Chapter 238

(238)

Bang!

A lightning bolt suddenly struck halfway up the rocky mountain.

The rock cracked, nearby underbrush caught fire, and immediately afterward, three of the most noble individuals in the Empire crawled on the ground.

Duke Valencius attempted to rise while holding a burning branch, but it broke, causing him to fall again. Lady Trentia extended her limbs from within her hefty mechanical armor, and Princess Sererassie didn’t even think of getting up, lying down instead.

Valencius chuckled and looked at the clear sky.

“Sorelazie. It’s truly impressive that we can move all three of us at once, but was Flash Flight always such a dizzying technique?”

Sererassie replied in a weak voice, “You know that the magical prowess of the land of swords is not bad. Distortion barriers, absorption wards, sealing stones… There are many spells and magic tools to suppress magicians.”

“Really? I hardly felt any of it.”

Sererassie frowned and replied melodiously, “You are not a mage like me who handles mana purely with knowledge and will. You use the almost cheating powers of incantations and the power of spirits. You’re an envious and petty talent bug.”

Valencius let out a bitter laugh.

“Then, would you like to summon a dragon too? Surely there’s another one lurking somewhere?”

Sererassie shook her head after thinking for a moment. “Hmm… Of course, you are paying quite a hefty price for it. I’ll acknowledge that. It can often be inefficient. But in unusual situations like just now, it is certainly advantageous.”

“If you say so, then that’s it.”

“…How wonderful it would be if you would acknowledge that so readily all the time? Anyway, it could have been disastrous if I hadn’t been able to bring it out. It wouldn’t have worked if it were not me.”

Creeeak.

Marcus approached, cutting through the underbrush with two mechanical knights.

“Welcome back, Your Grace.”

“Did you come? Yeah. Having survived from Philius, I can’t complain any further.”

Valencius took hold of the outstretched mechanical arm and rose.

“……”

“They say similar types tend to find each other.”

One side was a mechanical arm, while the other was a hand that had partially become translucent due to granting spirit traits.

“Shut up.”

Valencius silenced Marcus and watched as Doroysen soldiers, swordsmen, and knights poured out of the encampment.

***

“There are many of them.”

Chimera resembling dogs rushed out with leashes on, and falcons that appeared to be familiars of magicians soared into the sky.

It certainly felt like they had brought enough grand magical tools, as the surrounding mana began to freeze.

“Okay. Since Philius seems to be going mad, let’s cut the small talk and confirm what we must before moving out immediately.”

I clapped my hands to draw attention.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“That would be best.”

“I think so too,” came the agreements from Trentia, Sererassie, and Marcus.

I confirmed the most important thing first.

“Sorelazie. There shouldn’t be any meteor craters around here, right?”

I had never heard of a meteor falling around this time before my return.

However, before my return, a magical realm had not opened in the capital, and I was still living as a reckless bandit.

Of course, the falling of a meteor was unrelated to my journey, but if the old had something to do with it, I wouldn’t know, so it wouldn’t hurt to check thoroughly.

Sererassie nodded, adjusting her pointed hat.

In her aloof voice was the confidence of a top-tier magician.

“You found nothing. No crater, no remnants of an explosion, no suspicious geological layers, or lakes or ponds. Of course, there were no traces of foreign entities or infiltrators. A few abandoned mines were visible, but it’s common to have abandoned mines in Instrumentum, isn’t it?”

This part seemed the same as before my return.

That is, Philius’s demands were a perfect pretext for territorial expansion.

Now that that was confirmed, it was a moment to temporarily set aside the discussion.

What was needed were negotiations filled with solutions that spilled as little blood as possible and forceful demands.

“Alright. Marcus. You found a detour, right?”

Marcus confidently smiled, pulled out a map from within his clothing, and handed it to me. I confirmed the marked path and nodded.

“Perfect.”

“It’s a route wrapping around the mountains that leads to the river by the mine Lady Sererassie saw.”

“Right. In any case, let’s hurry and escape. Philius must be very angry. Ah, no wyverns. We’ll hide them for now and call them after we get out of the encirclement.”

Trentia paused, her hand that was about to blow the whistle.

“Why not?”

I looked at the path and replied melodically.

“There must be a magician capable of using lightning on their side too. And I noticed a ballista on the way in. Quite well hidden, huh? Just grazing that massive arrow would make you crash.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll survive because I have these shoes, and Sister Sererassie will survive because of those pearl earrings, and you’ll survive without such things. But Marcus will die. Heck! Wait, are you saying Marcus can die?”

Trentia replied flatly, as if scolding a mischievous child.

“You plan to turn me into the world’s worst demon knight. You’ve become especially sensitive. Are you perhaps anxious?”

That hit the mark.

“…Sorry, Trentia.”

***

We moved up the rocky mountain for a while.

Bang, creak!

Two knights in mechanical armor broke through the underbrush and thorns, and I kept the rear with Lady Trentia.

“Your Highness. Do you know anything about Philius?”

Lady Trentia casually asked.

It seemed she was curious about why I had been anxious earlier.

It certainly wasn’t like me to act that way.

After all, I had engaged in a tiring battle against Philius, who had sided with the rebel crown prince before my return, so I might have become a bit sensitive.

With an apologetic tone, I softly replied, “Lady Trentia, do you know how old the King of Doroysen, Sword King Ensis, is?”

“I’ve heard he’s around 260 years old.”

“That’s correct. He’s a notably long-lived sword master.”

Many sword masters have fallen while relying solely on their strength and trying to handle a long front line on their own.

Ironically, the average lifespan of rejuvenated sword masters was shorter than that of the highest level sword experts.

“…I also know strategically that one sword master equates to thirty top-level sword experts.”

