561
Chapter 561
'Send a reply?'
Helen, who had a blank expression for a moment, soon understood what Alicia meant and nodded.
"Very well. Grand Duke, please convey the will of the allied forces."
When Helen gave permission, Alicia grinned and twirled the iron thorn in her hand.
Then she gripped the iron thorn firmly and prepared to throw it.
KUGUUGUGUGU!
The power of a great warrior rose intensely from her.
KWADUDUDUK!
The surface of the iron thorn was crushed by that tremendous power, leaving hand marks.
Without even taking a running start, Alicia stood straight and threw the iron thorn toward where Count Vlad was.
BUAAAAANG!
The iron thorn cut through the air, making a sound that was on a different dimension from what Count Vlad had thrown earlier.
The iron thorn thrown by Alicia flew with enough force to pierce through Count Vlad.
Count Vlad remained motionless on his horse, watching the iron thorn flying toward him.
Rather, when the Dracula Knights beside him were busy moving to defend with their shields, the iron thorn thrown by Alicia rushed close at tremendous speed.
However, it went slightly off course from where Count Vlad was and grazed past his side.
What happened next was surprising.
The iron thorn thrown by Alicia was embedded in the castle wall behind him, and the surrounding walls crumbled down because the force was so strong.
KURURURURUNG!
Even the Dracula Knights, known as the Knights of Cold Blood, couldn't help but show surprised expressions when they saw one side of the solid castle wall completely collapse.
Alicia, who witnessed this, clicked her tongue regretfully and dusted off her hands.
"Ah shoot, the old Sword King's gonna scold me again. For not controlling my strength."
She had intended to blow off the enemy king's head in one shot, but unfortunately missed and only demolished the castle wall.
But Helen shook her head at Alicia's words.
"No. The Grand Duke sent a wonderful reply."
Count Vlad's provocation was countered by Alicia, turning it into an opportunity to raise morale instead.
Moreover, there were still some Central Continent families who looked down on the Northern Knights, but with Alicia's achievement, their perspective could be reversed in an instant.
'Today's events could actually become an opportunity to strengthen the unity of the allied forces.'
Count Vlad, who had been standing still on his horse, stared intently at where Helen and Alicia were, then turned around and went back into the castle.
As the Dracula Knights also entered the castle with the Count, only the grotesquely embedded iron thorns remained in front of the castle.
Fortunately, the collapsed traces on Jupiter's castle wall also remained.
If it weren't for Alicia's achievement, the allied forces' morale would have dropped every time they saw the densely embedded iron thorns.
Helen looked at Duke beside her and called him with a determined expression.
"Lord Duke."
When Duke looked at her, Helen turned her gaze toward Alicia and the Himonas Knights and continued.
"I've thought of a plan to capture Jupiter Castle."
* * *
KWANG!
Castro Pollock slammed the table hard and threw the wine glass that was in front of him to the floor.
"Damn it! What did Count Vlad go and do?!"
He too had been watching Count Vlad embed thorns to provoke the allied forces.
He was satisfied watching up until the Count threw a thorn at the Iron Knight Helen Draker, the Commander-in-Chief.
He thought it was the Count's clever move, as the allied forces would be unable to act under his provocation, and in such a situation, their morale would drop and they would surely fall apart.
But when the Northern Grand Duke suddenly counterattacked, the atmosphere completely reversed.
Castro Pollock gritted his teeth.
"Send out the cavalry to strike them now! I can't stand watching those stinking northerners running around in our sacred empire anymore!"
Although Castro Pollock usually maintained a gentlemanly appearance, he became a completely different person when non-human races were involved.
That's why he already despised the Northern Continent where various races lived together, and when the Northern Grand Duke, the ruler of such a Northern Continent, made a notable achievement, he felt unbearable anger.
The adjutant beside him spoke while looking at Castro Pollock.
"My lord, Jupiter Castle has a structure advantageous for siege warfare. There seems to be no need to abandon our advantageous position to attack them."
The adjutant's words were something Castro Pollock already knew well.
It was his plan in the first place to establish a position in Jupiter and form a long-term strategy.
But when he thought about northerners prancing around in his front yard, his whole body felt like breaking out in hives.
Just as he was about to forcefully give orders again, a servant approached, bowed to him, and said.
"The Vice Commander of the Dracula Knights wishes to see you, Commander."
Castro Pollock took a deep breath to suppress his anger and regained his original expression.
"Let him in."
With permission, the Vice Commander of the Dracula Knights entered the office.
CHUK!
After giving a disciplined greeting, the Vice Commander spoke to Castro Pollock.
"I've come to deliver my lord's orders."
Castro Pollock's brow slightly wrinkled at the Vice Commander's words.
He was the one leading the army and occupying Jupiter Castle.
However, compared to the Red King's reputation, Castro Pollock's nickname as the Knight of Twin Arcs was quite modest.
So while he was already cautious when dealing with the Red King, he wasn't particularly pleased with the Vice Commander openly delivering orders to him.
'But without the Red King in this situation, we'd be at a disadvantage.'
Being skilled in dealing with situations, he deliberately relaxed his expression and said to the Vice Commander.
"Haha, what did the Count say?"
The Vice Commander delivered the Red King's message with a disciplined but emotionless expression.
