Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Imperial Fury
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur emerged from the treatment room and climbed up to the ramparts to clear his frustrated mind.
He silently gazed out over the vast expanse of plains, then lifted his eyes to the sky.
“It’s not like he left only good things behind.”
There were no eternal secrets in the world.
Sooner or later, Blyzan would learn that the Julius Count Family had wiped out his clan.
It was obvious he wouldn’t want to stay alongside his sworn enemies.
Yet the forces represented by Blyzan and the Horcamun Tribe were too significant to ignore for the current Julius Count Family.
Above all, having observed Blyzan closely, Arthur knew he placed great value on loyalty and camaraderie.
Those fine qualities had simply been overshadowed by his rough demeanor, but he was a solid guy worth keeping close.
He needed to find a wise way to resolve this.
That aside, a month had passed since their territorial war with the Yarve Count Family.
By now, reports from the scouting parties should have reached the emperor.
Valtre Marquis would buy as much time as he could, but if the emperor decided to launch an attack, there would be no stopping it.
Still, if things proceeded according to his plan, they could amass forces rivaling the emperor’s.
And if they absorbed the emperor’s own troops on top of that, even Valtre Marquis wouldn’t dare touch him recklessly.
“Just one more month…….”
A grim resolve settled on Arthur’s face.
***
Boom!
Emperor Ruan could barely contain his rage upon hearing Marquis Mandora’s report.
“You call this a report?!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Marquis Mandora had no words to offer, even if he had ten mouths.
He had sent scouting parties to the Julius Count Family three times over the past month, yet not a single one had returned.
Reporting the truth as it was would surely undermine the position he had carefully built up.
So, steeling himself for the emperor’s wrath, he had offered the flimsy excuse that they were still gathering intelligence.
“I apologize. Give me just one more week, and I’ll deliver a satisfactory report.”
“You expect me to believe that? Tell me the truth!”
Marquis Mandora couldn’t hold out under the emperor’s bellowing any longer.
If he kept this up, his life might even be in jeopardy. With no choice left, he confessed everything.
“We’ve lost contact with the scouting parties. I sent reinforcements twice more, but…….”
“Hmm…….”
Emperor Ruan’s face twisted in dismay.
This wasn’t the kind of report he had waited a full month to hear.
“From now on, I’ll handle it myself. Prepare for deployment and stand by.”
“Please, just one more chance…….”
“Enough! I’ve said my piece—get out.”
“……Understood.”
Marquis Mandora bowed deeply before exiting.
Altros entered shortly after.
“The report must not have been satisfactory.”
“It seems I’ll need to call on you, Sir Altros.”
“Understood. I’ve brought news that should please Your Majesty.”
“You’re the only one for me, Sir Altros.”
Emperor Ruan smiled.
“It concerns Marquis Valtre.”
“……!”
In an instant, Emperor Ruan’s eyes sharpened.
He showed no outward wariness toward Valtre in official settings, but inwardly, it was different.
He viewed Valtre as even more troublesome than Duke Sahajana and kept a close watch on him.
That was why he had asked Altros to monitor him in secret, unknown to anyone else.
“What did you find?”
Emperor Ruan’s voice was icy cold.
Altros replied with a smile playing on his lips.
“I assigned Sadi to Valtre under the pretext of sharing intelligence. The first report came in today.”
Altros pulled a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Emperor Ruan.
Emperor Ruan quickly unrolled it and scanned the contents.
But contrary to his expectations, it was utterly mundane.
“Hmm…….”
As disappointment flickered across Emperor Ruan’s face, Altros stepped closer.
“What you need to see is this.”
Without casting any spell, Altros placed his hand on the scroll. The existing text wriggled like living creatures, rearranging itself.
“This!”
“I enchanted it to evade Marquis Valtre’s eyes.”
“So this is the real report.”
Emperor Ruan eagerly examined it, his expression hardening more with each passing moment until he finally hurled the scroll aside.
“That bastard!”
“Please calm yourself, Your Majesty. You’d already suspected as much, hadn’t you?”
“He’s been after this throne after all.”
“As long as I’m by your side, no one will dare covet it.”
“I may not trust the gods, but I trust merit.”
“Thank you.”
Altros bowed respectfully.
“But isn’t leaving the Magic Tower as it is too dangerous?”
“If Your Majesty permits, I’ll go deal with it.”
“Go at once.”
“May I bring Sir Jangjarban along as well?”
“……?”
Emperor Ruan’s face stiffened.
Jangjarban was the captain of the Central Guardian Knight Order and the emperor’s shadow.
It was unthinkable for him to leave the imperial palace.
Altros surely knew that.
Yet he made such a request……!
In a flash, Emperor Ruan’s eyes gleamed.
“You plan to wipe out the Magic Tower?”
“We can’t just leave a place that’s lost its essence. It’s become a den of rebels flying in the face of Your Majesty.”
“Indeed, letting traitors live is absurd.”
Murderous intent filled Emperor Ruan’s eyes.
After a brief moment of thought, he nodded and bellowed toward the door.
“Summon Sir Jangjarban!”
***
“That’s enough for today.”
“Just a little more.”
Ingenium flatly refused and kept thrusting his sword.
Jangjarban watched him silently.
The boy who used to tremble at the thought of sword training had begun devoting himself to it at some point.
His dedication was so intense that at just ten years old, he had reached Sword Actor level—an astonishing achievement.
One might attribute it to his imperial bloodline and golden temperament, but it was undeniably remarkable.
It was the blessing of the Barotas Family.
He wanted to report this to His Majesty, but for some reason, Ingenium was trying to keep it hidden.
However, facing His Majesty, who was nearing Sword Master, it would be noticed in an instant.
