Chapter 393

The Agents of the Empire and the Warriors of Dane. Their battle was fierce and brutal.

Facing warriors wielding axes of fire, swords of ice, and spears of lightning, the agents relied solely on their longswords and numerical superiority to engage in a bloody struggle.

“This isn’t easy…”

The commanding agent gritted his teeth as he deflected the incoming ice spikes with his longsword.

The enemies were strong. Stronger than he had anticipated.

Not only did they possess the firepower of mages, but their combat skills were also formidable, making them a daunting and almost despairing opponent.

The activation of their magic was too fast to exploit any openings, and even if they forced their way in to stab with their swords, their weapons would be blocked. Engaging in close combat to somehow take them down often resulted in getting hit by a surprise magic attack.

For some reason, they only used one type of elemental magic, but that alone was enough to handle the agents.

“Combining mages and warriors into one makes them this troublesome…”

You could call them magic warriors.

At first, the Empire thought they were using rare enchanted weapons, but after fighting them, it became clear that wasn’t the case.

“Kenaz!”

A middle-aged warrior chanted a rune and swung his left arm, sending a wave of fire sweeping forward.

The agents hastily dodged, but one who couldn’t react in time clutched his burning left arm, writhing in agony.

“As expected. They can only use one element, but the way they manifest it is too varied. This isn’t the power of their weapons but their own strength.”

Originally, enchanted weapons weren’t bad in terms of power, but their fundamental flaws made them a half-abandoned concept.

The exorbitant cost to produce a thousand similar swords, the limitation of only being able to use one type of magic engraved on the weapon, the pitiful durability that would self-destruct after about a hundred activations, and the inconvenience of needing a mage to recharge the magic daily.

It was cheaper to recruit or hire a mage than to bear those flaws.

Yet, these warriors used magic without a care, as if those flaws didn’t concern them.

“Is this all you’ve got? You’re far from worthy of discussing the Heavenly Palace!”

“A warrior dabbling in magic! Aren’t you ashamed?”

An agent, electrocuted while deflecting a lightning spear, lashed out at them, but the Dane warriors paid no heed.

“This is the power bestowed upon us by Him!”

“By who?!”

The agents couldn’t understand why the magic warriors praised Bølberg.

If it were the god of magic, Grimnir, maybe, but what did the warrior god Bølberg have to do with magic?

“Is there any other god who blesses warriors besides Him?”

The warriors smirked and unleashed another barrage of magic.

Flames surged, ice arrows flew, lightning pierced armor, and an old man’s axe, now a mass of muscle, smashed through walls like tofu.

In the face of their onslaught, the agents could only barely defend, unable to advance.

“Completely blocked…”

The commanding agent shook off his convulsing left arm and glared down the corridor.

The distance to the Queen’s Chamber wasn’t far, but now it felt impossibly distant. Reaching it seemed impossible.

Yet, a smile crept across his masked face.

“…So far, it’s going according to plan. Now, we just need to hold out.”

Originally, the agents infiltrating the villa only needed to keep the four warriors, the biggest obstacle, occupied.

There were others to rescue Eleonora.

—

In one of the inner chambers across the corridor, women dressed as maids and a few servants were hiding, their presence concealed.

It was an unusual sight.

When the Empire’s agents infiltrated the villa, most maids screamed and hid in their rooms or fled the villa altogether.

But these women, instead of fleeing, had gathered in the inner chambers, taking advantage of the chaos.

Instead of the fear they should have shown as maids under attack, their faces were filled with determination.

“It seems the warriors have left to deal with the intruders as planned. We can move now.”

These were the infiltration team members the Empire’s Intelligence Department had planted in the villa beforehand.

Agents disguised as maids and servants, collecting information on Panam.

Normally, they would have been barred from entering the villa, but with the palace in chaos, getting in was simple.

“Let’s hurry. We don’t have much time.”

Nodding, the infiltration team carefully left the inner chamber and headed towards Eleonora’s quarters, pretending to be terrified maids fleeing for their lives whenever they sensed someone approaching.

It didn’t take long for them to reach Eleonora’s chamber.

“Who are you! Don’t you know this area is off-limits!”

