’t possible for them to reverse the war. Of course, that was all a miscalculation. 

Clang!

For the first time, Marquis Catel’s relentless attack was blocked. The man who stopped him was wearing a black skull helmet, and before he knew it, there were many more surrounding him. 

‘Is this it?’

Realizing that his opponents were quite strong, Marquis Catel stepped back to put some distance between them.

“Who are you?”

“I am Ghost Group Leader 1.”

“I asked you for your name.”

“We are the Ghosts. We do not have names.”

“How annoying.”

If Ghost Leader 1 was capable of blocking his blow, then that meant the leader was extraordinary. And yet, he didn’t even have a name?

‘Ghost… I should have done more research on them as well.’

The existence of the Ghosts was quite well known now. They were Siegfried’s direct forces and the best in the Republic. But beyond that, little information was known about them. How could it, when information that Jake, the leader of all the Ghost, was a Master was only known after this war had started? That’s how much information about the Ghosts were controlled. 

‘Either way, I guess this is it for me.’

Marquis Catel looked around and controlled his breathing a bit.

An encirclement was formed around him and the thirty knights that had followed him. The ones maintaining the encirclement were men wearing black skull helmets, each of whom looked to be at least at the level of an Expert. They were the Ghosts, the most elite in the Republic, and the most elite amongst all the ghosts, Group 1. They had come to encircle Marquis Catel.

He realized that this was his last stage and he bellowed.

“Siegfried! Come out! As you wished, I, Ryan Catel, have come out!”

The knights around him didn’t understand the reason behind him shouting. But the Ghosts opened up the encirclement, and from one side, two men appeared. One of them spoke to the Marquis. 

“Marquis Catel, as you wished, I’ve come.”

“So you’re Siegfried. It’s funny to say this, but it’s really great to meet you.”

Siegfried smirked at Marquis Catel who was smiling at him. 

He looked at Catel a bit, and then nodded.

“So you entered this knowing it was a trap.”

“That’s right.”

“What guts.”

“There’s nothing more to be scared of in this situation. Anyway…”

Marquis Catel swung his sword to shed the blood on it, then pointed it at Siegfried.

“You’re not going to run away now, are you? So. Who’s it going to be. Siegfried? Or is it going to be Jake? I won’t mind if you both attack either.”

Marquis Catel’s daredevil provocation appalled the people surrounding them.  He was surrounded by the enemy but he was provoking two Masters at the same time? Even if he was bluffing, they had to admit that he was pretty amazing.

‘...maybe he’s an injured tiger?’

Siegfried saw a dangerous predator in Marquis Catel’s appearance. He was exhausted and there were wounds everywhere on his body. But nonetheless, there was a distinct atmosphere around him that he would go after the neck of his enemies. The bottom line was that he was still dangerous to deal with.

‘Guess it can’t be helped’

Siegfried let out a sigh before speaking to Ghost Leader 1. 

“Leader 1.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Understood, sir.”

Marquis Catel’s face hardened as he listened to the conversation between Siegfried and  the leader of Ghost Group 1. 

“Siegfried you bastard! You plan on running away?”

At Marquis Catel’s lambasting, Siegfried responded calmly.

“Think whatever you want.”

Although Siegfried had reached the level of a Master, he was not a fighter. He had no fierce fighting instinct to prove his strength by fighting against the strong. On the otherhand, Jake, who was next to Siegfried, was itching to fight, but his master’s orders always came before his own needs.

In the end, it was Ghost Group 1’s elites who stood in Marquis Catel’s way.

“You coward!”

Marquis Catel charged towards Siegfried in a fit of anger, but the Ghosts blocked him.

“We’re your opponents, Marquis Catel.”

“Get lost!”

Marquis Catel rampaged, but it was no use. The best of all the Ghosts, Ghost Group 1’s encirclement wasn’t easy to break through. His knights tried to help out as much as they could, but the Ghosts were too strong. They had drunk the elixir and reached the level of Experts and were too strong for the knights.

“Kuh… these cowards…”

“Ugh… vexing.”

One by one, the Empire’s knights fell down as Marquis Catel was wounded more and more. 

“Siegfried, you bastard! You coward! Fight me!”

Marquis Catel repeatedly provoked Siegfried without worrying about his body. He had accepted defeat and had thrown himself into the trap hoping that a strong enemy would give meaning to his death. But now, the one waiting for him wasn’t a strong opponent, but a group of dogs. This wasn’t right. He wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes closed after he died because of his resentment.

“SIEGFREEEED!!!

His cry did not sway Siegfried. 

***

Siegfried’s heart was too cold and hard for it to be swayed by Marquis Catel’s shout. However…

“My Lord, if you’ll allow me, I’ll kill him so extravagantly that he has no complaints.”

Marquis Catel’s shout touched Jake’s heart. While his loyalty to Siegfried came first, he was a hot blooded warrior. There was nothing unusual about his blood boiling in front of a warrior as great as Marquis Catel.

“No.”

But, Siegfried refused his request as if it didn’t even merit a single thought. 

“My Lord, please believe in me. Even if he’s in the best condition, I’m confident I wouldn’t lose to him.”

Jake couldn’t give up and continued to beg him. He knew Siegfried wasn’t the type of person to change his mind, but in this case, Jake couldn’t help but continue to ask because it would be too regretful not too. 

Siegfried sighed at him. 

“I know, Jake. You are my sword. I don’t doubt your strength.”

“Then…”

“But, that man is dangerous right now. He didn’t jump into my trap to see who would win or lose this fight. It doesn’t matter which one of us, he jumped in with the intention to take one of us down with him to the underworld.”

“Even so, I’m not afraid, sir.”

“You’re being uncharacteristically stubborn.”

“......”

Siegfried clicked his tongue when Jake couldn’t answer him.

“Tsk, tsk. Guess it can’t be helped.”

It was difficult for him to ignore such an earnest wish.

“I’ll allow it.”

Eventually Siegfried changed his mind. He wouldn’t have agreed if it was anyone else, but because it was Jake, someone who was Siegfried’s most trusted right-hand, Siegfried had allowed it. 

“Thank you, sir!”

Jake smiled brightly before turning to run towards Marquis Catel.

No, that’s what he was going to do. But then…

“Urgent message, sir. An enemy has appeared on our right, sir.”

“An enemy?”

Siegfried raised his eyebrows at the unexpected variables.

‘Did Duke Sebastian leave behind some of his troops? That’s impossible.’

“Have you determined the identity of the enemy?”

“They’re checking right now, sir.”

As soon as the messenger answered, another messenger came.

“Urgent message, sir. The enemy’s… identity is…”

Different from usual, Siegfried’s voice held annoyance as he questioned the out of breath messenger.

“Quickly, say it.”

“Yes, sir. The identity of the enemy is… Lester Kingdom.”