WE WELCOME SIR VLAD...
...TO DEIRMAR!
I... I HAD NO IDEA ALL THIS TIME.
SO YOU WERE AN INCREDIBLY FAMOUS KNIGHT IN THE NORTH.
IT'S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL.
HUH?! IT'S SIR VLAD!
SIR VLAD IS HERE!
SIR VLAD!
WELCOME BACK, SIR VLAD!
IT'S AN HONOR TO SEE YOU AGAIN, SIR VLAD!
NO MATTER HOW I LOOK AT IT, IT SURE SEEMS LIKE IT IS.
SHUT UP.
WHOA~ THEY TREAT YOU LIKE YOU'RE SOME TRIUMPHANT GENERAL.
SERIOUSLY.
I'VE NEVER HAD A WELCOME LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE.
WHOA! IT'S THE KNIGHT OF THE SACRED DUEL.
WOW! IT'S REALLY HIM!
SIR VLAD!
PLEASE TEACH US SWORDSMANSHIP!
ME TOO! ME TOO!
THE CHILDREN REALLY DO LOVE YOU, SIR KNIGHT.
...IT WASN'T TO THIS EXTENT BEFORE.
I'VE MADE MY LIVING BY THE BLADE AND WANDERED ALL OVER THE PLACE,
BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN SUCH A HEARTFELT WELCOME.
WHEN I RETIRE SOMEDAY, SETTLING DOWN IN A PLACE LIKE THIS WOULDN'T BE BAD.
GOOD GRIEF. TALKING ABOUT RETIREMENT RIGHT AFTER SIGNING A CONTRACT?
HAHAHA!
THAT JUST MEANS THIS PLACE MADE THAT GOOD OF AN IMPRESSION ON ME.
I'LL BE IN YOUR VERY CAPABLE HANDS FROM NOW ON,
MY EMPLOYER.
YEAH, LAUGH WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
EVERY TIME I COME HERE, SOMETHING HUGE HAPPENS.
PARDON?
OR IS IT NOT?
IS IT THAT I END UP COMING HERE EVERY TIME SOMETHING HUGE HAPPENS HERE?
OH, COME ON~ SURELY NOT.
IT WON'T BE THAT WAY THIS TIME, RIGHT?
...IT WON'T, RIGHT?
F-FIVE THOUSAND?
THAT IS CORRECT, BARONESS.
THE TELEGRAM YOU SENT CLEARLY SAID THREE THOUSAND...
GAIDAR'S BANNER HOUSES ARE ADVANCING WITH THEM.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES MONARCHS CALLED RULERS SO TERRIFYING.
...WHAT DOES BAYEZID INTEND TO DO?
FIVE HUNDRED REINFORCEMENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY HERE.
FIVE HUNDRED.
ONLY FIVE HUNDRED TROOPS SENT TO PREPARE FOR FIVE THOUSAND...
THERE IS NO NEED FOR CONCERN.
THOSE FIVE HUNDRED ARE ONLY THE VANGUARD.
A GENERAL MOBILIZATION ORDER HAS CURRENTLY BEEN DECLARED TOWARD SOARA.
EVEN SOLDIERS IN THE NORTH ARE BEING PULLED OUT.
DEIRMAR IS NOT A CITY LARGE ENOUGH TO HANDLE SEVERAL THOUSAND SOLDIERS AT ONCE,
SO OUR COUNT INTENDS TO OPERATE THE AVAILABLE FORCES FLEXIBLY.
EVEN THE SOLDIERS IN THE NORTH...
THEN THE BARBARIANS BEYOND THE NORTHERN BORDER...
THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT EITHER.
LORD JOSEPH HAS ALREADY RESOLVED IT.
HE HAS MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE TRIBE THAT HELD SWAY IN THE NORTHWEST.
THEY WILL SHOW AT LEAST A MINIMUM OF GOODWILL IN THIS WAR AS WELL.
JOSEPH BAYEZID.
HE'S A MAN SO METICULOUS IT'S FRIGHTENING.
JUST HOW FAR AHEAD DID HE SEE AND PREPARE FOR?
THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE "DRAGON KILLER KNIGHTS" EITHER.
WE HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN WITH THE IRON DUKE.
THE TWO PILLARS OF THE NORTH...
[BARANOFF] AND [BAYEZID] WILL DEVOTE THEIR FULL STRENGTH TO THIS SITUATION.
