Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: Jeron's Ordeal (2)
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A few knights who had survived the initial ambush and were still putting up a fight remained, but it was only a matter of time before they were all dealt with.
Some of the attackers were ripping open the doors of the carriages one by one, mercilessly slaughtering the delegation inside. On top of that, additional barriers cast by mages blanketed the surrounding area, making escape impossible without using Hero's Footsteps.
In the midst of that dire crisis, Hesperon's mind raced sharper than ever.
'What the hell are they thinking, pulling this off right in the middle of the capital? How do they plan to cover it up? Are they seriously starting a rebellion?'
From his prior investigations into key figures, Starb, the captain of the Imperial Guard, was clearly neutral... or more precisely, aligned with the Emperor's faction.
That's why he'd heard that Riley had been putting in considerable effort to win him over.
'Damn it, the guy's been holed up in the palace, so intel on him is thin. No, motive doesn't matter right now! I need to find a way out of this!'
Even now, Riley's emotions were transmitting directly to him through the Bond of Binding.
True to form as a princess, she seemed to have some hidden aces up her sleeve and was trying various methods, but that faint glimmer of hope kept getting blocked and plunging into despair again.
'...So the "contingency" that bastard mentioned at first wasn't about the Immortal King. It was about trapping us here with no way out.'
No matter how he racked his brain, the situation was hopelessly desperate.
But even so... she hadn't given up yet.
This girl, not even of age yet, was facing the shadow of death closing in moment by moment, feeling terror but forcing herself to stay calm and fighting to the very end.
And if he gave up and backed off first...?
'Nothing could be more pathetic than that!'
He was practically the black curtain pulling the strings of this world from behind the scenes. Giving up now would bruise his pride too much!
'I can't quit without even trying. Besides, I see a possibility right now.'
But to turn that possibility into reality, he needed one crucial thing.
Time.
The barrier around the princess's carriage was on the verge of total collapse, and two knights were closing in on his own carriage.
Even with his thinking speed massively boosted, it felt perilously tight.
— Hannibal Strauss Tch, stupid and inefficient. Better for one of you to escape than both die, no? — Hesperon No, I'm barely scraping by as a mid-tier mage now anyway. My biggest asset is my connection to Riley, the next in line for the throne. They shared thoughts and understood each other, but the fundamental differences in their mindsets made full agreement impossible.
So Hesperon kindly added an explanation tailored for Hans to swallow.
— Hesperon But if I run now, I'll just be another mid-tier mage. Better to gamble on this, right? If it works, I'll be the next emperor's right-hand man. — Hannibal Strauss Hoo—? That's got some merit. At your level, remaking you wouldn't be too hard anyway. — Hesperon ...Saying it like that kinda hurts. — Hannibal Strauss Fine. Waste of time, but the payoff makes it worth the gamble. — Heinrich I just wrapped up my fight too. Got some breathing room, so let's prep right now. Hope it works out. Don't want to see the princess get hurt. — Heinz 2nd Hmm, a way to buy time, huh. — Howard Hold up! Come to think of it, I've got something simple prepped, though it's unfinished... With that, the emergency brain-meeting in accelerated time came to an end.
The situation rapidly unfolded once more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Boom!
The knight drawing his sword to open the servants' carriage door suddenly staggered back.
The occupant had kicked the door open and swung at him in a surprise attack.
But a senior knight of the Empire wasn't about to get done in by that.
"Resistance, huh? Annoying."
"It's Viscount Pristine's disciple. Mage, so watch out."
"A mage? With a sword...?"
But the moment another knight nearby issued the warning—
Blue mana flared across Hesperon's body, multiplying his speed several times over.
"Petty tricks! As if!"
But even that was laughable to the knight.
Thick heat haze rose from his body as his sword, wrapped in brilliant aura, cleaved the mage's oncoming blade in two with a single stroke.
And as he smugly moved to finish the now-defenseless foe—
Boom—!
In an instant, black mana flashed, and Hesperon's fist, amplified several times again, slammed straight into the knight's chest.
"Guhk?!"
Kiiig—
The metal gauntlet, reinforced at the knuckles for brawling, screeched ominously against the knight's armor.
"Wha... this...?!"
And the problem wasn't just the impact.
The deadly curse erupting from his fist bored through the aura cloaking the knight's body, restricting his movements.
Without the aura, that curse alone would've rendered him combat-ineffective.
But that didn't mean he had any hope of survival.
Splurt—!
With a gruesome sound, crimson blood sprayed as the headless knight's corpse toppled backward.
"You bastard!"
And at that very moment—
Clang!
Another knight, who had lunged the instant his comrade was struck, clashed blades with the "Jet-Black Sword" that had appeared in Hesperon's hand.
Of course, the fresh blood dripping from that life-reaping sword reeked of ominous black magic, just like the aura leaking from Hesperon's body.
The knight pressed down harder on his sword and spat out his words.
"A black mage after all? And where'd you get that cursed blade...!"
"Kuh, borrowed it from a friend!"
He scowled unpleasantly at the nonchalant reply... but that was it.
Whether reinforcing his body with black magic or borrowing a magic sword to counter aura—
Clang—! Claaang! Claang—!
—before a top-tier high knight, it was just a child playing with dangerous toys.
'No, not quite child-level. Heard he's a mage, but that martial arts earlier, and this swordplay? It's not just physical reactions.'
No matter how much he relied on unorthodox powers, the mere fact he was parrying attacks proved he was no ordinary foe.
It was razor-thin and barely holding, but impressive enough to warrant praise.
Crack—
'But that's as far as it goes.'
The knight grinned ferociously at the magic sword, cracks forming from his powerful aura.
No matter how saturated with black mana, repeated full-force strikes from a master would do that.
