The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World Chapter 576- The Identity of the Invader

Within the waiting room, Cecilia and Lirae heard the distant uproar of the auction unfolding with intense fervor.

Bidding cries filled with desire and avarice echoed clearly into the chamber, intensifying their torturous wait.

Cecilia clasped Lirae’s shaking hand firmly.

"Stay close to me. Whatever occurs, we stick together."

Lirae nodded resolutely, set on fleeing alongside her.

The auction pressed on. Captives appeared one after another, auctioned off rapidly. Tension thickened with each second.

Cecilia and Lirae anticipated their moment. Yet neither anticipated the abrupt shift that shattered their escape scheme entirely.

A massive blast shook the structure. Walls split open, ceilings quaked fiercely while dust and rubble poured down.

Screams erupted next.

"What’s going on?!"

No response came before another detonation tore through the hall.

Flames roared, smoke billowed, pandemonium reigned everywhere.

When Cecilia and Lirae burst outside, they discovered the auction house faced assault.

No, the whole city endured a full-scale invasion.

Without pause, Cecilia and Lirae dashed away relentlessly. Far from the inferno chasing them.

Flames devoured structures, roads ran red with blood amid wailing folk scrambling for safety, only to fall slain soon after.

Blades and prowess collided without end.

Confusion gripped them. The assault's cause baffled them, but survival alone mattered... escape at all costs.

Cecilia and Lirae sprinted until lungs burned and limbs faltered. But every path blocked by waiting troops.

The city lay surrounded. No paths to freedom remained.

Worse still, pounding footsteps of nearing soldiers echoed close.

Time ran out; concealment was urgent. In desperation, Cecilia eyed the street and found a slim alley into a crumbling dwelling.

"Over here!"

She seized Lirae’s wrist, yanking her toward the ruined entrance. Yet Lirae halted dead. Frozen solid, in truth.

"Lirae?" Cecilia whirled to face her.

Eyes bulged wide, pupils shrunken, lips quivering madly. She gaped at the troops swarming the boulevard.

Their plating gleamed, emblem etched boldly. It awakened buried horrors, past wounds reopening. Visions flooded back.

Run, Lirae!

Flee!

Youth swallowed by blaze and slaughter. Father hemorrhaging, shielding her from oncoming steel. Mother shrieking, clutching her tight.

Identical armor, matching emblem.

"Lirae!"

Cecilia seized Lirae’s shoulders, shaking vigorously.

"Eyes on me! We must go! Without hiding, escape slips away."

Still, Lirae remained lost in her terror.

Now, boot stomps thundered nearer. A patrol marched straight toward them.

With no alternatives, Cecilia shoved Lirae forcefully into the wrecked home. But this act bared herself utterly.

"Oh? An elf here in the city?"

One soldier noticed her. Eyes locked on, one by one, piercing sharply.

In that heartbeat, Cecilia chose. Exposed now, hiding doomed them both. Staying risked Lirae.

Thus, she spun and bolted the opposite direction without delay.

"Live on, Lirae."

Right before vanishing, Cecilia whispered those words smiling at her sister-like companion. To the last, no blame shadowed her gaze.

Troops pursued her swiftly.

.

.

The tale concluded thus.

Lirae endured thanks to Cecilia’s final desperate act.

"I scoured everywhere after soldiers departed. Days of searching. Pleading with folk. Chasing every lead. Cecilia vanished completely. Those troops must have seized her. Nothing else fits."

She dropped to knees, begging through sobs.

"She granted me life. Yet Cecilia endured agony for my sake. Had I not frozen, had I stirred, she wouldn’t have needed to."

Tears poured down, drenching the earth below. Remorse gnawed deep, corroding her soul relentlessly.

Elina enveloped the girl in a firm embrace.

Life in shadows, parents slain, foster kin destroyed, slave capture, Cecilia’s selflessness... burdens far exceeded any child’s endurance.

A wonder she held together still.

Steps back, Reinhardt exhaled deeply.

Now it clicked. The dark foreboding plaguing him revealed its root.

His quarry, the royal elf likely a High Elf Priestess, fell to some army’s grasp.

Peril loomed larger than imagined.

Regardless, his expression betrayed nothing.

He knelt before Lirae, locking onto her weeping gaze steadily.

"Stop. This guilt isn’t yours. Cecilia chose your survival. Blaming yourself mocks her will—that’s true betrayal."

Reinhardt’s tone soothed warmly, his aura radiant like sunlight. It banished Lirae’s shadows, filling her with security.

"I’ll retrieve her, as vowed."

Unshakable conviction laced those words.

His voice held mesmerizing power. Hope and solace bloomed within her.

Lirae ceased weeping, bowing low.

"Th-thank you, Lord Reinhardt."

Granting a pause, Reinhardt rose and probed gently.

"To rescue her, cooperate fully. Share all details. When occurred this event?"

"One year past."

"Those troops? Describe their armor. The emblem carved on it. Unique traits?"

Lirae shut eyes, summoning memories forcibly.

"Black steel plating, crimson badge central. Three arched claw slashes over a shattered crown."

Hmm? No familiar heraldry matched.

Unsurprising. Foes concealed origins, donning fakes to deceive.

Still, trails lingered despite deceptions.

Tasking Jerrel with probes promised leads.

"More? Soldier names heard? Their group?"

Overrunning a city, crushing guards demanded elite prowess, no mere rabble.

Seasoned masters, likely a premier knight order.

Lirae pondered deeply, unearthing a forgotten snippet.

Shoved into ruins, senses blurred, she caught pursuers after Cecilia name a figure.

"Hurry, Paragon Giacomo commands. Seize that elf, wrap this up fast."

Lirae affirmed.

"Their commander was Paragon Giacomo, I believe."

Reinhardt’s eyes narrowed faintly for the first time. That title—could it truly be?

"Certain of hearing that?"

Lirae nodded firmly.

"I understand. Well done. Now we can reclaim your sister."

Clues began weaving together.

Leaving Lirae under Elina’s watch, Reinhardt acted swiftly.

He sought Jerrel directly.

Carriage door swung open; Reinhardt detailed Lirae’s account fully.

Jerrel absorbed it solemnly, paling at the commander’s name.

Gravity weighed clear even on him.

"Rest easy. My spy webs and agents mobilize. Any trace, I unearth it."

"Relying on you."

.

Next dawn, in Rune’s grand royal library, Reinhardt entered with Zerina, Elina, and Lirae.

Post prior night, she clung to them—mostly Elina—like a fledgling trailing its hen.

Jerrel commanded the hall’s midst, ringed by loyal guards and aides, voices clashing fiercely.

Fingers jabbed maps and strewn dispatches on the table amid heated dispute.

Spotting Reinhardt’s party, Jerrel signaled halt to the fray.

"Cease."

He faced Reinhardt, breathing out to quell inner turmoil.

Mutual nods exchanged recognition.

"Progress made?"

Reinhardt inquired.