Chapter 197: Listen to the Old General tell~ stories of the past

After the assassination attempt on Godrick, the itinerary changed.

Not that he was worried about his safety.

After all, in terms of strength, there were probably few people in this city who could match Mia.

Rather, it was that after losing his vehicle, traveling as the lord of a city was no longer appropriate.

Leaving the streets to the soldiers to clean up, Mia and the others returned to the Legion’s castle for a brief stay, waiting for the soldiers searching for the assassins to return with good news.

Or perhaps, bad news?

Of course, Godrick and Mia were not disappointed.

The veteran Pompey strode into the castle of Godrick’s Legion, surrounded by Banished Knights, and casually tossed the great banner in his hand to a servant in the castle.

It took three servants working together just to barely manage to hoist that great banner and stand it upright.

The Banished Knights remained outside the hall, and Pompey, having set aside his weapons, stepped through the main doors.

With his head held high and chest puffed out, he strode toward the two most noble people present.

The friction of his armor clattered loudly.

“Your Majesty—” His voice, like a booming bell, echoed through the hall.

With a whimper, Lappland, who had been by Mia’s side, tucked her tail and hid behind Mia. The other two were much the same, suddenly looking as if they had seen some natural predator.

“Am I a bit unwelcome?” the veteran laughed heartily.

Mia looked helplessly at her Spirit Wolves, reaching out to stroke Lappland for comfort.

They weren’t even afraid of the Omen or Godrick, so why were they afraid of Pompey? The thoughts of animals are truly as complex as those of humans.

Regarding Pompey, Mia was particularly impressed by the figure at yesterday’s banquet. Pompey’s heroic posture while drinking was even more eye-catching than Godrick’s.

However, it also meant that Mia had very few opportunities to speak with the old veteran yesterday.

“Pompey!” Godrick looked relieved and happy upon seeing the veteran. “You must have brought some good news?”

“Naturally, Lord Godrick,” Pompey replied. “Those two assassins have been captured and brought to justice!”

“That’s good.” It was good news that the assassins were caught, but: “Two?”

“I didn’t expect that Tarnished to have backup, but neither were thieves of any consequence.”

“I remember there were reports earlier that two Tarnished had broken into the city?” Mia inquired.

“Those are the ones!” Pompey answered loudly.

Mia didn’t know why Roger would be mixed up with Neffeli. But it must be a development different from the game. The appearance of two familiar Tarnished together piqued Mia’s interest.

“How are they?” Mia stood up and asked with interest.

“They might have to lie in bed for a while, well… in a jail cell.”

“Take me to see them.”

“No problem, Your Majesty,” Pompey replied. “And Godrick? How about you?”

“Let my aunt go.” Godrick waved his hand, irresponsibly pushing the interrogation task onto Mia.

Several Banished Knights followed them as they left the Legion’s castle.

This time, they had to go to the dungeon on foot.

On the way, Mia asked Pompey a few things.

“You don’t seem to respect Godrick very much?” In their previous conversation, Mia noticed that Pompey did not use honorifics for Godrick, but addressed him directly by name like a friend.

“Well now—” Pompey looked down at Mia beside him. “What, want to speak up for him?”

“Not at all,” Mia smiled. “I’m just a bit curious.”

“Hmph, hmph.” The veteran stroked his long white beard. “This matter goes back a long time.”

The veteran began to tell his story, the story of their Banished Knights Legion.

Back in the day—since it was unknown how many years had passed, it could only be described as ‘a long, long time ago.’

The Stormlord of Stormveil was defeated by King Godfrey of the Golden Order. The knights and soldiers who once served the Stormlord lost their lord. The Golden Order declared them guilty, but that was actually a way of accepting them.

The Stormlord’s warriors were allowed to choose their place of exile—meaning, to choose the new master they would serve.

One of the Stormlord’s wings swore fealty to Morgott, becoming the vanguard for hunting traitors. An entire legion followed General Radahn, fighting to protect Caelid.

Pompey also mentioned another colleague who was unwilling to submit to the Golden Order even at the end. After the final battle in that blizzard, Radagon showed mercy to the souls of the surviving veteran and his knights. It was heard he still lives in seclusion in the vast snowy mountains north of Altus.

“And you?” Mia asked Pompey.

“Me? I didn’t care,” Pompey shrugged.

“How could you not care?”

“How many kings have been born on this land? Probably even the Ancient Dragons can’t count them all. They are all history, girl. Perhaps you have no concept of it, thinking that since no one can die anyway, it doesn’t matter, but let me tell you, one day, we will all be history.”

Pompey walked ahead of Mia with his hands behind his back, like an old sage.

His long cape brushed against his heels.

“At the time I chose Godwyn. I thought he was a decent fellow, though Radahn was a good man too… but you kno… ah, you don’t know, how should I put it…”

The veteran scratched his neck beneath his helmet. “I don’t get along with O’Neil.”

Pompey let out a breath.

“Godwyn was a good man; he shouldn’t have ended up like that, and his sons shouldn’t have ended up like this. But I think I’ve been lucky enough that after countless years, the ground beneath my feet is still my homeland.”

“However, I see you,” Pompey’s single eye held a pleasant glint as he sized Mia up. “You’re a good Soldier too, girl.”

This was a blatant ‘good Soldier’ card.

Mia chuckled.

Then, Pompey said, “I hope you don’t end up like Godwyn or Radahn.”

“Huh?”

“Hahaha, forget I said anything.” The veteran laughed heartily. “Do you drink, girl? I saw you didn’t eat much yesterday.”

“Um… not really…” The boisterous veteran made Mia feel a bit awkward.

As the saying goes, if you aren’t embarrassed yourself, the embarrassment belongs to others.

And Pompey was clearly a social butterfly who could live by that phrase. Or rather, he was just cheerful? In the face of someone like Pompey, Mia did indeed feel some embarrassment.

“Heh.” The veteran laughed easily.

When he noticed Wilden, however, he frowned again. “Your name is Wilden? I always feel like we’ve met somewhere.”

“Perhaps.” Wilden shrugged.

Wilden’s perfunctory answer made Pompey a bit dissatisfied, but he didn’t press the matter, waving his hand as if to let it pass.

Before long, they reached their destination.

The prison was located in a corner of a plaza, low-key and gloomy. If not for the large number of patrolling Banished Knights around, no one would have been able to tell what was different about that building.