Chapter 21 (2/2)

“Knight Philip, get up,” Rebecca quickly brought him to his feet. “Thanks to you, those soldiers and civilians were saved.”

She noticed the bandages on him. “These injuries…”

“I got them when we were breaking out, but it’s much better now,” Philip said quickly. “Viscount Andrew sent a priest and an apothecary, but…”

The young knight showed an awkward expression, looking embarrassed and troubled.

“You’re referring to the gold and silver that we told you to take with you out of the castle,” Herti went ahead and said, “Don’t take it to heart. That was supposed to be used in times of need. We said it when we told you to take it. Use it at your own discretion.”

“Don’t worry, Viscount Andrew only took a part of the gold and silver.” Philip’s expression seemed a little brighter. Then he lowered his voice and said, “Before entering the city, I gave away some of it to a few trusted soldiers. Some of it was buried outside the city. I was worried that if Viscount Andrew was too greedy, at least a part of the money would be left to take care of everyone, or we could let the soldiers find a way to make a living… ”

Gawain nodded slightly. This was a young man with courage and the brains to go with. He could lead a mere dozen soldiers to defend a large group of civilians who had no combat ability in the breakout. This shows his bravery, and before entering another clan’s territory, knowing that he could not compete with the aristocracy, he thought of how he could preserve the owner’s assets as much as possible and even thought of letting the soldiers make their own living. That was no easy thing to do.

So he gave an expression of approval. “Not bad. How many people survived?”

Philip had actually noticed Gawain in the room from the beginning, after all, Gawain’s size was really quite outstanding. After hearing his question, he finally had a chance to ask. “Could you be…”

“It seems that Viscount Andrew has already told you.” Herti nodded. “This is Cecil Clan’s ancestor, Anzu’s founding pioneer, the First Ligh…”

Before she could finish, Gawain quickly interrupted, “Okay, there is no need to say the name that the old man came up with. It gives me goosebumps…”

Before he could finish speaking, Philip already went down on his knee in front of Gawain. “Grand Duke Gawain! I… I heard the news, but I didn’t think it was really true! You are the model for all knights. Ever since I was a child…”

“Okay okay, enough already!” Gawain quickly pulled Philip up. As a foreigner who took over someone else’s body, he felt truly awkward like never before. “Tell me how many people survived?”

Philip calmed his excitement, and his expression turned serious along with the topic. “There were about a thousand people who broke out that day. Later, after counting out the people who died of attacks by monsters, fell behind due to heavy injuries, died of illnesses, less than 900 have arrived in Tanzan Town alive…”

“How many exactly?”

“873, including me, sixteen official soldiers, thirty militia, and the rest are civilians.”

Rebecca’s body shook.

“These are what is left of the people of Cecil territory…” Herti murmured, “I never thought…”

Gawain patted Herti’s shoulder. “Do you know how many people we had when we ran out of Gondor more than 700 years ago?”

Herti looked at Gawain. “At that time…”

“Hundreds of thousands of people.” Gawain sighed. “So this situation is a real headache.”

Herti: “…”

At the same time, in Viscount Andrew’s chambers, the viscount was writing a secret letter.

The secret letter was written directly for the King.

Due to the presence of the Gondor wastelands, Anzu had, since its founding, regarded the southern borders as the kingdom’s most important defensive area. Even though the south had been peaceful for a long time, some regulations that had lasted for hundreds of years still remained. For example, in the southern borders, every nobleman was a direct vassal to the Anzu royal family. They had the right to communicate directly with the king and were obligated to report matters directly to the king.

“Greetings, Your Majesty, from your loyal vassal.

You should have read in the previous letter of the catastrophe that has fallen upon the Cecil territory in the south. As of now, something else happened. This event is so bizarre in a way that has never been seen before, but as I have personally confirmed, it is indeed real.

Cecil Clan’s ancestor, Anzu’s founding pioneer, Gawain Cecil, leader of the Seven Generals, has recently come back to life.

I saw it with my own eyes, light shining down upon the wasteland of the Cecil territory. Those invading monsters were all destroyed by the light. Then, a large dragon appeared and went away (About the large dragon, I will write about this again in greater detail). I went to investigate myself. Upon meeting with Viscount Cecil, I saw his resurrected body…”