Chapter 211
Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: More Precious Than Treasure: Bone Broth (1)
“Please hold on just a little longer, everyone.”
Screeeeech—!
King Alicia muttered under her breath.
Her wooden sword danced through the air.
As if etching a flash of light into the void.
Or as if slicing through space itself.
It surged forward along a path devoid of any wasted motion.
It struck the shield of a Royal Guard knight.
Thwack—!
It was merely a wooden sword striking a shield.
Yet a thunderous boom erupted, like a cannonball colliding.
The shield, reinforced with five layers of steel, crumpled inward as deep as a fist.
The Royal Guard knight holding it wasn’t unscathed either.
“……Urk!”
The knight’s feet lifted off the ground.
He was flung eight meters, bouncing off the dented shield like a pinball.
“Guh…….”
The knight crashed into the sandy ground, writhing like a maggot.
His insides churned, every muscle in his body going slack.
But the knight wasn’t downhearted.
He wasn’t the only victim(?).
Thwack! Thud—! Crack!
Every time King Alicia swung her wooden sword, knights went flying.
Bouncing endlessly like pinballs.
Of course, the Royal Guards weren’t just taking it lying down.
“Dense formation and linked maneuvers!”
The shout came from a mid-level command knight.
The roughly seventy remaining Royal Guards moved in perfect unison.
Forty formed a tight-packed formation.
They advanced with heavy tower shields out front.
But their speed was anything but slow.
The Royal Guard consisted entirely of upper-level Sword Experts.
Heavy armor weighing dozens of kilograms never slowed their steps.
Clank, clunk, creak!
The sturdy wall of heavy plate advanced on Alicia in an instant.
Meanwhile, the other thirty Royal Guards encircled the king.
Like precisely meshed gears.
They alternated positions and directions in a flash, unleashing a fierce barrage from the rear.
And then they shattered.
Thwack—!
“Gah!”
The moment King Alicia’s eyes gleamed.
The knight swinging at her soared five meters into the air.
‘Wh-what…….’
Bewilderment flickered in the knight’s eyes.
He was certain he’d caught an opening in the king’s guard.
Yet the next thing he knew, he was floating helplessly in the sky.
His sword was gone, of course.
The shock gripping his body left him unable even to twitch a finger.
But the next instant brought an even greater mental blow.
Thwack! Thud! Thunk! Crack! Splack!
“……!”
His comrades were bobbing up one by one(?).
All flailing identically.
All in their pathetic swordless state.
Even at the exact same height—five meters up.
They floated there, mouths gaping silently like goldfish.
They exchanged stunned glances.
‘Hey, you too?’
‘Hey, me too.’
The moment of descent arrived soon after.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—!
“Eugh!”
“Hup!”
“Urk!”
The eight knights, so amiably airborne together, hit the ground almost simultaneously.
Even then, King Alicia’s wooden sword didn’t stop.
“I just asked you all a moment ago. To hold on just a little longer.”
She charged at the dense formation of shield-bearing Royal Guards.
Like a lone lion leaping into a flock of sheep.
She tore through their ranks in an instant.
Thwang—!
She backhanded, and backhanded again.
Never once slashing upward.
Yet every Royal Guard struck by her wooden sword inevitably ‘floated upward.’
Wherever she rampaged, knights shot up like fountains.
Her low murmur continued.
“But why can’t you hold? Hmm?”
Boom—! Thunk!
She didn’t even use Aura.
Not even sword beams.
Just a plain wooden sword, swung with ordinary force.
Only at the perfect timing, angle, and power—backhanded.
Her charge overwhelmed the remaining Royal Guards, crumbling them in moments.
Her movements were like venting frustration under the guise of training.
Yet the raw emotion in Alicia’s eyes refused to subside.
‘Lloyd Frontera.’
The name that surfaced as she swung her wooden sword.
The talent she’d vowed to use wisely.
But now?
The more she thought of it, the more absurd it seemed.
Infuriating, even.
‘Is working for me really that hateful?’
His intentions were transparent.
Talented, yet unwilling to use it.
She’d long sensed his desperate flailing to slack off forever.
The recent marriage between the Frontera Family and the Sultan’s royal house was the same.
‘It has to be Lloyd Frontera’s doing.’
She didn’t need to see it to know.
