Infinity, The Arcade Age-Chapter 421 Reason for the Crusade

At noon the next day, accompanied by the sound of chaotic footsteps, Qin Ming's army returned triumphantly after completely wiping out the enemy.

Despite the heavy losses, he had stubbornly annihilated the opposing force of eight thousand and even captured an old friend who had attempted to flee—Percival.

After so many missions apart, Qin Ming met Percival once again.

The once solitary Qin Ming had now become a powerful warlord.

And Percival, who used to lead only a few dozen militiamen in guerrilla skirmishes, who hadn't even dared to fight a single knight head-on, had now become a commander of over ten thousand troops.

Though their statuses had changed, the friendship they forged in the past remained. Percival could still recognize the now vastly different Qin Ming and even called out his name with pinpoint accuracy.

To be honest, Qin Ming didn't want to kill the man who had once helped him.

But the fact that Percival had lured him out to help someone else—this act of betrayal—shattered that friendship.

So Qin Ming led his troops and cornered him. With tens of thousands surrounding Percival and his mere few dozen remaining soldiers, Qin Ming gave him one last chance.

It wasn't an offer of surrender, nor a reunion to reminisce. Qin Ming didn't even speak to him—he simply gave him a chance to survive.

He sent out Mature, randomly summoned for this mission, to face him in a one-on-one knight's duel.

If he won, he could leave.

If he lost, he would die.

And as it turned out, the Knights of the Round Table really couldn't compete with the Eight Serpents.

It also proved that Mature truly wasn't one to show mercy. Qin Ming had even hinted she could go easy, for old times' sake.

But the moment Mature picked up on his implied leniency, she activated her Heavenly Bloodline right at the start—showing absolutely no mercy.

The coldest member of the Eight Serpents—she didn't earn that title for nothing.

Hold back? Those words didn't even exist in her vocabulary.

With Percival's death, the treasure chest was claimed.

Still dripping with blood, Mature returned carrying the chest and immediately demanded her share of the reward in front of Qin Ming.

Ever since learning about the true nature of the Nightmare Space, Mature and Vice had grown dissatisfied with merely being characters in the story.

They wanted to become adventurers. They wanted to break free from the Serpent's control and live on their own terms.

So their sights were set on the scroll in Qin Ming's possession—one that could turn story characters into companions. They aimed to seize it and completely escape the King of Fighters world.

Her merciless strike, ignoring Qin Ming's commands and killing to obtain the key, was largely motivated by this goal.

Friendship? Can friendship be used as a key? Can it be turned into equipment?

Letting Percival go meant Qin Ming had repaid the favor—but once Mature joined up, she'd lose out on the gear!

If Qin Ming hadn't stopped her, she would've turned on their own allies by now!

In a way, Mature, with her cold personality and complete lack of empathy, was far more suited to being an adventurer than Qin Ming.

Because she truly sought only profit, struck without hesitation, and would absolutely thrive in this cutthroat environment.

Looking at the key she handed over with a frosty expression, along with her demand for the scroll to join the party—

Qin Ming smiled faintly, unceremoniously pushed her aside, and snatched the key from her hand.

A mentally unstable street punk dares to bargain with me?

If it weren't for the fact that she had helped him before, if it had been Vice instead, Qin Ming would've beaten her up already.

With the enemy dealt with, Qin Ming immediately led his troops back and successfully returned to the castle.

Looking at the chaotic city before him, he could already tell that fighting had broken out here too.

As he led the army into the city and dismounted, he shouted out loudly.

"Someone, report the situation!"

Seeing their boss return, the pitchfork knights nearby hurried to gather around.

"Your Majesty! It's bad! Last night, King Arthur's forces went into a frenzy and clashed with our troops!"

As expected, Qin Ming nodded slightly, his expression calm and steady.

"Got it. What about casualties? What's the enemy's status?"

"Nearly the entire force of five thousand Round Table Knights has been wiped out! Two thousand reinforcements also suffered heavy losses! But unfortunately, King Arthur still managed to escape!"

"It's normal that he escaped. He's the Chosen King, after all. If you guys had actually killed him, he would've been a disappointment. What about our casualties?"

"Our side didn't fare lightly either... almost ten thousand dead. The cavalry took especially heavy losses. But the worst part is... it's..."

