Chapter 108
Chapter 108
“Father!”
At the sudden situation, Petra and the knights who had been listening in silence rushed over.
Someone hurriedly called for a healer, but seeing how he looked as though his breath might give out at any moment, I couldn’t help but panic.
‘Why on earth?’
The elixir had clearly healed all of the count’s wounds.
Then why was the man before my eyes once again standing on the brink of death?
[Master.]
‘River?’
At that moment, a voice I had forgotten reached my ears.
I snapped my head up, and she spoke to me.
[There is demonic energy dwelling in this man’s body. It was concealed very subtly, to the point that I only just noticed it myself.]
‘Demonic energy?’
[Yes. If I materialize, I think I can treat it. May I do so?]
At her asking for permission, I lightly nodded.
Immediately, a dazzling light gathered before me, and a blonde girl in a pure white one-piece dress revealed herself in midair.
“…What the—!”
As River appeared, the surrounding knights drew their swords and went on guard.
When I waved my hand, saying it was fine, they lowered their blades, but they still stared at her with sharp eyes.
“Hmm…….”
River lifted the count’s body, which had collapsed while vomiting blood onto the floor.
He was still gasping, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth.
Soon, the healers arrived in a rush, but I stretched out my hand to block their approach.
“…So this is the source.”
After carefully examining the count’s body, River seemed to discover something and grabbed the area near his heart.
The count’s body stiffened once more, and from behind his back, something pitch-black seeped out and scattered into the air.
“It’ll be fine now.”
River looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if asking whether she had done well.
When I grinned and patted her head, she smiled shyly, then turned back into a cluster of pure white light and faded into the air.
[I’m lacking divine power, so maintaining this form is still difficult. I’ll rest for a bit…….]
With that, her voice grew fainter and then cut off.
I thanked her in my heart and gestured to the healer who had been standing awkwardly by the doorway.
“Have the count drink a potion.”
Only after gulping down the potion handed to him by the healer did the count barely regain some color in his face.
Then, with trembling eyes, he looked at me.
“W-what on earth was in my body…….”
“Demonic energy was corroding—no, it was encroaching on your heart. I’ve completely removed it now, so you may rest easy.”
“…Your Highness possesses many mysterious abilities.”
The count wiped his mouth and looked at me with an inscrutable gaze.
I shrugged and gave an answer I’d lost count of how many times I’d used.
“As you know, my life’s been rather rough. You can never have too much insurance, can you?”
“The ones who attacked Zanel were probably a group of demons or Majin. I ran into similar ones before, when I went to Britain and South Yorkshire.”
“Demons, you say.”
The count replied with an uneasy expression.
It was only natural, since demons were still an unfamiliar name to the general public.
But now, they would slowly begin to surface.
“…I see. That sinister aura they used—that was demonic energy.”
The count nodded with a look of understanding, as if memories of fighting them had resurfaced.
I demanded detailed information from him.
Their appearances, their fighting styles, and even things that could hint at their origins, like speech patterns or accents.
If they had been mingling among humans, then they were surely not demons but Majin.
Demons do not mingle with humans or pretend to be human.
In Gremory’s case, she had needed a vessel to house her ego, which was why she had done so.
For her, coming out into the Middle Realm was nothing more than a form of amusement.
But Majin were different.
They were beings who moved with clear purposes and objectives.
If the Majin that had appeared here were ones from the original story, I could devise some countermeasures.
Unfortunately, the descriptions the count gave were of individuals I did not recognize.
“So, to be certain, two at Sword Master level and one at Mage level, then.”
It was strength enough that it wouldn’t have been strange for the knight order to be wiped out in an instant.
No—if anything, I wanted to praise their efforts for managing to extract the count and get him to escape amid all that.
‘The problem is the mage.’
Even if there were two Sword Master–level opponents, as long as they were Majin, I could handle them myself.
But a mage could flee while avoiding me and unleash large-scale attack magic on the territory, causing enormous damage.
“For now, we’ll request support from the Imperial Palace. I can deal with Sword Masters, but if it’s a mage of that level, we’ll need a mage of equal caliber on our side as well.”
At my words, the count’s eyes widened.
Then, cautiously, he asked me,
“…I have heard that Your Highness has become the successor to the Sword Saint. However……”
Was he telling me not to charge in recklessly out of pointless pride, given the opponent? When I glanced around, everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Well, I would have too.
A young man not even twenty yet was talking as if he could easily handle Sword Masters.
They say seeing is believing.
I picked up the pen that was lying on the table.
The count and the knights looked puzzled at my sudden action, but soon their mouths slowly fell open at the blazing cluster of light that bloomed over it.
A wave so clear that anyone who had trained with the sword could recognize it.
In an instant, the gazes of those around me changed.
“A handful of ordinary Majin aren’t even worth being my opponents. But letting the territory be turned into a sea of fire is another matter.”
“I will take action immediately.”
He nodded without any protest at my words.
After all, I had shown them clear proof right before their eyes.
If they still doubted me after this, then the only option left would have been to cut them down and make them understand firsthand.
“Ah, the teleport gates can still be operated, right? Previously, in Britain, the Majin targeted the teleport gates first before making their move.”
“…So it really was their doing.”
At my words, the count frowned.
There were said to be a total of three teleport gates in the Leipzig territory.
However, two of them had become unusable due to fires and ground erosion.
