Chapter 269: Chapter 26: The Disloyal and Unrighteous Deserve Death (Part 2)

She lifted her Knight’s Silver Sword—still clear, clean, and unstained by a single drop of blood. She gathered her power for a moment, and then...

Unleashed a horizontal sweep.

VMMMM—

An invisible shockwave tore through the air. Before the Lady Knight, hundreds of fleeing soldiers froze in unison. A moment later, their heads all flew high into the air.

SPLURT—

Gushing blood dyed a vast swathe of the reed field red. Mivana stepped over the corpses and pressed on.

The annihilated squad immediately drew more punitive forces, especially nearby Knights. Hearing that a Beastman was causing trouble in the territory, they didn’t hesitate to muster their troops and charge over.

"Let me take on this Beastman scum!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Her, wielding a Knight’s Silver Sword?! It’s a disgrace!"

"I don’t know what the Lord is so worried about. Watch me take this one’s head!"

"If I kill her, I’ll be rewarded! This will be my ticket to a promotion!"

No matter how many of their comrades had died before them, no matter how many bodies were strewn before Mivana, the young Yonglan Knights seemed not to see them, fanatically charging forward... to their deaths.

Before the Tier T0 Mivana, any existence below the rank of Legend was beneath consideration. However many came, that’s how many would die. The so-called strategy of attrition was a complete joke in the face of the slaughter brought on by the [Cursed Source Blood].

Mivana had already completely lost self-control. Every time she tore flesh and pierced through a body, the [Cursed Source Blood] would swell even more.

Her bloodline cried out for slaughter; her bloodline pumped with power.

Mivana could only kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill...

Slaughtering wave after wave of intercepting forces, Mivana moved as if on a leisurely stroll. She could even see the outline of a city from Jinquan Territory on the horizon—she had reached the heartland of the Knight Territory.

The aura of vibrant life lured Mivana, drawing her step by step toward the city.

’Jinquan Territory is a bit too urbanized...’

The moment this thought appeared, the bloodlust in Mivana’s mind was instantly scattered, and she became clear-headed for a brief moment.

The Wolf-eared Maiden immediately pierced her own knee with her Silver Sword and knelt on the ground, a low growl escaping her throat:

"I can’t go that way... N-no no no no... I can’t..."

’The city doesn’t just have soldiers and Knights; there are civilians, too. The vast majority of the Knight Territory’s Free People are gathered in the cities. If I were to unleash my bloodthirsty instincts in a city...’

’The casualty count would be no small skirmish. It would definitely be in the hundreds of thousands. If I kept going from city to city, racking up a K/D in the millions would be easy.’

’I can’t kill innocent people. If I kill that many innocent people... I’ll never be able to go back.’

Her last shred of rationality struggled bitterly against her bloodthirsty instincts. Mivana bit her lip until it bled. A flicker of clarity flashed in her golden-red eyes as she muttered to herself:

"There’s still Dusk Lamp Territory. I need to protect Dusk Lamp Territory... That’s right. I need to go back. I have to go back."

Before the bloodthirsty madness could completely consume her, Mivana figured out what she needed to do.

So, after the wound on her knee had mostly healed, Mivana changed direction. She began to move slowly across the snow-covered ground, heading toward Dusk Lamp Territory.

.........

Jinquan Territory’s main city was the most prosperous and central place in the Knight Territory. Although the exploitation within the territory was severe—sucking the very marrow from the bones of the people—Jinquan Territory had at least managed its main city well. Nearly all the wealth of the entire territory flowed into it.

Amidst a world draped in silver snow, the towering city walls and sprawling buildings created a majestic atmosphere. The wide, orderly avenues, the Knight Monastery carved from grey-white stone, and the Griffin Tower on the cliff’s edge... everything exuded a sense of solemn history.

Though it lacked the modern urban structure of the Imperial, it was the very picture of an epic of swords and Knights.

However, in the castle at the city’s highest point—a massive, fortified military fortress that also served as the Lord’s palace—the atmosphere was heavy.

THUD—

The dull sound of hammering echoed through the great hall, and the brilliant chandelier on the ceiling shook violently.

"Filth! Mongrel! Just as I thought, a wolf that can never be tamed!"

"That mongrel is slaughtering our Knights? How dares she do this! How dares she!"

"I’ll kill her! I’ll flay her and rip out her bones!"

