Chapter 47
Regardless of his situation, the conquest of the Eastern Kingdom continued smoothly.
The imperial army advanced further and further into the heart of the kingdom.
When they approached its capital, the most powerful wizards and knights were sent, but this did not matter to Victor.
He could no longer be affected by illusion magic.
He's already lost his mind.
The Grand Duke, who could ignore magic, became a nightmare for the Eastern Kingdom.
Since the number of soldiers he killed exceeded a few hundred, the enemy began to flee as soon as they saw the Black Lion Badge.
However, the Eastern Kingdom did not surrender.
They condemned imperial aggression and resisted to the bitter end.
The imperial army closed the castle, destroying their lands one by one.
After months of continuous attack, the only city remaining was Narandë.
“It is not difficult to attack Narandi.” It is located on a wide plain, surrounded by the Black Mountains. "That would be good for the siege."
"The problem is that there are wizards out there who are much stronger than others."
His employees' words went in one ear and out the other.
He was too tired to focus on anything.
His staff continued to talk, occasionally glancing at the Grand Duke, who had become fierce and gloomy lately.
“The Queen of the Eastern Kingdom is a fearsome witch, Your Highness. It is said that she is able to shoot down a fireball or summon a rainstorm with a single gesture.”
"Okay."
Victor stood quietly. He could feel the people around him shrinking.
The Grand Duke bowed his head towards the large map they used for planning.
“Put our cavalry on the left and right, put the infantry in the middle, and draw attention with a catapult. Quickly approach the castle wall with the knights. I'll take the lead."
"But wouldn't that be too dangerous...?"
Victor looked up expressionlessly.
“You know no one but me can hack it, right?” It is a battle that could end this war. "It's normal to do anything."
They finally nodded.
A detailed strategy was drawn up and the meeting concluded. Victor came out of the command tent. Creepy gossip can be heard throughout the camp.
“Think about it, Karls said there are rumors going around.”
“That I am a man-eating monster, or a dragon that only wakes up at night.”
The leadership threatened to punish false rumors about the Commander-in-Chief with military law, but in the end, they could not do anything.
Victor didn't care.
Given his condition, it was best for no one to approach him.
Of course, his knights didn't care about the rumors.
They always welcomed their master when he returned.
"Are you back, my lord?"
"Do you want some beer?"
Victor rejected the cup offered to him and walked to the fire.
They quickly crowded around him.
Victor spoke briefly.
“We will attack Narandi tomorrow.”
The knights exchanged tense glances.
Even more so because they saw the power of the Eastern Kingdom.
The Southern Kingdom was peaceful so there were almost no soldiers, but the Eastern Kingdom was the opposite.
If it weren't for Victor, the Morte Knights would have suffered significant damage.
“Are we in the lead?”
"Yes." To be precise, I-"
Victor cut off what he was trying to say.
"Carls agreed. I won't hear any objections."
Leonard bit his lip.
He didn't seem convinced, but he was a knight, and knights did not disobey their masters.
Raul joked with Radan, trying to lift the sour mood.
“Well, tomorrow we will meet one of the most powerful women on the continent. She is the Witch Queen of the Eastern Kingdom... Are you looking forward to it?”
"She's the best of them all... who else is there?"
“A few like Mercenary King Yagi.”
"Yaji woman?"
The knights quickly changed the subject.
Perhaps to forget the tension of war, they began to gossip.
Jane spoke from Schiffer, who has been touring the continent for over 5 years.
“The women of the Southern Kingdom are amazingly beautiful, the women of the Eastern Kingdom can use magic but still, the strongest are probably the women of the Northern Kingdom.”
“If it's the Northern Kingdom, isn't it just a 'kingdom'?
“Oh, right. That's what the imperial people call it, isn't it?”
Jin shrugged.
The Northern Kingdom had been a vassal of the empire for a very long time, so the imperial people simply called it “the kingdom” for a short time.
Jane continued.
“The kingdom is frighteningly barren. The capital is a little better, but the further north you go, the stronger the monsters become so there are a lot of women there who use weapons well.”
"If so, are they stronger than Yagi?"
