Soul of Searing Steel

Joshua knew what an Aragami looked like.

Well, he was too focused on clearing new dungeons in his previous life in the game. So he did not really pay much attention to the information about the Divine Armaments and the Aragami. However, those were merely mainstream topics being discussed among the players. So even when he did not intentionally go and look or even listen to it, he was still informed about it by the people around him.

The appearance of an Aragami was one of the information he heard about. The unique yet strange appearance was absolutely different from the appearance of the other monsters in Continental War. The artwork of it was unique and memorable. So after seeing it once, there was no way anyone would forget about it soon.

The monstrosity that was sketched on the letter was not the same Arigami that he saw in the game forum previously. However, there was no doubt that the appearance of the monster was the same as the Aragami. Furthermore, the description in Vale Dani Scarlet’s letter indicated that Combat Aura and magic were ineffective against them. Only physical attacks could effectively hurt them. Upon death, they turned into black dust…

The conclusion was undoubtedly obvious. There were Aragami mixed among the beast horde that attacked Moldova.

“How is that possible…”

Ignoring Ying’s surprised expression and the puzzled faces of Zorgen and the two men beside him, Joshua continued reading the letter word by word. His eyebrows furrowed more intensely as he continued reading the letter. The side of his mouth twitched a little, “Aragami? Appearing in Moldova?”

That should be something that was not possible. That was because all of the pathways that were connected to the contaminated realm were located in Moldavia. Not to mention that all of them were sealed tight. So where did all those monsters come from?

The warrior did not mind if Zorgen and the others would know something out of the few words he said out loud. Truth be told, across the entire northern land, he and Ying might be the only ones who knew about the information about the narrow passages that were sealed and the Aragami. Only the two of them could understand the meaning of the appearance of the Aragami.

That being said, after hundreds of years later, Chaos had once again invaded the world. The tentacles of darkness have once again reached out into this world.

There were three narrow passages in Moldavia. Two were located in the main city where they were cast with the sealing circle to suppress them by the Empire’s mages. Another one was the family graveyard that was located right in the middle of the fortress of the Dark Forest. That narrow passage was locked with the power of Order of the historical owners of the house.

Although there was no previous owner of the family to teach by example, however, according to the message in the altar, there were still many old books that could only be read by the owner of the house. Joshua did know many things about it. A faint smile slowly emerged on his face, “It seemed that there must be a new passage that appeared deep inside the Dark Forest. There’s no way to confirm the location of it momentarily… Interesting.”

As for why Vale Dani Scarlet did not know anything about Aragami, it was easy to be explained.

Although the Scarlet family was the descendants of one of the four heroes that entered the outer realm and sealed the dimension, they had chosen to give up that responsibility many years after the occurrence. Meanwhile, in order to rid of the existence of the evil gods’ messages, the owner of the mansion of the Scarlet family had destroyed all of the information that was related to dimensions and the records of the monsters’ background that was in their family.

To give up would mean totally forget about it. That was also one of the choices available.

As his knowledge about the messages had increased, the things that Joshua had doubts with his previous life were explained—the ten players who succeeded in forming a pact with a Divine Armament would disappear without revealing any information about it behind. It wasn’t because they tried to hide their power level on purpose or trying to keep the story to themselves. They were just obeying the terms they agreed on back then, promising not to reveal any information about the Evil Gods.

“It seems that I’m not going to be free at all.”

Upon letting go a long breath, the new Chaos Guardian shook his head and said, “I was still worried just now. I was worried that where I can get some Chaos monsters to slay. Now, there are so many of them.”

Although it was not a morally right thing to do, the warrior was still very much looking forward to slaying the Gold-tier Aragami in Moldova to complete his Class quest. That should increase some levels in defending against the tide of monsters that were about to come.

“My lord, what is happening at Moldova now?”

Although he could not understand the words that Joshua said, Zorgen could still understand that this letter that came from the Scarlet family was an urgent letter to ask for aid and support. So he asked, “Do you intend to lend them a hand?”

“Yes. Moldova is just like us. Now, their fortress is under siege of the Dark Tide… no matter how many years our friendship had lasted, we need to go and lend them our aids. That’s also for our own good.”

Keeping the letters in his hands aside, the black-haired warrior stood up and said, “The daemons that surround their fortress are much more abundant than the horde that attempted to invade us. According to the fact that the surroundings of our side have no signs of any living things around, I can assume that all daemons across the volcano of Mount Great Ajax are moving towards their direction as we speak.”

“If we don’t take the opportunity where the daemons are gathered in one spot now and annihilate them all when the monsters become scattered everywhere, the remaining three territories including ourselves would suffer great losses in the future. It will become just a matter of time before they invade us. By then, none of us will escape the ill fate that lies beyond getting surrounded by the monsters.”

The existence of fortresses was to attract the attention of the monsters in order to prevent them from scattering all over the place. That could also prevent them from attacking all of the other manors and towns that had weaker defenses.

Meanwhile, in Moldova, there were at least a hundred thousand, or even two hundred thousand daemons besieging the fortress. That explained perfectly why even the powerful advanced rank Gold Tier warriors could not fend off the horde. Even Joshua was not confident to say that he could fend off that kind of powerful horde. If the Scarlets really lose their post, the daemons would lose their targets as well and scattered across the land attacking anything they come across. It would be a calamity for everyone in the entire northern land.

Upon resting his thoughts there, Joshua could not help but feel strange, “Theoretically speaking, their Communication system should not be the same as ours. Shouldn’t they be shielded from the Chaos power? How could we receive their distress message then?”

