Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 202

The Kervas Mountains were covered in thick fog year-round, regardless of the season.

Grrrkk… Grrrkk…

The sound of a carriage rolling up the unpaved mountain road rumbled through the fog.

A knight asked with a grimace, “Why the hell is a carriage tagging along to an expedition of the Imperial Knights?”

“They say it’s a carriage to transport a criminal,” another knight replied.

“Criminal? Who are we going to arrest?” the knight asked.

“That’s what I want to know as well,” the other knight replied.

“Damn it… That damned carriage is slowing all of us down. It’s already annoying enough that I can’t see ahead because of this fog,” the knight grumbled.

The coachman ignored the knights’ complaints and continued driving the carriage.

Lenox, the captain of the Third Order of the Imperial Knights, observed the carriage from afar. As he watched its progress, someone called out to him. It was the captain of the Second Order of the Imperial Knights, Seyra.

“Lenox, I hope you gathered your resolve this time before coming to this expedition,” Seyra said.

Lenox nodded and replied, “Of course I did.”

Seyra grinned and said, “I still find it funny. It’s funny that you got scratched by a bunch of bandits, of all people.”

She was referring to the Crossed Swords Bandits. Lenox had a history of being stabbed while fighting against the bandit leader, Arkan.

“It might sound like nothing but an excuse, but the knights were exhausted from marching day and night. Also, I’m ashamed to admit that I fell into a trap,” Lenox replied.

“But the difference in level should have been massive, right? You gave that guy a chance and didn’t fight seriously again, didn’t you? You made it so the others would think it was a close fight so you could save your friend who became a bandit,” Seyra said.

“You should be aware as well that a fight isn’t decided simply by level alone,” Lenox said.

He recalled the events from that evening at the Hatar Mountain Range. He had encountered that expressionless man, whose level had been hopelessly low, but whose swordsmanship was the most refined he had ever seen. He had a hunch that the expressionless man and the assassination of the previous emperor were somehow related, but he had no evidence to back up such a claim.

What was that man’s true identity?

Seyra suddenly said something while Lenox was thinking about the expressionless man. “Your stubborn, old-fashioned mindset is your main problem. That’s why you keep losing to the other knight captains whenever you spar against them.”

The two knight captains chatted for quite some time while watching the marching knights. After a while, Lenox suddenly lowered his voice and asked softly, “Seyra, what do you think of what’s going on? I mean, about this expedition.”

Seyra grimaced and replied, “Look here, Lenox. Haven’t I told you before already? Everyone in the palace knows that something strange is happening. It’s just that nobody’s talking about it.”

“But… It’s bothering me. Especially this expedition,” Lenox muttered.

“Lenox, plug your ears and hold your tongue. That’s the best thing you can do,” Seyra grumbled before turning her steed and going back to her knights.

However, Lenox did not seem to heed her warning at all, as he continued thinking about the thing he had just spoken of.

While Lenox was deep in thought, Rumier, who was riding at the front of the line, raised his hand. Then, a knight beside him shouted at the top of his lungs, “All forces! Time to take a break!”

The carriage stopped, as did the knights. While the knights were resting, Rumier summoned all of the knight captains. When all five knight captains gathered together, the alchemist said, “I have something to tell you, the knight captains.”

The way Rumier spoke was not arrogant at all. In fact, his tone actually showed utmost respect toward the knight captains. However, he still had his usual secretive and sinister expression that made some of the knight captains wary of him.

The captain of the Fourth Order of the Imperial Knights, Kahwelin, had an expression that seemed to openly express his discontent with the situation as he asked,“What is it?”

“To be honest, the main goal of this expedition is not to subjugate monsters,” Rumier said while maintaining the same respectful tone.

A task to subjugate monsters in the Kervas Mountains was the official reason the palace had given for mobilizing all of the Imperial Knight orders.

The captain of the Fifth Order of the Imperial Knights, Sorden, asked in apparent disbelief, “What do you mean by that? What do you mean when you say that monster subjugation is not the main goal of this expedition?”

“There would be no reason for us to mobilize the Imperial Knights just to subjugate some monsters. In fact, we could just hire some mercenaries to do that for us. The real reason why we mobilized the Imperial Knights is far more important and dangerous,” Rumier explained in a low voice. He continued, “The doppelganger of her majesty. That is who we are after this time, and we will have to arrest her no matter what.”

“Her majesty’s doppelganger? This is something I’m hearing for the first time…?” Seyra said, furrowing her brow.

