Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Severing the Strings
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* * *
Officially, the rear fortress of Felix was defended by Phillip, the black sheep of the count's family. The count's banner, flying high above the fortress, said as much, as did the knights in their unmistakable mithril armor.
And the house of Duke Lancaster knew that they had already suffered a devastating loss at the hands of the 'Black Prince.'
Night deepened, and movements began in the shadows.
In this world, the value of a knight was never limited to a cavalry charge on horseback. They were beings who transcended physical limitations through aura. When they moved under the cover of darkness with the goal of a 'siege,' the true value of knights was closer to that of a multi-purpose special forces unit. An elite few who could infiltrate the enemy's rear through flanking maneuvers to carry out their mission.
The unit of Rose Cross Knights present was no exception.
Having shed their armor and concealed their identities with hoods, the Rose Cross Knights cast their grappling hooks along the fortress walls. Shadows began to race up the stone walls.
*Fwip!*
As if defying gravity, they scaled the fortress walls with ease, relying on a single grappling hook.
"My, what a lot of trouble you're going to in the dead of night."
It was then. Just as they cleared the wall, a silhouette appeared before them as if it had been waiting.
There was no time to even guess the man's identity. In a way, that was a blessing.
At least it was better than knowing that the man on the wall was one of the seven greatest knights on the continent.
*Shhhlick!*
The heads of the Rose Cross Knights tumbled futilely through the air.
* * *
To capture the rear fortress of Felix, a 'special forces' unit of over a hundred Rose Cross Knights had been deployed.
An elite unit composed of about thirty Aura Knights and seventy Aura Beginners.
They were waiting for the 'infiltration team' that had gone ahead to secure the walls and give the signal.
But before that, the fortress gates suddenly opened, and the drawbridge was lowered.
A cavalry of just over a hundred began to move across the drawbridge.
Mounted on the horses was a cavalry unit of the 'Knights of Saint Magdalena.' They were clad in pure white mithril armor, and among them was a standard-bearer holding the unit's flag, which symbolized the count's family.
Furthermore, several of them brandished 'pure white aura blades' as if for show. It was undeniable proof.
'Don't tell me he sent the cavalry outside the castle and ordered them to annihilate the enemy!'
Seeing the absurd decision, Melerius, the commander of the Rose Cross Knights, couldn't hide his astonishment.
To abandon a defensive position and send out knights to engage in a field battle without accurately assessing the enemy's strength! And hadn't most of the high-ranking Knights of Saint Magdalena been wiped out in the 'Black Prince's' trap earlier?
It seemed not just anyone could be a genius of defeat.
The commander, who was lying in ambush in a nearby forest, quickly gestured to the men behind him.
The waiting Rose Cross Knights mounted their warhorses in unison, preparing for a cavalry charge against the Knights of Saint Magdalena under the command of the fool Phillip, who were marching unknowingly into the jaws of death.
'Right. If he weren't this stupid, it would take more than ordinary talent to give up an impregnable fortress.'
Melerius clicked his tongue in disbelief, muttering to himself while barely concealing his glee.
"We will wipe out Saint Magdalena's main cavalry force before we even wait for the infiltration team's signal."
The enemy was walking right into a death trap. Was there any reason to refuse?
Forming up within the forest, the hundred-some Rose Cross Knights, excluding the small infiltration team, began their charge.
They were joined by the Purifier unit from the Red Magic Tower, who had already rendezvoused with them.
* * *
They had abandoned the advantage of a defensive siege and willingly ventured outside the fortress. They were not overwhelmingly superior in numbers; it was an act tantamount to suicide.
Thus, Melerius, the Lancaster commander carrying out the rear infiltration, and the Purifiers of the Red Magic Tower made their move.
"Charge! Wipe out the dogs of York and Saint Magdalena!"
"For the Archduke of Lancaster! The blood of your enemies will prove your valor!"
Without concealing the red and white rose symbolizing Lancaster, the armored knights charged forward as one.
The Purifiers in their blood-red uniforms, the symbol of the Red Magic Tower, were no exception.
"Turn to ash."
Before the first cavalry charge, the Purifiers' flames raged like a storm, crashing down upon the Knights of Saint Magdalena.
The infernal flames, the pride of the Red Magic Tower.
It wasn't hard to imagine the scene after the red mages' flames swept through. At least, not for those who remembered the atrocities they had committed during the imperial unification war.
Flames literally engulfed the area, and from within them, the knights emerged, as if not even fire could block their path.
'Did they block the flames with an aura shield?'
No.
The heat was intense enough to melt the count's famed mithril armor into a mangled mess. Needless to say, the condition of the knights wearing it was dire.
The knights were wreathed in flames.
