Chapter 33
Raven Margrave was a great lord who owned one large city, three ordinary cities, and three border fortresses.
Militarily, he commanded six Sky Fortresses and three hundred Vanguard. No rival in the region could compare.
A normal viscount's maximum military power was three Sky Fortresses and one hundred Vanguard.
Raven Margrave's forces were at least three times that level.
“How long until we can mobilize the troops?”
“Even if we push it, it will take at least another hour.”
Even for Raven Margrave, the number of troops that could be deployed instantly was limited.
Two hundred Vanguard and one Sky Fortress.
That was forty percent of his total power.
Still, he was confident he could face any normal viscount without retreating.
A Vanguard fifty and one Sky Fortress were considered equal in strength.
“Can we move a little faster?”
“I will do my best to cut the time.”
But war was not a matter of simply charging the moment forces were ready.
The distance from Raven Estate to Lawrence Estate exceeded four hundred kilometers.
The core of this operation was not a surprise attack.
Moving the massive Sky Fortress and troops by ground transport would be like announcing an attack the moment it began.
To succeed, every soldier had to be relocated by space movement.
“Where the hell are those kids hiding?”
“If they were escaping, they would have never provoked me in the first place.”
Raven Margrave recalled the bold video Adrian had released.
“As the lord, I must teach this reckless fool a lesson.”
“The first goal is to educate Adrian to the bone. The second is to rescue my daughter Anna and grandson Cedric.”
“Thud. Thud.”
Raven Margrave stood on the roof of the lord's residence tower, two hundred Vanguard lined up behind him, staring at the Sky Fortress beyond.
He stroked his beard, brown and luxuriantly grown.
“My lord! My lord!”
At that moment, Raven Margrave's secretary came running in panic, drawing everyone's attention.
Raven Margrave clicked his tongue at the man's haste.
“Y-you… watch this video.”
“Another video?”
The secretary immediately raised a holographic screen. Raven Margrave's suspicious gaze turned to the content.
[Today I announce the following.]
It was the video of a press conference.
The background was not the Lheinhatz Kingdom. Behind a young woman in her early twenties stood a flag with a red moon on a pure blue background and the familiar six-pointed star.
“Riberdale Duchy?”
That was the symbol of the Riberdale Duchy, as famous as the royal family in the Lucias Kingdom.
Raven Margrave's sharp eyes spotted the kind subtitle next to the woman's face.
— Olivia Riberdale, Duchess.
A very kind subtitle informing the audience who the host was.
But the problem was…
“Why is Adrian standing there?”
Right next to the famous person was Adrian.
[Prince Adrian Lawrence, son of my father and former Riberdale Duke, has officially become an 8th-circle Archmage at the age of twenty.]
The journalists, who had no idea why they were summoned, swallowed in shock. Questions flew from all sides.
But Olivia Riberdale ignored them all and continued.
[He is a legendary magic genius who will surely reach 8th-circle. Our Riberdale Academy will do our best to support him and will never stint on resources for his growth.]
It felt like she was reading Raven Margrave's mind with a one-step advantage.
Adrian could no longer be removed without trace.
The fact that a person of such stature had given a certificate of authenticity was too heavy.
“Of all things, Riberdale. The royal family will definitely step in now.”
“…”
The opponent was the Riberdale family that produced seven Archmages.
This announcement washed away all doubts about Adrian in one stroke.
Olivia Riberdale, who had been called a legendary genius at twenty-two for reaching 7th-circle, used the word “genius” without hesitation.
Naturally, the royal family did not want Adrian's talent to wither.
[If anyone tries to harm him, remember that you are turning the entire Riberdale Academy into your enemy.]
Raven Margrave realized the threat was aimed at him.
Looking at the panicked Adrian in the video, he felt the line was not pre-agreed.
After the short press conference, comments appeared under the video.
— If you are a disciple of the late Riberdale Duchess, no one will dare touch you.
— If that is true, even if you are in danger, the Archmage will protect you.
— Hahaha, what will Raven Margrave do now?
— Exactly. Now no one can touch you freely.
— You wouldn't want to make the Riberdale your enemy, would you?
Had he ever been this angry recently?
Adrian's provocation had angered him, but the frustration rising from his chest now was unbearable. Raven Margrave had to roar.
“Damn it!”
The subordinates preparing to depart from the roof of the lord's residence shrank their shoulders.
Most were knights, but no one was more terrifying to them than Raven Margrave's rage.
“We must halt the mobilization.”
The generals were just as afraid, but they still had to make the right judgment.
Raven Margrave's eyes, filled with murderous intent, glared at them.
“No, we are moving as scheduled.”
“What?”
The next words were so shocking they made the generals doubt their ears.
“Didn't hear me? We move as scheduled.”
“But the royal family clearly…”
“What about the royal family? Did they order us to attack Lawrence Estate after noticing our mobilization?”
“That is not the case, but the risk afterward is too great.”
“It doesn't matter. As long as the objective is achieved, I can handle it however I want.”
Of course, no-damage resolution was impossible.
Even if Raven Margrave's power was absolute, he could not casually spill the royal family's anger.
But even if immediate damage was large, he judged that by taking Anna he could extract more long-term gain than today's loss.
“My lord, behind Adrian Lawrence stands the Riberdale Academy.”
“Foreigners or not, it doesn't matter.”
The generals had realized. Raven Margrave's words were nothing more than excuses.
He was only attaching a reason to remove Adrian as planned.
A form of self-justification.
“When was this press conference held?”
“About an hour ago.”