Only the Third Order of the Imperial Knights, who had previously received a top secret mission, was aware of the existence of the doppelganger who had escaped from the laboratory.

“I will explain the details later. We just need to capture the doppelganger who is coming to this mountain, and transport her back to the capital in the carriage we prepared beforehand,” Rumier said.

“How can we believe that what you are telling us right now is what her majesty ordered or not?” Kahwelin retorted.

Rumier replied with a very simple answer, “I have command of this expedition.”

Kahwelin could not retort any further and could only fall silent while looking seemingly discontent with the situation.

“I have a question, Rumier,” Helkin said, speaking up for the first time.

All of the other knight captains shifted their gaze toward the captain of the First Order of the Imperial Knights.

Rumier was the only person among them who did not tense up when he heard the old knight speak. He asked, “What is it, Sir Helkin?”

“It is only right for us to arrest and investigate a doppelganger who looks similar to her majesty, but that still does not justify mobilizing all of the Imperial Knights, does it?” Helkin said.

It was exactly as he said. There was no reason for all of the knight orders to mobilize just to capture a single doppelganger. However, unbeknownst to them, what the alchemist wanted to retrieve was not the doppelganger, but the thing hidden inside the doppelganger.

Rumier nodded in response and said, “Someone will get in our way.”

“Are you saying that this person is worthy of all of the Imperial Knights being mobilized? Who is this person?” Helkin asked.

Rumier replied in a deep, sinister tone, “The man who has lived for the thousandth time.”

***

Kang Yoon-Soo should have had enough time to get used to his dreams, but they always found a new way to disturb him.

However, he was not having a nightmare this time.

At first, he was floating above the continent, looking freely around it the same way he had when he used the Authority of Insight. Then, his field of view began to shoot up toward the sky, and only kept going higher and higher.

Soon, he reached an altitude so high that any creature would struggle to breathe, and he could see the entire continent beneath him. However, he kept rising higher, to the point that he could see the entire planet below.

After that, he still continued to rise higher and higher, reaching outer space and passing numerous planets. Countless stars stretched out across the blackness of space, and he continued to fly past them. Only when he passed the Milky Way did he realize how small the planet he had been on was.

There were countless worlds existing on all the different planets… no, all the different galaxies he passed by. As innumerable worlds flew past him, he saw people living in them. They were people that valued their planets, and fought for them just as hard as he fought for the survival of his companions.

He continued rising higher and higher until he reached the end of the universe.

The place he reached in the end was…

***

“Kang Yoon-Soo…?”

Kang Yoon-Soo woke up to a voice and a warm hand touching his shoulder.

“It’s already morning. Should I have just let you sleep in more?” Shaneth said with an apologetic expression.

“It’s alright,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

It was unlike him to sleep in, but he had ended up waking up late for the first time in a long while. He got up, then had dried bread for breakfast together with his companions.

“I can see the mountain range due to the Dragon of Destruction’s eye. It’s filled with fog over there,” Shaneth said.

“I already have a bad feeling about this…” Henrick grumbled.

“Hoo… This is making me nervous,” Iris said.

Kang Yoon-Soo split the four pieces of the magic tower up among each of his companions, so all of them would be transported to the magic tower once the demon that would appear in the Kervas Mountains was slain.

Shaneth suddenly asked, “Aren’t you scared?”

“Hey, do you think that guy has a reason to be scared when he’s visited the magic tower countless times in his previous lives?” Henrick grumbled.

“But still, this is his final life, right?” Shaneth retorted, looking at Kang Yoon-Soo worriedly.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not reply to her question. He stood there silently, looking at the mountain ranges in the distance. To him, it did not matter whether he had lived a thousand times. He would never give up, even if he regressed ten thousand or even a hundred thousand times.

“Let’s go,” Kang Yoon-Soo eventually said.

The party members headed toward the Kervas Mountains. The moment they reached the mountain trail, thick white fog obscured their vision. They could only roughly make out shapes within the fog, but they could not see ahead clearly at all.

Henrick wondered with a grimace, “What kind of fog is this, for it to still be here despite the sun shining down on it?”

“This reminds me of the fog that surrounded the vampires’ city,” Shaneth said.

Kang Yoon-Soo led the way and walked into the fog without any hesitation. The leaves on the ground crackled audibly whenever the party stepped on them.

By this time, the demon would be found roaming around near a lake in the center of the mountain range.

At that moment, Iris suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong, unni?” Shaneth asked.

