Chapter 111
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Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Armed Conflict
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I quickly knocked out the two Royal Guards who rushed in after hearing the explosion and then searched for the royal seal of the Oz Kingdom amidst the rubble.
All royal decrees in the Oz Kingdom were stamped with the royal seal.
The king was the sole commander-in-chief.
In a coup d'état, the royal seal was one of the key items to secure.
I had learned this from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
I tucked the royal seal into my pocket and quickly left the audience chamber.
I heard shouts from a distance.
Not much time had passed since the explosion, but the Royal Guards were already swarming the area.
I need to buy Vanessa and Dorothea some time.
Instead of taking the corridor, I jumped out the window.
I watched as the Royal Guards rushed into the audience chamber, then waited.
A moment later, a loud voice, having likely discovered the king’s death, shouted,
“Find him! Find the assassin who killed His Majesty!”
I, who had been clinging to the wall beneath the window, listening to the commotion, decided it was time to leave before they could form a perimeter and flew away.
***
Oscar von Omaha, the king of the Oz Kingdom.
He had a bright and capable son, born in his old age.
The Prince of Oz.
Prince Tipetarius.
I knew he would soon take control of the capital.
Even with the combined strength of myself, Vanessa, and Dorothea, we couldn't win a war of attrition against the kingdom’s army.
The 1st Division, the elite unit of the Oz Kingdom, had ten thousand soldiers.
Our strategy was hit-and-run.
With King Oscar dead, the capital would be in chaos for a while.
So, we just had to escape the city, regroup with the Demon Lord’s army, and then return.
Of course, we had to thin their numbers a bit first.
“Let’s see.”
I landed on a high bell tower in the royal castle.
Soldiers, knights, and the Royal Guard were running around frantically.
Vanessa and Dorothea would soon be causing a commotion outside, but I wanted to give them a little taste of what was to come first.
Dozens of spells came to mind, but only one was suitable for this situation.
Having decided what to use, I raised my hands above my head.
“Howl, O wind.”
The difference now was that I no longer felt the draining sensation of using almost all my mana at once.
Not only had my mana capacity increased since reaching the seventh tier, but the Unlimited Power I was wearing also provided a significant boost.
“Roar, O lightning.”
As the short incantation ended, the wind mana generated from my body began to envelop the entire castle.
Dark clouds gathered in the clear, daytime sky.
A cool breeze, out of place for the spring season, brushed against my cheek.
The calm before the storm.
We would see who was the weakling.
Rumble
One of the soldiers below, sensing the sudden change in the weather, looked up and spotted me.
“The bell tower! The assassin is hiding in the bell tower!”
The information spread quickly.
The soldiers who had been searching the castle now swarmed towards the bell tower.
“Fire!”
Archers rushed to the scene and fired their arrows, but the tower was too high.
Some of the soldiers began to climb the stairs inside the bell tower, but it would take them a while to reach the top.
With a large number of soldiers gathered below, I combined the lightning in my left hand and the wind in my right and muttered,
Wind Demon Divine Art Secret Technique
Stylish Gale
And then,
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A torrential downpour, accompanied by a fierce storm, swept through the castle grounds.
I then flicked my electrified index finger.
CRACKLE!
A bolt of lightning struck the ground from the storm clouds.
Like a conductor leading an orchestra, I waved my hands, controlling the storm.
“Hold on! Grab onto something and wait for the storm to pass!”
The soldiers below were in chaos.
The roar of the wind made communication impossible.
The strong gusts of wind sent them tumbling.
And as they were soaked to the bone, lightning struck, and the number of soldiers who collapsed, foaming at the mouth, increased, as if the electricity was contagious.
As I was enjoying the sight of the kingdom’s army suffering, a knight, gasping for breath, finally reached the top of the stairs and pointed his sword at me.
“That’s far enough!”
“Oh.”
He must have been the fastest. He looked exhausted.
“Surrender now, and you won’t be harmed!”
The knight looked like he would collapse with a gentle push. I found the situation amusing and, crossing my arms, asked,
“And what crimes have I committed?”
The knight paused, then, counting on his fingers, replied,
“Regicide, destruction of property, impersonating the Hero, and many more!”
“Oh, King Slayer.”
A rather cool title.
And they seemed to think I had been impersonating Kaldrash, the Hero’s party’s mage, when I had been telling the truth.
Perhaps I could use this to my advantage. I put on my wooden mask and, in a deep voice, said,
“Heh, so you saw through my disguise. That’s right! I am Patrasche, the commander of the Demon Lord’s direct foreign legion! The Elder Lich!”
“I knew it! A pawn of the Demon Lord!”
The knight’s face contorted in anger.
“How dare you insult the late Hero and his companions?! Even if the heavens forgive you, I will not!”
He was clearly a fan of dramatic speeches. I decided to give him a reality check.
“I could turn you to dust with a flick of my wrist. Why should I surrender?”
“Ugh! Coward! Fight me with your sword, like a man!”
…Why would I do that?
I looked at the foolish knight with pity and then remembered that many knights in this era were illiterate.
Ah, then it couldn't be helped.
“It’s Sir Michael! Sir Michael has the assassin cornered!”
As other soldiers were approaching, I jumped from the bell tower.
“You fool! You chose suicide!”
The knight, whom the soldiers called Sir Michael, rushed to the edge, but I was already in freefall.
I met his gaze and gave him the middle finger, then activated Whirlwind Bone Cutter.
My body soared into the sky.
I watched the knight’s dumbfounded expression and then flew over the castle walls.
***
A net cast from heaven to earth.
A common phrase in martial arts novels.
It didn't literally mean a thousand men, but a net that covered both the sky and the ground.
While I was elusive, escaping the capital, which was crawling with the 1st Division and the Royal Guard, would be difficult.
If I flew, I would become a target for military mages and archers.
So, we had a plan.
After I assassinated King Oscar and escaped the castle, the other two would create diversions in different locations.
I had already given the signal with the fireworks display. They should be moving now.
I hid in a barn to avoid the soldiers who were searching for me and then, seeing a large pillar of fire erupting in the distance, a clear sign of Dorothea’s work, I mounted Gold Run.
Unlike Dorothea’s flashy attacks, Vanessa’s, as a swordswoman, wouldn’t be as conspicuous.
So, I estimated the timing and was about to leave the barn when I was startled by a loud noise.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive sword slash, accompanied by a deafening roar, appeared on the southern wall of the city, where Vanessa was supposed to be.
…Perhaps Vanessa was the strongest of the three of us?