Chapter 44: The Return of the Scarred Envoy

Under the escort of his knights, the scarred male officer, clad in practical boots, arrived at the village entrance with an air of composure. As it was night, the sturdy iron gates, built to protect the village from intrusion, were naturally shut tight.

Upon seeing the obstructing iron gates, the knights’ expressions visibly soured. One of them placed his right hand on his left shoulder, nodding at the officer.

“Shall we smash this gate open?” he asked.

“No need!”

The officer slipped both hands into the pockets of his jacket, not even a wrinkle marring his brow. His face remained impassive as he continued forward.

‘This is a return to an old haunt,’ he mused. ‘It would be no fun if you destroyed it.’

****

*Thud!*

The officer raised a foot, delivering a heavy kick that dented the recently repaired iron gate. The massive door itself lifted from the ground, soaring into the air.

No one would expect such a heavy, cumbersome object to trace a complex trajectory as it fell from mid-air.

Without any flourish, the gate simply flipped its orientation in the air before plunging into the village ground with a thunderous crash, embedding itself several feet deep.

“You needn’t follow,” he commanded. “I will handle what comes next personally. Everyone is to remain outside and await orders.”

*Clang!*

In response, the knights snapped their feet together, their metal boots clashing with a sharp sound. They stood at attention, their gazes fixed straight ahead, escorting the officer deeper into the village.

****

The unusual clamor from the village entrance immediately drew the attention of the villagers. From nearly every household, a young, able-bodied man emerged, clutching weapons such as shovels and spades, converging on the source of the noise.

Though the village chief was an old man, his movements were surprisingly swift when the situation demanded it. As the chief joined the gathering of men and discovered the damaged iron gate at the entrance, his eyes fell upon the approaching officer.

The elderly possessed sharp, discerning eyes. Even though the officer’s demeanor was more akin to a ruffian than a knight, the chief quickly surmised that he was no ordinary villain.

Across the entire continent, only two types of scoundrels dared to act with such blatant arrogance. One was a bandit from a large-scale brigand group, and the other, a kingdom’s lackey cloaked in military uniform.

Based solely on the officer’s attire, the chief couldn’t ascertain if he was a well-dressed soldier or a flamboyant bandit. Regardless, both possibilities indicated that this officer was not someone a small, dilapidated village could afford to offend.

To protect himself and his people, the chief, with a fawning expression, halted the villagers, urging them not to brandish their weapons.

Simultaneously, he quickened his unsteady steps, approaching the officer and bowing his head. His tone became as gentle as a benevolent philanthropist’s.

“Sir, if I may ask, who are you? And why have you graced our humble village in the dead of night?”

Such a humble demeanor was a crucial secret to a long life, especially for someone like the village chief.

****

Seeing the chief still in his old ways, barking softly like a weak cur, the officer’s lips curled into a sneer.

“Old man, didn’t you send someone to summon me? Has it only been a few days, and you’ve already forgotten your own actions?”

“I summoned you?”

The chief looked utterly bewildered, but the officer had anticipated his reaction. He then extended the medal he carried, offering it for the chief to examine.

The medal was pale yellow, bearing not only several lines of “new text” but also a symbolic totem. Not just the chief, but almost no one in the central continent would fail to recognize that totem.

“The twin scythes… You are!”

Suddenly, a realization struck the chief, his mouth falling open in astonishment. “Precisely as you’ve surmised, old man. To explain it in terms even simpletons can grasp: I am the envoy from the great nation you wished to see!”

The officer extended a hand, though he made no real attempt to shake the chief’s. The gesture was purely for show.

Upon hearing the officer declare his identity, every villager, including the chief, showed expressions of profound joy. After the man sent from the village returned with the letter, the chief and others had been anxious, fearing whether the kingdom would actually dispatch troops.

After all, some words in this world were merely “social pleasantries.” Even though the man had reported that the esteemed knights of the kingdom had solemnly promised protection, who could truly be certain?

Who could guarantee that such a promise wasn’t just empty rhetoric? It was only with the officer’s appearance tonight that the villagers finally let go of their apprehension, each believing their village was now saved.

The officer’s sweeping gaze missed none of the villagers’ subconscious reactions. After their cheers erupted, he did not forget to add:

“My knight order is currently stationed outside the village. Once that band of demons is eliminated, they will formally enter the village, according to proper procedure, to signify its incorporation into our territory!”

“That’s wonderful! Truly worthy of gentlemen from a great nation…”

“Enough with the pleasantries!”

