Chapter 186: 185

Chapter 185

The Embers Become Fire Again (1)

Arwen suddenly looked back. The morale of Leonberg’s army had reached sky-high with successive victories. Now the troops, with impatient faces, were riding their horses as if they were being chased. No one spoke in the heavy silence as the entire force hurried on.

The Wyvern Knight had disappeared amid the thundering of hooves over the silent wilderness. He now returned and reported in an urgent tone that the imperial commander-in-chief and his three legions who had crossed the border had returned south. The imperials had faced an unexpected obstacle and had to return to their border fortress, and their target was now the prince’s legion.

It wasn’t just that: The imperial legions that have hidden have appeared all at once. It seemed that their target was also the legion of Leonberg, which was moving north.

“What should we do?” Count Brandenburg asked. The prince looked at the Wyvern Knight and said in a bitter voice, “This is the only chance we’ll get, while the enemy’s encirclement has gaps.”

“We Knights of the Sky will lead the way.” The Wyvern Knight soared high into the sky after he had appointed himself as guide to the allied forces.

“Go.”

Everyone rode on at a maddening pace from then on, resting only if the Wyvern Knight disappeared from view to scout the surroundings. Horses and riders both quickly tired. The martial spirit that had risen after the last four great victories plummeted and the suppressed fatigue came out all at once.

“Well, if anyone sees us, I think we’ll be the losers.”

The prince felt the atmosphere among the men and laughed brightly, beseeching the knights and soldiers, “How can you northerners have such heavy hearts after going out on a pleasant horseback excursion?”

“It was pretty hot for a vacationing tour,” Balahard’s senior rangers piped up pleasantly, matching the beat of the prince’s mirth. The atmosphere became lighter, and Count Brandenburg, master of the Iron Hawk Archers, asked the first prince whether he was encouraged by such an atmosphere. “The royal capital will be okay, right?” the count then asked.

The air of elation that had risen now quickly sank. Count Brandenburg regretted his frivolous statement, but he had already spilled the water from the pot.

The first prince looked around as he studied the subdued atmosphere and replied, “Even though the main force under the command of his Majesty has marched away, there are still a thousand elite soldiers of the capital garrison and the central army in the city. There are dozens of palace knights, who are said to be the best in the kingdom, and a hundred of the capital’s knights. The Templars are two days away, and they will come to the rescue. There is no way that our forces in the capital won’t last till then.”

It was a very reasonable statement because the capital’s defensive strategy was that the Templar Castle troops were to intercept the approaching enemy first.

Even if something went wrong and the enemy reached the capital by avoiding the Templars, the capital garrison and central army could buy time until the troops from the Templar Castle reached the city.

“The capital will never be pierced unless the enemy has mobilized at least three legions.”

The kingdom has strengthened its borders immediately after the imperial declaration of war. The Southern Legion was not so incompetent as to fail to detect large-scale movement by imperial legions.

“The purpose of the empire will be the assassination of the king, or at least to shake our soldiers on the front by making the rear unstable. Either way, they will not achieve their purpose.”

The words of the first prince were valid and rational in every way. Nevertheless, Arwen was unable to shake off her anxiety, and she later realized why she could not get rid of her nervousness. The first prince’s expression was engraved in her eyes: The slight stiffness of his face; he didn’t seem as comfortable as he usually did. And this expression was held by a prince who never lost his composure, even in the midst of battle. Arwen became even more nervous as she realized this, but she was the only one who noticed such signs. Others were swaying their heads along, their faces showing that they were reassured by what the prince said.

Arwen tried to control the features of her own face, as there was no need to create a disturbance through undue speculation. And if her guesses proved correct, there was no good to be had in the current situation, so she kept her mouth shut.

The Wyvern Knight was seen in the sky again after he had disappeared to explore the area.

The short break was over, and the troops began moving once more, crossing the border. They only had a day’s ride before reaching the Gifted Lion Citadel.

‘Kyee eeh eeh!’ the wyvern suddenly cried out in warning as it flew on ahead. Then it flew in two wide circles over a single spot. It was a signal meaning that two enemy legions were ahead.

