Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 3: Ambush (2)
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On top of the southern outer wall of Kiyum.
Late at night, the sentries were yawning and chatting idly.
"The security's been way too tight lately."
"Tell me about it. These Liberation Army bastards have made the patrol rotations insane. At this rate, we'll die from lack of sleep."
"Damn it. It's all those idiot nobles' fault. What the hell is this because of them!"
"Shh! Even if there's no one around, don't say that crap. What if someone hears? You'll get disciplined, you know?"
"At this hour, who...?"
One soldier brushed off his comrade's words and chuckled, peering into the pitch-black distance ahead.
Though artifacts enchanted with light magic illuminated their field of view, the range was limited, so they couldn't see far.
You need something to see to stand watch properly, but with nothing visible, it was just a pointless waste of time.
"Ugh... This is boring."
"How about a bet? Winner gets a quick nap."
"Sounds good. What kinda bet?"
The two soldiers, unable to endure the boredom, abandoned their sentry duty.
That's when it happened, as they traded silly jokes and bets.
Someone lurking in the darkness was watching them.
He held two large nails hooked over his fingers.
Soon, he hurled the nails at the two soldiers without hesitation.
Thud- Thud-
The nails flew in an instant, embedding cleanly into the soldiers' foreheads.
The soldiers crumpled to the ground.
Instant death.
The man who emerged from the darkness scaled the wall in a single bound.
He expanded his senses, but detected no presences other than these two.
"Sloppy. I didn't expect it to be this sloppy..."
News of the Liberation Army crossing the Alter River must have reached the royal castle by now.
The Alter River was only 30 km from the capital Kiyum. Not right at their doorstep, but close enough to warrant maximum alert.
Yet deploying so few troops meant they had some ace up their sleeve somewhere.
'Or... they still underestimate us.'
The man tied back his unkempt hair, which looked like it hadn't been cut in months.
By now, the situations elsewhere should be resolved too.
The man, Hawks, slipped a nail between each finger and leaped down from the wall.
Tonight, he would take the king's head.
And whether he succeeded or failed, the war between the royal army and the Liberation Army would race toward its conclusion.
Dawn.
There was a commotion outside.
Jamie, who had been reading a book, frowned at the noise and closed it.
What could be causing such a racket at this late hour?
As he headed out to check, he heard footsteps rushing down the corridor.
"L-Lord Welton Junior! Pardon the intrusion!"
It was a frantic voice.
Wondering what was going on, Jamie opened the door right away.
A short, pudgy man came panting and rambling.
"A-An attack. The Liberation Army's special forces have infiltrated the capital and are heading for the royal castle. General Melbourne says to bring Lord Welton Junior quickly..."
Melbourne was another Sword Master of Harmonia.
He was rated well below King's Knight Cyril in skill, but his leadership made him a commander specialized in troop coordination.
"Let's go right away."
For now, he was here at Harmonia's request for support.
He hadn't decided what to do yet, but following along made sense.
The opportunity to make contact with the Liberation Army had come sooner than expected.
Jamie was a bit curious about their ideology and how they planned to pull off the revolution.
Harmonia's king and nobles were rotten, sure, but the Liberation Army might not be entirely sane either.
He could assess both sides and decide later.
'But if neither side has any answers...'
Jamie swallowed the rest of his thought and stepped outside.
At that moment, another door opened, and his two disciples along with Hera emerged.
"Master? Where are you going?"
"What's happening outside?"
The quick-witted kids had already sensed something was off.
Hera looked serious too as she asked.
"Did the Liberation Army launch a surprise attack?"
"Hera. Watch the kids. I'll handle this alone."
"Understood. Please be careful."
"Master! Me too!"
When Lennon tried to follow, Hera sealed his mouth with magic and lifted him into the air.
"Mmph!! Mmmph!!"
Lennon, not yet matching Hera's level, could only flail in midair.
Anne, seeing that, swallowed the words she was about to say.
"Alright then."
Jamie headed straight to where the battle was unfolding.
Tower Master Zakan frowned.
He'd heard about the Liberation Army special forces' attack, but they were all elites who were hard to track.
As the only archmage in the capital right now, he had to pinpoint their locations somehow, but it wasn't easy.
They seemed to be wearing devices that concealed their mana to evade detection spells.
"Worthless vermin..."
King's Knight Cyril's murder had tanked the reputation of Harmonia's masters.
He was furious at Cyril for going down so easily, but he couldn't forgive the arrogant Liberation Army for killing him either.
Mere tools for the nobles, daring to invade the capital without fear of heaven...
"Think you can hide from me?"
The magical specialization Zakan wielded was 'Elemental Power'.
It maximized the effects of element-related magic, literally as the name implied.
Elements existed everywhere in the world, and no matter how well they hid their mana, they couldn't hide their bodies from the world itself. Finding them was just a matter of time.
Zakan's eyes turned blue, and the elements scattered throughout Kiyum began feeding him information.
"Found you!"
Seven unfamiliar presences were detected at Kiyum's east, west, south, and north.
Elements inherently dwelled in this land, holding data on every being in Kiyum.
