Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: The Princess Escapes the Demon King's Castle to Rescue the Hero (2)
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Black silhouettes plummeted suddenly from the sky.
The 49th Cohort, caught off guard, hurriedly formed up, but it was already too late—they were surrounded.
Realizing the identity of these mysterious assailants, the 49th Cohort broke out in cold sweats.
"Black Sword Soldiers?!"
"Why are the Black Sword Soldiers here?"
The ones who had formed a encirclement from all sides were none other than the Black Sword Soldiers.
As everyone stood around in bewilderment, unsure of what to do,
Theresia stepped forward and asked,
"What is this about?"
Her question was directed at the Black Sword Soldiers, but the answer came from behind them.
"In any hero's tale heading to rescue a princess from the Demon King's Castle, trials are bound to appear, aren't they?"
Step by step.
The owner of that voice emerged alongside the sound of small footsteps.
A white epaulet symbolizing the 5th-year 46th Cohort.
Tall stature with a slender build.
And a man with white hair and red eyes.
It was Yulia who first recognized the young nobleman stepping out from the shadowy trees.
"...Brother?"
Yulia's murmur spread murmurs through the 49th Cohort.
"Yulia's brother?"
"...Fritz, senpai?"
Fritz Sing.
Yulia Sing's own brother, and a direct heir of the Sing family who had entered the Cradle three years earlier.
Proving this, his red eyes bore the same silver ring as Yulia's.
He had been the one running the Bluebird before Yulia joined, but now he had handed it over to his sister and was focusing on completing the Cradle, or so the rumors went.
Everyone was surprised by Fritz's appearance, but Yulia was the most shocked.
She scowled and glared at her brother.
"The guy who was too busy to even show his face— what brings you here?"
"No matter how busy I am, how could I miss seeing my ugly little sister's face?"
"Spit on my face, why don't you. Our faces are the same."
"Even identical products come in different grades, don't you know? I'm premium, you're low-grade... no, low-grade is too generous. You're more like defective goods. And what are you to me? Your lofty big brother."
"Didn't we settle our sibling titles 12 years ago? Hey you, that guy, that jerk, that bitch, that wench?"
"Nope. Sounds like you settled that on your own. And 'guy' or 'bitch'? How crude."
"Yeah, learned it from you."
"Yeah, I never taught you that. You picked it up on your own."
As the Sing siblings' banter dragged on,
The tension that had spiked with the Black Sword Soldiers' arrival plummeted in an instant.
The onlookers' faces turned awkward.
'Even people from prestigious families... are human after all.'
'Sibling rivalry happens in that household too, huh.'
Perhaps because they were siblings from a smart family, their mutual barbs flowed relentlessly like water, without pause.
Then, noticing the silence around them, the siblings flinched and shut their mouths.
"......"
"......"
A brief silence.
Soon, poise settled over Yulia's face, which had been bickering just moments before.
"So, what's the deal here, Fritz? And why'd you bring all these Black Sword Soldier uncles along?"
In response to her question, Fritz replied with a refined smile.
"In any hero's tale, shouldn't the Demon King's forces appear to obstruct them?"
"Not wrong, but isn't the Demon King's army a bit too strong?"
At Yulia's words, the 49th Cohort nodded in agreement.
They eyed the surrounding Black Sword Soldiers with tense gazes.
There were about thirty Black Sword Soldiers.
Fewer than half the 49th Cohort's numbers, but even ten of them could toy with the entire group.
In other words, if thirty Black Sword Soldiers were the Demon King's army, the heroes wouldn't even make it near the Demon King's Castle before being wiped out.
Fritz smiled at his grumbling sister.
"Ah, no need to worry too much. If you meet my demand, I'll let you pass safely."
"What's this demand?"
No sooner had she asked than two Black Sword Soldiers moved.
Clack— clack—.
A table and chair appeared between Fritz and Yulia.
And atop it, a familiar object was laid out.
Yulia's eyes filled with doubt at the sight.
'...A chessboard?'
A chess table and pieces had appeared out of nowhere.
Fritz leisurely crossed his legs as he sat in the chair.
He crooked a finger.
"My demand is simple. Play chess with me."
"That's it?"
"Of course not. Capture my pawn, and I'll let two through. Rook, knight, bishop—five each. Queen is twenty, and if you take my king, everyone goes through, no limits. Or... force your way past."
The 49th Cohort stirred at his indifferent shrug.
Sure, the sibling spat had diminished his aura a bit, but Fritz was from a prestigious family.
Could any ordinary person even beat him at chess, let alone capture his pieces?
In short, this was...
"Just say you want to play me directly."
It was as good as telling Yulia to sit across from him.
'That smug face... I hate it.'
Fritz's signature sly expression.
Knowing it stemmed from utter confidence in victory, Yulia's irritation boiled over.
'Haa...'
Letting out a deep internal sigh, she sat across from Fritz and glared at him.
"...What if you capture my pieces? Any penalty?"
"You think I'd demand that much from my little sister? If you want, I can spot you a few pieces like old times?"
Yulia's expression hardened at her grinning brother's smile.
"Forget it, no need."
"Oh? Not the time to get prideful, is it? Has our little failure ever beaten me at chess?"
"Ancient history. Don't worry about it. Just don't cry when you lose today."
"Haha, our little failure's grown up. Fine, as your big brother, I'll take white."
"Do whatever."
Yulia swept up the white pieces with a pout.
As she positioned her pieces, she calculated.
'Excluding the king, capturing all his pieces lets 66 through.'
There were 68 besides herself.
