Chapter 73 – Ryden Pathfinder

Imperial Guard Headquarters located in the imperial palace.

Since it was a day without duties, Ryden, who was taking a break after a long time, had no choice but to doubt his ears at the unexpected news.

“What did you say just now?”

The Guard Commander, who was also his superior, looked down at him sitting on the bench with a look full of contempt.

“You must have heard it clearly, right? It is an imperial command. As of this hour, all Imperial Guard knights are to assemble in District 13, and His Majesty the Emperor’s command has been issued to eliminate all the rioters who insulted the imperial family. You are no exception, so head to District 13 immediately.”

Whether he was shocked, Ryden’s eyes shook.

“Is it really…… an imperial command?”

“What is that attitude right now? Do my words not sound like words to you? I said it repeatedly, it is an imperial command.”

Ryden bowed his head.

To him, this imperial command was something he could not accept at all.

“I…… cannot accept such a command at all.”

Ryden knew what kind of place District 13 was, and what the rioters who insulted the imperial family meant there.

“Is it really His Majesty’s will? I cannot understand.”

Unable to suppress his anger in the end, the Guard Commander slapped his cheek hard with the glove held in his hand.

“What a pathetic bastard! A guy like you shouldn’t have been in the Imperial Guards! Why on earth did you become a Crimson Guard? For whom is your sword anyway? Was it not for His Majesty and the imperial family?”

“My sword is…….”

Ryden continued in a dejected manner.

“It was a sword to protect someone.”

After a short silence.

His eyes changing completely, he raised his head and glared fearsomely at the Guard Commander.

“It was absolutely not a sword to cut down fellow imperial citizens.”

Extremely kind.

Suppressing his anger, the Guard Commander repeatedly gripped and released his sword hilt.

If it were another Imperial Guard knight, he would have cut off their head for insubordination.

However, the reason he could not do so was that he was an appointee directly recommended by Her Highness the Princess, and also the hero of the nation who saved the Empire.

“You surely know what it means to disobey an imperial command, don’t you? I will settle the account thoroughly upon my return.”

Leaving, he did not forget to say these words too.

“I thought it was a position that absolutely did not suit a human bastard like you, who lacks both blood and will. A bastard like you should never have become a Crimson Guard loyal to the imperial family.”

Crimson Guard.

It was an elite knight group consisting entirely of vampires who swore loyalty to the imperial family.

In the days when the Emperor’s rule was unshakable, their influence pierced the sky, and they were ones who suppressed the entire Empire with fear.

After the Guard Commander left, Ryden grabbed his head and suffered.

‘Why am I…… here?’

His memory was not intact.

The only thing he remembered was her request, which he faced in the rose garden that night.

However, what he remembered of that content and scene was extremely limited.

The reason was unknown.

‘Why on earth……’

After suffering for a long time, Ryden changed his thoughts.

‘This is not right.’

He also had a belief.

‘I will stop it.’

Ryden stood before his magic armor.

It was a Grade 1 magic armor with a gold rose gorgeously engraved on a pure white background.

Gold-Rose White Armor.

Next, he picked up the sword forged from Sky-Shattering Steel bestowed by the imperial family.

Sacred Sword of Salvation.

The oath made to the sword was still engraved in his heart.

To protect someone.

That was the same even now that he had become a Crimson Guard.

* * *

“It is His Majesty the Emperor’s command to eliminate the rioters without a single exception! There is no exception! The crime of insulting the imperial family is absolutely not light, so you must pay for that crime with death!”

Following the Guard Commander’s shout, the Crimson Guard knights moved in an orderly fashion.

All of them were vampires.

Possessing physical abilities superior to humans, they began to trample the rally participants, who were assembled defenselessly, with overwhelming momentum.

Heads flew off, and arms and legs were cut off mercilessly.

Even so, there was no one among them who was shaken.

It was not that they were without the crime of insulting the imperial family, and such scenes were once daily life for them.

Moreover, the vampire knights belonging to the Imperial Guards were those who had an exceptionally strong authoritarian tendency to regard humans as subjects.

“Do not leave a single one alive!”

Here, even those who did not participate in the rally could not be an exception.

The Imperial Guard knights cut down everything in sight.

It was then.

A knight of white light appeared like a flash and stood before them.

“Stop this madness immediately!”

“Ryden!”

The Guard Commander stepped forward.

“What is this behavior! Not only disobeying the imperial command, are you planning to commit treason too!”

Three Crimson Guards who were with the Guard Commander pounced on Ryden all at once.

However, Ryden’s movement was not something they could catch up to.

As if playing with them.

Ryden subdued them in an instant with flashy and overwhelming military power.

All three knights dropped their swords, and fell unconscious due to the succeeding electric shock.

Electric Shock.

It was Ryden’s unique complete formula magic, which concentrated his belief of avoiding killing.

Under the electric shock penetrating the magic armor, the Crimson Guards collapsed helplessly.

When Ryden, who had subdued the three knights in an instant, stood before the Guard Commander, the Commander’s eyes burned red.

Vampire-specific mana wrapped around him, attempting to prepare for Ryden’s electric shock.

However, it was a meaningless struggle.

Having subdued even him, Ryden witnessed the disaster around him.

No mercy remained in the corpses.

‘I must persuade His Majesty.’

He could not subdue all the Imperial Guard knights by himself.

Furthermore, the Imperial Army was guarding the outside.

Changing his thoughts, Ryden went straight to where the Emperor was.

That location could be found without much difficulty through the Red Heat Eye and Deepsight.

At the place he arrived, there were already Imperial Guard knights preparing after hearing the news.