Using the marriage as a bridge to the Sultan’s house.
Of course, this side might feel the pinch.
She did feel it.
But reprimanding him was tricky.
‘Julian Frontera, the groom, is the second son. No claim to the family inheritance.’
Plus, from the royal house’s perspective, the marriage was perfect for public optics.
Especially the timing.
‘We just wrapped up a successful peace deal with the Sultan. Right after, this marriage seals it. The second son of the Frontera Family—backed fully by the royal house—and the Sultan’s daughter. Perfect symbolism of friendship between us and the Sultanate.’
It wasn’t just good.
It was suspiciously perfect, like it was engineered.
So King Alicia ground her teeth harder.
‘He must’ve aimed for that too. A chance to cozy up to the Sultan without earning my ire. Sly fox.’
Boom—!
Her emotion-fueled wooden sword danced destructively.
Innocent(?) Royal Guards toppled like human sandbags.
King Alicia’s thoughts continued.
‘Probably hates being under my thumb. A subtle show of “push me, and I’ll side with the Sultan.” That’s why he’s so infuriating—and endearing.’
Grit!
She gnashed her teeth.
Lloyd Frontera.
Infuriating enough to work him harder.
The more he squirmed to escape, the more she wanted to torment him.
The more he wriggled free, the more she wanted to grind him down.
She wanted to burden him with work till death, savoring his pitiful struggles.
Even see him beg with teary eyes: “Please, let me rest.”
Thwack—!
“Gaaah……!”
A Royal Guard clutched his solar plexus, tumbling five meters.
That was the last.
King Alicia swept her haughty gaze around.
No intact Royal Guards remained standing nearby.
“Tch.”
She wanted to loosen up more.
Hadn’t even broken much of a sweat.
Ever since raising her realm another level recently, spars with the Royal Guards felt unsatisfying.
It was then that Alicia felt her dissatisfaction.
“Your Majesty, Lloyd Frontera, eldest son of the Frontera Family, seeks audience.”
A clear report rang from one side of the training grounds, delivered by a palace attendant.
King Alicia’s lips curled fiercely upward.
Perfect timing.
Making her really want to grind him now.
She suppressed her savage urge and commanded.
“Tell him to wait.”
She sheathed her wooden sword.
Downed a glass of cold water like gulping it down, then left the training grounds.
Passing a long entryway and garden, she spotted a man kneeling on one knee.
“Lloyd Frontera greets Your Majesty.”
“…….”
Seeing that brazenly bowed head, she felt an impulse to smack it once.
He’d flop pathetically, rolling away.
Savoring that sight would be thrilling.
But Alicia barely restrained herself.
Instead, she spoke calmly, straight to business.
“Follow me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
She turned.
Heading out from the annex with the training grounds.
Through the garden toward the main palace.
Lloyd trailed closely behind.
Meanwhile, he keenly observed her mood.
The conversation with the king didn’t open until much later, after a long walk.
“Well done heeding my request. You’ve come all this way, after all.”
“Your praise humbles me, Your Majesty.”
“Praise my foot.”
“…….”
“I won’t bother with flowery words just to drag a slacker like you here. Straight to the point. You’ve heard how I wiped out the remnants of the black mage cabal recently?”
“Yes, I have, Your Majesty.”
Lloyd nodded.
It was true.
Three days ago, right?
After Julian’s wedding in Frontera Territory.
He’d heard it from Count Ventura, relaying the king’s ‘request.’
‘While I was doing the Kanat project in the Sultanate…… Sister King went on a rampage.’
They’d finished interrogating Black Mage Kannavaro.
The one captured in Namaran City.
They’d dumped every mental debilitation spell and truth serum on him without mercy.
The result? A nutrient-packed confession.
Locations, numbers, plans of the remaining black mages.
Nearly all high-level intel.
‘And she acted immediately.’
King Alicia wasted no time.
Analysis complete, she mobilized troops at once.
Formed a subjugation force, led it personally.
Struck their lairs like lightning before they could react.
“You knew in advance—good. Then you know I butchered them to the last?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
That wasn’t a lie.
The claim of exterminating the black mages root and stem was plain fact.
‘And it’s true she displayed even stronger swordsmanship than before.’
Count Ventura’s words resurfaced.
The final battle of the subjugation.
The king personally beheaded the black mages’ leader.
