Chapter 401

Chapter 401

Hi, please check out this patreon link 21 chapters per week and up to 40 additional chapters!!

Chapter 401

Yuder's chest roared to a boil in an instant.

It was a time slightly ahead of the dream he had had that day.

The day he secretly left the capital, following Emperor Katchian's plan, and had managed to sneak into the depths of Peletta Castle in the dark. Bizarrely, he had succeeded in hiding in the lord's chamber, in relatively good shape, without encountering the Knights or Nathan Zuckerman that he had expected to face.

The man he encountered as soon as he entered greeted him with a faint smile, his sharp, gaunt face looking as if he was pleased to meet a long-lost friend.

“...”

Yuder held his sword, looking around cautiously, but Kishiar did not move an inch. His deeply sunken red eyes were fixed solely on Yuder, not even glancing at the divine sword.

With an indescribable emotion, just like that.

“Shall I pour some tea? Ah, but I need to fetch the teapot and cups.” Ne/w novel chapters are published on no/vel(/bin(.)co/m

“Do not move. I believe you already know why I am here.”

“To play a tactical game?”

“I bring the Emperor's decree.”

Though he knew what it meant, the smile on his pale cheek did not change a bit. An inscrutable smile, as if mocking his opponent, or as if he had been waiting for this all along. His eyes betrayed neither discomfort nor fear, and there was no sign that he intended to rise and punish the armed intruder. His guard was naturally stimulated by this appearance, where no hostility was shown, yet, on the other hand, the man's behavior felt strangely acceptable.

“Yes...... I see.”

Yuder watched his own face as he frowned and spoke.

“Is that all?”

Kishiar's eyes narrowed, and a remarkably calm answer for a man facing death flowed out.

“I have no regrets. ...Just a bit of regret.”

“What do you mean?”

Yes... from here on, his memories were different.

But what he had remembered or thought he had remembered before was now meaningless. Yuder wanted to know the next part, and even what came after that.

Kishiar spoke of his vessel, just as in the dream Yuder had had before. Seeing the same scene twice had nearly eliminated the shock.

“If the injury I sustained by touching that stone hadn't shattered my vessel...... what would have happened?”

Ah.

Finally, the words that had faded away before he could hear them last time flowed out.

There was indeed more to come.

Yuder tried to see Kishiar more clearly, shivering slightly. The bloodless lips moved very slowly in the dim darkness.

“Of course, "what-ifs" are meaningless... but still. Could it have been a bit better?”

Yuder saw the tip of his sword tremble slightly. It was a clear, unmistakable disturbance, and he knew exactly the emotions his past self must have been feeling, even without a sound.

Questioning. Confusion, anger... all negative emotions mixed together.

“You look like you don't know what I'm talking about. Yes. Think of this as mere drunken babbling. It's all just a joke. I know best that it means nothing. Now is the best time.”

Kishiar chuckled softly. But that laughter turned into a stifled cough a moment later. The man, raising his gloved hand to wipe his mouth, swallowed his cough with a throaty noise, then sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. In that moment, Yuder read an intense and deep fatigue from Kishiar's shoulders, layered over time like thick, blue dust.

With a face akin to a piece of bark hanging from the end of a withered branch, the man looked at the assassin standing before him.

"I have no intention of getting up from here."

It was a cold joke. A graceful and cruel meaning of refusal.

But at the same time, contradictorily, Yuder felt a vast pain rising like a tsunami from deep within his heart. Whether it was anger, sorrow, or agony, he could no longer distinguish.

Whether all this pain was his own, or,

Even if it was Kishiar's.

"...It will be over soon. Until all connections are forcibly severed... and then..."

In the quiet darkness, a faint voice rang out.

A lightning-like shock struck down, and everything went dark...

"..."

Yuder blankly stared at the ceiling, only then realizing that he had woken from his sleep. Hearing the sound of his heart beating furiously amidst a pounding headache and shock, he heard someone's voice not far away.

"Are you awake?"

A heavy and gruff voice from Enon.

Turning his head, he saw a haggard face sitting under the lavish chandelier of the room, incongruent like a crumpled bundle. Seeing Enon's face looking angrier than ever, yet with a hint of relief in his eyes, Yuder's sense of reality slowly returned.

"Do you know who I am?"

"...Enon."

"Ha. Yes. You seem fine."

Glancing reflexively around, Yuder realized that Kishiar was not there.

'I remember... moving through the passage while nestled in Kishiar's arms. What happened after that?'

"You, while fighting, took medicine and threw up a bowl of blood and fainted. Do you remember fainting?"

"...No."

"You did well. Very well."

Hearing the clear irony in the praise made his heart feel a bit heavy.

He thought he was fine, but maybe the effect of throwing up quite a bit of blood was significant. Regardless, the hall and its surroundings were incomparably serene compared to before.

"...Where is the Commander?"

"The first thing you ask after waking up is that?"

"I'm sorry to you. But at that time, I thought it was a situation where I needed to take the medicine..."

"Enough. Let's stop talking about that. I thought you would say something like that, but hearing exactly those words annoys me."

Read up to chapter 494 for just 5$ or up to chapter 697 for just 10$ on /al_squad

[Select the $10/month plan or the Foundation Establishment tier to access the chapters]

Hi, if you like the story, please rate and review this novel on novelupdates. Thanks!

Check out the latest chapter 726 in /al_squad [Patreon members can access ad-free chapters, up to 21 chapters per week and up to 40 additional chapters!!]

Support us on Patreon to enjoy ad-free content, with up to 21 chapters released weekly and access to an additional 40 chapters!

For those who find it difficult to subscribe via Patreon, PayPal is also an available option.

Please ensure you have read the tier information on Patreon before proceeding with a subscription through PayPal.

Once you have subscribed, please send your Gmail address and PayPal ID to . I will then verify your account on PayPal and share with you the Google Doc containing the chapters that correspond to your subscription tier.

Please use the Patreon subscription first. Only if that route is hard then use the PayPal subscription.

Select your tier Qi Cultivating Stage $5.00 USD - month(s) Foundation Establishment $10.00 USD - month(s) Xudan $20.00 USD - month(s) Jindan $50.00 USD - month(s) Yuanying $100.00 USD - month(s)