How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 316

𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 (4)

Some might think the centaurs were badgering Johan like malevolent spirits, but they had a point to make.

The fierce and violent nature had not muddled Johan’s thoughts after running into them.

If they had gotten confused, they would have killed each other without trust and caused horrific damage.

Things were better as they were. Biorarn and the paladins of the Order had the fakes, while Johan’s original group didn’t.

They could figure out who was who if they were willing to sacrifice a few lives. Of course, it would be unfair to the ones sacrificed, but that didn’t matter to the centaurs.

‘𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦?’

Johan was troubled after listening to the centaurs’ whispers. Like the centaurs, killing both sides was too drastic, and losing seemed like a more moderate approach.

It would hurt a lot, but wouldn’t they understand if he persuaded them?

“Hey, you were so good with words earlier, why are you not saying anything anymore?”

A centaur who knew some Eastern language asked the fallen pagan warrior. The pagan warrior answered disconcertedly.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this. . .”

“Don’t lie. You were babbling away earlier, weren’t you?”

“To begin with, few people who experience this in the forest return alive.”

The centaurs looked at the warrior with eyes as if he would spill his deepest secrets once they ripped his entrails out. It was impossible for the warrior not to notice their menacing eyes. The centaurs’ notoriety was the same even in the Eastern Empire.

“Your Highness?”

The standoff ended with Johan’s movement. Johan slowly approached the two conflicting groups.

“Your Highness. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous, actually.”

“You’re right.”

The two groups wondered what they were talking about as they conversed in Eastern language. However, Johan stood before them before they had a chance to wonder about it.

“Your Highness?”

“I’m sorry to bring this up, but I have a way to find out who’s real.”

“. . .!”

Both groups looked delighted at Johan’s words. A paladin of the Order immediately responded.

“No, Your Highness. We’ll follow whatever method Your Highness has if you have one.”

“That’s right. Anyone who doesn’t follow Your Highness’s method is even more suspicious! We can do anything as long as we can find the real one!”

Johan felt more sorry at the enthusiastic response.

“It might be a bit painful.”

“We have sworn obedience before God. Pain and suffering are our virtues.”

“Then. . .”

Johan stood to lift the knight’s cheek. He took off his metal gauntlets so he wouldn’t hurt him too badly. The two groups looked at him curiously.

What is he trying to show?

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦?’

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱. . .?’

‘𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.’

‘. . .!’

The knights from the northern part of the empire must have been unaware of the rumors about Johan.

Such rumors were common tales favored by bards. A tale of a devout, anointed noble healing the sick with his hands was always popular anytime, anywhere.

But few people really believed it. If that were the case, the feudal lords would have been much less likely to be criticized by priests for being greedy and lacking in piety.

But Duke Yeats actually did show them something like that.

The knights gathered there looked at Johan with eyes filled with surprise and anticipation. The duke slowly raised one hand. . .

A light flashed at that moment. It was from the luggage strapped to the saddle on Cardirian. It was a bright light that made it hard to see, but it felt warm and soothing for some reason.

‘𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤!’

It was the light emanating from the relic he received from Castellan Pelheim. Johan quickly drew his sword. Even though he couldn’t see anything due to the light, he could feel Seal Retriever firmly in his hand.

Soon, the light disappeared. When his vision returned, the fake knights were gone. The paladins of the Order looked at Johan with amazed expressions. It was even more amazing than they had thought.

However, they had to prepare for a fight without asking about what happened.

Then knights appeared from the darkness of the forest with creaking sounds.

They were no ordinary knights. They wore different attires and had different degrees of weaponry. Some knights were inexplicably wearing tattered, old armor, while others had Eastern-style weaponry.

Johan knew instinctively. These knights were those who had died within.

From recently to a long time ago.

Ordinary undead emitted a sinister, chilling aura that was easy to recognize, but these knights looked and moved like they were alive. Their fatal wounds remained on their faces and bodies, which made them even creepier.

“. . .The forest must be furious!”

A collapsed warrior shouted in an awed voice. It was clear that the forest was furious at the persistent and presumptuous intruders who dared to trespass.

Johan spoke firmly without being shaken.

“I have no intention of backing down in fear of a forest that doesn’t know its place and only knows how to be furious. Come!”

The centaurs cheered upon hearing the duke’s spirited words. They drew their weapons and aimed at the approaching knights.

The warrior was shocked at the overwhelming response.

No matter how brave a warrior, those who lived nearby would never go against the wrath of nature. Confronting nature’s wrath was as foolish as getting angry at a typhoon or a thunderbolt.

But this pagan duke was challenging it without a hint of fear.

What the. . .?

Cardirian whined excitedly. Johan glared at the approaching knights with Seal Retriever. He could feel the spirits residing in his body surge through his veins. The forest’s mysterious aura must have excited the spirits.

At some point, Johan realized there was a crown floating above his head that he wasn’t wearing. The crown was shining brilliantly even though the light emitted by the holy relic had disappeared.

“. . .!”

The forest quickly disappeared as the morning fog lifted with the dawning day. The forest knights disappeared along with it. Johan slowly lowered Seal Retriever.

