Chapter 167
ly. He looked like a child who had received a gift far beyond his expectations.
“From now on, the real war begins. If the white snake’s poison doesn’t work, then perhaps we may even win this war.”
Lorencia nodded. In this barren battlefield where they had nothing, hope had finally appeared—the hope that they could fight on equal footing, or perhaps even win.
“Then let’s go back, Roa. Everyone is worried.”
“Yes.”
Teishar, Lorencia, and the knights briefly savored the joy of having survived their encounter with the white snake.
That was, until they opened the letter delivered by a messenger pigeon flying in from afar.
Benedict received a report that unidentified monsters were swarming and attacking the main gate of the wall guarding the Polloid Empire’s imperial palace and capital. He immediately issued an emergency evacuation order within the capital.
“Kraaaah!”
As corpses screamed and hurled their bodies against the gate to break it down, the mages unleashed fire magic at them. Fortunately, even as the corpses were struck by fireballs and burned to the ground, it was only for a moment. A fierce wind rose, and monsters of all shapes surged toward the gate like a wave.
“What in the world is this…?”
The knights and mages defending the wall were struck speechless by the horrific sight of the monsters.
“Hold the line, no matter what!”
“Look over there!”
“That is…”
A monster with a massive body easily over five meters tall appeared. Its crimson eyes shone with a terrifying light that made knees tremble just to behold. It leapt powerfully across the ground and slammed its body violently against the gate.
“The wall is cracking!”
Even a wall reinforced with powerful defensive magic began to shake and crack under the relentless, indiscriminate assault.
Mark, the second son of House de Glostern, also took to the wall to defend it. He fired magic with all his strength at the monsters approaching the wall.
“Their numbers aren’t decreasing!”
Monsters continued to pour out from between the trees in the forest.
The real problem came after the monsters at the base of the wall were burned to death by flames. The stench of rotting flesh and burning corpses from monsters climbing up the wall made the defending mages dizzy.
In the end—
“Doliche, get a grip!”
Starting with the young mage Doliche, who collapsed foaming at the mouth, the mages protecting the wall began to fall one by one.
Mark also staggered slightly, feeling dizzy.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
Even covering his nose, the overwhelming stench forced its way in, and Mark shook his head.
Just then, a refreshing breeze blew, and the foul odor diminished somewhat.
“With wind magic, you can deal with a stench like this easily.”
“As expected of Sir Macriken.”
Mark looked at Macriken with eyes full of respect.
“It’s just that I’ve fought in conditions like this before. Hah hah.”
After fighting for quite some time, the monsters began to retreat little by little from the main gate.
“It seems they’re finally pulling back.”
“That would be good, but…”
Watching the retreating monsters, Macriken’s eyes filled with unease.
“A storm always comes in silence. Tell everyone not to let their guard down.”
No sooner had Macriken’s warning fallen than the monsters appeared again—this time in even greater numbers.
“This is troublesome.”
Cold sweat ran down Mark’s back. The knights continued firing arrows, while the mages defended with magic.
As time passed, the mages maintaining the magical defenses began to run out of mana.
The cracks in the wall deepened little by little, and the monsters’ numbers only increased, their attacks growing ever stronger.
“At this rate, the wall might collapse.”
“We need to figure out where those monsters are coming from first.”
Mark chanted a spell and rose into the air. He had to confirm the source of the monsters.
High in the sky, Mark’s blue hair fluttered in the wind. He pulled a transparent crystal orb about the size of a fist from his robes and held it in his hand, gazing into it.
The crystal orb was one of the new magical items recently developed by House de Glostern. It allowed the user to see distant places as clearly as if they were right before their eyes—far beyond what a telescope could show.
From high above, Mark observed the outskirts of the forest beyond the wall through the crystal orb, and his face gradually turned pale.
Monsters were continuously bursting forth from the ground. And behind them stood an army.
It was no ordinary army. They wore armor that only the holy knights of the Temple of the Goddess Ella were permitted to wear.
After informing the knights and mages on the wall of what he had seen, Mark flew toward the imperial palace.
An emergency meeting was convened at the palace based on the information Mark brought back.
“Send a messenger pigeon to Viscount Teishar Spencer, the young lord of House Spencer in the Conrad Mountains.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Your Majesty, you must evacuate with Princess Charlotte.”
“Evacuate now, you say?”
“Yes.”
“I am the master of this imperial palace and the sovereign of the Polloid Empire. Do you dare tell me to flee?”
She rebuked the noble who suggested evacuation with a voice as sharp as a blade.
“I will not flee, but see to it that Charlotte is evacuated.”
“As you command.”
A child was growing in Charlotte’s womb. If she were sent to the Ishter Empire, she would at least be protected—or gain time to flee far away.
It was right for her daughter to evacuate, but she herself was the mother of the Polloid Empire. A mother never abandons her children and runs away. Better to die than to flee.
“I will fight alongside you, prepared for death.”
“Your Majesty…”
Benedict bit his lower lip. He had never imagined that monsters would be created and would suddenly invade the very place where they lived.
“Distribute all the prepared magic scrolls to the knights, and issue the leaves of the Water of Life as well.”
She had already foreseen this situation. That was why Lorencia had asked the Water of Life and obtained so many of its leaves. She felt truly grateful and reassured.
<The white snake’s poison is dangerous—it can kill you even through skin contact, or leave you intoxicated and enchanted. That’s why these leaves of the Water of Life can block it, Your Majesty.>
When she first received the leaves, she had felt relieved, but she had also been told that the leaves of the Water of Life did not permanently block the white snake’s poison.
“We also have the child of the Goddess Ella at our side, so it is not as though all hope is lost. Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Resolved to face death, Benedict felt no fear. She believed that even feeling fear would be a disgrace for a queen.
“I, too, will take part in the battle. Even if we are defeated, I will accept death with dignity as the Queen of the Polloid Empire.”
Her flame-like eyes burned with unyielding resolve, and her expression was set with firm determination.