Fortunately, the last remaining one here was still intact, so I handed over the token that proved royal blood from my chest and told him to use my name when requesting support from the Imperial Palace.
“Then we will…….”
The top priority was to ascertain the Majin’s objective and movements, then eliminate them in one swift strike.
They still did not know of my existence.
If that was the case, then by exploiting that blind spot and moving swiftly, we should be able to crush them easily without suffering major damage.
But as always, the situation did not unfold so optimistically.
“L-Lord!”
A lightly dressed soldier, seemingly a courier, burst through the doors of the reception hall, unable to properly catch his breath.
He immediately dropped to one knee on the floor and shouted in an urgent voice.
“A large-scale monster army has appeared to the south. It is estimated they will arrive here in a few hours!”
“…What did you say?”
The count said that what he had fought were only a small number of high-ranking monsters, including Majin.
Even at most, their numbers had been around twenty, but the soldier reported that the monsters now sighted numbered at least a thousand.
“Summon every last troop stationed in the surrounding fortresses. Contact Freiburg immediately and request reinforcements.”
“Mages! As Your Highness said, we must prioritize summoning mages through the teleport gate!”
The room was thrown into chaos in an instant.
Those gathered here happened to be individuals holding key positions in the territory.
They swiftly began preparing for war, and it seemed as though the situation was being brought under control.
However, through the open door, the sound of someone once again running down the corridor rang out.
The attention of those who had been discussing the war instantly focused in that direction.
“Lord! A fire has broken out at the teleport gate located in the city center! According to the mage, it will be difficult to use it for at least three days!”
“…Damn it.”
A curse muttered under someone’s breath—whether from one of the knights or from the count himself, it was hard to tell.
Bad things always had a way of arriving all at once, at the most unexpected timing.
“…Looks like there are at least three thousand.”
The southern gate of the central Leipzig territory.
Excluding Petra, we climbed the watchtower and looked out over the monster army advancing across the plains, filling them entirely.
Just like in Britain, ogres, trolls, orcs, and various other monstrous creatures approached us, brimming with killing intent, without fighting among themselves.
No matter how accustomed Leipzig’s soldiers were to repelling monster incursions each year, such a massive invasion was not an everyday occurrence, and tension hung heavily over the walls.
The knights moved about here and there, projecting their voices amplified with mana to calm the soldiers.
Watching that scene, we all let out low sighs.
“…It’s not an insurmountable force. The real problem is the Majin you mentioned, my lord.”
Sword Masters and a mage.
No matter how perfectly the monsters were held back, the moment they entered the fray, the tide of battle would turn in an instant.
The count looked at me with a hardened expression and spoke.
“Your Highness, this may be an impertinent thing to say, but…….”
The situation was clearly unfavorable.
Thousands of monsters, and the Majin leading them.
Even the teleport gate—the only route through which we could hope for outside support right now—had been destroyed, leaving us effectively isolated.
We had urgently sent a courier toward Freiburg, but even at the fastest pace, it was a distance that would take a full day to travel round trip.
It was no wonder the count looked at me with such an expression.
“I know. I’ll handle the two Sword Masters. But the top priority is the mage. If we fail to take him down quickly, the number of casualties will increase exponentially.”
As if to show that I was taking responsibility, I lightly tapped the sword hanging at my waist.
But he shook his head, indicating that was not what he meant.
“If it seems the walls are about to fall, please head to Freiburg with my daughter. That place has many territories nearby, so it won’t fall easily.”
“Count.”
I called him, implying there was no need for probing words anymore, but the count’s expression was utterly sincere.
He did not stop there and turned his gaze to the knight commander standing beside him.
“Knight Commander.”
“Yes.”
“If there are signs the walls will fall, organize a unit-sized detachment of knights and see to it that you escort His Highness and Petra.”
“…I will select capable individuals.”
The knight commander nodded, but did not say that he himself would go along, even if it meant death.
At that, the count let out a helpless chuckle, and the knight commander responded to his lord’s smile with a calm one of his own.
“Who are you telling to run away? I’ve staked my life on this territory. I absolutely will not tolerate such talk now that I’ve come this far, Father.”
“…My daughter.”
But that was only for a moment.
Petra, who should have been below, suddenly appeared on the stairs leading up to the watchtower.
Her red hair fluttered beneath her steel helmet as she strode forward with a dignified gait.
At her resolute bearing, the count and the knights alike had their eyes grow moist.
‘They’re all hopelessly doting fathers.’
Clang—!
At that, I drew my sword and drove it into the ground before me.
Then, placing both hands atop it, I released the presence I had been suppressing.
Thud.
Perhaps because the monster horde was right before us, the bustling atmosphere from moments ago instantly grew heavy.
At once, not only the soldiers but even the knights turned their gazes toward me.
“Do not waver. Today, not a single monster will cross these walls.”
There were no flamboyant words, nor any sweet whispers of rewards.
The soldiers and knights likely didn’t even know who I was.
But people tend to feel reassured simply by knowing that a powerful being of overwhelming stature stands on their side.
Clang—!
I drew my sword and raised it high toward the sky.
Then, from above it, a blazing light erupted, illuminating the darkened battlefield.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
At that, the morale of the battlefield surged instantly.
After swinging my sword once and dispersing the Aura Blade, I turned my body and looked at the count standing behind me as I spoke.
“So don’t ever tell me to run away.”