Marcus finally lifted his head and surveyed his surroundings.
“Break through!”
“Surround them!”
“Advance, only advance!”
Gremoryus’s Golden Knights and Purioaito’s Sky Knights were retreating, while the eastern knights bearing the White Shark flag were targeting his flagship. The royal family and the central knights were steadily pressing them, albeit slowly.
‘Since when?’
The northern duke sent a chilling wind from the city wall to pressure him, and lightning flashed from the high clouds above, threatening him.
Alliances were fracturing, and enemies were multiplying.
And the one who had summoned all those enemies was the Bandit Duke before him.
Valenciaunos laughed refreshingly.
Sweeping back his white hair, stained with blood oozing from his temple, he said, “You know, Marcus. The most dangerous time is when you think you’re winning.”
“Valenciaunos.”
“Cariosa probably thinks she already has me half in her grasp. If I suggested sharing, she’d have a fit. Seberik could never bear to be seen abandoning someone for his own benefit in light of his nature and the northern situation.”
“Right now, right now let me!”
“The Church has exhausted all its strength in passing the legislation, and now that it’s passed, they have no reason to see you. Other great lords will think the same when they see the Church fall away. With the Church gone, what can we possibly gain by sticking around? It’s better to bow down and attach ourselves to the royal family.”
Valenciaunos wielded a massive sword originally used by mechanical knights, his dark-red scaled hand gripping it.
The sword glowed warmly, encased in flames of incantation and a golden mana blade.
The tents had completely caught fire, raining down embers, and amidst the chaos, both allies and enemies were screaming and scattering, leaving only the flags fluttering.
The most dangerous great lord in the west, Ironblood Party leader Marcus felt a sense of dread.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
Valenciaunos’s gaze was not that of a reckless royal but one befitting the emperor’s executioner.
In his eyes, gleaming with flames, there was no hint of madness.
“I’ve seen a lot over the years. I learned how the citizens of desolate territories ravaged by war make their choices, and how they must bleed both blood and gold to suppress it. But Marcus, you’re too smart.”
The mechanical knights faced with his dreadful spirit instinctively took a step back.
“Your cannon isn’t a weapon meant for powerful knights but for shooting down numbers of conscripts or mercenaries. No matter which kingdom you invade, it’s the lower classes, not the high-born, who will spill the most blood.”
“It’s disgusting when someone who knows that says it.”
“Yeah. I know. You’re trying to eliminate the problem before it even begins, aren’t you?”
Valenciaunos asked impassively, and Marcus nodded calmly, as if asking what the matter was.
“I had my own measures in place to respond to the surge of infiltrators, but I see that it doesn’t please you. Since when did the royal family care for the lives of such people?”
Valenciaunos stared directly at him, as if reproaching.
“I intend to start caring from now on. After all, I’ve learned that you reap what you sow.”
“That’s not a fitting remark for the infamous Bandit, Crown Prince Valenciaunos.”
“But it might suit Jeilliris.”
‘Her reign is just beginning.’
Suppressing his true thoughts, Valenciaunos let the sword hang limply in his grip.
“I can’t allow a great lord who thinks of amassing wealth through a preemptive large-scale plunder when her reign is just about to begin.”
Despite his words, the motion of letting the sword droop prompted frowns from both the mechanical knights and Marcus.
“What are you thinking?”
Valenciaunos trembled slightly as he spoke with his scaled hand.
“The great lord, you see—”
“Valenciaunos?”
“You’re smart enough to be spared, and smart enough to be killed.”
That was the reason Valenciaunos had been mulling over.
Marcus smoothly responded with a grin, playing along with his words.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“His Majesty also desires a unit that can handle high-quality magic tools like cannons and magic armor.”
“Your tongue is long.”
“Then allow me to propose as the great duke of the empire.”
“I’ll hear you out.”
“Devote your territory to the royal family and live as a court noble receiving a pension. I’ll assign you a place in the royal magic guild.”
“!”
Cracks began to form on Marcus’s face.
His two eyes, subtly different in color, turned in opposite directions.
Valenciaunos felt his heart thumping violently as he gazed at Marcus.
He was a talent capable of leading the study and industry of magic engineering.
Killing such a talent, one that appeared once every hundred or a thousand years, was a loss for the royal family.
But regardless of how capable he was, they could not allow a madman, who might invade neighboring territories or plunder his own, to remain as a great lord.
After deep contemplation, his conclusion was to separate Marcus from the great lord status.
“I’ll calculate the value of your territory properly based on its development status. Naturally, the mines and large workshops you’ve developed can be settled separately.”
“Hah, haha.”
“If you’d like, I can also promote you.”
“Are you serious? You want me to sell my kingdom, my home?”
“You’re an illegitimate child. Don’t pretend to be an esteemed great noble.”
The mechanical knights, having insulted their lord twice, pointed their swords at Valenciaunos.
Feigning exaggerated surprise, Valenciaunos raised both hands and grinned, continuing, “You don’t have much attachment to that land anyway, do you? It must be hard to cling to a place where all your parents, relatives, and siblings are dead, and you don’t know a single soul.”
The first mechanical knight thought to himself.
Duke Valenciaunos truly possessed the tongue of a devil and the slippery tongue of a serpent.
“Come up here. Let’s strike a massive deal with Gremoryus for high-quality metals and ores. I’ll also facilitate exchanges with the Ivory Tower. Gather those who are obsessed with academia and magic, no—those who are passionate, and let’s live joyfully.”
Valenciaunos plunged the sword he held in his right hand into the ground and extended his left hand.
