Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
“You know this yourself. Your reputation is too great; in the towns near the Emerald Frontier, especially Emerald City, your word carries more weight than His Majesty’s. How could His Majesty not develop ill feelings towards you?”
Polvert spoke gracefully, further shattering the Duke of North Wind’s psychological defenses.
“So this is retribution!”
He let out a cold laugh, and the long sword in his hand *shinged* as it was planted into the ground, as if delivering the final, heavy blow to the Duke of North Wind’s heart.
“Therefore, His Majesty ordered me to brutally kill your son and to take over the bastion. Your era is over, Duke Polvert.”
“I never had any intention of vying with His Majesty. I have guarded here for 28 years, and I have never returned even when I had the chance. Even my son dared not act arrogantly in the Royal Capital using my name…”
The Duke of North Wind muttered to himself.
His desolate voice was like withered leaves falling in the autumn wind, carrying a bitter scent.
“There’s no point in you saying these things.”
Polvert shrugged his shoulders.
“His Majesty only looks at the results, not the process. Perhaps you have been honest and dutiful, but who wants an element of danger lurking at their side?”
“So, why don’t you just hand over this bastion to me? I will defend against the elves’ attacks for you, and you can just depart peacefully. What do you say?”
The old knight lowered his head, as if he hadn’t heard Polvert’s words.
He seemed to still be lost in the news of his son’s death and the betrayal by the country he had protected.
“Can you guard against the elves’ attacks?”
After a while, the old knight suddenly asked softly.
He raised his deep eyes and looked at Polvert calmly. The wrinkles on his forehead became more pronounced, and he looked even older than before.
Polvert had expected this old knight to break down and go insane, to shout for revenge, and to abandon his post to fight him to the death.
He never expected him to say such a thing in the end.
This caught Polvert by surprise.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to answer.
The air fell silent again. After a moment, Polvert spoke:
“Both you and I are Sky Knights under the influence of the Moonlight Sacred Well. No matter how powerful the elves attacking the bastion are, they will ultimately be limited to the Sky Rank. Since you can defend it, then as a Sky Knight myself, I naturally can as well.”
Upon hearing this, the Duke of North Wind laughed.
His laughter was filled with sorrow and desolation, carrying a hint of faint contempt.
But those complex emotions gradually faded with the disappearance of his smile.
“You cannot defend against the elves’ attacks.”
“From the moment you started comparing the strength of the elves and myself, I knew you couldn’t defend it. Therefore, I cannot give this fortress to you to guard. Either you leave with your army, or you kill me here, or I kill you.”
Polvert became impatient.
He had initially thought that saying this would make the old knight lose the will to resist and surrender immediately. He didn’t expect the old knight to still be so stubborn.
“What is the point of your persistence? Your soldiers are almost all dead.”
Polvert pointed behind the old knight.
There, relying on their numbers and superior equipment, his army had gained the upper hand. Although the old knight’s veteran soldiers were experienced and skilled, they were ultimately outnumbered.
The old knight remained silent.
He simply gripped his long sword tighter, and his aura became fierce, like a beast that no longer cared about its own life.
The attacking elves were the same, even more frenzied than him.
He was prepared to hand over the bastion to Polvert or someone else.
But the condition was that Polvert had to kill him, and step over his corpse.
Otherwise, he would not be worthy of guarding this bastion.
“Old fool, are you mad?”
Polvert’s hair stood on end. Facing the old knight now, he felt the same way he had when he faced a Shadow Leopard during his first knight assessment, when he was still just a knight squire.
*Thump thump!*
The sound of knight boots striking the stone floor suddenly echoed.
The next moment.
The Duke of North Wind moved, leaving only his afterimage behind.
His figure leaped into the air and descended like lightning next to Polvert. He had already picked up his great hammer again, and the wind tore through the air with a howling sound as he swung it down fiercely, striking a load-bearing pillar next to Polvert.
*Boom!*
The load-bearing pillar shook violently.
The terrifying impact struck Polvert through the pillar, sending him flying backward to crash against the city wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
“You… you’re not protecting the bastion anymore? You’re smashing the load-bearing pillar too? If something happens to the bastion, what will happen if the elves break through? How will we defend?”
Polvert struggled to get up from the ground.
He questioned the old knight, but the old knight ignored him, charging forward like a war chariot. He swung his great hammer in a wide arc and with a loud *crack*, struck the spot where Polvert had dodged.
The entire bastion trembled violently with this blow.
Fortunately, Polvert had dodged quickly.
If he had taken that hit, he would have essentially bid farewell to this world.
Although both were Sky Knight level, there were still significant differences between Sky Knights in terms of weapons, combat experience, control over their strength, and skills.
At least in front of the Duke of North Wind’s all-out assault, Polvert could only flee in embarrassment.
“Giving the bastion to you, but you can’t defend against the elves’ attacks… what’s the difference between that and handing the bastion over to the elves? In that case, it would be better to smash this bastion to pieces and destroy the Moonlight Sacred Well before the elves can occupy it!”
The old knight’s heavy footsteps could be heard from the dust, along with his near-maniacal words.
Polvert knew that the Duke of North Wind wasn’t unaffected by the provocation; on the contrary, he had been heavily provoked by the earlier words and was intending to smash the entire bastion and the Moonlight Sacred Well, so that the elves couldn’t benefit from it.
“In these 28 years, I have been worthy of the Karari Empire and the people of Karari.”
“If the bastion is to be handed over to a good-for-nothing like you, then the destruction of the bastion is only a matter of time. All I can do is prevent the elves from using the Narvit Bastion to continue their attack on other bastions in the Emerald Fortress.”
As the old knight spoke, his footsteps gradually moved closer to Polvert.
Unbeknownst to them, they had moved from the second guard post to the first.
At this moment, Polvert’s rebel army was still attacking the city walls, and the Duke of North Wind’s garrison was desperately resisting. However, this resistance was gradually becoming futile in the face of enemies five to six times their number and with superior equipment.
Conversely, the Duke of North Wind had coincidentally arrived next to the Moonlight Sacred Well.
Right behind Polvert.
That silver-white, five-meter-tall spire-like structure, its tip supporting the hazy and mysterious moonlight, emitted a faint blue light curtain that protected the entire Emerald Fortress!
What the old knight intended to do now was to destroy the Moonlight Sacred Well with all his might.
The human race would not perish, nor would they be reduced to a state of desperate survival by the elves.
One day, the Emperor of Humanity would lead the army to counterattack the Emerald Forest, and the destroyed Moonlight Sacred Well at that time would not be able to obstruct the footsteps of the human army!
The Duke of North Wind firmly believed this.
So he took a deep breath and raised his hammer.
Then, he brought it down with a roar.
Towards Polvert, who was wounded and unable to move, and towards a corner of the Moonlight Sacred Well.
*Clang—*
The great hammer was steadily blocked by a greatsword. The force from the greatsword was even heavier than the Duke of North Wind’s strength, which caused the old knight to raise his eyes in surprise.
What met his gaze was a handsome knight with golden hair and blue eyes. He held the ancient greatsword in one hand, and the posture of catching the hammer strike looked exceptionally relaxed and at ease.
“Old sir, things are not as dire as you think. Perhaps your son is not dead, and this bastion might not fall into the hands of the rebels either?”
Xi Wei stepped forward, and with a slight twist of his wrist, he gently parried the Duke of North Wind’s great hammer. A smile that felt as warm as spring bloomed on his face.
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