“We’re going through as is,” the prince ordered, choosing to break through rather than retreat. He reasoned that it would be foolish to turn the horses around and avoid battle if the encirclement was already so narrow. There were no objections, and the general anxiety diminished. Still, the knights were quite exhausted and wanted to reach the citadel as soon as possible.

“I will stand with the vanguard,” the prince said as he drew his sword and took the lead. The Black Lancers and Knights of the North lined up behind him.

“Do not fall from your horses! Especially you, rangers – your horsemanship has definitely not improved with time.”

Nervous soldiers laughed when they saw the ranger’s pouting at the prince’s unexpected criticism.

“If you aren’t sure of yourself, just hang on and focus on riding. Our goal is to break through, not to annihilate.”

The rangers replied that they would hold on for their dear lives. Once more, the soldiers and knights burst into laughter. The troops reached the hills in the meantime, and again the signal came from the Wyvern Knight, saying that there were two enemy legions.

“So- Let’s go,” the prince said and lowered his helm’s visor, ‘Cheolkup.’

The horses began to trot to the front, and Arwen also lowered her visor as she controlled her breathing. It had been a relaxing trot at first; now, the vibrations that ran through her lower back gradually increased and soon become a vigorous vertical movement as the horses entered a canter.

‘Dudududududu~’ the sound of hoofbeats shook the earth as it spread through the wilderness. The imperial army only then discovered that Leonberg’s forces had suddenly come up behind the hills, and they sprang into frantic action as they readied their battle formations.

The longspearmen took up the front ranks as they readied their pikes at an angle, awaiting their foes. Immediately behind their lines stood the archers, who were busy moving back and forth as they set up their firing lines. Before long, the angled pikes were formed into tight, narrow lines, before the archers have even knocked their first arrows.

“Charge!” the first prince ordered.

The horses have passed through the hills and started galloping like crazy, and through the thunderous rumble of hoofbeats, the unique keening of the prince’s blade could be heard.

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‘Woow~’ And at the same time, knights began to rotate their rings madly, and the familiar energy wave of war was soon felt. The leading prince kicked his horse into a jump toward the center of the spearmen’s wall, and he slashed out with his sword. The bursting flash of his strike sundered the pikes, and soldiers beyond the spearwall collapsed like wet sorghum in the wind.

Arwen stopped gazing at the prince as she struck down her sword—shining with starlight—and it pierced through the longspearmen like a meteor shower. The golden and pale Aura Blades burst out one instant later as they cleaved through the archers beyond the spearmen.

The imperial troops, unsurprisingly, collapsed without being able to withstand the onslaught. The prince did not maximize the advantage he held in the battle by trampling over as many soldiers as possible or by wheeling his mount around to decimate the collapsed ranks. He merely charged on ahead, scattering those foes that blocked his way.

Arwen also rode after the prince, and Bernardo Eli and Adelia rode by her side as they helped break through the lines and open the way completely.

The first prince was already getting ahead of them.

“…!” A knight in fancy armor blocked the prince’s way, and judging by the brilliant glare emanating from his sword’s edge, he was surely one of those paladins that the empire boasted of.

“…!” the paladin gave an eloquent roar as he thrust his sword out. However, there was no opportunity for him to demonstrate his martial prowess.

The prince’s sword struck out like a whisper, and despite the paladin hearing the sound of the sword heading his way, he could do nothing when the prince, under momentum, cleaved him in two. Even after having split a paladin down the middle with a single strike, the prince did not give a cry of victory.

“Get out of here! We have no time for this!” came the prince’s nervous orders as he continued to crush through foes in quick succession. The imperials began to retreat, overwhelmed by the momentum of the charge, and the prince rode through the path that they opened without looking back.

And when the enemy once more blocked off his front, the prince charged into their ranks as his Aura Blade cleaved through them. The cavalry charge did not slow for a moment. Arwen and the other Sword Masters ranged to the left and right, to the front and rear as they cut down enemies, making sure that their allies did not get isolated as they tried to follow the prince’s rapid breakthrough.

