Chapter 1376: Witnessing a Miracle
Everwinter. King’s City.
“My lord… Lord Marwayne…”
Someone nudged his arm.
He opened his eyes with a grimace. It took some seconds for his vision to sharpen enough to find the butler’s familiar face above him.
“You again.” Marwayne hiccupped and hauled himself upright, knocking over two wine bottles in the process. One hit the floor and shattered.
The sound reached his brain like a chisel.
Then came the hangover — splitting, total.
He had been at it until four or five in the morning, pressing drinks on the ladies until he’d gone under right here on the couch. He squinted at it now: liquor and other things soaking the cushions, the fireplace that had burned through the night filling the room with an unpleasant residual smell. The women had slipped away at some point. Poor dedication.
How in hell did I end up sleeping here.
“Burn it.” He wiped the drool from his chin and settled into a less agonizing position. “Very well, my distinguished butler. What bad news have you brought me today? Which knight has fled, or have Graycastle men entered Everwinter?”
“I would not dare, my lord.” The butler bent lower at the waist — the initiative to attack Graycastle’s patrols had been his suggestion, and he had no interest in becoming the new target. “Graycastle is still fighting the demons in the Kingdom of Wolfheart. They won’t reach Everwinter in the short term. Please be at ease—”
“It’s a matter of time, isn’t it?” Marwayne cut across him, and his own voice smelled faintly of last night. “There have been no new demon reinforcements. The so-called Sky Lord has vanished. Anyone with eyes can see how the tide is running. What’s the use of consoling me?”
“My lord, that’s not—”
“Listen.” His voice found its sharp edge through the fog. “I know what you’re going to say. Pull yourself together. Don’t give up. But you saw it yourself — we had the same weapons as Graycastle and our people were still utterly destroyed. What does that say? The gap isn’t in the weapons. It’s in the men, in our people. Their soldiers looked death in the face and kept walking. Ours pulled their coats over their heads and ran.”
He paused for breath.
“How many people are left in King’s City? Viscount Narnos — no, his territory should make him a Count by now. Duke Remy? Half his family is in Everwinter, he can’t leave even if he wanted to. And the others — they’re still nobles on paper, but do they want to leave? No. They can’t. They won’t abandon estates accumulated across generations just to start from nothing somewhere else. So long as there’s any route out, they’ll take it before they resign themselves. But that doesn’t apply to knights. A knight takes his deed and walks. So what can I do? I keep my doors open, I pour the wine, I ask them to stay.”
His voice rose briefly, then came back down.
“This isn’t self-abandonment. It isn’t retreat. Understand?” He picked up the nearest bottle that still had something in it and tipped it to his mouth. “The moment I stop paying out, they’re gone. Our people can’t compete with Graycastle in the field. The only card we have is the demons. If the demons beat Roland Wimbledon, people will settle again. When that day comes, I open the deed chest and the knights become my greatest asset.”
“My lord, I understand all of this. But I need to inform you — the Sky—”
“Shut up. You understand nothing.” Something in Marwayne’s voice went thin with real feeling. “You look at me and you see a drunkard. Weak. Incompetent. That’s not the truth of it. The plan has no flaws. The flaw is the demons who lost. If they can’t beat Graycastle, what exactly do you suggest I do with my two hands? It doesn’t matter that the others left — but even Fueler went, and I had high regard for him. What would it even mean to be King of Everwinter now? Better to have the fine wine while I still can.” He lowered himself back onto the stained couch. “From here forward: no more bad news. You know about them, that’s enough. Have the cellar opened tonight — I recall there’s still wine in the underground stores beneath King’s City. Now get out.”
He buried his face in his hands.
“My lord — what I was attempting to say is that his Excellency the Sky Lord is waiting in the parlor. He has a new decree.”
A long beat of silence.
“What did you say?” Marwayne sat up. “The Sky Lord is here? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Get me hot water — I need to wash and dress, now—”
“There’s no need.” A low voice came from the doorway.
Both men startled.
The tall blue figure filled the frame, pushing the door fully open as it entered. Hackzord surveyed the room — the scattered bottles, the ruin of the couch, the stale smoke still drifting from the dead fireplace — and his contempt was not at all concealed.
“I assumed you must be occupied with something pressing.” The Sky Lord’s tone was dry as old parchment. “It appears I misjudged you. Have you already decided the outcome of this war?”
He heard everything. Marwayne dropped to one knee before the thought had finished forming, and briefly considered hitting himself. “No, Your Excellency, I was only—”
“Considering your knowledge and experience, I will pardon you this once. There will not be a second time — or I will cut your tongue out.” Hackzord’s voice did not vary. “Our enemies performed past our expectations in the early stage. That is no longer relevant. Their favorable days have ended. Not merely for the Kingdom of Wolfheart, the Kingdom of Dawn, or Graycastle — all of them will be swallowed by this war. That is what waits for those who resist us.”
