#153
Empire’s Chaos (3)
Boom—!
“Ahhh!”
“What the heck is happening all of a sudden?!”
The capital of the strongest nation on the continent, Jeron, was suddenly filled with explosions and screams, having been lulled into a long peace.
Hehehe!
Ugh…
Countless ghosts were flying through the air, letting out eerie cries.
Clang—! Swish!
“Stop them!”
“You scoundrels! How dare you show up here!”
The guards stationed throughout the capital fiercely clashed with the undead and the followers of evil who had launched their attack.
But without a doubt, the most eye-catching place among them was…
Naturally, it was the Imperial Palace, located right in the center of the capital.
Roar—!
Hyaaa—!
The roar of a dragon that instilled dread in the listener.
And simultaneously,
Two streams of dark energy, like the embodiment of death, struck down straight onto the Imperial Palace.
Boom! Boom—!
Fortunately, the brilliant silver barrier surrounding the palace successfully blocked that terrifying energy, but those gathered inside were far from smiling.
They could feel the barrier visibly shaking with each attack they blocked.
“Ugh! As if the Undead King wasn’t enough, now we have Bone Dragons too…! What’s the current damage report?!”
“We only have four casualties so far! But if this level of attack continues, we can’t guarantee how long anyone else can hold out!”
The head of the Jeron Shrine, the Grand Wizard Marquis Lawrence, gritted his teeth as he stared at the images appearing before him on the magic circle that constituted the core of the barrier.
After launching interception magic right after the breath attack, the Bone Dragons had retreated, but Undead King Hans was unfazed, igniting the dark energy of death and preparing for a follow-up attack.
“Damn it! Another wave is coming! Everyone brace for impact!”
Whooooosh—!
As those words left his lips, an explosion erupted, and a massive magical shockwave began to backflow around the barrier surrounding the Imperial Palace.
“Cough!”
“Ugh… I-I’m sorry. No more…!”
Two wizards, unable to withstand the accumulated shock, stepped back from the magic circle, turning pale.
As a result, there were now six casualties so far.
Even just providing support to maximize the barrier’s efficiency was proving too difficult to endure against the ongoing fallout.
‘Of course, the ones dropping out are just the young ones still learning, but right now, even a single hand is urgently needed. If we keep losing more, even high-level wizards will struggle to hold on.’
While Lawrence himself could probably endure for several hours if he bit down hard and focused solely on defense, without counterattacking, he would just be a sandbag.
Given the uncertainty of what would happen next, there was no benefit to letting this situation prolong.
“Ugh, where is Duke Pristine?! With all this chaos in the palace, what’s he doing right now? He can’t still be next to the princess in this situation, can he?!”
There were a total of three grand wizards stationed at the palace.
One was participating in a summit with the crown prince, and the other, Isea, was still completely missing.
He couldn’t believe she wouldn’t have properly grasped the situation by now.
“T-That… I found out that the Duke Pristine left the Imperial Palace with the princess this morning.”
“What? They are outside right now? With the princess?!”
Even as Marquis Lawrence was alarmed, the backflow of magic continued.
They could only resume their conversation after two more wizards fell behind.
“Wait, didn’t the crown prince say he was returning from the shrine today?”
“That’s right. In fact, he’s already past the scheduled time… Given the timing, he’s probably out somewhere in that mess now…”
“…Oh my god. What terrible timing.”
In the end, he could only clench his eyes shut.
At this urgent moment, it turned out that both of the grand wizards and two heirs to the throne were all out there somewhere.
Not in the safest place, but in some unpredictable danger out there.
Boom—!
Yet, seemingly indifferent to his distress, the Undead King’s attacks continued without pause.
*
Boom—!
Once again, a massive explosion erupted from the direction of the Imperial Palace.
“Your Highness, please come this way.”
Isea lightly pulled Princess Riley along, and as she stretched out a hand into the air, a piece of stone flying towards them was quickly intercepted by a surge of blue energy.
