Chapter 47

On that day, a loud explosion echoed from the royal castle of the Kingdom of Eldorado.

"Search for King Yanbar first! We'll settle this today!"

Reinwald, the leader of the revolutionary army, shouted while holding a sword. The members of the revolutionary army then stormed into the castle.

By the order of the First Princess Rushana, most of the castle's guards had left the capital, Drain. The castle's defenses were extremely thin, and they were unprepared for the revolutionary army's surprise attack. The kingdom had always relied on the Great Empire for military strength, and the guards were not well-trained.

On the other hand, the revolutionary army's morale was high.

They were acting with a strong will to change the country. Therefore, their morale was very high for this operation, which they were determined to succeed.

The outcome of the battle was not hard to predict.

"Brother's room... I think it's this way."

Reinwald and the First Prince Lotus are half-brothers. However, this did not make him hesitate to kill. Reinwald was determined to destroy his bloodline and transform the Kingdom of Eldorado. He was prepared to bear the curse of kin-slaying.

Moreover, he believed that by doing so, he could achieve the revolution with the least amount of bloodshed.

"Lord Ray, the slums are starting to get rowdy."

"It seems so. Rail is watching over them. They won't go too far."

"Can Rail stop them?"

"..."

In this operation, Reinwald, along with his servant Lilia, was tasked with killing the First Prince Lotus. King Yanbar was to be captured and publicly executed. The princes and princesses were to be killed today to prevent them from becoming a symbol for a new royal authority.

Reinwald wanted to at least guide Lotus to the afterlife.

"There! It's a rogue!"

"Lord Ray, please step back!"

Lilia's unit responded to the guards who appeared at the corner of the corridor. The unit guarding Reinwald consisted entirely of magicians, and ordinary guards were no match for them.

The guards were quickly knocked unconscious by the powerful magic.

The difference in strength was so great that they could even avoid killing.

"Hurry up."

"Sorry, Lilia."

Unfortunately, Reinwald was not a magician. Moreover, his talent for magic was mediocre. While he could perform small-scale magic for daily convenience, he lacked the skill to use military-grade magic with offensive power.

Currently, the magic system used worldwide is the Apollis-style magic, said to have been compiled by ancient sages. The incantations and techniques have been optimized for maximum efficiency.

The magic books that describe all incantations, effects, and methods of acquisition are strictly managed by the state. The Apollis-style magic available to the public is merely a tradition passed down orally. Especially, the extremely powerful magic above the eighth tier is mostly classified information.

Nevertheless, the revolutionary army honed their magic and improved their magical equipment as much as possible.

"Lord Ray, what should we do with these?"

"Leaving them to wake up again would be troublesome."

"But we don't have any ropes to tie them up."

"Clear them out before they wake up. Hurry, Lord Ray!"

Nodding at his comrades' words, Reinwald moved forward. Lilia, who knew the castle well, led the way, and they quickly headed for Lotus's room.

They encountered and defeated several guards along the way, advancing forcefully.

The treasury and the king's chambers were also under the control of the revolutionary army, and the castle was in chaos. Things were progressing more smoothly than expected.

"Once we pass this door, we'll reach the area where Lotus's room is! Right, Lord Ray?"

"Yes, let's go!"

Lilia opened the large door dividing the area, and Reinwald ran inside.

But then, one of the subordinates right behind Reinwald shouted.

"Watch out!"

Reinwald was pushed down, and a spear passed through the spot where his head had been a moment ago.

"Ah!"

The spear, which passed through the air with a tearing force, pierced a member of the revolutionary army. No, it didn't just pierce; it penetrated and killed four people standing in a straight line.

One of them let out a scream, but the other three died without a sound.

Lilia, who had opened the door, watched the entire scene, but her thoughts were momentarily halted by the sight of her comrades' blood and flesh flying around.

"Damn, I missed!"

Everyone turned to the voice from the back.

There stood a man in a dark blue military uniform, his right eye covered by an eye patch, and three scars on his cheek. The badge on his left chest made Reinwald gasp in shock.

"The silver wolf emblem! You must be a lieutenant in the Great Empire's army!"

The military of the Great Empire is divided into nine ranks based on ability. Non-magicians start as third-class soldiers and can only advance to first-class soldiers. Magicians, on the other hand, start from the ranks of lower magician, middle magician, upper magician, lower lieutenant, middle lieutenant, and upper lieutenant, above first-class soldiers. The starting rank depends on the magician's rank, so there is individual variation. However, with enough skill, one can even reach the ranks of general and grand general above upper lieutenant.

However, this is based on ability. One's position in the military is separate, and a first-class soldier can even become the head of the strategy command room. Of course, command authority generally follows rank.

The silver badge indicates a lieutenant, and the wolf emblem is given to middle lieutenants.

Thus, Reinwald concluded that the man was a middle lieutenant in the Great Empire's army.

"Interesting, you know the meaning of this emblem?"

The man with the eye patch smiled sardonically and made a motion with his right hand. Magic gathered, and a spear formed by magical equipment appeared.

