Chapter . 108
Even though he bled, he didn't twitch an eyebrow, but the surroundings went into chaos.
“Of course it's an artifact. Isn't that an expensive Roncer-made artifact?”
Alexander said as he held up the iron ball to a mage.
“Cast search magic. They are not far. Everyone exert yourselves! The tedious chase is over and battle awaits us soon!”
“He's right.”
Michelon got excited along with him.
“Yes, so there is no time.”
It was true, so there was no time.
I drew a defensive shield around Alexander just big enough for him alone to stand. And formed an iron maiden.
An iron maiden made of ice rose around Alexander. Overwhelming him from all sides with ice spikes.
“Defensive shield! The Marquis is in danger!”
“Wait! I will break it!”
Michelon asked from the side.
“Can he break your magic?”
“We have to see to know. Well, Alexander is probably trying because he's curious if he can do it too. Since he's a guy with needless curiosity.”
“Aren't you also curious?”
“I am merely grasping the enemy's methods.”
“Aha, sorry for not knowing?”
“It's fine since you know now.”
While we watched, Alexander loaded aura onto his sword and shattered the ice into pieces with force.
“Oh, looks easy?”
As I admired, Michelon, who learned from Alexander, sighed and explained.
“Easier said than done. Magic is a more sophisticated mana system than aura. To break magic with aura, you must concentrate aura on the weak gap of the magic and pierce it in one go. It won't work if either aura or swordsmanship is weak, or if the two aren't harmonious enough. Above all, if you don't pierce it at once, that harmony breaks instead. Bouncing back against the magic.”
“Hmm, I only thought it would be like that, but you confirm it for me.”
“You also thought so?”
“So I put a gap in the magic that Alexander would recognize immediately.”
Although anyone below a Sword Master wouldn't grasp it.
“What do you mean—”
“Ack! Marquis!”
People screamed. It seemed the ice iron maiden trapping Alexander was shattering, but the next moment, it formed again with fire and started blazing.
“Fire is a bit harder. Since it burns, the form isn't as solid as before, so aiming for a gap isn't easy either. To avoid burning together, you have to swing and swing with force. Mana consumption will be great.”
As I said, Alexander started swinging his sword madly. It was speed like the wind. His mages intervened again, but the moment their magic touched, the iron maiden doubled in height and volume.
“Aaaah!”
“Aack!”
Mages screamed as their bodies were pierced in various parts by fire spikes. Since the ones who should cast healing magic were burning, the knights panicked and knocked them down to roll them on the ground to extinguish the fire on their bodies. However, even if it looked like mere blazing flames on the outside, spikes were spikes, only digging deeper.
“…Did you add the mana absorption formula of the Throne Magic Circle there too?”
“Yeah, but I don't do it every time. I don't use it when I'm curious how the enemy will respond. This time there are many things I want to see.”
I hadn't stolen Alexander's mana yet to observe. When he exerted aura while gritting his teeth, it was truly spectacular. I just stared blankly, but Michelon had flames in his eyes.
“Look at that, he is constructing a defensive shield with aura now, as if trying to strike down the fire with something like a shield. Sharpening the aura more through mental image realization.”
“You see faster than me.”
Like that, Alexander finally destroyed even the burning iron maiden.
Although earth magic arose the moment he destroyed it. Since the iron maiden I reinforced was showcasing elemental magic in turns, breaking one only led to another. If dismantling was easy, it wouldn't be fusion.
Frustration flashed in Alexander's eyes.
“Aack! The Marquis will be buried alive!”
Surrounding Alexander from all sides, tightening, laying him down, and burying him—
“Fine, let's go to the end! You bastards!”
Alexander stuck his sword into the ground indignantly. With the aura he concentrated on the ground, the earth began to shake. The iron maiden grew larger, but he faced it without fear.
“Oh, what is he trying to do.”
Both Michelon and I were excited. But at that moment, my brother and the Duke's party arrived. Although not a single horse was seen anymore and their numbers had decreased significantly, they still had the capacity to fight like the largest group.
“Here it is, Your Highness! The same magic was detected here!”
“How dare this damn bastard son attack a Prince! Attack!”
As Maximilian shouted, drew his sword, and ran, Grimiati stood on his right and Reinhard on his left. The surviving knights followed behind. Mages, more exhausted than them, began casting defensive shields from the rear.
“Damn it!”
Alexander poured out curses. He, the commander, was trapped in my private prison, and although his knights soon stepped up for defense, his mages, fewest in number, were in a state unable to fight.
“Is Desmond not here yet?”
Michelon said frustratingly.
“Maybe he has a different opinion from his uncle. Since he's the youngest.”
“I'll bring him.”
“Yeah, he is close.”
I sent Michelon and released Alexander. Pretending on the surface that Alexander succeeded in breaking it.
“The Marquis broke the magic!”
“The Marquis did it!”
The knights, who had to block the attacking First Prince Faction without the Sword Master's command or mages' help, shouted in joy. But Alexander's face was not entirely clear. Anyway, a brother with off-puttingly quick intuition.
“How dare you attack me!”
“That's my line!”
