The Traitorous Prince

Let's surren der!

All the remaining knights in the royal capital were summoned to Huey's barracks.

There were only four knights. Huey looked at them with a worried look.

A wrinkled old man with a shaggy beard.

A boy with curly hair and freckles with big eyes down.

A young woman with red hair who did not even want to hide her dissatisfaction.

Finally, he looked at Shion who had icy eyes.

"...Is that all?"

"Yes."

"No, the Central Knights of the Kingdom are over a hundred. There are only four left?"

The Knights of the Kingdom of Eindel were divided into the Northern Knights, the Eastern Knights, and the Central Knights, which were stationed at the border.

Huey spent almost half his life on the northern front, so he did not know much about the Central Knights, but he could not believe that there were only four left.

Shion explained reluctantly.

"We have a total of 28 members, but as I explained before, some were dispersed in various places, and they got scattered during the Brunhilt attack. There were only 20 people left in the capital."

"Then where are the other 16?"

"They were killed

“…”

With great dreams and hopes, Huey stood in front of them, compla ining.

"Well, now that it's done, we should try our best. But I've never met you before, Please introduce yourself."

The bearded old man grinned and brushed his beard.

"Nice to meet you, youngest Prince. My name is Handel,"

"You look a little old."

"I'm sixty-three this year, I was supposed to retire half a year ago."

"How come you are still here?"

"It's because of the war. Retirement is impossible during wartime."

"Oh, I see."

Handel tapped the bow that was tied to his waist.

"I can't swing my sword well because of my bad back, but I'm pretty confident in archery. It'll help."

Huey held out his hand.

"Anyway, nice to meet you. Let's do well together,"

"Oh, a handshake."

Handel grinned and bit his pipe in his mouth,

"If I hold a traitor's hand, I think my hand will smell bad!"

“…”

Handel grinned at Huey, who had an annoyed look. Huey shook his head and turned to the freckled boy with curly hair standing next to him.

"Uh... friend. What about you?"

The startled boy stuttered.

"It, it's an honor to meet you, Prince Huey! I, I, I'm Grain! Just let me do anything!"

Huey, who looked at the thin limbs of the trembling boy, tilted his head.

"Sir... Grain? Excuse me, but you don't look like a knight...?"

"Oh, no! I’m definitely a knight! I, I, I can fight!"

No, no matter how he looked at him, he looked like a beginner. He looked weaker than a regular soldier, let alone a knight.

Shion quietly explained to Huey, who was sweating.

"Sir Grain is a priest."

"A priest? Oh, you mean a healer?"

"One-twentieth of the members of the Knights are 'Holy Knights', who are appointed priests of the Anghelan Church. Have you forgotten that principle?"

"Ahaha, being in such a prison, my faith in the state religion has faded."

Most of the Holy Knights he knew were strong men, but this boy was too different from such an image.

Huey, who laughed awkwardly, looked up and down at the boy trembling.

"So in short, the knights are all dead, and we have to keep the Holy Knights' rate according to the doctrine, so this apprentice priest was knighted, right?"

"...That's about right."

"I, I'm not an apprentice! I'm an official priest!"

Grain, who was refuting in a shrill voice, immediately shrank.

"...I was promoted shortly after the outbreak of the war."

"You're working so hard, little friend..."

Huey grinned and patted Grain on the shoulder,

"What can I do anyway? A knight is a knight, right? Let's do what we have to do."

"What, what do I have to do?"

Huey smiled wickedly.

"Of course it's a big dance with those Brunhilt guys!"

"Uh, uhh..."

Grain looked as if he were about to cry. But he did not.

"Well, and you..."

Huey turned his eyes to the side.

The red bob cut woman's eyes were fiercely raised. The skull pattern on the large shield on her back was threatening.

"Why are you staring at me like that? By any chance, did you fall in love because I'm too handsome?"

"Stop the bullshit, Traitorous Prince."

The ferocious red-haired woman introduced herself.

"I’m 4th in the Central Knights’ ranking. My name is Kay, I'm telling you, I don't trust a traitor at all. Just keep that in mind."

Huey looked back at Shion in surprise.

"Is there a ranking in the Knights?"

"...we hold every year an internal tournament. We get a rank from it."

"Isn't that a formal event? Are you really using that to set your rank?"

"No, well... it's just to make the knights feel good."

