I Became the First Prince: Legend of Sword's Song

Chapter 316

Chasing the star that shines alone on a dark night (5)

“We must retreat.”

I was dazed by Agnes’ words.

[What are you talking about? What are you going to do?]

She remained silent at my words.

[Did you already forget how many people have died to get here? If you retreat now, who knows how much more blood will be shed.]

“Still, we have to.”

[Think about it again. This is our chance to completely drive out the Gigantes from this area. Opportunities like this don’t come easily.]

I tried to persuade her several times.

Occupying the fortress right in front of us would be the most effective way to reduce damage to our troops, and the only way to end this war as quickly as possible.

But Agnes did not change her decision.

“I will tell the army to return.”

[Ann!]

At her firm voice which did not carry an ounce of hesitation, I ended up shouting.

It was impossible to pull back now.

So many people had died on the way to this place.

This was the enemy’s fortress that we had only reached by stepping on our spilled blood and over our corpses.

Agnes had also suffered countless wounds and came close to death many times.

It was an opportunity that we were barely able to seize after so much sacrifice.

But now she wanted to retreat.

Everything would be lost.

[Wasn’t your goal to end the war as quickly as possible and change this damn world? But you’re going to run back now? When the Gigantes’ stronghold is right in front of you?]

She wasn’t convinced, so I kept persuading her.

[Then what will happen to those who had laid down their lives!?]

“Gruhorn.”

Agnes called me quietly.

“I know you cared about them as much as I did.”

[Who would care about those guys who didn’t even realize how precious their lives were!]

“You cherished them, didn’t you? That’s why you’re so angry now. You’re afraid that the blood they shed will become meaningless, and that they will have died a dog’s death. Isn’t that why you’re angry?”

I got so angered I was going to shout again when she called me back.

“I don’t want that either.”

My anger subsided as I heard her speak softly, as if she was admonishing me.

“But that doesn’t mean we can let them trample our fortress where only the children and elderly have been left behind.”

[Think carefully. You are no longer a country girl who doesn’t understand anything. You are the commander in charge of the eastern front. Numerous soldiers deployed to the front lines are waiting for you and your army to bring back news of victory.]

“It is as you said. Gruhorn. I have an obligation to end this war quickly.”

She held me tightly.

“Not as livestock, and not as slaves. I also earnestly hope for the day when people will be able to live like human beings.”

Her hand, which was gripping me tightly, trembled slightly.

I could finally feel her emotions as she tried to suppress her anger.

Her earnest wish for the war to end as quickly as possible touched me.

“But it’s not my role to create that world.”

Her voice was firmer than ever.

“That is something I cannot do.”

Even as she spoke of her own inadequacy, her voice did not waver.

“I have accumulated so much karma. I’ve surrendered myself to the madness of battle so many times. Right now, the fire of hatred continues to burn within me.”

The fresh-faced country girl no longer existed.

“The same goes for all the soldiers and knights on the front lines.”

There was only a knight who had been drenched in copious amounts of blood, with scars on every inch of her exposed skin.

“It’s obvious what would happen if we try to create a new world.”

A world led by soldiers who would settle things with swords at the first mistake.

A world overflowing with people consumed by the madness of war.

A twisted world created by twisted people.

“It would be a very ◼-like world.”

Agnes giggled softly, saying it was terrifying to even imagine.

“So the ones to create a new world must be those with pure souls who have not been distorted by the madness and hatred of war.”

The children of the next generation.

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“The untwisted world they create will be the new world I have always longed to see.”

Children were the most important thing to protect in this war.

“They are our future and our hope.”

Her gaze went somewhere far behind the front lines.

“If we fail to protect them, it is no different from losing our future.”

And then turned back to me again.

[What will Ann do after the war?]

“I think I might travel around to see the new world with you.”

[By which you mean all our hard work will have been worth it.]

I grumbled a little while looking at her smiling brightly.

But I had already given up on persuading her.

[It won’t be easy. The Gigantes won’t just sit back and watch us retreat. And it will be even more difficult to come here next time.]

“When has it ever been easy?”

As always, I had no choice but to follow whatever she wanted.

[Send a messenger first. If we have enough forces, they can buy us time until we get back.]

Agnes stared at me.

[And pick out some quicker ones to have them check on the Gigantes that have infiltrated the rear… Why are you looking at me like that? That expression is really annoying.]