“I sensed a strange presence,” Iris said. She observed the thick white fog using her sensitive hearing.

“Isn’t it probably just a bunch of wild animals?” Henrick said.

“I am certain that it was the sound of human footsteps,” Iris replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo also stopped in his tracks.

The Kervas Mountains were known for their rough, rugged terrain, as well as the thick white fog that covered them. Thus, most adventurers preferred to walk around them. However, the chance of a doppelganger mishearing something was very low. On the other hand, there had been occasions in which a homeless beggar who had lost their way, or a wanted criminal, ventured into the mountain range.

‘I should still check just in case,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He activated the Authority of Insight and examined his surroundings using his unrestricted view. As he searched the mountain through the thick white fog, he noticed something strange and completely unexpected.

‘The Imperial Knights…?’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

A group of fully armed knights lay in ambush up ahead. The insignia on their armor and weapons was without a doubt the symbol of the Imperial Knights.

Kang Yoon-Soo hurriedly canceled the Authority of Insight and chose another path.

Shaneth tilted her head in confusion and asked, “Why are you suddenly changing course?”

“The Imperial Knights are lying in wait up ahead. We have to go another way,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

His companions were perplexed.

“The Imperial Knights?” Shaneth muttered in surprise.

“Those bastards set up an ambush ahead?” Henrick asked in disbelief.

“That certainly is strange,” Iris muttered.

As they took a detour, Kang Yoon-Soo thought deeply about the situation. He wondered, ‘Why are the Imperial Knights here at the Kervas Mountains…?’

There was no reason for the Imperial Knights to be there, based on the knowledge he had from his previous lives. Of course, he could make quick work of them with Divine Punishment even if they were the Imperial Knights. However, he could not shake off the uneasy feeling he got from an event that should not have happened suddenly occurring.

‘There’s no way the Imperial Knights would have mobilized for no reason,’ he thought.

He had no idea what their objective was, but the Imperial Knights were fully armed and lying in wait in front of them. It was as if they had already known that Kang Yoon-Soo and his party would head to the Kervas Mountains.

‘Something’s strange…’ Kang Yoon-Soo muttered inwardly as unease settled into the corner of his heart. It was as if the tides were shifting once again, and the problems he had thought would be easily solved because he changed classes and became a god were slowly being tangled into a messy ball once again.

In mere moments, he would find out that the unease he felt was more than the result of merely overthinking things.

“There’s danger!” Shaneth shouted.

Kang Yoon-Soo instinctively drew his sword the moment he heard Shaneth’s shout, ducking and narrowly avoiding an attack from a knight who suddenly appeared from within a pile of dried leaves. Then, he stabbed his sword into the neck of the knight who had just ambushed him.

“Kuheok…!” The knight groaned before dying in a spray of blood.

The leaves behind the pile that the knight popped out from shook slightly, and several dozen knights rushed out of it with their swords drawn.

The party instantly prepared for combat, and Kang Yoon-Soo squinted as he thought, ‘So there was also an ambush over here…’

Kang Yoon-Soo had previously sensed danger. However, that danger did not come from the knights themselves, but rather from their placement. The Authority of Insight had allowed him to see the knights hiding within the fog at a single glance, but it had been difficult for him to immediately notice the knights hiding under piles of dried leaves. It seemed that someone had already expected him to take an alternate route after noticing the ambush lying in wait up ahead.

Suddenly, the danger he sensed shifted toward a sword that was aimed at him.

“So you really came here, just as he said you would,” a knight said while standing up from the pile of dried leaves. His voice was a familiar one that Kang Yoon-Soo had heard before.

The old knight slowly got up from the ground—he was the captain of the First Order of the Imperial Knights, Helkin.

Helkin’s wrinkled eyes squinted for a moment before he asked, “Henrick? I never expected to see you here.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Henrick said with a sharp gaze.

Helkin drew his sword as the other knights had, pointing it toward Kang Yoon-Soo before saying, “I can tell from the way you use your sword. Are you the assassin who infiltrated the palace the day the previous emperor died? You seem to have grown much stronger than back then.”

Kang Yoon-Soo did not respond and only gripped his sword even more tightly.

“A royal edict has been issued, Henrick. We were ordered to capture her majesty’s doppelganger alive and kill the rest,” Helkin said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the old knight vanished in almost an instant.

Fsh-wooo!

Helkin suddenly appeared right beside Kang Yoon-Soo and thrust the sword toward him.

The two men’s swords clashed.

Clang!