Masked Knight

When Rody strode into the room, Andy was lying down, lazily, on a soft cushion on the highest balcony of the palace. Andy had a cup of fresh milk in one hand and a newspaper in the other. The sun had just risen as the skeleton Emperor sighed with satisfaction, "This is a happy life..."

He then looked at Rody and asked, "Boy, why are you here to see me so early in the morning? Is something the matter?"

Rody looked straight at Andy and asked, "How long must I continue as the Duke of the Tulip Family?"

Andy did not reply.

Rody then became impatient and continued, "The Lightning God’s Whip is under our control, and the opposing forces in the Imperial Capital had been crushed. Garoline did not even dare to leave his house in the past few days. Why do you still need the Duke of the Tulip Family? I do not want to live with someone else’s face! The readers are also getting bored!"

Andy slowly put down the things he was holding, got off the cushion and walked back into the room.

"I know you are impatient," Andy said as he sighed. "However, you do need to be patient..." He then smiled and said, "Although the situation has stabilized, it still needs the Duke of the Tulip Family to keep it under control..."

Rody furrowed his eyebrows. Just as soon as he was about to speak, Andy said, "Boy, don’t think I don’t know what you are thinking about. You want to get rid of this identity, and then you can go and fight the Pope. Am I right? Let me tell you. Now is not the time!"

Andy then sighed, "Do you think I like those rascals from God’s religion?" His tone became serious and continued, "God has dominated this continent for thousands of years. Do you think you can fight them alone? Master Autumn had a strong domain, but in the end, he was still defeated by that God’s Vanquish. Do you think you can defeat them?"

Rody’s eyes glistened as he said, "No matter what, I will kill Corsica VI!"

"You will kill him? It’s more like he will not let you live!" Andy frowned. "Did you forget about that dragon in your body? Even the Silvermoon Clan wants you dead. Do you think the people from the God’s religion will let someone who inherited the Mystic Dragon live? Have you forgotten the enmity between the Mystic Dragon and God?"

Andy looked troubled and then said, "They will eventually find out! The more powerful you become, the harder it would be to hide your dragon’s aura. At that time, you will not need to look for the Pope. Instead, they will find you! Why did you think they attacked Master Autumn? That was because Master Autumn was Kara’s clansman. In their eyes, you are something that is even more foreign than Master Autumn!"

Rody coldly said, "So what? I must get that Dracula Spear and that God’s Blood!"

Andy then said to Rody, "Boy, let me tell you. When your enemy is strong and if your strength cannot defeat your opponent, then it is best you do not attack yet! You must be patient. You must wait until you become strong enough to seize victory! This is the right way!"

Rody frowned, "Then, what should I do?"

Andy smiled, "Have you forgotten the fable Wuya told you?"

There was a deep smile on his face, and he slowly said, "Shackles of the millennium have decayed. The Devil’s eye shall gaze at the Earth. The blood of the Empire will eventually solidify. It’s vicious curse will taint the radiance of the surface. They will spread the evil throughout the land. They will bring calamity to the world. God’s blood will wash away the church1. The thorns of the withered flower will be the end."

Rody’s eyes glinted. "Shackles of the millennium has decayed. What are these shackles? Could it be the imprisoned Mystic Dragon? If the Devil’s eye that gazed at the Earth was not talking about the Mystic Dragon, then it is talking about Kara. Either way, both of these two are considered Devils to the God’s religion. The blood of the Empire would eventually solidify. The Emperor is dead, and Barond’s son is also dead. The Empress’ child does not have the blood of the Thorn Flower in his veins. This is probably what it meant! The last words about the withering thorn flower also no longer need to be explained. All that is left is God’s blood will wash away the church. Is it..."

Andy flashed a strange smile, "’Wash away the church.’ Do you still not understand? In other words, the Church would be destroyed in the future!"

"Blood of the Gods..." Rody suddenly said, "What is the blood of the Gods? Is it really the blood of Gods? But when will Gods appear? How do we make him bleed?"

Andy sighed and shook his head. "I don’t know. But, you may know. You may know how to do it when the time comes. Don’t you think you have a lot of strange questions? How to make God bleed? Probably the Mystic Dragon knows better. Haha."

