冈本aPP安装

“No, I’m going. It’ll be fine. I know there are no troops over there.” (Yuri)

“I don’t trust the First Army! Not even the Queen’s Sword!” (Dimitri)

I lightly mounted on White Sunset and quickly fastened the restraint belts.

“If it gets dangerous, I’ll ride back on an Eagle. As planned, keep the Second Army stationed here until the flag is raised. If it looks like we’re taking back the entire army, send in the Galloping Birds to cause chaos.” (Yuri)

“…Understood. Please take care!” (Dimitri)

Dimitri took a step back and saluted. To avoid interfering with the Eagle’s flight. I lightly pulled the reins and gave the signal for takeoff, and White Sunset began flapping its wings.

“I’m off then!” (Yuri)

With my right hand holding the reins and my left hand carrying a spear, I couldn’t wave.

As I ascended into the sky and looked down, I saw the entire Hou Household army deployed in the grasslands to the south of the royal capital. Sixteen thousand troops were in orderly formation, with the Galloping Bird units deployed on the left and right.

Beyond them, at the southern end of the royal capital, the Second Army faced off. I could see where I broke through the barricade ten days ago, directly behind their formation. Their slightly irregular formation was structured into a smaller box formation compared to the Hou Household army. There was no sign or shadow of the First Army. If the First Army was mixed in, the total would approach nearly twenty thousand, larger than the Hou Household’s formation.

As per the intelligence, the First Army was guarding the Queen’s Castle Island. As I took off, Eagles started taking flight from all around. They flew in small arcs in the sky, waiting for them.

The number of Eagles increased rapidly, and an unprecedented sight appeared above the Hou Household’s army. A massive flock of five hundred giant birds filled the sky like circling crows over a slaughterhouse. The Eagles sent out by the Second Army for reconnaissance were startled by the overwhelming number of Eagles and began to retreat.

I blew a large whistle as hard as I could.

*Piu—!*

The high-pitched sound of the whistle echoed through the vast sky. In reality, the whistle often couldn’t be heard from afar, but if it could be heard by those nearby, it could create a triggering effect. The strategy had already been communicated, and everyone understood it. I directed White Sunset’s beak towards the royal castle.

In the blink of an eye, we soared over the enemy’s formation, and as White Sunset approached the royal castle, I saw movement on the drawbridge. It must be the Queen’s Sword. The Queen’s Sword had been used to throw bottles of oil onto the drawbridge in advance. The black stains were so evident even from above. Crude oil. Using light oil for Molotov cocktails would be wasteful, so we used crude oil directly in the bottles. Light oils burn easily but have poor sustainability, so this was more suitable.

Over the past few days, crude oil smuggled into the royal capital had been thrown one after another. As we continued towards the royal castle, I looked down and saw one of the royal Eagles diving down and releasing a bottle. A red flame spread over the black stain on the bridge. I didn’t land there but circled around the royal castle while blowing the whistle loudly. People inside the castle began appearing at the windows, looking outside. When I reached the upper floors, there she was.

With her golden hair fluttering in the wind, staring at me, it was Carya. The room where Karlya appeared had a balcony just like when Myaro came before.

‘Should I charge in?’

I briefly considered it but stopped myself. It was too dangerous, and there was no need to do it intentionally. Reckless Eagle soldiers landed on balconies where no one appeared. Tea tables and chairs were scattered, and if they were sturdy enough, the Eagles landed on them.

Following the predetermined procedure, they did not land on risky railings. If there was an unmanned balcony without anyone inside, they wouldn’t be stabbed before descending from the eagles. Looking at the bridge on the north side, flames were rising from there, and black smoke billowed up. I descended to the landing point.

—

When I landed at the predetermined location, I quickly removed the restraint belts and dismounted from White Sunset. Clearing a path for the successive arrivals, I hooked the reins onto a suitable protrusion.

The five hundred royal Eagle soldiers, each armed with a spear, descended across various locations on King’s Castle Island.

I also began running towards the royal castle. Indeed, as per the prior information, it seemed that there were hardly any soldiers from the Second Army left in the castle.

“Your Excellency Yuri! All ten squads have safely landed!” (??)

A Knight who had hurried over reported. This person was one of the hastily appointed landing squad leaders, with fifty subordinates lined up behind him. From the strategy phase, they were assigned directly under me as my personal guards to escort me into the dangerous area.

