Forty-seven kilometers south of Tero City, in the Duchy of Dorkechi, lies the headquarters of the Knights of Twilight.
"I don't understand why you're retreating?"
A nobleman from the Duchy of Dorkech, dressed in tight-fitting hunting attire, looked at the Knight Commander of the Twilight Knights packing up and asked with a puzzled expression, "Didn't you say before that the situation in Tero City had stabilized?"
The knight commander simply said, "This is the Holy King's order," and then said nothing more.
The nobleman approached the knight commander and said in a low voice, "The Grand Duke is very unhappy with your actions of taking away the citizens."
The knight commander carefully put away the shield bearing the Umbrella emblem that was hanging on the wall, and said, "We did not force those people to follow us; they joined voluntarily."
“I know, but your failure to stop it is tantamount to condoning those civilians…”
Alfonso de Cavo then entered the command hall of the military camp, drawing a neat salute from the knights.
As the knight commander saluted, he turned his head slightly toward Alfonso and said to the nobleman of the Duchy of Dorczy, "That is our new commander who arrived a few days ago. You can ask him if you have any questions."
The nobleman looked at the parasitic limbs wriggling inside Alfonso's armor and swallowed hard. "He doesn't seem like an easy person to talk to. Where is the original Commander Dion?"
The knight commander patted the nobleman on the shoulder: "Lord Alfonso is a very easy-going person."
The nobleman mustered his courage, walked up to Alfonso, glanced at the burns on the other man's face, and said in a low voice, "My lord, I have something to say to you."
Alfonso glanced down at the nobleman and suddenly said, "Go home and pack your bags."
"ah?!"
Alfonso repeated, "Go home, pack your bags, now."
The nobleman looked bewildered: "Where to?"
"Twilight in the Western City".
The nobleman finally realized what was happening and said angrily, "My lord, you can't force me to go..."
Alfonso said expressionlessly, "Grand Duke Dorczy and his family have agreed to board the ship."
"Wait! You mean, the Grand Duke...?!" the nobleman exclaimed in astonishment. "That's impossible!"
Alfonso winked at those around him: "Find a few people to help this gentleman pack his luggage."
Lifted into the air by two fully armed knights, the nobleman of Dorkech kicked his legs and shouted, "This is kidnapping! This is an invasion! You will go to hell!"
Watching the group walk further and further away, Alfonso glanced at the sun through the dark clouds outside the door and muttered to himself, "I have to hurry."
The Knight Commander of the Twilight Knights approached Alfonso and said with concern, "My lord, doing this will cause a diplomatic incident."
Alfonso left the camp with the words, "I'm saving people," and turned to leave.
Stepping onto the paving stones of the Royal Park of Dorkech, the Supreme Commander of the Crusade, Ackerman Shokola, looked up at the gloomy sky and sighed: "It's been raining heavily for three days straight, but it's finally stopped."
Parni, the snake demon, sat cross-legged on a bench by the street and looked at Ackerman, asking, "Something on your mind?"
Ackerman twitched his ears and asked weakly, "Where's your sister?"
"The Grand Duke's family just boarded the ship, and my sister went to hand over the documents to the fleet commander."
Ackerman stretched: "Bringing the Grand Duke's family back to Twilight City means my mission is complete... Should I go back? I really don't want to go back."
Parney turned her head and asked, "I don't understand. Last week was the monthly meeting of the shamanic gathering. Why didn't you go back to Twilight City?"
Ackerman found a patch of grass and lay down on it, ignoring the dampness: "I have already told Ms. Minnie that I am stepping down as the Supreme Commander of the Crusade."
Parney was somewhat surprised: "Resign? Didn't you always take pride in this position?"
Ackerman said softly, "How do you think I got to this position?"
"Because of military achievements?"
"Of course not, it's because of the Red Branch Legion, because of Ms. Minnie, because of the Boss... I mean, the Supreme Dragon God..."
Ackerman put a blade of grass in his mouth and slowly said, "I don't really have any skills. There are too many people who are more capable than me. I've gotten to where I am today entirely because of luck and connections... On the other hand, the responsibilities of the Supreme Commander of the Holy Crusade are just too great, and there are too many things to handle. I simply can't manage them all, nor can I reach the level that others expect."
Parney swayed her snake tail: "I think you've been doing a great job."
“You don’t have to lie to me.” Ackerman shook his head: “Take the assassination of Barbara for example. Whether it was the security work beforehand, the emergency response at the time of the incident, or the remedial work afterward, I handled it very poorly. The cabinet, the Knights, and the Crusader were actually dissatisfied with how I, as the supreme commander, handled the incident… As for the boss, although he didn’t say it, I know he must be very disappointed.”
Before Parney could speak, Ackerman continued, "Although Twilight City is more prosperous and bustling, I still feel that Froststone City is my true home. I plan to go back... Perhaps I can find a job there, being a recruit instructor would be good, or maybe an archery instructor..."
Parney coiled her snake body and quietly looked at Ackerman: "Have you made your decision?"
"Um, I'm sorry, but if you don't want to go back, that's fine too..."
Parney shook her head vigorously: "Wherever you go, we will follow."
Ackerman looked at Parney gratefully, his mouth agape, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Parne smiled and looked into the distance, when suddenly something in her field of vision caught her attention.
A small black figure emerged from the dirt mound on the park lawn.
"What is that...?"
Upon hearing Parney's question, Ackerman turned his head and looked into the distance.
"It looks like rats. Wasn't it raining a lot the past few days? These rats had to move their nests because of underground water seepage, which is why they're here..."
Ackerman stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.
Suddenly, dozens of black parasitic limbs burst out of the rat-like black creature, making it look like a wriggling sphere.
Startled, Ackerman quickly got up, staring wide-eyed at the "mouse" shaking its body and slowly crawling out of the mound.
In the blink of an eye, like a small earthquake, the once flat park lawn suddenly began to shake violently.
One hole after another appeared on the ground, and hundreds and thousands of rats infested with parasites crawled out of the soil and onto the surface.
Parney was so frightened by the scene that she slowly slid off the bench, even forgetting to wiggle her snake tail.
Ackerman gritted his teeth, taking small steps backward as he whispered to Parney, "Black Plague."
Just as the two began to retreat, a deafening alarm bell rang, instantly echoing throughout the entire Duchy of Dorkechi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com