Even though she was confined, it was still the Queen’s chamber.

A guard stood at the door, sword drawn.

“P-please, save us! The Dane people are after us!”

“The others who fled were all killed by those demons! This is the only way to escape!”

The agents, acting as panicked maids, clung to the guard.

“Stop, stop! I understand, just—”

The guard hesitated for a moment, taken aback by their seemingly ordinary appearance.

-Thud!

The daggers they drew pierced the guard’s throat and heart.

“Guh, guh…!”

The guard convulsed, spitting blood. The agents tossed his body aside and immediately forced open the chamber door.

—

Eleonora’s chamber was eerily quiet, detached from the chaos outside.

An empty room with no attendants. On the antique bed sat a woman with an expressionless face, holding a dagger.

“…You’re not palace maids. Who are you? What business do you have with me, coming here so rudely?”

Her voice was low and cold.

Eleonora gazed at the infiltration team dressed as maids with emotionless eyes.

“Your Highness…?”

The infiltration team couldn’t hide their confusion.

Contrary to their expectations of finding her bound or in a pitiful state, she appeared unnaturally calm.

“Your Highness…? Calling me that means you’re from the Empire, I presume.”

“Yes, yes! I’m Silen from the Empire’s Intelligence Department! His Majesty Emperor Leopold has ordered us to rescue you, so we’ve come to fetch you.”

The maid leading the infiltration team knelt on one knee and bowed her head.

“My brother… sent you to rescue me…”

‘…Now, of all times?’

Eleonora smiled faintly as she looked down at the prostrated agent.

The absurd news of the Dane attack turned out to be the Empire’s doing to retrieve her. How ironic.

“Your Highness, we must hurry and leave the palace. The other agents are buying time, but they won’t last long.”

The agents guarding the door urged the seemingly unhurried Eleonora.

Her reaction was odd, but they didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.

“Sigh… Fine. We should leave. Understood.”

Eleonora sighed lightly, rose from the bed, and approached the agents.

“But where should we go? The entire palace is on high alert.”

“There’s a secret passage leading out of the palace. We’ll guide you.”

Eleonora donned the robe the agents handed her, covering her face, and left the villa with them.

Meanwhile, some agents stayed behind to manipulate the scene.

An agent resembling Eleonora donned the Queen’s attire and took her own life on the bed, while others set the villa ablaze.

Soon, the entire villa was engulfed in flames.

—

“A fire…?”

The warriors and intruders fighting in the corridor could clearly see the flames consuming the corridor.

Warriors welcoming death and agents disregarding their lives.

Their battle was nearing its end.

Of the eleven agents, only three remained, but the Dane warriors had also been reduced to two by the agents’ relentless assaults.

The elderly warrior, exhausted, had been pierced through the heart and died, while the middle-aged warrior wielding flames had burned alongside an agent who charged at him with an oil pouch.

Only the female warrior with the lightning spear and the young man shooting ice remained.

Their armor was torn and shattered.

“Was this a diversion…!”

“Indeed. Did you think we were wasting time here? While you were busy, Her Highness Eleonora has already left the villa.”

The commanding agent laughed as he pulled a glass bottle from his pocket.

The other two agents did the same.

The mission was a success, and their remaining task was to kill these warriors and perish.

It was time to use their trump card.

Without hesitation, the agents drank the Potion of Frenzy from the bottles.

A sensation like molten lava surged through their stomachs. Their destructive instincts overwhelmed their reason.

“Grr… Grrr…!”

Their eyes turned bloodshot, and drool dripped from their mouths.

Veins bulged beneath their armor, muscles twitching.

The Potion of Frenzy, designed to obliterate reason and consume life force until death.

With this, they stood a chance against the remaining two warriors.

Though once their reason was gone, they would likely kill each other afterward.

“Huh…? Rescue, not kill? What are you…?”

The warrior with the sword tilted his head in confusion, but the agents could no longer hear him.

True to its origin from the Empire’s alchemy workshop, the potion’s effects were swift.

“Raaaaah!”

The agents, now frenzied, charged at the warriors.

In the burning villa, they slaughtered each other, scattering blood and entrails.

Until the flames consumed them all.