“I’ll let the knights continue as a guard unit. In truth, each knight-level force is a subject of negotiation. Oh, and naturally, your apprentices will remain as they are.”
Though still covered in scales, his gesture was polite.
For a moment, the mechanical knight thought Marcus might grasp that hand.
The most dangerous great lord in the west had covered his face with a steel prosthetic.
Then, after a moment of silence, he broke it himself.
“What happens if I refuse?”
A purple aura wafted softly from the Estoc.
Seeing this, Valenciaunos smiled like an ancient demon tempting man and shouted, “Do you think I’d let you refuse after saying this much?!”
Wham!
In the next moment, the horn that had jut outward from his temple elongated like a goat’s and twisted around.
The first mechanical knight briefly pondered whether he should shield Marcus or charge at Valenciaunos.
In that fleeting moment, Valenciaunos recited the incantation.
“Arise, following flame.”
All the flames blazing around the united noble camp converged towards Valenciaunos.
Flurr!
It was as if thousands of hellhounds were racing across the wasteland.
The mechanical knights gritted their teeth, surrounding Marcus.
The scaled Crown Prince laughed amidst the flames compressed to their extreme.
Crash!
He clenched the hand he had extended for a handshake into a fist.
The golden incantation’s energy guided the flames and a huge explosion enveloped the camp.
Flurr!
The colorful emblems and fluttering flags all blazed fiercely and were consumed.
Red haze skimmed the ground, while mushroom-like black smoke soared into the sky.
“The world. The world.”
I tore at the half-tattered sleeve of my uniform and dragged the unconscious Marcus by the nape of his collar, walking through the old campsite, now choked with white and black ash.
My body hadn’t been burned, but my clothes were charred, the melted gold decoration clinging to me and crackling as it hardened.
The chaos of the area had nearly subsided.
The Golden Knights, Sky Knights, and eastern knights had all departed, while the central knights led by Helena were methodically surrounding us from a distance. The remaining allied forces of Marcus were beholden to who had captured their leader.
Marcus’s aide looked back and forth at me and his master with an expression of utter loss.
I quietly applauded his loyalty for not fleeing even upon seeing this sight and said, “There will be a boy with white hair and red eyes within the Nibelungen. Bring him to me.”
The aide hesitated and asked, “Then will you spare his Excellency?”
I nodded.
After all the trouble to capture him, I had no intention of killing him.
No, if someone wanted to kill him, I would have to protect him.
Marcus’s aide entered a wondrous airship that had survived the ambush of the eastern shark pack and soon returned with a boy whose face was covered with a sack and bound in magic handcuffs.
“Here he is.”
I briefly lifted the sack to see the boy’s face and confirmed he indeed radiated the aura of the ancient.
I suspected they might have used some magic on him.
“Yes. It’s certain.”
“Then now—”
The aide cast a gaze at me, as if expecting something in return.
His eyes were pointed toward Marcus, whom I held in my right hand.
“I will go in.”
As I took the lead, cracks formed on the aide’s face.
He seemed poised to ask what nonsense that was.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I said I would spare him. I never said I’d return him.”
Honestly, this was absurd.
But when said by a duke, absurdity holds weight.
I had not intentionally induced misunderstanding from the beginning.
I abhor lies.
…Perhaps.
“Hah?”
The aide raised one hand in disbelief.
Behind him stood the remaining military tents unaffected by the explosion, where loyal elite soldiers were glaring at the unfolding events.
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
They were all clad in brown armor embellished with silver, which housed magical tools tailored to the muscle structure, effectively enhancing the user’s strength.
At their waists were cannons, and in their left hands, they held gauntlets inscribed with attack spells while wielding magical swords in their right.
There were easily thirty of them, and I had two burdens I needed to protect.
This is going to be tough.
But at that moment of grit, a familiar sound of gunfire echoed down from the sky.
“Lord Valen!”
“Your Highness!”
Rudi? Lady Trentia?
I hurriedly raised my head.
A dark-red wyvern was soaring higher than the swirling ash.
Lady Trentia, wearing a platinum helmet and waving a red ribbon, directed the wyvern, with Rudi seated behind her.
She wore glasses and had green eyes that sparkled against the blue sky as she smiled brightly.
Rudi clutched Lady Trentia’s waist with one hand, leaning down while pulling the trigger with the other on the cannon.
“My goodness.”
It was a breathtaking performance.
Boom!
The double-barreled cannon Kaspa erupted, and Marcus’s aide dove to the ground in a panic.
“Fire, fire!”
Some fired at me, while most aimed their cannons at Rudi and Lady Trentia.
Even I could see Lady Trentia performing marvelous aerial acrobatics, evading the shots, while Rudi displayed remarkable skill even amidst the chaos.
“Not a fake!”
Her unusually resolute voice rang out as she smoothly reloaded her cannon after discarding the spent shell, twirling it in the process.
In her green eyes behind the glasses, a red gleam flickered.
Boom!
Kaspa erupted with pellets.
“Ahhhh!”
“Cough!”
The elite soldiers of Instrumetum screamed as they crashed to the ground.
Their armor was also high-quality, and although falling from the sky reduced its lethality, it was enough to temporarily incapacitate them.
Seizing that opportunity, I dashed toward the city gates while Rudi and Lady Trentia lowered their altitude and leaped off the wyvern to run toward me.
“Your Highness!”
Lady Trentia called out urgently.
I smiled, feeling as if I might faint from the rush of emotions.
“You came just in time, Lady.”
