Crimson Fort

After Rui received orders from Duke Marvin, he quickly made his way to one of the 10 smaller castles that surround Crimson Castle. Each of these 10 castles is home to the Duke's 10 generals, the most powerful Sworn Knights under his command.

Rui first contacted Ashley, then he contacted the other 9 generals and, in a split second, they disappeared with dozens of Knights following them in the 10 directions of Crimson Fort.

As each city in the duchy is a fortress, they are not called cities, but Forts.

The Crimson Fort is not only home to Crimson Castle, but it is also the military and political center of the entire duchy and its population is home to over 100,000 inhabitants.

In the directions from which the 10 generals departed, houses built of gray stone so strong that not even a Silver Knight could shake their foundations were systematically organized on every street. Each of these houses is 2 stories high and all were built as if they were designed for war. On your rocky roofs, there are passages surrounded by stone walls that connect all the houses to each other and there are knights in silver armor patrolling in all directions.

Also, on every corner, there are large towers built of stone with at least 2 Knights on top where a bed beast rests. Each of these towers was about 15 meters high, second only to the height of the castle and the 20-meter-high walls that surround the entire fort.

In several of these towers, there are also Archer Knights.

At the top of the 20-meter-high wall, which was 5 meters thick, there are Knights everywhere you look and large trebuchets were built every 20 meters.

The entire Crimson Fort looked like a great giant beast ready to embrace its prey in its systematically designed traps.

Although trade was prohibited in the Crimson Duchy, there are still some establishments that allow barter between Knights, which is where goods or services are exchanged without having to use the currency.

In one of these establishments, in the basement lit only by torches, there are 5 men seated at a wooden table where two of them are seated on each side, and what appeared to be the leader was seated in the main seat.

All were in silver armor without any crest belonging to any family or faction, they appeared to be Wandering Knights.

In the Crimson Duchy, there are also some mountain ranges and other regions where there are magical beasts that are the main hunting ground for these Wandering Knights. Although it was rare, there were still cases where commoners became knights on their own and did not wish to serve noble families or any other faction, as they had their dreams of achieving great conquests on their own. Anyone who saw these 5 figures, would classify them as Wandering Knights.

The atmosphere seemed solemn and there was silence.

The leader is a middle-aged man with gray hair and was the first to break the silence with a husky voice, "Since Duke Marvin settled in this Crimson Fort, and we were tasked with monitoring his actions, it seems that our existence will make some sense..."

The leader had not finished his words, but the four men who also appeared to be middle-aged nodded in agreement, "Initially, we were just waiting to see what the Duke's decision would be in choosing his heir. Who could expect the birth of a Child of Fate?"

"We know that the Child of Fate who was born is one of Duke Marvin's four sons and we must send the message quickly."

"Shouldn't we first take advantage of the fact that they are in the military barracks and go investigate who among the four is the Child of Fate?"

The one who had not yet spoken disagreed, "Do you think the Crimson Duke is a fool? He will surely send his generals to protect his surroundings and prevent the news from getting out."

The leader frowns and interrupts them, "Alright. Let's wait and investigate more safely at another time, after all, there are many Knights who have not sworn allegiance... You know what I mean. As long as we play correctly... Before that, number 2 is right. Let's get the message out first..."

The leader had not finished his words when a voice that seemed to resound from the void echoed inside this small dark basement, "You should look for another profession, for as a messenger, you are very slow."

"Who is this? Come out!" The middle-aged man who called himself number 2 rose from his chair as a silvery aura covered his entire body and even illuminated this dark basement more than the torchlight.

"Hump! A mouse that hides in basements still dares to act arrogant with such a small strength." At the same time, the steel basement door was kicked in so hard that there was still a large boot print as it was flung away.

Seeing this scene, the leader muttered, 'This steel door weighs at least 2 tons and a Gold Knight couldn't break it down like that. What kind of strength does this person have? Did Duke Marvin decide to act personally?'

The leader wanted to ask everyone to be careful and not act rashly, but the ensuing scene left him speechless.

The four of his men had just stood up and activated their silver auras by holding their swords and were ready to do battle against the enemy they already suspected their identity. However, the four of them didn't even have time to react when a shadow entered through the narrow basement door and seemed to blink between the four of them as he blinked again and appeared on the other side of the table.

Then there were four crashing noises as his four subordinates who followed him for over 100 years fell lifeless to the ground with a bloody hole in their hearts.

After processing that his men with whom he had gone through many life and death battles in the wandering mountains against the magical beasts were killed like this, without even seeing the enemy, the leader felt a violent surge of anger. He looked at the figure on the opposite side, but he frowned when he saw who it was.

"You are Rui, The Insolent Dagger, the most fearsome Assassin General under Duke Marvin, known to be in the Gold Knight Realm. However, this strength you have shown now should not belong to a Gold Knight..."

Rui looked at this leader with a cold smile, he no longer had that respectful look he had in front of the duke, "You seem to be a little smart. Unfortunately, the reaper is not interested in knowing that I am now an Epic Knight and not a Knight of Gold as everyone thinks, so there's no reason for you to know about it, as your passage to the underworld is already guaranteed."

The leader couldn't believe it when he said, "How is it possible that you are an Epic Knight..."

"Every Knight who reaches this realm is the pillar of a kingdom, but you are just a general serving another Epic Knight..."

