It was already early in the morning when Joshua and Estelle returned to the Guerrilla Association branch in Grancel. But at this time, the association was still brightly lit.
Ainan, Cruz, Kevin, Yanelas, Kurac, Karuna, and Agathe, who had just regained consciousness, all gathered together to discuss the events that happened in the royal capital.
"You are back, Joshua, Estelle. And these two?" Ainan saw that there were not only two quasi-guerrillas, but also two unfamiliar faces.
"Hey, Ainan. This is the first time we have met in reality. I am Tovar from Regram, and she is Sarah. We followed Mr. Cassius to Grancel." Tovar
He said hello to Ainan. Regram was geographically located in the southern part of the empire. In the past, there had been frequent contact between Tovar and Ainan from the capital branch of Liber, so Ainan was familiar with his voice.
"Mr. Cassius is with the Queen now. I am Sarah Barrenstein from the Heimdall branch. Please give me your advice." Sarah was not as familiar with them, so she still took the initiative to introduce herself.
"Zero Driver Torvald and Zidian's Sarah. Great, now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
Seeing that Yanilas was a little confused, Cruz explained to her that Sarah was an A-level person, while Torvald was actually a B-level person who refused the A-level promotion.
"You guys have come a long way from the empire, why don't you take a rest in the guest room first?" Ainan said to Torvald and Sarah.
"No need. Staying up late once is nothing for a guerrilla. You don't plan to sleep today, right? We'll wait here for Mr. Cassius to come back. Before that, let's exchange the information everyone knows."
Val was the first to speak, and seeing that the others had no objections, he began to explain what happened to him and Sarah following Cassius at the Haken Gate.
"General Morgan is under house arrest? The situation seems very serious. General Morgan is the supreme commander of the Royal Army. The following is the offender. Isn't that guy Richard trying to rebel?" Agathe can be said to be one of the people present.
He is the person who is most familiar with General Morgan. Although he had a grudge against him because of past events, when he saw him in trouble, he still couldn't help but ask questions.
"Huh? Even that stubborn old grandpa..." Estelle remembered the first time she met General Morgan in the Perth area.
"Before Mr. Cassius came back, the Royal Army had been controlled by Colonel Richard's Intelligence Department...The main officers were either attracted by Colonel Richard, or their personal freedom was restricted." Sarah changed her words, "But in
When we arrived at the Haken Gate, we had already rescued General Morgan with Mr. Cassius. Even the mastermind himself is now under the control of Mr. Cassius. As long as he is willing to cooperate, everything will go smoothly.
If so, things will be settled satisfactorily tomorrow."
"To capture the thief first, capture the king? As expected of Mr. Cassius. It seems that we have done something unnecessary." Kurac said with emotion.
"The above is what we know about the Intelligence Department of the Liberian Army. This matter has something to do with us, although it is just speculation... Have you heard of Second Lieutenant Lawrence?"
"That man, what happened to him?" Agathe asked.
Hearing this name, Joshua and Estil also pricked up their ears. Neither of them had told a few people that Levi was Joshua's brother, and they already recognized this information.
"In the case of the Imperial Guerrilla Association bombing that occurred in August, the Imperial Military Intelligence Agency and our Guerrilla Association have obtained conclusive evidence that it was the work of the Jesta Jaeger Regiment. And Second Lieutenant Lawrence, he used to be in the Jesta
The Chasseur Regiment holds the position of captain," Tovar said.
"It turns out there is still such a connection. But didn't Second Lieutenant Lawrence quit the Chasseur Regiment a year ago? He accepted Richard's recruitment and became a general in the Intelligence Department of the Libertarian Army." Agathe was also with Ayo.
People who have read the personnel files of the Ministry of Intelligence are not too surprised when they hear this news.
"It seems so. But judging from the tone of the captured Jaegers... when we were defeated, those Jaegers said that if Captain Lawrence hadn't been around, how could we have lost to the guerrillas like this?
In other words, I suspect Lorensberg. He did not really 'break away' from the Jesta Jäger Regiment but was 'performing a mission' and joined the Intelligence Ministry in order to achieve some personal purpose of his." Sarah
He took up Tovar's topic and spoke to everyone.
