Chapter 285: Mercy in Steel (2)

Chapter 285: Mercy in Steel (2)

Leo wept silently.

Rudger watched in silence. At first, Rudger was shocked to hear that Leo was a member of the Liberation Army. It occurred to him that he leaked information by sending a note to Leo that day.

He had thought he could use Leo’s skills and discretionary nature to his advantage in the future, but he hadn’t realized he was in the Liberation Army.

What a coincidence.

Now that he knew the truth, Rudger was troubled.

The logical thing to do was to capture Leo and hand him over to the police. But the moment Leo told him his family was being held hostage, and the look on his face that thought melted away like ice on a scorching sun.

‘He tried to provide for his mother and sister.’

Seeing Leo, Rudger suddenly remembered himself in the past. Leo trying to endure everything alone for his family seemed to overlap with himself.

At that age, when he should’ve spent his youth happily, he became a slave for the Liberation Army instead.

Unable to trust anyone, no one to help him. He must have lived in a hellish reality every day.

The fact that he came to this point and laid out the whole truth was a sign of his desperation and determination to do the right thing. In fact, there was probably more of a sense of giving up, of wanting to end this difficult choice.

‘How can I not understand that feeling?’

“Leo.”Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

At Rudger’s call, Leo lifted his bowed head. The tears had been wiped away, but his eyes were still red.

“I intend to help you as a teacher, and as someone who is older than you in life. There is no lie in these words.”

“.......”

“But there is something I need to verify.”

“What is it?”

“Are you really ready to fight of your own volition?”

Aidan, who was next to him, and Leo, who heard the words, were stunned but Rudger’s expression was serious. He always was, but his eyes were especially serious now, as if he wanted an answer.

“It doesn’t matter if someone helps you if you don’t do anything.”

Rudger once wanted help, too. In fact, he’d gotten help many times, in his previous life and in this one. But the most important thing was whether he was willing to fight.

You can’t wait forever for someone to reach out to you. In the end, it had to be yourself.

“I’m asking you, are you really ready to take it all in?”

“......I’ve spent half my life being tormented by them.”

Leo’s eyes shone, not avoiding Rudger’s gaze.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to get over it if I don’t at least punch them in the face.”

Rudger’s eyes softened at his remark.

“Excellent.”

Aidan’s eyes widened.

Since Rudger was stingy with compliments, this was the highest praise he’d ever received.

Rudger glanced back. Passius was watching him with a complicated expression on his face.

“Sir Passius, that’s what happened.”

“......Yes, it happened.”

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to go along with my stubbornness this time.”

“No, that...... ha.”

Passius sighed since here was no point in arguing with Rudger here.

As a master knight, he could hear everything Leo said from a mile away. Of course, he also knew what Leo was going through right now, and for that he sympathized with him.

The problem was, the man behind the curtain was right here, right now.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a member of the Royal Guard. I’m a knight charged with protecting the Empire of Exilion, not just the imperial family.”

“You’re not a Royal Guard now, where did your uniform and sword go?”

“......Yet even you, Mr. Rudger, said just a moment ago that you were only a teacher on the surface.”

“That’s why I’m trying to help on the surface.”

“You haven’t said a word.”

“Perhaps that’s why the Princess sought me out.”

Passius shook his head in disbelief but with Rudger coming on so strong, he realized that it was probably for the best.

Arresting Leo here and dragging him away was not something he felt comfortable with.

Turning a blind eye to a truly evil person is something he can’t stand but the fact that Leo was a victim after all was a big factor.

“You mean me?”

“Yes. Sir Passius is probably the most qualified person in this situation.”

“Mr. Rudger. As you know, I’m.......”

“It’s an extension of our work. And as you heard, there are Liberation Army troops standing next to Leo’s family right now. I don’t know about you, but I’m told they’re pretty strong.”

The Liberation Army must have done the math that as long as they had Leo on their side, at least a mid-level mage would come to help.

Leo’s position as a student of Theon is too important to ignore.

Somehow, they’re going to keep this threatening situation alive, and Leo’s family is going to have to be on their side.

“I can’t fight while protecting his family, but Sir Passius is different, you’re a specialist in hand-to-hand combat.”

Passius wanted to argue, “Isn’t that true of you as well?” but when he saw Aidan and Leo, he shut up.

On the surface, Rudger is a teacher of Theon and he shouldn’t expose too much about himself.

After all, hadn’t one of the Princess orders been to help Rudger if he was in danger?

In the end, Passius was forced to do as Rudger told him to, even if it was unfair. Moreover, Rudger’s words were not entirely wrong.

A knight is obviously better suited to hide in a crowd and ambush someone than a wizard.

A knight doesn’t shy away from the idea of an ambush, especially if he’s a master knight with superhuman physical abilities.

“That aside, what are you going to do, Mr. Rudger?”

“Isn’t it decided?”

Rudger replied with a nonchalant tone.

“I’m going to wipe out the Liberation Army on the surface.”

* * *

“In the end, the things that I was worried about happened.”

In a secret branch of the Liberation Army, one of the people waiting there with a stiff face opened his mouth but no one answered.

The situation was not that good.

“They say Branch 3 is caught.”

“So are branches 5 and 17.”

The bad news kept coming.

It meant that the Cold Steel Knights and the Nightcrawler Knights were in full swing, and that their throats might one day be tightened.

“It’s not too bad yet. All those branches that were raided were just bait.”

Said Karl, the branch’s general manager and first-level agent.

His face may have been grim, but he remained calm.

The Liberation Army did not hope that the Empire would do nothing. They would certainly make their move, and in fact, they had called in two of the Empire’s three largest knight orders.

They had at least a vague idea of what the Liberation Army was doing. As such, they deliberately set up fake branches to distract them.

However, Karl was not without anxiety.

‘This is just buying time anyway. They must have noticed since they’re the elite of the Empire, and they’ll be coming for the main body in no time.’

For that to happen, they would have to prepare to show a united front.

At Karl’s gesture, the waiting men checked their weapons.

High explosives in automatic rifles and firearms that reeked of gunpowder, they were perfect for catching opponents off guard.

“Each group will travel to their assigned location through the underground waterways. If anything goes wrong, you must be prepared to take at least one more person with you.”

At Karl’s command, the Liberation Army agents nodded, their faces grim.

The moment came as one wall of the compound exploded.

Planks of wood and bricks scattered. Some of the Liberators swept up in it sprawled across the floor. Suddenly, light flooded into the darkened room.

There was a collapsed wall, and a man with his back to the bright white light of day.

While most of the Liberators were dumbfounded by the sudden surprise, Karl’s eyes widened as he recognized the man.

“Rudger Chelici!”

What the hell is a Theon’s teacher doing here?

Karl immediately recalled Leo’s face and stiffened.

At that moment, Rudger’s gaze fell on him.

“It’s you.”

The cold voice from his mouth coiled around Karl’s body like a snake.

“The scumbag who threatened my student.”