'If it could channel aura to reinforce itself, maybe. But with that puny mana? Dream on. A mage playing knight? Know your place!'
Confident of victory, he swung toward the cracks in the magic sword.
The moment their blades met again, he sensed the black mana swelling in the fissures and widened his eyes.
"Huh? ...What?!"
But it was too late to react.
Krunch!
Tremendous pressure from the cracks shattered the blade into fragments, which the embedded spell propelled in a single, targeted direction like claymore shards.
Booom—!
Countless shards packed with lethal black mana swept the front like a mine explosion.
This ultimate magic sword, designed to annihilate a close-quarters opponent, had an extremely limited effective range to maximize lethality.
Thud!
But against anyone in that range, it was overwhelmingly effective.
Even a top-tier knight.
"Haa, haa— Levels aren't everything. This is what gear carry looks like."
Hesperon panted roughly, eyeing the knight's corpse, which barely held form thanks to the massive aura.
No matter the buffs from Principles of Magic, or skills like Martial Arts and Brute Strength, beating knights of this caliber on raw ability alone was impossible.
To navigate this, he naturally needed external aid...
High-grade item support via Avatar Cloud.
'Black mana-focused magic tools with killer effects, too.'
Hand-picked and tuned by the Immortal King himself—quality went without saying.
Of course, using such items came with side effects.
Psst—
"Hm."
The one-use magic sword crumbled to dust, leaving only the hilt, as a vicious curse burrowed into his sword hand.
Not just that—rings, necklaces, bracelets boosting physical power and attack were steadily corrupting him, gnawing at his lifespan.
'Lifespan doesn't matter much, though. ...Man, they're glaring hard.'
But Hesperon swallowed the blood rising in his throat and stayed alert.
With all the commotion, the knights' eyes were locked on him amid the scattered bodies.
"...Cursed items. Real black mage, huh?"
"No, doesn't look self-taught. Those tools are the source. ...Whatever, doesn't matter now."
"Kunter aside, Sir Wilhelm going down too?"
In that brief moment, one knight dead, and the next felled by a surprise blow.
They'd watched expecting an easy win, only for two comrades to die screaming. No rushing in now—they heightened their guard.
'Pins and needles.'
They weren't charging yet, but the blade-sharp hostility surging among them promised to dice him at any moment.
— Heinrich A bit late, but this should help plenty. More coming as prepped. As he warily eyed the knights slowly encircling him—
The holy emblem in Hesperon's right hand, brimming with Heinrich's divine power, began pulverizing the curse invading that spot.
'Ah, feeling alive now.'
Even indirect, it was saintly divine power.
The knights prepping a joint assault flinched and scowled anew.
"...Insane divine power. Holy relic?"
"Shrinking fast, so temporary. But that level suggests archbishops at least?"
"Cursed stuff earlier, now this? What the hell is this guy?"
'Sub-character backed by the main one. Gear carry hits different.'
Hesperon kept a straight face while joking inwardly, but the situation wasn't leisurely.
Even focusing part of his mind on the Bond of Binding amid the fight, he was just shy of his goal.
'A bit more time, and...'
He glanced around.
Everyone in the carriages was massacred except a few who seemed in on it.
Thanks to his chaos drawing eyes, a decent number of loyal knights still survived.
As he scanned—
Chill—
A cold sensation hit; he turned that way.
Sure enough, traitor leader Starb stood glaring, carriage door wide open before him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Starb stared silently at Hesperon before looking away.
This matter took priority over some guy like that.
His items were annoying, but his skill wasn't that high.
His men wouldn't slack off now; they'd handle it.
"...Sir Starb. Why this betrayal?"
"Apologies, Princess. Politics is always like this, no? Just wanted different things."
"You think you'll get away with this blatant move in Jeron? His Majesty won't stand for it!"
"Don't worry about that. We didn't act rashly."
Starb replied calmly to Riley's warning.
He'd poured massive tangible and intangible resources into this, and he wasn't the only one mobilized.
Unfortunately for Fifth Princess Riley, barely escaped from the Immortal King's grasp, she'd be written off as slain by the undead horde chasing an escaped prisoner.
The terror rocking the city now was part of it, with all physical, magical evidence, and witnesses prepared.
'Including me and everyone here.'
He smiled coldly, gazing down at her with icy eyes.
"Sorry, but time's up. Time to go."
He'd humored her for courtesy's sake, but they had little margin left—no more delays.
Even with full efforts buying time across the city, limits existed.
"Wait! Surely you're not...!"
Riley tried dragging it out with talk, but Starb ignored her, casually drawing a short dagger from his subspace magic tool.
...It was called a dagger only because of the handle; it resembled a beast's claw.
"Oh, one more thing to ask forgiveness for. It won't be a clean death. Quite painful and gruesome, I'm afraid."
The blood-red claw dagger radiated a shredding aura the moment it appeared.
Another cursed magic sword brimming with black mana.
"That guy earlier used cursed items too. Thought of framing him as the Immortal King's puppet, but making him your direct assassin works too."
His gaze shifted to the noisy spot.
Something off about the presence—he'd survived and slipped into the loyal knights, aiding them with all sorts of tricks.
Healing them with a divine-powered item, buying time with barrier tools in pinches, a blood storm from crimson orbs blocking mages.
His men hesitated against the ominous items like that magic sword.
"...Tch, incompetents. Guess I'll handle that side myself. Busy, so let's end this."
Starb clicked his tongue, brow furrowed.
No more waiting—he slashed at Princess Riley.
Or rather...
Where Princess Riley had been.
"...Ha?"
After slicing empty air, Starb froze briefly before slowly turning his head, following his senses.
To the center of the chaotic battlefield.
And there—
"Whew, that was close."
Princess Riley nestled demurely in Hesperon's arms, eyes wide, as he grinned through the blood streaming from his nose and mouth.