The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World-Chapter 576- The Identity of the Invader

Inside the waiting chamber, Cecilia and Lirae could hear the muffled noise of the auction that was going on with high energy.

The sounds of bidding, of hunger and greed. It was clear from the waiting chamber, making the wait all the more agonizing.

Cecilia squeezed Lirae’s trembling hand.

"Stay with me. No matter what happens, we move together."

The latter nodded, determined to escape with her.

The auction continued. One by one, captives were displayed and sold. With every passing moment, the air grew heavier.

Cecilia and Lirae waited for their turn. However, even they couldn’t foresee the sudden turn of events that completely derailed their plans.

BOOOMM...

A thunderous explosion rocked the building. Walls cracked, and the ceiling trembled violently as dust and debris rained down.

Then came the screams.

"What’s happening?!"

Before anyone could answer, a second explosion ripped through the hall.

There was fire, there was smoke, there was chaos everywhere.

By the time Cecilia and Lirae escaped outside, they realized that the auction house was under attack.

No, it wasn’t just the auction house, the entire city was under siege. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Cecilia and Lirae didn’t wait. They ran and ran. Away from the hell that awaited them.

Burning buildings, streets overflowed with blood and screaming civilians as they fled, only to be cut down moments later.

Steel and skills clashed endlessly.

They didn’t understand what was happening. Why the city was under attack, nor did they care. They only had one goal in mind... escape.

Cecilia and Lirae ran until their lungs hurt and their legs gave out. However, wherever they turned, there were only soldiers awaiting them.

The city was encircled. There was nowhere to escape.

THUD... THUD...

To make matters worse, they could hear the thudding noise of the approaching soldiers.

There was no time, they had to hide. Desperate, Cecilia scanned the street and spotted a narrow alley leading into a half-collapsed house.

"This way!"

She grabbed Lirae’s wrist, pulling her toward the shattered doorway. But Lirae had stopped completely. No, more like she was frozen.

"Lirae?" Cecilia turned and saw her face.

Her eyes were wide, pupils constricted, lips trembling violently. She was staring at the soldiers flooding the avenue.

At their armor, at the motif embellished there. It stirred something within her, a trauma from the past. Memories surged.

Run, Lirae!

Run!

Her childhood engulfed in fire and blood. Within the scene was her father, bleeding while standing between her and advancing blades. Her mother screaming, holding her close.

It was the same armor, the same insignia.

"Lirae!"

Cecilia grabbed Lirae’s shoulders and shook her urgently.

"Look at me! We have to move! If we don’t hide, we won’t be able to escape."

Yet despite her efforts, Lirae seemed trapped in her own nightmare.

At this moment, the thunder of marching boots grew closer. A squad of soldiers was advancing their way.

Seeing that there was no other way, Cecilia pushed Lirae hard toward the dilapidated house. However, in doing so, she left herself completely exposed.

"Oh? There is an elf in this city?"

A soldier had spotted her. Their sharp gazes landed on her one after the other.

At that instant, Cecilia made her decision. Now that she was discovered, she could no longer hide here. If she did, she would be endangering Lirae.

And so, without hesitating, she turned around and fled the other way.

"Live well, Lirae."

Just before leaving, Cecilia muttered those words with a smile to the existence who had become like a sister to her. Even until the end, there was not a single trace of reproach in her eyes.

The soldiers quickly followed after her.

.

.

The story ended there.

Thanks to Cecilia’s last ditch efforts, Lirae had survived.

"After the soldiers left, I searched everywhere. I searched for days. I begged people. I followed every trail. But Cecilia, she was nowhere to be found. She must have been taken by those soldiers. There is no other explanation."

The latter fell to her knees and pleaded while sobbing.

"I lived because of her. But Cecilia, she suffered because of me. If I hadn’t frozen, if I had moved, she wouldn’t have."

Tears streamed down her face, soaking the ground beneath her. The guilt had eaten at her, rotting her heart from the inside.