"Is it because you are a Sworn Knight of Duke Marvin that you still follow him?"

Hearing those words, Rui laughed in amusement, "Do you really believe that My Lord Duke is still an Epic Knight?"

"That..." The leader seemed to have seen a ghost with the news and began to mutter in disbelief, "Duke Marvin has really reached this realm... A Legendary Knight..."

As he thought about his mission, the leader finally understood why the First Prince had sent him to keep an eye on Duke Marvin, after all, they fought together sometime in the War of Kings, and the First Prince, as the future king, was wary of your talent.

Hearing Rui say that Duke Marvin has attained the Realm of a Legendary Knight, means that the duke has advanced his mastery to the Supreme Master and he has already placed himself in the same Knight Realm as His Majesty King Silas Kaiser lll.

This will surely be as shocking news as the birth of a Child of Fate.

'A Supreme Master! As his name says, this is a supreme master above all masters. It seems that the First Prince still underestimated Duke Marvin and should have gotten rid of him back then...'

Rui looked at his cold dagger in his hands and then looked at the sword still in the scabbard at his opponent's waist whom he already considered a dead man.

"Your men had already drawn their swords when I killed them, remove your sword, for I do not kill unarmed Knights even if they are rats."

The leader put his thoughts aside and still had a shocked face as he solemnly nodded and withdrew his sword. Although he knew he had no chance of beating an Epic Knight, he still wouldn't wait for death with open arms.

Soon, the leader's entire sword and body were covered in a thick golden aura. He had already reached a bottleneck in his Mastery Mastery and had been trapped in the realm of a Gold Knight for many years, now that he was about to face an Epic Knight in a battle to the death, he had any hope of getting some hint and advance to the next realm.

Unfortunately, as soon as he drew his sword, he felt great numbness in his right arm as he instinctively used his sword to block Rui's blade that was about to pierce his heart and realized that the difference in strength was too great. Rui was still there looking at him with an amused smile, clearly, Rui was playing with him and hadn't used even half of his strength.

"Hehe. Looks like the leader of the rats still has some strength. If I'm not mistaken, you should be one step away from advancing to the Epic Knight. Unfortunately, you found me today..."

"Send my regards to my friends who I gifted with a passage to the underworld."

As Rui finished his words, the leader felt the tip of Rui's dagger blade leave the sword that protected his heart, and as soon as Rui disappeared before his eyes, he wanted to step forward to protect himself against a blow to his back, but Rui was so fast that he felt only a cold current on his neck. At the same time, a line of blood began to appear and gradually became more visible as the blood began to flow out like a torrent.

The leader's eyes went white and he looked terrified as he dropped his sword and placed his hands on his neck in hopes of preventing the cut made by Rui's sharp dagger from opening further. However, he appeared to be choking on his own blood as he made strange sounds. His body was still struggling a little when he fell to the ground and lost his life. His white eyes still looked at Rui who watched him with cold eyes.

Scenes like this began to occur at the same time in several basements and other establishments where the rats operated in the dark.

This day was destined to christen the ground of the Crimson Fort for the first time in blood since it was established after the War of the Kings.

...

When the silhouette of the Black Dragon in the skies dipped and disappeared as he entered the Knight Apprentices' military barracks, Ferdinand's heart was churning and anxious as he watched from the window of his bedroom in Crimson Castle. He couldn't believe it and quickly headed for the military barracks, as he wanted to see with his own eyes if the Child of Fate that had just been born was really his younger brother Makai.

However, he didn't expect to be blocked by one of the most fearsome generals serving his father, Ashley, the Bloodthirsty Saber Queen who everyone knew her from being in the Gold Knight Realm and who liked to cut off the heads of many enemies and hang them on a stake at the place of his death during the War of Kings.

Faced with such a bloodthirsty general, Ferdinand had to put a smile on his face as he addressed her, "Aunt Ashley, I didn't expect to find you here. It seems my little brother is indeed the Child of Fate who has just been born, otherwise, one of my father's most respected generals wouldn't be here on guard duty, right?"

As he asked this question, Ferdinand wanted to confirm his suspicions. Although he already knew the answer after seeing Ashley guarding the door, he didn't want to believe it, as he knew that if Makai is truly the Child of Fate, no matter how hard he works, he still can't compare to a Child of Fate, and his father would surely choose Makai as his heir.

Ashley has flaming short hair. She wears a set of red leather armor and looks like a valiant general with her blood-red saber dangling from the right side of her slim waist. She was standing before the great bronze gates when she glanced indifferently at Ferdinand upon hearing his question with a hypocritical smile on her face. She didn't say a single word and remained indifferent.

Her intention was very obvious, she wasn't here to talk and she wasn't going to let anyone in either.

Seeing her silence and her cold eyes, Ferdinand knew that he would gain nothing by staying here and would only waste time. He didn't want to believe it, but he already knew the answer, Makai is indeed the Child of Fate.

"Aunt Ashley, I won't bother you anymore, I just wanted to congratulate my little brother, but it looks like I still have to make arrangements for my trip tomorrow, so I say goodbye."

When Ferdinand left, the indifferent Ashley who looked as cold as the reaper's bride ended up revealing a smile that if another man had witnessed it, would have been fascinated by her charm, 'Little boy, you're still very naive.'