I will be crowned king

Ten days later, the outer harbor of Red Hand Bay.

Joseph, holding his head in his hands, knelt down on the beach and looked at the three people surrounding him with slightly trembling eyes. The huge gap of escaping from death but failing in success made him still recall it many years later. From this unforgettable morning.

Yes, Joseph, who personally experienced the Battle of Red Hand Bay, survived - of course it was a fluke.

When the jihadi army fleet raided and blew up the outer harbor city walls and outposts, as well as the forward shooter soldiers, he really thought he was dead; fortunately, he happened to be in a blind spot in the coverage of artillery fire, and he was in the first place. Time hid in the crater left by a certain sixty-eight-pound solid bullet.

In addition to being bruised and swollen by the gravel and various broken limbs falling from the sky, and almost being buried alive, Joseph, the deputy commander of the shooting army and Fabian's uncle, finally escaped.

But this was not the end, because later the Judgment Knights and the Heart of Mercy airship also landed in the Red Hand Bay in a sea of ​​fire, and then the Vast Earth Crusade also sent tens of thousands of reinforcements, and then the Elf Queen Frei Ya shows off her power and turns the entire Red Hand Bay into a purgatory that can heat people to death...

According to legend, human consciousness has a special self-protection mechanism that can blur certain particularly painful memories or even delete them directly to avoid collapse due to excessive inner pain... Joseph survived based on this principle , I no longer remember how I survived the encirclement and suppression by the New World Legion and the Holy War Army.

Anyway, when he regained consciousness again, he was already outside the city of Red Hand Bay, with a messy battlefield nearby, a scorched town in the distance, and the setting sun on the horizon.

Joseph, who suddenly received the two gifts of "freedom" and "life" at the same time, was not dazzled by the surprise and ran away decisively. Instead, he chose to stay in Red Hand Bay temporarily, waiting for an opportunity to return to the old continent. .

The current situation has become obvious. Regardless of whether the new world can gain independence and freedom in the future, it will become a battlefield for all forces to compete. As a small fugitive member of the Faithless Knights and a black mage, it is better to stay away from this place as soon as possible. In a world of chaos and chaos, it is safer to run to a place where no one knows you.

Just as he was waiting patiently for several days, preparing to run away to Black Reef Port first, he learned the information about the end of the Holy War from a passing Hantu.

Joseph, who was more shocked than surprised, immediately realized that his chance to regain his freedom had come!

Since the war has just ended and both sides are still in the post-war finishing stage, Anson Bach definitely has no time to care about his own life and death, and the Jihad Army is also eager to leave this land of right and wrong, and it is impossible to target a small fugitive. On the body.

Not only that, because the war is over, the Jihadi fleet that originally blocked the coastline of the New World will immediately rush to various ports to prepare for its return; this means that as long as you can find a way to get a ship, you can go directly to sea and return to the Old World!

Joseph, who was ready to pay attention, immediately began to make preparations: first he had to find a ship that could go to sea, and then he had to have a team that could operate the ship, as well as the minimum goods and supplies.

Considering that he already had a certain reputation in the colony, if he was known to be alive, he would definitely not be able to escape Anson Bach's "claws", so he could only find ways to find a ship that was about to go to sea and join it in the name of "commercial cooperation".

As for why the other party needs his cooperation...well, he will let the other party know after he gets on the ship; whether it is toying with people's hearts or deceiving them, these are all areas that the black mage is good at.

after……

"...You guys should all know what happened next."

Joseph raised his head with difficulty and forced a smile to the people in front of him: "I swear, I swear to the Three Old Gods, I have really told everything I know, absolutely word for word!"

"I know."

Ian Clemens, who was holding his shoulders, looked down at the guy kneeling on the ground, and his understatement revealed a certain pleasure of revenge: "But that's not what we want to know, my dear Joseph."

"Then, what do you want to know?"

"You are in the Imperial Crusade...more precisely, you have a network within the Roland family with Bernard. It ensures that you will have a new identity and life as soon as you arrive at Port Adlan - that is, you can brag about it in the tavern. Those." Carno, expressionless, took over the topic and took half a step forward:

"Hand it over and we will let you leave alive, otherwise..."

"My lord, the Three Old Gods, you also said that I was bragging!"

Joseph collapsed instantly, with a sad face: "If I didn't say this and let others believe that I have connections in the Northern Chamber of Commerce and the Bernard family and can take care of it, why would others let me get on the ship without any money?!"

"But you were a member of the Faithless Knights before. The Faithless Knights were loyal to the Cressy family. The Cressy family...is a branch of the Bernard family."

Squinting his eyes slightly, Ian Clemens looked at the trembling Joseph: "From this perspective, it shouldn't be particularly unbelievable to think that you and the Bernard family are somewhat involved, right?"

"But, but you are also members of the Faithless Knights! Especially you, my respected leader!" Joseph was still extremely aggrieved:

"Even if I know something and have a small network of connections, how could you fellow knights not know about it? I really have no value to you at all!"

"Just because we are companions... Once upon a time, we realized that returning directly to the New World without a new identity would be tantamount to actively seeking death." Pulling back his hair at the temples, Sir Carno said coldly:

"Dare to go back alone, which is enough to prove that you have something that we don't understand, but that is enough for you to escape successfully; no matter what it is, we hope that you can take the initiative to take it out and share it with everyone."

"That's a very fair deal, my dear Joseph."

Ian Clemens took over the topic and continued to be tempting: "We have a ship, supplies and a permission to leave that Anson Bach personally promised; and you hold in your hands the ability to live safely and freely in the world of order without being hunted down. There are opportunities, we just take what we need.”

