You don't even want to call me godfather

Just as he was trying to stand up with difficulty, another arrow pierced his knee.

Ludwig collapsed to the ground powerlessly, his vision gradually became blurred, and blood continued to seep out from the wound on his chest.

Ah, this is not good.

Damn it, he didn't want to die from a sneak attack or something.

Ludwig supported himself with his hands and tried his best to stand up, but his legs did not have the strength to support him, so he had to crawl on the ground.

"Alistair...Alistair...I have to find Garson..."

At this moment, a pair of feet stood in front of him, and a long pole was inserted into the ground.

Is it an enemy?

Ludwig tried hard to raise his head, but the person in front of him squatted down first.

It's Clooney, the little girl holding the flag.

"Kro...ni...go find...go find Garson...only he can..."

"Please stop talking for now, Mr. Ludwig."

Kroni placed his small hand on Ludwig's wound, a faint fluorescence emanating from his fingertips.

The arrow was gradually expelled from the body, the wound began to slowly close, and he could feel his strength slowly recovering.

"You really are... a great help... Clooney..."

"This is what I should—"

Before Cloney could finish his words, blood suddenly splashed all over Ludwig. As Ludwig looked in disbelief, an arrow pierced Cloney's body.

"Ludwig... first..."

Another arrow pierced her throat, ending the young life completely.

"Fuck you!"

Ludwig felt the blood rushing to his brain and for a moment he lost his mind.

When the enemy who killed Kroni approached with a crossbow and observed, Ludwig stood up with the strength he had just recovered, grabbed an arrow that had been ejected from his body in his hand, and rushed towards the mercenary with all his strength.

“Shua——chi——”

The mercenary pulled the trigger, Ludwig dodged sideways, and the arrow pierced his shoulder, but did not slow down his sprint.

So the enemy changed his mind and shot an arrow at Ludwig's knee.

Ludwig stumbled and fell to his knees, and the next arrow was aimed at the back of his neck.

Suddenly, Ludwig fell silent.

Is it over?

The Sarkaz used his foot to turn Ludwig's body over, but he still had his eyes wide open.

"!"

Sarkaz thought to himself that something was wrong and just as he was about to dodge, Ludwig grabbed one of his feet tightly.

Ludwig used his remaining strength to trip the Sarkaz, then grabbed the armor on his body and climbed on top of him.

"Go to God, asshole!"

Ludwig forcibly pulled out the arrow that was stuck in the back of his neck, and with his other hand, he tightly grasped the Sarkaz's neck and tried his best to stab the arrow into his face.

After a long time, under the leadership of Garson who learned of the sudden situation, the group of Sarkaz that attacked them were suppressed.

Ludwig also fainted after killing the Sarkaz.

When he opened his eyes again, Speranzha appeared in front of him, bandaging his wounds.

"Spera... Lanza?" Ludwig's consciousness was a little confused, but he quickly came to his senses. Regardless of the pain in his body, he sat up and grabbed Spera Lanza's collar, and asked anxiously, "Alistair, where is Alistair? How is he!"

"Captain Ludwig, please calm down first..." Speranzha was a little flustered. She had never seen Ludwig like this before. After Ludwig calmed down and let go of her, she said in a depressed tone, "I'm very sorry, Captain Ludwig. Alistair... I have tried my best. I'm sorry..."

"..."

Ah, is that so…

The light in Ludwig's eyes had already faded. He didn't understand why the friend who was just chatting with him suddenly...

He lowered his head, looked at his hands that were scratched by arrows and had been bandaged, and fell into silence.

……

"Since that day, I have truly understood the cruelty of war. Perhaps I was too naive at the time, which led to the death of my friend."

Ludwig's eyes left the campfire and he looked at Koshei with a depressed mood.

"What happened next?" Koshei's expression was also serious. This was a sad topic, and perhaps he shouldn't have asked about it in the first place. "Have you ever thought about revenge?"

"Of course I have thought about it. Alistair is my longest-serving friend, longer than anyone here. I can't possibly forget this grudge," Ludwig sighed and said helplessly, "But as time went on, more and more friends died in front of me. Some people began to realize that there was no end to all this, and they finally chose to leave."

"...It's not hard to understand. After all, not everyone can get used to war, so it's understandable that they get tired of it."

Koshe nodded. Although he had never experienced a real war, and the political struggles in Syracuse were nothing compared to the war in Kazdel, he sometimes felt bored with the political struggles, not to mention the Sarkaz who lived in war.