I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE PREPARING THAT MUCH.
THEN ALL WE NEED TO DO IS HOLD OUT?
OF COURSE.
NOT ONLY THIS, BUT LORD JOSEPH HAS SEVERAL OTHER METHODS PREPARED...
BARONESS.
I'VE BROUGHT YOUR GUEST.
OH, IT SEEMS THE VANGUARD HAS ALREADY ARRIVED.
PLEASE BELIEVE IN BAYEZID'S SINCERITY.
THE ONE WHO LED THESE FIVE HUNDRED REINFORCEMENTS HERE IS NONE OTHER THAN...
JOSEPH BAYE...
HM?
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME,
LADY ALICIA.
...YOU'RE A LITTLE LATE.
WELCOME, SIR VLAD.
WHERE IS HE?
... ...
I'M SAYING I CAME HERE KNOWING EVERYTHING,
SO LET'S NOT MAKE THIS EXHAUSTING FOR BOTH OF US.
...I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
YOUR SON SAID THE SAME THING.
THINK CAREFULLY, OLD MAN.
ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH ONLY AFTER YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY DIES?
NOW THAT YOU'RE RETIRED, THERE'S NO NEED TO STAY LOYAL TO SOME RUINED HOUSE, IS THERE?
KEH HEH HEH...
I MUST HAVE LIVED TOO LONG.
TO THINK I HAVE TO SEE A WRETCH LIKE THIS STRUTTING AROUND.
WHAT GOOD IS NOBLE FINERY?
YOUR ACTIONS AND SPEECH ARE VULGAR BEYOND MEASURE.
DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, BOY?
NO MATTER WHAT YOU PRATTLE ON ABOUT, YOUR WORDS HOLD NO MERIT.
THAT IS THE PRICE A DESPICABLE USURPER MUST BEAR.
THIS WEST HAS SURVIVED BY TAKING FROM OTHERS.
NO, IF YOU WERE MERELY USURPERS, THAT WOULD AT LEAST BE BETTER.
BUT...
BECOMING A "DRAGON'S DOG" IS ANOTHER MATTER.
WHO WOULD BELIEVE THE WORDS OF YOU LOT, THOSE WHO ARE WAGGING THEIR TAILS FOR AN OLD DRAGON?
OLD MAN...
...I PROMISE YOU.
IF YOU TELL ME NOW WHERE THE "RAVNOMA" BRAT WENT, I'LL GRANT YOU A PAINLESS DEATH.
YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT BRAT CAN'T DO A DAMN THING ALONE ANYWAY.
THE CROW FROM THE NORTH DIDN'T SAY THAT, THOUGH.
DAMN IT!
HAS THE NORTH ALREADY MADE ITS MOVE...?
WE WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ALL ETERNITY,
EVEN AS WE FALL TO A USURPER'S BETRAYAL.
A FAMILY THAT, FOR THE SAKE OF THE PACT, SENT AWAY THE DRAGON'S FRAGMENT BEFORE ITS OWN BLOODLINE...
THE TRUE RULER OF THE WEST...
IS "RAVNOMA"...
I KNOW IT, TOO.
THE DEROGATORY NAMES FOR GAIDAR STILL CIRCULATING THROUGH THE WEST.
DESPICABLE USURPER.
AN EMPTY SHELL WITHOUT A PACT.
SO...
SO WHAT?
IF WE'RE SCORNED FOR HAVING NO HONOR, WE ONLY NEED TO TAKE IT.
IF WE'RE IGNORED FOR HAVING NO HISTORY, WE ONLY NEED TO SEIZE IT.
THAT IS THE LAW OF THE WEST, AND IT WILL BECOME GAIDAR'S LEGEND!
...I JUST HAVE TO TAKE EVERYTHING...
Vlad receives a hero's welcome on his return to Deirmar, cheered by townsfolk and children as the famous Knight of the Sacred Duel. His companion marvels at the heartfelt reception and jokes about retiring there after signing his contract. The mood shifts as the Baroness learns Gaidar is advancing with five thousand troops, not three thousand. Bayezid answers with five hundred vanguard troops, a general mobilization toward Soara, and alliances in the north. Vlad himself leads the vanguard to Lady Alicia. Elsewhere, a Gaidar interrogator threatens a retired old man to reveal where the Ravnoma heir went, vowing to seize honor and history by force.
Spoiler Warning
Click to reveal