The officer brusquely cut off the chief’s fawning words, his deep gaze sweeping the surroundings. Then, for the first time, he uttered a cry of bewilderment.

“Where is my sister? Why haven’t I seen her emerge?”

****

Now, it was the villagers’ turn to be utterly perplexed. As the representative for all, the chief, though not understanding the implication of this sudden question, had no choice but to brace himself and ask:

“Sir, who is this ‘sister’ you speak of? And why would she be in our small village?”

Along with the chief’s confusion came the officer’s face, which held a strangely familiar quality. At the corner of that mouth, a cruel curve was slowly becoming pronounced.

“You old fool! You truly don’t recognize me?”

To prod that useless mind into recalling the past, the officer slipped his free right hand into a hidden pocket of his jacket, retrieving something. “If you can’t recognize my face, old man, surely this will jog your memory?”

What appeared before the chief’s eyes was an iris pendant, glowing with a faint red light. This small ornament, a rarity in the village, instantly flooded the chief’s mind with a torrent of vivid memories.

Eleven years ago, only four people in this village wore iris pendants. They were a family of four, conspicuously out of place within the entire village.

The priest couple, the heads of that household, had, in their younger years, chosen to live out their days in this secluded countryside after failing to achieve prominence in the great nation.

Later, to eradicate the monsters lurking near the village, the couple took their nineteen-year-old son with them, leaving their seven-year-old daughter at home.

Three months, half a year, a full year…

A long period passed, yet neither the couple nor the young man ever returned to the village. Naturally, everyone assumed the three had perished.

The seven-year-old girl, too young to leave the village, tragically became a helpless orphan.

Once convinced the priest couple would not return, the villagers, under the guise of “caring” for the girl, moved out everything in her home that could be exchanged for money.

Only a minuscule portion of the proceeds was ever spent on anything related to the girl herself. After the girl was cheaply raised, the villagers, claiming to “repay their kindness,” forced her into countless arduous tasks, treating her as a mere servant to be driven at will.

Just days ago, to save themselves, the villagers had gone so far as to make the girl a sacrifice, sending her to the demon gathering place.

That perpetually bullied girl was none other than the middle-aged officer’s only sister! Many of the older villagers, swayed by the terror gripping their hearts, dazedly uttered the name of the “resurrected one” before them.

“You… You are You, the priest couple’s son?”

“It’s a wonder you fools even remember!”

You smiled faintly, the cold moonlight shining down upon him causing a nearly palpable chill to emanate from his entire being.

He surveyed everyone within his line of sight, his dark eyes devoid of cruelty or any unpleasant emotion.

Having not seen this place for a full decade, You had, before formally entering the village, imagined how much his birthplace might have changed over such a long time. However, the reality failed to pique his interest; the village remained exactly as he remembered it.

Dingy and ugly, like a place where insects gathered, it evoked nothing but disgust within him. You couldn’t help but feel a surge of relief for what had happened all those years ago.

On the day they left the village, his parents, under the guise of training, had taken You with them, involving him in the task of eliminating monsters.

What followed was largely as the villagers had imagined: the kind-hearted couple ultimately lost their lives in the desolate wilderness.

The numerous monsters infesting the area outside the village had indeed been annihilated, but at the cost of two human lives. Furthermore, it was the event that left the scar on You’s face!

Shortly after his parents’ deaths, You himself, severely wounded, collapsed in a desolate region rarely traversed by people.

Had the Royal Knights, tasked with monster subjugation, not arrived there on the very same day, the number of deceased would have risen from two to three.

The previous commander of the knight order, astonished by You’s tenacious will to live, brought the grievously injured boy back to the border for care.

The old commander had chosen to save him, curious to see if someone who had survived such a great calamity could prove valuable to the kingdom in the future.

After his miraculous survival, You was left with no choice but to join that nation, where, restricted from venturing outside, he endured hellish training until the present day.

Two years ago, the old commander passed away while still on duty. Through the old man’s recommendation, You became the commander of the First Knight Order, thereby gaining entry into the nation’s core power structure.

It was You himself who was tasked with leading the troops to subjugate the demons and, incidentally, to take control of the village’s thousands of inhabitants.

The moment he was assigned this mission, he felt a surge of surprise. After all, this was his first opportunity to return to his hometown in many years!

This return to his old home was not merely to witness the villagers’ ugliness. Bringing his sister back to his side was also a task he absolutely had to complete.

“Where is my sister?”

Once again facing the officer’s interrogation, the villagers were at a loss for how to respond. In this critical moment, the chief, true to his cunning nature, concocted a lie.