Chapter 33: Clown Knight

Indeed, the cavalry outside has already become a potential leak, according to Lu Kan; the leak is not about any kingdom heir—Su Ya, the heir, is the source of the kingdom's intelligence risk.

but they have now chosen to pledge loyalty to us,

Regardless of whether this deserter's loyalty is reliable, these people are, aside from the sword at Su Ya's waist, the only force this small group can try to wield at this moment.

So, without a second's hesitation,

Su Ya, who fears being killed by his own men more than by outsiders, breaks the silence that blankets the stone house, looks at the two before him, and asks:

"So, can someone explain,"

"why we must rely on my status to gather deserters in order to reach the royal capital?"

Having accepted the premise that Su Ya is illiterate, Mei Li turns her head and explains:

"Because of anti‑magic."

"A regular army can spontaneously generate anti‑magic to counter the detection eyes densely placed in the sky by magicians."

"It may sound abstract, but the more people we have, the more concealed we become."

"Without anti‑magic, a lone practitioner marked by the detection net will be instantly locked onto and then hunted by the magicians of Lu Ke'ang."

"Lu Ke'ang?"

Su Ya scratches his head, racking his brain but still has no idea what that is.

Lu Kan picks up the thread and explains: "Lu Ke'ang, formally the Lu Ke'ang Philosophy Magic Academy, is a magic academy founded by the legendary philosopher‑magician Ya Lishi Duo De."

"It began as a legitimate school for cultivating magicians, but now you could think of it as a madhouse housing a bunch of lunatics seeking the 'origin' from the philosophical side."

"To study 'philosophy,' they are mass‑capturing isolated enemy‑nation practitioners."

Mei Li continues: "If we disguise ourselves as an army, we will only encounter armies."

"But if we are alone, what we meet on this land may not be just armies: magician assassins, philosophical magicians of the Carefree School, church envoys, ancient magical beasts revived by magical tides, and the most dangerous."

"The Cross Forbidden Knights belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Cornwall."

"Therefore, we practitioners either follow titled nobles or blend into regular armies, and right now Britannia's regular armies are being hemmed in by the Macedonian army before the Golden Iron Curtain, forced to slaughter each other, leaving us to gather small bands under noble names to flee."

Su Ya nods,

He didn't absorb or understand this long string of settings at all, but he did catch one thing—

Now, here, his role is indispensable.

And Lu Kan came to him not only because Ai Ke Tuo's identity is no longer usable and he needs Su Ya's identity,

but also because he is eager to eliminate the knights outside who are still close during the day.

As for why?

Su Ya doesn't need to understand; he only needs to know that although it appears Mei Li and Lu Kan, the two 'strong ones,' are discussing the route, in fact he holds the initiative.

Killing those outside knights seems to benefit himself on the surface, but the real beneficiary is—

Su Ya turns his gaze toward the fraudster who is about to keep babbling.

Lu Kan feels his stare, swivels his head, and shows him an infectiously intellectual smile.

Then he turns back to Mei Li, his expression firm, and solemnly urges:

"When you hesitate, you only invite chaos, Miss Mei Li; you surely don't want to be killed by the Cross Forbidden Knights before you even make it back alive to the royal capital, do you?"

Mei Li hesitates instantly: "This…"

Although she resorts to robbery because she lacks money, that doesn't make Mei Li a cold, utterly self‑serving, orthodox magician who kills without blinking; rather than pursuing the root of her magical school, Mei Li prefers to roll dice when she has nothing to do.

Her motive for acting, and for robbing, is simply to get money to roll a couple of dice.

This logic—'life's meaning is to go to a casino and roll dice'—drives a magician girl to suddenly kill a group of innocents for such a cold‑blooded reason.

Mei Li feels an indescribable shiver.

She originally bet that Su Ya could become king; after witnessing his abilities on the journey, she bet that Su Ya could help her win against that detestable princess, and when she learned Su Ya could never become king, the only hope she placed in him was gambling.

The excuse sounds somewhat lofty for the sake of a playing partner; Mei Li only wants to win, to rely on Su Ya to win back what she lost,

but in the end, it's for herself.

So, now,

to betray her own thoughts and the scant conscience she has left, and do something even more rotten than robbery,

is that right?

Mei Li can't help turning to look at Su Ya, her small hand behind her gripping the broom's handle tightly.

The house falls silent again.

And at that moment,

Su Ya speaks, looking at Lu Kan, and asks lightly:

"Are you done speaking?"

Lu Kan's face stiffens; when he sees Mei Li turn to look at Su Ya, his heart jumps.

The primary key to the negotiation isn't how many chips are laid out,

but choosing the right counterpart.

He had thought that among the two, the decision‑maker would be Mei Li, who is stronger, has more hidden cards, and more easily wins men's favor to be commanded.

But the one who finally decides is this counterfeit brat?

"This point isn't just about Miss Mei Li, Mr Su Ya; I must say, it's even more closely tied to you—"

Lu Kan instantly shifts his tone, looks at Su Ya, and sincerely continues:

"So…"

However,

"Are you done speaking?"

Su Ya repeats the sentence once more, gazing faintly at Lu Kan.

Lu Kan gave a stiff smile: "What... what?"

You've been mistaken from the very start.

Su Ya looked at him coldly,

"You think I'm just a counterfeit."

"But if—"

Su Ya suddenly curled the corner of his mouth, revealing a hint of a smile, staring at Lu Kan with amusement, and asked word by word:

"Am I real?"

"This, this—"

Lu Kan's pupils suddenly constricted; the words he was about to blurt out were, at the moment Su Ya suddenly raised his hand, displaying the scarlet dragon-shaped emblem on the back of his hand, shoved back down his throat.

"This is the royal family's magic seal!?"

Lu Kan stared at Su Ya in disbelief, not letting him finish the rest of the sentence, "You actually are..."

A rough, loud voice suddenly shouted excitedly from outside the door:

"You, you actually are—"

The three people in the room were all startled by the sudden loud voice,

Immediately afterward, they saw—

Outside the arched wooden door, a figure in white plate armor rushed inside quickly,

The knight, who seemed somewhat familiar to Su Ya, made a motion akin to a slide, flew to kneel before Su Ya, grabbed his shoe, and shouted excitedly as if holding a treasure:

"My king!"

"Your loyal knight, Dagonite, reports!"

(End of chapter)