Elina hugged the girl tightly to her heart.

Living while hiding, the death of her parents, the ruin of the adoptive family that took her, then being captured by slave traders, and Cecilia’s sacrifice... the girl had gone through far too much.

It was a miracle she hadn’t broken down yet.

Standing a few steps away, Reinhardt let out a slow breath.

So that was the case. He finally understood the source of that ominous unease gnawing at him.

The person he was searching for, the royal blood elf who was highly likely a High Elf Priestess, was captured by some military force.

The situation was far more dire than he thought.

Be that as it may, he did not allow any of that to show on his face.

First, he knelt in front of Lirae, meeting her tear-filled eyes calmly.

"Enough, this is not your fault. You survived because Cecilia wanted you to. That was her choice. To dishonor that by drowning in guilt would be the real betrayal."

Reinhardt’s voice was warm and gentle, and his presence was like the sun. It quickly dispersed all negativity within Lirae and made her feel assured.

"I will bring her back, just like I promised."

The weight behind those words was absolute.

There was some kind of intoxicating effect to his voice. It gave her hope and comfort.

Lirae stopped crying and bowed her head deeply.

"Th-thank you, Lord Reinhardt."

After giving her a moment, Reinhardt straightened and began questioning her carefully.

"Now then, if I were to save her, you must work with me. Tell me everything that you know. When did this incident happen?"

"One year ago."

"And those soldiers? Can you tell me what their armor looked like? The motif engraved there. Anything distinctive?"

Lirae closed her eyes, forcing herself to recall.

"They wore black steel armor, with a crimson crest in the middle. The design was of three curved claw marks crossing over a broken crown."

Hmm? The design did not match any of the motifs or insignias he knew of.

Though it was not surprising. The enemy must have been hiding their identity and using a false identity to mislead others.

That said, no matter how much they tried to hide their identities, there must be some clues to follow.

If he asked Jerrel to investigate this matter, there was bound to be some results.

"Anything else? Did you ever hear the names of the soldiers? Their unit?"

Since they could raid an entire city and defeat its guards, this couldn’t have been the doing of just any ordinary militia.

They had to be highly trained and exceptional, probably an elite knight order.

Lirae thought hard and recalled a detail she missed.

When she was pushed inside that dilapidated house, from her dazed senses, she heard the soldiers tailing Cecilia utter a name.

"Quick, Paragon Giacomo has given his orders. We need to capture that elf and quickly finish up."

Lirae nodded.

"I think they called their leader Paragon Giacomo."

For the very first time, Reinhardt’s pupils contracted slightly. That name, could it really be him?

"Are you sure you heard that name?"

Lirae nodded her head.

"I see, good job. Thanks to you, we will be able to save your sister."

The threads were finally beginning to unravel.

After entrusting Lirae to Elina’s care, Reinhardt wasted no time.

He went straight to Jerrel.

The door to the carriage was opened, and Reinhardt relayed everything he learned from Lirae.

Jerrel heard everything with a grim expression, especially when the name of the leader of the armed soldiers was revealed.

Even he could tell how grave the matter was.

"Don’t worry, I will mobilize all my intelligence networks and informants. If there is even a fragment of a trail, I will dig it out."

"I’m counting on you."

.

The next day, inside the vast royal library of Rune, Reinhardt arrived alongside Zerina, Elina, and Lirae.

After last night, the latter had become attached to them, or rather to Elina, and followed behind the latter like a little chick following a mother hen.

Inside, Jerrel stood at the center of the hall with his most trusted guards and advisors, locked in a heated debate.

All of them were clashing with each other in intense voices, their fingers pointed at the map and the scattered reports across the desk.

When he saw Reinhardt and his group enter, Jerrel raised a hand to stop his associates from arguing any further.

"Enough."

He then turned toward Reinhardt, exhaling slowly as if trying to push down the storm inside his chest.

The two nodded at each other, acknowledging each other’s presence.

"Any progress?"

Reinhardt asked.