Chapter 97

Kairos's gaze as he looked at the phantom knights was complicated.

They were his comrades who had traversed the continent with him over 450 years ago, sharing both hardships and joys.

They were the real deal, part of the mercenary group Kairos ran before he became emperor.

Seeing these comrades, who had become wandering phantoms, made Kairos's heart ache.

Crack.

Kairos clenched his fist tightly without realizing it, trembling.

‘If only I hadn’t been so foolish… You wouldn’t have ended up like this.’

Kairos felt a great sense of guilt over his former subordinates becoming wandering phantoms, but he tried to suppress his emotions.

Now, it was more important to soothe his former subordinates rather than indulge in personal feelings….

Sigh.

Kairos forced a smile and spoke to the phantom knights in the tone he used when they traversed the continent together.

“Hey, you guys. Sorry. I’m a bit late. Did you wait long?”

Then, the terrifying ghostly aura [鬼氣] emitted by the phantom knights began to gradually dissipate.

And….

“Brother.”

“Big brother.”

“My lord.”

Agato, Hildegarde, and Maximus, the high-ranking phantom knights, approached Kairos and spoke.

“It’s been a long time. I didn’t think we’d meet again, but I’m glad to see you even like this.”

Kairos smiled at his former comrades, who had been as close as his own hands and feet.

“Where have you been?”

“We’ve been waiting.”

“Aren’t you too late?”

Agato, Hildegarde, and Maximus scolded Kairos.

“Sorry. It turned out this way. I tried to survive and take revenge, but I ended up dying miserably. Maybe it’s because I’m old, but my wounds didn’t heal well.”

Kairos scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

“But why are you still waiting for me? If you thought I was dead, you should have found your own way to live. What’s the point of being so stubborn, you foolish and silly guys?”

Then, Agato, Hildegarde, and Maximus replied.

“How could we not wait for you? We knew you would return someday.”

“How could we not wait for you, big brother?”

“Even if you couldn’t return, we still had to take revenge, didn’t we?”

The loyalty of the phantom knights to Kairos and their desire for revenge against the Argon Emperor were so strong that even death couldn’t stop them.

Though their bodies were gone….

“Still, this isn’t right. When you die, you should rest in peace. Wandering in this world isn’t right. You need to rest when it’s time to rest. So….”

At that moment.

Whoosh!

The thick fog lifted, and the sky was filled with intense sunlight.

The fog that had covered the area for several days finally began to clear.

Whoosh….

Then, the forms of the phantom knights began to disappear one by one.

“Hey, wait! You guys! Where are you going? We still have things to talk about!”

Kairos was extremely flustered when his former comrades vanished without a trace.

He had hoped to meet them again and share some of the pent-up feelings, but the reunion was too short.

“You’ll meet them again, so don’t panic.”

Auto approached Kairos and said.

“Is that really true?”

“If you enter the forest, you’ll be able to meet them. Probably.”

With the fog cleared, to meet the phantom knights, they needed to enter the Forest of Phantoms.

“Let’s go.”

“Not now. Later.”

“Are you telling me to do nothing while my subordinates are wandering as phantoms?”

Kairos shouted at Auto.

After all, Kairos wanted to do whatever he could to help his former comrades find peace.

“You’re not the only one in the forest.”

“Huh?”

“To enter, you need to bring an army. So wait a bit. Can’t you see they’re all exhausted?”

Thanks to Auto’s strategy, no battles had occurred over the past two days.

However, the Kuntach Principality’s army was very tired from staying up for two nights in case of any unexpected situations.

Due to lack of sleep, everyone was dozing off, and they were in no condition to fight.

“We can enter when the weather is good after resting a bit.”

“Understood.”

After Auto explained the situation, Kairos didn’t insist further.

He wanted to enter the Forest of Phantoms alone.

But Kairos’s current strength was only a fraction of what it was in his prime, so entering alone would only result in a miserable death.

It was best to wait a bit and go with the Kuntach Principality’s army, as Auto suggested.

* * *

While resting, Auto explained the situation to Kairos.

“So, there’s a suit of armor rolling around in that forest, and it’s gathering the surrounding spirits? That’s why my subordinates wandered around and became phantoms?”

“Yeah.”

Everything has a cause.

Kairos’s former subordinates became wandering spirits due to their loyalty and desire for revenge.

