Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Stand Against the Holy Knights
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"Damn it, does that bastard think I'm just his lackey or something? Once this mess is over, I'm gonna have a serious word with him."
The grumbling man who appeared was Saladin, the one Jerome had sent to track Prince Peter.
-Stick to them no matter what. Don't let them out of your sight. I'm heading there now, so if things look dangerous, jump in.
[Telepathy: Jerome → Saladin]
Stick to them no matter what. Don't let them out of your sight. I'm heading there now, so if things look dangerous, jump in.
That had been Jerome's response when Saladin reported the attack on Prince Peter.
Even without Jerome's orders, Saladin had no intention of rushing into the fray from the start of the ambush.
He didn't know who the attackers were, and Prince Peter's group had ultimately foiled Jerome's plan anyway.
More people would just split their focus.
'They won't keep a key figure like Prince Peter stuck in a fight like this for long.'
They'd surely pull him out separately, and Saladin could tail them discreetly then.
Sure enough, Prince Peter soon fled with Millia.
If it was just Peter and Millia, Saladin planned to shadow them quietly and snatch them away.
For all his complaints, Peter was still a prince of the Sharon Kingdom.
If words could resolve it, Saladin preferred not to escalate things.
He hated headaches.
But.
'The Lycanthrope's with them too?'
Capturing Prince Peter was simple enough, but pinning down a Lycanthrope would take Saladin some real time and effort.
"Shit, this is getting complicated."
Sensing the situation tangling up, Saladin led Mimi and Nene in pursuit of Prince Peter's group.
As he tailed them stealthily, lost in thought.
The pursuit squad caught up to Peter's group first—before Jerome did.
[Telepathy: Saladin → Jerome]
Hey, what the hell are you doing?! Hurry up and get here! Did you swallow a slug or something?!
Saladin urgently sent a telepathic message to Jerome, but.
[Telepathy: Jerome → Saladin]
Almost there—just hold them off a bit longer!
Jerome needed just a tiny bit more time to arrive.
While exchanging telepathy with Jerome, the pursuit squad's leader slowly raised his sword toward Peter's neck.
'Argh! These guys are such a pain!'
No choice. With a sigh, Saladin fired off Nene's index finger.
His goal was just to draw attention anyway—no expectation they'd drop dead from it.
Merely buying time until he could bail.
"You...?!"
The pursuit leader straightened up at the sight of Saladin revealing himself.
"...The puppeteer, Puppet Master Saladin!"
"Huh? You know me?"
Saladin eyed the leader in surprise.
His name was known only among the Black Lions, as far as he knew.
'Not some random thugs, then. Makes sense—they're bold enough to hit royalty.'
The leader sneered at Saladin's reaction.
"How could we not know a heretic like you?"
A guy walking around with two human-like puppets he could control freely.
Who wouldn't recognize such a distinctive figure?
Especially in his own nation, where they obsessively tracked types like him.
Saladin ranked high on their watchlist.
"The stench of an unclean heretic who rejects the Lord God is overpowering."
The leader wrinkled his nose like it genuinely stank.
"Unclean... Oh, I get it."
Saladin's lip curled in a mocking smirk. Just as they'd recognized him, he'd clocked their affiliation too.
These were from an outfit that could raid a prince and probably talk their way out of it.
"Spouting crap about the Lord God and shitting from your mouth—you're from the Holy Empire, aren't you?"
"How dare you!"
At Saladin's casual invocation of their god, the men behind the leader bristled.
Of course, the leader's command kept them from charging.
"Whatever. Say what you want. Everyone except that elf bitch is dying anyway."
The leader raised his sword centerward as he spoke.
"Even if you die, at least know who killed you. Allow me to introduce myself: Hiran, Captain of the Holy Empire's 27th Paladin Order."
Shing!
As Hiran finished, the 27th Paladin Order members behind him drew their swords.
"No need to remember it. You won't remember anything soon enough."
Bang!
Hiran, Captain of the 1st Paladin Order—no, the 27th—charged like a gale the instant he finished speaking.
'He's a puppeteer. Strike before he can move those puppets!'
Swoosh!
As Hiran predicted, Saladin couldn't react to his speed.
The sword closed in on Saladin's face.
Just as it was about to cleave his throat in two.
Mimi sprang into action.
Clatterclatterclatter!
Shuriken, daggers, needles, iron balls.
Mimi's torso split open, unleashing a barrage of hidden weapons at Hiran.
"Tch!"
Hiran couldn't ignore the onslaught and leaped back to block.
Nene zipped in from the side, thrusting her now-empty index finger into the gap.
Whoosh!
A sickly green gas billowed out, eager to engulf him.
"Urk!"
The gas's potency was no joke—Hiran grimaced, retreating hastily and brushing it off his clothes.
'My sleeve's melting in that short time.'
Those puppets were more troublesome than expected.
Mimi and Nene blocked Hiran's path to Saladin while he was distancing himself.
Saladin grinned obnoxiously at Hiran from behind them.
