Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Soul Sword (1)
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"The key point is that this guy, who was a wastrel just a few months ago, has not only stolen my entire support base but is now even rising as a candidate for crown prince."
The leading candidates for crown prince were the 1st Prince and the 2nd Prince.
The 3rd Prince, Aloken, had the backing of the Imperial Tower and the Crimson Tower, but their forces fell short compared to the two princes above him, so he hadn't made the cut for crown prince candidate.
Yet now, the largest among those support forces—the Crimson Tower—was showing interest in the 5th Prince. It was only natural that Aloken felt a sense of crisis.
"You can't assassinate the Crimson Tower Lord or the 5th Prince in the Imperial Capital."
Frighteningly, Aloken didn't deny the assassin's premature assumption.
Until just moments ago, he had been boldly planning to attack the 5th Prince right in the Imperial Capital.
"Brother Deneb could pull it off, though, right?"
It was a provocative tone.
The assassin didn't bother responding.
As he said, the 2nd Prince Deneb might be capable of scheming something in the Imperial Capital, but the risks were far too great.
'That's impossible for you, 3rd Prince.'
The assassin swallowed his words. He still saw value in using the 2nd Prince for the 3rd Prince.
Thus, maintaining a friendly relationship was necessary.
"Well, we don't necessarily have to do it in the Imperial Capital..."
The killing intent laced in his voice was cold enough to freeze the atmosphere in the reception room.
Did this fool even understand what it meant to assassinate a member of the imperial family in the Philius Empire?
The assassin lowered his head slightly to hide his chilling gaze and spoke.
"There have been many recent assassination attempts. It's hard to imagine the 5th Prince leaving the Imperial Capital anytime soon."
"He'll be leaving the Imperial Capital in the near future."
His voice carried strong conviction.
The assassin, having heard nothing of the sort, remained silent.
He didn't think it was bravado. There were still people behind the 3rd Prince, so he must have heard something from them.
"You know about the joint operation my brother and I carried out this time, right?"
He was referring to the banquet hall attack. At the 3rd Prince's mention, the assassin furrowed his brow slightly while keeping his head bowed.
Even in the 3rd Prince's palace, openly admitting involvement in a direct attack on the Emperor was never a good idea.
Contrary to the assassin's concerns, Aloken continued with a proud expression.
"Because of that incident, the Philius Empire has advanced part of the Northern Central Army to the northern border regions. As you know, the northwest borders the Haipel Empire, and the northeast shares a border with the Free Isiriya Kingdom of the Three-Nation Alliance. With the Northern Central Army pushing up to the border, their nerves are bound to be on edge."
The Monster Forest served as a buffer zone along the Haipel Empire border, and the Black Mountains acted as one along the Free Isiriya Kingdom border.
Without those buffer zones, large-scale local skirmishes might have broken out long ago.
"Even with buffer zones, small-scale clashes are gradually escalating."
"We'll send a member of the imperial family to the border region."
At the assassin's words, the 3rd Prince Aloken grinned and nodded. In the Philius Empire, the military's fanatical loyalty to the imperial family was famous across the continent.
This stemmed from the existence of the Colossal Divine Soldiers dating back to the ancient wars.
The Philius Empire's imperial family could control the powerful Colossal Divine Soldiers, earning them the title of divine bloodline since ancient times.
Naturally, past emperors had leveraged this for mental indoctrination to bolster military loyalty.
This indoctrination continued for two thousand years of the ancient era, and even now that era had ended, the military's loyalty remained unshaken.
"Yes, in these uncertain times, sending a member of the imperial family to the border would make not only the Central Army but even the regional forces fight like zealots against the enemy. His Majesty the Emperor may favor Raymond, but if my faction and Brother Deneb's align our voices, sending him to the border won't be difficult."
Aloken's voice brimmed with considerable confidence.
