Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: The Knights Of Yalan

Although Elan knew that his father’s death would stir up turmoil and chaos, he did not expect the other side to act so quickly.

“This was clearly premeditated…”

Mounting the white horse that had accompanied him since childhood, Elan and the two others spurred their horses towards Qiushan Town.

“If we don’t settle the situation in Qiushan Town quickly, once the other regions see that the rebellion hasn’t been suppressed, they might become even more emboldened.” Moon, who had been frowning ever since receiving the news, followed closely behind Elan, his solemn and aged face showing signs of concern.

The leading Elan nodded in agreement upon hearing his words, urging his white horse to run even faster with a shout.

The trainee knight named Sorota was trailing them by a few steps, but he managed to keep up. Compared to the knights’ mounts, the horses that Elan and Moon rode were usually trained more for comfort, so he could have easily overtaken them.

But he did not, instead, he kept his mount following behind them, holding his sword’s hilt with one hand, his gaze flickering around, remaining silent.

“Should we eliminate him?” A voice suddenly reached Moon’s ear. He turned to look in the direction of the voice, spotting a mysterious figure dressed in black standing atop the canopy of the dense forest, staring at him from a distance.

Moon shook his head and looked at Elan ahead, replying to the mysterious figure, “Not for now. This trainee knight is still young, with a clear mind and an unpredictable future.”

“If he becomes Viscount Yalan’s first knight, it would be a good thing for Elan.”

This conversation, transmitted through magic, was inaudible to the trainee knight since the magic used to communicate would be undetectable unless the recipient was stronger than the sender.

“Very well, you make the call,” said the figure in black before disappearing. Sorota suddenly felt a cold wind brush past him, causing him to grip his sword hilt tightly, panic instantly washing over his face.

Noticing his abnormal reaction, the two ahead immediately stopped and looked at him.

He looked at the two who had stopped to wait for him and quickly realized that he had overreacted. It was probably just a gust of wind, common in forests like these.

However, this also led him to realize that he had to be honest with his lord, as he still had a choice. “I had a bad feeling just now, sorry to have worried you.” Sorota bowed his head, expressing his apology.

Elan scanned the surroundings and then looked at the recently arrived trainee knight, “It’s fine; it’s good to be cautious when away from home, especially in these turbulent times. You did well.”

Receiving this somewhat unconventional praise, Sorota bowed again in gratitude, “Thank you for your forgiveness, my lord.”

After this brief episode, the three reorganized themselves and continued towards Qiushan Town, which was now not far away. They could even see the town gate in the distance.

Ten minutes later, the three horses carried them into the small town.

A desolate and murderous atmosphere immediately greeted them. The market and square, which should have been bustling and prosperous as usual, were now deserted. It seemed as though everyone had either hidden or been captured. Occasional bloodstains on the ground indicated that there had been a few skirmishes before they arrived.

In the shadows between a few buildings, quite a few cats and dogs were hiding, but they too were silent, not daring to make a sound.

“I wonder how many people were involved in the rebellion…” Elan’s expression darkened. Judging by the state of the town, it seemed that at least a third of the population had participated in the rebellion, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been suppressed so quickly and so thoroughly.

Among this third of the population, there were likely those in power, and possibly even…

“Formal knights might appear,” Moon walked to his side, meeting his dark eyes.

Elan nodded lightly, his gaze focusing on the rooftops of the low houses as he scanned the surroundings. Unfortunately, the enemy had hidden themselves well, Elan still could not determine where they were concealed or when they might launch an attack.

“Stop hiding, come out now.” Elan had lost his patience. If this dragged on, rebellions would break out everywhere, and the entire viscounty might completely collapse by tomorrow.

“All you want is my stance, isn’t it?” His voice, carried by wind magic he cast himself, spread out in all directions with the wind. Moon and Sorota stood on either side of him, one standing motionless like a mountain, the other trying to muster his courage.

“Alright! Since you want to do this openly, we’ll be open with you, Viscount.” A thunderous voice boomed from afar as several figures appeared on the horizon. Both sides stared at each other across the square and the tall statue, their gazes sweeping past the base of the statue, piercing towards the other side.

Seeing the faces of those who had arrived, a look of realization dawned on Moon’s face. “So, you’ve finally taken this step.” He questioned the newcomers with a tone that was both helpless and angry.

Elan narrowed his eyes. Moon knew these people, and naturally, so did he. Even the trainee knight Sorota recognized them.

The tall, imposing man with white hair and a short white beard was dressed in a coarse linen robe, looking at them resolutely. From behind him, a long-haired young man dressed in a white robe and holding a green wood staff slowly walked forward to stand by his side.

“Luen…” Elan’s expression darkened like water. If the former was within his expectations, then this young man named Luen was someone he absolutely hadn’t anticipated.

Luen smiled faintly, but it made Elan feel particularly nauseated. “Surprised, aren’t you, Young Master Elan?” Luen spoke, his staff glowing, revealing those he had hidden.

There were no fewer than a hundred people surrounding them now, including many knights who had once served the viscounty.