His Majesty would have been overjoyed in the past, but at some point, his attitude toward Ingenium had grown cold.
He neither wondered nor cared about the reason.
His duty was solely to protect His Majesty and his family.
With a stony expression, Jangjarban stated firmly.
“Put more power into your lower body than your upper.”
“Eup!”
Ingenium gritted his teeth and followed the instruction.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each thrust cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
As a faint smile touched Jangjarban’s lips, someone approached and bowed deeply.
He erased the smile and asked the man.
“What is it?”
“His Majesty summons you.”
Jangjarban nodded and walked toward Ingenium.
In that moment, Ingenium’s eyes flashed sharply as he unleashed a full-power thrust.
Jangjarban extended his index finger toward the incoming blade tip.
“……!”
The attack was blocked.
“Urgh…….”
Ingenium poured all his strength into pushing the sword, but it didn’t budge an inch.
“I must go to His Majesty.”
“Got it.”
Ingenium sheathed his sword, regret heavy in his eyes.
“See you tomorrow.”
Jangjarban turned on his heel like a blade and left the training grounds with the knight who had come.
Ingenium slid his sword into its scabbard and stared fixedly at where Jangjarban had vanished.
‘I wonder what Marquis Mandora said?’
Curiosity crossed his face when Guardian Knight Ram appeared before him.
“Young Master.”
“Did you find out?”
“Marquis Mandora left just moments ago.”
“What was his expression like?”
“I saw him emerging pale-faced from the office—he must have faced His Majesty’s wrath.”
“He’s even more impressive than I thought.”
Ingenium curled his lips upward, thinking of Arthur.
If Father had summoned Sir Jangjarban, it meant he planned to step in personally.
No matter how exceptional Arthur Julius was or how many powerhouses gathered around him, challenging Sir Jangjarban, who was on the verge of Grand Sword Master, would be madness.
Soon enough, he’d learn what orders had been given.
“A bath and some waiting should do it.”
***
At that very hour.
A man raced madly through the pitch-black forest.
“Grr…….”
His fierce eyes blazed with murderous aura.
It was Ashan, the one who had led the Nanshar Empire’s extermination squad, his arm torn clean off.
By sheer luck, he had escaped Blyzan and was sprinting toward the border.
Normally, injecting the Awakening Agent would strip away reason, turning one into a monster.
It was a last resort, used only when facing death.
Yet even after injecting it, he had struggled against that monster and been utterly defeated.
He thought it was over when his arm was ripped away.
But then, something unexpected happened.
His reason returned.
He lay still as a corpse until the monstrous foe lost consciousness and collapsed, then slipped away.
A little farther, and he’d reach the border, where Nanshar Empire forces lay in wait.
He had to inform them that the Alpha Family’s heir was alive and that a monster surpassing the extermination squad existed.
That fiend was sure to become a massive obstacle to the Nanshar Empire’s grand undertaking.
Moreover, there were too many unknown powerhouses.
They couldn’t proceed without countermeasures against them.
‘Just a bit more!’
Ashan squeezed out his last reserves of strength and charged onward.
Soon after.
Dozens of tents came into view ahead.
It was the army of Marquis Tano, who commanded the strongest forces in the Oscar Empire after Emperor Ruan himself.
Moreover, necrosis was spreading from his severed limb—his life wouldn’t last much longer.
He couldn’t afford to waste time.
Ashan gathered all his remaining power for a frontal breakthrough.
At the same time, he hoped the allied forces beyond the border would notice him.
‘I won’t die here!’
A perimeter guard spotted the unidentified man charging toward him, radiating savage killing intent.
“Who goes there!”
Startled, he raised a horn to his lips!
But in an instant, the intruder closed the distance and swung his arm.
“Gahk!”
The knight’s neck snapped like a thin twig, and he crumpled.
Ashan pressed on.
It was dawn; everyone was asleep in their tents, leaving the area deserted.
He dispatched the occasional sentry before they could react.
He thought he might pass through without issue.
“……!”
Then, a powerful presence emanated from ahead.
Ashan’s eyes widened as he hurled himself sideways.
A crimson aura blade grazed his arm.
Boom!
Ashan rolled once and sprang to his feet. His face twisted as he glared piercingly ahead.
From the inky darkness emerged a figure wielding a sword wreathed in deep red aura.
It was Marquis Tano, ranked as the empire’s strongest after the guardian deity Jangjarban.
Marquis Tano approached, sword dangling low.
“So you’re the one who disturbed my sleep.”
“Grr…….”
Ashan tensed, scanning his surroundings.
Fortunately, no one else was present.
His goal was to reach the Nanshar forces in ambush.
He had no need to fight Tano.
He bolted leftward.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Tano swung his sword.
A mighty aura blade streaked past the fleeing Ashan.
He skidded to a halt and twisted the other way, only for another aura blade to fly at him.
Swoosh—.
Ashan’s eyes bulged as he roared.
Roooar!
One leg severed, he collapsed in a heap.
Step by step.
Tano approached and leveled his sword at Ashan’s throat.
“One of the rats that sneaked in like vermin recently?”
“Grrr…….”
Pain crashed over Ashan like a tidal wave, blanking his mind.
“Where are the rest?”
“Find out…… yourself!”
Mid-sentence, Ashan’s eyes widened.
In that instant, Tano sensed a powerful presence from behind.
“……!”
He dove sideways.
Flying fireballs engulfed Ashan.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roooaaar!
Ashan’s agonized scream echoed as he burst into flames.
Tano leaped up and glared toward the source of the fireballs.
Far off, he spotted a group clad in black robes.
Recognizing the peculiar emblem on the robes, he knew they were Nanshar Empire mages.
“You dare!”
Tano swung his sword with full force.
A colossal aura blade rocketed toward them.
Boom!