“We have broken through the enemy!” someone shouted at one point. It had taken a short time to charge through two entire legions. However, there was no time to celebrate the remarkable achievement. The prince still rode on, and the knights kicked their horses’ flanks, urging the beasts to follow him. Arwen had been in the rear for a while to take care of the slower riders. She now looked at the imperial army. They did not even think of reforming their collapsed ranks. Instead, they were staring at their disappearing foes in despair. They had been thrown into complete disarray by the insane breakthrough.

Arwen watched them for a moment more and then left the battlefield with some rangers who had lagged behind. The entire force was able to reach the Gifted Lion Citadel that evening.

“Good work.” The king personally oversaw the opening of the gates as he greeted the returning force, congratulating them on the spot for their four overwhelming victories and their hard work. There was no official victory parade or non-military proceedings because the war was not over yet. The hospitality of the citadel was modest, considering the returning force’s remarkable achievements.

Still, no one complained, and many noticed that the king’s complexion did not look good at all.

King Lionel had already looked old for his age before due to all his effort spent for the sake of his kingdom. He now looked like a true old man, and by looking at his wrinkled face and sagging skin, it would be hard to believe that he was indeed middle-aged, a man in his forties. The first prince was also surprised to see how the king had aged, so much so that he couldn’t even say thank you when the monarch congratulated him.

King Lionel led them inside.

The prince had asked nothing about the capital up to that point, and the king seemed to have no intention of speaking first in mentioning the news about the royal city. It was as if both royal men were consciously avoiding talking about the capital. However, the city’s security was a major issue, and there was no way to delay discussing it forever.

Arwen took a quiet breath, and when she thought she was prepared, she stepped out cautiously and asked the king, “Your Majesty, is there any news about the capital?”

The prince trembled, and the king looked at her with dry eyes.

“Not yet,” answered King Lionel. Arwen struggled to read him, for he had given a calmer answer than she had expected. If anything major had happened, someone would have already delivered the news. And according to the prince, there was no way that there would be a significant change in the capital.

Arwen had told this to herself many times. After walking with the king for a long time, she suddenly stopped.

“Well?”

Arwen looked up at the sky and saw snowflakes starting to fall in their ones or twos. The king and the prince also stopped and looked up to the sky.

“Is it already winter?” the king asked in a dry voice. Arwen’s gaze shifted to the king’s shoulders as knights who had been watching came over and threw a thick fur cloak over them.

“Please come inside,” the palace knight commander urged, and the king began moving again. However, he could only take a few steps when he stopped and looked at the northern sky. As if feeling the same thing, the prince also stopped and looked into the distance. They frowned as they watched the snowfall getting thicker, with a small dot appearing beyond it.

The dot quickly became a large shadow, and then a wyvern.

Neither the king nor the prince spoke as the wyvern finally touched down in the citadel’s courtyard. From the moment the beast had appeared, it seemed as if both royal men froze.

‘Chik~’ the Prince of Dotrin, whom Arwen had seen several times, leaped from the top of the wyvern and landed in the courtyard. Neither the king, who had always handled Prince Doris as an ally, nor the first prince, who was always happy to see Dotrin’s prince, said anything. Prince Doris also remained silent, as if his lips were glued together.

“Sire,” the Prince of Dotrin started talking after a long time, “currently, the imperial military occupies some of the outer sections of the capital, as well as outlying regions. The knights and soldiers of Leonberg who had marched upon the capital have managed to recapture seventy percent of the outer city. In addition, according to up-to-date information, it is said that most members of your royal family, as well as the heads of military, have escaped safely just before the fall of the capital’s outer walls.”

Prince Doris quieted for a moment after delivering such grave news. When he spoke once more, his voice was beset by terrible grief. “However… It has been confirmed that the queen is not included among those who have safely escaped.”

Doris spoke in a pained voice as if he was forcing his lips open just so that he could squeeze out words that he did not wish to speak.

“I will say it again. Her Majesty the Queen resisted the enemy and attracted their attention until the very end. At the last moment… she cast herself from the wall.”

Arwen’s heart pounded, and it felt as if it fell from her, so terrible was the anguish.

Her face paled as she looked at the prince and the king. The two royal men were expressionless. Both of them looked on with empty eyes.

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