"Since there is no evidence, it's just your personal speculation. That person has already abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side." After finishing speaking, Agathe felt that something was wrong. The Intelligence Department was not the bright side in any way. He immediately continued, "Although the Intelligence Department is indeed
He did a lot of bad things. But those were all orders from Colonel Richard, right? As a subordinate, isn't it normal for you to obey orders?"
Sarah shook her head, "When we met Colonel Richard, he had already been knocked unconscious. According to Richard's testimony, it was Lawrence who did it. But according to Richard, it was Lawrence again.
Lawrence saved him. In addition, the testimony of the soldiers in the royal city also said that Lieutenant Lawrence repelled the attackers and saved them. It seemed that there was a hostile relationship between Lawrence and the attackers. The specific situation
We have to wait until Mr. Cassius comes back to know the more detailed situation. In fact, the reason why Mr. Cassius hurried back with only the two of us was not just this. What happened in the Royal City of Grancel a few hours ago
The attack is the main cause. The person who invaded the royal city can definitely be the body-eating snake."
Except for Ainan and Estil, who had already heard this name from Joshua, the other guerrillas in the royal capital branch all looked at a loss.
"The Body-Eating Snake is the name of the organization. Their leader is called the leader. It is an association that attempts to influence the whole world secretly. To be honest, even the headquarters of the Guerrilla Association has not grasped the truth about this organization. Considering that
Influence on society, we have not disclosed the fact that this organization exists. Only A-level guerrillas can submit applications to access relevant information. However, they do exist and are taking actions to achieve a certain purpose. Just like this time in the Royal City
The attack is the same." Sarah actually did not investigate it herself, but relayed the information she heard from Cassius. When Sarah interrogated the Jasta soldiers of the Jesta Chassis Regiment who were captured by the guerrillas,
, they all expressed that they did not know the bald muscular man who seriously injured her. She felt that the other person was probably also a member of the association.
"Then, let me also tell you about the information that Father Kevin and I discovered together." Cruz said, "We just went to the historical archives to investigate Professor Yalua. When we went there, Yalua
The professor has already completed the procedures for leaving the library, and it is said that he left Grancel after the martial arts conference this afternoon. Although I learned from the director and other library staff that they had arranged a place to stay for Professor Yalua
, but when we entered it, we found that the bed had not been used for several days.”
"This is no longer suspicious. What about the other one?" Agathe was naturally referring to Ling, who was often with Professor Yalua.
"Dr. Astley has not gone through the departure procedures. Although her bed is very clean, there are signs of frequent use. It is said that she was invited to stay at the Imperial Embassy overnight. Soldier Campbell and the Embassy
Mulla, the military attache stationed abroad, could provide her with proof of identity. However, the embassy was heavily guarded and we were unable to enter the embassy to find out."
Cruz's words made Joshua relax. Estelle also held his hand at this moment, making him relax a little.
"If the purpose of Second Lieutenant Lawrence entering the Intelligence Department and the purpose of the Body-Eating Snake are both to obtain the thing called the Ring of Glory hidden underground, then it is not impossible that the two sides will conflict, right?" Yani
Lasi said in a tentative tone.
"It is true that this possibility cannot be ruled out, but the enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend." Karuna said.
The guerrillas all expressed their opinions, and after half an hour of discussion, no results came out of the discussion. Joshua and Estelle just listened quietly and did not speak. Everyone just thought that they were quite tired and did not speak.
Go ask them what they think.
When things were making little progress, a middle-aged man with brown hair walked into the Guerrilla Association. He was not the only one, but there was also a silver-haired female guerrilla behind her.
"Dad...and Sister Sheila? Aren't you in Lorente? When did you come to the capital?" Estelle was the first to ask.
"I came yesterday because I specifically asked Mr. Ainan to keep it a secret for me." After Sherazade finished speaking to Estil, he nodded to Ainan.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting. It took a while to process the end of the matter."
"It's okay, Mr. Cassius, you came just in time. So the matter in Grancel City is over?"
Ainan gave up the main seat, and Cassius sat down at the main seat at the conference table.
"Well. Let me tell you everything together. First of all, the first piece of information is that Her Majesty the Queen has decided to make Princess Clodia the Crown Princess. The ceremony will be held on the Queen's birthday next week. We will guerrilla
The Scholars Association must do a good job in relevant cooperation."