'Factoring in variables, to secure a safe win rate for taking the king, I need at least 53.'
But the issue was whether this was the Cradle's only interference.
Who knew what other obstacles lay ahead.
'The best way is for me to beat him quick and go to the Demon King's Castle with everyone!'
As Yulia steeled her resolve, the silver ring in her eyes gleamed.
Fritz's silver ring gleamed in response.
And.
Clack—.
Yulia advanced a white pawn.
Clack—.
Fritz countered with a black pawn.
Clack—.
Thus began the siblings' chess match in earnest.
Clack— clack—.
Their hands darted across the board, moving pieces.
The pace quickened.
Clack— clack— clack—.
By the end, their hand speed reached a level no ordinary eye could follow.
Clackclackclack—.
The board's formations shifted rapidly.
The onlookers were overwhelmed by the fierce piece battle between the two young sages across the chessboard, unable to look away.
'As expected of the silver-ringed prestigious families!'
"My god... they predict all the opponent's moves?'
'How do they calculate all that?'
Where an ordinary person might foresee a few moves per second, they anticipated dozens, hundreds.
The intense exchange dragged on.
Finally, Fritz lost the first piece.
Clack—.
Yulia's rook toppled Fritz's pawn.
Fritz laughed and withdrew his hand from the board.
"Oops, lost a pawn. As promised, two get through. Who're you sending up?"
Yulia quickly answered Fritz, who watched with folded arms and a faint gaze.
"The vanguard: Theresia Winchester and Jerry B."
Theresia remained impassive at her name, but Jerry looked thoroughly flustered.
"M-Me?"
Vanguards came in two types.
Sacrificial scouts thrown ahead to probe the unknown.
Or powerful ones who cleared obstacles for those behind.
'Picking Theresia means the latter... but slotting me in?'
Jerry's skills ranked middling at best in the 49th Cohort.
Hardly vanguard material.
As Jerry shot her a baffled look, Yulia stood and whispered in his ear.
"......?!"
Jerry's expression shifted with every word of Yulia's whisper.
Finally, she finished, patted his shoulder twice.
"I'm counting on you. You can do it!"
"......"
What on earth had Yulia told him?
A mix of emotions crossed Jerry's face at her encouraging non-encouragement.
"Alright, those going, get moving. Time to restart?"
At Fritz's urging, Yulia glanced at Theresia and Jerry before sitting back down.
"Go on ahead and wait. I'll send the rest soon."
With that to the pair, Yulia resumed moving pieces.
Clackclackclack—.
The board shifted rapidly once more.
Theresia watched for a moment, then led Jerry away.
"Let's go."
"O-Okay."
A Black Sword Soldier blocked their path with a stern face.
"Stick to the visible path. Stray onto some nonexistent shortcut, and whatever happens... is on you."
Jerry and Theresia nodded at the chilling warning, and only then did the Black Sword Soldiers part.
The two dashed toward the Demon King's Castle.
* * *
Theresia and Jerry raced along the path.
Trot— trot—.
Only their footsteps echoed through the forest trail.
Their silent companionship stretched on.
Finally, Theresia spoke first.
"What... did Yulia say back there?"
If Yulia had whispered only to Jerry, there must be a reason.
But curiosity won out after holding back.
"Oh... that?"
Running alongside Theresia, Jerry rubbed his chin.
His face plainly showed his dilemma: tell her or not?
In the end, he decided she deserved to know.
"Well, you see..."
But both her question
And his decision to answer
Came a tad too late.
Rustle—.
As they reached a wider clearing, black silhouettes rained down from above, just like before, blocking their way.
'More Black Sword Soldiers!'
Fewer than the first group, but still about a dozen encircling them.
One stepped forward from their midst.
A woman around 170 cm tall, long spear slung over her shoulder.
Her white epaulet stood out prominently—she was as renowned as Fritz Sing.
Especially to Theresia, who never forgot her name.
"...Vangelis Aniston."
Blood of the famed Aniston house.
A spear wielder, just like herself.
And top of the 46th Cohort.
Thud—.
Vangelis slammed her spear butt into the ground and fixed them with a sharp gaze.
"You two made it past Fritz's trial of intellect?"
She said "you two," but Vangelis's eyes were solely on Theresia.
"This is the trial of body. Want to pass...?"
She leveled her spear at Theresia.
A smile curled Vangelis's lips.
"One of you will have to play with me."
Theresia gripped her own spear as Vangelis's terrifying aura surged.
* * *
Yuri, eyes brimming with madness after witnessing the power demonstration.
Goetz, who had watched, was certain Yuri would cause trouble any second.
But contrary to that certainty, Yuri stayed quiet.
For a very brief moment.
After glancing around for about ten minutes, he simply lay down facing the wall.
As if he'd lost all interest.
Goetz, slightly puzzled by the behavior, poked around Yuri but got no reaction.
He seemed truly about to sleep.
Or already asleep—eyes closed, not a twitch.
Goetz tilted his head.
'Hmm... Did I see wrong?'
Was that mad glint in his eyes just a fleeting illusion?
Staring at Yuri's huddled form from behind, Goetz turned to the Demon King seated in the chair.
The Demon King rested his chin, exuding stern dignity.
"......"
Goetz's gaze deepened, lost in thought about him.
Thus, he missed it.
Wriggle wriggle—.
Yuri, quietly huddled, began to stir faintly.
Twitch twitch.
Shiver shiver.
Yuri showed strange micro-movements.
Then.
Click—.
With a eerie sound, Yuri's back shuddered violently.