Even after the 5th Prince Raymond dealt a mortal wound to the Shadow Emperor, Aloken believed he could assassinate him the moment he left the Imperial Capital. He was a madman blinded by envy and jealousy.
'5th Prince Raymond may not be as easy a target as you think.'
The 5th Prince had caught up to the 3rd Prince—who had been striving for the throne for ten years—in a mere few months.
There was still a gap in the number of following nobles, but losing the Crimson Tower was fatal.
Once again, the assassin had to swallow his words.
With his eyes blinded by envy, jealousy, and crisis, and his reason paralyzed, no words would get through.
'Besides, he's not even my lord.'
The world was cold.
"Ice Blast!"
As he chanted the spell name and thrust out his hand, condensed mana exploded, completing the magic.
Confirming the ice explosion where his gaze landed, Raymond let out a short sigh and picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
It was far too feeble an explosion for an advanced spell.
Despite his overwhelming talent as 5th Prince Raymond Philius, the Azure Tower's secret transmissions, and the settings from the author's notes he had access to, he had successfully reached the mid-level mage realm. But the problem was advancing to advanced mage.
"Not easy, is it?"
To the light question from Desia Heli, the advanced mage watching beside him, he nodded instead of answering and moved his feet.
Sitting on a chair in the corner of the training ground, Alex hurried over with a cup of cold water.
He downed the large cup of water in one go.
"Advanced mages are on another level."
Honestly, seeing Desia advance from mid-level to advanced in just a few months had made him think it was manageable, but experiencing it himself proved otherwise.
It felt like a massive wall blocking his path.
Unlike the jump from beginner to mid-level, there was no specific method outlined in the settings for raising his magical realm, so he was struggling.
"Don't rush it, Your Highness. You have a gift for magic."
Desia's gentle words did little to ease his impatience.
He needed to grow as strong as possible before the "Bloody Funeral" began.
To do that, he had to steal the "Blessing of Sword and Magic" that was originally meant for the protagonist.
To obtain the "Blessing of Sword and Magic," one needed the realm of an advanced mage and the ability to forge a mana sword—a near impossibility in this era since ancient times when magic swordsmen had died out.
'Sword and magic are polar opposites.'
That was the simple explanation, despite the complex settings.
Since ancient times, various mage towers had attempted to revive the overpowered magic swordsmen, but all failed.
Even the settings only vaguely mentioned that ancient training methods were lost, yet the protagonist succeeds.
How?
In short, item cheat. Originally a mage, he supplemented the mana sword requirement with the ancient relic, the Soul Sword.
It started as a loophole, but receiving the "Blessing of Sword and Magic" perfectly harmonized the two arts, turning the protagonist into a true magic swordsman—as described in the novel.
'If I get the Soul Sword, I can do it too.'
He knew the location and unsealing method for the ancient relic Soul Sword, but the problem was its resting place: the Black Mountains, bordering the Free Isiriya Kingdom.
'No way they'll send me to the border now.'
The Emperor favored the 5th Prince. Probably because of that incident.
A sigh escaped him naturally.
As he prepared to resume training, a uniformed Imperial Guard member came running.
"Your Highness the 5th Prince, you've been summoned to the palace."
Suddenly?
"Do you know what it's about?"
"It's for a court council. The other princes have all been summoned as well."
Something must be up.
This was the first time 5th Prince Raymond was attending a court council.
Five years ago, before he became a wastrel, he had been too young, and afterward, he had holed up in the 5th Prince's Palace drowning his days in alcohol, so he was never called.
No sooner had he left the 5th Prince's Palace with a small entourage than the Azure Tower Lord and Crimson Tower Lord joined him.
"Old man, I thought you'd be waiting at the palace already. What's this about?"
To Raymond's playful question, Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior chuckled softly and replied.
"I came to hitch a ride on your carriage."
It wasn't hard to guess the reason hidden behind the casual joke.
Nobles typically flew flags representing their passengers on their carriages.
The Azure Tower Lord planned to officially announce at this court council that the Crimson Tower Lord was aligning with Raymond.