“Your Excellency…” Marwayne hesitated. “Is that truly the case?” He had already given Everwinter up as lost, and had been quietly planning which demon Grand Lord might be persuaded to grant him a corner to hide in. But from Hackzord’s words, the situation wasn’t as irretrievable as he had thought. Of course, the demons had once said Graycastle wouldn’t survive a single assault. Marwayne did not give those words full weight.
Hackzord’s expression sharpened to something just short of a smile. “Your doubt is understandable. But when you witness the power of my race, you will understand the weight of what I tell you.” He extended his hand, and the air in front of him opened into a door made of purple light. “Follow me.”
Marwayne’s throat moved. Then he stepped through.
On the other side was another hall, and in it he recognized faces: Narnos, Remy. Hackzord had gathered most of the Everwinter nobility.
Before any questions could be raised, the Sky Lord opened another portal.
His intentions were self-evident. Everyone looked at everyone else, then formed a slow line.
The journey lasted the rest of the day.
Marwayne lost count of the portals. The scenery on either side varied — a cavern, a mountain ridge, a sloped plain under heavy cloud. The further they went, the deeper his unease ran. Hackzord could kill him with a thought; that much had always been true. But being transported to an unknown location by someone who could kill him with a thought had a quality of helplessness that ordinary fear didn’t quite cover.
When nightfall came, they arrived at the final portal.
The purple light behind them faded and died.
Marwayne Parker opened his eyes.
Then he opened his mouth, and kept it open, and could not find a single word.
A miracle.
He had been drunk enough times to know what ordinary perception felt like — diminished, soft at the edges, unreliable. This was none of those things. Every sense he had was as sharp as it had ever been, and what he saw with those senses was simply beyond any language he had ever been given.
He could not describe it. There was nothing to compare it to. Miracle was the only word that came close, and even that was a gesture, not a description.
The other nobles were no better. Every mouth was open. No sentence completed itself.
“Now,” Hackzord said, his hands clasped behind his back, “you have all witnessed it.”
Chapter 1376 - Witnessing a Miracle
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Everwinter, King’s City.
“My lord… Lord Marwayne…” Someone nudged his arm.
Annoyed, Marwayne opened his eyes. He took some time before he regained his blurred vision’s focus, and the familiar butler’s face appeared before him.
“Why is it you again.” Marwayne hiccupped and expended a great deal of strength to stand up, accidentally knocking over the wine bottles on the short table, one of which fell to the ground and shattered loudly.
The sound jolted him awake.
What came next was a splitting hangover.
Marwayne was up the entire night till the wee hours of four to five in the morning impressing ladies into drinking with him until he knocked out on the coach. Marwayne squinted his eyes and looked upon the soft couch by the side. There were all sorts of beverages and other fluids sprinkled all over the couch, while the fireplace that had lasted through the entire night produced an unpleasant smell. The ladies from the night before had long disappeared, obviously lacking when it came to their ability to serve.
Hell, how did I end up sleeping here last night?
“Burn it.” Marwayne wiped away the drool on his face and moved into a more comfortable position, alleviating his headache. “So, my distinguished Butler, what bad news do you have for me today Which knight fled or did men from Graycastle enter Everwinter?”
“I do not dare, my Lord.” The butler immediately bowed his back lower. The initiative to attack the Graycastle teams was his idea, and he did not want to have the lord target redirected at him. “The men from Graycastle are still fighting the demons at the Kingdom of Wolfheart. They will not be able to enter Everwinter in the short term, please do not worry about it—”
“Heh, doesn’t that just mean it’s a matter of time?” Marwayne interrupted him, his alcohol breath assailing his own nose. “There hasn’t been any reinforcements to the demon forces all this while. Even that so-called Sky Lord has disappeared without a trace. Anyone can clearly see that the situation has changed, so what’s the use in consoling me?”
“No, my Lord—”
“Listen!” Marwayne growled. “I know what you want to say: pull yourself together, don’t give up—You saw it for yourself, despite us holding the same weapons, our people were still utterly defeated by Graycastle. What does that say? It means that the disparity isn’t with the lords, but the lowest rung troops, and their people! They dared to confront firearms head-on, but what about us? We only dared to cover our heads and sneak away like rats!
“How many people are there left in King’s City? Viscount Narnos? No, his territory should now earn him the title of a Count. Duke Remy? Half of his family are in Everwinter, he can’t leave even if he wants to. And the other families… Indeed, they are still considered nobles, but do they not want to leave! No!”
At this point, his tone suddenly reached a crescendo.
