Chapter 1104. Confrontation (4)

“Will you let this injustice continue, good sir?!”

“Hasn't this situation already crossed the line?”

Knight Wellinger frowned slightly while listening to the complaints of his fellow Knights.

“Yes, this nonsense has gone too far, Knight Wellinger.”

“What are we even doing here? Because we didn't sign up to become the Master's loyal dogs who only obey his commands!”

Knight Wellinger felt stinging sensations around his eyes. He fiercely rubbed his eye sockets and the bridge of his nose before addressing the other Knights.

“Yes, I am aware of what you are all saying, my good sirs.”

The Master of the Round Table was currently ruling the organization like a tyrant. What an ironic turn of events that was.

‘Indeed, that Master really is now a...’

Wellinger respected the Master. No, maybe it was more correct to say he held the Master in high regard.

The Master fully deserved such respect and praise, though. Despite wielding so much power, he didn't abuse it. Even though he had plenty of opportunities to satisfy his greed, he never acted upon it.

He could have favored his own country but still willingly took on losses for the sake of the greater good. He was the kind of man who prioritized maintaining the balance rather than focusing on securing benefits.

How could Wellinger not respect such an honorable man?

But the current Master wasn't like that.

“The Master is cutting off more of our hands and feet even as we speak!”

“Yes! Knight Wellinger, sir! If we let this go on, in a few months, we will have lost all of our authority! We’d be no better than dogs that bark and wag our tails whenever the Master tells us to!”

Wellinger sharply glared at the Knight who said that. “Good sir, please refrain from using such metaphors.”

“...My apologies, Knight Wellinger.”

Wellinger sank deeper into his chair while sighing under his breath.

‘He’s not wrong, though.’

The Master had changed since the day the Korean Martial Assembly invaded and utterly devastated the Round Table. He used to place importance on unity, balance, and upholding peace above all else, yet...

He transformed into a despot who could not be reasoned with literally overnight!

This transformation made no sense to Wellinger. Such was the abrupt nature of this change that he even explored the possibility of the Master being substituted with a lookalike.

Wellinger continued to rub his eyes while leaning against his chair.

What about finding the

‘reason’

for this change? That would be pointless since he already had a pretty good idea, anyway.

Instances of a wise ruler morphing into a tyrant could be found numerous times throughout history. The reasons for this transformation were varied and colorful, to say the least. However, the one underlying reason always remained the same.

‘...It means the Master has always been that kind of person.’

In every human heart hid the potential for a tyrant’s birth. And each individual’s character was decided on how well they managed to suppress this desire for tyranny.

As for the Master? Something had spurred him on to stop suppressing his desire. That was all.

There was one more thing to consider.

As far as Wellinger could recall, no ruler in history who had morphed into a tyrant had reverted back to being a nice guy. Never.

Once a ruler had a taste of true power and realized what his authority could do for him... He'd never want to go back to how things were in the past.

Which left one of the two possible endings.

“Either dying as a tyrant or losing grip on power as one...”

A Knight nearby heard Wellinger's quiet muttering and looked at him. “...Did you say something, Knight Wellinger?”

“No, no. It’s nothing,” Wellinger hurriedly waved his hand dismissively.

None of these mattered now. After all, the other side had already cast their die. Since that was the case, this side should get ready to cast their die, too.

“It’s only been a week, everyone!”

Wellinger snapped out of his thoughts and raised his head when he heard that voice.

It belonged to Knight Kramer, who was currently making his speech with a distorted face.

“Only one week, and our hands and feet got severed from us! Starting from small things to even major undertakings...! We now need to get the Master’s official approval to mobilize our own nation’s combat forces! That’s how far things have gotten, sirs!”

“

Mm

...”

“Knight Wellinger, we are a coalition. An alliance! Not some dynasty or an empire where the Master can act like an emperor! This is clearly an act of overstepping his authority. He’s obviously trying to intimidate us! Is he telling us to stay put in our little nests and wither into husks? Is that it!”

“

Fuu

-

woo

...!”

Wellinger had been trying to hold it in, but this lengthy groan still broke free of his control and leaked out of his mouth.

Knight Kramer continued to pour out his grievances. “I tried to endure. I tried to stay patient! But then, since last week, the Master began issuing us with nonsensical commands! While we dither about trying to analyze the situation, it quickly ballooned in scale and became a catastrophe instead! Trying to respond to one situation only has resulted in the breakout of an even bigger crisis!”