"Okay..."
Jin laughed lightly.
“No one knows what is hiding in the Black Mountains, right? There might even be monsters among the people. In fact, it is said that the strongest knight in the kingdom is a woman.”
"It's kind of scary."
“Imagine it's a woman, but as strong as His Highness...”
The knights looked at their master and shuddered, imagining the strongest male and female knight together in one place.
Victor scolded him playfully.
He didn't stop them because this was a topic he was interested in.
Strong woman.
Someone who could subdue him and let him rest, rather than crumble under his sword.
She was the person he was looking for.
"Maybe we can meet soon."
The Grand Duke was lost in thought.
He was going to fight the strongest wizard on the continent tomorrow.
According to their information, the Queen possessed magic that could burn hundreds of knights in an instant.
Victor rubbed the hilt of his sword in unpleasant anticipation.
***
The battle began early in the morning.
As the imperial soldiers advanced towards the castle, arrows flew from the wall.
The cavalry split and quickly approached the front line, while the infantry blocked the arrows with their shields.
At that moment, he felt heat above his head.
“Everyone, scatter!!”
A huge fireball hit the ground, and the knights were thrown everywhere.
Victor calmed his startled horse and looked up at the sky.
It was a strange sight.
The fireballs were pouring down like rain.
Shouts erupted from all directions, and the soldiers scattered, unable to maintain the formation.
However, the Morte Knights predicted this.
They marched proudly to the sound of their leader's trumpet.
Victor led his knights on horseback.
Upon spotting the Black Lion insignia, the enemy soldiers screamed.
"Deathwalker!"
Victor stepped forward, cutting his enemies like paper.
Lightning began to fall from the sky, but the Grand Duke scaled the wall without hesitation.
Neither stocks nor people can defeat him.
He killed wizards, knights, and archers alike, paving the way for his allies.
His sense of smell was paralyzed by the bitter iron smell of blood.
The endless screams around him were like a dream.
And so... The Grand Duke met the Queen of the Eastern Kingdom.
The queen was not on the wall, but below it, in a small prayer room with an unusual number of guards.
The Grand Duke killed all the soldiers and entered.
It was strangely quiet inside.
A huge magic circle was drawn on the ground.
Ancient characters were written around the edge, burned black.
The woman standing in the middle slowly turned her head.
Like Victor, the Queen knew immediately who he was.
“Unfortunately, death follows.”
Bishr laughed.
“I expected the winner’s smug face, but Victor, why do you want to die?”
The Grand Duke stared at her without answering.
She must have used some kind of magic
. It was as if she could read his mind.
The Queen gave a crooked smile.
“I don't have the courage to stab you in the heart, so I want to use someone else's knife. You are too strong to kill.”
The Grand Duke finally opened his mouth.
"Then what should I do?"
"You have destroyed my country and are asking me for an answer?"
"Your people killed my family."
"Ha-ha-ha!"
The queen suddenly laughed loudly.
"It's ridiculous, Knight. You've already killed many of my people in the name of revenge. Do you want to rest after committing such a sin? You keep getting uglier."
The Queen raised her finger and pointed at the Grand Duke.
“I'm done, but there's still something I can do.”
Beautiful copper hair fluttered around her, framing her elaborate crown perfectly.
"Your dreams will never end. When you leave the battlefield, you will not be able to be hit by poison, magic, weapons, or even your sword, even if you desperately want to be."
The Grand Duke opened his eyes wide.
She used cursed magic that very few wizards dared to think about.
Regardless of the wizard's life or death, the curses had a different duration depending on the wizard's power level.
Powerful wizards' curses often remained for a few years.
Then the queen's magic...
The queen laughed.
"You can't die. This is my revenge."
As soon as the queen finished speaking, the knights ran through the door.
They found the queen and raised their swords, but the queen obediently held out her hands.
The knights were alert and bound her wrists.
Victor stared at her blankly.
His revenge was over, and the throne of the Eastern Kingdom fell into his hands.
But he didn't feel anything.
It was all in vain.
He was suffocating.
***
• End of chapter •
To be continued •••
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