Court councils usually drew many nobles, depending on the occasion.
They would all see the Crimson Tower and Azure Tower flags on the 5th Prince's carriage.
"The carriage is going to feel cramped now. Hop on."
He grumbled like it was a complaint, but the Azure Tower Lord caught the faint smile playing on the 5th Prince's lips.
"What are you waiting for? Get in quick—I don't want to be late!"
The 5th Prince, who had boarded first, urged them.
The Azure Tower Lord boarded with a bright smile, followed by the tense-faced Crimson Tower Lord.
"Form up in escort formation."
Gestain, along with four 5th Prince's Imperial Guard members on horseback, formed an escort around the carriage.
Once the formation was set, Gestain signaled departure, and the carriage headed toward the palace.
"Security is tight."
Alex, seated at the driver's box, remarked. The inspection at the palace main gate had been thorough, and the sharp-eyed Imperial Knights and Imperial Army soldiers patrolling just beyond made the atmosphere heavy.
Gestain, riding beside the carriage, glanced around and spoke calmly.
"His Majesty the Emperor was attacked not long ago. I think even this level of heightened security is insufficient."
It was the answer of a high knight. Alex let out a subtle sigh.
Their conversation ended, but inside the carriage, another was about to begin.
In the continued silence, 5th Prince Raymond spoke first.
"Do you know why I've been summoned to this court council?"
After the banquet hall attack, he had rested and focused on training, so he hadn't heard about palace happenings.
He had read up to volume 3 of Empire of the Dead and memorized the author's settings, so he had a rough idea of domestic and international affairs, but he wanted details from the Crimson Tower Lord and Azure Tower Lord.
"It's probably about the Haipel Empire and the Free Isiriya Kingdom. They've confirmed additional troops deployed to the border."
The response came from Crimson Tower Lord Berenus Kyle.
"Has the Northern Central Army moved toward the border?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"There must be friction at the border."
Even with the Monster Forest and Black Mountains as buffers, Haipel's elite rangers and Free Isiriya's seasoned mercenaries could slip across easily.
Large groups would be tough, but small ones were feasible.
"Skirmishes large and small are already breaking out along the Haipel Empire border."
This time, Azure Tower Lord Risefield Dior answered.
"I heard my brothers were summoned too."
"Yes, all three princes except Her Highness the 4th Princess received calls to the court council."
From the Azure Tower Lord's words, Raymond could guess the Emperor's intent.
He clearly planned to send a member of the imperial family to boost the morale of border troops.
He had been wondering how to escape the Imperial Capital, and things seemed to be falling into place easier than expected.
'If that's the case, I need to go to the Free Isiriya Kingdom border. No matter what...!'
The Soul Sword slumbered in the Black Mountains, bordering the Free Isiriya Kingdom.
"We've arrived."
An Imperial Guard outside announced their arrival.
Stepping out first after opening the door, Raymond was greeted by an Imperial Knight who saluted formally, right arm over chest.
Thanks to rumors of him saving the Emperor at the banquet, the knight's gaze toward the 5th Prince was favorable.
"Your Highness the 5th Prince, I'll escort you to the council chamber. Your Imperial Guard may accompany only up to the main entrance."
Raymond nodded slowly, and the Imperial Knight led the way.
Following, Raymond scanned his surroundings.
Noble carriages gathered before the towering building caught his eye. Nearby nobles spotted the Azure Tower and Crimson Tower flags beside the 5th Prince's banner.
"So it's true the Azure Tower is backing the 5th Prince?"
"There's the Crimson Tower flag too."
"What the hell happened these past few months?"
The nobles whispered. Some voices were positive, but many were negative.
Raymond ignored them and kept walking.
Gestain, who had briefly considered releasing some killing intent, followed silently when his lord paid it no mind.
"This is as far as I can escort you."
At the council chamber door, the Imperial Knight bowed and withdrew.