“The rebel has come over there! Knights, protect His Majesty quickly!”

Dozens of Crimson Guards were waiting to block him, and among them was the Captain of the Guards who despised Ryden the most.

Marcus Nosfera.

He was one who yearned for the revival of the imperial family ruling with authority and dignity more than anyone else.

“Ryden…… you eventually committed it. I knew long ago you would turn out like that. With what face did you come all the way here! Did you want to beg to be killed!”

Completely ignoring the Captain of the Guards’ words.

Ryden sought the Emperor who was in the carriage.

“Your Majesty! They are merely citizens who committed a crime out of ignorance! Please withdraw this useless slaughter!”

The Imperial Guard knights looked ready to target Ryden at any moment, but Ryden did not mind such things and instead knelt on one knee with courtesy and implored.

“It is necessary to strictly punish the crime of insulting the imperial family, but they are all Your Majesty’s pitiful citizens!”

The Captain of the Guards shook his head with an displeased expression.

‘That fellow was always an eyesore. He shouldn’t have been in the Imperial Guards.’

From his perspective of wanting to find the authority of the past imperial family.

Ryden was always an annoying existence.

“Could the crime of insulting the imperial family be so light? From ancient times, the crime of lese-majesty has always been punished with the extreme penalty. Today is no exception. What right do you have to step forward?”

His rebuking words continued.

“Furthermore, you not only disobeyed the imperial command, but you also committed treason by attacking fellow Imperial Guard knights. You are no longer a Crimson Guard. You are a rebel of this country and the imperial family!”

At that moment.

The quiet carriage door opened and the princess of solemn atmosphere revealed herself.

The Imperial Guard knights showed respect all at once and cleared the way, and she approached the Captain of the Guards who bowed his head to her.

In front of her, there was a knight seeking the Emperor with deep politeness.

“Ryden……”

His inclusion in the Imperial Guards was also entirely her will.

“Princess, please persuade His Majesty and stop this meaningless slaughter.”

She had a deep shade of disappointment.

“Were you not a knight of the imperial family?”

“I am……”

Ryden bowed his head and tried to find an answer.

Originally, entering the Imperial Guards was not his will.

“I do not know. Why I came to the Imperial Guards…… but this much is certain. My sword was always a sword to protect someone. I thought my sword would protect the imperial family, I never knew it would cut down the citizens of the Empire like this.”

The Captain of the Guards cut in abruptly.

“Princess, there is no need to hear more. That fellow is a rebel who disobeyed the imperial command. No matter if he is a hero who saved the nation, the crime of insulting the imperial family and rebelling is absolutely not light. Rather, this is an opportunity. Please display his head to regain the authority of the imperial family.”

The princess glared fearsomely at the Captain of the Guards.

Understanding her meaning, the Captain of the Guards bowed his head and quieted his voice.

“Ryden. You made a promise with me back then, didn’t you?”

Ryden could not answer.

Because he could not speak of a matter he did not remember.

“You clearly made a promise with me. To become my knight. I believed that promise was loyalty toward the imperial family. But it was my misunderstanding.”

“Did I……”

Ryden lightly raised his head.

“Did that happen?”

That he did not remember was something she also understood.

That was not a promise, but something she had forced.

That is, it was a command by her authority.

The princess put on a bitter smile.

“Yes, in the garden that day, I made a request to you, and you granted my request. To become my knight. I was lacking. I should have been more careful.”

“No. It is my fault for not remembering that day.”

Her authority also had a drawback.

That a command once forced could not be retrieved again.

While admitting her lack, she did not seem to regret it much.

“Please continue to remain as my knight just as you have been doing. That is all I wish. Surely you will grant this much?”

Ryden felt something he could not disobey.

A command engraved in blood.

“Yes…… no matter what happens, I will remain as Your Highness’s knight. I swear.”

She harbored a sense of satisfaction in her own way.

The best sword of the Empire being her knight.

“Then it is fine. Still, you disobeyed the imperial command, so please remain in confinement for the time being.”

The Captain of the Guards did not dare to dispute the princess’s disposition.

Because she was the real power ruling the imperial family behind the Emperor, who was in name only.

“Princess!”

There was an Imperial Guard knight running hurriedly toward them.

He informed them of the rapidly changing battle situation.

“It is the revolutionary army! Armed troops, leading knights, reportedly launched a surprise attack on the Imperial Army.”

The Captain of the Guards reacted in surprise.

“Even knights are there?”

“Yes, they were all knights wearing magic armor. The retreat route was opened, and a large number of the rioters who insulted the imperial family have escaped.”

The expressions of those who received the news changed in various ways.

Ryden was relieved, whereas the princess and the Captain of the Guards’ expressions sank heavily.

The princess asked with an displeased expression.

“If it is the revolutionary army, are they not associated with the Golden Age Party?”

“According to the report, the flag of the Golden Age Party was waving.”

“I have been constantly receiving reports of their movements from the Internal Inspectorate. Despite being a pathetic political group, they not only incite rebellion and the overthrow of the imperial family, but they also possess a paramilitary organization.”

The warmth that was nested in her eyes vanished completely.

“I can no longer look on. What is that if not treason?”

It was already spilled milk.

She had absolutely no intention of returning to the past.

“As of this hour, the Council system is permanently abolished. And we define numerous political parties, including the Golden Age Party, as groups plotting treason against the imperial family, and in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, I command the execution of all those involved without trial. I will engrave with blood who the true master of the Empire is.”

The Captain of the Guards smiled faintly, and the Imperial Guard knights also became deep in thought.

“Vestra Maiestas.”