The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Season of the Storm (2)

━Olivia, give the order!

Oleciren, who had shattered Glumiêm’s illusion with her witch’s power, shouted.

━Hey, you!

Marquis McLoud yelled as well.

However, Cain only watched as Elveknights and Elder Faye MacGeraghty closed in on him.

━…….

Amidst the dreadful tension, Olivia pressed her lips together.

It was as clear as day what would have happened if the Ethelred Knights hadn’t arrived at that moment.

Olivia lifted the left corner of her lip, her hand still wrapped around her cheek. She stared at Oleciren with her piercing golden eyes.

“Now we’re the same. Neither of our eyes are gray anymore.”

She abandoned all respect and courtesy.

Since Oleciren had slapped her in front of everyone, Olivia decided not to treat her like the First Princess or her half-sister anymore.

Oleciren didn’t care about any of that.

Rip

She growled, yanking Olivia’s clothes so hard that they tore.

“What was your plan?”

“Ha! Plan? What plan━.”

Slap!

Oleciren slapped her again with her free hand.

Marquis McLoud and the other knights felt their hearts skip a beat.

Ross, McLoud, Ethelred.

No matter which knight order they belonged to, how many times in their lives would they witness a princess slapping another princess right before their eyes?

And on the battlefield, no less.

Olivia, ignoring her burning cheek, screamed.

“What do you think you’re doing━.”

Slap.

“Are you crazy━.”

Slap!

Oleciren slapped her every time she tried to speak, her expression cold.

As if she was simply hitting what needed to be hit.

As if she was killing what needed to be killed.

“Princess Oleciren!”

Marquis McLoud, who had been watching, tried to stop Oleciren in surprise.

However, when he met Oleciren’s chilling black eyes, his body froze on its own.

Those weren’t ordinary eyes.

They were the eyes of a witch.

The black eyes of the last witch in this world, whose limits even the Elf Queen Glumiêm couldn’t fathom.

“Were you trying to get Cain killed?”

Oleciren questioned.

Cain, who was watching, looked at Olivia who was grabbed by the collar.

She trembled with rising fury and shouted.

“Of course! There was no better opportunity than━.”

SLAAAP━!!

If her earlier blows had been slaps, the one she landed now was a venomous strike.

Olivia’s collar tore as she couldn’t withstand the force, and she was knocked to the side.

When she lifted her head, the blood vessels in her left eye seemed to have burst, turning it bright red.

“Then I should kill you.”

As Oleciren moved, Marquis McLoud blocked her path.

Simultaneously, the knights of the expeditionary force moved to protect Olivia.

It was a natural reaction since the Second Princess Olivia was their commander-in-chief.

“Draw your swords.”

Abel, who had been watching the situation, muttered.

The ninety-five Ethelred Knights scattered around quickly formed ranks like the wind and drew their weapons.

“Princess.”

Abel addressed Oleciren.

“It seems this woman tried to kill my brother.”

Bloodlust.

A killing intent so cold that even an expert-level knight would tremble filled Abel’s gaze.

“If you hadn’t come, Cain would have been in grave danger.”

Abel and Arna understood the meaning behind Oleciren’s words.

In the most critical moment, Cain had unleashed an extraordinary amount of power. They knew that there was no free lunch in such things, and that Cain was always the one making the sacrifices.

“I understand.”

Abel realized that Oleciren was furious because Cain had almost sacrificed himself once again.

Abel glanced at Cloyd, the knight commander.

Cloyd nodded, indicating his support for whatever his vice-commander, Abel, wanted to do.

Cloyd was the most serious and composed among them, but he was also the blunt sword of Ethelred, charging recklessly once his mind was set.

“If she dared to harm the Lord, there can be no forgiveness.”

There was no way he would stop himself from striking down someone who dared to harm Cain, even if they were a noble.

“I will assist you!”