Rody frowned, "What about the curse and disaster? What do they mean?"

Andy flashed a strange expression. He then laughed and said, "These are things we don’t understand, and we should not worry about it. However, I hope that you can calm down! I have said, you must be patient.The longer you endure, the more powerful you will be, so that, in future, you can even slap your enemy in the face! I have said this many times already. Do you still not understand?"

Rody stayed silent for a while and slowly said, "I can be patient. I can be patient for now. However, I really do not want to continue as the Duke of the Tulip Family."

He raised his head and looked straight at Andy. He then said firmly, "I want to be myself. I want to be Rody!"

Rody then said, "I do not know what your plan is but if you want me to do something, it is better to tell me first." He walked one step closer to Andy and continued, "I do not like the feeling of being controlled. I do not feel at ease for every day that this issue is not resolved!"

Andy shook his head. "Didn’t you have an appointment with Darke in ten years? In the Northwest, there is still Reuenthal. At the Southern Mountains, there is ... ah, there is nothing to worry about there. Wuya is dead, and the mountains now belong to the Silvermoon Clan. The way Diane treats you also seems like she is too embarrassed to oppose you. After that, there is the Northern Continent..."

The more Rody heard, the gloomier he became. He gritted his teeth and said, "Reuenthal in the Northwest? If I were to capture the Northwest grasslands, will I gain my freedom?"

Andy suddenly laughed and said, "Reuenthal? Let’s take our time to deal with him. He is very useful in my plans. He is a useful stepping stone in creating a hero!"

Andy’s laugh started to turn strange as he continued, "Well, soon you will get what you want. Now that Seth is gone, this person no longer needs to exist."

Rody’s heart stirred. "No longer needs to exist?"

Andy laughed again in a strange manner and said, "Boy, I promise to let you become yourself. I promise to let you be Rody! However, have you ever thought that when you are Rody, you can also, at the same time, be the Duke of the Tulip Family? I promise you that I will give you back your true identity. I also assure you that you would be able to live peacefully together with Nicole. However, you must continue to be the Duke of the Tulip Family!"

Andy then bent over and gently whispered something in Rody’s ear.

Rody did not laugh, but there was not a trace of calm too. He suddenly looked at Andy in a strange manner and said, "Andy, no matter what you plan to do, I have said before, do not try to control me and do not force me to do things that I don’t like!"

Andy coldly asked, "Are you still unwilling, even if it was for Nicole?"

Rody looked at Andy intensely, and suddenly he gave a smile and said, "Fine, Andy! I hope you will not make me regret this!"

After Rody left, Andy’s smile gradually disappeared. He sighed to himself and said, "This boy is starting to have his ideas... but... that curse and disaster, it can’t be for you. Disaster... Such an interesting thing..."

...

Marquis Garoline was very clear about his current situation.

The news of that incident had already spread throughout the Imperial Capital. By now, everybody knew that the Lionheart Family, which was earlier favored by the Emperor, had fallen out of favor.

In the past, the road in front of his mansion was busy with heavy traffic, but now it rarely had visitors. Those who used to curry favor with him now avoided him.

However, Marquis Garoline was still an old fox regarding politics. He knew that the winner would not be decided until the very end.

After all, he still had the Northern Legion in his hands even though the Emperor had changed his attitude. As long as he had military power, the Emperor would not dare to do anything to him. Besides that, he had put in the effort for many years, and it would not be so easy to just remove his influence in official circles. Whatever the reasons, as long as he endured, he would have another opportunity in the future.

The Tulip Family had been suppressed by the Emperor for so many years, yet they were able to rise again. The Lionheart family could do the same thing!

Naturally, the first thing to do was to hold on to the Lionheart Family’s military power.

Milo of the Northern Legion was different from Reuben of the Northwest Legion.

They were both Regiment Commanders, but Reuben was dismissed because he was stupid. He was a rash and strong warrior, but he did not know how to strengthen his influence. Of course, he would topple easily

.

