Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Ballista's Iron Resolve
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"...Therefore, Her Highness the Princess commanded that they must not be spared, Your Highness."
"I understand. You've had a hard time of it. Please pass along my regards to Her Highness."
"I am deeply honored."
Duke Camille severed the mage's communication spell before quietly repeating the order that had come from the capital.
"Eliminate Jerome... and everyone with him..."
It was no small matter.
This was the delegation that had just finished talks with the Emperor and the princes.
Laying a hand on them recklessly would invite backlash at any moment—it was a crossroads of grave decisions.
Well, if he wiped them all out, he could pin it on Banten, claim it was a conspiracy, and brazen it out.
But if even one slipped away and made it back alive by some fluke, the repercussions would be far from minor.
"Hmm..."
After scratching his chin in thought for a moment, Duke Camille quickly made up his mind.
"Well, if I make sure not to let a single one escape and handle them all, that should settle it."
Not only was Banten's delegation coming, but so were one of the great archbishops—a guest of the princes—and countless merchants, yet Duke Camille showed no hesitation in his choice.
No, to be precise, the hesitation he'd shown just now wasn't even about whether to accept Ibarella's command.
It was simply about how to carry out Ibarella's order without any fuss.
From the start, there was only one person he considered his master in this country—no, across the entire continent.
For a knight, obeying his liege was the bare basics.
And the Third Imperial Princess he served, Ibarella, was the wisest person on the continent.
So if she issued a command, there was no need to doubt or agonize—he simply had to carry it out.
No, in truth, the Third Imperial Princess's order was little more than a pretext.
Even without Ibarella's command, Camille would never have let the delegation off the hook.
This Ballista was his pride and joy. The Empire's iron fortress, proud and unyielding to any outside intrusion.
For these Banten upstarts to barge right in after some minor success in the capital? The sheer audacity.
'Your confidence has turned to arrogance, you Banten whelps.'
Life was a tightrope walk, precarious enough that even utmost caution fell short.
Yet their failure to grasp that simple truth was why the Shield Family's third son would die.
"No matter the truce, Kaiser—the guardian of the capital—wouldn't lose his mind and permit enemy envoys to use teleportation arrays. Which means it'll take at least two months from Vatican to Ballista."
Riding hard could shave some time, but according to the mage on the communication orb, the First Prince's merchant caravan was traveling with them, so that timeframe fit.
Thud!
Having sorted his thoughts, Duke Camille rose from his seat.
In front of the fortress, where he'd been sitting moments ago, grotesque monster corpses piled high, reeking from the blood pooling beneath them.
No matter how much the cyclopes controlled Gaia to keep the monsters from provoking humans, not every beast in the mountains obeyed.
Naturally, plenty targeted the fortress directly, bypassing Gaia entirely.
As Camille turned toward the fortress interior, archers atop the walls loosed fire arrows at the corpses.
Even this Ballista fortress, near the Dragon Mountains, saw temperatures rise in the unrelenting summer heat.
They burned the dead before rot could spread plague.
Whoosh!
As the monster corpses ignited, acrid smoke and foul stench permeated the walls, but the soldiers' faces remained impassive—accustomed to it all.
The smell of burning monsters was everyday life here.
The devouring flames grew fiercer, casting deep shadows across Duke Camille's face.
Anger was anger, evaluation was evaluation.
The buzz from Vatican about the Shield Family direct descendant, Third Young Master Jerome von Carviot, had even reached this remote outpost.
'Who'd have thought that kid who crushed Tia and Kazalim years ago would grow into such a thorn in Her Highness the Third Princess's side.'
He'd noted it in passing when the boy repelled Kazalim—who wielded a demon jewel—even at that young age, but never dreamed he'd become such a heavyweight.
A jagged stone invites the chisel.
He'd figured the beardless youth, after rescuing the elf queen's daughter, would vanish amid envy and jealousy.
But as if mocking Camille's prediction, the kid who'd taken down Tia and Kazalim kept rising.
And of all things, he was uprooting the foundations the Third Princess had personally laid for continental unification.
Now, Jerome was practically her worst enemy.
"I acknowledge it. Achievements like yours before even reaching adulthood? Worthy of pride. Enough to breed arrogance. But you've gotten ahead of yourself, Shield Family scion, seducing the Emperor and princes."
Camille's gaze turned east, toward the capital.
"You'll pay dearly for presuming to approach Ballista. I'll see to it."
Bugs mocking the sun deserved fitting punishment.
Camille began pondering how to fulfill Ibarella's command against the approaching delegation.
"Gone?"
In a cave lit by luminous orbs as bright as day, a handsome man seated in lotus position murmured with eyes closed.
The mystical cave and his striking looks hinted at his extraordinary status.
His refined poise evoked a high noble of the continent.
But the seed-like crystal embedded near his powerfully beating heart on his bare upper body turned that elegance eerie in an instant.
"Yes. Along with Squad Leader Wonmang, Chuhyang and the entire squad—communications have been cut."