Considering that they were all Heavenly Knights who had graduated from the School of Knights, the cost involved was staggering.

“Well done. Let’s attack the royal castle as planned. Carya showed her face at the upper window.” (Yuri)

“Carya… I see, Carya. Let’s proceed then.” (??)

I took the lead and began walking. The gates of the royal castle had already been left open by those who had entered first. While there was a mechanism to secure the gate with a bar, the bar itself had rolled away to the back of the gate. Whether it had been closed once or stopped before it could be secured.

In any case, the royal castle was not a facility that could be defended, with many windows reachable from the ground. Although we wouldn’t struggle to find entry points, an open gate was preferable. Witches who had been inside fled desperately from the gate. It was a group of panicked women and children amidst the flames of war.

The soldiers did not pursue them. There weren’t enough forces to surround them, and escape from Queen’s Castle Island was impossible anyway. During this season of heavy snowmelt from the mountains, swimming across the river to escape was a bit of a reckless feat for untrained women. Some might attempt it and perish, but that was not our concern.

Nevertheless, everything about the royal castle was different from what I had seen before. I never imagined I would smell the scent of battle here. Without stopping, I passed through the gate of the royal castle. Inside, shouts of anger could be heard from all around. Some were engaged in combat. Indeed, being the royal castle, a considerable number of people seemed to remain. According to the prior information, only about fifty were left. Well, even if it was fifty, given our limited numbers, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park.

As I walked towards the staircase, a man who looked like he belonged to the Second Army suddenly appeared at the corner of the corridor and spotted me. Perhaps noticing the fine leather armor I was wearing, he ran towards me.

“Traitor, prepare yourself!!” (??)

He shouted loudly, lowering his spear and charging towards me with vigor.

‘There are lively ones like this in the Second Army too.’

Looking at his face, he seemed quite nervous, although I couldn’t recognize his usual demeanor. His expression was contorted like a madman’s, as if someone had implanted something in him.

“Protect His Excellency Yuri!!” (??)

The captain came to shield me, but I continued advancing confidently towards the enemy soldier.

‘No need for shielding, really. This is manageable.’

“Ooooooh!!” (??)

The man charged with a battle cry, thrusting his spear towards my waist. Stepping lightly on my final step, I shifted my position, striking the extended spear with my left vambrace and piercing the man’s abdomen with my shorter spear. Our momentum intersected, and the spear sank deeply with a satisfying thud.

“Guuh—” (??)

The man groaned and collapsed to the ground. I thought he was wearing chainmail, but I couldn’t feel that sensation with the spear I thrust.

‘Just thick fabric, huh. Despite being stationed at the castle, it’s wartime. What are these people thinking?’

“Just a foot soldier’s spear. How dull.” (Yuri)

I withdrew my spear. The man shielded his stabbed belly with both hands, letting go of his spear. He seemed formidable, but it was all show.

‘Soim taught me that a true warrior continues fighting even after being stabbed three times, so don’t get complacent just because you managed to break through.’

“Let’s go. We can’t linger here too long.” (Yuri)

—

Upon reaching the sixth floor, I heard the loud clashes of soldiers engaging in combat. The familiar corridor I walked down that day was now stained with blood. The first to come into view were the injured Hou Household’s Knights crouching in pain. It seemed like they had escaped from the rear. There were five of them. Beyond them, about twenty soldiers seemed to be stuck in place.

“Hey, what’s going on?” (Yuri)

When they saw me, the Knights looked surprised, as if they hadn’t expected me to come all the way up here.

“His Excellency Yuri! T-There’s a formidable knight guarding the corridor…!” (??)

They reported to me anxiously while keeping an eye on the front.

‘Hmm, so there’s someone like that around here.’

“Make way.” (Yuri)

“But…”

“I said, clear the way.” (Yuri)

I reiterated, and reluctantly, the Knights parted to make way for me. Pushing through the group of knights, I saw ahead a tremendously large man.

A muscular fatso.

That’s a fitting description for this man, who seemed to weigh three times that of an average person, clad in custom-made plate armor. He was tall, fundamentally different in stature from someone like me. Apparently not a Knight, he wielded a battle-axe in each hand. The battle-axes were practical, with a blade on one side as usual, but the tips were equipped with thick spikes like chisels, making them capable of piercing even when swung with brute force.