"But why is she proudly introducing herself, saying, 'I'm ranked 4th in the Knights' ranking'?"

"...Stop asking questions."

"Hey! Shut up! I can hear everything!"

Kay shouted with a flushed face. Huey smiled and nodded,

"Well, Sir Kay, 4th in the Knights' Ranking."

"Hey, don't call me that."

"You're the most powerful person in the 'Knights' ranking', so I'll make sure to use it to my heart's content."

"Stop calling me that, you bastard!"

Kay pulled out the mace from her waist with a red face, but Handel and Grain managed to sop her.

Huey nodded and looked again at Shion.

"And our Knight Commander, Sir Shion."

“…”

Shion now had a stern look on her face. That was more comfortable for Huey.

"Can I ask you while we're at it? What is Sir Shion's rank in the Knights?"

“…”

"What? What happens? Huh, huh, huh? Maybe... You can't say it because you're shy, right?"

Clinging to her, Huey pressed his elbow to Shion's side.

"Sigh."

Shion, who sighed briefly, reluctantly replied.

"I've never been in the top 10 in the Knights' ranking."

"Hehe~? As the Knight Commander, your skills are outside the top 10, right?"

Huey teased, but Shion did not blink an eye,

"But after this war is over, the number of enemy soldiers that I killed will be in the top three of the Knights."

"How many have you killed already?"

"I've killed 2,079 people in the last six months."

"Wow."

Huey backed away in fright.

"I can't believe that our innocent Shion has become this strong! I'm happy for you!"

"Please stop your bullshit..."

Sion rolled her eyes and slowly added.

"For your information, the number of allies killed by the 3rd Dragon Knight of Brunhilt, Canis, is about 4,000."

"...Alone?"

"Yes, alone, and the total number of allies killed by his Corps is about 6,000."

Huey let out a la ugh.

"That's a ridiculous number... No, if you let those monsters run wild on the plains, it's only natural for that amount of damage."

However, this number was not realistic.

Huey, who was lost in thought for a moment, suddenly laughed.

"But there's a blind spot, too."

"What?"

"Their fighting power is too focused on one thing."

Huey coughed.

"My friends, Do you know about the social structure of the Brunhilt Empire?"

"...?"

"Those with dragon blood, which are less than 10%, rule over the northern barbarians, which are more than 90%."

Huey made gestures and began explaining. It looked funny as he was wrapped in the chains.

"The same goes for their army. The command is the Dragon Knight and his personal guards, and the rest are the barbarians. The barbarians lack loyalty, and they have poor training. Besides, they must be exhausted from the distant expedition,"

Kay, who was listening quietly, asked.

"So?"

"If you we get rid of the head, the rest is nothing."

Handel frowned and scratched his gray beard,

"It's easy to say... How do we get rid of the head?"

"That's the problem! That's right, There's no way to get rid of it!"

Huey snapped his fingers. Even with his arms tied, his fingers seemed to snap.

"Among the seven Dragon Knights of the Brunhilt Em pire, Canis is considered the strongest. There's no way people like us can do anything. He's so strong that tricks or sneak attacks won't work."

"Then, how...?"

Huey smiled cheerfully and nodded.

"So, we surrender."

Silence fell on the barracks...

Shion closed her eyes, and the other three knights stiffened with their mouths open. It was the youngest Grain who managed to speak out.

"...What? Hmm, Prince? I'm sorry I didn't hear well, but if you could explain it one more time..."

Huey clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"I don't know how many times I've been repeating this. If you have ears, please listen. Today! Right now! We surrender."

Handel, Grain and Kay exchanged glances.

They had heard a lot of rumors about the youngest prince, but one of them became clear.

Crazy.

This bastard is crazy.

"Hey, Youngest Prince. Although the war situation is not favorable to us, there are several areas that are fighting in the middle of the country. In this situation, if the royal family surrenders, their fight becomes meaningless."

"The fallen knights and troops are all regrouping to the royal capital. A little bit more strength will replenish the reinforcements. We have been fighting for half a year, and now we should surrender? Are you out of your mind?"

"And I heard that the Brunhilt men killed all those who surrendered and burned their towns..."

The three knights spoke one after the other and expressed their opposition.

The reason why they had entrusted the military power to this traitor was to revive the knights' strength, not surrender.

The war was hopeless, of course, But the reason why they had fought so far instead of taking the easy path of surrender was for the pride of the Kingdom of Eindel.

