Masked Knight

The capital of a northern province...

The Roland army fought with the Empire’s army for several days on the Pamir Plains1 in the Northern province.

Tiger’s plans were simple.

Currently, the Pamir Plain was located on the way South. North of the Pamir Plains was the Thunder City. From there, there were two ways to go South. The first method was to defeat the Northern Legion main army. Then go south to capture the northern province capital, Kaka City.

The second method was to make a detour around that strong defense line. Station some ten thousand men to pin their army down here. Then lead his main army south through another passage on the west.

Tiger shook his head. The second method was simply crazy. Detour around them? It would be crazy to lead hundreds of thousands of soldiers into the enemy’s territory but avoid a decisive battle.

Tiger sighed as he rubbed his aching temple.

In the past two days, things had not progressed smoothly. After the Roland army won the battle with the chariots, the soldiers of the Empire seemed to behave like turtles and hid behind their solid defenses. They refused to come out. They relied on the deep trenches and solid walls. There were also dozens of miles of defense line. The archers, catapults, and spears hands were hiding inside their barracks. The Coalition Army of the Roland Continent attacked for two days, yet they were unable to create an opening.

What Tiger could not understand was that his soldiers were extremely brave and could fight ferociously even when they were faced with the sturdy Thunder City.

However, the situation had suddenly changed. Apart from the soldiers of Sauron Kingdom who were very disciplined, the soldiers from the other kingdoms were acting strangely. In the past two days, during the aggressive attacks, those soldiers refused to be vanguards. Even when Tiger, in the name of commander, finally gave them a strict order, the commanding officers of those troops pretended to be dead.

The soldiers were even worse. They often stopped after running a few steps forward. They were reluctant to move forward, even if their lives were threatened. Even when faced with the sharp swords of their superiors who were pushing from behind them, they tried to evade or go as slowly as possible.

Occasionally they would charge forward but no longer had faith or the courage to face death. They would casually fight for a while before retreating. The first thing those soldiers would do after retreating would be to rush to the barracks and divide all the spoils of war of the dead soldiers.

Sometimes, in order to snatch a packet of gold, those soldiers who were usually not aggressive in the battlefield, would even attack their own comrades.

Tiger was extremely angry and immediately ordered the execution of a few people. He hanged their heads for others to see. That caused dissatisfaction of the people from a few other kingdoms. They accused Tiger of being selfish and deliberately sent their armies out to die but not the army of the Sauron Kingdom.

Tiger then gritted his teeth and dispatched the infantry of Sauron Kingdom as the main force, to fight the battle for one day. However, he found that the armies from the other kingdoms continued to waste time. Finally, Tiger angrily said, "Just stay in the barracks and count your money! But just think for yourself, if we were to lose the war, would you still be able to spend that money?"

Besides that, Tiger had a concern, which he kept to himself. The Lightning God’s Whip has not appeared for a few days. Don’t any of you all have any thoughts?

Although Tiger was suspicious, at least up till then, he still had not heard any bad news. In order to prevent any possible schemes by the Radiant Empire, every day Tiger would dispatch thousands of small groups to scout in all directions, especially at his flanks and rear.

At the very least, the report he received two nights ago was reassuring... That night, three thousand soldiers from the Goethe Kingdom were dispatched to scout around. They encountered the opponent’s transport team. Both sides fought fiercely. Tiger felt relaxed when the blood-stained deputy officer returned and reported the news to him.

That was because according to the deputy officer, they had encountered the Lightning God’s Whip.

The officer and three thousands of the army were killed. The remaining who managed to escape were less than eight hundred. Even their two sorcerers were killed.

Although they lost a few thousand soldiers and two sorcerers, Tiger was not concerned... At the very least, the Lightning God’s Whip was still there and had not disappeared to somewhere else.

Tiger repeatedly and carefully asked the deputy officer about the clothing, armors, and equipment of the enemy and their combat effectiveness. Those questions were unnecessary but the answers made Tiger feel reassured. When Tiger looked at the frightened blood-stained deputy officer in front of him, he felt convinced. The only group that could cause the Roland army to end up in such a pitiful state was the Lightning God’s Whip.

The actual number of Lightning God’s Whip headed by Oliseh was definitely less than two thousand. However, the deputy officer exaggerated that there were two thousand of the Lightning God’s Whip to evade responsibility.

In addition to that, the news Tiger received the night before further reduced his doubts.