He then introduced himself while skillfully wielding the spear.

"I am Ignat Rosen, a middle lieutenant in the Great Empire's army and the captain of the second squadron of the Inferno Corps. I heard that there were signs of rebellion in the vassal state of the Kingdom of Eldorado, so I came to assist."

Lilia couldn't help but exclaim.

"Impossible! The information was leaked!?"

"That's right."

Ignat prepared to throw his spear, aiming at Reinwald. Eliminating the leader of the revolutionary army would eliminate the threat to the Kingdom of Eldorado. Ignat knew this.

A nearby subordinate quickly pushed Reinwald out of the way.

"Hmph!"

"Ugh!"

The spear pierced the right side of the subordinate's abdomen, sacrificing him. The other members quickly recovered and prepared to attack Ignat with their magical equipment.

Although it seemed that Ignat had lost his weapon by throwing the spear, he could summon it again by quickly reactivating his magical equipment. This was a high-level technique for rapid reactivation, which consumed extra magic, so few used it. However, Ignat, with his A-rank magician's magic power, could easily perform it.

"I am here to protect Prince Lotus. I have no intention of being easily defeated. Of course, the Great Empire has also sent reinforcements to protect Princess Medoline and the other princesses. You are finished... rebels."

"What!?"

Reinwald was shaken.

The revolutionary army had been outmaneuvered and lured into this trap. The royal family of Eldorado would not have lured rebels into their own castle. Therefore, it was likely that this operation was proposed by the Great Empire.

He had thought things were going too smoothly.

From the moment Rushana's reckless actions left the castle guards absent, the revolutionary army had been manipulated by the Great Empire.

Ignat struck the floor with his magical spear. The sound echoed through the corridor, and soon the sound of multiple people running could be heard. The revolutionary army members, including Reinwald, quickly prepared their magical equipment, but it was too late.

Eight Great Empire soldiers appeared from the shadows of the corridor.

The badges on their chests were bronze, indicating the rank of magician. The sword emblem indicated upper magician, the staff emblem indicated middle magician, and the shield emblem indicated lower magician.

All eight were magicians and subordinates of Ignat.

"Troublesome."

"What should we do, Lord Ray?"

"Continuing the operation is impossible. We might not even be able to escape."

Just then, a tremendous explosion echoed.

The entire castle shook, and cracks appeared in the ceiling of the corridor where Reinwald and his group were.

"What!?"

One of the revolutionary army members shouted.

Ignat, not in response to the shout, explained.

"That's the magic of Captain Congrad. He was supposed to be guarding the area where the princesses are... I didn't expect the damage to reach this far."

"Middle Lieutenant Rosen! This corridor is about to collapse!"

"That's right."

The title "captain" indicated a rank above middle lieutenant. Reinwald shuddered again. Ignat was already a formidable opponent, and the existence of a stronger captain was a daunting prospect.

In any case, the revolutionary army had been trapped.

"Hmm. With that explosion, the rebels who attacked the princesses must have been wiped out. Let's eliminate the remaining rebels. We can't let Captain Congrad outdo us."

"Damn!"

"Lord Ray, please escape!"

"We'll buy you time."

"He's strong! We need to be prepared!"

"Wait, you guys!"

Reinwald tried to stop them, but the revolutionary army members bravely charged at Ignat. Lilia pulled Reinwald's hand during the chaos.

"Hurry! This way, Lord Ray!"

"But..."

"If Lord Ray is safe, we can start over. Please!"

Reinwald understood his importance to the revolutionary army. He was a pillar necessary to rebuild the country. He could not die here.

(I'm sorry.)

Reinwald silently apologized to his comrades and aimed to escape with Lilia.

However, Ignat did not let them go.

"I won't let you escape!"

The magical spear activated, and the handle extended toward Reinwald. It did not move in a straight line but curved to avoid the revolutionary army members, who served as a shield.

One of the revolutionary army members struck the spear, but the handle merely bent and continued its advance. It was like pushing against a curtain.

Lilia, realizing the approaching spear, pushed Reinwald away.

The spear pierced Lilia's side.

"Ah! Lilia!"

"Missed..."

Ignat clicked his tongue and immediately tried to aim the spear at Reinwald again, still piercing Lilia's side.

However, the remaining revolutionary army members activated the first-tier earth magic, "Earth Wall," to blind Ignat and his subordinates. This "Earth Wall" was activated behind the remaining revolutionary army members, blocking their escape route.

They were determined to die fighting to ensure Reinwald's escape.

"Troublesome. Blow the wall away with magic!"

"Yes, sir!"

Three of Ignat's subordinates began casting the fifth-tier wind magic, "Wind Blade." The blue-white magic circle glowed intensely, and three blades of wind were simultaneously released.

They easily cut through the revolutionary army members who served as a shield and destroyed the "Earth Wall."

However, when they looked beyond the destroyed wall, Reinwald was already gone.

"He escaped. Let's pursue him."

The "Wind Blade" had wiped out the revolutionary army members. Ignat and his subordinates stepped over the bodies and searched for Reinwald.

However, they could not find him.