ALL NOVEL Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Cleanup Time (2)
The two days passed quickly.
Sara Meinert steadied her breathing.
Her entire body trembled with tension, but her resolve remained firm.
Ever since she began dreaming of freedom, she had lived solely for this day.
She was determined to put an end to this hellish life once and for all.
“It’s time.”
“Yes. Please, take care of our comrades and the citizens, Sien.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s not just me, but the White Dragon Knights are here too.”
“I trust you.”
After replying, Sara boldly stepped forward, with Sien accompanying her.
Twenty-two members of the “Cry for Freedom” followed closely behind them.
They marched confidently along the main road, heading straight for the gates of Fratel City.
“Who are you?!”
“Stop where you are!”
As the large group approached, the guards naturally grew wary, although it was pointless.
“Take a nap for now.”
Thud!
Using Spatial Movement, Sien swiftly appeared behind the guards, striking the nape of their necks with precise force, just enough to knock them out.
They immediately collapsed to the ground.
Killing them would have been easy, but this time, Sien chose not to.
‘What the Cry for Freedom wants is a peaceful protest.’
Sien respected their wishes.
Thanks to her, Sara and the organization’s members were able to enter the city, soon reaching the residential area of the lower-class citizens.
Sara then shouted loudly, pouring her heart into her cry:
“To everyone who wishes to correct this unjust reality! Come outside now! Join us!”
No matter what happened from this point onward, there was no turning back.
The weight of that realization pressed down on Sara, but she continued to speak, undeterred.
“Did you know? The constitution of the Altaria Empire states that commoners are people, just like the nobility! And that’s not all. Nobles are duty-bound to obey their superiors and protect their subordinates!”
“The first head of the Adalbert family emphasized that the citizens of a territory are the key to its rule, especially those in industrial areas, where the people’s health might suffer due to the work!”
“But what about the Brightner family? They treat us like animals, exploiting us and tyrannizing over us! They’ve violated both the Altaria Empire’s constitution and the Adalbert family’s founding principles! That’s why we need to show them that we’re not animals or slaves!”
Her voice, infused with mana, reverberated far and wide.
It was powerful enough to shake the surroundings and draw people’s attention.
“There are the rebels!”
“The lord has ordered that the rebels be executed!”
Guards shouted as they charged forward.
Leading them was the captain of Fratel’s second security unit, Jeff Rietrich.
But they couldn’t get close to Sara or the members of her group.
Boom!
A blue aura blade slashed down in front of Jeff Rietrich, blocking his path.
Moments later, a man landed on the ground and pointed his sword at them.
“This is as far as you go.”
The man wore a white uniform, his dark blue hair and bright blue eyes strikingly memorable.
Jeff immediately recognized who he was, his face paling.
“F-Fritz Khan?! Why is the vice-captain of the White Dragon Knights here?!”
The vice-captain of the White Dragon Knights.
Everyone present knew what that meant.
In the northern part of the Empire, the White Dragon Knights were legendary.
Their fame wasn’t just due to their long history with the Adalbert family.
The White Dragon Knights, as the Adalbert family’s sword, had led countless enemies to ruin.
They were infamous for their brutal exploits, said to have piled up enough corpses to form a mountain and spilled enough blood to fill a river.
Their overwhelming might had earned them the symbol of destruction.
“The White Dragon Knights! The White Dragon Knights are here!”
“The young master of the Adalbert family is with us!”
The members of the Cry for Freedom shouted in unison.
As soon as those words were spoken, ten knights in white uniforms landed one after another.
Though it was only the vice-captain and a single squad, the White Dragon Knights had officially joined the cause.
“I can’t live like this anymore!”
“Bring your husbands and sons!”
“We’re not animals! We’re human!”
At the news that the Adalbert family was supporting them, more people began to pour out of their homes.
Most of them were women or the elderly, none carrying weapons.
But their eyes burned with fierce determination, so much so that Jeff and the guards flinched.
Riding this momentum, Sara continued to shout as they moved forward.
“The Brightner family secretly runs drug plantations and has distributed those drugs, addicting our families! Jurgen von Brightner has no right to be a lord!”
“Don’t be afraid any longer! The will of the Adalbert family is with us! If you want to live as human beings, if you want to change this situation, join us!”
The mention of drug addiction ignited the citizens’ rage.
As the protestors advanced, more people joined them.
Like an unstoppable wave, they surged toward the city hall, determined to make their will known.
At this point, no one could stop this tide.
* * *
The protest itself wasn’t the problem.
The issue was the identity of the one supporting them.
“To think the intruder yesterday was Martin Adalbert…”
Jurgen von Brightner was truly taken aback.
After all, the intruder yesterday had skillfully used wind-related abilities.
Even though Spatial Domination was known to be all-powerful and could interfere with other elements, it shouldn’t have been effective against a 7th-circle master.
