Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam
Chapter 69: Shackles

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Shackles

Ethan once again exceeded expectations for his mission. Not only did he extract crucial information about the pollution zone from the novel titled "Light Messenger Yakwell," but he also deduced an assassination plot targeting the Imperial Knight Commander.

Ave initially thought he was just talking nonsense, but after carefully reading the level 3 assessment report, her expression immediately turned serious.

"I heard my predecessors mention this when I first joined the Knight Camp."

Bian confirmed the authenticity of the novel’s plot, "Yakwell was once an officer in the Kingdom Army, a glorious Tier Four Knight. I heard he suffered severe injuries during an operation with the Reception Bureau, and his mind became unstable... Are you saying they plan to lure me into this area and kill me when I lose my strength?"

Her tone sounded very calm, as if discussing something unrelated.

Ethan: "This is the most likely scenario."

Bian nodded and suddenly calmly turned to Ave, "Then I’ll leave the matters after to you. My subordinates will soon arrive at Ximu Town. They are brothers who once went through life and death with me. If war breaks out later, they should be able to maintain the peace of this small town. Let them stay here, don’t return to the imperial capital."

"I told you not to joke about such ominous things!"

Ave slammed her palm on the table, her golden hair forming an "X" shape on top of her head.

"This might not be a joke."

The one to respond was Ethan. Bian’s overly calm attitude towards death made him even more certain of his thoughts, "Perhaps the Knight Commander is seriously entrusting her final affairs to you."

By leaving the Knight Order at the Empire’s borders and not returning to the imperial capital, it is known that if they return, they will face persecution.

He learned at Fireplace Bay that currently both factions in the imperial capital want the Knight Commander to die in the border town. Now it seems that even Bian vaguely understands their intentions.

But come to think of it, before she was appointed Knight Commander by the King, she had followed the army on numerous expeditions. How could she not understand what this expedition meant?

Yet even so, she still came to Ximu Town and calmly prepared to die here.

Perhaps keeping her brothers away from the imperial capital is the only way to keep them away from persecution, and that bit of hope was for the nobles of the imperial capital to let this Knight Order reside in a border town far from the center of power.

Hearing this, Bian just smiled, implicitly admitting.

"Knight Commander, I have a hypothesis. May I speak?"

"Speak!"

The one speaking was Ave, and she was eager.

"Let’s assume you knew before setting off that this was an expedition with no return. Why would someone like you from the Council of Seven willingly fall into a trap?"

For a High-tier Knight of the Neseriel Sanctuary, who had achieved great military merits, such a death was too humiliating. It wasn’t an enemy that would kill her but the Empire she had once defended tirelessly.

Hearing the commotion from the living room, Zhaocai came out of the kitchen, stood at the door, and watched Ethan from afar with a peculiar look in his eyes.

After reading the story of "Light Messenger Yakwell," Ethan vaguely grasped the answer to the puzzle.

Bian, no longer frivolous, after a moment of tranquility, showed quite a demeanor of an Imperial Knight Commander. She softly asked, "May I hear more?"

"Because the information about the Evil God Fanatics appearing in the border city is true, and they will indeed greatly affect the Empire’s security. As long as these two remain unchanged, being an Imperial Knight Commander, you cannot defy your duty, even if you know this is likely a conspiracy. No, using foresight would be more accurate."

"Why, if it’s—"

Ave instinctively wanted to refute, but then suddenly realized, exclaiming, "... a broken vow!"

Once a knight breaks their vow, the great Master of Knights would take away their power.

And the Knight Commander is the Empire’s sword, defending the peace of the Empire is their vow.

Even knowing it’s a battle with no return, they remain undaunted — the honorable tradition passed down since the first King. In fact, the Empire’s territory is built upon the bones of countless knights, and during the Empire’s most glorious era, numerous tales circulated widely among the populace.

Ethan stripped away those beautiful packages, glimpsing the essence of the vow.

For the knights of the Neseriel Sanctuary, it is a unilateral shackle tied around each neck, willingly put on the moment they joined the Kingdom Army, swearing allegiance to the Empire, a shackle personally created by the first King.

The Empire’s sword must never point to the Empire, even when treated unfairly.

Perhaps this is why the great first King established the "vow" and passed it down as a gift to his descendants.

Even if Bian planned to abandon her duties as Knight Commander, a knight with a broken vow posed no threat to them.

"The only people who can give you orders are the royalty. The Prince..."

"This was an order personally given by the Prince. He blessed us with a triumphant return in the presence of His Majesty."

Bian’s reply rendered Ave speechless. Her golden hair drooped, and though she couldn’t comprehend why the Prince would make such orders, it was now irreversible.

Bian shifted her tone, saying, "Some things cannot be changed just by knowing them, and what you just said is enough for the Judicial Court to tie you to a stake and burn you – someone like you should stay far away from the imperial capital."

"So, the followers of the Evil God can also exploit the vow to lead you step-by-step into deeper layers of the pollution zone."

Once Ethan placed himself in the perspective of the heretic, he could easily come up with many ways to deal with Bian in the pollution zone.

"However, you have a plan."

Ave took a deep breath, looking at Ethan with hope.

This person with his wild imagination could always come up with ideas even she couldn’t think of when things were at an impasse, "You have a plan this time too, don’t you?"

"Yes, I have a plan."

Ethan said solemnly, "I’ll enter the pollution zone, and you set up an ambush at Riverside Town. I will do everything to lure the mastermind out of the pollution zone. That is our only chance."

"It’s too risky!"

Bian and Ave almost simultaneously protested.

"If you die, we still cannot return alive! There is no failsafe plan now."

Ethan forcefully interrupted the two, "And don’t forget that at level 3, everyone will lose their power, but Director Yakwell successfully escaped from there. I will leave corresponding clues at the level I reach. If I cannot get out of the pollution zone within a day, the rest is up to you, Ave."

Driven to monopolize experience and delve into advanced magic, Ethan was willing to take the risk.

This segment of speech was also designed by him in the study.

He could not miss this chance, as chaos was about to unfold, and he needed to be prepared.

After a deliberate pause, he mustered a resolute expression, "However, if I succeed, please give me an excellent performance evaluation."