Victor Millington, a knight of Ethelred who had been defeated by Abel in the Lamaring territory, now served practically as Abel’s escort.

Being more experienced and possessing comparable strength to Cloyd, Victor’s integration into Ethelred was swift.

Clench━.

“…….”

Vanderbilt, without a word, gripped the hilt of the greatsword on his back.

He seemed ready to unleash a slash the moment an order was given.

If one were to choose three prominent knights of the Ethelred territory, these three would be chosen for their strength, experience, and reputation, and all three stood behind Abel.

They could tolerate anything but an attempt on Cain’s life.

Rumble━.

The expeditionary force also raised their weapons, seeing the murderous Ethelred knights.

One side was Olivia’s legion, and the other represented Oleciren.

“Boy, are you just going to stand there and watch!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Marquis McLoud shouted at Cain. Cain, who had been sitting on a rock by the river, shrugged his shoulders.

“It looks like a fight’s about to break out!”

Slide━.

The knights turned to look at him.

The two princesses also turned their heads.

Cain was the only one who could mediate between the two sides.

Cain spoke calmly.

“Can’t we just fight a little?”

“Boy!”

“Aren’t the ones you brought along as the Northern Expeditionary Force just trash anyway?”

Boom.

It was like a bomb had been dropped.

The killing intent of the expeditionary force turned towards Cain in that instant. Cain didn’t even blink, continuing as if nothing had happened.

“Half of them are the sniveling dogs of Marquis Ross, who betrayed Airian.”

“You! That’s going too far!”

The knights of Marquis Ross protested.

Having been sworn enemies with the 〈Ross de Kaerot〉 since Philip’s time, Cain held no goodwill towards them.

“It’s just your one-sided claim that our Lord surrendered to the elves!”

“See for yourself.”

As a result of the brutal training, the expeditionary force had merely followed Olivia’s orders; very few were in their right minds at the time.

This meant that no one had actually witnessed Marquis Ross siding with the elves.

Therefore, they were unlikely to believe Cain or Oleciren’s claims about Marquis Ross collaborating with the elves.

“They’re just a bunch of fools who won’t believe anything anyway. And the McLoud knights will ultimately support you, old man, rather than the greater good.”

One look at McLoud’s escort knights made it clear.

How would McLoud, who controlled them with magic, raise his knights?

Naturally, he would prioritize obedience above all else.

“And you can’t withdraw your support for Olivia.”

If it were a relationship of mutual benefit, they could break it off, but McLoud and Olivia were bound by blood.

Unless it was the very end, they would stick together.

Cain raised his index finger.

He pointed at Olivia, who was sitting up, clutching her cheek like a tragic heroine.

“And this one is in a crisis. Someone has to take responsibility for the failure of this expedition, and guess who that will be? Olivia, of course.”

“…….”

“So somehow, she’ll have to create a scapegoat. Or she’ll just overturn her failure with some outlandish plan.”

Cain had them all figured out.

He had lived as the absolute ruler of the Great Wall for a decade. He could easily discern the divisions within this force.

“Trash.”

“You━!”

Olivia shouted once more.

Cain was rather grateful.

By insulting not only her but the entire expeditionary force, he had strengthened his position as their representative.

As if waiting for this moment, Cain grinned.

“But even trash can be recycled.”

Cain walked towards the center.

Then, he reached out his hand to Olivia, who was slumped on the ground.

She stared blankly at his hand.

“Take it.”

“……?”

Olivia, who had no energy left for their usual banter, glared at Cain with sharp eyes.

“You saved me once in Mainus, so I’ll save you once.”

“What are you planning?”

Cain glanced across the battlefield.

On one side lay a mountain of elf corpses, and on the other, the bodies of those who had died trapped in illusions.

To the knights, Cain stood nonchalantly between these two mountains of corpses.

He turned to face the expeditionary force.

Then, he lifted the corners of his lips.

“I saw something interesting earlier.”

Crackle━!