When I said that because her smiling face was making me feel bad, Agnes’ smile became even brighter.

So we would have turned back just before reaching the fortress that was the Gigantes’ stronghold.

“The Iron Blooded Legion only needs to advance.”

If it weren’t for someone who had come to stop us then, that definitely would have happened.

“We will deal with the Gigantes that have infiltrated the rear.”

He was a young knight of the Allied Forces who had joined together to attack the base of the Gigantes.

“If you take charge of the rear, I will attack the fortress tomorrow. I guarantee that those of you who leave the front lines will never have the chance to return and face the Giant King.”

The knight remained unshaken by Agnes’ warning which was not a warning.

“Would we have been able to get this far without the Iron Blooded Legion?”

Agnes, who seemed to like his honest response, also spoke honestly.

“If you stay on the battlefield and fight, you might be able to weave a few more useful lines of heroic poetry, or maybe even obtain a line from a myth. You really won’t regret it?”

“what value would there be in lyrics that ignore the ones who should be protected?”

She laughed aloud for the first time in a long while after he asked if children were not the most important beings in a world like this.

“Your words truly make my heart glad. But I’m sure your father thinks differently.”

For the first time, a look of embarrassment appeared on the knight’s previously unwavering face.

“I’m sure my father will understand.”

“Your father? Do you really think so?”

The knight slowly turned his gaze away.

He left in the evening, leading the legions and knight orders that followed him to support our citadel in the rear.

And just as we were destroying the Gigantes’ stronghold, we heard that they had also succeeded in repelling the Gigantes’ suicide squad that had infiltrated past our front lines.

There was also news that he had decided to stay and restabilize the base instead of returning to the front.

“How could such an upright child come from such a dark-hearted parent?”

Agnes smiled happily upon hearing the news, though she was very puzzled.

She even praised him, saying that he might even be the one to create a new world of her dreams together with the next generation.

It was closer to an expectation.

Unfortunately, her expectations were not met, and we had not heard anything about the knight since.

But Agnes and I never forgot the young knight’s name and kept it engraved in our hearts.

His name was.

* * *

『This is the land that I, Roland, protect.』

The moment I heard that name coming out of the third princep’s mouth, I was at a loss.

That was the name of the knight who had left all of his glory and retreated on our behalf that day, a name that we could not forget even if we tried.

『Your sun will never rise here.』

The knight spoke to me with the same calm demeanor as before.

As if the great war which had ended a long time ago was still continuing here.

It was similar to the Royal Knights, including the three Eus brothers, who had appeared before me in the same form as before, even after 400 years.

But it wasn’t the same.

What the three Eus brothers and the Royal Knights were looking for was something that had already ended, but had once existed.

『Go back. Adrian Leonberger, traitor of humanity. With the Gigantes you brought with you.』

But Roland’s eyes were chasing an illusion that did not exist.

The Royal Knights had unfulfilled missions and regrets.

But he didn’t even have that.

Roland was just a vestige of the past.

There was no reason for him to still remain in this world.

The only thing he and the Death Knights had in common was that they were both made to wander the boundary between life and death by someone.

And that someone was probably.

“Fucking Burgundy.”

It was definitely the emperor.

Roland raised his eyebrow as he saw me grinding my teeth.

『Do not speak of that name lightly!』

From his body, I could feel the flow of mana that was unique to the knights of old.

It was the power and momentum of at least a heroic rank knight.

I felt a little happy at the old-fashioned aura which was fundamentally different from those of the knights in this era.

“You did it in the end.”

Roland’s accomplishment of unselfishly turning around right before the path to glory was not insignificant. I could confirm that even now.

“Poor Roland.”

It was even more regrettable because of that.

The man who cared for the powerless more than anyone else had driven countless people to their deaths without even realizing it.

“Your end was too unfortunate.”

It was such a pity that a shining soul had become nothing more than a ghost attached to the body of a worthless person.

『My end will not be so shabby to be pitied by someone like you, nor will I face it now.』

It was all over. His time had passed, and there was no one left to remember the lyrics he had spent his life writing.

He was the only one who didn’t know that fact.

There was only one thing I could do for Roland.

“The war is over.”

Declaring that his time had passed.

“With a flick of my sword, blood flows like a river, flesh enriches the land.”

By reciting a line of a song from an era that had already ended.