Everyone originally thought that what Cassius said first was about the Intelligence Department or about the attackers in the royal city, but they didn't expect that the first thing he said was this.
"I am not in a position to reveal the specific details. But this matter is actually the Intelligence Department cooperating with Her Majesty the Queen. In addition, the wanted order for the Royal Guards has been withdrawn. The previous attack on the central workshop was carried out by other terrorists.
.For the unjust injustice suffered by the Royal Guards, the Royal Army will make compensation to them."
The highest command of the Royal Army belongs to the Queen, and the Intelligence Department, Cavalry, Naval Forces and Airship Forces are all responsible to the Queen. The Royal Guards are part of the establishment directly under the Queen, and are also part of the Royal Army to be precise.
"Wait a minute...the ones who attacked the central workshop were obviously those guys in black clothes..." Estelle still had a hard time accepting this vague statement.
"In fact, I was the one who entrusted Cruz to seize the black guide device Gospel held by the Intelligence Department. Although it may not be accurate to say that it has been returned to its original owner... Estelle, things are not as they appear on the surface.
Simple. Although the role played by the Intelligence Department in this incident was not glorious, they also showed their loyalty in the battle to guard the royal city. In order to avoid greater chaos, let us each take a step back.
I’m struggling with this kind of thing.”
"Are we just going to let them go? They've obviously done so many bad things!"
"I will not deny their mistakes just because they are also victims. There will be punishment within the Royal Army. This matter happened to be mentioned here. I decided to resign from my position in the Guerrilla Association in a few days and return it to the official
Guerrilla Badge. I plan to accept Her Majesty the Queen's invitation to return to the Royal Army and take over the title of Commander-in-Chief from General Morgan. This matter will also be announced at the Queen's birthday celebration."
Cassius suddenly dropped a bombshell, surprising everyone in the association.
"Before I take office, Richard will arrange for the Ministry of Intelligence to restore order in the kingdom. Since the Hundred Days War, the military discipline of the royal army has gradually begun to loosen. Especially among the officer class, abuse of power, corruption and bribery are also common. It is precisely
Therefore, I was taken advantage of. If this situation is regarded as a practical exercise of 'intelligence warfare', it will undoubtedly sound the alarm to the entire Royal Army. I will personally carry out the improvement of military discipline in the Royal Army.
Richard will cooperate with me and carry out the fight against corruption to the end."
After hearing Cassius "justifying" various previous actions of the Intelligence Department, the guerrillas showed subtle expressions on their faces.
"In other words, our association's involvement in this incident can only go so far, right?" Ainan said.
"Well, the rules of the Guerrilla Association are not to interfere in national affairs. For this reason, I have to leave the shackles of the association to show off my skills. I'm sorry, Ainan."
"No, our association has taken too much care of you, Mr. Cassius, over the years. Even if you are no longer a guerrilla, you will always be our friend." Ainan said seriously.
"Okay, that's the plan for the future. Let's talk about the third thing. Do you already have a basic understanding of the attacker's information?"
Everyone nodded.
"The Body-Eating Snake, they secretly sneaked into the royal capital, ostensibly to launch a terrorist attack, but in fact, they had an ulterior motive for coming here. According to what we know now, their purpose is to seize the legendary Ring of Radiance
.And judging from their calm retreat, they might have succeeded."
"So, our next task is to recover the lost property? It really looks like a task given to guerrillas." Ainan said.
"At the same time, we also need to investigate the information about the Body-Eating Snake. The first time I learned about the Body-Eating Snake was about four years ago, when many countries launched a joint operation to encircle and suppress a certain cult group. It is said that in Ereboni
The strongholds of the religious orders in the sub-empire were defeated by the association."
Hearing what Cassius said, Joshua frowned. He actually knew something about the cult group.
"Are they good people or bad people?" Estelle asked.
Cassius shook his head, "That's not the case. This is just gangsterism. The association takes action to achieve a certain purpose, just like the role it played in this incident. Although it seems that the association is attacking the special agents, but
Don't forget what they did was a true terrorist attack."
After Cassius finished explaining the mission arrangements, he then asked everyone to rest and recharge their batteries to prepare for future battles. Everyone left the Guerrilla Association one after another.