The night before, one of the thousands of small troops that he had dispatched also encountered an attack. According to the report by those who returned, they were attacked by the Lightning God’s Whip. Three or four thousand of the Lightning God’s Whip ambushed them in the Southwest region.

In two consecutive nights, the Southeast and the Southwest had traces of the Lightning God’s Whip. Could it be that the Lightning God’s Whip is still in the vicinity?

Tiger sighed. What is the Duke of Tulip Family doing? His powerful army is not fighting directly on the battlefield but instead divided into small groups to scout around. Were they specifically sent to fight his search groups?

"Or..." Tiger’s eyes lit up.

Or...Could it be that the Empire is short of supplies? The Duke of Tulip Family was worried that the small troops that he dispatched, might attack the transport team of the Empire. So, he sent the Lightning God’s Whip to escort the supply team?

Tiger laughed as he thought about that. It was ridiculous.

He then remembered that two nights ago, the deputy officer had mentioned that he personally witnessed the Lightning God’s Whip escorting the supply team.

Perhaps, what his opponent transported was not ordinary supplies but some powerful weapons!

With so many doubts, Tiger sighed and walked out of the tent. The evening breeze made his already confused mind clearer. He looked at the defensive line of the Radiant Empire and muttered, "What is the Duke of the Tulip Family doing?"

What is His Excellency the Duke doing? Nobody knew. That was something even Sieg was not sure.

In fact, Sieg was currently stationed at the Pamir Plain, far behind the Roland army.

Sieg and one-half of the Wolf Fang had already set off two days ago. Their destination was Thunder City.

The twenty thousand Wolf Fangs were not wearing the standard armor of the Lightning God’s Whip. They were wearing the armors of the Roland knights and holding the cross-swords of the Roland soldiers. More importantly, they were not wearing the ordinary armors of the Roland knights. The special colors of the armors and the black cloaks on their backs indicated their identity... as the supreme Holy Knights of the Temple of the Roland Continent. As for Sieg, he was wearing the actual standard armor of a Senior Knight of the Holy Knight Regiment of the Roland Continent.

The truth was, Sieg was also a little bit puzzled. He was puzzled by His Excellency the Duke, who had been acting strangely recently.

In fact, ever since fighting the Holy Knights at the Pamir Plain, His Excellency the Duke had rarely appeared after returning to the camp.

Sieg and Milo had been speculating whether His Excellency the Duke have been injured.

After fighting for so many days against the Paladin and on so many occasions against the Senior Knights, it would be unusual if His Excellency the Duke had no injuries. Even if he did not have any external injuries, then what about internal injuries?

Others might not know how powerful a Paladin really was. However, Sieg knew. At Thunder City, Sieg had fought Paladin Fielding when that Paladin climbed the city wall. Frankly speaking, Sieg had never doubted his own strength, until then. In fact, Sieg was about to reach the level of a Grade 5 swordsman. However, when he was confronted by the Paladin, he only managed to defend three strikes. The three strikes almost killed him. Besides that, Sieg could also tell that the Paladin had not used his full strength. If His Excellency the Duke had not appeared in time to assist him, he would have died in Thunder City.

Is His Excellency the Duke really injured? Even if he is, shouldn’t he at least tell me? Even if he was afraid that the news might affect the soldier’s morale, shouldn’t he at least tell a few senior commanders?

His Excellency the Duke had been acting strangely in the barracks a few days ago. His dozen bodyguards stood watch all the time, outside his tent. Besides that, His Excellency the Duke had also given orders that without his permission nobody, including Sieg, was allowed to enter the tent.

Sieg had some doubts. He felt unfamiliar with the dozen bodyguards of His Excellency the Duke, even though some of them were originally members of the Wolf Fang. Sieg certainly could recognize them. However, when he looked at their familiar faces, he had a strange feeling. Those people had changed too much. Although he did not test them out personally, he knew that they were much stronger than before. A warrior’s intuition was very accurate.

There were also a few other recruits that Sieg did not recognize. That was not surprising because he was the Duke of the Tulip Family. It was normal for the Duke of the Tulip Family to have a few special guards around him. At each generation, the Duke of the Tulip Family would bring along a few personal guards from their family. One of those examples was Randt. Randt was originally a guard for the Duke’s mansion, but now he was also a soldier in the Lightning God’s Whip.

A silhouette emerged in Sieg mind.

Yes, that blue-haired boy.

