Master Assassin of the Ronan

Chapter 19: Tower of Light and Rebellion (4)

The sight of a beheaded head being tossed as a plaything for wild dogs—the final appearance of a traitor was always like this.

The imperial court painters smeared freshly roasted pig fat onto the head of the executed traitor, rolling it onto the dirt ground.

Then, the dogs would loll out their tongues, rushing madly at it, and the scene would be captured forever by the painter’s hand.

“Miguel, are you alright?”

Rubin, who was looking at the painting, briefly bent his knees, touching the ground.

Seeing him stagger and nearly collapse, the guide assumed he was shocked by the brutal painting.

It wasn’t uncommon for visitors to stumble back in horror after looking at the murals carved on the “Tower of Rebellion.”

The severed heads rolling on the ground were intricately depicted, so it was understandable.

It was indeed a sight that would be hard for young nobles who hadn’t yet tasted the bitterness of the world to accept, and even more so for a boy rumored to be suffering from aphasia and madness.

However, unlike the guide’s assumption, Rubin hadn’t stumbled because of the painting’s brutality.

A massive wave had been reverberating from within Rubin’s inner world.

‘…!’

The wave was powerful enough to shake Rubin’s entire body.

It had started the moment he looked into the face of the traitor, as if an earthquake was raging in his chest, tormenting him.

-Was this the reason you brought me here? To show me this!

Haneke’s scream echoed within him.

Rubin observed the enraged general from a distance.

There was nothing he could do now but watch.

He could only wait until he accepted everything.

Just then, the guide checked on Rubin’s state and spoke.

“Hm. Sir Miguel, let’s pause the tour until you feel better.”

As soon as the guide’s words fell, Rubin settled himself on the ground, clutching his chest that was rising and falling sharply.

He focused on the general’s reaction.

-Hup… Hup.

The phrase ‘as if blood had completely dried up’ came to mind.

True to that expression, Haneke had reached the peak of his anger and was on the verge of losing control.

He had accepted his own death lightly.

But, no matter how composed a general he was, the death of his grandson was something he couldn’t take so easily.

The birth of his grandson, the sight of the boy learning the Brion Sword Technique directly from him, the young man who had been commissioned as an officer of the Imperial Army…

The fleeting images of his grandson that passed before his eyes made Haneke’s mind drift even further.

Could the Emperor’s heart have been so cruel?

To sever the Brion Sword Technique, which a loyal old retainer had proudly upheld, and his grandson, for whom he had never hidden his affection, in a single stroke?

Above all.

What truly blinded Haneke with rage was the text that explained the death of his grandson, Felchion Brion.

-Felchion Brion, the Empire’s grand marshal and master of the Brion Sword Technique, was the grandson of Haneke.

Felchion sided with the traitorous faction, and upon discovering this, Haneke personally beheaded his grandson.

Afterward, Haneke took his own life to atone to His Majesty, who acknowledged his loyalty.

-……

The wooden sword, which Haneke had refused each time Rubin offered it, he now gripped for the first time in ages.

But, there was no enemy here, before him, to thrust and strike.

Haneke, staring quietly at the wooden sword in his hand, firmly plunged it into the ground.

Thud.

-Because of the lie that I personally beheaded my grandson, I was inscribed on the Tower of Light, and he was etched onto the Tower of Rebellion.

Telmach… with this filthy lie, you trample even upon the honor of Brion.

He turned to look at Rubin.

-Rubin.

Until now, Haneke had always viewed the Emperor in too forgiving a light.

For that reason, even after his death, he had preserved the loyalty he devoted his life to.

At least, until now.

But now he realized—to the Emperor, he had been nothing more than a disposable tool for eternal power.

Knowing this, he could no longer return to being the Haneke he once was.

-Rubin, thanks to you, even the last belief I held in Telmach is now completely shattered. Completely.

‘I had no other choice. Because that is the truth.’

-The truth. Yes, perhaps it’s a truth I didn’t need to know, but still.

Thanks to you, I now witness this truth.

No doubt, you wanted me to feel some passion, didn’t you?

The passion to pass down everything of the Brion Sword Technique.

‘I’d call it revenge rather than passion. The very same weight of vengeance that I bear myself.’

-Revenge, is it.

‘Haneke, you are not the only one with revenge in your heart toward the Emperor. I will kill the Emperor.’

Haneke was not surprised.

He merely had a calm expression, as though he were assessing the probability of victory in this war.

‘To achieve my revenge, I must mobilize everything. But as I am now… you know it’s impossible.’

-That’s evident.

With your current prowess, it would be hard for you even to catch a glimpse of the Emperor’s heels.

Rubin paused for a moment, meeting Haneke’s gaze.

That look in Haneke’s eyes now.

This was the look Rubin had wanted to see.

The look he would only be able to witness here at the “Tower of Light and Rebellion.”

-Rubin, could you walk to the edge of the tower?

At Haneke’s request, Rubin quietly complied.

Rising from where he had been seated on one side of the “Tower of Rebellion,” he walked toward the railing between the two towers.

As he placed his arms on the railing, he felt the fierce wind blowing down from the high ground.

Whishhhh.

-It seems night has already fallen.

A dark early evening.

The horizon was nowhere to be seen.

Even from the top of the tower, the dense darkness made it difficult to make out the landscape.

In that darkness, a lone city glowed brightly.

A colossal city whose lights remained visible even through the rugged mountains blocking its view.