“Adrian has returned to the estate?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Adrian is probably relaxing, believing no one can touch him. The surprise effect will be perfect.”
He knew he should stop it inside, but no one could stop Raven Margrave.
If he said this much, they had realized there was nothing more they could do.
“Finish preparation and depart as quickly as possible. Understood?”
“Yes, I will increase work speed immediately.”
The generals bowed their heads obediently.
All they could do was pray for the royal family to move fast and protect Adrian and Arsia.
“Whoosh!”
In the orange sky as the sun began to set, a black eagle glided leisurely, surveying Raven Margrave's lord's residence.
At the exact moment Adrian had just finished the press conference in the Lucias Kingdom and returned to his estate.
“Th-the prisoner has escaped!”
Lawrence Estate was in chaos.
The reason was that Anna and Cedric, supposed to be rotting in the underground prison, had vanished after only three hours of confinement.
“Damn it! Even in this situation, there are idiots still following those two?!”
“They might still be hiding here. You search here. I will go up and request backup.”
“Understood.”
If they disappeared forever, it would be a nightmare.
Adrian's anger would then fall on the knights and soldiers guarding the estate.
Previously he would have laughed at the thought, but now it was impossible.
He was the famous disciple of the Riberdale Duchess and the fifth Archmage of the country.
Thanks to that, the knights and soldiers in the guard unit looked deathly pale.
“Did you inform the young master and Miss Arsia?”
“Young master” originally referred to Cedric, but they had no hesitation using the title for Adrian.
“It seems he went out for a moment. He is nowhere to be seen.”
“Should I call this fortunate?”
But no matter how hard they searched with burning eyes, Anna and Cedric could not be found.
At that moment, when the guards were pacing in circles.
“Huff… huff…”
Anna and Cedric, having escaped the prison, reached the top floor of the lord's residence with three knights.
Above the tower floated a massive artificial island with a large hull…
It was the world's top strategic weapon, the Sky Fortress.
“If this continues, living will be worse than death. Father certainly won't leave us alone.”
“Mother, are you really going to do this?”
“Then do we just give up?!?”
“N-no. I don't like that either.”
“Then stop talking and follow me.”
Anna held a small key in her hand. It was the administrator's seal controlling the Sky Fortress of Lawrence Estate.
The Sky Fortress of Lawrence Estate was an old spherical type. Anna's maternal family, Raven Estate, had purchased it second-hand from a machine scheduled for retirement.
Raven Margrave had forcibly handed the Sky Fortress to Lawrence Estate with one condition.
The final administrator of the Sky Fortress had to be registered as Anna.
Because it was a unilateral demand forced upon them, the young master had no choice but to accept.
Thanks to that, Lawrence Estate had an unusually strong Sky Fortress for a viscount's domain guarding the sky, but it was not considered the lord's property.
“Click.”
Anna raised the seal high and placed her thumb on the central gem of the key.
A message asking if she wanted to board the Sky Fortress appeared before her eyes. Anna immediately selected the boarding option.
“Whoosh!”
A blue light shot down from the Sky Fortress like a UFO abducting humans, enveloping the two and the three knights who had helped their escape.
The view changed in an instant.
The dizzying landscape of the tower became the interior of the Sky Fortress filled with various equipment.
“That damned bastard… I will definitely kill him.”
The reason Anna and Cedric had invaded the Sky Fortress was simple.
Not for defense or escape, but to blow the lord's residence beneath them to pieces.
More precisely, to remove everyone inside the lord's residence in one blow.
If the young master, Adrian, and Adrian's mother Silvia were gone, the reason they were imprisoned would also vanish.
They had chosen this extreme option to reverse the situation with one blow.
“You fools, you should have checked where they hid the key to the Sky Fortress first.”
Anna laughed slyly and inserted the authentication key into the captain's seat.
[Verifying seal.]
[Verification complete.]
[Checking administrator biometric information.]
[Verification complete.]
[Voice verification.]
“Anna Lawrence.”
[Verification complete.]
[Current administrator's biometric rhythm is unstable. Are you attempting to operate the Sky Fortress under threat from the enemy?]
“No.”
[Confirming reality. Confirmed.]
[Sky Fortress ‘Jeanette’ is switching to normal mode. Welcome, Administrator.]
Anna shouted with poison in her voice.
“Prepare the main gun, Firestorm! Target: Lawrence Estate! As soon as preparation is complete, fire……”
“Stop! There!”
Her cry stopped right before completing the command.
Because a man's hand appeared as if color had been painted on empty space and covered her mouth.
Anna was startled as if she had seen a ghost.
“Your action was exactly as expected. Thank you for unlocking the security of the Sky Fortress.”
The person who had covered Anna's mouth was none other than Adrian.
“Kheuk……”
“Cough!”
Simultaneously, Cedric and the three knights were flung away and slammed into the inner wall of the Sky Fortress.
Adrian had not been the only one hiding inside the Sky Fortress.
Arsia appeared right after, suppressing Cedric and the knights.
“Attempting to bomb the lord's residence from the Sky Fortress. The crime is only increasing.”
The strength in Adrian's hand covering her mouth was stronger than a mage's should be, causing pain as if her jaw would be torn off.
Thanks to that, Anna had to shed a few tears.
But the words that followed made her eyes widen and struggle.
“Within one hour, soldiers from Raven Margrave's forces will arrive. It seems the grandparents and brother will have to sacrifice themselves to protect the estate.”
Adrian had already analyzed Raven Margrave's situation and prepared countermeasures.
He had no way of knowing what exactly those countermeasures meant, but if one had any sense, one would realize Anna herself would be used for it.