But these seven auras were completely new, never detected before.
The information gathered in an instant was rapidly processed in his mind.
An archmage was an archmage.
With overwhelming computational power, he shared the sorted intel with the mages under his tower.
"Capture them alive!"
No matter that they were the Liberation Army's elite special forces unit, this was Harmonia's capital.
The land where two so-called strongest masters resided.
Plus, Sword Master Jamie Welton from Seldam Kingdom for support. Zakan didn't like him, but he could tell at a glance that the kid was leagues above him.
'Damn brat.'
It bruised his pride, but as an ally, he was reliable backup.
For now, the Liberation Army's info would have been relayed to General Melbourne via the tower mages.
Ongoing elemental reports were being shared with them too.
No need for him to fight personally. Those seven pests would be caught in moments.
"Annoying me in the dead of night."
Zakan clicked his tongue, placed both hands behind his head, and reclined as if dismissing it.
"Looks comfy."
That's when it happened.
Zakan's eyes widened at the voice from below, and he straightened up.
A man stood on the moonlit ground.
Dressed in black robes with a white mask, he gripped a curved sword.
A chilling night breeze blew, fluttering black hair behind the mask.
Zakan couldn't utter a word.
Not because of the overwhelming pressure.
'H-How is he here?'
All of Kiyum's elements were his eyes and ears.
He had precisely tracked the seven Liberation Army members' positions. Their movements were vividly clear in his mind even now.
Two in the north clashing with soldiers, one of the three in the east badly hurt and being supported by the other two as they fled. The one in the west was skilled, having already cut down nearly ten soldiers.
The one in the south was similarly capable, taking out several tower mages.
That made seven in total... so who was that white-masked figure staring up at him?
Even with elements and his own eyes confirming it.
'No detection.'
Confused, he deactivated his elemental power. Only then did the white mask's presence prick at his skin.
And he realized.
"...It's you."
"Even knowing Cyril got taken out, you're here alone? I can't fathom that confidence."
The white mask mentioned 'Cyril'.
Zakan scowled.
To confirm, the white mask was the man who killed Harmonia's strongest, King's Knight Cyril.
In other words, a Sword Master of monstrous caliber.
Far beyond what a 7th-class like Zakan could face.
But Zakan was an archmage.
If he couldn't win, he just wouldn't fight.
No matter how superhuman a Sword Master, catching an archmage who decided to flee was no easy task.
"Heh heh heh. Coming so casually before not just any mage, but an archmage?"
"......"
"I've got more than enough memorization spells primed! Escaping you is a breeze! And right now, I've personally etched your info into my mind with my own eyes. I don't know what possessed you to come here, but no matter how mighty a Sword Master, you can't handle an army including two masters!"
Zakan already had invisibility and teleport spells queued up simultaneously.
A mere thought would trigger both, whisking him away instantly.
And with that, Zakan activated the two spells the moment his words ended.
To vanish without a trace.
"Too late."
The white mask—Jin—said in a heavy tone.
Under the full moon's glow, Jin stepped forward.
Moonlight clung to his curved sword.
"You're already dead."
"Wha—"
Zakan couldn't finish his sentence.
A clean line sliced horizontally across his neck, and his head snapped off in an unreal scene.
Even in death, Zakan's eyes showed he never understood what happened.
It was inevitable.
"Your skill couldn't even detect it."
His head fell first, followed by his heavy body crashing down.
Harmonia's second master fell by his hand.
As Jin shook off his curved sword and sheathed it.
"Moonlight, huh."
A voice came from the adjacent alley.
Hidden by the mask, Jin only rolled his eyes toward it.
From the alley's shadows emerged a man whose emerald hair shone beautifully in the moonlight.
Jamie eyed Jin with interest and asked.
"You're the one, right? Frontier's master supporting the Liberation Army."
Shing!
Jin drew and slashed at terrifying speed instead of answering.
But his blade never reached Jamie.
"The moonlight's reach is your domain? Pretty scary power at night, limited to darkness."
Hundreds of chains burst from thin air, wrapping around the invisible sword strikes and Jin's curved blade.
Of course, the chains couldn't fully stop him.
Countless cuts appeared on every chain, severing them.
Jin readjusted his stance warily.
'My attack...'
Even a prepared archmage would usually fall in one hit without knowing his power.
Yet he not only blocked it but figured out its nature.
Jin's power was none other than 'Moonlight Resonance'.
A power that activated only under the moon, granting near-invincibility in its glow.
But its strength waned if the opponent caught on.
'Knowing it doesn't mean you can fully block it.'
What Jamie grasped was just part of 'Moonlight Resonance'.
Anywhere moonlight touched—
"Your domain, right?"
Jamie, now wielding his scimitar, struck at a spot where faint moonlight seeped in.
Clang!!
The scimitar clashed with the curved sword, unleashing a powerful shockwave.
The ground turned to mud, making movement difficult.
Weapons locked, Jamie leaned in close.
"Hey. How about we talk instead of fighting?"
"...Talk?"
"Yeah. Talk."
The fight could wait until after.