“However, he was not just an excellent swordsman. He was also a talented field commander and king. He made wise choices politically, administratively, and strategically in every war. That’s how he has been able to retain his position while the emperor has changed three times.”

“Impressive.”

“What do you think about the crown princes of Doroysen?”

“!”

Lady Trentia’s eyes widened.

“The crown princes of Doroysen are such beings.”

Forever being heirs who are tested beneath a father who never ages and does not weaken compared to them, eventually ending up discarded or dying of old age.

“Ensis does not age, so he can always have a new child. If there’s even a slight displeasure, he’ll switch heirs. I don’t even know how many times Philius has been the crown prince. They haven’t invited any dignitaries from surrounding countries to the enthronement ceremony for decades.”

“Unless one of them rises to sword master status, they will endlessly thin out.”

“An endless wait.”

“…There hasn’t been a sword master who died of old age in history. No one knows how long a king’s lifespan really is.”

“Exactly. Then just imagine how deadly venom Philius must harbor now.”

As if responding to that, mechanical knights moved up ahead.

Creeeak!

“Your Highness! We’ve been tracked.”

“Grrr.”

Before long, a chimera resembling a dog blocked our path.

It seemed it was going to howl towards the sky.

“Awoo!”

Sererassie struck the ground with the staff she held.

Flash!

Blue light flashed, and the chimera rolled on the ground.

“Over there!”

“Fire!”

But the very fact that we were being chased by the chimera was a problem.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Horrifyingly powerful arrows flew from behind.

“Let’s go!”

Brave swordsmen charged toward us with a single sword drawn.

Bang, bang.

The two mechanical knights moved backward, causing the ground to tremble.

Their faceplates clanged loudly as they went down, and steam puffed from the seams of their plate armor.

Kaang! Kangk!

A magical arrow shot through the air, striking the gauntlet and bouncing off.

The two mechanical knights turned to me and said.

“This is an opportunity to test the functionality that Your Highness Sererassie and Lord Marcus created anew.”

“Prince Valencius. Lord Marcus. We will deal with them quickly and follow you. Leave this to us and go ahead.”

Indeed.

Knights are something else.

“Alright. I expected nothing less from you.”

I left them behind and continued towards the direction of Philius’s encampment.

***

Philius was a man who knew how to turn his anger into strength, not foolishness.

Rather than rushing out after the knights and swordsmen, he sat in the central military tent of the encampment, listening to reports and issuing orders.

“I am alone, and they have an army. The systematic movement is my advantage and strength. In other words, I lose if I fall into chaos.”

“Release the familiars without restraint. Don’t hold back on the reagents. The mana flow nearby has always been strange.”

“Do not disperse. Valencius is also an excellent magician and warrior. According to recent information, he has burned entire foreign entities.”

“It may not be appropriate to say this with so many swordsmen present, but archers should pressure them from a distance. Victory comes first.”

At that moment, a strange shadow landed beside Philius’s tent.

Philius nonchalantly raised his hand, and the knights and swordsmen stepped back a pace, granting the shadow permission to report.

“Greetings.”

“We have received reports of Marcus, the Ironblood Party leader, sighted in a city where Wyvernfit is installed. He has black hair and wears brass-framed glasses, and has purchased clear oil and holy water to maintain his mechanical arm and mechanical eye. It’s certainly him.”

This was not news Philius wanted to hear.

“……”

Though Marcus himself might not mean much, he had instigated Marcus’s father and supported the swordsmen.

He had caused unrest in Instrumentum, orchestrated the massacre of the lord’s family according to the plan, and even killed Marcus’s father.

‘The Empire’s nobility is of heterogeneous descent, and he is a powerful knight or magician himself. Losing the head family would not merely cause confusion; it would mean a significant loss of actual power. It was an opportunity to seize Instrumentum and reclaim the territory of the kingdom. …Then my father might have granted me a fief.’

At that time, the Imperial Court was in turmoil due to the late emperor’s illness and internal strife between the first prince and the crown prince, making it a situation where land could be taken.

Then Philius could become an independent lord with his own land and people instead of being a mere nominal heir who could be chased away at any moment.

But then, a brilliant young child had come along and ruined everything.

‘A magical realm? What is that?’

And Sword King Ensis had revealed the words he had never wanted to hear.

‘What were you doing while your brother was bringing down the Empire’s great lord?’

‘Father!’

‘Philius. Now you are my successor.’

Philius found himself exactly in the position he had most wanted to avoid.

‘This time I must succeed. I don’t know why you care so much for this pathetic mountain with only abandoned mines, but I must succeed this time.’

He tightly shut his eyes and opened them, confirming that this was not a palace but a tent surrounded by his knights and swordsmen.

“Duke Valencius must be captured alive. I will offer him to my father. If I take something back, he will give me something more.”

“You are wise.”

“Is there no new information from the pursuing unit?”

Just as he finished speaking, a retainer rushed in.

“The mechanical knights have encountered the pursuers.”

“You left the rear to them, so where are their locations? How’s the route map coming along?”

The retainer unfolded the scroll brought by the messenger and began stuttering, his face paling.

“T-They seem to be coming back this way.”

The knights and swordsmen frowned.

“What nonsense is that?”

“Speak logically.”

“Check again.”

Philius furrowed his brows and suddenly stood up.

“Your Highness?”

He shouted, contorting his handsome face in anger.

“Call the soldiers back! Quickly!”

“Why?”

“…It’s a flanking maneuver.”

***

Tap, tap.

Smoke began rising from the south side of the encampment.

Bang, bang.

The enemy knights began to move.

The reckless elder brother muttered as he kindled flames.

“I am alone, and you have an army. Your systematic movements are your advantages and strengths. In other words, if I capture you, I win.”