Chapter 1006  Marshal Stormblade 

True to his word, none of the soldiers dared to stop them anymore. The fact that this person was escaping the city and not attacking it brought great relief to them. In fact, they were happy that the duo was leaving their city; thus, their stance changed.

"Should we pursue them, Sir Lanka?" a soldier asked the knight protecting the walls, who was still shaken by what he had witnessed. After recomposing himself, Knight Lanka shook his head.

"We are tasked with protecting the walls. This might be a trap and a distraction from an enemy attack. Reload the ballistae and increase security. We have to report this to the lord as soon as possible!"

As the knight was giving his orders, commotion rose as more soldiers flooded the walls. Sir Lanka looked down the walls to see another t.i.tled and esteemed knight leading his soldiers to give chase. Seeing who it was, the knight"s face lit up with joy.

"Sir Jonathan!" shouted Sir Lanka as he saluted the knight on the ground. The Knight of the Silver Rose was respected throughout the city of Xeloria as the most trusted knight by the lord. Jonathan raised his eyes to them and gave them a nod before their mounts rushed to pursue the fugitives.

"There is no further need to worry since Sir Jonathan is here," said the soldier from earlier, and Sir Lanka could not help but agree. The soldiers, still scared by the spectacle, rested their hopes on the platoon known as the Golden Division.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Ramiel reached the peripheries of the city after crossing the walls. Even when they pa.s.sed through the gate, no one could stop their attacks that bombarded the obstacles. In the end, they left the city.

"Jonathan should be pursuing us now," said Arthur as he looked back towards the panic-struck city. "I might have shown too much power there. Xeloria will be on guard for the next few days."

"You literally traumatized the Ballistae Division…" muttered Ramiel with a speechless face. Arthur pretended that he did not hear the half-demon and kept on sprinting forward. "How are we going to meet with Jonathan?"

"We agreed to reunite in the Northern Valley. Although the dragon might be there, it would be a good excuse for his failure in letting us escape. However, we still need to orchestrate a good scene for the fake battle."

"I don"t like your tone. You are about to do something crazy again, right?" asked the half-demon with resignation. "I said it before and will say it again: you are insane."

"Insanity is the inability to bend the world to follow your imagination," said Arthur with a smile. "I am the opposite of that. My ideas are always regarded as insane because they defy common sense, but they have never destroyed me."

"…I still don"t know whether you are arrogant or just confident," said Ramiel with a deadpan expression. "In any case, the tower is going to turn upside down with your arrival and actions."

An earthquake struck the entire region that day as a great battle took place between the mysterious intruder, the Knight of the Silver Rose, and the wanted half-demon. In the end, the two managed to escape the clutches of justice, and the knight returned empty-handed.

The city did not rest, but soldiers a.s.sured the citizens that the intruders were gravely injured and would not pose a threat at the current time. This allowed the citizens to sigh in relief, but it was a different matter within the castle of Xeloria.

"You allowed them… to escape?" asked the Lord of Xeloria, Marshal Stormblade. Although he was not looking towards the kneeling knight, instead choosing to look through a window, a celestial pressure descended on those present.

"I will take full responsibility. In our blind pursuit of them, we overlooked the grudge that the dragon held against us. It seems they spared him yesterday, earning his favor."

"Then, he is the same man that you met yesterday," said Lord Marshal with a deep gaze as he looked over his city. "I have the right to suspect your efforts in this matter, Knight of the Silver Rose. You came the day before telling me about the great man you met, and now he escapes our prison. How did he even break through the chains?"

"Other soldiers witnessed him tearing down the cuffs with leisure as soon as he wore them," said Sir Jonathan while staring at the ground. "Furthermore, my lord… a man who defeated the entire Ballistae Division is not one who can be chained."

"Indeed," said Lord Marshal with a sigh before turning away from the window and walking toward his desk. Then, he pulled the chair and sat with a tired face. "I cannot believe we are unlucky enough to face such a man at this time. War is coming, Jonathan."

"I know, my lord," said Jonathan as he lowered his head again. "I wanted this man to join us, but he refused. This led to his escape. I apologize for such a blunder."

"You were thinking about the well-being of our city," said Lord Marshal as he tapped his finger over the desk. "It puzzles me, however, why this man allowed us to arrest him and then broke free from the prison. I thought he wanted to meet me, but it seems he changed his mind."

"I asked him the same, but he said that no lord could govern him," said Jonathan with disappointment. "As I understood it, the man has no interest in becoming a lord. He just wants to pa.s.s the second floor and reach the third."

"…it seems he does not know the truth behind the second floor," said Lord Marshal with surprise. "I wonder how a man could be this clueless, yet this powerful?"

"Some rise faster than others in The Red Tower. I wonder how he grew to be this powerful on the first floor, though…" muttered Sir Jonathan before shaking his head. "This is not the most urgent matter. The other person who escaped is the half-demon, my lord." ????????.???

"Ramiel Pureheart…" muttered Lord Marshal as he gritted his teeth. "I once considered him my blade that would never rust. Inside the tower, a demon is the strongest weapon. I never thought he would turn against me."

"The incident with the Young Lady is still a mystery, and he refused to reveal the truth. Since he is the only demon we had, no one could execute him inside the tower," said Jonathan with a frown. "I failed you, my lord."

"We underestimated them," said Lord Marshal with an impatient face. "I care very little about the mysterious man, but the demon… I want him dead. You mentioned that another demon appeared in the northern valley."

"She refused to help me," said Sir Jonathan with a frown. "Her comrade is none other than the man I mentioned, the Ballistae Monster. The situation is quite complicated, so we have to tread carefully."

"It can be quite simple, pulling the right strings," said Lord Marshal with a mysterious smile that uneased the knight. He knew that his lord could be quite cunning when needed, although he lacked no strength to seize what he wants. "He might have fled, but his comrades are in Xeloria. I already have someone to monitor them."

"As expected of you, my lord," said Jonathan with awe on his face, but worry in his heart. Although it had been nothing but a day since

 they arrived, his lord seemed to have already learned about their presence. "Should I patrol the area around Xeloria in case the half-demon appears?"

"There is no need. I expect him to make a move against me given the chance, which would be the next war with the other cities. At that time, we are going to strike them down at once, crushing them in a single swoop. Raise your level and stats for the time being. I heard that there is a new powerful lord on the second floor. This war… will be interesting."

Sir Jonathan was then dismissed, and he left the castle alongside his troops. His face was hidden in his long hair, which helped him hide his confusion about what Marshal Stormblade was planning. However, as long as he doesn"t learn the truth, their plan would never be compromised.

After returning to his office, Jonathan issued several orders before returning to his residence. It was a large mansion inside Xeloria, a privilege that was quite rare on the second floor. However, for the knight himself, he felt embarra.s.sed to live like this while people suffered in the wilderness.

"You sure take care of yourself, Silver Rose," said the guest in his living room as soon as the knight walked in. It made him frown to be judged like this, but the man seemed to have seen greater mansions to be impressed by this one. "I wonder why mansions are needed when rooms are better within the tower?"

"Rooms can only be accessed by their owners, not the others. For example, I cannot have my maids in my room or other guests over. Furthermore, there is something called Dimensional Accommodation."