His blood seemed to have rushed to his head because Knight Kramer's face had gotten noticeably more flushed than before.

“We cannot let this go on any longer! Even if we’re talking about the Master, we must...”

Wellinger suddenly issued a warning. “Be careful with what you say from this point on, Knight Kramer!”

“But, Knight Wellinger!”

“I’m warning you, watch what you say.”

Knight Kramer clamped his mouth shut. He knew it’d be unwise to butt heads with Wellinger here. Even though he knew, he still huffed and panted like a bull. His rage had not been quelled just yet.

Wellinger could only close his eyes and jerk his head back at this sight.

‘Oh, Master. You...’

This was clearly a provocation. No, maybe it was a declaration of war instead?

Anyone with a modicum of sense could see that the Master’s orders were excessive. The Master completely removed all privileges and authorities enjoyed by the Knights and concentrated them all to himself.

At this rate, the Knights might really be unable to do anything without the approval of the Master. Wasn't that what Knight Kramer and others were passionately decrying about mere minutes ago?

‘Does he think he’s the modern-day Louis XIV?’

The absolute monarchy? What a laughable notion that was. To think that the Master wished to wield absolute power in the 21st century!

Societies progressed in the direction of weakening the power wielded by one person. So, who would willingly say yes to turning back the clock and returning to the days of imperial rule in this day and age of democracy?

“Knight Wellinger! Hesitate any longer, and soon, we won't be able to do anything!”

Wellinger calmly muttered, “Yes, I understand that.”

Knight Kramer passionately cried out, “Then, why are we still holding ourselves back like this!”

Wellinger frowned deeply. “Look, Knight Kramer.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Do you honestly think the Master doesn’t already know what we know?”

“That...

Mm

...!”

“Yes, he obviously knows. He knows that suppressing us this way will eventually result in confrontation, an eruption of our anger. Every one of us sitting here is well aware of how wise the Master is. So, it’s foolish to think that he has not foreseen the consequences of his actions.”

Knight Kramer unwillingly clamped his mouth shut.

Pretty much everyone affiliated with the Round Table acknowledged the Master for his guile. After all, he had managed the Round Table for decades without any notable issues until recently.

Considering this organization was a coalition of various countries, his feat was nothing to scoff at.

Even if he was now getting on in age, it would be unwise to think that the advancing years had dulled his sharpness. Since that was the case, the Master must’ve already predicted the potential mutiny against him.

“He knew yet still went ahead, Knight Kramer. That can only mean he has already made preparations against us. But we don’t know what those preparations are. With the situation like this, carelessly fighting back can only lead to us losing something even greater.”

“What are you suggesting, then? That we should just obediently wither away?”

“No, of course not...” Knight Wellinger groaned, his expression crumpling.

‘Master, what are you trying to achieve here?’

Merely thinking about this topic frustrated Wellinger to no end.

He glanced at other Knights. “One thing I don’t understand is... Does anyone have a guess as to why the Master’s commands have gotten more excessive recently?”

“Although it might not mean anything...” Knight Kramer sighed deeply. “We have reports of Former Knight Wiggins being seen near the Master's personal office.”

“Wiggins, you say?” Wellinger furrowed his brow. “What is he doing inside the Round Table’s sacred halls? When he’s no longer a Knight!”

“Unfortunately, we have no way of stopping him if he’s here as the envoy of the Martial Assembly.”

“Mm...!”

Wellinger’s frown deepened.

‘Goddamn it!’

A tyrant was bound to be accompanied by a treacherous snake-tongued retainer, now wasn’t it!

‘Wiggins, you... Just how far have you fallen?’

Wiggins in the past was an exemplary Knight carrying the expectations of his fellow Knights of the Round Table on his shoulders.

He became a Knight at a relatively young age, and people expected him to become the next Master, too.

Even though some people worried that England might be gaining a monopoly on the Master's position by having two successive candidates, no one openly voiced their opposition because Wiggins was such an excellent individual boasting not only a considerable skill set but even admirable strength of his character, too.

But this Wiggins had been corrupted. He had fallen to depravity. With the Master as his company, too!

“Also, an unknown Asian male was seen entering the Master’s office.”

Wellinger snapped out of his thoughts and asked, “An unknown Asian male?”

