■ Power Conflict □
After the explosion, I quickly knocked out two Royal Guards who had rushed in and found the Royal Seal of the Oz Kingdom within the blast radius.
In the Oz Kingdom, all commands are issued through the king’s edict stamped with the royal seal.
This is because the sole commander is the king.
In other words, during a revolution, the royal seal would be one of the key items to secure first.
I learned this from reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms when I was young.
After securing the royal seal, I quietly slipped out of the audience chamber.
From afar, I could hear shouting.
Even though not much time had passed since the explosion, it seemed that the Royal Guards stationed in the palace were gathering here.
‘Barnett and Dorothea need to buy us some time.’
Rather than exiting through the hallway honestly, I jumped straight out of the window.
I waited nearby after confirming that the late-arriving Royal Guards were entering the audience chamber.
Soon enough, they seemed to realize the king’s death and shouted loudly.
“Find him! Find the assassin who killed His Majesty!”
I was hanging below the window, listening to the voice in real-time, and decided it was about time to escape before they formed a包围 net. I flew into the sky.
Oz Kingdom’s King, Oscar von Omaha.
He had one brilliant son in his later years.
Commonly known as the Prince of Oz.
Prince Tipetarius.
I knew that this man would soon seize control of the capital region.
Even if Barnett, Dorothea, and I were generals of unparalleled talent, we couldn’t withstand the sheer numbers in a war of attrition.
The elite First Division of the Oz Kingdom had 10,000 troops.
Basically, we planned to use hit-and-run tactics.
Anyway, now that King Oscar was dead, the capital would inevitably fall into chaos for a while.
So, all we had to do was get out of the city safely as planned, join forces with the Demon King’s Army, and return.
Of course, we’d have to reduce their numbers beforehand.
“Hmm, let’s see.”
I landed on the bell tower, which was quite high within the royal castle.
Soldiers, knights, and Royal Guards were running around frantically.
Barnett and Dorothea would soon start causing trouble outside, but I needed to give them a taste of things beforehand.
Dozens of spells came to mind, but there was really only one spell suitable for this situation.
After deciding what to use, I raised both hands above my head.
“Howl! Gale!”
Unlike before, I no longer felt drained after using nearly all my mana at once.
This was partly due to reaching the 7th tier and increasing my total mana capacity, but more importantly, it was thanks to the auxiliary effect of the Unlimited Power pendant around my neck.
“Resound! Thunderlight!”
As the short spellcasting ended, the wind mana generated from my body began to envelop the entire castle.
Dark clouds gathered even though it was broad daylight.
A cool breeze, unseasonal for spring, brushed against my cheeks.
The calm before the storm.
Whether I’m weak or you’re weak will only be revealed by the results.
Rumble—
Perhaps sensing the sudden change in weather, one of the soldiers looking up noticed me perched on the bell tower.
“The bell tower! The assassin is hiding on the bell tower!”
The information spread quickly.
Soldiers searching every corner of the royal castle began to gather toward the bell tower where I stood.
“Fire arrows!”
At someone’s command, archers rushed in and shot arrows at me, but the tower was too tall for them to reach.
Some soldiers started climbing the internal stairs of the bell tower, but it would take them a while to get up.
By the time quite a few soldiers had gathered like ants, I combined the lightning in my left hand with the wind in my right and muttered.
Wind God Art: Supreme Technique
Dry Branches Storm
Immediately after,
KWAHHHHHHH!!
A sudden downpour began, and fierce winds swept across the ground.
I slightly wiggled my index finger of my left hand, which was charged with current.
KRAAACK!
A bolt of lightning that had been lingering in the sky since long ago struck the ground.
Like a conductor leading an orchestra, I began manipulating the storm by wildly waving my hands.
“Hold on! Grab onto anything and endure until the storm passes!”
It was obvious that the soldiers on the ground were thrown into confusion.
With the roaring wind drowning out all sounds, communication between them became difficult.
The strong gales made it hard for the soldiers beneath the bell tower to stand still, and they tumbled around.
Those drenched by the sudden rain were struck by lightning, foaming at the mouth and collapsing like dominoes.
While I was enjoying the suffering of the kingdom’s army from above, manipulating the weather at will, a knight finally reached the top of the stairs, gasping for breath and pointing his sword at me.
“That’s far enough!”
“Hm?”
Had he come running faster than anyone else? He looked exhausted just standing there.
“Surrender peacefully, and there won’t be unnecessary bloodshed!”
Finding the sight of the knight, who looked like he’d collapse if I pushed him over, amusing, I crossed my arms and asked.
“So, what crime am I supposed to have committed?”
The knight hesitated for a moment, then began counting off on his fingers.
“Assassination of the king, destruction of property, impersonating a hero, among others!”
“Ah. King Slayer.”
Not a bad title.
It seemed someone thought I was impersonating Mage Caldlasth, who was honestly part of the hero party.
Thinking I might be able to use this situation to my advantage, I pulled out a wooden mask from my robes, put it on, and deepened my voice for dramatic effect.
“Hmph, so you’ve noticed I’m not Mage Caldlasth. That’s right! I am the commander of the Demon King’s foreign legion, Elder Lich Partarth!”
“Of course! You’re a pawn of the Demon King’s army!”
The knight wore an expression of anger as if he had expected this.
“How dare you insult the fallen hero and his comrades?! Even if the heavens forgive you, I never will!”
Seeing the knight continue to deliver lines trying to sound impressive despite being unable to protect himself, I gave him a moment to grasp reality.
“With just a single gesture from me, I could turn someone like you into dust. Why should I surrender?”
“Grrr! Fight me honorably with a sword!”
…Why?
Looking at the knight who seemed lacking in some way, I pitied him and recalled how many modern knights these days couldn’t even read.
Ah, well, guess there’s nothing I can do.
“Sir Michael! Sir Michael has captured the assassin!”
While playing along with him, it seemed the other soldiers were almost at the top of the tower, so I jumped off the bell tower.
“You fool! He chose suicide!”
As the knight, called Sir Michael by the soldiers, ran towards me in shock, my body had already been falling freely for a long time.
Making eye contact with him, I flipped him off and activated the Wind Bone technique.
My body naturally soared into the sky.
Watching the knight’s dumbfounded face, I leisurely flew over the castle wall.
[[#]]
Thien La Di Mang (Heavenly Net).
A term commonly used in martial arts novels.
It doesn’t mean a net formed by a thousand people surrounding the enemy, but rather a four-character idiom referring to a net covering the heavens and the earth.
No matter how elusive I may be, escaping from the capital, where the entire First Division and the Royal Guards were lurking, would be challenging.
Flying through the sky would make me an easy target for military mages and archers.
That’s why we had planned ahead.
After assassinating King Oscar and escaping from the royal palace, the other two would create disturbances in different locations.
I had already signaled them with a spectacular fireworks display, so they would start moving soon.
To evade the soldiers hunting me with fiery eyes, I hid in a barn.
Seeing a massive pillar of flame rising into the sky from afar, clearly Dorothea’s doing, I climbed onto Goldrun’s back.
Unlike Dorothea, who fought flamboyantly, Barnett, being a swordsman, wouldn’t make her presence known from a distance.
Estimating the timing roughly, I tried opening the barn door to leave when I couldn’t help but be surprised.
KWAHHHHHHHANG!
An enormous sword slash appeared on the southern section of the castle wall, assigned to Barnett.
…Could Barnett possibly be the strongest among the three of us?