Unleashing Aura more brilliant than a typical Swordmaster’s.
Minimizing subjugation force casualties.
‘Even the king has grown beyond the original story.’
He didn’t know how strong she’d become.
But far beyond the novel’s version.
‘In the novel, she lost an arm and degenerated into a tyrant.’
One-armed.
Neglected training in her fall.
But now?
Night and day.
‘That assassination attempt on the king must’ve been a huge trigger.’
The thought crossed his mind.
Since then, every audience with King Alicia, she’d greet him fresh from training.
Meaning extreme daily practice, without fail.
‘Royal Guards, my condolences.’
Those guys taking her training daily.
Probably the kingdom’s most dissatisfied profession—dead last.
Likely for sure.
‘Victims of the history I changed, huh. Tsk.’
Lloyd felt a twinge of pity for the Royal Guards and smacked his lips.
Meanwhile, King Alicia continued.
“Anyway, after successfully concluding that subjugation, I obtained an unexpected spoil of war. That’s why I summoned you.”
“Is that spoil related to me, Your Majesty?”
“If I deem it so, then yes. I plan to entrust you with a project utilizing it.”
“A project…… you say?”
“Indeed. Unless it doesn’t suit you?”
“Well…….”
Lloyd started to reply, then flinched, clamping his mouth shut.
“…….”
The king’s stride ahead had halted.
She turned, eyes blazing intensely.
Her gaze seemed to warn:
Choose your next words carefully.
Gulp.
In that instant, Lloyd realized.
‘She knows my intentions fully.’
He’d felt it before.
Sister King was no joke.
‘I measured every angle meticulously.’
Finally succeeding in linking Julian and Serazad.
Straddling Magentano and Sultanate royals without enmity.
Even turning the king’s one-sided ‘orders’ into ‘requests.’
But now?
‘Still too early.’
Too soon to outright refuse her tasks.
Too premature to declare hating her assignments.
Way too soon.
‘No matter the “One Who Carries Magentano” praise.’
Powerful praise, but not absolute.
His actions could alter its shelf life.
Like this very moment.
‘Defy her openly here, and it’s over.’
Intuition struck.
Act dense and stubborn now?
The sweet perk of [One Who Carries Magentano]—immunity to treason suspicion in any situation.
That option’s validity could shatter or vanish entirely.
A foreboding chill crept up.
So that’s why.
Lloyd acted like a cockroach caught in the midnight kitchen sink by the homeowner.
The moment he sensed it, he flipped his attitude.
He slapped on a servile, sincere line.
“I, Lloyd Frontera, have awaited only the tasks Your Majesty entrusts, day and night. Command me in anything.”
“Truly?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Sincerely?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“You lie so naturally, eldest son of Frontera.”
“…….”
“Who in the world likes working?”
“W-Well, that is…….”
“Enough. I know your heart already. Why you married your brother to the Sultan’s daughter, what you aimed for in pushing it shamelessly. That’s why I make this special plea.”
“…….”
King Alicia faced him.
Her eyes gleamed oddly.
“I like you. You please me. So I won’t abuse you excessively or often henceforth. But.”
Her gaze sharpened fiercely.
“Don’t get too close to my enemies. Don’t test my affection lightly. Understood?”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
He nodded vigorously, straining his second and third cervical vertebrae.
Only then did King Alicia’s eyes soften slightly.
“You’re so quick on the uptake—makes you convenient.”
“Your praise humbles me.”
“That damn convenient ‘praise humbles me’ you trot out every time.”
“…….”
“Anyway, since you grasp my intent, it’s time to reveal the task. This way.”
King Alicia led again.
Lloyd trailed bouncily.
Through the garden, into the main palace, past countless corridors and stairs.
They reached the destination(?).
The treasury housing the palace’s myriad treasures.
At the entrance, King Alicia turned, a meaningful smile on her lips.
“Ready to behold the spoil?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
What could she possibly show?
And what task?
As he wondered, she gestured.
The Royal Guard moved.
The treasury’s sturdy door opened.
The ‘spoil’s’ true form was revealed inside.
“I wish for you to use that to create a grand garden elevating our royal house’s prestige abroad.”
King Alicia pointed with a pleased smile.
A heap of dragon bones, fully two hundred meters long.
The instant he saw it, Lloyd intuited.