“Yes. It seems he’s also a member of the Korean Martial Assembly. I’ve heard reports that he now has an office next to the Master’s, and his job is to handle some of the Master’s work.”

“Some... of his work, you say!” Wellinger's voice grew louder in decibels.

“Yes... If that work only pertains to the Round Table's dealings with the Martial Assembly, then we can understand that man's presence here. However, judging from the flow of the current situation...”

That was when Wellinger finally uttered something he did not want to say. “Are you suggesting the Master has summoned an expert for the express purpose of wresting full control of the Round Table?”

“That is what we suspect, yes.”

“...Oh, Master. What have you done...?”

Wellinger slowly covered his face.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Even if the Master's desire was to seize full control of the organization and wield it as he saw fit, it was inevitable that he’d falter at the execution stage.

After all, the Round Table was ultimately a democratic organization. And its members never thought about how to rejig its structure to concentrate all the power to the Master.

However, that story did not apply to the Korean Martial Assembly. It was structured in such a way as to concentrate all of its decision-making power to the Assembly Master.

If the Master wanted to transform the Round Table’s structure into something similar to that one, wouldn’t it be quicker to get the necessary advice from the people of the Assembly?

But what the Master did went beyond that. He had actually summoned people from the Assembly!

Wellinger grimaced and addressed his audience. “Please summon the other Knights.”

“Have you finally made up your mind, sir?”

“For now, we...”

Wellinger stopped talking to let his sigh leave his mouth first.

He could no longer sit back and let this situation go on. At this rate, the Master would only need half a year to completely take over the Round Table and unleash a reign of terror. No, maybe he wouldn't even need six months to do that!

Wellinger had to stop that from happening, somehow!

“How many of our comrades are willing to join our cause?”

Kramer grimaced. “Most Knights are on our side, but...!”

“But?”

“The new representative Knights from France and England are refusing to even talk to us about this situation. But the biggest issue is Knight Besley. He... has confined himself to his residence for some reason.”

Wellinger clenched his fists.

‘Knight Besley...? Why?’

The British and French Knights being reticent was more or less understandable.

First of all, the Master hailed from Britain, and so did Wiggins. Considering Knight Chadwick, who held an antagonistic stance toward Wiggins, was killed in action, there should be no faction left within the British forces that were still hostile toward the Master or Wiggins.

As for France, it suffered the gravest losses during the last war, and its proverbial hands and feet had already been severed. Even if it still held on to some semblance of desire to overthrow the Master, it wouldn’t have the necessary strength to do anything.

The real problem was...

Wellinger curiously asked, “Knight Besley is confining himself at home? What does that mean?”

Kramer shook his head. “Considering he’s still in contact with the Master amidst his self-imposed exile, it could only mean...”

“...He’s now in the pro-Master camp?”

“It seems that way, yes. Also, the surviving Knights from the war have seemingly banded together with Knight Besley as the core, and stopped their public activities altogether.”

“

Mm

...!”

The Knights in Kramer’s report were actually the rebels who conspired together with Knight Leveaux to overthrow the Master.

Giving traitors important roles in your organization only happened in novels.

Those Knights would never enjoy another position of importance after what they had done. Even then, they still sided with the Master? Why?

‘Just what exactly happened on that day?’

Of course, Wellinger had already heard about the Elder Knights’ defeat. And he also heard so much about how insane and devil-like the Assembly Master was. In fact, he was sick of hearing it at this point.

Even so, to think that the Knights, armed with unshakable beliefs and mental strength, would submit to that man's power and even cast aside their pride! That was something Wellinger simply could not understand.

‘...And it’s not something that should be allowed to happen, either!’

Knight Wellinger tightly clenched his teeth before glancing at Kramer and the others.

“Seek counsel of the Knights agreeing to our cause. As for those not in agreement, I wager they won’t oppose our desire to call for a new conference. Please seek their opinions, as well. Let us convene a general conference, then hear directly from the Master himself!”

“Mm! You made a wise decision, Knight Wellinger!”

Wellinger wordlessly nodded back at the other Knights.

‘I do not know what you have prepared against us, but...!’

He did not have any desire to become a frog trapped inside a pot of water. Before this water had the chance to boil and cook him alive, he must find a way to survive!

And the first order of business would be to find out the Master’s real intentions.

Wellinger quietly muttered, “The Round Table belongs to the people of the Round Table.”

...And not to those despicable lowlives from the Martial Assembly!