Thus, he had assumed the intruder was a wind-type user.
But that wasn’t all.
Even as a mage, Jurgen had to admit that the opponent had displayed excellent martial arts skills.
In contrast, Martin was known to have weaker physical abilities than a typical knight, even now that he had reached the 7th circle.
Because of that, Jurgen hadn’t even considered him a suspect.
However, the involvement of the White Dragon Knights made it clear that his assumptions had been wrong.
“He must already know about the drug plantation.”
“He may have already taken control of it.”
The Dark King’s response made Jurgen’s face harden as he nodded.
After losing the map, he had dispatched most of the family’s forces to the mine.
He had also kept in constant contact with his cousin, who was the manager there.
Each time, his cousin had reported that there were no problems.
Because the cousin was a 5th-circle master, Jurgen hadn’t doubted him much—but that had been a fatal mistake.
“So, what will you do? Will you fight Martin Adalbert?”
“……”
Jurgen couldn’t answer right away.
He wasn’t afraid of the White Dragon Knights.
Even with the vice-captain present, there were only eleven of them.
Though the Brightner family’s forces were spread thin due to the emergency alert, it would be easy to deal with them, especially if he joined the fight.
But Martin was the problem.
Valdemar von Rustal was the weakest head among the Adalbert branch families, but even so, he was a renowned figure across the entire Empire.
And Martin had single-handedly defeated Valdemar.
“Can you defeat Martin Adalbert?”
“I promise to fight with all my strength. I must protect the drug plantation for my own purposes. But I can’t guarantee victory. I’m an assassin—head-on battles aren’t my specialty.”
“Can your subordinates still not move?”
“If they act, the King of Medicine will be alerted. That won’t be good for you either. It might be better to request reinforcements from the Gustin family. After all the money they’ve taken, they can’t turn their backs on us.”
“If we hadn’t been running a drug plantation, that might’ve been possible.”
The alliance between the Brightner and Gustin families was simple.
Jurgen’s sister had married Mateus Gustin’s younger brother.
The strong blood ties had been the foundation of their relationship, but in this instance, it was meaningless.
Mateus knew nothing about the drug plantation.
“If Mateus finds out, he’ll abandon us immediately. That’s the kind of person he is.”
“Then we have no choice but to fight on our own. I’ll hold off Martin Adalbert as best I can, so you take down Fritz Khan and come help me.”
“Alright.”
Jurgen sighed quietly.
It was true that Mateus Gustin wanted to replace the Adalbert family, but Jurgen had never imagined he’d face Martin alone like this.
But the situation had already progressed too far.
With everything at stake, retreating was not an option.
‘I just have to kill him. Then Mateus von Gustin will take care of the rest.’
Having reached a conclusion, Jurgen extended his right hand.
A staff hanging on the wall flew into his grip.
Immediately, he raised the staff, and a blue flash erupted from it.
A path of ice stretched out from the city hall, and Jurgen began walking along it.
The Dark King slipped into the shadows beside him.
“……”
The protestors who had reached city hall fell silent.
They couldn’t speak due to the oppressive aura radiating from Jurgen.
If not for Fritz Khan holding him off, many of them would have collapsed from the pressure.
“Isn’t it customary to notify a noble before visiting their territory? Even if you’re from the main family, barging in like this is beyond rude, Fritz Khan.”
“There’s no need for formalities when dealing with a criminal. Jurgen von Brightner, I am here to arrest you on
charges of drug cultivation and distribution.”
Fritz Khan declared calmly.
Exploiting and oppressing the citizens was also a crime, but it wasn’t enough to execute him immediately.
So he led with the most damning charge.
This alone was enough to sentence Jurgen to death.
“And where is the evidence that I committed this crime? If you plan to arrest me, shouldn’t you at least present some proof?”
“Don’t worry about that. We already have it.”
As soon as Fritz Khan finished speaking,
Whirr.
The space around them distorted.
From the rift, a young man with black hair stepped out—Martin.
“We greet the young master!”
“We greet the young master!”
At once, Fritz Khan knelt on his right knee, greeting Martin.
The rest of the knights followed suit, bowing in the same manner.
Martin smiled faintly at them.
Then, from within his robes, he pulled out a Claudel flower and a silk pouch.
Swoosh.
He opened the pouch and turned it upside down, letting fine white powder spill to the ground.
“This should be sufficient evidence, right? If you still don’t believe me, I can bring your cousin here. I haven’t killed him yet, just in case this would happen.”
Gnash.
Jurgen ground his teeth in rage at Martin’s words.
“No matter what you do, it changes nothing, Jurgen von Brightner. You’re already finished. And that goes for you as well, Dark King.”
Martin’s gaze shifted toward Jurgen’s shadow.
In response, the Dark King emerged from the darkness.
All the trash had come out.
Now it was time for the cleanup.
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