At this point, the pitchfork knight who was speaking suddenly fell into hesitation.

Seeing this, Qin Ming frowned.

"What is it? Don't beat around the bush—just say it!"

"General Toreid led the cavalry out of the city to pursue King Arthur! Although they nearly wiped out the enemy, General Toreid was severely wounded by King Arthur—he's barely hanging on!"

"What?!"

Qin Ming, who had remained composed the whole time and even smiled upon hearing that the enemy was nearly annihilated, suddenly froze. His smile stiffened, and his eyes widened in shock.

Toreid led troops out of the city in pursuit of the enemy—and ended up critically wounded?

This cautious guy actually took soldiers and gave chase? That's something only his daughter would do!

"Take me to him! Now!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Toreitia! Get the medical supplies ready!"

Although this information startled him, Qin Ming didn't panic. He was just caught off guard.

As long as Toreid wasn't dead, he could still be saved. Even though his regular consumables couldn't be used on story characters—

The special consumables that could only be used within this world could be used on Toreid.

And Qin Ming had stockpiled a large batch of these emergency lifesaving items. Toreid himself even carried quite a few.

But seriously, how did he end up like this? With all that medicine on hand, how could he not heal himself?

Slamming his shoulder into the door, Qin Ming barged into the room.

He shoved aside the busy doctors and looked at Toreid lying on the hospital bed, his body wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, his face pale as death.

Qin Ming stepped up to check his condition. After confirming that none of the wounds were beyond the scope of what consumables could heal, he finally let out a breath of relief.

"You idiot! How did you end up like this?! If he ran, let him run! Why'd you chase him? And even lead the pursuit yourself?! That's not like you at all!"

As he spoke, Qin Ming tossed a handful of high-grade consumables onto Toreid's body without hesitation.

"Here! Use them yourself!"

Hit by the items, Toreid struggled to open his eyes and looked over at Qin Ming. Upon seeing that Qin Ming had returned safely, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Your Majesty... you're back."

"Cut the chatter. Heal first."

"...This wound... can't be healed."

Staring at the medicine beside him, Toreid's eyes flickered, and he suddenly shook his head.

Those words made Qin Ming freeze.

"What did you say?"

"This wound can't be healed, Your Majesty. That man is a disaster waiting to happen. Most importantly, he's already well-known, and he's a Chosen King. He has immense influence among the people. He must be eliminated—but with a legitimate reason."

"I said stop talking! Heal yourself first!"

"Your Majesty, we suddenly started fighting inside the city. They won't admit to making the first move. They might even claim we used our numbers to ambush them."

"Toreid! I order you to heal yourself!"

"Your Majesty, we need a solid reason to start this war. We must show everyone that they deserved to die—that it was justice."

Looking pale as death, Toreid stared at Qin Ming. His voice was weak, but his eyes were firm.

"Someone must die by their hands."

Toreid—one of the first veterans to rise with the Holy King, the first pitchfork knight, the very first peasant to answer the call to arms, the Empire's deputy, Qin Ming's right-hand man. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Though he'd only been a general for a little over a month, Toreid's influence among the people was immense. In the many rumors spreading among the masses, he had even come to be seen as a chosen advisor akin to the great wizard Merlin.

If Qin Ming suddenly led troops to attack King Arthur without warning, people might hesitate to take sides—on one end, a newly risen Holy King; on the other, the Chosen King who had battled the Evil Duke for years.

But if Qin Ming launched a crusade because Toreid had died at King Arthur's hands in a surprise attack—

Then the death of Toreid, the first pitchfork knight and symbolic figure of the peasants, would absolutely spark collective outrage.

At that point, no matter how King Arthur tried to explain, no one would listen.

Qin Ming wouldn't even need to act. The furious peasants alone would be enough to make Arthur suffer.

After all, while Qin Ming was the Holy King, it had always been Toreid distributing food and equipment to the people, spreading propaganda, and accepting defectors.

Even the Empire's deputy was killed in Arthur's ambush! What more needed to be said?

Back when Arthur tried to seize the Sacred Fork, he only dared to kick Toreid aside—he didn't dare kill him. That was a big part of why!

Because killing Toreid would have made the peasants hate him!

(End of Chapter)