Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Death Beckons at the Banquet (3)
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'This should paint a pretty heroic picture.'
Suppressing a sinister smile from spreading across his face, Raymond raised his head. Then, in a booming voice loud enough for the arriving Imperial Knights to hear, he shouted,
"His Majesty the Emperor is still fighting alone inside the banquet hall! Is there anyone loyal who will join me to clear a path?"
In a situation where all the imperial family had fled, the Fifth Prince was the only one who stepped forward. At the sight, the nearby Imperial Knights rushed over.
"We'll stand with the Fifth Prince!"
"Our knight order will join as well!"
"The Fifth Prince has moved us! We'll lay down our lives to open the way!"
The Fifth Prince heading to rescue the Emperor in crisis while all the other princes fled.
A perfect picture had been completed.
A surge of blue energy tore through the black shadow barrier.
As he retracted his swung sword, Gestain agilely propelled his body forward.
Though he had lost his left arm, his blade remained as sharp as ever.
With eyes gleaming, every swing of his sword sent the blocking assassins crumpling to the ground, spraying blood.
Even the Hashashin, known for their brutal training from age five, were powerless before the mana sword of a high-ranking knight.
'To think the Fifth Prince had such an outstanding knight under his command!'
'That vivid mana blade is the mark of a high-ranking knight! Captain-level!'
The Imperial Knights, awed by Gestain's exceptional swordsmanship and prowess, followed behind.
"Ice Spear!"
It wasn't just one—dozens of them. Dozens of ice spears conjured by the Azure Tower Lord's mana pierced through the black shadows.
Though the assassins seemed to fall helplessly, their side had taken casualties too.
The Fifth Prince's elite guard suffered no losses, but many of the accompanying Imperial Knights had fallen.
'Who would've thought the Edriger Kingdom had this much power.'
There was a reason it was called the Kingdom of Night, ruler of the continent's darkness in the setting documents.
He didn't know the full extent of their assassin forces, but even just the caliber of those deployed to the banquet hall showed they were no pushovers.
"Hurry, knight order and guard!"
A sudden unease gripped him, and he raised his voice.
In the novel, the Emperor was described as suffering a fatal wound during the banquet hall assault, but there was no mention of what forces the Edriger Kingdom sent.
That made him anxious.
'Even if the palace defenses were breached, for the Emperor—protected by the Shield of the Imperial Family—to take a fatal wound means at least a Dark Emperor must have moved.'
Dark Emperors: the five assassins who ruled the continent's darkness.
Three of them were in the Edriger Kingdom, and two served directly under its king.
Running into a mid-boss right from the start?
"What rotten luck."
The mutter slipped out. They were breaking through the heart of enemy lines, but with the guard and Imperial Knights at his side, even the Hashashin couldn't pierce their formation.
Safely in the center, all he did was cast attack spells or occasionally rally the Imperial Knights.
"There's His Majesty the Emperor! Everyone, give it your all!"
He shouted, infusing his voice with mana. The Emperor was deep in the banquet hall, but they were almost there. He could see the Emperor barely holding his position. And beside him, the fallen Royal Guards...
Standing before them was just a single assassin.
'Can't see him clearly?'
He was clearly standing still—not even moving—yet he appeared hazy like an afterimage. Dark as a shadow. The harder he tried to focus, the blurrier he became, like something out of focus.
"What the hell is that?"
Dozens of black-clad assassins and Imperial Knight corpses littered the ground around him. No way the Imperial Knights would stand by after seeing that.
"His Majesty is in danger!"
"Imperial Knights, draw your swords!"
Half the guarding Imperial Knights—over ten of them—poured out of the formation like the tide.
They hurled themselves at the black shadow without hesitation.
"You idiots!"
Before he could yell for them to come back, blood splattered across his cheek.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Guh, guhuk!"
Screams from the Imperial Knights. Over ten knights collapsed, hacked to pieces.
They might lack real combat experience compared to northern knights, but they were still knights. How could over ten fall so helplessly!
"A Dark Emperor here, of all places."
This ominous aura marked the assassin before them as one of the Dark Emperors, reigning above the Hashashin.
"Who'd have thought the Edriger Kingdom would send the Hidden Blade himself... This I didn't expect."
The Emperor's face showed utter resignation.
Dark Emperors were said to possess swordmaster-level might. The Shield of the Imperial Family was far too weakened to handle him.
Watching the Royal Guards and Imperial Knights crumble before his eyes proved the rumors weren't exaggerated.
"Your Majesty, we'll buy you time. Please retreat with the Imperial Knights."
Marquis Blizzard, leader of the Royal Guard, urged the Emperor to withdraw.
His voice carried a resolve to die. He was prepared to throw himself at the Dark Emperor for even a moment's delay.
But the Emperor knew escape was impossible.
The area was sealed by a barrier cast by the Hidden Blade.
"Did my sons escape safely?"
The Emperor asked something else. Marquis Blizzard, eyes fixed on the Dark Emperor—Hidden Blade—replied,
"The princes have safely evacuated, Your Majesty."
"Then that's a relief."
His voice held resignation. As long as his sons were safe, that was enough.
Emperor or not, he was still a father. Even if his sons fled first, he held no blame.
'Thinking of his sons to the very end.'
The Emperor slowly closed his eyes. The Imperial Knights were annihilated, half the Royal Guard fallen, the rest exhausted.
The end was near. No regrets about life, but worry for his sons leading this decaying empire after his death.
"His Majesty is in danger!"
"Imperial Knights, draw your swords!"