Crow, prostrated before the man—Veras—reported.
"Wonmang and Chuhyang... familiar names. Decent operatives in the Shadow Phantom Unit, weren't they?"
"Yes. That's why I thought they'd track down those rats this time too, but..."
Crow trailed off.
These were trackers he'd handpicked for his master, yet the results were disastrous. Nothing to say.
"Hmm..."
Veras winced at the pain from Yggdrasil's seed, pondered briefly, then turned to Crow.
"Crow, any other news from the Shadow Phantom Unit?"
He knew better than anyone the Beast King's power under Rampang.
Her brute force couldn't silently wipe out a unit.
Nor did it make sense she'd act personally. Something odd must have happened in Vatican.
"That's just it—no reports of any incident in Vatican."
Damn them. Obvious. They'd skimped on reports beyond confirming the Vatican heading.
The Shadow Phantom Unit's speed came at the cost of brevity—great for chasing Rampang on her jade throne, but reports suffered.
So someone had quietly cleaned up the unit.
"Clear enough. They had help."
Veras eyed Crow.
"Crow, dispatch another Shadow Phantom squad. Not just traces—uncover everything recent in Vatican."
"Understood."
Swoosh!
"...Urk!"
Alone now where Crow vanished, Veras winced again at the chest pain.
"I won't let you escape, old man. The moment I'm healed, you're dead."
Veras's eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
Led by Jerome, the delegation left Vatican, forming a long procession toward Ballista.
True to the Empire dominating half the continent, its regional distances were immense.
It had taken three months from Banten via Fatima to Vatican; Vatican to Ballista would take two full months.
As autumn neared, the Empire's high latitude brought white breath from their mouths.
"It's coming into view."
Still far from the destination, the stark white walls appeared to the naked eye.
The endless walls seemed a boundary dividing the inner continent from the wilds beyond.
Glow—the absolute fortress under Duke Camille: Ballista.
"...Seeing it up close, it's insanely massive. Rumors of it being the frontline shield guarding the Empire from the Dragon Mountains aren't exaggerated."
Saladin, exhaling misty breath at the sight, spoke.
"Makes you really feel the Empire's power. How does your family hold off monsters like this?"
"Obviously, we couldn't if the full Empire came at us. This is the only sector we face off against."
"...Even that's no small feat."
Saladin glanced at the walls drawing near.
Countless archers atop them watched the delegation intently, bows at the ready since long ago.
Like the Carviot Count family—called the kingdom's shield—the Empire's Ballista forces upheld strict discipline befitting their fame as the Empire's bulwark.
Saladin seemed stunned that one kingdom family held off the Empire's elite.
"Our family didn't get continent-famous for nothing. There's reason behind it."
Historically, Count family and fortress soldiers were evenly matched.
Their lords too: Heaven's Shield and the Empire's Radiant Sword.
The monster waves had upset that long stalemate.
'The answers lie here.'
Grip!
Strength entered his hand on the reins.
Burning Banten, monsters massacring civilians.
And amid worsening war... his father collapsing, vomiting blood from combined assault by Camille and Capital's Duke Kaiser.
Closing his eyes even now brought it vividly, like yesterday.
He drew a slow breath, eyeing his clenched fist.
Cold air filled his lungs deep, cooling his heated head.
'Stay calm. It hasn't happened yet. I can change it.'
He'd reassured Archbishop Luna, but the foe was top of the Three Dukes: Camille.
He couldn't strike now, but any pretext and he'd pounce.
'Rescue Luna's mother. Uncover the monster waves and dwarves' flame secrets.'
Wall archers kept unblinking watch on the delegation.
Shaking that vigilance to resolve everything meant no room for carelessness.
'I'll do it. No matter what.'
Glancing back, he saw Misha and Miron siblings wide-eyed at the fortress, Saladin looking queasy.
'It's on you now.'
Yes.
For this mission—at least inside the fortress—the 'key' was them.
Time to earn their keep.
The distant colossal fortress loomed even larger up close, exuding immense pressure.
A moat too deep to fathom, walls densely layered.
Rumble!
The drawbridge lowered over the moat; imposing soldiers stood before the gate.
Joseph approached the halberd-wielding iron-tower guards for entry procedures.
Even knowing Archbishop Luna of the Golden Lion Church, they followed protocol rigidly before opening—heightening the fortress's intimidation.
Inside Ballista differed from typical fortresses.
It had a town, farmlands, villages.
A self-sustaining system, independent even if cut off—like Fatima.
"Like a territory, right?"
Joseph from Lagrange Merchants smiled as he spoke.
"Not novel for Young Master Jerome from Banten, but unfamiliar for others."
Fair enough.
It shattered conventional 'fortress' notions.
"Shall we? We must pay respects to the master here, Duke Camille. I'll guide you."
Experienced with Ballista, Joseph's steps were confident.
"Don't wander. Military zones are restricted—roaming freely could cause trouble, haha."
Joseph laughed heartily.
Sorry about that.
You wouldn't laugh if you knew what I have planned.