The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 268

185. Tulli’s Execution (3)

“Karrl…”

Miliana barely managed to calm his surging mana. Even she, a Sword Master, was struggling, so Tulli, with her far inferior skills, was on the verge of fainting.

“Hah… hah…”

Only when Karrl’s aura subsided did Tulli catch her breath, collapsing as if her legs had given way.

‘It’s not just that Wooden Cloud is connected to the Empire.’

However, Karrl was still deep in thought, seemingly oblivious to Tulli’s exhausted state.

‘They are even cultivating plants from the Demon Realm in the Demon Nest. This means that even the Order might be connected to the demons.’

The Order, Wooden Cloud, the Demon Realm, and even the Empire.

Perhaps this was a golden opportunity.

The four intertwined relationships seemed complex, but if he could unravel them without missing this chance, he might be able to wipe them out all at once.

‘But…’

Karrl frowned slightly.

‘Is it really true that the girl named Raelle is the owner of Blue Lore? In my past life, I remembered them as the ones who took over after Wooden Cloud disappeared, but if Ollivern is in league with those guys, he might be in an even higher position.’

He was confused.

In his past life, Karrl, along with the Ten of the Divine Mandate [a group of powerful individuals tasked with upholding divine law] and the Empire’s knights, upheld the Divine Mandate and suppressed the fanatics who worshiped corruption.

He considered that battle a holy war for the gods, and his failure to execute Blue Lore remained as an unfinished task.

That’s why, after his regression [reincarnation or time travel], he thought that the first thing to deal with in preparation for the Divine Mandate War was Wooden Cloud.

Because back then, in his eyes, Ollivern Stellan was the only human fighting solely for the gods.

But it was the opposite.

The Emperor of the Empire, who received and carried out the Divine Mandate, was actually in league with Wooden Cloud, who worshiped corruption?

‘I need to confirm whether it’s true or false, but…’

Whatever it was, it was shocking.

Of course, he no longer trusted Ollivern.

‘My faith in him ended the day I plunged my sword into his chest.’

However, Karrl admitted that at least until the moment he ended his friend’s life, Ollivern was on the side of the gods.

‘Because the last thing he did was offer the lives of the apostles of God to Yula to end the Divine Mandate War.’

Karrl closed his eyes.

During the countless hours he spent climbing Parel [a mystical location or object] to go back in time, he had never forgotten that day.

Even now, as soon as he closed his eyes, the last moments of his past life vividly came to mind.

-I can’t die like this. If I do, my comrades, no, the comrades who died because of me, will weep in their graves!!

He could feel the burning heat of that day.

The Divine Mandate War, 10 years.

Karrl remembered his cry. And the face of Ollivern, his only friend in his past life and the emperor he trusted and followed, standing before him.

-I am also heartbroken.

Ollivern said.

He, too, was a mess of dirt and sweat. The sword he held had also cut down countless corruptions.

Yet, that sword was now aimed at him and his comrades.

-Heartbroken? Don’t talk nonsense. Karrl glared at him with an expression that said, ‘How can you say such a disgusting thing?’ as he looked at the corpses of his comrades lying beside him.

It was strange.

Miliana, Serica Lore, Israfil…

Even though they were all renowned powerhouses, why did they die so futilely?

-What the hell did you do? Did you poison us? Or is this even the work of God’s power?

-…

-You are a noble priest who upheld the Divine Mandate more than anyone else. Compared to God’s command, the lives of your comrades are as light as a feather, right? Tell me. Now that the war with corruption is about to end, does God want our lives too!!

But Ollivern still didn’t say anything.

He just looked at Karrl.

-You’re wrong. Don’t think that you alone are a noble apostle who fought for God. Life? Yes, I can give it if you want. But at least, if that damn God wanted our lives, he should have let us die on the battlefield. Not in this dirty ending at your hands!!

Despite Karrl’s cry, Ollivern still looked at him coldly.

десятки, сотни… тысячи, десятки тысяч… [Russian: tens, hundreds… thousands, tens of thousands…]

The scene of the ending that he had repeated so many times that he couldn’t even count.

Stab!!

His sword pierced Ollivern’s chest.

And he remembers the false words flowing from the trembling man’s mouth.

-My friend… Why have we become like this?

“…”

He remembers the face of the man who didn’t take off his mask until the moment of his death.

‘Ollivern. At least I thought you were a noble person in the process of carrying out the Divine Mandate. But… was even that not true?’

What if, from the beginning, Ollivern was the same as the fanatics of Blue Lore, who worshiped the hideous monster that emerged from Parel, not God?

‘Is it possible that the act of trying to kill us at the end was not an act of upholding the divine will…’

His mind was complicated.

He didn’t know where the truth began and where the lies ended.

If Ollivern’s actions, from the fight against corruption to the killing of the Ten of the Divine Mandate, were all related to Wooden Cloud, then humanity was no different from being played in his hands.

