Chapter277,Part1: 1 - Zero Knight Order
Chapter 277 Zero Knight Order
Part 1
“Damn, that fucking guy...... He is on a roll again!” (Franz)
Franz Argmann slammed the Symphonic Stone on the table with a snort.
Imperial Capital of Zebrudia. The vast Argmann residence near the Imperial Castle has been used as a meeting place for the Zero Knight Order for generations.
The Zero Knight Order is not only the Imperial Guard to protect the Imperial Family, but they are also a Knight Order under the direct control of the Emperor and are responsible for a wide range of activities in the event of an imperial emergency. Although not as numerous as other Knight Orders, the Zero Knight Order are genuine elites who may give orders to other Knight Orders if the occasion demands it. And the investigation of the 『Nine-Tails Shadow Fox (Kyubi no Kage Kitsune)』 which had been made public since last time and the prophecy of a calamity were both reasons enough for that Knight Order to move.
It was a direct order of the Emperor, so I have no complaints about following it, but――.
I pressed my stomach, which ached sharply. As if they had grown accustomed to this, the knight looked at Franz, who could not hide his anger.
“What the hell is he thinkiiing! It is not as if he didn’t know about the accuracy of the Divination Institute――And he didn’t reflect at all about the fact the Key of the Earth had been activated because he kept everything a secret! In fact, it is getting worse! I didn’t give you the Symphonic Stone so that we could become friends!” (Franz)
Just remembering it makes me angry. No man had ever said “Yahoo!” to Franz, the current head of the Argmann family and the commander of the Zero Knights Order. No matter how coarse Hunters were, they would never be like that. Whether he was teasing or just being honest, he really is a desperate case. Could it be that he got those god-like divine stratagems as compensation for such a personality?
Franz did what Cry asked and put pressure on the newspaper company about the magic sword incident because he thought that the curse of that supposedly magic sword was the cause of the calamity.
Therefore, if he had asked the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 to 『Cooperate』 in order to dispose of it, he could have agreed to a certain extent with his outrageous demand. However, even Franz could not have predicted that the prophecy would not change at all even after the incident was settled.
“You are absolutely right, “Commander (Dancho)”. Seriously, just how can a mere Hunter be so arrogant. You don’t need to listen to him at all, do you? We have an excellent intelligence unit in our country, don’t we?” (Knight)
At that moment, as Franz gritted his teeth to the maximum, a young knight with a faint smile on his face nearby called out to him.
However, how do I handle this...... Although we are doing our best to find it, except for the events related to the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》, so far we have not been able to ascertain any events that seem to be the calamity of the prophecy.
In such a situation, the only thing that can be done is to gather people and make all possible preparations to respond to whatever may happen, just like last time, but the number of people is limited as we are already on high alert due to the 『Nine-Tails Shadow Fox (Kyubi no Kage Kitsune)』.
In other words, the conditions are almost the same as last time. If things continue as they are, 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 will do what he wants to do to us again. It is very likely that he will do so.
Unaware of Franz’s anguish, Hugh continues indifferently.
“It would be nice if the prophecy of the Divination Institute was a little clearer...... To begin with, the Imperial Capital was already reinforcing its defense. Most cursed attacks coming from the outside are usually ineffective, and countermeasures can be taken in order to not introduce Cursed Items in the Imperial Capital. To begin with, the scale of the incident with Thawne, the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 was much smaller than we assumed. Maybe we are overthinking this?” (Hugh)
His words came out very easily and his appearance was filled with a strong sense of confidence.
His words are kind of on target. From the prophetic vision of the Divination Institute, Franz had assumed tens of thousands of casualties. Even if Cry didn’t intervene in the magic sword rampage, there wouldn’t have been that much damage.
In the first place, cursed art is less likely to inflict physical harm like other offensive magic, making it easier to take magical countermeasures. If a person receives it without countermeasures, terrible harm will occur, but countermeasures are easy, and that is the basis of the art of 『Curses』. The long-standing Imperial Capital is also fully equipped with countermeasures against it, so it is almost impossible to curse the capital from the outside and kill the people inside.
The only exception is, as Hugh said, the pattern where a Cursed Item already inside is activated, just like how it was from this magic sword incident, but there is no way there are items lying around that can cause tens of thousands of deaths in the first place.
However, it goes without saying that I am fully aware of this. The problem is that the prophecy hasn’t disappeared yet, even with the defenses we put in place.
“Everyone, is too nervous. Don’t make such a scary face and relax your shoulders a little, “Commander (Dancho)”. We must show that the prestigious Zero Knight Order has some leeway, don’t you think?” (Hugh)
“............” (Franz)
Asking for my consent, I squint my eyes. My other subordinates looked at Hugh in dismay.
TL notes:
Thanks for reading!
Oh new character? Are you going to be Cry’s new victim!?
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