"But I chose to persevere because I wanted to know what kind of person the prince that Alistair had told me before his death was," Ludwig continued, "Until one infiltration mission, I asked Garson to be an insider close to that prince. Garson knew that I had lost my friend Alistair, so he reported to the regent, and the king agreed."

"I went to the place where His Highness was as free mercenaries with several other mercenaries. Unexpectedly, they easily accepted our presence. I boarded the land ship named Tower of Babel," Ludwig said, but his expression suddenly changed, as if he was looking forward to it. "Likewise, I also met His Highness, the... pure and white His Highness."

"White, pure?" Koshei was a little confused. "But didn't you just say that you would never let go of your hatred? Why would you use these words to describe that prince?"

"Because during the time I followed His Highness, I finally understood why Alistair was confused about the team under the Regent, and why he was obsessed with His Highness." Ludwig lowered his head slightly, with an indescribable feeling in his eyes. "She was a kind king. Compared to the Regent, she was sometimes even too kind. In the troubled Kazdel, His Highness always had a calm and peaceful atmosphere around him."

Koshe opened his lips, but he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Ludwig now looked like a loyal believer, and Koschei felt that it would be cruel to interrupt his memories.

"To be honest, I never thought that the Sarkaz could live in harmony with other races. It was not until I went to the Tower of Babel that I truly saw what the 'Ark' of the world was. Although there are not many members of other races on the Tower of Babel, for mercenaries like us, being able to stand on the same line with people of different races is something we never dared to think about. But Your Highness did it. The Tower of Babel, I didn't know the meaning of this name, but later I understood it." Ludwig raised his head, looked up at the gray sky, and said in a trance, "It is a tower of Babel that only exists in dreams and can accommodate everything in human fantasy."

Chapter 79: Returning with Failure

"From this point of view, the Tower of Babel doesn't seem to be a bad organization," Koshei sighed after listening to Ludwig's long story. "Since even you who wanted to seek revenge were deeply impressed, I guess that prince must be an admirable person."

"Ah, yes, Her Highness is a beloved king in Kazdel. Even some of the regent's supporters have a great affection for her," Ludwig nodded and said with some melancholy, "Although I still had to go to the battlefield during that period, standing by Her Highness' side, I could indeed see a different scenery."

"Then why are you here now?" Koshe asked, "Since that princess is so popular among the people, shouldn't you still be standing by her side now?"

After Koshei said this, Ludwig fell into silence for a moment.

Not only him, but other members of the mercenary group also lowered their heads, as if they were unwilling to face something.

"Because... Her Highness is dead," Ludwig said in a depressed tone. "She died in a beheading operation two years ago. She died in the Tower of Babel, betrayed by a traitor. Also killed in the assassination was the military advisor of the Tower of Babel, a man called the Doctor."

"……Feel sorry."

Koshe realized that he had asked an inappropriate question and apologized sympathetically.

"No, it's okay... It's been so long," Ludwig sighed deeply and continued, "At first, I felt unwilling to give up, so I took the people who went to the Tower of Babel with me and kept searching for the truth about His Highness's death. I even had a disagreement with the Lord. In the end, when the Lord took the remaining people from the Tower of Babel away, we still stayed in Kazdel."

"The truth behind His Highness' death? Is there some hidden story behind this?"

"Yes, at that time, all the survivors were unwilling to accept the death of His Highness, and no one could accept this fact," Ludwig clenched his fists, his brows slightly frowned, "But only the lord who was closest to His Highness was unmoved, as if His Highness's death was a reasonable thing. She even wanted to take us away immediately. I didn't understand, so I had conflicts and disagreements with her. In the end, when she drove the Tower of Babel to evacuate Kazdel, we stayed and continued to inquire about His Highness."

"Did you find it?"

"...No, not really. We only got a little information from those traitors back then, that is, the death of His Highness might be related to the Regent. This is not difficult to guess, but we did not expect that the Regent would be so blatant," Ludwig said, gritting his teeth. "At the same time, we also understand why the Lord was so anxious to evacuate, because with the death of His Highness, most of the Sarkaz had nowhere to go. During the period of the two kings, they could choose to stay in His Highness's camp, but with His Highness's death, all the remaining Sarkaz mercenaries had to belong to the Regent, otherwise they would only end up dead."

"Hmm...it's not hard to imagine that this should be considered a relatively extreme means of unification."

