Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: The Demon Sword's Gambit
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The tide of battle turned in a mere instant.
While Mikhail Lancaster was leaving the main front to intercept Phillip's 'Mobile Defense Unit', Dale and the elite forces of House York seized the opportunity to execute a focused breakthrough.
Moreover, the enchantresses of York were no exception among the core units of House York, commanded by the 'Black Prince'.
Officially, they did not reveal their abilities. But in the shadows, their influence on the 'battle' was not to be underestimated.
The magic of the Blue Magic Tower was by no means limited to manipulating water or ice. It encompassed various forms of mental manipulation, brainwashing, and illusion... Just as its name suggested, it was a tower that pursued the wisdom of intrigue and deceit.
Brainwashing didn't necessarily have to be used against enemies.
"For House York!"
"Never fall!"
Much like a political officer instilling national ideology and patriotism in soldiers, they intentionally implanted a specific value system to grant conviction.
"Fight for your convictions."
"The future of York rests upon you."
"As heroes of York, imagine a future where the world praises and reveres your deeds."
A blue Aura Blade shone from the swords of the Blue Rose Knights... Yet the skill of the knights wielding those swords was far from the level of an Aura Knight. At best, they were mere Aura Beginners.
Yet, mere Aura Beginners were freely wielding the 'Aura Blade,' the very crystallization of a knight's ideology.
Only then did it become clear. The true power of York's enchantresses.
Mental manipulation, brainwashing. Making the blue Aura Blade shine by implanting a false ideology.
The race known as succubi did not have easily recognizable demonic wings or tails. Furthermore, the true terror of a succubus was not ultimately their feminine charm to seduce men.
Their true power was brainwashing, the ability to literally bewitch people and manipulate their minds as easily as flipping one's palm.
Through the hands of York's Margaret and Catherine, and the other young ladies, mere Aura Beginners were being elevated to the level of 'Aura Knights'.
Furthermore, the results of the ideology implanted by the hand of Mistress Titania, the mastermind of Marquisate York, were there.
There stood knights projecting the armor of ideology known as the Avatar, Aura Masters.
"You are the very heroes of our House York."
Knights flailing within the 'false ideology' built by the empress of nightmares.
"Ah, we will never forget your sacrifice."
As if drawn by Titania's words, the knights deployed their Avatars in unison, crying out for the honor of York. Surely, in their minds, a rosy future was being painted—one where they won this war and were hailed as heroes of the Empire.
Even if it was but a fleeting daydream.
*So this was the true power of House York.*
He could finally understand. Just as Titania had said, war was not fought solely by transcendentally strong individuals.
A knight's aura was, after all, the crystallization of ideology, and the enchantresses of York were implanting that 'ideology' through their mental manipulation abilities. In a sense, it was not unlike the hymn magic of the White Magic Tower, which strengthened ideology by inspiring spirit and faith.
Only now could he understand the composure Mistress Titania had shown during the First War of the Roses. A stratagem so profound that even Dale could not have been certain of a 100% victory had he made an enemy of her and fought to the end.
In a situation where they had already gained a strategic advantage through Dale's gambit, the power displayed by the York clan far surpassed anything Dale had imagined.
Their assumed troop strength had been amplified several times over.
*Should I be glad I didn't make an enemy of them?*
Dale thought, as if it were someone else's problem, and turned his head. Nothing would change. Dale would seize victory, and Titania and the Sorceress Council of the Blue Magic Tower would fulfill their promise.
***
After seizing the Lancaster rear through a focused breakthrough, the battle had shifted to a state where the York forces were encircling the Lancaster army from both front and back.
Blocking their front were York's fortress and its defending garrison, while the rear of the widely dispersed Lancaster units was now controlled by the elite of York, the Order of the Blue Rose Knights, commanded by the 'Black Prince' and Titania.
By the time Mikhail's elite troops belatedly arrived, the entire main front had already suffered irreversible damage after being picked off one by one.
A ploy to tie down the powerful individuals who could strongly influence the battle, and a strike against the enemy's weak point in that opening.
Wherever the cavalry led by the 'Black Prince' appeared, Lancaster's units were annihilated, and a sea of blood was left in their wake. It was a display of masterful, unrestricted movement.
Belatedly, the Lancaster side began to gather all their remaining forces to prepare for a final, decisive battle.
***
The Rose Cross Knights, bearing the emblem of the white-and-red rose, charged as one, and in response, the cavalry of the Order of the Blue Rose Knights began to assume a defensive posture, not to be outdone.
At the war's end, a clash of main forces to drive in the final nail.
The plains where the territories of York and Lancaster met were being stained with blood. Unlike York, which had secured the high ground on the hills early on and was biding its time, it was Lancaster that, unable to bear the pressure, took the offensive.
The Rose Cross Knights launched a cavalry charge, leveraging their famed mobility, while the Blue Rose Knights dismounted and solidified their defensive stance.
The 'Black Prince' was also there. Not officially revealing his presence, but as a sniper, lurking among the archers on the flanks.
*Bang!*
On a battlefield where iron clashed against iron and blood and flesh were scattered, it was difficult for even 'Aura Master' knights to notice the presence of a sniper rifle firing amidst it all.
Hidden among the volley of arrows, a single 'Shadow Bullet' plunged toward the knights' skulls.
*If I had my way, I'd project a Gatling gun...*
The 'Black Prince' was, for all intents and purposes, officially not present. To maintain plausible deniability for Dale's actions, he needed to refrain from any act that could be too easily traced back to him.