The old man roaring in fury was clad in Knight’s Light Armor. His gleaming Secret Silver Armor was engraved with the crest of Jinquan Territory. He was none other than Lionette, the Knight Lord of Jinquan Territory.

The white-haired and bearded Knight Lord, resembling an enraged lion, pounded on the long table again and again. The table, once a solid piece of hard, translucent jade, was now marred by deep, web-like craters.

Only after he had smashed a corner of the table, which was as hard as steel, did Lionette, fuming and glaring, turn to the Knights of his own bloodline standing by the table and say in a low voice:

"Where is that beast now? Assemble the troops! I will cut her down with my own hands."

"You mustn’t!"

A Yonglan Knight who had been standing silently to the side grabbed the Lord’s arm and cried out:

"Lord Lionette, please, calm your anger! Calm down, don’t be rash."

Lionette glared, his eyes wide with fury. "Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?! A Beastman who should have been sliced into a thousand pieces long ago! A filthy spawn of Black Renandik who committed countless crimes against the followers of the Riding God! And now she’s on my land, willfully slaughtering the Knights I myself have invested!"

"The number of promising young men who have died at her hands these past few days is already humiliating enough! If I just hide in the castle like a coward, what will outsiders think of me? And when the Grand Knights of the coming Expeditionary Army arrive, where will I put this old face of mine?!"

Lionette glared furiously. To a Yonglan Knight, humiliation was more unacceptable than death.

This matter wasn’t just a conflict between Jinquan Territory and Dusk Lamp Territory. The vanguard of the Knightly Path’s expedition was about to arrive. To welcome the Expeditionary Army, Lionette had repeatedly squeezed his territory dry, preparing a grand reception for the Knight Lords from all across Yonglan to show his hospitality as the local host.

In the social circles of the Knight class, this was a rare—one might even say the only—opportunity for the remote Jinquan Territory to connect with and befriend Grand Knights. Lionette cared deeply about his reputation and had made foolproof preparations for their welcome, but Mivana’s rampage had shattered his social ambitions.

When the members of the Expeditionary Army arrived in Jinquan Territory and saw the devastation left in the wake of a Beastman’s rampage, how could Lionette possibly hide his own incompetence?

’The outsiders will figure it out the second they arrive.’

"My Lord... it is a virtue to draw one’s sword against a powerful foe, but if it is a meaningless death, I’m sure even the Divine Ancestor would reject it."

The Knight holding Lionette back chose his words carefully and said softly:

"It’s not that we don’t want to avenge our fallen, but that Monster from Dusk Lamp Territory... if we push her too hard, she might... Our own lives matter little, but if the Expeditionary Army suffers a catastrophe because of us, it would be a crime for which even ten thousand deaths would not atone!"

"How can we, for the sake of a moment’s satisfaction, undermine the practice of the Knightly Path?"

As soon as the words fell, Lionette’s lips twitched. The Knight Lord, who had been incandescent with rage just a moment before, was convinced. He took two steps back and sat down in his chair.

"Hmph... you have a point. That Monster was subdued by the [Star Lake Sword] with great difficulty. Now that her old ailment has returned and her madness is on full display, she is likely even more ferocious than before."

Lionette stroked his thick beard, his eyes half-closed as he spoke slowly.

Despite his absolute animosity toward Mivana, as someone who had personally experienced that year’s expedition, Lionette knew all too well what terrifying power was contained within that Wolf-eared Beastman.

The lineup of the Knightly Path’s Expeditionary Army back then might not have been a grand one, but facing the rampaging young Mivana, they still suffered heavy losses. Even an ordinary Grand Knight was nearly slain.

Lionette acknowledged that he was still some distance from the realm of a Grand Knight. If Mivana’s rampage was on the same level as back then, charging in would truly be suicide. Moreover, it would be an utterly laughable and foolish act of overestimating his own strength—an act that wouldn’t even please the Divine Ancestor.

Just then, a Knight pushed open the door and reported:

"My Lord! The Monster from Dusk Lamp Territory has reached the border. She hasn’t turned back, nor has she continued in any other direction. It seems she has stopped right on the border line."

"Ha, that’s truly good news. Is she trying to protect the other Beastmen? This also means that Monster still has some rationality left. She’s not as terrifying as we thought."

The Knight beside the Lord chuckled at the news and immediately advised:

"The most urgent task now is to blockade Dusk Lamp Territory. Once the Grand Knights of the Expeditionary Army arrive, we can leave the decision to them."

The old Knight curled his lip and said:

"...Do as you say."