Beneath the melted armor, no human flesh or blood could be seen. Bones were exposed, and what should have been inside them was missing.
Empty husks of bodies. They had not been alive to begin with. Not even the warhorses they rode. The moment he realized this, a chill ran down the commander's spine.
These were not the Knights of Saint Magdalena. At least, they might have been when they were alive.
"Death Knights of the Black Magic Tower...!"
The knights of death were here.
The one defending this fortress was not the 'genius of defeat,' Phillip. It was the 'Black Prince,' who had previously annihilated the Holy Sword Master and his cavalry to claim victory in the First War of the Roses.
But there was no time to voice this realization.
The army of dead knights was already kicking up the earth and charging.
*Bang!*
Almost simultaneously, an unknown essence of slaughter rained down from the fortress watchtower. A knight's helmet shattered, and his skull exploded.
The shadow sniper had only just pulled the trigger for the first time.
At the same time, the hundred Death Knights on the battlefield were bearing down on Dale's enemies in a cavalry charge.
* * *
The cavalry of death galloped forth, the tip of each of their blades imbued with the Black Sword of Sachsen.
In contrast, the Lancaster unit had a mere thirty or so Aura Knights.
Although Dale had become a powerhouse who hunted Magic Tower Elders and Aura Masters for breakfast, their rarity in this world was not to be taken lightly.
If this battle were fought within the realm of common sense, deploying thirty Aura Knights and seventy Aura Beginners to secure a single rear fortress would have been excessive.
"W-why is the 'Black Prince' here...!"
There was no way the proud Knights of Saint Magdalena would rally under the count's banner and align themselves with the 'Black Prince.' He had even heard that the fool Phillip had safely rescued the Holy Sword Master from the 'Black Prince' and returned to the Marquisate of York!
As he spoke, Commander Melerius's blood ran cold.
Who was it that reported Phillip had led the cavalry to rescue the Holy Sword Master in the first place?
It was the 'Black Prince.'
It was too late to turn his horse and flee. The formation was in chaos, and deserters were already breaking away. To think that the proud Rose Cross Knights would turn their backs just to save their own skins!
They couldn't escape by riding across the open plain. They would never get out of the shadow sniper's range, who was watching the area from the watchtower. Those who realized this galloped toward the forest opposite the fortress, but it made no difference.
*Shhhlick!*
One of the fleeing knights was decapitated before he could even realize what had happened, and the gushing blood finally revealed the cause.
A spider's web.
A formation of the shadow assassins. To think that even high-ranking assassins from the 'Shadow Court' had joined the fray.
All things considered, the Lancaster force attempting the rear infiltration was small. Their plan had been to join the Red Magic Tower's Purifiers, seize the fortress, and isolate York's defensive posture from both front and back.
Their strategy had been seen through, and worse, their opponent was no genius of defeat.
For the terror and cruelty associated with the name 'Black Prince' were now being unleashed upon the Lancaster knights.
* * *
A short time later, when Dale finally appeared at the frontline fortress where York's command was gathered.
"Oh my, Lord Dale."
Mistress Titania smiled at Dale as if she had been waiting for him.
"I hear you've completely wiped out the Red Magic Tower and Lancaster units that had infiltrated our rear."
After the victory at Fortress Felix, the 'Lancaster hunt' had begun in the rear, led by the assassins of the Shadow Court. And the Purifiers of the Red Magic Tower who had been working with them in the shadows were no exception.
In the white and dark winter night of the fortress, the embers in the citadel's hearth began to burn ever hotter.
"And Lady Sephia, welcome."
"..."
At Titania's smile, Sephia remained strangely silent.
"As you can see, I will claim victory in this battle."
It was Dale who broke the silence.
"And the Blue Magic Tower will convene the 'Sorceress Council' as promised. Needless to say, the Master of the Blue Magic Tower will have to show herself."
The magic tower of schemes and lies. Voicing the name of the one who stood at its pinnacle, Dale continued impassively.
"Is there something else you desire there?"
"Lady Sephia will be relieved of the debt she owes you."
Dale spoke.
"From now on, it will no longer be the role of you, the Blue Magic Tower, to protect Lady Sephia."
"D-Dale...?"
Sephia, not understanding the meaning of his words, asked in bewilderment.
"You need not worry, Lady Sephia."
Dale continued, unconcerned.
"Even if you come to hate me and point your finger in accusation, I will never forget your devotion."
He took out the 'crystal necklace' from his pocket.
The Blue Magic Tower's implication that she had given her heart to the heir of the Black Magic Tower and would answer his feelings.
"Silence will remember you."
*Clang!*
At the same time, the crystal necklace shattered, and blue magic scattered throughout the area.
The puppet strings wrapped around Sephia's body were severed.