As he accepted his fate, cheers rang out.
"The Imperial Knights have broken through the assassins' encirclement to support us!"
At Marquis Blizzard's shout, the Emperor opened his eyes and turned toward the cheers.
At the center of the bloodied Imperial Knights who had carved a path was the Fifth Prince, Raymond.
"You foolish boy..."
He'd thought he'd be the first to flee, yet here he was, first to rescue his father. But the joy was fleeting.
The foe was a Dark Emperor with swordmaster-level power. The Imperial Knights stood no chance.
The bold knights tumbled to the ground in pieces. With over ten felled in one strike, the others froze.
No Imperial Knight rushed forward lightly now.
"Fifth Prince, the situation is dire."
Gestain said. A few high-ranking knights and mages remained with the Royal Guard around the Emperor, but it wasn't enough against a Dark Emperor.
"This is a battle we can't win."
Gestain judged coldly, but Raymond remained composed, and Azure Tower Lord Risefield showed no great worry.
Desia looked half-dead, but Gestain had no time to check on her.
"The wastrel Fifth Prince, Raymond Philius? I have no business with you, so withdraw quietly. You might keep your life that way."
It was as if slicing a worthless worm like him would be a hassle, so scram. At the same time, dark killing intent poured out to intimidate.
Even at mid-level mage realm, no one could withstand a Dark Emperor's intent. His breathing grew ragged, vision darkening.
"Urk, ugh!"
"Fifth Prince!"
Gestain raised his sword to deflect the intent. Raymond returned to normal.
Instead of thanks, he glared at the Dark Emperor and spoke.
"You dare infiltrate the imperial capital and threaten His Majesty the Emperor! Does the Edriger Kingdom truly seek war?!"
"Drunk on past glories."
The Dark Emperor didn't deny Edriger's involvement.
Just sending the Hidden Blade—one of the two deep shadows leading the king's assassination squad—revealed their intent.
They meant total extermination.
"Flee!"
The Emperor raised his voice. Worry for the Fifth Prince, Raymond, filled his tone, gaze, and expression.
But Raymond didn't lose his composure. It wasn't bravado.
"Are you prepared to sacrifice? If so, take up the spear. Your sacrifice shall become a sharp spear piercing the foe."
⟨ Spear of Sacrifice ⟩
A voice echoed. Without taking his eyes off the Dark Emperor, he drew forth the energy slumbering in his heart. White energy rose around him.
"I'll have to revise the plan. For His Majesty the King, you must be eliminated."
The Dark Emperor turned. Seeing this, the Emperor shot up from his chair and shouted,
"Royal Guard, protect the Fifth Prince!"
"If we go, Your Majesty will be in danger!"
"We cannot obey that order!"
The only time Royal Guard could defy orders: when the Emperor's life was in extreme peril.
They disobeyed, and the Dark Emperor summoned over ten Hashashin to hold the Emperor and Royal Guard, then slowly advanced toward Raymond.
"Feeling like killing me now?"
The Hidden Blade didn't answer. Raymond smirked and raised his hand.
White energy gathered, but forming a spear would take a bit more time.
First time using it in real combat, hard to control. Massive life force already draining, consciousness fading.
"Can you buy me a little time?"
To one high-ranking knight, the Azure Tower Lord, and an advanced mage. They nodded solemnly without a word and stepped forward.
"We'll join too."
The few remaining Imperial Knights followed. The Hidden Blade raised both arms silently at them.
Nothing visible in his hands, but Raymond knew he held daggers. That was the Hidden Blade's setting, one of the five Dark Emperors.
'Invisible blades.'
When would he strike? The moment that thought crossed his mind in tension—the Hidden Blade kicked off the ground and soared upward.
No afterimage, but it looked like he swung his arms.
And...
"Gaaahhh!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Invisible blades engulfed the Imperial Knights. Red blood sprayed as they screamed and fell.
Gestain stepped forward, Risefield swung the Sea Heart.
Dozens of ice spears targeted the Hidden Blade but shattered into pieces before reaching him.
Gestain's mana sword broke on clash with the aura.
"Ugh!"
Gestain collapsed, Risefield wounded and retreating. All Imperial Knights dead.
Only the advanced mage, Desia, remained.
The supreme defense spell matching its nickname of absolute defense—from an advanced mage, no less.
"Useless."
It briefly halted the Hidden Blade's advance, but that was all.
The aura blade rent the absolute defense, and he pressed in deep with cold eyes.
The moment an invisible blade targeted Desia.
"Guh, guhuk...?"
The Hidden Blade bowed his head at the pain in his chest. A massive hole gaped there. Red blood poured from his mouth.
"What the...?"
Incredulity showed on the Hidden Blade's masked face.
A Unique-grade defensive magic artifact pierced? No, more than that—he hadn't sensed anything incoming.
"Lord Hidden Blade has been struck!"
"Fall back for now! Retreat!"
No one expected the so-called Dark Emperor, Hidden Blade, to fall. Unforeseen.
The Hashashin supported the staggering Hidden Blade and hastily fled the banquet hall.
"Is it... over...?"
"Fifth Prince!"
Consciousness fading. Vision going dark.
A slender arm caught his weakening, collapsing body, but only for an instant.
"Fifth Prince!"
Another voice. Struggling to lift his head, there was Risefield. Neck bloodied, but not fatal.
"Good..."
The thought slipped out unbidden.
Blood flowed from every orifice—eyes, mouth, nose, ears.
That was the last sensation while still conscious, and the final sight was the Emperor sprinting over, all decorum forgotten.