“They can’t leave! They are unwilling to abandon their family property amassed through generations and start from nothing! So long as there is a way, they will not resign to their fates! But this will not happen for the knights I’ve recruited. The deed has no binding clauses, they can simply take their deeds and leave and come back after the war. So the only thing I can do is keep my doors closed and urge them to stay by inviting them over!
“This isn’t about living in self-abandonment, much less about escaping, understand?” Marwayne picked up a bottle of wine in passing and poured
some into his mouth. “Once I honor the promise, they will immediately disappear! Since our subordinates and people cannot compete with Graycastle, then we can only rely on the demons. As long as they can defeat Roland Wimbledon, the people will once again settle down. When that moment comes, I will supply the deeds again. At that time, the knights will become my biggest help!”
“My Lord… I know that, but I need to inform you, the Sky—”
“Shut up, you know nothing!” Marwayne’s voice went into a slight vibrato. “You think of me as weak, incapable, a drunkard that relishes in alcohol everyday. But the truth is not so, my plans have no flaws, the flaw lies in the demons who were defeated! If they can’t even defeat Graycastle, what can I do by myself? It doesn’t matter that the others leave, but even Fueler, someone I regarded so highly, has left, so what if I become the King of Everwinter? Why not drink more fine wine… After all, there won’t be a chance in the future.
“So from now on, you need not report to me any bad news. It’s sufficient that you know about them. Prepare more fine wine for me tonight, I remember that there are more stored in the underground storehouse beneath King’s City, right? Now… Get out.”
Marwayne buried his face in his hands and laid back down on the soft couch.
“My Lord, what I wanted to say was, his Excellency Sky Lord is currently waiting in the castle’s parlor. He has a new decree for you.” The butler finally found the opportunity to speak and quickly let everything out.
“Wh—what did you say?” Marwayne sat up. “The Sky Lord is here? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Quick, prepare a basin of hot water for me. I will wash up and head over now!”
“There’s no need.” A low voice suddenly came out from the door’s entrance. The two were startled and turned their heads, only to see a tall and blue skinned figure push the doors open and walk in.
It was Hackzord.
He took a look at the mess of empty alcohol bottles everywhere and revealed an unconcealed look of disdain. “And I thought you were being held back by something important. Looks like I’ve wronged you. Why, do you think that the outcome of this battle has already been determined?”
Damn it, he heard my rants! Marwayne immediately knelt on one knee and even thought of giving himself a slap. “No, Your Excellency, I was just—”
“In consideration of your knowledge and experience, I can pardon you this time. But there will not be a second time; otherwise, I will definitely cut your tongue out.” Hackzord spoke coldly, “Our enemies did perform past our expectations in the early stages, but that was only then. In fact, their good days have come to an end, not only for the Kingdom of Wolfheart, Kingdom of Dawn or Graycastle. They will all be devoured by the flames of war; that is the fate of resisting us.”
“Your Excellency Sky Lord, can I ask… is that true?” Marwayne was skeptical. He had long assumed Everwinter was finished, and was planning to beg a Demon Grand Lord for shelter. But from his words, the outcome of the battle was not too bad, at least not to the point of being irredeemable. Before, the demons thought that Graycastle would not last a single attack as well, so Marwayne did not entirely believe in Hackzord’s words.
Hackzord sneered. “Your doubt is pardonable, but when you witness the power of my race, I believe that you will trust the weight of my words.” With that said, he extended his hands and opened a bizarre purple light ‘door.’ “Follow me.”
Marwayne gulped, bit the bullet, and entered the portal.
On the other side was yet another hall, and to Marwayne’s surprise, he saw many familiar faces. For instance, Narnos and Remy.
Sky Lord had obviously gathered most of the Everwinter nobles.
Before any questions were raised, the demon Grand Lord opened yet another portal.
His intentions were clearly self-evident.
Everyone looked at each other, before forming a long line in front of the portal.
The journey took an entire day.
Marwayne could not remember the number of portals he entered; the scenery around him would occasionally be a cave, or sometimes a mountain ridge. The further they went, the more unease he felt. Although he knew that it only required a thought from the demon to kill him, the forceful transportation to an unknown location made him feel even more afraid.
When nightfall came, the nobles finally arrived at the final location.
The last portal behind them slowly disappeared. That was when Marwayne Parker opened his eyes abruptly!
“This is…”
He saw a miracle!
That’s right, even if he used up all the words he could possibly think of, he was unable to accurately describe everything he saw. Aside from calling it a miracle, he could not think of anything else!
The other nobles were not any better. All of them had their mouths wide open, speechless. None of them could even finish a complete sentence.
“Now, you have all witnessed it.” Hackzord spoke up indifferently.