“…Thank you, Duke Pristine.”
Even though they were conversing formally, surrounded by attendants and guards, they exchanged glances, sharing their anxiety as they moved to find a safer location.
‘Of all times for this to happen. …If we were to receive a warning, it could have been more precise.’
Isea inwardly sighed, secretly resenting the church.
The princess’s entourage had left the palace on the day of the crown prince’s return out of necessity.
The crown prince had used the church’s warning as an excuse to draft extra troops for her protection, highlighting his influence over the military.
Once political issues came into play, the princess couldn’t just remain inactive.
Even in an already disadvantaged situation, they couldn’t afford to delay their response, and she had even considered using this to set the stage for a counterattack.
‘It’s ended up being a mistake now.’
However, the church’s warning simply indicated, ‘Something seems to be happening in Jeron soon,’ so she couldn’t hide indefinitely within the palace without any definite timeline.
Who would believe and follow a leader too scared to step out of their house just because of such an abstract statement?
‘Since the capital’s defensive barrier is active, even I, a grand wizard, can’t carelessly teleport. To move safely, I need an approved magic circle… No, in a situation where the palace is being attacked like this, they surely wouldn’t leave pathways open.’
In case of emergencies, there would be escape passages for the command center, but since there was a risk of enemy infiltration, they would have blocked all entry points.
Ultimately, that meant giving up on returning to the palace and relying on survival outside.
‘It’s a bit far, but using the gate at the shrine seems like the safest option. If necessary, I’ll leave everyone else behind and just take Riley…’
“Ah.”
While Isea was formulating her escape strategy and leading the group, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Amidst continuing to subtly distribute her magic to scout the area, she sensed a very familiar energy.
“Duke Pristine? What’s wrong?”
“T-That…”
As she opened her mouth at Riley’s question, her expression remained furrowed and strained.
This was because the magic she sensed…
“I believe the crown prince is nearby.”
The energy she felt, also sending magic into the surroundings to scout, was undoubtedly that of Count Garfield, who had participated in the summit with the crown prince.
If she could sense him, then he must have recognized her location as well.
No matter how dire the situation was, considering the crown prince’s past actions, being with him was probably not the best option.
Riley seemed to share a similar sentiment, her brow furrowing lightly.
“…They are approaching this way. What should we do?”
However, it seemed their judgment differed from hers.
After all, whatever dirty deeds were done, it had more often been on the crown prince’s side, and they had at least upheld a certain standard.
Though quite some distance remained, avoiding them now was also complicated.
The fifth princess who fled in fear from the crown prince, the egoist unwilling to cooperate in a crisis, and the petty person prioritizing personal feelings over the greater good…
Who knew what kind of frame they might try to set up?
“Hoo— At this point, we have no choice. Everyone, keep your guard up until the end and absolutely don’t show any gaps.”
In the end, having resolved themselves, they were about to head towards the crown prince’s party when…
“Ah?”
Isea suddenly stopped again, twisting her head sharply.
In the direction similar to that of the crown prince’s group, but further away…
“This is…”
A power intense, passionate, and radiant like a blazing sun.
Whoooosh—!
Rushing forth at a tremendous speed.
Whoooooosh—!
Leaving behind a fierce blast of wind and an afterimage of light, it swept past them.
“Ahhh!”
“It’s so fast…!”
The servants shut their eyes and turned their heads in the momentary gust, while the knights assigned to guard the princess half-raised their swords, swallowing dryly.
Just the passing presence left a strong impression on them, but that was not what was important right now.
Knowing this well, Isea quickly raised her senses and turned her head towards the energy that had headed toward the Imperial Palace.
Then, as if timed perfectly, from that direction…
Whoooosh—!
An explosion of an intensity unlike anything experienced so far began to spread.
Fortunately, due to the barrier encasing the entire capital, it was somewhat dampened, but the shockwave was on a completely different level from before.
“…Saint Heinrich Saint Landgard…”
Isea unconsciously murmured his name at the energy surging forth as if boiling from its source.