Then, he left Joshua and Estelle alone. He had already noticed that their expressions were a little unnatural.
After using his breath perception to confirm that everyone had left, Cassius nodded to Joshua, who also untied the white scarf wrapped around his left button, revealing a tattoo-like tattoo.
"Estil. I promised yesterday that I would tell you everything about my past. Well, there are some things I haven't told you, father, and they may be clues."
"Ah, at this time?"
"If you're not interested, Estelle, just go to bed first. In fact, I'm a little hesitant..."
"No, no, I didn't mean that. Don't drive me away." Estelle's face was a little red, which made Lao Ka see the good show.
Joshua adjusted his tone and began to describe his past to the two of them.
"I was born in the southern part of the empire, in a small village called Hamel between Testmen and Palm..." Joshua began to talk about the past with a nostalgic look on his face.
The village is not big, and because it is a mountain village, it is a bit isolated from the world. The people live a poor but warm life. There are very few children in the village. Ten years ago, before the Hundred Days War broke out, 6
Joshua, 3, John, 15, and Reinhardt, 16, are the only four non-adult children in Hamel Village.
"Karen is my biological sister, and Levi is her lover. We country people get married relatively early, and usually have children before they reach adulthood at the age of twenty. So, he is actually my brother-in-law, and I have always regarded him as my brother-in-law.
His brother came to see it. Levi's previous dream was to become a guerrilla. He said, 'The powerless people are suffering in this world, and as a person with power, it is natural to protect them.'
I have never forgotten those words to this day. I often held John in my arms and sat under the shade of a tree to watch him practice his sword. When I was young, I thought that this stable and happy time would last forever."
Just before the Hundred Days War, that happened.
Thieves armed with weapons from the Liberian Army surrounded the village and massacred the villagers. Under the leadership of Levi, Joshua and Karen escaped from the village. Levi went to intercept and diverted the pursuers, but Joshua
But in front of Ka Lian, the "thief" who had been waiting for a long time appeared.
"After I got the guided gun in the chaos, I immediately pressed the trigger. It was like a voice in my heart kept urging, it won't work without shooting, it won't work without shooting. Then, when I was six years old, I fired for the first time
Kill someone."
"Joshua...it was the bad guys who were wrong. If you didn't kill someone at that time, you would have been killed. You didn't do anything wrong!" Estelle defended Joshua.
"No, if I hadn't fired randomly, I probably wouldn't have attracted the attention of other people around me. I soon paid the price... Sister Kallen used her life to protect me from thieves."
Joshua shot again and avenged Kallen. However, when Levi rushed back, Kallen only breathed her last breath.
"What happened that night was not recorded. Only me, Levi and John escaped death, and the village of Hamel was destroyed. With this incident as the trigger, the Erebonia Empire and Liberia
A full-scale war broke out in the kingdom, and the Hamel attack was considered an act of aggression by Lieber. However, the truth is... some soldiers staged it themselves in order to provoke a war. Afterwards, we were found by the Imperial Army and sacrificed our lives.
After threatening us to shut up, we were released from the Imperial Army's containment facility. Even though the Hundred Days War was over, I still couldn't accept my sister's death and the destruction of my hometown. The Imperial Army's concealment and deception became
That was the last straw for me, when I finally collapsed."
In the year 1193 of the Qiyao calendar, Levi and Joshua, who had been imprisoned for several months, were finally released.
"...Joshua..."
"Levi took me everywhere to seek medical treatment in order to treat me. But everyone was extremely taboo about our identity as Hamel's orphans, and no one was willing to help us. Finally, he finally found his way to the Holy Saint in the old capital of Bai Ya.
In the church, I met Bishop Wiseman, the only one who was willing to lend a helping hand to me at that time. After leaving me with Bishop Wiseman for treatment, Levi found a 'job' and regularly sent Mira over.
Not only living expenses but also medical expenses. My condition gradually improved, and I learned martial arts and other techniques under the guidance of Levi and Wiseman. Levi was not as sad as before. But just two years after I received treatment, St.
One day, the Great Cathedral of Tyak was suddenly surrounded by the knights of the Star Cup Knights. Bishop Wiseman and I broke out together. I still don’t know what happened at that time before Bishop Wiseman was expelled.