They would rather break than bend.

This stubbornness had been the force that had allowed the Kingdom of Eindel to stand tall as a continental loser for hundreds of years.

Even if you're defeated, it's natural to die fighting, What do you mean surrender?

Huey glared fiercely at the three knights who tried to argue back.

"So loud! His Majesty has already approved it."

"What, what?"

"Now, look at this surrender document. Can you see the seal stamped on it?"

Huey tapped the paper on the table next to it.

When the three knights looked at it, they indeed saw the royal seal.

Bewildered, Handel groaned.

"Uh... why..."

"In ten minutes, I will go to the enemy camp with this surrender document and a white flag. And tell them they've won! I'll be back in the evening with our great Brunhilt Empire,"

The three knights quickly looked at Shion.

It was a look that meant that it would be better to cut the head of this psychopath as soon as possible and build a defense line.

“…”

But Shion was silent. She shook her head slightly.

"My friends. In the meantime, I'll tell you what to do."

As he approached the three knights, Huey grinned wickedly.

The three knights stepped back unknowingly at the eerie smile. Holding the military authority, the youngest prince spoke in an excited voice, with his bright red eyes shining.

"Shouldn't we give a warm and sincere welcome to our Brunhilt guests?"

* * *

"Snore..."

Canis was snoring.

After returning to his own private barracks, he had thrown off his helmet, armor, and all his underwear, and threw himself on bed and fell asleep.

The way the seven Dragon Knights of the Brunhilt Empire replenished their strength was different. Once Canis went to battle and came back, he slept like a dead man until he recovered, Day after day without waking up. This Canis sleeping habit was called "winter sleep" in the Brunhilt group. This sleeping habit of Canis was called 'winter sleep' by the Brunhilt soldiers,

It meant that he would sleep for days and days, but it also meant that no one should try to wake him up.

Therefore, his guards were thoroughly vigilant to avoid disturbing his sleep and struggled to make the area quiet. But...

"...My Lord."

This time, they had to wake him up.

One of the guards, a silver-haired boy, came into the barracks and called Canis with a trembling voice.

"...Lord. Please wake up."

“…”

"Lord, wake up... It's an urgent matter."

“…”

"My Lord..."

The boy, who swallowed his dry saliva, slowly raised his hand.

And he put his hand slightly on Canis' muscular body.

"Lord, wake up-"

Whoo!

The next moment, Canis' fist, which rose like lightning, struck the boy's chest. The boy bounced out of the barracks and rolled on the floor without screaming.

"Grrrrrr..."

Canis was on the floor of the barracks. With his hands and feet on the ground, he looked like a wolf.

A bright yellow glow flashed in the dark barracks. A hollow breath sprang up between the teeth that were tightly bitten. An unstoppable life force emanated from him.

"...Ahem, my Lord."

Another silver-haired boy waiting outside bowed his head. Another guard was knocked down next to him, but he did not even blink.

Canis growled in a voice cold as ice.

"...I told you not to disturb me when I sleep."

"I’m sorry. It's such an emergency."

"If it isn't a big deal, you'll lose your head... What's the matter?"

"The Prince of Eindel has visited,"

The following words opened Canis' eyes wide.

"...He said they're surrendering."

It took less than 30 seconds for Canis to put on his underwear and gown, After leaving the barracks, Canis headed for the conference barracks under the escort of the guards.

Flap!

Canis walked through the entrance cloth of the barracks and entered.

A familiar-looking blonde prince was sitting at the table in the barracks. Canis smirked,

"Huey 'Star Seeker' Eindel..."

"Yo! Canis! Good evening~"

Huey waved his hands energetically and greeted him, His upper body and arms were tied with chains, so all he could do was wave his palms from his waist.

"You guys won! We lost! So we surrender. Surrender!"

Huey laughed and shook excitedly a small white flag in his hand. Canis laughed, dumbfounded.

"Because it's your kingdom, and because it's you, I thoug ht you'd resist to the end?"

"What? What are you talking about? I don't fight without a chance of winning, you know that, right?"

Huey, who giggled, put the document in his opposite hand down on the table,

"Let's quickly put an end to this tedious war!"

Canis picked up the document and unfolded it.

It was an unmistakable surrender document stamped with the seal of the King of Eindel.

“…”

Huey frowned at Canis, who was puzzled by this easy victory. He winked with a star.

'Will you accept our surrender?'