Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Crossroads (7)

 

In fact, the preceding conflict claimed the lives of more than 600 warriors. The initial conflict between Princess Julia’s and Prince Aldrick’s soldiers had killed nearly 2,000 people.

 

However, the ratios were not equal. Three troops from the Prince died for every one who died from the Princess. There were other causes and reasons for this, including the quality of the soldiers and the intensity of their training, but the Princess’s own exceptional talent and surprise attack enabled this exchange rate.

 

The prince’s army outnumbered the princess’s by three to four times. That is why they were skilled at fighting on the defensive. They didn’t know how to give up the benefits of the moat, stockade, and outer wall and rush out.

 

If Count Claydos had not heeded the witch’s instructions and promptly blown the retreat bugle, more widows and orphans would have been created. They returned to the fortress with a minimal number of wounded. However, they did not flee without a battle, and Princess Julia returned to the castle, leaving the corpses on the plain.

 

Two more offensives followed, and Princess Julia was successful in her resistance. On the contrary, she increased the casualties in Prince Aldrick’s army. As proof, the bodies of fallen soldiers from both sides were left uncollected on the battlefield.

 

The undertakers descended from the sky on enormous black wings. The eagles and crows interacted like pleasant neighbors. They did not interfere or intervene, and they each concentrated only on their respective jobs.

 

Pieces of flesh and eyeballs slipped down their throats. The scene reflected in their black pupils sans white sclera was one of endless feasts.

 

Princess Julia, with a bandage around her neck, stood in front of a wide window, gazing down at the plain. She was in the tower, a private area designated for her.

 

Behind Princess Julia, there was a desk with a stack of documents and papers. The dry and windy weather of the season was ideal for a wildfire, but there was no fire in her chamber. Instead, an orb of light formed by her magical power floats in the air.

 

Princess Julia, who had been looking at the plain, lowered her attention to the base of the spire.

 

The lord’s residence, positioned within the outside and inner walls, was erected on higher ground. A natural movement in the gaze To see their lord, the city dwellers had to raise their heads, which naturally reminded them of their aching necks and the disparity in rank.

 

People who are constantly aware that the castle is high up rarely raise their heads because they are born knowing that their lives are defined by their parents’ vocations. Instead, they examine the sprouts that need to be sown and the grains that need to be gathered.

 

At the end of November, only a few days before December, all of the grains in the fields had been harvested and converted into military supplies. The carts carrying the supplies were going quickly, and other wagons were passing by, carrying corpses wrapped in white cloth.

 

The wounded groans, which had been piercing Princess Julia’s ears till the day before, had mostly stopped. There was no cause to groan if they were entirely cured, and groaning was impossible if they were dead. She had priests among her army.

 

The Great Church had declared neutrality in the succession dispute between the Prince and Princess. However, it did not mention the priests, who had joined the fight on their own. It was only a silent show of respect for their own choices.

 

Princess Julia sat down in a chair.

 

Creak.

 

While Count Claydos’ army, which he led as commander, was unable to capture Princess Julia and was weakening, she received tales of little civil disturbances occurring throughout the empire.

 

There was positive and negative news. Some regions had been defeated, but other cities had survived and thrived. There was still a week until reinforcements arrived. However, Princess Julia was unsure whether she could withstand tomorrow’s onslaught.

 

Her eyes shifted to the front. She noticed a little open crack in the door.

 

“Did the door open by itself because of the wind, or did an intruder enter without me even noticing?”

 

The ambush occurred at the end of her sentence. Princess Julia felt remorseful as she saw the desk split in half and countless white papers soar into the air.

 

Swoosh!

 

A human figure emerged from the white cloud, thrusting a white sword at Princess Julia’s throat. The sharp swordplay touched the bandage over her neck but missed.

 

Princess Julia’s counterattack started. Her tightly clinched fist struck the intruder’s chest, which had formed from the fog, and the magic force in her fist cut through the fog.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Black blood spilled from the intruder’s mouth, shooting forth as if it had its own will. The intruder was cold and unrelenting, attacking even with the wound he had suffered.