After leaving the church, Bishop Wiseman, who had nowhere to go, took me with him to Levi's workplace, the Body-Eating Snake."
In the year 1195 of the Qiyao Calendar, Wiseman and Joshua joined the association.
"The association is a newly established organization. There are two types of cadres: apostles and executors. When I joined, there were only four cadres called executors. The Clown Flame Sword Emperor Golden Butterfly. Levi was the executor no.
2's Sword Emperor, and Bishop Wiseman became a member of the Apostles after joining the association. The year before I joined the association, the Body-Eating Snake annexed the Moonlight Trojan Group, a long-established killer organization. After inheriting everything from the Trojan Group
, the association changed its course of action and began to accept assassination commissions. In order to catch up with Levi, I also began to receive assassin training, and soon became a candidate executioner. The association is a place where homeless people like us can live.
"
Joshua began to talk about his past as a killer, and told without any concealment the various crimes he had committed in order to carry out his mission. Joshua's tone seemed to be talking about other people's affairs, but Estelle
The more I listen to it, the less pleasant it becomes.
"No, stop talking. Joshua, you don't kill people just for your own pleasure, do you? It's just the force of life, right? The past is in the past."
"Estil, that's not the case. Hundreds of lives have disappeared in my hands. Even now, I can clearly remember the faces of everyone I killed that were distorted by fear.
.As long as I am still alive in the world, these sins will never disappear. And what scares me the most is that I don’t think it is a fault.”
"The life of a killer...Joshua, answer me honestly. In the past two months after becoming a guerrilla, have you killed anyone?" Cassius asked.
"No, no."
"That's okay. I won't say that you didn't make mistakes, but at least you didn't try to escape. Even I killed a large number of Erebonian soldiers on the battlefield of the Hundred Days War, but that's me
job. You are no longer who you were in the past. Your name is Joshua Bright. You are my family."
"Dad, what you said is great! Joshua, don't be so entangled. By the way, you haven't said anything about your sister yet."
"Well, thank you, father, thank you, Estelle. Then let me continue. Two years after joining the association, I was promoted from alternate to regular and became a numbered executor. No. 13 Black Fang,
This is my code name in the association. After becoming the official executor, Levi and I accepted the association's mission and attacked a certain stronghold of the d∴g Order in the Republic. There, we rescued the only survivor.
Ling."
"I didn't expect that the association would attack the d∴g sect five years ago. This is information I didn't get. Also, are there any survivors of the sect..." Cassius is the d∴g of 1198.
The commander-in-chief of the multi-national joint operations of the sect is also very concerned about this piece of information.
"Could this be the cult group you talked about before, dad? Ling turned out to be rescued by Joshua. No wonder I always feel that the way she looks at Joshua is a little weird."
"Well, the Order is an organization that uses children to conduct cruel human experiments. To be honest, the cases of survivors are extremely rare. As far as I know, only Sergei Ban of Crossbell has rescued one in the Altair stronghold.
Girl, Joshua, the Ling you are talking about is the second survivor that even our association doesn’t know about.”
"The child didn't say a word when we rescued her. She didn't say a word for more than a month. The situation was probably more serious than mine at the time. But unlike me, her heart was much stronger than mine.
She recovered quickly. 'Ling' probably wasn't her real name, but that's how she called herself to us. Levi and I thought about sending her back to her parents, but we didn't find any relevant information from the sect's stronghold.
Information. Among the records found, there are only two pieces of information: her date is '15th' and her birthday is 'March 27, 1191, Qiyao Calendar'."
When Estelle heard Ling's birthday, she counted it with her fingers, and then exclaimed in surprise, "Hey!? Isn't that younger than Tida!? Wait, so she started publishing papers at the age of eight.
Already?"
"That's probably it. She is a real genius, and she learns everything very quickly. Unlike Miss Kruger and I, who took two years to go from alternate to full-time executive, she only took two weeks to go from alternate executive to full-time executive.