"What was that about making us forget everything? You mean you can't do jack?"
Crackle.
And the puppeteer was even more infuriating than thought.
"...Everyone, attack. Smash those damned heretic puppets to bits."
At Hiran's order, provoked by Saladin's taunt, the 27th Paladin Order drew their swords.
Shwick!
Everyone except those fighting Baucalrack and Sharon Kingdom's knights moved in.
"You two, stay right behind me. Don't step out and catch a stray blade."
Prince Peter shielded Millia as he shot back at Saladin.
"Who the hell are you, anyway?"
"Just a guy trying to escort that elf behind you back home. At least I'm not after Your Highness's neck like these clowns, so no need to be so wary."
But Peter didn't drop his guard at Saladin's words.
Which made sense, all things considered.
Saladin sighed briefly and addressed Millia behind the prince.
"Hey, princess. Millia, right? Ash is desperately looking for you. He'll be here to save you soon—just hang on a bit longer."
"Ah!"
Millia let out a short gasp at the familiar name, the first she'd heard since her kidnapping.
Peter watched her relax for a moment, then cautiously lowered his own guard.
"...Sorry. After dealing with these fanatic lunatics, it's hard to trust anyone."
"No worries. I'd be the same. Whoa!"
Saladin dodged a flying sword strike as he replied.
Baucalrack, Mimi, and Nene were holding off the 27th Paladin Order.
But one hand can't block ten.
Stray strikes Mimi and Nene missed began grazing Saladin's skin.
"Ah, these crazy bastards! When the hell is that idiot showing up?!"
Saladin cursed Jerome's tardiness amid his struggle against the paladins.
Jerome, Ash, and the elf rangers pushed their mounts to the limit, but Peter's group stayed out of sight, fueling their anxiety.
That urgency meant they were moving fast too. How long had they ridden?
From afar, the clash of weapons echoed.
The frequency suggested not Peter himself, but his escorts fighting.
In that case.
'No need to waste time here.'
Not knowing Peter's intentions yet, it was better if their forces got whittled down.
I quietly decided to bypass this in my mind and sent Saladin a telepathic message.
[Telepathy: Jerome → Saladin]
Reached the spot where Peter's knights are fighting. Which way next?
[Telepathy: Saladin → Jerome]
Southwest from there! 5km away!
'Almost there.'
I looked at Ash and shouted.
"Ash, take the elves southwest from here and go ahead! You're forest folk—you'll move way faster than me!"
"Got it! Leave it to us!"
At my call, Ash led the elves without hesitation, ditching their horses to sprint through the treetops.
Their nimble speed proved why elf rangers were called invincible in woods.
...Still, couldn't they take one with them? Leaving me high and dry like that. Cold-blooded elves.
"Eh, doesn't matter anyway."
If elves clashed with imperial knights, the outcome was obvious.
It might even be better if I arrived a tad later.
'Easier to mop up.'
I belatedly headed southwest after the elves.
Crack!
Mimi's right arm shattered, spilling its hidden mechanisms.
Whoosh! Pffft!
Nene's gas from her extended fingers ran dry—only a pathetic hiss escaped.
"Huff... huff..."
Mimi and Nene weren't the only ones in bad shape.
Saladin, maneuvering them, was covered in blood from the strikes he'd taken.
"Gr... grrr..."
Baucalrack, fighting at Saladin's side, panted raggedly, his strength waning.
"Heretics, you put up a good fight. But it's over now."
Hiran, Captain of the 27th Paladin Order, shook the blood from his sword with a smug grin.
Puppet Master Saladin was indeed one of the Empire's top watch targets.
Even with a Lycanthrope, holding off the 27th alone? Unforeseen.
But now, it ended.
"F... fuck... these psycho zealots... are way too strong."
Saladin hadn't expected a single order—partial at that—to handle him.
'The Holy Empire lives up to its name.'
But he figured Jerome was nearly there. His last telepathy was moments ago.
That fleeting lapse.
Seizing the moment, one paladin bypassed Saladin and Baucalrack, closing on Prince Peter.
'Damn it...!'
Saladin tried to spray gas via Nene, but.
Pfft! Pfft!
Only empty hisses.
'Shit, is this it...?!'
As Saladin squeezed his eyes shut.
Swoooosh!
Thud!
A sharp twang rang out, and the paladin reaching for Peter failed.
He had to.
No one moves with an arrow through their head.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
From that arrow as the cue, whistling shots pierced the 27th Paladin Order knights' skulls everywhere.
Clang!
Hiran drew the most fire, far more than the others.
"Urk! Don't just stand there taking it like idiots! Everyone, form a wall!"
At Hiran's command, the 27th huddled, pulling shields from their backs to form a massive barrier.
No gaps for arrows. The volley ceased.
A tense standoff followed.
"How dare you lay filthy hands on Her Highness the Princess! Not a single one of you will leave alive!"
An elf drawing a massive bowstring thundered the 27th Paladin Order's doom.