Chapter 524: The Ashamed Bartos

Bokkat Kingdom, Red Roy City.

The master-level melee from a day ago had undoubtedly brought immense disaster to this prosperous city. Particularly after Punk left with “Smile” and the “Second Godchild,” Kane’s attacks became completely unrestrained as he sought to escape quickly. Under Audreylinda’s frenzied pursuit, the rampaging knight practically plowed through the entire Red Roy City!

By the time the great battle ended, the city left behind had long lost its former prosperity. Violent tremors had toppled nearly all unstable buildings, with rubble everywhere burying streets and countless lives. Deafening noises had ruptured the eardrums of almost every commoner in the city, causing them to bleed. The combat skill Kane used when departing even left a terrifying ravine in the southern part of Red Roy City.

Now, the fighting had ended. Punk and Kane had fled far away, leaving behind the ruins of Red Roy City that needed dealing with, leaving commoners, nobles, and merchants groaning on the ground who required rescue, leaving a kingdom whose operations had stalled due to the sudden deaths of numerous influential nobles that needed restarting…

As for who would solve these troubles… naturally, it fell to the royal family of Bokkat Kingdom and the unfortunate Bartos.

However, no matter the circumstances, maintaining appearances remained crucial for those nobles. Even while thousands of commoners remained buried in the rubble with unknown fates, to preserve “royal dignity,” the remaining workers and professionals immediately constructed a rather elegant temporary palace at the very center of Red Roy City’s ruins.

Initially, Bartos felt relieved after building this “temporary royal palace” for the kneeling, weeping royal family members. With his elite guards completely wiped out and his city in ruins, Bartos was already extremely agitated, and the nobles’ incessant wailing annoyed him beyond measure. Sending the whole bunch of nobles into the palace finally brought him some peace.

But Bartos’s tranquility lasted less than a morning before he began regretting creating this temporary palace.

Because… just as Bartos sat sighing in his recliner, a guard brought him news that wiped away all his sighing thoughts—the female knight Audreylinda had personally come to visit!

“What does this woman want? Why is she looking for me? What should I do? I should have anticipated this. Had I known, I would’ve waited a couple more days before returning!”

Dismissing the kneeling guard, Bartos scratched the back of his head in frustration. The force behind his large hand could tear chunks from rock, sufficiently illustrating his inner turmoil.

Bartos and Audreylinda had met long ago, and they could even be considered relatively good friends. Otherwise, Bartos wouldn’t have permitted the female knight, a master-level powerhouse, to openly teach apprentices in his capital.

And precisely because they’d known each other for several centuries, Bartos understood exactly what kind of person Audreylinda was.Unlike a coward like himself who belonged to the neutral lawful alignment, the Female Knight Audreylinda was a “champion of justice” from the good lawful alignment. For Audreylinda, “daring to confront all evil” was not just empty words. Moreover, Bartos had heard that one of the Female Knight’s apprentices had died at the hands of the two powerful assailants who attacked the Royal Capital. Given Audreylinda’s personality—which could be generously described as “unyielding” or less generously as “stubbornly single-minded”—Bartos could easily guess what this Female Knight would do next, even if he thought with a Great Hammer.

She would undoubtedly pursue evil. She would inevitably seek revenge in the name of justice for her kind apprentice. For a “true knight” like Audreylinda, such actions were entirely natural. If she were to “act within her means” at a time like this, it would be truly astonishing.

So… why hadn’t the Female Knight immediately embarked on her path to eradicate evil, instead choosing to spend time seeking him out?

Thinking this, Bartos, who resembled a slumbering bear, couldn’t help but cover his face with his hand in resignation.

Audreylinda must be looking for an ally, and the only ally she could think of—and had any chance of persuading—was him, a Master-Level warrior and National Guardian whose Kingdom’s capital had just been destroyed.

“Ah… what should I do now? How can I back down while saving a little face? How should I persuade Audreylinda to give up? And how should I face… this longtime friend of mine?”

Gulping down a large bowl of strong liquor, Bartos sighed with a troubled expression.

As a “deserter” who had fled from battle, how could he now speak to a comrade who charged forward fearlessly? This was a heavy burden!

Admittedly, Bartos was a coward, but cowardice was always temporary. Fear in the face of powerful enemies had driven him to turn and run, yet after successfully escaping, as the deep-seated fear gradually faded with time, intense guilt and self-doubt inevitably arose in Bartos’s heart.

After all, he was a Master-Level expert, usually a figure of some repute. To have fled without a fight… it was truly embarrassing. Moreover… Bartos actually held considerable affection for Audreylinda, the Female Knight. He probably never imagined that when facing an invincible foe, he would flee so swiftly, so decisively, so… disregarding Audreylinda.

Bartos was ashamed. It was precisely because of this that he couldn’t bring himself to face Audreylinda, whom he had abandoned. Yet, it was also because of this shame that when the Female Knight came looking for him, Bartos found it impossible to convince himself to avoid her.

Humans are such contradictory beings. The one who selfishly and cowardly fled the battlefield was Bartos, and now the one beating his chest in regret and self-reproach was also Bartos. This wasn’t hypocrisy but rather the inherent contradiction of ordinary intelligent creatures.

But… how could this now remorseful Bartos face Audreylinda, the “witness” who had seen his selfish and cowardly side?

“Ah, I suppose I should meet her. After all, it was this coward who committed the foolish act!”Rubbing his temples and gritting his teeth, Bartos still decided to meet with Audreylinda.

After all, they had been friends for over a hundred years. Though Bartos didn’t feel ashamed enough to atone for his escape, offering neither an apology nor any compensation… as someone from the “Lawful” alignment, he simply couldn’t get past his own conscience.

(End of Chapter)