Gulp, gulp, gulp—
Nidhogg pulled out his Flask of Crimson & Cerulean Tears, took four swigs of Crimson Tears and two swigs of Cerulean Tears. Then he produced his Flask of Wondrous Physick, took a sip, and neutralized the toxin from the Snake Baron's fangs.
Drinking the Tears and Physick, he looked around to check on his good brother and the three wolves.
Torrent the spirit steed was still rampaging, his leather armor splattered with blood.
Two of the lone wolves had been killed. The remaining two were still tearing into the bandits, covered in blood themselves.
As for the bandits of Gaol Castle, few were left standing. Those who could stand were seriously wounded, swaying on the verge of collapse.
Nidhogg wiped the bloody froth from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and put away his Flask.
After several gulps of the Sacred Tears, most of the wounds he had just received had healed. The intense pain had subsided significantly. He was fit to continue fighting.
So he raised his sword and finished off a bandit lying on the ground, trying to play dead. Then he joined the slaughter of Gaol Castle's defenders. Consider it ridding the world of vermin.
In no time, the bandits throughout Gaol Castle were wiped out by the two of them. The wolves had long since vanished.
Nidhogg took the opportunity to free the women and children imprisoned in the dungeon and told them to flee quickly.
After all the innocents had left the castle, Nidhogg set it ablaze. He burned the bandits' corpses and the unknown kinds of dried meat, completely destroying this sinful place.
Soon, thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
---
A few days later.
The royal capital of the Kingdom of Midland—Windham City.
The commander's office in the White Eagle Knight Order's mansion.
In the dim candlelight, Griffith sat upright at an angled long desk. His wounds from "Zodd the Immortal" had healed. He held a quill and was writing something.
Knock, knock, knock—
A knock at the door. It didn't distract Griffith.
"Please, come in." He kept his head down, writing, as if completely absorbed. He didn't even look at the person entering.
Guts, tall and broad, entered. He closed the door and walked over.
"You're really okay?"
Guts roughly pulled out a chair and sat crookedly beside Griffith's long desk. He stared at the many books stacked on the shelves, but his voice was tinged with concern.
"Don't worry. Everything's fine."
Griffith stopped writing, laid his quill on its rest, and looked up. He smiled at Guts and reached out to touch the Beherit hanging around his neck.
"Didn't I tell you? Maybe this is my good luck charm, hm? That cold arrow, caught me off guard, but it was blocked by this. And because Princess Charlotte was beside me, I was considered her protector and got promoted..."
It turned out that today, the King and Princess had taken a group of nobles and ministers hunting in the suburbs.
During the hunt, Griffith had a pleasant conversation with Princess Charlotte. Then the Princess's horse was startled and bolted into the bushes with her.
Griffith managed to intercept the panicked horse and protect the Princess.
But unexpected events came one after another. A cold arrow flew from the shadows and pierced Griffith.
Fortunately, the Beherit Griffith carried was hard enough to block the sharp arrow. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
There was an upside: after the King arrived and heard what had happened, he was furious. Believing Griffith had rendered meritorious service in protecting the Princess, he once again elevated his title.
Thus, in just a few months, Griffith, born a commoner, had made two leaps in rank: first becoming a viscount, and now an earl.
Guts wasn't as optimistic as Griffith. He asked, "And then? Did the arrow shoot itself?"
Silence reigned in the study for a time.
"I really can't hide anything from you."
Griffith tapped his finger on the desk and said slowly, "I have an informant in General Julius's mansion. They told me that General Julius had a secret meeting with someone—the archer was from the White Dragon Knights."
General Julius was the King's younger brother, the leader of the White Dragon Knights—one of the two main knightly orders of the Kingdom of Midland. He was second in line to the throne after Princess Charlotte. His son, Adonis, was third.
Ambitious and clearly eyeing the throne, Julius planned to arrange a marriage between Adonis and Princess Charlotte.
That way, the throne would be firmly in his grasp in the future.
But for various reasons, the King had never agreed to the match.
Now, Griffith had suddenly appeared—a dazzling new star. His promotions came rapidly. His knights' combat prowess was exceptional. His military achievements were outstanding. And he was beginning to threaten the status of the White Dragon Knights.
Moreover, anyone with discerning eyes could see that Griffith had a good rapport with Princess Charlotte.
Whenever they spoke, the timid Princess always smiled—something that rarely happened.
General Julius noticed this and was naturally enraged. Urged on by the Minister of the Interior, Foss, he planned the assassination. But at the last moment, it failed.
In just a few hours, Griffith had gathered all the key information through his usual informants, pieced together the truth, and uncovered the mastermind behind it all.
Though Guts was merely a battlefield mercenary—a man who lived by his sword—he wasn't stupid. He quickly understood the cause and effect and frowned.
"So, you called me here tonight..." Guts had an inkling. He cautiously drew a finger across his throat and asked, "You want me to kill General Julius?"
"No." Griffith waved his hand and smiled. "Of course not... However, there is something I want you to do. And I can only ask you."
"Name it." Guts straightened up.
Griffith continued quietly:
"While gathering intelligence and investigating the assassination's mastermind, I unexpectedly discovered something else."
"You know the current Queen is the Princess's stepmother, right? It turns out that she and General Julius were lovers behind everyone's backs. They were quite passionate."
When Guts heard this, he nearly fell off his chair.
"When the King personally led the campaign, it was the White Dragon Knights who guarded Windham City." Griffith knew Guts would react like this and found it rather amusing. "As soon as they came and went, they immediately hopped into bed."
At this point, Griffith suppressed his smile and grew serious.
"At first, I thought of killing Julius—not for revenge, but to avoid future trouble from him. But after learning of Julius's relationship with the Queen, I changed my mind."
"My rank has risen quickly. The White Eagle Knights have grown from a few hundred to thousands today. But I see our end."
"No matter what happens in the future, we, born of common blood, will always be suppressed by the White Dragon and White Tiger Knights. Many conservative forces in the Kingdom of Midland will not sit idly by and watch us continue to rise."
Griffith's finger-tapping on the desk ceased. Dead silence filled the study. Even the sound of their breathing seemed to vanish.
"I've arranged everything."
"Tomorrow night, the King will learn of the scandal between Julius and the Queen. I need you to secretly leave the city tonight and mobilize a unit of the White Eagle Knights stationed outside the city to guard the only exit from the city."
"If Julius senses anything amiss in advance, he will surely leave Windham City with his personal guards, join the White Dragon Knights outside the city, and then raise a rebellion. That will be the perfect time for you to engage them."
"Guts, this task falls to you. You are the one I trust most. I can only entrust this mission to you, to handle it yourself. Only then will my heart be at ease. Promise me, Guts. Don't let him escape."
Griffith, with his long silver curls, gazed quietly at Guts and calmly spoke these words.
He rarely looked at people like this. Nidhogg was one, but Guts was different.
The more he got along with Guts, the more he felt that only Guts in this world could understand him and tolerate his dark side.
Even Casca, Pippin, Judeau, Corkus, Rickert, and the others couldn't penetrate the depths of his heart.
Therefore, he was almost certain that even if Guts saw his dark side tonight, Guts would understand his situation and do what needed to be done. He would become the dark arrow beneath his light and would never turn away from him or leave.
He understood well that to become a king, beneath the glamour, there must be hidden filth. And only his other half could handle that filth.
Guts was silent for a long time. Then he replied, "Alright. I'll leave the city right now."
"Hmm." Griffith smiled faintly again. He had been right. No matter what happened, Guts would always be by his side.
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