She became the real executor. No. 15 Cyanosis, this is her code name. In the association, the official executor has the greatest degree of freedom. This is the iron rule set by the leader. When not accepting tasks, even the apostles can
We couldn't be restrained. Ms. Krueger, No. 9 among the executors at the time, made the initial attempt to temporarily suspend business and essentially left the association. After confirming that she would not be held accountable for doing so, refer to her
Following the precedent, we gradually accepted fewer tasks. Levi, I, and Ling, the three of us were like a real family. We lived a peaceful and leisurely life in Tutunrk, a small village in the southern part of the empire, far away from the bloody chaos.
day."
"Oh, what next? What next? Sister, I really want to know."
"Half a year later, it was my last mission for the association. Because Bishop Wiseman, who was kind to me, approached me, of course I did not refuse. Because I didn't want Levi and Ling to get involved, I hid the fact that they were alone
Deployed. And that mission is... to assassinate the A-level guerrilla Cassius Bright of the Liber Kingdom."
"Ah!?" Estelle slapped the table and stood up. She looked at Joshua and then at Cassius. Seeing that both of them had serious expressions, it seemed that he was not joking.
"Once Joshua gets serious about hiding, even I can't find him. Five years ago, when I was targeted by this kid, I suffered a lot." Cassius told Estelle
explain.
"So, let's put it this way... Five years ago, Joshua came to our house with bruises all over his body. It turned out that he was beaten by his father?"
"No, it has nothing to do with my father. Someone sent another assassin. In addition to the association, there may be other assassins who were also targeting my father. After my father and I lost the fight, they launched an attack on us at the same time.
.I almost died at that time, but I was saved by my father. As for what happened next, Estelle, you should also know."
After the long story was finally told, Joshua let go of the heavy stone in his heart.
"Estil, are you still willing to accept the dirty me I once was?"
"You, what are you talking about? Of course. Sister, I now know why Joshua, you sometimes show that deep look in your eyes. You have even told us your most private things. We are real
Family!”
"Haha, Estelle is right. If you are willing to tell everything, you have truly integrated into this family." Cassius nodded to Joshua.
"Besides that, let me talk about other information I know and my guesses. I am ashamed to say that although I am the executor, I am not very keen to understand the purpose of the association. I just keep going straight to catch up with Levi.
Mission. The three executors of the attack on the royal city should all be people I know, but I only know their looks and names. Except for Valut, who is No. 8 Slim Wolf, the other two green-haired women are No.
.6 Luciola of the Bell of Illusion. And the blue-haired man wearing the mask is No.10 Phantom Thief Gentleman Bluebrand. And then, Second Lieutenant Lawrence..."
"He is the brother you mentioned to me many times at home but I can't remember his name, No. 2 Sword Emperor Reinhardt, right?"
"Father, you..."
"I still have this awareness. When I talked with everyone before, you would hold your breath whenever you mentioned Lieutenant Lawrence. Moreover, Richard once told me that the gospel was delivered to him by that person.
of."
"What! But shouldn't Levi have left the association?" Joshua was shocked. He had just had a face-to-face conversation with Reinhardt on the terrace of the Queen's Palace a few hours ago.
"The situation is not as optimistic as you think. In fact, I have heard the name of Sword Emperor in other places. He may not have left the association as you said, which means that the terrorist attack in Wangcheng may be directed by the association.
A double act. And, Joshua, you seem to have forgotten to say something just now. About the tattoo on your shoulder, about why you and Krutz lost their memory. About who is the person named Professor Yalua
?”
"Well..." Joshua covered his head. Indeed, he ignored these details.
"It seems that your situation is the same as Richard's. Your memory was not simply modified, but your consciousness was induced. Maybe the burden on you is still too heavy now. Let's put it aside for now."
"No, Father. I don't have a problem. You are right. I shouldn't ignore the details I have seen."
Cassius held Joshua's shoulders and asked him to relax as much as possible before letting go.
Joshua calmed his breathing.
"Professor Yalua is Bishop Wiseman. He has been very good at using hypnosis to treat patients since he was in the cathedral."
"It seems that the puzzle has finally been connected. The enemy is currently in darkness and we are clear. The next battle will be very serious. Estelle, Joshua, you two have a good rest. You have worked hard enough today.
"
Estelle and Joshua looked at each other, with unconcealed worry in their eyes. After realizing that it was useless to think too much, the two of them obeyed and went back to their rooms to rest according to Cassius's instructions.