However, he found a logical explanation for that, “That’s right, Vale Dani is a Gold-tier mage. She’ll definitely be able to solve any problems that involves magic.”

Although they were both Goldt ier, regardless of how experience he currently was, the warrior could only disperse the mist by brute force. He could only forcefully discharge the interference caused by the magic with indirect methods. On the other hand, a Gold-tier mage would definitely have other means to undo this kind of interference. That would be the difference between having different capabilities in different directions.

Upon making his decision in his heart, Joshua looked at the three men and nodded. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. With my habit, it could have been long after today before I notice these letters… Anything else? Since we’re all here now, spit it out and we can solve it now. We better not delay the course to give aid to Moldova. We need to prepare as soon as possible.”

“…”

Zorgen, Chiri, and Feng looked at each another in silence for one brief moment. The three of them seemed decided about something. After that, the golden-haired knight took a step forward and look into the eyes of their liege. Then he lowered his head and said, “Maybe this is a little hasty, but we’re here today not because we wanted to pass the letters to you, my liege. The letters were just out of convenience…”

Before he could finish his word, the three of them went down on one knee. They put their left hand on their chest and right hand down touching the ground. Then they spoke together, “We did not get the chance to do this because we were too occupied attending the things in the fortress. But now, we’ve made sure everything is on track. So today is the day where we pledge our allegiance to you.”

Bending on one knee with their left hand across the chest, and right hand that held the weapon touching the ground. That was the gesture to pledge allegiance to their liege for over thousands of years in Continental War.

Facing the sudden pledge of allegiance from his men, Joshua felt a little surprised.

However, he did not falter. The black-haired warrior only frowned a little in front of the three men. Then he spoke, “I thought you have pledged your allegiance to me long ago… Could it be that you’ve not been approved of me as your new Count of Moldavia, the heir to my family?”

“No, my liege.”

The half-elf warrior took off his helmet, revealing his shoulder length green hair and rune-filled face. He spoke solemnly, “Maybe Zorgen and Feng do not really know you, but I’m different. As your martial arts trainer when you were young, I’ve seen your true qualities.”

Upon saying that, Chiri lifted his head and looked into Joshua’s eyes. “It was most probably because of your father’s passing. You’ve abandoned your attitude and kindness, turning yourself into a firm and intimidating man. However, regardless of everything, you’ve always been the heir that will rule this land, the only count that I swear allegiance to. It would be my honor to serve you.”

“That’s right. However, regardless of that, we’ve been knights that served Count Beirut Radcliffe. We were not yet the knights who’ll serve Joshua van Radcliffe.”

Feng was the one who said that. As a mage who was not that young anymore, he had quite a strong body. The white robe could not conceal the toned muscles of his body. The explosive power and wit were apparent in this old man despite his calm demeanor. He spoke in a casual tone, “The family of my family is not my family. That sentence has been passed down for many years. Same goes here—as your father’s servants, we are not your servants.”

“Since your father has passed away, you’ll be our new Count.”

Upon concluding up, Zorgen’s face was still looking very pale. However, his voice was powerful and loud. “Since that is the case now, we must officially swear our allegiance to you.”

After saying that, the three of them pulled their swords and staff from their waist. They placed their right hand on the surface of the ground while they clenched their left fist and put them right in front of their chest. Then they spoke with the same tone, “So, from now on forth, in the name of the blood and fire of the northern wind, the Count of Moldavia, the person with the emblem that holds the sword, please accept the allegiance and respect of your fathers’ knights.”

“Proving with our lives and honor, we shall become your blades and scepters. We shall carry your will across the land and annihilate your enemies.”

Their voices echoed across the narrow conference room. Joshua looked at the three in silence. It seemed that he was thinking about something.

It was really unexpected at all. It was a sudden occurrence, an official ceremony of swearing their allegiance to him.

Without any hesitation, the black-haired warrior with red eyes stepped forward and accepted the weapons in their hands. Then he returned the weapons to them. Meanwhile, the three of them put their weapons back on their waist with care after receiving them from Joshua.

To receive the sword and give the sword was the most traditional ritual of all for the knights that serve the family.

Upon completing the ritual, the black-haired warrior spoke seriously, “I shall accept this oath… Zorgen Colclough, Chiri Uranus, Feng Lawrence. From this moment forth, you shall be my sword and shield. You shall secure my glory. On the other hand, I shall become your liege and your protector. I shall bear pride to have you serve me.”

“Rise.”

Upon hearing that, the three of them immediately stood up.

Meanwhile, Joshua who was standing before them turned around and shook his head. He spoke frankly, “Even though that is the case, I’m not a suitable candidate for you to serve… you need to know, I’m not good in attending the affairs over the territories. I have no capability in handling finances as well. I can’t even promise you that we’re going to get richer in the future.”

Upon saying that, he laughed all of a sudden, “However, as your liege the person you serve, I can at least make one promise to you all.”

“I can lead you towards victory.”

In the previous life, the legendary warrior had experienced countless battles without any losses. He had his Glory as the proof of that.

“I shall lead you into battle, we shall win, again and again.”

“My liege…” Upon hearing the words, the golden-haired knight could not help to grin a little. Then he started laughing a little as if he was infected by Joshua’s excitement. Meanwhile, the half-elf warrior and the white-haired mage were also affected and both of them laughed together. “That’d be enough.”

For the knights, that would be enough.