He was relieved that he didn’t have to fight the ghosts, but he felt like he had been possessed by a spirit.

However, those behind Johan were the most shocked. The warrior couldn’t breathe properly, overwhelmed by the miracle that the pagan duke had shown him. A pagan duke performing a miracle like a saint.

“It was truly strange. . . Wait a second. Are you pretending to be dead?”

“No. . .”

“Don’t bother trying to fool me. I’m not going to let you go no matter what you say. Don’t worry. We’ll treat you as a prisoner and give you proper treatment until your ransom is paid.”

“That’s not it. . .”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

The warrior was released surprisingly easily. His family paid the ransom as soon as they heard the news, and there were quite a few captives from the Holy Land as well.

Warrior passed through the gate of the Holy Land with his men. Fortunately, the Holy Land didn’t look too chaotic despite the defeat.

“You must have suffered a lot! I heard you willingly risked your life for the honor of Suhekhar. It was courageous of you to bring honor to your family name.”

“You’re too kind.”

The Bukari family was renowned even without Harag achieving any new feats. It was because of their unique lineage, not their power or fiefdom.

A family that had produced many famous priests and prophets could not help but have great prestige. So much so that even commanders like Yeheyman and Suhekhar couldn’t treat them carelessly.

“How is Suhekhar-nim doing?”

“I heard he gave up his command, taking responsibility for the defeat. It’s the right thing to do.”

“But. . . but it wasn’t Suhekhar-nim’s fault!”

“That doesn’t matter. As a commander, he has to take responsibility for his mistakes. Don’t worry. Yeheyman-gong showed him appropriate leniency. He pardoned him without holding him accountable. I’ve heard many rumors that the two of them don’t get along, but this was quite unexpected.”

Harag didn’t care much that Yeheyman, who was known to be fierce, had shown unexpected clemency.

What mattered to him was the situation after the battle, the pagan duke, and what happened in the forest.

“I wanted to hear about the battle directly from you when you returned. Incidentally, the others aren’t far away, so I’d like to invite you if you’re feeling well.”

“Yes, I will. But, Grandfather. . . There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“If I receive a revelation and experience a miracle one day. . . Should I follow it even if the revelation is hard to believe?”

The old priest pondered deeply at Harag’s question before carefully answering.

“You should follow it if you truly believe that the revelation and miracle are real.”

“Even if it sounds ridiculous and unbelievable?”

“Yes. Revelations and miracles often contain meanings that you can’t understand right away. You have no choice but to follow them if you don’t want to regret it later, even if you understand the meaning later on. Have you had an experience or something?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just thought of it all of a sudden. . .”

“Isn’t it a bit late to become a priest serving two gods? They say there’s no such thing as being too late, though. . . Hahahaha!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

The battle and its aftermath were successful, but there were still some problems.

One of them was Duke Bronquia, who had suffered humiliation and disgrace, refusing to come out of his tent.

Ulrike wanted to send assassins and burn down the tent, but Johan couldn’t allow that. He was about to declare a retreat soon, so it would be better to have a duke, a great feudal lord, helping him.

“He won’t come out even after sending people.”

“If it were me, I’d pack up and retreat immediately.”

“I don’t think a duke would do such a foolish thing because of his pride.”

Ulrike’s expression softened slightly at Johan’s words that jokingly responded to her joke.

“Don’t worry. Even if we don’t try to coax him personally, his aides will do it if we keep inviting him. That’s what they should do.”

There were many nobles around the duke, and they were smart enough to understand the situation.

They must have realized that they couldn’t just sit still after escaping a near annihilation thanks to Johan’s help.

“But those rumors. . . are they true?”

Ulrike asked hesitantly. Even Ulrike seemed half-convinced.

“What rumors?”

“Rumors that you showed a miracle. The people of the Order are chattering about it.”

“It’s magic. Are you asking me that even though you know that there are many wizards under my command?”

Johan said as if he found it funny that Ulrike was asking him such a thing. Didn’t they both share the commonality of being cynical about faith?

However, there was a difference between the two.

Johan had the experience of another world, while Ulrike was clearly a person of this world. Their values couldn’t help but differ. No matter how cynical Ulrike was about faith, she couldn’t completely deny it.

Ulrike hurriedly made excuses, perhaps because she felt embarrassed.

“The rumors were so detailed and plausible. And everyone’s stories are similar.”

“Well, the real thing looks similar. And most people won’t be able to tell the difference between magic and miracles.”

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤.’

Ulrike couldn’t help but think that the testimonies about the old crown suddenly appearing above Johan’s head seemed far from magic, no matter how she thought about it.

However, Ulrike didn’t ask any more questions. It just made her feel foolish.

“His Highness the Duke has recovered from his injury. He’d like to see the two of you and express his gratitude.”

“What’s wrong with him. . .”

Ulrike mumbled quietly. Johan gestured as if to tell her not to.

“I understand. It’s good that he’s finally feeling better.”

“. . .Yes.”

The noble who came to deliver the message quickly left, looking troubled. It seemed like they knew that they were being a nuisance.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺.’

Johan thought that he should invite as many feudal lords from this area as possible so he could avoid such a situation.

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