However, he faced Maximilian with anger not inferior to his. They were about to fight right away. If Desmond, lured by Michelon, hadn't appeared. His subordinates' numbers were also greatly reduced, but it seemed Desmond's anger or morale soared higher because of it.
“You bastards betraying me and Mother, I won't forgive you! Neither the First Prince nor you bastard son!”
Desmond, seeing Michelon's armor and deeming him Alexander's knight, was particularly angry at Alexander.
Considering it betrayal when a brother not even allied defies him was exactly like Maximilian. Shouldn't they be the real brothers? They should become sworn brothers at least.
In an instant, the three factions pounced on each other.
Among the knights, the Sword Master was certainly the strongest, but there were too many mages.
While the mages in the rear countered his attacks with defensive shields and attack magic, and the Sword Master blocked the mages' attacks, the knights clashed.
Everyone was fierce, but since the First Prince Faction, the most powerful, had the most casualties due to the longest battle, the power was subtly similar, so the outcome wouldn't be easily decided. Moreover, Michelon went around beating up the First Prince Faction, Empress Faction, and Illegitimate Prince Faction alike.
“Screech!”
To the point that no one noticed the hawk appearing in the sky.
“No need to come all the way here. I explained beforehand that vision sharing is possible even from afar.”
But Harald was on my shoulder at some point. My hand went up automatically to stroke its feathers, and I looked into the hawk's red eyes.
Below where my proclamation hung, bastards from all over the world were surrounding Montova Castle. It was full of bush knights who hid in bushes and jumped out to rob. Their subordinates, thieves with a hand or ear cut off as punishment, pimps who even brought prostitutes, peasants wearing dented pots instead of armor; guys burning with greed to grab a share at this opportunity surrounded my castle and were shouting angrily.
-Open the gates!
-Let us in immediately, we came to save the Prince!
-We came all this way to help, you should at least give us food!
-Give us money for activities so we can find the Prince!
Originally, one needed a pass to enter a castle, and even for residents of the same territory, it was hard for residents outside the castle to become residents inside, so it was even more exclusive to outsiders. So crowds trying to push into the castle using excuses like the Imperial command were flocking in.
The three factions were in a hurry to find me first, so even if they got angry about killing Montova or whatever, they went to Mount Petrafis first. But these guys prioritized squatting in my castle claiming to have come to find me, and ruining my territory with theft and looting.
‘Is receiving a territory from the Empress such an offensive thing?’
I had prepared myself, but the punishment my Royal Father decided to inflict was severe.
To find me who disappeared, sending my brothers or the Emperor Faction would have been enough. That would have been more effective. Yet, to issue an Imperial command allowing everyone in the country to flock to my territory.
Since it's early, only those nearby arrived first so the number is relatively small, but it will increase like a swarm of ants as time goes by.
Count Montova and Sir Rolf looked down from the castle wall with serious faces and talked.
-I want to pour arrows on those bastards.
-Let us endure, until Your Highness returns.
When Count Montova got angry, Sir Rolf stopped him.
-Actually, I prefer boiling oil. Frying bastards not even worth crossing swords with until golden brown while alive sounds good and looks good too.
-Ah, your taste is truly respectable. Fire arrows go well with oil.
My two subordinates were enduring well encouraging each other with warm conversation, but everyone inside the castle had terrified faces. Because they didn't know what that mob of robbers would do to the homes and farmlands they left behind.
“It was urgent news indeed. Well done, Harald. Thank you.”
As I stroked the hawk's head, the hawk pecked my palm painlessly and purred. After sending the hawk to another place this time, I looked for Michelon.
After my friend, busy beating everyone up in the melee, knocked down his current opponent, I cast invisibility magic, went to Michelon, and teleported to Montova Castle together.
As soon as we moved to my room, Michelon got angry.
“Ah, why interrupt when I was fighting so fun? I was winning!”
“I just shot a small fireball unnoticed, so beat them up next time we meet. Let them fight among themselves. My castle is besieged right now.”
“Oh, does the siege start from now?”
Michelon's eyes sparkled.
“What catapults did they say they brought? They must have ballistas, catapults, and trebuchets equipped, right?”
I wanted to make nonexistent catapults and throw my precious only friend back to the enemies of Petrafis, but I held back fearing he would like it too much.
“Your Highness?”
Just then, Nanette, Yolande, Vincent, and Jerome rushed in opening the door connected to my room. Sensing my appearance.
“I missed you!”
“You are safe!”
The four rushed to hug me, then the adults stepped back and yielded my embrace to Nanette. As I hugged Nanette tightly, the child smiled even while on the verge of tears.
“There is no time. We have much to do.”
At my words, Yolande and Vincent reported that since my brothers couldn't enter my castle, they turned back for the time being but laid spying artifacts at the castle gate before leaving.
“We were about to destroy them immediately, but we are looking for a way so Sir Rolf and Count Montova, who think we are away, won't be surprised.”
“If you destroy them, they will find it suspicious and come running, so leave them be for now.”
After that, I explained the future plan, and while everyone was listening carefully, Nanette said in surprise.