Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 199

Quickblade (2)Dallas Ozley had begun to use the abilities of his battle gear in earnest, but even so, the tide of the battle was not changing significantly.

“Must be lonely fighting alone?”

Dallas Ozley stood alone, while his enemies were two. Until just moments ago, Dallas Ozley had never even considered that Irena could become his opponent.

But now, he had no choice but to acknowledge Irena Kellogg as an enemy as well.

‘This is astonishing.’

Kairus felt the same sense of admiration. Irena’s movements were gradually changing.

Her predictions were becoming more and more precise. It wasn’t that she had become better at reading Kairus’s movements.

Slowly, little by little,

Irena was beginning to vaguely predict Dallas Ozley’s next move as well. The longer the fight continued, the more accurate her predictions would become.

“Now.”

The sword strikes of Dallas Ozley and Kairus collided, and the two were pushed backward. Irena, who had been standing where Kairus was forced back, supported his back.

It was only possible because she had anticipated the recoil after the clash. Thanks to that, Kairus was able to regain his stance far more quickly than Dallas.

“You’re good at support.”

“Of course.”

Irena’s movements in assisting Kairus were nothing short of astonishing. It hadn’t been a day or two since she had watched Kairus fight. Prediction was based on experience, and Irena had an abundance of experience observing Kairus’s movements.

Every one of his movements was etched into Irena’s memory. No matter how fast Kairus moved, Irena always found what she needed to do.

‘This is comfortable.’

Kairus felt at ease, and naturally, Dallas—who was facing him—felt just as much discomfort as Kairus felt comfort.

“A lowly apprentice knight who can do nothing on her own.”

Hearing Dallas’s mutter, Irena laughed.

“Do you go into battle alone? If you call yourself a one-man army, you’re getting completely crushed by us.”

The provocation was highly effective. Dallas Ozley wanted to charge at her immediately and pierce hundreds of holes through her body.

But the problem was that Kairus would never allow that.

‘She’s more helpful than I expected. In this fight, I might have to leave the effective strikes to Irena.’

Kairus would block, and Irena would find an opening to thrust her sword.

That was the best way to deal with Dallas Ozley. Kairus was the shield, and Irena was the sword.

There was no need to say it out loud.

By predicting Kairus’s movements, Irena immediately understood her newly assigned role.

“That just now…”

The soldiers and knights did not even dare to interfere.

Though the movements were too fast to follow properly, there was something they could still see.

“The Captain’s injuries have increased again.”

Dallas Ozley could not allow even a grazing blow. The Azure Order of Knights had always been that kind of knight order—selfish in battle, evading or blocking every attack from the enemy while driving their own strikes home.

But Dallas was not in that state now. His wounds were shallow, yet they continued to accumulate.

In contrast, the pair—a man and a woman—appeared largely unscathed. The onlookers could not perceive the intricate exchanges that shaped the flow of the battle, but there was one thing they could clearly see…

Dallas Ozley, Captain of the Quickblade Knights, was being pushed back. Two against one? That offered no comfort.

“You will die here. And I intend to cut off your head and send it to the rebels.”

The Imperial Army relied entirely on the knight orders, and the knight orders placed their trust in their captains.

The severed head of a knight captain—nothing could shake the order and plunge the Imperial Army into panic more effectively.

“Absurd!”

Dallas dismissed it as nonsense, yet every moment that followed moved to turn that nonsense into reality.

Countless forms surged out of the water, only to shatter upon colliding with Kairus, who charged forward with the roar of a turbine.

Beyond the collapsing forms, Dallas swiftly maneuvered his estoc, and dozens of afterimages blocked Kairus’s path.

“One more strike.”

Dallas succeeded in stopping Kairus. But the price was a cut from Irena’s blade.

‘More than before…’

The trace left by the grazing blade had deepened. What had once been no more than a scratch like one made on paper was now becoming something that had to be called a proper wound.

From a scratch to a wound, and from a wound… to a fatal injury.

It was not difficult for Dallas to imagine reaching that point. Death was steadily drawing closer.

How much time was left to him?

“Kh… Ah!”

The reprieve was shorter than he had expected. There was no need for Irena to deliver the fatal blow herself.

The blade of stained glass swept past the back of Dallas’s left ankle. A fairly deep wound had claimed a place that should never have been injured.

“Farewell.”

Leaving behind a satisfying wound, Irena offered her parting words and withdrew swiftly.

Kairus approached. Until moments ago, Dallas had managed to evade him—but no longer. Without the use of his leg, there was no way to dodge.

Even blocking would shatter his balance.

The invincible strategy—evading all enemy attacks while landing every one of his own—had lost its meaning.

“Ah.”

Death approached. Dallas’s gaze turned toward Irena, and his arm moved instinctively.

Then came the sound of collision.

Fragments of the broken estoc struck the ground.

His head rolled across the floor, while the body—bereft of it—stood vacantly in place,

as if denying its own death. Kairus flicked the severed head upward with the tip of his foot and then grasped the pomaded hair.

“What are you looking at?”

Kairus’s gaze turned toward the knights and Imperial soldiers, who stood frozen in shock.

“Make sure you remember your captain’s last words. He said, ‘Ah.’”

They could carve it onto his tombstone. It was a single remark, absurdly short.

“Damn it. Useless to the very end.”