“What? You mean that was the Saint just now?!”
“Y-Yes? You mean the Holy Saint of the Holy Church Order? The one they call the Hero…!”
“T-That Saint just passed right by us? Oh, Holy God!”
In response to Isea’s mumbling, Riley and the others all reacted in unison.
Some were even instinctively raising prayers to the gods.
But after all, that’s just who a saint was.
If one were to rank him, he would be on the same level as the emperor… No, given the current crisis on the continent, he should be regarded as even higher.
‘Considering it, that man might just be the hero of this world.’
The chosen savior of this world by the gods.
Of course, the heavy weight of that name must always have pressed down on his shoulders.
Sacrifice and dedication must have been a daily occurrence for him.
Compared to Isea, who struggled even to protect just one person, he felt like a hero from a million light-years away.
‘…I wonder what he’s thinking right now.’
Whether it’s a sense of responsibility for this situation or some noble sense of mission… she probably had no chance of understanding him moving forward.
*
“Maintain formation without panicking! The barrier is still intact!”
“Don’t be reckless! You are the proud guardians of the Empire’s royal family! Are you going to let His Majesty be disappointed?!”
Hearing the loud commotion of those preparing for battle at the barrier’s edge, Heinrich lightly licked his lips.
‘Perfectly timed.’
The Jeron Shrine was located on the outskirts of the capital.
In fact, aside from the holy sites, it was similar everywhere that large facilities like shrines were located.
It was second to the land’s size, but the rulers of the land were typically not fond of having paladin orders and allied forces stationed there.
Especially since this was the capital of the Empire, where even the emperor resided.
In fact, the ordinary residents used small prayer halls or temples scattered throughout the city, so the accessibility of the shrine, which was more like a special facility, didn’t particularly matter.
However, that meant there was a considerable distance between the palace in the center of the capital and the shrine.
Unless you had inhuman capabilities like Heinrich, you couldn’t cover that distance in a short time.
‘Right, just like that crown prince who’s still hovering around in a half-hearted location… I didn’t expect Isea and the fifth princess to be out here too.’
Clank! Boom!
He swung his Light Sword to deflect a black scythe blocking his path and quickly charged again at the Undead King, cleaving through the energy of death.
Hahaha! Of course! I knew you would stand in my way. My only rival, Heinrich! How you managed to find me so quickly, I do not know, but as a hero, you should be able to do at least that much! Hehe!
“All beings are under the will of the Holy God. You cannot escape your fate! Just like all the Undead Kings before you, you too shall follow in their footsteps, Hannibal!”
Against the backdrop of the brilliantly radiant Imperial Palace, the Undead King and the knight of light faced off.
In that fairytale-like fantastic stage, the ominous voice rising from hell intermingled with the steadfast voice filled with belief, ringing through the air.
Roar—!
Yaaaahhh—!
Echoing like a chorus, the Bone Dragons circling in the sky evaded the beams stemming from the palace and roared in unison as they looked down at Heinrich.
But the Undead King lightly waved his hand, as if to block any further intervention, and looked down at him again.
How amusing, so very amusing. Knight of Light, Heinrich Saint Landgard. Do you realize? Every time I face you, every time you block my path, I feel more alive. Even though I am already dead!
As if trying to embrace the whole world, he spread his arms wide, tilting his head back and gazing at the heavens.
Come to me—! Teach me more! Life! The will to live! A steadfast heart that does not crumble before death!
Even though his voice, created by resonating magic, lacked emotion, it felt deeply imbued with…
It was just an ‘obsession’ over something he could never possess.
And in reply to that, Heinrich, imbued with sacred light, slowly raised his Holy Sword and opened his mouth.
“Now I understand clearly. The reason that revelation came upon me that day.”
With graceful movement, the light glimmering from the blade painted the air beautifully, and its tip finally aimed precisely at the Undead King.
As if putting on a play.
“This, too, is the guidance of the god.”
It was genuinely a showcase.