The capital of the empire, where the palace of Emperor Telmach was located.

‘Philiarc.’

As Rubin murmured, Haneke chimed in.

-Yes, Philiarc. That’s where the Emperor is. And Philiarc is close enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Rubin silently listened to the grand general’s words.

-A distance reachable within a day. If you ride hard now, you can arrive before dawn. With your movements, you could reach it even faster.

However.

-To get there, you would have to break through countless legions and gates. If the deployment hasn’t changed over the past nine years, you’ll first be blocked by the Blood Giants, whose bodies swell to enormous size, and the Blood-bound Warriors, who resonate with beasts.

Even if he bypassed the Empire’s special units without any bloodshed, the problem wouldn’t end there.

Even if he somehow infiltrated inside the walls, the palace guard would never allow an assassin to slip through.

The heads of countless swordsmanship families took turns leading the palace guard, and their elite descendants served as its members.

To kill the Emperor meant to raise one’s sword against the Bloodline.

-You don’t wish to be killed by Telmach again, do you?

Rubin recalled his death.

Life and hope—everything had faded away at the Ronan estate, where he had met his end.

The humiliating moment came back to him, when the Emperor with the golden mask had stood over his dying body, looking down.

Then, Haneke’s words grabbed Rubin’s attention once again.

-I am already a dead man. I don’t fear a second death. But you are different.

A return, a second chance.

-I don’t know what kind of blessing it was, but you have gained a second life. Yet, can you dedicate that life solely to killing the Emperor? For something so close to suicide?

He was asking if Rubin could avoid regrets.

Regret? If there was anything Rubin would regret in his reincarnated life, it was only one thing.

Losing the Bloodline and the family once again to the Emperor’s betrayal.

Step, step.

Haneke, with a changed demeanor, stood opposite Rubin.

In his hand was the wooden sword he had driven into the ground a moment ago.

Haneke held it up straight, aiming at Rubin.

The wooden sword did not waver, nor did Rubin’s expression, which remained unflinching and resolute.

‘General, or rather, Haneke Brion. Even if I fall again, allow me to die facing the Emperor.’

Even if he fell, he would plant his sword at the Emperor’s feet.

Confirming Rubin’s resolve, Haneke lowered the wooden sword.

Then, with a light flourish, he brushed away all the wounds, regrets, and sorrows he had harbored through his swordsmanship.

And what remained in their place was a fury and thirst for vengeance equal to Rubin’s own.

-That’s the best news I’ve heard. Things will get busy from today. The lessons we’ve put off are piled up like a mountain.

* * *

Rubin’s group left the Mirberk plains before dawn.

The tower’s guide had offered that they could stay at the tower until morning, but neither Rubin nor Haneke saw any need to linger, so they firmly declined.

And so, three hours had passed since they’d ridden through the darkness.

An unexpected accident occurred.

As they cautiously moved forward with the lanterns lit, the wheel of the carriage, for some reason, slipped out of place.

Clang, clang, clang!

The carriage quickly lost balance and tilted, scraping along the ground.

The speed wasn’t high, so the carriage did not overturn or suffer any major damage.

“Are you all right, my lord?”

While the coachman worked to calm the horses, two escort knights rode up.

After a brief pause, the previously unresponsive carriage door opened, and Rubin emerged.

He gestured to the two of them, signaling he was fine.

Then, holding up a lantern, he inspected the detached part of the carriage wheel.

“That’s odd. I definitely checked the carriage’s condition before we left.”

It wasn’t an issue with the carriage.

As he suspected, when he shone the lantern, there were marks where the connection between the carriage body and the wheel had been deliberately cut.

“My lord, perhaps it would be best to request assistance from a nearby outpost.”

If the escorts sent a messenger to Roinerkrow, an assassin from the nearest outpost would come to help before dawn.

However, Rubin shook his head.

Calling for help as a way to handle a crisis didn’t sit well with him.

“But the situation is…”

The escort trailed off.

Rubin understood well enough what the ‘situation’ referred to.

It was the recent news Maphis had conveyed—a target marked by the Execution Unit was nearby.

Everyone in the Assassin Blade Family knew of the Execution Unit’s formidable prowess, but the issue was that the identity of their target was unknown.

The Execution Unit’s target was typically someone who defied the will of the Assassin Blade Family.

If one happened to encounter such a person, it could lead to a disastrous incident.

Moreover, the fact that the carriage wheel had been deliberately separated suggested that someone might be targeting Rubin’s party.

-Camp.

“Yes?”

The escorts looked at the word Rubin had written on the ground with a stick, wearing troubled expressions.

Of course, they remembered Rubin’s remarkable skill displayed during his encounter with Maphis.

Level 3 mastery of Dark Ripple and skilled application of the art, along with his exceptional swordsmanship.

But camping presented a different issue.

Separate from the Execution Unit or the target issue, it increased the possibility of danger.

However, Rubin’s expression remained resolute.

“Yes, understood.”

The escorts eventually complied with his command.

In Rubin’s assessment, leaving this place now was more dangerous.

It could simply be an accident, but the chances were greater that it wasn’t.

-I have a bad feeling.

Rubin tried to ignore Haneke’s mutterings.

As preparations for camping proceeded, he amplified Dark Ripple to scan the surroundings.

And shortly after.

‘…!’

None of the escorts, nor Haneke, nor Rubin himself, had anticipated the entity detected within Dark Ripple’s reach.