What is the name of that blue-haired boy? Ah, it is Rody. I do not know that boy. He seems to have been dispatched from the mansion of the Duke of Tulip Family. It is normal if I do not know him. After all, there are tens of thousands of soldiers, it is impossible for me to have seen all of them, before. It is also not a big deal if the Duke of the Tulip Family has a few special guards around... But... But, why does that boy give me a strange feeling?

More importantly, His Excellency the Duke only occasionally appeared once a day and spent the rest of his time in the tent. Even if there were anything, he would pass messages through his bodyguards... most of the time, they would pass through this boy, Rody.

There was also his sword. It was obvious that this was His Excellency the Duke’s weapon. However, this boy was holding it. Did His Excellency the Duke give it to him?

Who was this boy? He did not look like he had even reached twenty years old. Was he a relative of the Tulip Family?

Meanwhile, Rody was at a place that was about four hours away from where Sieg was. He had more than twenty thousand cavalrymen behind him. They were also wearing the armors of the Holy Knights. Their destination was also Thunder City.

Kraft looked at the blue-haired boy and thought to himself.

Kraft was thirty-five years old that year. He was an old soldier of the Lightning God’s Whip. However, because of his bad temper, he had always only held the post of a Deputy Commander. The entire army of the Empire knew that the post of a Deputy Commander was just for show. The real power was no better than that of a Captain.

It was after His Excellency the Duke of the Tulip Family had reorganized the Lightning God’s Whip that Kraft had a better opportunity of promotion. By virtue of his own strength, he was promoted to commander. Kraft was a very proud man. When he was with the original Lightning God’s Whip, he already did not think highly of those noble officers. He had never followed their bad ways. Besides his arrogance, the other reason was Kraft was not a noble.

Because of that, Kraft had always looked at the nobles with disdain. Naturally, the great Duke of the Tulip Family was an exception.

However, Kraft did not like the blue-haired boy beside him. This kid must have joined the Lightning God’s Whip using his influence. How else could such a young man become the deputy captain of the guards of His Excellency the Duke?

It was a known fact that it was extremely glorious to become the bodyguard of His Excellency the Duke. Many captains of cavalries were willing to be demoted from their positions as captains if they could become the bodyguard of His Excellency the Duke. Kraft was certain that the young boy must have somehow used his influence to become the bodyguard of His Excellency the Duke.

Otherwise, why would he be the bodyguard of His Excellency the Duke but dare not transfer himself to a vanguard group such as the Wolf Fang or other cavalry teams?

He is so young. He doesn’t seem to be very capable.

However, whether it was Sieg, who was tens of miles away, or Kraft, they were both mindful of their current orders of launching sneak attacks.

They could still clearly remember the time before their departure when His Excellency the Duke had summoned them at the camp.

The Duke’s face looked a bit pale, causing others to believe the rumors that His Excellency the Duke might be injured.

Fortunately, His Excellency the Duke still seemed to be spirited.

That night, the large tent was heavily guarded by the bodyguards of His Excellency the Duke. Nobody was allowed to get close. Only Sieg, Milo, and Kraft were allowed to enter.

Originally, Kraft’s rank was too low and he was not eligible to participate in that confidential military meeting. Milo was the Regiment Commander of the Northern Legion while Sieg was the Deputy Commander of the Lightning God’s Whip. Along with the great Duke himself, the three of them could be considered the three big figures of the war.

That was why Kraft felt very nervous when he attended the secret meeting. He was a large man standing there unsure of what to do.

In the middle of the big tent was a sand table which vaguely showed the current war situation. It showed both armies were facing each other on the Pamir Plateau. There was a red flag inserted into the sand of the war table symbolizing the Radiant Empire. Next to it was a black flag which naturally represented the Roland army.

His Excellency the Duke then inserted two small red flags into the sand plate, at two spots on the other side of the black flag, as he spoke calmly.

"There are two roads that lead to Thunder City. The first road is the main road. When we retreated and when the Roland army moved south, we used this road. The other road is a small road. Although this road is not an easy road to use, it is good enough for a small army to pass through. Your target is Thunder City.

Sieg and Milo looked calm as they already knew the plan. On the other hand, Kraft was extremely surprised. Although he hesitated for a moment, he still said, "Your Excellency the Duke, both Sieg and me only have twenty thousand soldiers each. Can we really win back Thunder City? I heard that the Roland army have hundreds of thousands of soldiers garrisoned at Thunder City. Also... we are sneaking pass from both sides of Pamir Plain, time wise..."