I was sure that his soul which could not rest would face complete annihilation.

“I will renew this land with the blood and flesh of giants.”

I raised my sword.

The brilliant golden aura soared to the ends of the sky.

「Foundation」

Roland raised his sword, his lips quivering slightly.

「I will become one of the countless stars shining in the night sky.」

「I will shine for the ones in this world who shall seek me.」

At that moment, the slash that had toppled the Giant King fell towards Roland.

* * *

『Ah…』

Roland looked at me blankly.

From below his shoulders, his two arms had disappeared without a trace.

Roland blankly looked down at his severed arms and asked me.

『Why did you change the direction of your swing?』

I answered honestly.

“Because of your poem.”

After hearing that poem, I couldn’t swing my sword.

『Tsk. I don’t understand how you could turn your back on humanity with such a weak mind. No, is it because your mind was weak?』

Roland clicked his tongue.

『I have never seen a poem like that. It must be a line from a myth.』

I nodded quietly in response to his question.

『But I like the second line more than the first. Can you tell me its name?』

“Poem of Requiem.”

『Poem of Requiem. A truly wonderful sight.』

Roland nodded, then turned his gaze back to the severed arms.

Hwararak.

He watched the flames of requiem burning in the wounds for a long time.

『I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s unlikely that someone with such poetry would turn his back on humanity for personal gain. I hope your sword will once again point in the right direction.』

His voice quieted.

His soul, which had not even become a vengeful spirit, must have slowly begun to burn in the flames of requiem.

Even in the face of the fear and pain of extinction, he remained steadfast.

『Can you do me a favor?』

“If you have something to say then I will listen.”

『Do not harm those who do not have the strength to fight.』

In his final moments, there was only one answer I could give to the poor knight who was still wandering between illusion and reality.

“I will not touch a single hair on their bodies.”

It was a single sentence that no longer held any meaning.

『May humanity have a bright tomorrow.』

Roland muttered with a satisfied expression and closed his eyes.

Psshhh.

I heard the sound of something scattering in my ears, like an auditory hallucination.

Perhaps it was the sound of a poor wandering soul ending its long aimless journey.

I didn’t know.

If the poem of requiem gave his soul peace rather than destruction, and if it did, whether there would be a place for his soul to rest after he had driven a countless number of innocent people to their deaths, even if it wasn’t his intention?

I just hoped it would.

“Rest in peace.”

May the soul that wished to remain just one of the infinite stars, not the splendid sun or the moon which illuminated the entire sky, finally find peace.

“The last knight of the House of Burgundy.”

He was not the one who should bear the weight of that karma.

“Roland de Burgundy.”

It should be the father who had toyed with and corrupted even the soul of his own child.

If it wasn’t, I would make it so.

As I was trying to soothe my bitter feelings.

“Kkagh!“

A scream pierced my ears.

“I-it hurts!”

The original owner of the body that was once taken by Roland had woken up and started screaming.

It was the third princeps, the soul vessel that the Emperor had created but was now broken.

“H-help me! I-It hurts so much!”

The bastard rolled around on the ground and screamed incessantly.

The flames of requiem were still burning in both his arms.

If things had gone as planned, the fire would have spread across his body and he would have died long ago.

However, he was not an ordinary human, but an apostle of the full moon.

The bastard’s two severed arms were repeatedly burning and regenerating.

It would take a considerable amount of time for the flames of requiem to completely reduce his body to ash.

And that would probably be enough time for him to reach the imperial capital.

Bam.

I grabbed the third princeps by the collar and pulled him up as he rolled around screaming that he was going to die.

“Ugh.”

I pulled his face close to mine, making him gasp for breath.

“Tell the emperor.”

So close that our breaths mingled.

“Whatever you have prepared, whatever you have left.”

The third princeps stopped struggling, even forgetting the pain under the pressure I exuded.

“I will definitely come to you.”

His eyes, cloudy and incomparable to Roland’s, were fixed on me.

“So just wait.”

Looking into those eyes, I spoke each word forcefully.

“For your final day that is approaching.”

“F-final day that is approaching…”

The third princeps vacantly repeated my words.

Thud.

I threw him to the floor.

The guy who had been uselessly rolling around on the ground got up and started running.

Down the plain, in the direction of the imperial capital.

I followed him.

The imperial capital was just around the corner.