Just as the current civil war in the Principality is like a play orchestrated by Tulli and Fran, a new possibility arises that Ollivern had no intention of carrying out the Divine Mandate from the beginning.

‘But Wooden Cloud even made Tulli, who was like that, eventually get the title of ‘Branded’ by Ganes [likely a powerful entity or organization] and betrayed and eliminated her.’

From the Duke of the Principality to the Emperor of the Empire…

The existence of Wooden Cloud was so deep that the more he dug into it, the more he couldn’t see the end.

“Tulli.”

“Yes, yes?!”

Perhaps she was overwhelmed by the aura she had felt from Karrl a moment ago. Tulli was startled and answered his call.

“What is your purpose?”

At Karrl’s question, she tilted her head.

‘Even if Raelle leads them in the future, the current leader must be someone else. At this point, Tulli is more likely to know more information than Raelle.’

He looked at Tulli with expectant eyes.

“Wooden Cloud is known only to selected nobles of the Principality. What do you, who have been hidden for as long as the history of the continent, want to do behind the scenes?”

To his question, she answered as if the secret that everyone was curious about was not a big deal.

“To serve God.”

“…What?”

Karrl looked at her with eyes that seemed to say, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

“Preparation for the fulfillment of the Divine Mandate. And carrying out that Divine Mandate. That is the raison d’être [French: reason for existence] of Wooden Cloud and our purpose…”

Tulli said with difficulty.

“You crazy bastards.”

Karrl spat out a short comment on her explanation.

“If you’re going to talk, talk straight. You’re worshiping demons, not God. The Order exists openly, and you’re worshiping God? You’re the real heretics.”

But despite his harsh words, Tulli only wore a strange smile.

She, who had been unable to breathe properly due to Karrl’s aura until just a moment ago, was now putting up a resistance, though not quite.

“Well, I understand. You’re so caught up in those guys that you can’t make a proper judgment.”

Karrl looked at her as if he would cut off her arrogant neck right away, but surprisingly, his hand didn’t go to his sword.

“If I catch and kill them one by one, there will be one among them who is sane.”

He said sharply.

Rather, he was listing the targets he should aim for next, feeling as if the clue to his long-cherished wish, which had been like a floating cloud, was now somewhat unraveling.

‘Whether it’s Ollivern, the Order, or the Emperor, they’re all in the Empire after all.’

Without hesitation, Karrl reminded himself that his next move had not changed from his initial plan.

“You can go back now. I’ve heard everything I wanted to hear from you.”

“Will you… keep your promise?”

“Of course.”

“…I understand.”

Tulli nodded with a stiff face after hearing his answer once again and left the room.

“Those guys from the Principality, none of them are right. Are you really going to save Tulli?”

After the door closed, Miliana asked Karrl.

“Of course. I promised to protect her from Wooden Cloud.”

At Karrl’s answer, Miliana frowned slightly.

“She’s the First Duke of the Principality. There are still many nobles who follow her. If you send her away like this, it will be a problem.”

At her question, Karrl laughed coldly.

“That’s right.”

“The only remaining dukes are Bonitos and Ruiche. But just by looking at him, it doesn’t seem like that sissy Bonitos will rule the Principality, and that girl Ruiche will be next to Fran, who is unconscious.”

As Miliana said, there was no one left as strong a leader as Tulli.

Although she had lost, the nobles would naturally gather under her again.

But Karrl smiled strangely at those words.

“I said I would protect her from Wooden Cloud, but I didn’t say I would protect her from her younger sibling.”

“…What?”

Miliana unknowingly shuddered slightly at those words.

“Ruiche. I made a suggestion to her. I told her that if she used the antidote of the Jannabi tribe [a specific group or culture], she might be able to find Fran’s consciousness, although it would take time to recover from being a cripple.”

“Don’t tell me…”

She looked at Karrl.

“I told her to bring the corresponding price on her own. She’s not a clueless child.”

Karrl pointed to the door and said.

“It just so happens that Ruiche’s room is at the end of the hallway leading to the basement where the prison is.”

“Ha… haha…”

Miliana unknowingly let out a low exclamation at those words.

Everything was according to his plan.

In his mind, which was entangling the enemy like a spider web, the word ‘escape’ seemed impossible.

“Cruel. Even if he regains consciousness, will Fran, whose brain is already messed up, be able to recognize Ruiche? There will only be a fool sitting there with Fran’s shell.”

Miliana gave a bitter smile.

“Well, I doubt you would have given her such a kind explanation.”

The twilight would soon be gone, and the morning would come when the east would dawn. And when the rooster begins to crow at dawn, Karrl will receive a report.

The death of Tulli Lurein.

It’s not a surprising story.

“Hoo…”

Karrl finally let out a low sigh, looking tired as if the alcohol was starting to kick in.

‘Now all that’s left is…’

But the light in his eyes did not fade.

Because the last enemy remains.

‘The Empire.’