At that time, His Excellency the Duke had a very firm expression. He lightly looked at Kraft and said, "Commander Kraft, I know that it is a long journey. You all will bypass their barracks from two sides and ride quickly to Thunder City. You must travel day and night. Even the Lightning God’s Whip would need about three days of fast riding to reach there. But I must ask you... No, I order you to reach Thunder City in three days."

His Excellency the Duke looked at Kraft and said in a low voice, "When we were in Thunder City, I had the Wolf Fang secretly dig a tunnel for ten days in the south of the city. The tunnel is not too deep nor too wide as there was not enough time, but it is enough to allow one to two thousand soldiers to secretly enter the city. I will give you my bodyguards. My bodyguards will know the way through the tunnel into the city. After that, you will strive to open the gates from inside... And then... Don’t tell me that my forty-thousand strong Lightning God’s Whip is unable to defeat a hundred thousand disorderly mob."

Kraft immediately stood up straight and shouted, "Your Excellency the Duke, if we cannot recapture Thunder City, I, Kraft, will die there and not come back!"

Kraft wiped the sweat off his face as he felt the wind blow. He looked at Rody, the blue-haired boy beside him and sighed as he thought to himself. His Excellency the Duke said his bodyguards will lead the way. Is this Rody really so powerful? Hmph... Judging by his age, he would be considered good, if he were only half as strong as Randt. Sigh, why did His Excellency the Duke not send Randt, but this boy, instead?

Kraft did not know that at that time Randt was in the Radiant Empire’s main camp in the Pamir Plain.

The camp was surrounded by a team of more than ten bodyguards. Among them was an excited Oliseh. He had just been transferred to the Lightning God’s Whip and he had already been selected to join the Duke’s bodyguards. Perhaps the bodyguards he met that night had inadvertently told His Excellency the Duke about his heroic acts...

He looked around at his few new comrades and his excitement turned into a strange feeling. He had met these two men that night. They looked lifeless and had a cold icy expression. They would not speak a word unless they were talked to. Even when they spoke, their tone sounded as if their parents had just died. Their occasional gaze made people turn cold. They were like monsters.

However, Randt was having more difficulties than Oliseh.

Randt was ordered to stay in the tent, wearing the Duke’s armor, clothes, and helmet. He was ordered to impersonate His Excellency the Duke. Although this order was strange, Randt was loyal to the Duke and did not question him. Since His Excellency the Duke had given the orders, he would just do it. As per His Excellency the Duke’s orders, he did not need to think and plan. He only needed to act as instructed. Even if His Excellency the Duke had ordered him to charge into hundreds of thousands of the Roland army alone, he would do it without batting an eye.

The only thing that Randt felt uncomfortable with was that the orders given by His Excellency the Duke were not so simple... Before leaving, he had instructed Randt on three things:

If someone wanted to see the Duke, say "No!"

If someone reported an enemy attack, say "Defend!"

If there were any more questions, tell them to "Go and ask His Excellency Milo."

Another reason Randt felt depressed was that His Excellency the Duke did not mention exactly how long he needed to stay in that tent with nothing to do. His Excellency the Duke merely told him that he was not allowed to leave the tent, regardless how long. He was also not allowed to speak. He just had to sit and wait until he returned.

Randt did not know Rody’s simple reason for choosing him. The reason was Randt had been with him the longest and understood his mannerisms best. More importantly, Randt’s rough voice had the dignity of a military general. In addition to that, Rody’s voice and Randt’s voice sounded similar, when spoken across the tent.

The two divisions of Wolf Fang quickly advanced towards Thunder City. Sieg’s journey was particularly dangerous. That was because Tiger had cautiously stationed a lot of soldiers on the road behind him as they traveled south to prevent the Empire’s troops from cutting off their escape route.

Sieg actually came across some soldiers who tried to stop his advance, but he handled the situation efficiently.

From a distance, when they saw the Roland army blocking them on the main road, the Wolf Fangs without saying a word, just rushed forward. No matter how the opponent asked or shouted, they continued to advance forward.

When the Roland army saw that the oncoming troops in front were wearing the Roland army’s uniforms ... the important point was that from a distance those looked like the armors of the Holy Knights. Even the banner was the Holy Knight’s banner — the pattern, the color, and designs clearly proved that this was the genuine Third Cavalry Regiment of the Holy Knights. There could not be any mistake here... The Roland officer in charge could not have made a mistake about the famous Holy Knight’s banner. Moreover, they were also marching according to the standard formation of the Holy Knights — two knights holding their banners up high paving the way, the one following from behind in the middle must be the Regiment’s Senior Knight, forming an inverted triangle... all those were correct...