However, Milo was a successor whom Marquis Garoline had painstakingly trained. He could plan and strategize. He had done well in the Northern Legion in the past few years and had the support of the soldiers. He even had the support of the Northern Legion Army Command such that whatever Milo says, nobody would say otherwise.

In this case, it would not be easy for the Emperor to replace him. Marquis Garoline thought and sneered.

Sieg was promoted as the Deputy Commander of the Central Cavalry. However, he was not happy at all.

He looked at the group of soldiers... they were also known as the ‘Lightning God’s Whip’. That was really a joke!

The commanders were all useless. They could count money better than they could fight. Sieg turned pale when saw their military drills. The Central Cavalry soldiers had not gone through a large-scale exercise for a long time. Sieg himself had only trained with the Wolf Fang. He knew that the military discipline in the other units was ruined, but this was the first time he saw to what extent they were ruined.

Just by giving the order to line up, Sieg could see that, out of a hundred soldiers, more than ten soldiers sprained their legs, and more than ten soldiers had their shoes stepped on.

In a simple cavalry charge, about halfway through it, a few cavalrymen crashed into their own group and fell off their horses. Some cavalrymen had actually charged correctly but, in the end, they realized that they had dropped their scimitars at some point in time.

Sieg became so angry that his face was contorted. On the other hand, Rody stood silently at the side and did not show his feelings.

"Officers line up!" Rody coldly said. He then looked at the lifeless and pale-faced commanders beside him and coldly repeated, "What are you looking at! I said I want all the officers to line up! Did you not hear me?"

More than a dozen deputy commanders clumsily ran out. They fetched their war horses and weapons as well. Rody got on his horse. He glared at the surprised soldiers and then coldly said, "You are commanding officers of the Central Cavalry! Are the soldiers usually at this level of competency? You all can quit. If you do not want to do the drills, then you can leave the Central Cavalry now! Take off your uniform!"

Nobody said anything.

Rody then took a deep breath and continued, "If any of you want to leave, I will not stop you! However, in three days’ time, I will be back. I do not want to see the soldiers drill. I want to see the officers drill! Whoever cannot perform, will be executed according to the law during wartime! His eyes were cold as he fiercely said, "The ‘Lightning God’s Whip’ will not retain rubbish!"

After that, he left riding his horse and did not bother to look at those people.

Sieg was still worried and said, "Isn’t the Duke’s action too harsh? Give them time to train properly. With me around, I am sure I will be able to train them until they become qualified Lightning God’s Whip."

Rody suddenly stopped his horse and looked at Sieg. He then said, "Sieg, the current Central Cavalry is rotten!" His expression was a bit strange. "It can be said that all of them, from soldiers to commanding officers, are not battle warriors! The soldiers are just here for the Lightning God’s Whip’s generous pay, while the commanding officers are here to embezzle money! They are just trash! Think for yourself. If they were even a little combat ready, do you think we could enter the Imperial Capital so easily that day?" Rody then spoke in a more dignified manner, "Think for yourself. If it were not us entering the city that day but a group of enemy soldiers like Reuenthal’s cavalry, do you think they would be able to withstand the attack? I am afraid that the entire army would collapse in no time!"

Rody then sighed and continued, "I admit that in this world, some people learn from their mistakes and some bad people will turn good. However, only a few of them exist! In my opinion, instead of wasting time trying to get these trash to change, it is better to just replace them!" Rody then lightly said, "Not just the commanding officers, this also applies to those soldiers! They are just not qualified to be the Lightning God’s Whip; they cannot even measure up to the common soldiers! Rather than spend time on them, we might as well replace them with soldiers selected from the local garrisons."

Rody ignored Sieg’s expression as he continued, "Pass down my orders. There will be a selection process in three days’ time. Those who are like today’s will be executed according to the military law! Those who want to leave must take off their uniforms and get out of the barracks!"

"Three days?" Sieg’s eyes grew wide. "Three days are not enough for them to train!"

Rody sneered. "I do not want them to train. I do not expect them to train. I am giving them three days to leave! I want to get rid of all those who are here to embezzle money! I do not want to give them any chance! The Lightning God’s Whip is a prestigious name. The opportunity is meant for those who are eligible!"

