Chapter 1832 - 507: Sword Against Sword in the Name of the Sacred, Reconciliation Through the Demon King's "Scheme" (Part 2)

Immediately after, the relief of seeing a loved one survive a disaster swiftly turned into a towering rage.

Killing intent surged in his eyes as he clenched his teeth tightly.

"Who did it."

Jelock fell into silence.

His mind involuntarily flashed through the figure like a specter appearing on the dome, and the demon in a tailcoat who left behind a pitying whisper before departing.

'You needn't know.'

Without a doubt, it was a vassal of the Demon King, a darkness that had been an enemy of the Campbell family for generations.

For the sake of his brother, and the family's last dignity, he decided to withhold part of the truth.

"It is the King's assassin," he replied calmly. "His name is Harlow, claiming to be Burier and Gravedigger. He carries Chaos' energy and is ruthless in action. I suspect they are remnants of the Green Forest Army..."

Edward's pupils suddenly contracted.

On the way here, he had actually already guessed the mastermind, but hearing it from a close relative was nonetheless different.

"Sorry... This time it was my oversight, I should have expected Theoden would strike at you."

He had originally thought Jelock wasn't his weakness, but obviously, the reality was otherwise.

Theoden understood him even better than he did himself, and when he heard the news of Krantz Castle's incident, it felt like his heart had stopped.

Jelock quietly shook his head, though his blood-drained face showed a gentle smile.

"No, Your Majesty, my brother... I do not believe this to be your oversight. No mortal can anticipate everything, can they?"

Not waiting for Edward to speak, he turned his gaze upon the ruined statue.

"Especially when our hearts remain devout, while our opponents have abandoned all boundaries. Didn't I also not foresee? Earl Derek, loyal to our father, would seize my sword and aim it at your chest."

This was the conclusion he reached after long reflection in the monastery, distilled from that mistake.

A noble knight should maintain devotion but also not shy from contemplating the worst malice of demons.

Edward looked at Jelock, as if recognizing his brother anew, speechless for a moment.

Jelock raised his right hand, gripping a broken stone arm, his tone bearing a hint of reverence.

"Fortuitously, Saint Sis is watchful over me. Harlow's cross destroyed the statue, but this broken arm bestowed upon me sacred strength, allowing me to repel the evil that angered the divine... Yet sadly, the others in the castle ultimately could not survive. Before coming to me, Chaos' Apostle had already killed them."

These words seemed absurd, not the whole truth, more like a minstrel's embellished verse.

Yet seeing the litter of corpses and Jelock's sincerely devout face, Edward ultimately chose silence.

With his experience, he could naturally discern the concealment in this soliloquy.

But he was willing to believe his brother didn't intentionally hide it from him, rather deciding to swallow the truth alone after careful consideration.

Regardless of the truth, as long as Jelock was alive, that was already enough for him.

Saint Sis above, let that be considered your miracle...

Edward did not further inquire into details, simply sitting with relief amidst the rubble beside Jelock.

The journey had exhausted him, and now the tight string in his heart could finally relax.

"Your Majesty..." Bertrand seized the opportunity to come forward, taking out a magic potion replenishing energy and blood, offering it to him.

Edward reached out to accept, nodding to indicate Bertrand should take over the castle's defense with the trusted aides, searching for threats possibly lurking in the darkness.

Then he needed to inform the captain waiting tensely on the deck that the firing packages and shells stuffed in the cannon could be unloaded.

The trusted aides left the broken bricks and rubble, leaving two to guard outside the monastery door and closing the battered wooden gate.

Only two remained in the empty hall.

Jelock grinned, took the magic potion handed by Edward, and without hesitation, drank it in one gulp.

A warm stream spread through his chest cavity, making him feel his body recover a bit.

Holy Light could heal wounds, but it mostly tapped into life potential, unable to fully replace the treatment of magic potion.

Watching color gradually return to Jelock's face, Edward's expression also softened, no longer as tense as before.

Sea breeze blew through the shattered window, seeming to disperse the bloody scent, or perhaps both men's noses had simply become accustomed.

The two brothers sat shoulder to shoulder amidst the ruins, showing no sign that months ago they had clashed as enemies.

Jelock turned his face, glanced at his brother's white hair, his adam's apple moved, and he opened his mouth first to break the silence.

"How are the children... doing?"

Edward was taken aback for a moment, then realized.

"You mean Richard and the others?"

"What else?" Jelock grinned, making a joke to lighten the mood. "Do you have a bastard child?"

"That joke is not funny." Edward said with a stern face.

"Haha..." Jelock awkwardly scratched the back of his head, like when he messed things up during childhood, "Sorry."

Edward's expression suddenly relaxed, the smile remained on his dignified face.

"I'm joking."

Jelock: "..."

It seems not just he remained the same, his brother too was as he was before.