Knowing full well that he could not stop it anyway, Dallas had deliberately brought his estoc into the Veil of Plumed Mist.

If it had remained intact, it was obvious that Irena would have ended up using that estoc.

Rather than letting it fall into her hands, he had chosen to destroy it entirely.

‘They’ll probably all pull the same stunt.’

There was no such thing as an unbreakable piece of battle gear. Some were simply harder to destroy. Of course, even if it shattered like that, it could be repaired as long as the output component remained intact.

But in the midst of a rebellion, waiting for battle gear to be repaired was out of the question. Still, it was better to take it along.

Kairus collected the broken estoc and then looked at Irena.

“Get into the bag.”

At his words, Irena let out a small groan and trudged toward the soldiers.

“Y-You…!”

“Move. Want to die?”

The soldier who had tried to speak fell silent and stepped back. At the same time, everyone else retreated as well.

It felt like they should do something, yet none of them had the courage to act. Everyone present shared the same sentiment.

After checking the large bag here and there, Irena brushed off the dust with a few pats.

“Let’s go now.”

Standing beside Kairus, Irena climbed into the bag, leaving the knights and soldiers staring in bewilderment.

Their task here was finished. The Captain of the Azure Order of Knights had died suddenly, and his battle gear had fallen into Kairus’s hands.

‘If this is restored…’

Battle gear could be considered the symbol of a knight captain. Once their mission succeeded, whoever received this battle gear would become the new Captain of the Azure Order of Knights.

In other words, it was both battle gear and a warrant of appointment. In the hands of the rebels, it would hold immense value.

“What will we do now?”

“We’ll deliver the head, then rest for a while and locate the other knight captains.”

With those words, Kairus began to fly, while Irena endured the flight, trembling from the cold.

“You did well. You were a great help.”

Irena certainly deserved such praise.

“I’m still suffering, you know? Don’t talk to me. It’s cold.”

Kairus had offered his compliment with genuine consideration, but Irena was not in any state of mind to be grateful for it.

It was completely understandable.

Their flight soon came to an end.

“A campsite, huh? Looks like camping has become your hobby in your old age.”

After landing, Kairus immediately came face to face with Simid Kellogg. Life at the campsite was harsh, and Simid Kellogg appeared quite exhausted.

“This way, we won’t be attacked.”

The territory of Valorn was vast. With the administration paralyzed, it was extraordinarily difficult to locate people camped somewhere within this immense land.

In fact, the situation was worsened by the lack of proper central control.

‘They won’t move without orders.’

Terrorist attacks had erupted simultaneously across multiple locations. In such circumstances, to preserve one’s position and life, one could not leave the area assigned to them.

Move troops to search for the rebels’ base? Without orders from above?

Would that be seen as an attempt to locate the rebel headquarters—or as an attempt to join them?

“As expected, the Imperial Army and the knight orders aren’t moving. It seems I was right.”

“Good for you.”

Kairus brushed off Simid’s remark and presented the shattered estoc along with Dallas Ozley’s severed head.

“This is… You truly accomplished it.”

“Your daughter worked hard. She’s exceptional—so much so that it’s hard to believe she’s of the Kellogg bloodline.”

At Kairus’s words, Simid let out a hearty chuckle.

“That pleases me to hear. Will you rest for a while?”

After checking the time, Kairus spoke to Irena.

“Wash up and get some sleep.”

Irena had endured the cold so severe that her entire body had nearly frozen stiff despite the warmth of spring.

She nodded silently and, guided by others, headed toward one of the tents.

“And what do you intend to do?”

In response to Simid’s question, Kairus replied,

“If there’s any side work, assign it to me.”

It was a clear expression of his willingness to cooperate actively. Simid nodded.

“Before that, there is something we must discuss. The Emperor and the ministers accompanying him have evacuated to the underground beneath the Imperial Palace.”

“Underground.”

It had reportedly been prepared over a long period in anticipation of such a contingency and reinforced numerous times.

Among those underground facilities, there was only a single entrance leading to the place where the Emperor resided.

It was forged by melting down a single block of alloy more than three meters thick.

“Then the Guardian of the Nation is guarding it?”

“Most likely.”

After a brief moment of thought, Kairus spoke.

“If we are not planning to overturn the political system, the Emperor must be killed.”

Occupying the Imperial Capital was one thing, but ultimately, everything would end only when the Emperor died.

Installing a new emperor arbitrarily would be meaningless. As long as another emperor remained alive, the chaos would never truly end.

There was a difference between placing a suitable royal family member on the throne and allowing someone outside the royal lineage to become emperor.

‘Someone who isn’t even royalty wants to become emperor? Fine, then I’ll give it a try too!’

People with such ambitions would continue to emerge recklessly for at least ten to fifteen years. That was not the outcome Simid Kellogg desired.

“We must kill the Emperor and obtain the jade seal.”

“And the new emperor?”

“He is already prepared.”

Though he spoke as if referring to an object, in truth, they were treating the person with the utmost respect.

He was unquestionably of imperial blood, leaving no room to dispute his legitimacy.

“Why did the Emperor spare him?”

It was a natural question. A man who had become emperor leaving alive a potential replacement for himself.

There were few such merciful emperors in history, and the current Emperor Philip IV was certainly not one of them.

It was only natural to wonder why he was still alive.