Pure White Thunderbolt sparked in Cain’s violet eyes.

[‘Winter’ reveals a part of the hidden truth.]

A strange chill that pierced to the bone swept over the Northern Expeditionary Force.

Rustle━.

Large, pointed ears, characteristic of elves and hidden by magic, were revealed.

The knights, who had no idea there were elves among them, were startled and backed away.

There were twelve elves in total.

They blinked their eyes blankly, their expressions unchanging.

The ears that had appeared for a moment disappeared again.

However, Cain and his companions, who had been the first to arrive on this battlefield, recognized them.

“They’re elves disguised as humans.”

While some elves had brutally slaughtered the expeditionary force, others had disguised themselves after disposing of the bodies and taking their clothes and armor.

Cain hadn’t forgotten them.

“Right. They were just keeping their mouths shut and averting their eyes even though the situation had become like this.”

Slide━.

The exposed elves, as if sliding down a smooth rope, gathered in one place.

The expeditionary force and the Ethelred Knights, as if they had been waiting for this moment, surrounded them, each taking one side.

“You, surely you don’t…….

Watching this unfold, Marquis McLoud was the first to grasp Cain’s intention and gaped.

“They were going to fight each other anyway, and even within their ranks, they’re divided.”

Cain hadn’t intended to instigate a fight. He was simply waiting for the right opportunity.

Marquis McLoud felt a shiver run down his spine.

He realized that Cain Ethelred’s true strength wasn’t his swordsmanship that earned him the title of Sword Master, but his mind that could find a way out even in the most unfavorable situations.

Shing.

Cain drew Agweska.

The blade, as if forged from the night itself, slowly pointed at the elves.

“But there’s one thing they should unite against.”

“Elves…….”

Whether it was Marquis Ross.

Or Olivia’s restoration.

Or the fact that Oleciren was a witch.

Compared to the elves, these issues were secondary in the land of Airian. Since the birth of their nation, they had dedicated all their time and effort to the eradication of elves; thus, elves took precedence over everything else.

“So, catch them.”

Cain spoke to Olivia once more.

“You can cover up your blunder with the achievement of annihilating the elves.”

“How……?”

Olivia turned her head.

At the end of her gaze lay the large barrier, a hemispherical dome of white fog that had previously swallowed the expeditionary force.

It was a defensive wall that combined the magic that had protected the ‘Deep Forest’ for centuries with ‘miracles.’

Tap, tap.

Cain tapped the person next to him with his thumb.

It was Oleciren, staring at him with an impassive face.

Her hair color had returned to its original gray from black, indicating that her witch’s power had returned.

However, her eyes were still black.

“It’s not like they’re the only ones with a witch. We have one too.”

They had already breached the barrier once with magic. They had been defeated because they couldn’t overcome the witch’s ‘miracle.’

However, since Oleciren had already overcome Glumiêm’s ‘miracle’ with her witch’s power once, she should be able to undo the barrier as well.

Cain looked at everyone and said,

“Never in the history of Airian has any expeditionary force come closer to success than us.”

For the knights who held swords, regardless of their affiliation, it was a call to arms.

“Fate and chance have brought us here, with a witch, magic, and ourselves. You trash, and Ethelred.”

Cain pointed at the elves.

“Kill them.”

Thump━.

At Cain’s command, the Ethelred Knights immediately sprang into action, and the expeditionary force, after exchanging glances, followed suit.

Grab.

And Cain, grabbing Olivia’s outstretched arm, pulled her up.

Shhhing━!

The elves were strong.

But they were no match for the knights charging at them with a vengeance.

Cain, paying no more attention to them, turned around.

To Olivia, who was looking up at him, the blood splattering from the dying elves looked like a shower of blood raining down behind Cain.

“Let’s begin the real expedition.”

Oleciren, witnessing Cain’s actions, shook her head and clicked her tongue, while Arna chuckled softly and patted her back.

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