"Yes, but the other Sarkaz don't know the truth about His Highness's death, and we who have learned some information will definitely not belong to the Regent. That would be a betrayal," Ludwig loosened his clenched fists, and looked at the companions beside him who had accompanied him all the way, and said, "So we chose to rebel against Kazdel and become free mercenaries in the true sense, but we also couldn't avoid being hunted down by the Regent. We have been on the run for two years, and during this time we could only earn commissions by taking on some dirty jobs, but until today, we are completely safe."

"Well...it was indeed a difficult journey," Koshe asked when Ludwig seemed to have finished speaking, "So what are your plans next? If you want to find a stable place to live, I can provide you with shelter. Since you saved my sister's life, I should also show some sincerity."

“No, that’s not necessary, Godfather,” Ludwig declined. “Thank you for your kindness, but we are destined not to stop. His Highness is dead, so Lord Kelsey should naturally become the new leader of Babel Tower. We are now traveling around the continent to find Babel Tower, find Lord Kelsey, apologize to her for our original impulse, and return to Babel Tower to continue to serve His Highness... No, serve Babel Tower.”

"Is that so... Then I can only wish you..." Koshei was about to pray for Ludwig and the others, but he realized something belatedly, "Wait, who did you just say Lord is? Kal'tsit?"

"Ah? Godfather, are you acquainted with Lord Kelsey?"

For a moment, Koshei and Ludwig looked at each other in surprise and were unable to utter a word.

……

"Huh... why is it so cold..."

On the streets of Syracuse, an inconspicuous figure, wearing a hooded coat, stepped on the snow on the ground and walked in the wind with a few snowflakes.

She walked past several houses with sealed doors, stopped at the door for a moment, and then turned and left.

"I never expected that even Koshei would start the purge. It seems that a lot of things happened during the time I was away..."

Finally, the figure stood in front of Koshe's house. She raised her head slightly and looked at the familiar two-story house, revealing her eyes wrapped in gauze under the hood.

After noticing someone passing by, she lowered her head and pulled her hood down to prevent her face from being seen.

Laplander, the killer who once caused headaches for the Cascade family, now actually wants to hide his identity.

"Tsk."

Looking at the tightly closed door of Koshe's house, Lapland clicked his tongue and left without looking back.

Because she felt the scent of a wolf hunter, without a doubt, the one dressed like Little Red Riding Hood in the fairy tale.

As for Hong, it can be said that she already has some psychological trauma. After all, she was forced out of her wolf soul by the werewolf hunter, but she didn't get any benefit from it. She was even stabbed back by the wolf hunter. It is impossible for her to not be afraid.

but……

"After all this trouble, that guy Destiny didn't die? He was in such a bad condition, but he still managed to hold on until he was rescued."

Lappland's shoes made a crunching sound on the snow, and under her hood, she showed a playful smile.

"Really... you're luckier than me..."

Chapter 80 Friendship Established

I remember when Destiny was found by Skadi, according to Skadi's description, she only saw Destiny, so she took her back.

In other words, Lapland was no longer in the wreckage of the transport plane at that time.

So where did she go?

Before the plane crashed, Laplande was nailed to the seat by Destiny using her own long knife and Hong's short knife, unable to move.

But when the plane crashed, although Lapland had let go of a lot of things in her heart, she still felt unwilling and regretful.

She had not yet seen Texas, nor had she died at the hands of Koshey as she had hoped.

All these thoughts once again forced out her Originium memory, the two wolf souls.

But this time, the wolf soul appeared not to kill, but to protect its master.

They surrounded the unconscious Lappland, protecting her with their bodies and minimizing the impact of the fall.

After the transport plane crashed and caught fire, Lapland woke up.

She found that she was not dead, and she was very puzzled. However, due to the impact, she had been thrown off the seat. At the same time, due to the overclocked use of Originium skills, part of the blood in her wounds had turned into Originium crystals.

Although this accelerated the severity of the infection, it actually saved her life and prevented her from dying from excessive blood loss.

However, she did not find any signs of life in Destiny at that time, and she was worried that other pursuers, such as wolf hunters, would catch up at any time, so she left with two knives still stuck in her body.

Just as Destiny could hide her identity and blend in with the crowd, so could Laplander.

Perhaps these two people would never have thought that on the day of the press conference, these two girls, who both thought the other was dead, actually hid their identities and appeared at the press conference.

The borders of Syracuse are usually guarded by family or government personnel, so it should be difficult to enter or leave without being discovered.

But Laplande and Koshe had one thing in common, that is, they both knew the terrain of Syracuse very well, so she successfully escaped.