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Volume 1, Chapter 43: Earl Aubock?

Lambert readied his greatsword as he approached the fallen Hector.

Hector’s eyes wavered slightly, looking up at Lambert.

「… Any last words?.」

After he let out a feeble smile, Hector turned to look at the ceiling.

「This is… the best. I’ve been like a walking corpse for a long time, but… With this, I die feeling alive.」

Pondering over Hector’s words, Lambert prepared to give Hector a coup de grâce. Lambert’s sword that was raised upward came to a halt upon seeing Hector’s lips moving again.

「… Legendary general, this might be boorish of me to ask when I’m in this kind of shape, but can you answer my question? It’s been weighing in my mind after all… If I had lived during the Eight Countries Unification War… Do you think that I would’ve left my name in the annals of history? Would I’ve become a renowned swordsman?」

After a moment of silence, Lambert replied.

「You’re powerful. Ever since I resurrected, you’ve been the first human being who didn’t die from my first strike.」

Hearing Lambert’s words, Hector gave a self-deprecating smile.

「I see, so that’s it for me, huh…」

In fact, he already knew the answer to his question without even asking Lambert.

His duel with Lambert was over in less than two minutes.

From the start, Hector retreated when he was about to be sliced in two by Lambert. He was always on the defensive.

Because his instincts understood that Lambert would cut him down as soon as he launched an attack on the imposing general.

Hector relied on a sword skill that he regarded as boring, and his choices of attack were already extremely limited.

But even that sword skill was easily smashed by Lambert’s brute force, he also received a fatal wound in addition to his failure.

From Hector’s perspective, he was barely hanging on there. But he knew that it couldn’t even be called a fight for Lambert. It was more like a duel between a seasoned swordsman and a child who just learned to hold his sword.

He exhausted all means to find a way to defeat Lambert, launching the best sword strike in his life after overcoming his limit numerous times within those less than two minutes.

And the final evaluation for all of that was, “didn’t die from my first strike and survived this far.”

The difference between their skills was like Heaven and Earth.

Lambert’s heavy full-plate armor protected him from all kinds of injury.

However, Hector lost without even managing to touch Lambert’s armor.

It wasn’t even on the level of putting up a good fight.

Hector’s left arm stretched toward the sword that was rolling around not far from him.

But like a doll that got its string cut, his arm fell before he could reach for his sword. Even though his hand still trembled for a few seconds after that, it was completely motionless after that.

「Aah, weak… I’m… so fu*cking weak. More, I want to become stronger. I’ve been living for so long, and yet I’m rotting along with my age… Hehehe, how laughable. I should’ve kept honing my sword rather than loitering around searching for an enemy. That way, I might’ve been able to put up an even better fight in our duel. 」

Hector muttered those words, spreading his remaining arm as if to accept defeat.

One could see tears of regret flowing down from the edge of his eyelids.

Seeing that, Lambert nodded to Hector and dropped his sword.

Lambert’s sword beheaded Hector without any resistance.

Meanwhile, though Earl Aubock was extremely mesmerized to the point of even forgetting to breathe upon seeing such high-level combat, he recalled his situation as he saw Lambert’s greatsword behead Hector.

That greatsword would reap his life after this.

「H-HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!」

Despite his attempt to rise to his feet, his fear of Lambert had surpassed anything he felt in his whole life, preventing him from standing up.

Nevertheless, he didn’t give up, crawling in the dirt with his hands.

Without even waiting for that poor excuse of an escape, Lambert raised his sword again and swung it down on Earl Aubock.

The color had been drained from Earl Aubock’s face, and he knew that his fate was sealed.

With a cramped look on his face, he still tried to bluff in front of Lambert.

「Fufufu… I am, Earl Aubock. I’m the head of Oldnorc, the old noble family who served Regios Kingdom since the olden times, Aubock Oldnorc. Kill me if you dare, madman who calls himself a ghost from the past. But remember, you’re going to be hunted down to the ends of the world by this kingdom. And not just you. Your family, friends, and any others who dare to involve themselves with a scoundrel like you. I… dare you. Can you kill me when the consequences will involve those around you? Is it for revenge? I’ve seen too many of those kinds of people who wanted me to die, so many that I don’t even bother to remember them.」

After he spoke, Earl Aubock’s face twisted into an even uglier grin.