When the orders from the Duke of the Tulip Family were passed down, the barracks was immediately in an uproar.

The soldiers almost mutinied, especially the ones who embezzled money. That meant, they would lose their livelihood in the future. What should they do?

Fortunately, Rody had expected that and had stationed ten thousand fully armed Wolf Fang soldiers outside the barracks. When there was a disturbance, the offender would immediately be caned as corporal punishment.

As a result, under Rody’s operation, the Empire experienced a historical event where the largest number of soldiers were dismissed.

The Central Cavalry originally had almost two hundred thousand soldiers. Finally, after the selection process, less than fifty thousand soldiers remained. The rest of them took off their uniform and became common citizens. Their future would depend on fate... They need to rely on themselves for their own livelihood.

The mansion of the Duke of the Tulip Family was also almost gate-crashed by the families of those commanding officers. Some of them pleaded for leniency, and some tried to bribe. However, they were all rejected by Rody. Finally, he placed Randt and his team of soldiers to guard the front of the Duke’s mansion.

The influential families, finally, could not bear that anymore. Since the ‘soft’ method did not work, they had decided to try the ‘hard’ method. They joined forces to exert pressure on Rody. However, Rody did not even look at them and simply instructed Randt, "Just beat up the rude ones and throw them into the streets."

The next day, a group of nobles, their faces, and noses bleeding and swollen, went to the Emperor to complain that they were bullied. They said that even though he is the Duke of the Tulip Family, he should not be so arrogant. Whatever it was, they were aristocrats, and there were so many families, could he just beat them up?

However, they were completely disappointed by what the Emperor said. "Go and talk to the Duke of the Tulip family about this matter, yourself"

Some also cried and tried to garner the Emperor’s sympathy, but the Emperor was too lazy to even look at them. He simply ordered the guards to throw them out of the Imperial Palace.

Thus, the most powerful and elite of the Empire’s four armies, as well as the most well known, the Lightning God’s Whip, was reorganized. After the reorganization, only fifty thousand soldiers were left (and that included the re-deployment of twenty thousand Wolf Fang soldiers into it).

The reserve troops department was extremely busy as fifteen thousand soldiers were recruited -– it was for the ‘Lightning God’s Whip’. Even then, these new troops would have to endure His Excellency the Duke’s ’Whip’ first. Those Barons and Viscounts that were chased out of the Central Cavalry with swollen faces were good examples of what to expect.

Thus, the Central Cavalry was expanding rapidly, and the reserve soldiers were so busy that they worked till late into the night.

...

Once, Rody was reading in the Duke’s mansion in the middle of the night. Nicole sat beside him looking depressed. She could not help but whisper, "Rody, aren’t you too hasty in reorganizing the Lightning God’s Whip? Some changes should not be too drastic."

Rody put down his book and gave a wry smile, "I know... Even the previous Duke of the Tulip Family did not do such things." He pointed to the book he was reading and laughed. "I am carefully studying the history of how the previous Duke of the Tulip Family led his men to battle."

Nicole sighed and said, "All of a sudden, you have offended so many people..."

Rody shook his head and smiled, "Nicole, you are wrong. The person that offended people is not me, Rody. It is Seth! It is the Duke of the Tulip Family, Seth!"

Nicole froze for a moment and then laughed. "Is there a difference?"

"There is a big difference." Rody sighed. "I am in a hurry! To revert to my real self earlier, this is what I need to do. The sooner I complete these things that the Duke should do, the sooner I can gain my freedom."

He then gently held Nicole’s hand and said, "I do not want to be your little brother. Nicole, I do not want to hold your hands only behind closed doors! I want to be Rody! I want to be able to hold your hands and also hug you in public! I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want!"

After saying that, Rody gently held Nicole’s waist and kissed her lips.

Nicole looked at Rody’s fiery eyes and blushed. She wrapped her arms around Rody’s neck and said in a very soft voice, "Rody... Tonight, I will be your woman. Alright?"

1. The first time the prophecy was translated I used ’temple’ because I was confused by the prophecy. It should be ’church’. Sorry for the inconvenience.