Chapter 57: Chapter 45: Lord of the Holy Sword, The One of Destiny, Radiant Chosen One

Heinrich entered Baihe Town with a clear purpose, heading straight for a residence in the northern part of town.

Even with the Scaya Dragonfolk Army massed at the northern border, the Knight from the Dragon Hunter Battle Group paid it no mind. After dismounting with his men, he knocked on the residence’s old wooden door.

Before long, a young man’s voice rang out from inside the residence.

"You have the wrong person. Go back."

Heinrich removed his Dragon Bone Helmet and knelt on one knee before the door. The Knights standing behind him all lowered their heads and knelt as well.

「After a long silence.」

The champion of the Imperial Arena lowered his proud head. Without offering any explanation, he spoke in a sincere tone.

"Your Highness, the Empire and its people need you."

Reinhardt and Dietlinde stood a short distance away, witnessing the proud Knights of the Dragon Hunter Battle Group willingly kneel.

And the title Heinrich used—it was enough to leave even Reinhardt stunned.

Your Highness.

In the thousand-year history of the Radiant Empire, only one type of person was worthy of being addressed as such by a Knight: the Lord of the Empire.

The Holy Sword Master!

The Sole One of Destiny!

The Radiant Chosen One!

Destined to bear the fate—the rises and falls, the honors and disgraces—of this nation and the entire Human World.

Dietlinde’s eyes went wide. She never would have dreamed that the Lord of the Radiant Empire was living in seclusion in a remote town in a border province.

When Fei Ning, who had been rushing to catch up, heard the name from a distance—"Your Highness," a title symbolizing supreme nobility in the Radiant Empire—his heart began to pound in his chest.

’If he could, he would rather rip his own ears off than get dragged into the power struggles of the Empire’s elite.’

The wind grew stronger.

Swathes of wild grass bent to the ground.

Wispy clouds veiled the sun, casting a dim light upon the residence’s old wooden door.

CREAK—

As the wooden door was pushed open, a tall, powerfully built figure appeared before them.

His coarse linen clothes were tattered and his face was covered in untrimmed stubble, but his pale-golden eyes, like the light of dawn, held an innate nobility.

His choppy silver hair seemed to give off a faint light. His face was exceptionally handsome, but cold and unapproachable.

He stood before Heinrich, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"The Empire does not need a failure. Knight, my very existence brings the Empire shame. You... should go back."

But Heinrich remained kneeling.

He took out a sealed letter, presenting it to the silver-haired man with both hands.

「After a long silence.」

The man’s brow furrowed. The aura of his Power flickered around him as he asked in a low, heavy voice, "In the name of the Knight’s oath, tell me: is what is written here the truth or a lie?"

Heinrich bowed his head. "I swear it on my soul."

The sealed letter turned to ash in the silver-haired man’s hand. In that instant, the presence that belonged to the Lord of the Radiant Empire, dormant for far too long, surged back into his body.

There was no blazing anger.

No recrimination.

Only a steady calm.

"My brother will pay the price for his betrayal."

「At that same moment.」

The ground began to tremble, shaking loose dirt and dust from Baihe Town’s low walls.

A Knight stationed on the northern garrison let out a terrified cry.

"It’s the Scaya army! They’re attacking! We’re under attack—! Under attack—!"

In that instant, the silver-haired man’s pale-golden eyes, like the light of dawn, swept over every Knight in Baihe Town. His gaze finally settled on Reinhardt as he extended his right hand, offering them all an invitation.

"My name is Ludwig, Holy Sword Master, the Radiant Chosen One, and Guardian of the Empire. Knights, join me. This nation needs your Loyalty."

After he spoke, enormous, radiant wings unfurled from his back. An impossibly powerful Knightly Suppression washed over them—a Domain unlike anything Reinhardt had ever experienced. Yet, the pressure was gentle, like bathing in holy light, calming their minds and bestowing courage upon them all.

Then, the man who called himself Ludwig tore open space with his bare hands, took a single step, and vanished without a trace. He left behind the Knights of the Dragon Hunter Battle Group and the men of the Iron Blood Battle Group, who remained in a state of profound shock, unable to stir for a long time.

It was as if the invisible paths of fate...

...had, in that single moment, finally converged.

---

The Scaya Dragonfolk had invaded the Empire. In the time before the war reached them, Baihe Town was a hive of activity.

And it was from Heinrich that Reinhardt finally learned the truth of it all.

It all began with the succession of the Lord of the Radiant Empire.

This Human Empire, which has stood for a thousand years against the crushing pressure of evil races from countless worlds, has from its beginning to its end known only one true Emperor. He is the Empire’s Founding Emperor, and the first Radiant Knight in the Human World.

The successor to the Lord of the Empire is chosen by the Holy Sword. They are baptized in Radiant Power, merging with the wisdom and martial prowess of all previous Lords of the Holy Sword. From a young age, they undergo the Empire’s training, taught how to become a worthy ruler.

Under such a system of succession and training, the humanity of each Lord of the Empire gradually fades away, leaving only absolute Loyalty to the Empire and a transcendent, godlike nature.

But the winds of change began to blow when a problem arose during the selection ceremony for the fifth Lord of the Empire.

Ludwig and Karloman were twins, born of the same mother and father.

From the very beginning, the elder brother, Ludwig, was the master of the Holy Sword, while his brother, Karloman, was meant to lead the Imperial Regency Council and assist him in ruling the vast Empire.

In the year 1421, Ludwig, the Lord of the Empire, personally led a campaign into the Dark Abyss. There, he faced a premeditated siege by four Abyssal Lords and was caught in a fight to the death.

The war lasted until 1438.

Two of the Empire’s thirteen Legions were completely annihilated.

The Infantry Legions suffered over thirty million casualties.

In the decisive battle that autumn, the Lord of the Empire was not only gravely wounded to the point of death, but the Radiant Holy Sword itself fell into the hands of the Abyssal Lord Avernus.

After that, Ludwig came to believe that his brother was the true Sole One of Destiny, the Radiant Chosen One. He, having lost the Radiant Holy Sword, was the greatest disgrace to the Empire—and indeed, to the entire Human World.

So he chose to "disappear in the Dark Abyss," going into seclusion and never again meddling in the affairs of the Empire.

For the first year, Karloman, having inherited the position of Lord of the Empire, governed with great effort. He swore before the Radiant Holy Image that he would rescue his brother and cleanse their shame.

But time reveals all truths.

By the second year, however, that narrow-minded and unscrupulous man finally succumbed to the temptations of power.

He began a massive purge of the Knights and officials who had been loyal to Ludwig.

The Steel Knight Order and the Dragon Hunter Battle Group were among the targets.

But this was a nation where only the victor had the right to speak. The disastrous defeat in the autumn of 1438 had cost them the political capital to oppose Karloman and his faction.

People like them were either branded traitors, exiled to the Empire Border to fight to the last man, or, like Heinrich himself, relied on their own formidable strength to thwart Karloman’s schemes time and again.

When Reinhardt heard that Sedon had been willing to sacrifice his own future to protect a talented Knight like him, he had remained skeptical.

「On the low city wall.」

The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder.

A frantic wind whipped at their hair.

The Scaya Dragonfolk army blotted out the sky.

Heinrich put on his Dragon Bone Helmet and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Sedon is not a good man. His purpose in the Steel Knight Order was to act as Karloman’s watchdog, to ensure the order was fought to annihilation.

But you cannot question his Loyalty to the Empire, Reinhardt.

For the good of the Empire, your talent was worth the risk."