"Of course it doesn't matter if you don't want to give it, but we will hand you over to Anson Bach and tell him that you are not dead and are waiting for an opportunity to escape. With such a big gift coming to our door, I believe that the distinguished Commander-in-Chief of the Storm Legion will not be stingy. A little reward.”

With a slight sigh, Ian Clemens glanced at the Wild Hunt Knight Drake beside him. Sir Carno immediately took a half step back as if he had an instinctive reaction:

"But as for whether you are complete or not, I believe that the Commander-in-Chief will not care about such trivial matters with us... What do you think?"

"But I really have nothing to give you!" Joseph was almost desperate, his whole body shaking like chaff:

"Really! You don't have to believe me, but you still need to provide the minimum evidence, right? From the time we met until now, apart from the things I brag about, is there anything else that can make you believe that I have a way to fight with Bell? How can the Na family get online?!"

"enough!"

The impatient Wild Hunt Knight roared, stepped forward and grabbed Joseph by the collar, lifting him up like a broken sack: "Anyway, he won't say anything anyway, he is still here wasting his life." What words?!”

"According to what I want, just remove his hands and feet, blind his two eyes and give them to Anson Bach. Why continue to waste time with him here?"

"Wait!" Joseph, blushing, exclaimed:

"Why poke your blind eyes?!"

"Why...you are still asking questions knowingly."

As if sighing with emotion, Ian Clemens shook his head and sighed: "The black mage is best at reading minds, and blinding your eyes can at least limit your ability to release magic to a certain extent; within the Faithless Knights, This is the basic thing you should know when dealing with spellcasters."

"Of course, as former companions, we will try to be as gentle as possible when we start, and ensure that there is no pain in the process... Well, this may be a bit difficult to guarantee; but if you want to seek death out of despair afterwards, we will definitely do our best to stop it. Your!"

Ian Clemens's expression can be regarded as righteous, and every sentence is spoken from the heart and full of sincerity: "But if Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach really insists on taking away your name, please forgive us. Nothing can be done."

As he finished speaking, he glanced at the Wild Hunt Knight again. The latter understood it and pulled out a dagger from his waist like a magic trick.

The blade of the dagger is not long, but very slender, and the tip is slightly curved. In short, it is very suitable for pulling something round, soft, and medium-sized out of the embedded frame.

"Wait a moment!"

Just when the dagger was about to penetrate his eye socket, Joseph spoke again: "I, I confess, I confess everything, really!"

"very good!"

Ian pressed down Derek's right hand that was holding the dagger, but did not take the weapon back: "Say, we are all ears."

"I can confess, but, but you..." Joseph gritted his teeth and stared at the tip of the knife, which was only a few centimeters away from his eyes:

"But you promise that no one will know about this matter, and I mean no one!"

"Nonsense!" Derek still looked impatient: "How could we tell others about such a good thing?"

"Of course you won't, but you might tell your friends how to do it, and in that case we'd be all doomed." Joseph smiled bitterly:

"Everything I say is true. If you still don't believe it, just gouge out my eyes - temporary pain is always better than eternal life worse than death."

While speaking, Joseph's pupils shrank slightly, as if he suddenly saw himself falling into a tragic fate, and his body being pulled by the collar trembled unconsciously again.

"Drake, let him go."

The expressionless Sir Carno suddenly spoke, staring thoughtfully at the sails on the distant horizon: "This guy is of no use to us anymore."

Ian turned his head and glanced at him. As if he understood something, he released his hand that was blocking the dagger and took half a step back silently.

"Why?" The only Wild Hunt knight who still didn't understand was confused:

"Aren't we still going to ask what the secret is?"

"Then...it's no longer necessary." Carno shook his head gently, took a deep breath, and looked into the eyes of Joseph, who was still trembling:

"Your trump card is the Holy See of the Circle of Order - more accurately, it should be the monastic faction of the Holy See. Am I right?"

Joseph nodded with a wry smile, his eyes filled with despair: "Can you tell?"

"I didn't see it!" Drake looked flustered:

"What is going on? He is connected to the monastery of the Holy See, but shouldn't he be a member of the Faithless Knights?"

"Ah! Could it be that this guy is an spy placed by the Holy See within the Knights?!"

"That's not the case. To be precise, our great Lord Joseph should be a multi-faceted spy with no precise loyalties." Ian said slowly:

"During the time when you joined the Faithless Knights, you probably had no chance to get in touch with the Holy See, so it could only be what happened after the Knights disintegrated and you were absorbed by Anson Bach."

"If I guessed correctly, someone within the Storm Legion who was related to the Holy See came to him and bribed you to pass the information to the Holy See. And you seized this opportunity, and finally there was a little bit of help within the Holy See. Connections.”

"Not much, but if one day you are willing to help a certain Lord of the Holy See and let the other side show his favor, it can help you get rid of the status of a wanted criminal; after all, you cannot be considered a core member of the Knights, and there are no accomplices in the Old Continent. What sins have you committed? It’s just that you were dragged down by your status as a knight.”

"So this information can only be useful to you, and those of us who are burdened with blood debts will not be able to regain our freedom by relying on the connections you have accumulated, and it will even in turn implicate you."

"Exactly!" Joseph breathed a sigh of relief:

"You said everything right, so can you let me go..."

"cannot."

Ian Clemens smiled slightly and cut off Joseph's last hope of escape: "Now that we have such crucial information, wouldn't it be a pity if we don't make good use of it?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"The situation is like this, Sir Joseph, we actually concealed something from you." Ian explained with great regret:

"In short, in your eyes, we are all lonely ghosts after the disbandment of the Faithless Knights. We are fugitives who worry about being hunted down by the Holy See anytime and anywhere."

"But in fact, we have actually joined the Truth Society a few days ago; this time we returned to the Old World, hoping to find a suitable opportunity to find out the next step of the Holy See and the monastery."

"So...we can't let you go!"