"For York!"
Before long, the Lancaster cavalry charged up the hill, and the two forces collided. The Blue Rose Knights in the front rank, facing the Rose Cross Knights, raised their shields with roars bordering on fanaticism.
It was then.
The charging Lancaster knights began to deploy their 'Avatars', shrouded in red-and-white light. Mikhail Lancaster, the second son of the ducal house leading the charge, was no exception.
The apostle of fire and light, the red-and-white knight symbolizing the knight of the sun.
*Here it comes.*
Seeing this, Dale did not hesitate either.
"Dealing with the duke's second son will be our job."
"As you command."
After speaking, the shadow sniper rose from his silence. As the 'Shadow Lord', ready to decide the course of this war.
The high-ranking assassins of the Shadow Court following behind Dale vanished with the wind.
***
A pure white light exploded, like seeing the sun's corona.
Plasma, the so-called fourth state of matter—a solar storm wielded as a weapon.
The scene was like a 21st-century bombardment raining down.
Amidst the standoff between the two large armies, everything in his path vanished. A literal void opened up.
The defensive formation of the dismounted Blue Rose Knights holding their shields was completely wiped out, and Mikhail, without hesitation, charged with his men to break through the empty battle line.
It was then. A murderous aura raged from all directions, causing Mikhail and his Rose Cross Knights to assume a defensive stance.
The wind blew, and where there should have been no one, human shadows appeared.
They were figures in black coats, wearing plague doctor masks.
"The Shadow Court..."
Mikhail spoke upon seeing them.
"And it seems the 'Black Prince' is with you as well."
"..."
Silence fell.
"We have received a request."
After a moment of silence, one of the Shadow Court assassins spoke.
"We are merely a criminal organization carrying out a client's request."
"Whose request?"
"That's a trade secret."
An extraordinary powerhouse, Mikhail Lancaster, and his Rose Cross Knights. To stand against them, one would need an 'asymmetric force' of similar or greater power.
"Will Archduke Lancaster not be participating in this war?"
"After the last war, my father swore an oath never to use his sword to invade another's territory."
"And yet his son is invading another's territory, framing them for a crime they didn't commit."
One of the men in a plague doctor mask sneered coldly.
"Will you not deploy your World of Ideology?"
Mikhail asked the Shadow Court assassin.
"My lord... no, regardless of the 'weight of your blood,' I will face you with my full strength."
As the apostle of fire and light, he readjusted his grip on the 'Hero's Sword', burning with plasma. The Rose Cross Knights following Mikhail also entered a combat stance in unison.
A fair duel on flat ground, with none of the advantages an assassin would normally have. Moreover, the Lancaster side had a crushing numerical superiority. For the assassins of the Shadow Court, the situation was far from favorable.
However, this was not the battlefield where they would fight.
"We are prepared for that."
One of the assassins in a plague doctor mask snapped his fingers. A vortex of black-and-blue magical energy swirled at his feet.
Simultaneously, the 'Darkness of a Winter Night' descended, swallowing Mikhail Lancaster, the Rose Cross Knights, and even the assassins of the Shadow Court.
Into a pale, dark winter night, where a jet-black fortress stood tall, embers dancing in its hearth.
A World of Ideology, the will of a sorcerer to fight to the death with all his might.
"Ugh, damn. Chilled to the bone."
In that landscape, one of the men in a plague doctor mask shivered and spoke. He sounded utterly nonchalant, as if the grim confrontation had nothing to do with him.
It was undoubtedly the transcendentally strong Killing Sword, Master Baro.
"On our side, we already have one of the Seven Swords of the Continent and numerous other powerful individuals of comparable strength."
The man in the plague doctor mask spoke.
"And now that they have witnessed 'my world,' I cannot allow Lord Mikhail's knights to live."
"...You speak as if I am an exception."
"Because the 'weight of the blood' flowing in our veins is not equal."
Witnessing a World of Ideology was never a light matter. It meant either 100% denial or 100% affirmation. However, deploying a World of Ideology to face a knight with an Avatar was, apart from that, an unavoidable act of self-defense.
"There are no personal feelings involved. This is merely business, a request the Shadow Court has undertaken."
"What is the request?"
"To seize victory in this war."
The man in the plague doctor mask replied.
"To that end, I intend to capture Lord Mikhail as a prisoner and propose a truce negotiation with House Lancaster."
"...That's a relief, in a way."
But Mikhail Lancaster was not surprised. He simply nodded calmly.
"Because I have no intention of dancing in the 'Black Prince's' palm any longer."
He nodded, then readjusted his grip on his sword.
"Isn't that right, Lord Sephylia, the Demon Sword?"
Mikhail Lancaster spoke, addressing one of the Rose Cross Knights following him.
One of the knights removed their cumbersome helmet. Beneath it, the unforgettable black hair of a woman cascaded down. Furthermore, the 'Soulbringer' sheathed at her hilt finally began to exude a ghastly, sharp aura.
"On the battlefield, there are neither lifelong enemies nor lifelong allies."
"...!"
One of the Seven Swords of the Continent, who was said to have returned to the imperial capital after a direct summons from the Imperial Family.
Just as Dale had abandoned Lancaster and used his power for York...
The 'Demon Sword Sephylia', who had once fought for House York as a member of a branch family, now stood on Lancaster's side, readying her blade.