What the Roland army did not know was that the Empire had already acquired the information about the Holy Knights such as the different armors for different ranks, the meaning of the pattern inscribed on the banner and even their formations. That information was obtained from the captured knight, Gerta. Rody’s method of interrogation was very effective.

After a week of not being allowed to sleep, Gerta’s Holy Knight spirit finally collapsed. When he confessed, he had almost become a mad man and could not even form complete sentences. His eyes were red and he was pale like a vampire. If his hands were not tied, he would have pulled out his hair in a crazed state. He spoke incoherently with a face full of tears and snot.

No one had expected for a brave and determined man like him to end up like that after that strange interrogation method.

Finally, the tortured and almost crazy man cried as he begged them to let him sleep. That was because every time he closed his eyes and was about to doze off, all sorts of strange methods would be used to keep him awake. Although the soldiers of the Empire did not physically harm him, the lack of sleep made his head feel like bursting. Perhaps, it was an illusion, but he felt like his head was a large balloon.

Finally, that man had a nervous breakdown. He then answered all the questions the interrogating officer of the Empire asked, before falling asleep and he no longer woke up.

With the information provided by the knight, Rody gave the order and fake Holy Knight armors that looked almost like the real thing were made. The reason why they were only ’almost’ like the real armors was because there was not enough time. All the armors were simply modified from the armors of the Lightning God’s Whip. If the color was wrong, it was painted over. If the shape was not right, the armor was given to the craftsman to be modified. Even the banners were made according to the banners of the Holy Knights.

These had become a nightmare for the Roland troops guarding the north-bound road.

If a group of soldiers was called from afar and no response was given, the commanding officers of the Roland troops would have already ordered the archers to shoot arrows. However, the army they were facing then were the troops of the Holy Knights... the Holy Knights of the Temple. It would not be an issue to offend soldiers from any of the kingdoms but they could not afford to do so against the Holy Knights. It would be a serious crime even the King could not afford.

Besides that, the Holy Knights were well known for their arrogance on the Roland continent. Not answering the inquiries of others had perhaps become their arrogant habit.

When the opponent finally arrived in front of the Roland troops, and when they were near enough, then only did they notice that something was wrong. The armors were nondescript and the color also looked a bit weird. However, by that time, it was already too late.

There was no army that could withstand the direct assault of the Lightning God’s Whip. Besides that, the opponent was already so close and had already crossed the most effective shooting range of the archers.

Sieg’s approach was simple. Rush forward without stopping. Charge through the soldiers who blocked the way and after that advance forward, without giving a chance to fight back.

Three days later, they had arrived at the southern part of Thunder City. Like lightning, Sieg led his soldiers to break through the enemy’s last line of defense... The officer of the Roland army had waited until they were less than one hundred paces away before he reacted and ordered to shoot the arrows.

...

Sieg looked at the surrounding corpses and the defeated soldiers. He then coldly ordered to leave behind five thousand soldiers.

Sieg did not immediately hurry off. Instead, he got down from his horse and stood in front of the five thousand soldiers. He stayed silent for a moment before speaking. His voice sounded hoarse and soft as a result of a few days of traveling. "Comrades, I want to tell you that I leave you here because I want you to tightly hold this position. I am also not afraid to tell that those left behind here would most likely die! This is why I must tell you that this is not an ordinary task. If you are to remain here, you must be prepared to die!"

Nobody spoke or averted their eyes.

Sieg gritted his teeth and continued, "Very soon, a huge Roland army will arrive. Your task is to guard this place! His Excellency the Duke had given the order to guard this place for at least one day! One full day and not even a minute less than a day. If the time is not up, nobody is allowed to retreat even if you were the last man alive!" Sieg’s gloomy eyes slowly swept across the soldiers and shouted, "If you are afraid of death, please stand out! I can forgive those who fear death, but if you cannot fulfill the Duke’s orders, I suggest you get lost!"

Nobody hesitated and none of them trembled in fear. The five thousand men stayed in place, neatly drew their scimitars and raised them pointing towards the sky. After that, they shouted in unison, "Wolf Fang!"

1. The Pamir Plains here was described as the Pamir Plateau in the previous chapter. In any case, the translated text, whether ’plains’ or ’plateau’, followed the author’s actual words.