However, the reason they became phantom knights with physical power was due to an item called the "Soul Armor."

The "Soul Armor," a legendary item in the form of a chest plate, had the power to gather and control vengeful spirits. It had been abandoned and rolling around in the Forest of Phantoms for some time.

Kairos’s former subordinates’ spirits were drawn to its power and became phantom knights.

“Because of the Soul Armor, not only my subordinates but also other evil spirits are roaming around, right?”

“Exactly. That’s why we need an army.”

“Damn it! My subordinates can’t rest and are wandering in this world because of that cursed piece of armor!”

“Let’s be precise. It’s mainly due to their loyalty and desire for revenge. They would have wandered the forest even without the Soul Armor.”

“Is that true?”

“Anyway, wait a day or two. The evil spirits in the forest are weaker on clear, sunny days.”

“Understood.”

“By the way….”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

“Why did you stop speaking?”

“I’ll tell you later. Don’t worry about it now.”

“…?”

“I need to rest.”

Auto didn’t tell Kairos the shocking secret that Julius was the Argon Emperor.

If he told him now, Kairos would likely foam at the mouth and go berserk. He planned to tell him after the Forest of Phantoms operation was over.

“Emperor Kairos?”

“Huh?”

“Pleased to meet you. I am Conrad von Kuntach, this boy’s grandfather.”

“I’m Kairos.”

Kairos didn’t show any courtesy to the elderly Conrad.

After all, as a former emperor who had lived for over 500 years, age meant nothing to Kairos.

“It’s a great honor to meet someone I’ve only read about in history books.”

“It could be.”

“Would you like to chat if it’s not too much trouble?”

“I’m a bit troubled right now….”

“This is 100-year-old whiskey. Very rare.”

“Let’s have a drink.”

Kairos, who was about to rudely tell Conrad to go away, changed his mind when he saw the bribe and agreed to chat.

‘He’s a real alcoholic, isn’t he?’

Auto shook his head at Kairos’s severe alcoholism but didn’t try to stop him.

After all, there was nothing to do until the weather improved, and as long as Kairos managed his condition, it didn’t matter if he drank.

Besides, for someone skilled in mana use like Kairos, expelling alcohol from the body wasn’t difficult.

* * *

Two days later.

The weather, which had been covered by thick fog, turned clear and sunny.

Auto confirmed the weather and immediately gathered the troops to purge the Forest of Phantoms.

In the operation to purge the Forest of Phantoms, regular soldiers hardly participated.

Since the enemies were evil spirits immune to physical attacks, ordinary soldiers were of little help.

Therefore, only the elite of the Kuntach Principality, including swordsmen, mages, and knights, were deployed for this operation.

Auto led a force of about 500 to enter the Forest of Phantoms.

Whoosh!

Despite the clear midday, the Forest of Phantoms was almost devoid of light and filled with a cold chill.

The temperature was so low that white breaths could be seen.

“What a creepy forest.”

Camille said.

“Why can’t we just burn it all down?”

Kairos, true to his character, made an aggressive suggestion.

“Fire needs to catch to burn. The forest is damp and the temperature is low, so even if we set it on fire, it won’t burn much. The evil spirits’ ghostly aura makes it hard for fire to spread, even if we pour oil.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Auto had experience with this.

When he purged the Forest of Phantoms in the game, he tried setting it on fire, but it only wasted oil and firewood.

“Anyway, the evil spirits will soon appear and attack, so be careful. It won’t be just a few….”

At that moment.

“Scream!”

“Let’s go… together… to the afterlife….”

“I will kill you all….”

Vengeful spirits [冤鬼] began to emerge from all directions and attack Auto’s group.

They were evil spirits from different eras and lives, so their appearances varied widely.

Among them were swordsmen, mages, and knights who had been sent by the Kuntach family to scout the Forest of Phantoms and died.

“Gasp!”

As soon as the evil spirits appeared, Auto took a deep breath and shouted.

“Roar!!!”

“Roar!!!”

He cast the "Battle Cry" to empower his allies and the "Barbaric Yell" to slow down the enemies, applying both buffs and debuffs.

“Destroy the evil spirits!”

“Don’t panic! We have Young Master!”

“Sweep them all away!”

The allies, empowered by Auto’s buffs and debuffs, fought the evil spirits.

“You can’t kill those who are already dead….”

“Your end will be the same as ours….”