Elan looked at those people, their expressions deeply imprinted in his mind, extinguishing the fiery anger that had been burning within him since he arrived. “It seems you’re determined today… Then why don’t you first tell me what happened to the rebels, and then we can decide whether I should take action against you.” He sighed and looked at the leader, his instructor, the captain of the viscounty’s knights.

Hassan Baha.

“Viscount, we don’t want to hurt anyone.” He clapped his hands, and a few knights carried several strong old men forward. Elan stepped forward, and Moon reflexively reached out to stop him, but he shook his head and pushed the hand away.

He stepped forward, approaching Hassan, and the old man, who appeared to be the most seriously injured, lay at his feet. Elan paid no mind to the strange looks around him as he removed his gloves and knelt on one knee, gently stroking the old man’s face.

They truly hadn’t mistreated these people.

In fact, Hassan was also born here and had benefited from the viscount’s kindness. Therefore, he wouldn’t harm anyone and had ordered the knights not to harm anyone. The elderly knights were treated with the utmost respect, merely incapacitated to prevent resistance.

“Viscount… Sir…” The old man’s eyes were closed, but he could feel the young viscount’s hands brushing over his face, and he unconsciously spoke.

“It’s alright. I’m right here. Hassan… he’s not a bad person. After I cd leave, you can trust him and Luen.”

“You… are leaving?” The old man asked in surprise, momentarily forgetting the pain in his body as he tried to get up to question him. Elan held him down, using the only healing magic he was proficient in, water magic, to heal him.

He signaled to the knight who was caring for the old man, and the knight immediately stepped forward to give the old man an injection of a sleeping drug.

After doing all this, Elan stood up. Neither Hassan nor Luen, nor his teacher and steward, had moved or made a sound during the past few minutes of standoff.

As Elan stood up, Moon was the first to step forward, and Sorota, seeing the opportunity, quickly followed suit, standing behind the old steward.

Hassan noticed Sorota. Under his intense gaze, Sorota found it difficult to lift his head. After all, Hassan had once been his instructor, and now, as a mere apprentice knight, he found himself on the opposite side of his former mentor.

It wasn’t until he stood before Hassan that he could fully feel the man’s imposing presence—absolute confidence, a quality that only a true knight must possess.

“Raise your head, knight!” Hassan suddenly shouted, startling Sorota into a saluting posture.

“Do not salute me. You are now his knight, perhaps even his first knight, and must not lose your master’s dignity! We are merely knights of Viscount Yalan. You should only salute those who respect your master, not us.”

This stern reprimand seemed to awaken in Sorota the knightly codes he had memorized. His gaze grew resolute, and he forcibly stopped himself from completing the salute.

“You’ve graduated, apprentice knight. This is the final lesson: find your master.” Hassan patted Sorota’s shoulder, pleased with the growth of the knight who was no longer under his tutelage, and smiled warmly.

After instructing the young knight, Hassan’s gaze returned to the young lord. Elan was neatly dressed and spoke with composure—he was beginning to show the qualities of a good lord.

“You will make a good lord,” Hassan said, adjusting his student’s attire with confidence, before adding, “But you lack the strength to be one.”

“What we are doing is not rebellion or rioting, we are merely…”

“…Making a request.”

“If such a method can even be called a request,” Moon coldly interrupted. He wasn’t angry, just questioning.

“If such a method can be called a request,” Hassan repeated Moon’s words, as if questioning himself.

However, he quickly shook off the thought. The arrow had already been drawn, and there was no turning back. “Elan, your uncle, Roger Alan, is already on his way here. Although your father never got along well with them, this concerns the survival of the Alan family.”

Eran understood the implication. Before deciding to rebel and welcome Roger, someone must have already approached them. And those people truly wished to utterly destroy Alan.

Falling into those hands would be a disaster for the Alan territory.

Thus, they had retreated to a secondary option: allowing Roger to inherit the viscountcy, thereby avoiding plunder and ensuring legitimacy.

Elan sighed and said, “You’re not wrong. You were my father’s knights and always will be. But you are not my knights, so you have no duty to protect me, especially since I lack the strength now.”

Disappointed, Elan shook his head, looking at the knights who had once accompanied him and his father. Wherever his gaze fell, the knights lowered their heads, like children who had done something wrong.

“Were they wrong?” he asked himself.

Unfortunately, this question had no answer. Or perhaps there was, but now was not the time to find it.

Elan turned his back to the crowd and walked toward his white horse, removing the green cross-embroidered cloak that symbolized his status as Viscount Yalan as he went. He let it fall onto the dusty ground. His time as viscount had been so brief—only a single day.

He relinquished the viscount’s authority because he could not hold it firmly in his grasp. Elan turned back to look at Hassan. “I will return, Hassan, and prove that I am truly worthy of this title.”

“When that time comes, my goal won’t be just the viscountcy. I will climb to the summit step by step and personally destroy those who started this war!”

“I salute you, for at least at this moment, you are still Yalan’s most loyal knights.”