Already, about five Knights had their skulls split or bellies stabbed, leaving corpses sprawled in the corridor. While the corridor wasn’t narrow, it wasn’t suitable for wielding a spear, and on the contrary, the short battle-axe was wielded effectively. I came here lightly armed, riding an Eagle.

‘Well, this isn’t a good match. I don’t want to fight someone like this. Or rather, this guy is probably…’

“Broken Bronx, huh? It seems you have been promoted if you’ve been entrusted with protecting the princess.” (Yuri)

I hadn’t heard he wore plate armor, but all other features matched.

“Hmm… Mr. Knight knows my name, huh… Oh, so you’re that Yuri guy.” (Bronx)

He spoke unexpectedly casually.

“Yeah, that’s right.” (Yuri)

Broken Bronx was known in the business circles of the royal capital as one of the Witch’s terrifying pawns, following their orders to invade shops and wreak havoc everywhere. Even if the desperate shop owners, whose life would be over if his show was destroyed, clinging to his legs begged for mercy, he would mercilessly demolish their stores.

Even if he got the ordered not to kill, he would ignore it and if he were ordered to kill, he would split heads open. If the shop owners employed bodyguards, he eliminated them with one arm like a piece of wood, destroyed the entire buildings with overwhelming power that no one could stop and completed the job. He wasn’t an assassin, but he was a man who did that kind of jobs. He was a man with such a reputation that there was no need to look for him, and it would be better for him not to exist in this world.

‘According to the rumors, he seems to be under the control of Charleville, who shows off his impressive workmanship as a demonstration, so he’s rented out to other Witch’s families, and he’s heard his name everywhere without mentioning which witch’s jurisdiction he’s under. But he is protecting a princess, not a queen.’

“Hmm… I wanted to destroy your place… but I wasn’t invited.” (Bronx)

‘Well, if you target the Hou Company, it will become a minor war with the guards of the main residence.’

“I would like to ask, but I don’t think you have any intention to give way.” (Yuri)

“Well, I’m dying to kill you.” (Bronx)

Broken Bronx rubbed the axes in both hands together.

‘He’s eager to go.’

From under the helmet that protected his head, only his eyes could be seen, but underneath, it seemed like he was licking his lips.

“Your Excellency! It’s dangerous! Please step back!” (??)

When the subordinate shouted from behind, perhaps driven by the instinct not to let the prey escape, Bronx moved almost simultaneously. He thrust his huge body between me and his subordinates, raising both axes. It was like a bear about to hunt its prey.

Bang!

An out-of-place loud noise reverberated through the corridor. I pulled out the short gun that was holstered behind my waist, roughly aimed the barrel, and pulled the trigger without bracing. My arm bounced like a spring due to the recoil of the large-caliber gun. Lead pellets exploded at close range, creating a hole in Bronx’s chest armor.

“Gu… Guwoh!!” (Bronx)

With a hole in his chest and taking half a step back, Bronx immediately took another step forward. However, in that step, a spear held in one hand pierced through the gap in his neck armor.

“Gubo…” (Bronx)

While his throat filled with fresh blood, Bronx took another step forward, swinging his axe. The spear further embedded in his throat, and the powerless axe hit my forearm. There was a strong impact, but my arm didn’t break. It only left a grazed scratch on my leather armor, and the axe slipped off. Bronx’s massive body toppled forward, and unable to support the weight of the spear, I tilted it sideways to withdraw it while avoiding the falling body.

Thud! The sound of Bronx’s fall reverberated through the corridor, much larger than what one would expect from a human collapsing. He had guts, that guy. Regardless of his personality or behavior, I felt his strength and dedication in battle.

‘I won’t say I respect him, but yeah, he was strong.’

“Your Excellency Yuri!” (??)

Looking back, the Knights’ eyes were shining.

‘I’m glad I brought the short gun. Without it, he would have been a formidable opponent, beyond my abilities to handle. That short gun I used for the escape turned out to be unexpectedly good. I owe Cuff for this. I thought about having something like this during the time in Kanka, so I brought it. It feels like I finally resolved the task from back then.’

“Since there shouldn’t be anyone like that anymore, climb up to the spire as planned and raise the flag. As I told you, the Hou Household’s flag will be under the royal family’s flag.” (Yuri)

“Yes, sir!” (??)

‘Carya must be in one of the rooms ahead. I have to meet her.’