「You might be able to kill me, but my Oldnorc family will prosper forever. It’s far more important than the likes of my life. Hehehe, on the contrary, how pitiful you are! Vengeful demon, ghost who will be hailed as a great sinner!」

Earl Aubock stood up, his legs shivering in fear as he glared at Lambert.

Lambert lowered his greatsword and took a few steps back.

Since Earl Aubock never expected Lambert to spare his life, the general’s actions were truly unanticipated.

If he used his family name to the fullest, he might be able to find a way out of this predicament.

「… I-I see now. So you want to make a deal with me, huh. Wise choice. Even I don’t want to become an enemy of someone like you. I won’t try to kill you as long as you’re not trying to kill me. Just tell me if you have a wish. I will do my best to fulfill it as long as it’s within my power.」

However, in that moment, another voice spoke up, and a figure came out of the darkness of the passage in the direction of the mansion.

「Don’t worry, Aubock. Your family, your power, all of it will disappear now.」

The one who appeared was 『Spirit’s Dusk』’s guild master, Germain.

Germain had escaped from his cell after he took advantage of the confusion from Lambert’s intrusion. Even though he had no idea what had happened in the mansion, he felt that this was the perfect moment to kill Earl Aubock.

「It seems you managed to erase all evidence of your evil deeds that I managed to gather after so much trouble, but… There’s plenty more evidence around your mansion. Even the nobles who play along with your schemes will have no choice but to side with me when faced with the mountains of evidence.」

Germain thrusted a few sheets of paper in his hand in front of Earl Aubock’s face.

Written on those papers was a list of his assassination squads, names of evil merchants who were working for him, names of spies in each village, names of those who tried to oppose him, and a written order for charging tax beyond the standard regulation that has been decided by the kingdom.

The document was kept in a secret place. However, most likely, it was unprotected then the mansion was empty.

In the end, there was also the record of negotiation and investment with 『Devil’s Piper』, the underground organization that was regarded as dangerous by Regios Kingdom.

In exchange for his large investment, Earl Aubock had used that underground organization’s power to massacre the villages who dared to not pay the tax. In addition, once the 『Devil’s Piper』’s dearest wish—overthrowing Regios Kingdom—had been achieved, his family would be appointed with a high status.

With only these papers, even if Earl Aubock was executed ten times for his sin, it wouldn’t be enough to atone for the crime he had committed against the kingdom.

On top of that, his family would be crushed for sure, not a single one spared.

「W-W-W…」

Earl Aubock stepped back after his eyes landed on those papers.

And then, he leaped toward Germain with a frenzied look on his face.

Germain swung the sword that he nabbed from Aubock’s mansion and struck Earl Aubock’s face with its hilt.

Earl Aubock fell flat right there.

Germain pinned him down on the floor and pressed the hilt of his sword to Earl Aubock’s nape.

「Y-You bastard! So you’re going to take revenge because I destroyed your family! Don’t get cocky, I can destroy worthless noble families like yours with just a sneeze!」

Earl Aubock shouted at Germain, despite being pinned down by the latter.

「… Thanks a lot, Lambert. I’ve fulfilled my dearest wish because of your help. It always seemed out of reach, but now I could off him as easily as blinking my eyes.」

「Save your gratitude. I’ll just make him pay his unfathomable debt.」

Because if Germain expelled Lambert from 『Spirit’s Dusk』, it might take a long time for the latter to investigate Earl Aubock’s crime.

He might even have to stop in the middle of his investigation and leave the city since his figure simply stood out too much.

「Aubock, you’re just a scoundrel. You torment your citizens, killing those who oppose you, and you even went as far as to plan to overthrow this kingdom. Soon, all of your crimes will be brought to light. You and your family will lose everything you built until today.」

Germain declared this as his sword sunk into Earl Aubock.

Earl Aubock, whose head was pinned down by Germain, could only let out a bestial roar.

Lambert was thinking about his next destination while looking at the scene in front of him with a nonchalant look in his eyes.

—Despite his entire family being fed by the kingdom, he invested in an anti-government organization who wanted to destroy the ones who fed him… and his family.

From the rumors Lambert gathered so far, Earl Aubock had deep connections with important people in the royal capital.

Lambert couldn’t understand why a person of his status supported that terrorist organization.