Chapter 498
Kaen Stark . He was one of the leaders in the former Brave Swift Sword mercenary group, and his nickname was "White Eagle Knight" .
Unlike the other grassroots mercenaries that sometimes didn't even have family names, Stark was the family name of a quite renowned local noble . However, in Kaen's grandfather's generation, the Starks had already become impoverished nobles . Kaen's money for studying and learning how to fight had all been borrowed from distant relatives .
His emblem of a white eagle was a noble emblem that had lost all meaning already . It was also the greatest symbol of irony for any useless son of an accomplished noble .
Kaen had grown up while listening to stories about his ancestors' heroism . Yet, all he grew up to receive was the reality that his family had fallen upon hard times . Apart from the martial arts passed down through his family and his family armor, he basically had nothing else at all .
It was quite ordinary and common for a knight like Kaen with a family on hard times to become a mercenary . Ninety-nine percent of such people would end up dying in a random alleyway . However, Kaen was different . He was highly intelligent ever since young, and possessed grand ambitions . While other mercenaries always got drunk and only thought about what they would do today and tomorrow, Kaen was working his hardest in order to restore his family name's honor .
Kaen experienced numerous battles without dying despite the fact that he led the charge every time . He wasn't even forty years old yet, and already became a Legend-ranked knight despite starting out as a regular mercenary . He was quite famous around these parts .
Kaen was forthright and decisive . He was passionate and loved to help others . He was extremely well liked within the Brave Swift Sword mercenary group, and he was also one of the group's leaders, put in charge of negotiations with clients . In fact, Kaen was the one who personally signed the contract to join Marquis Stanley's rebellion . It was also rumored that the current Brave Swift Sword leader was going to pass leadership over to Kaen after his retirement . It could be said that Kaen was highly successful in his life, a classical example of being an ordinary person who managed to achieve great success . There should have been nothing for Kaen to be dissatisfied about .
However, the old mercenary group leader who always treated Kaen like his son didn't know Kaen's real thoughts . While the leader treated the mercenaries as his family, Kaen Stark viewed the mercenary group as nothing more than a stain and restraint upon his family name's honor . Kaen also viewed the mercenary group as nothing more than a stepping stone for his family to return to high status among the nobles .
And then…
Actually, it wasn't important to go through all the details . Basically, there was a series of schemes and betrayals . Since Kaen had the motivation and the ability to scheme such a betrayal of his own mercenary group, it was only necessary to look at the results to know what this schemer did in order to achieve his ambitions .
The Brave Swift Sword mercenary group that joined the rebellion was almost completely annihilated . Meanwhile, Kaen himself became the new knight domain lord of this kingdom . Despite helping to plan the rebellion in the first place, he was now an official noble himself . He instantly achieved his life's goal, and was able to begin using his family's long-passed-down white eagle emblem and battle flag .
However, Kaen, whose life seemed to be at its greatest yet, was now filled with frustrations . This wasn't because of the new report he'd just received of a small village in his domain being attacked, as this type of event was too common . Villagers in remote locations were all poor people that couldn't afford to pay many taxes regardless, and he wouldn't have cared about the losses even if all the villagers died to wild beasts . Kaen was currently frustrated because of the special envoy before him—Prince Link, the second son of the ruling Archduke of Sala Dukedom .
Prince Link's older brother was currently warring with Marquis Stanley . It was rumored that Prince Link himself had previously studied in the Mage Country, and that he was renowned in academics and magic despite being only twenty years old . Prince Link's arrival as a special envoy was quite unexpected, and he even brought along the Sala Dukedom's most elite troops, the Cliff heavy infantry squadron . The moment Prince Link arrived, he demanded a map of Kaen's domain and the most recent combat information . And, Prince Link ordered Kaen to summon all of his warriors . It was obvious that something important was going on .
One party was part of the highest-ranked ruling royalty of Sala Dukedom, together with the Dukedom's most elite troop squadron . The other party was a newly minted knight domain lord who had less than one hundred militia troops under his command . The prince made no explanations to Kaen, and Kaen could only follow Prince Link's orders .
"Could it be that he came here because of that treasure map…?"
Kaen was feeling quite anxious inside right now . He had chosen this remote location as his domain primarily because of an ancient treasure map passed down in his family . The treasure map indicated that the treasure was located in the nearby mountains, and the only path through those mountains just happened to be located in this domain .
Why didn't Kaen immediately go to obtain the treasure after becoming the domain lord here? It was also known to him that there were powerful guards in the ruins that the treasure was located in, an issue that he wouldn't be able to deal with instantly . Originally, Kaen had intended on developing his own domain and expanding his personal forces before considering how to adventure into the ruins for that treasure .
"Impossible, impossible, I've always hidden that treasure map so well!"
He always carried that treasure map on himself since the map involved the "endless amount of treasures" and "sleeping great power" . This was what Kaen was relying on more than anything to restore his family's glory .
Kaen kept reassuring himself like that, but when he was summoned to Prince Link's temporary command center, he was almost unable to conceal his panic . Posted right on the wall was a magnified version of his family's ancestral treasure map . Even all the markings were exactly the same as the map he had already memorized .
"Prince Link's destination is my family's inheritance? How could this possibly be! Who leaked my family's secret!"
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"…I noticed that Kaen was always up to something mysterious in his tent . Our Boss was worried that there would be a problem with him, so Boss ordered me to investigate . Then, I discovered his treasure map . "
"Treasure map? No, this is only an ordinary cartographic map . The markings and words on here only explain this factory's uses . 'Endless amount of treasure" and "sleeping great power"? Only true academics will possibly understand words from the scholars' generation of Haletdam . Such a hazy description is obviously a prediction from a prophecy magic . Those ruins are actually a research facility from the scholars' generation . The secrets of knowledge and technology are already endless amounts of treasure and power, so a prophecy magic making such a prediction is perfectly understandable . "
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