"He said the allied forces will attack soon. We'll need to prepare defenses."
Castro Pollock furrowed his brow again at the Vice Commander's words.
"You're saying the allied forces will attack the castle first?"
Castro thought there was no way the allied forces would attack first when they knew Jupiter Castle was a natural fortress and the Red King had joined them.
Then the Vice Commander spoke again.
"My lord said the allied forces will provoke the Commander to make us open the gates first. He says we need to prepare for that attack as well."
Castro's expression hardened at the Vice Commander's words.
Even if he was the Red King, Castro Pollock himself was the current Commander of the army.
It was also rude to send a subordinate instead of coming personally while delivering such insulting words.
The adjutant beside Castro, sensing the atmosphere was not good, stepped forward before Castro could explode.
"The Red King must be quite displeased because of the Northern Grand Duke's provocation. But excessive concern could affect the army's morale, so it would be better to refrain."
The Vice Commander gave no particular response to the adjutant's words.
Castro Pollock struggled to suppress the boiling anger inside him and managed to speak.
"...Tell the Count I understand what he means, so there's no need to worry."
After hearing Castro's answer, the Vice Commander maintained his expressionless face, gave a disciplined bow, and left the office.
After the Vice Commander left, Castro's face completely hardened as he clenched his fist.
'...Damn it.'
Although it was insulting, relying on the Red King's reputation to check the allied forces was the best option for now.
After Duke Craven turned his back, he was anxious because no Black Knights responded to his army, and only the Red King had joined them in Jupiter.
So he had no choice but to suppress his anger.
Castro Pollock let out a deep sigh while enduring his anger for the sake of ultimate victory.
But this resolution was bound to break the very next day.
Because from the day after the Red King's provocation, Alicia started throwing iron ball-tipped spears toward Jupiter Castle.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG!
Even when the sharp thorns were embedded, one side of the castle wall had crumbled, so when the heavy iron ball-tipped spears came flying, it was no different from siege weapons.
The iron balls thrown by Alicia not only blew away the threatening iron thorns stuck in front of the castle but also became grotesquely embedded in the castle walls.
Seeing this, the fear of the thorn attack disappeared from the allied forces' hearts, and instead, their morale rose even higher.
Additionally, as if deliberately showing off, the Northern Knights mingled with other races, held drinking parties, and used magic to amplify their voices to mock them.
"PUHAHAHA! Castro Pollock, you idiot! Come and have a drink with me!"
Castro Pollock, who was already a racist, was already displeased with the northerners setting up camp in front, and their blatant behavior made his anger rise even more.
But even so, Castro Pollock tried his best to exercise patience and endure.
He thought they would stop after a few days if he didn't react, but that was a thought made without knowing the characteristics of northerners at all.
The northerners' mockery got worse with each passing day.
"PUHAHAHA! I heard a rumor that Castro became a racist because he was rejected by a dwarf maiden!"
"KUHAHAHA! Dwarf maiden? I heard he was rejected by an orc maiden!"
The insulting remarks, amplified through magic, echoed all the way into Jupiter Castle.
After a week of such confrontation, Castro Pollock finally had enough.
He shouted at his adjutant.
"I'll wipe them out right now!"
The adjutant tried to calm the agitated Castro.
"All-out war with the allied forces isn't advisable right now. With time, they'll lose their cause and fall apart."
Castro roared at the adjutant.
"You can say that after seeing what they're doing? Now they've even brought minstrels to sing mocking songs about me all day! The tunes can be heard inside the castle!"
Being from a noble family, Castro Pollock highly valued honor and had strong pride.
Unable to endure being ridiculed by northerners and other races he considered barbarians, his anger finally exploded.
The Rom Empire, with many noble families continuing traditions since the Seven Kingdoms era, frequently saw houses asserting their pride against each other.
Castro, feeling his honor severely damaged, wanted to open the gates and destroy them all immediately.
But not being a fool, he knew how foolish it would be to lead the army out himself.
After trying to calm his excitement, Castro frowned deeply and slowly spoke.
"What's the Count's reaction?"
The adjutant replied calmly.
"Still silent with no response."
Given that the Red King had warned Castro not to respond to provocations, he seemed determined to stay holed up in the castle.
Castro gritted his molars at the adjutant's words.
A new suspicion crept into his mind.
'Could the Count be waiting for my reputation to fall before striking at a crucial moment to take Jupiter?'
Unable to sleep properly due to the enemy's mockery, all sorts of thoughts emerged.
Castro Pollock pressed his temples while organizing his thoughts.
After a while, he spoke to the adjutant.
"Tell the dark mages to open gates toward the allied forces."
The adjutant was shocked.
"Opening gates here could isolate our forces at the Thermo Gateway."
Castro jumped from his seat.
"We'll wipe them out with monsters, then send forces to strike up toward Rom!"
He continued through clenched teeth.
"With monsters attacking from behind, they won't be so relaxed. While they're confused and fleeing, we'll send the mercenaries and Dracula Knights to sweep them away. The allied forces will quickly crumble."
The adjutant's face hardened at Castro's words.
But it seemed impossible to reverse his decision now.
Castro went to the window and looked at the still-noisy allied forces camp outside.
His eyes grew cold.
'Just wait, filthy mixed races. I'll hang your heads on these castle walls.'