 

The black drops of blood that were flying towards Princess Julia’s uncovered face, which had taken the shape of sharp thorns, fractured into two parts, completing their mission.

 

Princess Julia, who had deflected the onslaught by generating magical force throughout her body, straightened up. The intruder stood in front of her, stumbling.

 

The man, dressed in a flapping white robe, quickly straightened his back and got up.

 

After a little exchange of silence, Princess Julia spoke up.

 

“How is it?”

 

The stranger in white stared at Princess Julia closely before bowing respectfully.

 

“Sakar swears to support Princess Julia.”

 

“It would be meaningless if it were not your leader’s words.”

 

“I am Sakar.”

 

Princess Julia, who had recognized the other party’s identity through the exchange of questions and responses, twitched her forehead.

 

“The leader?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Princess Julia considered the assassin organization, better known as White Death than White Shield, its official name. It was one of the Emperor’s clandestine military troops that moved at his whim, and it was an extraterritorial group that obeyed no orders or requests other than his own.

 

They were orphans who had lost their parents, and they had been trained with magic and medications to lose their individuality and become incredibly submissive.

 

They walked when taught to walk, sprinted when told to run, and sobbed when commanded to cry. They also executed the command to kill someone without hesitation. They were the Emperor’s unseen hand and blade, and they were given the term ‘shield’ to show their loyalty, implying that they could be used as a meat shield if necessary.

 

That group’s leader was such a young man, which surprised her. However, she did not believe that old age was the ultimate indication of experience. Princess Julia instantly set aside her interest and inquired about what she needed to know.

 

“You came here in person, which means you found out who poisoned my father, right?”

 

Sakar responded promptly.

 

“It is Prince Aldrick.”

 

Princess Julia had already guessed, deduced, and was sure, but she closed her eyes tightly as the leader of the Emperor’s direct military confirmed it.

 

‘Brother. You’ve truly gone far.’

 

Princess Julia closed and reopened her eyes in an instant. Sakar, the head of Sakar, was impressed by her blink, which did not include any substantial emotional content.

 

Princess Julia spoke.

 

“So, are you going to follow my orders now?”

 

“No. You are still a princess.”

 

“Then why did you come all the way to this remote outpost and try to kill me?”

 

“To meet my future master.”

 

With that, Princess Julia realized Sakar was indirectly assisting her. They were shadows that moved with the moonlight in the dark. Shadows can penetrate and rise from anywhere.

 

Although Sakar did not move, they were capable of doing so. Princess Julia understood.

 

“Take this.”

 

When she picked up a piece of paper off the floor and handed it to him, Sakar read it. Sakar, who had been reading the black characters on the white paper, looked up at Princess Julia with surprise.

 

“You already knew that I would come?”

 

“No matter how far away I am, the imperial palace is my home.”

 

Sakar chuckled. The Princess had a far greater hold on the Imperial Palace than he had anticipated. Sakar bowed, wondering what kind of ears and eyes had reported the departure of the White Shield’s head.

 

“Then I shall take my leave. I will wait for the day you return.”

 

As he bowed, Sakar’s body began to transform into white fog from his toes up. He immediately disintegrated, turning into nothing but fog that seeped through the breach in the door and vanished.

 

Princess Julia sat in the room’s only intact chair. She could feel the bandage around her torso becoming drenched with blood as a result of the tremendous magical power she had utilized. However, the pain was minor.

 

Even if the entire White Shield did not assist, the assistance of its leader would yield better outcomes than if the entire organization participated. She was fortunate to have dealt with it ahead of time.

 

As she moved a few times, many documents, letter papers, and papers that had been fluttering and tumbling down accumulated in one location. Then she took the desk, which had been divided in half, and carried over a tiny table that had been in the corner.

 

Princess Julia began reading the papers as the weird chamber was being rearranged. There was still plenty of time before the conclusion of the day.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Arghhhhhhhhh!”

 

Was it because he was overly confident in his thick outer skin? A prominent strength generates a corresponding weakness. The shade darkens as the light grows stronger. The cost of abandoning common sense was high.

 

Electricity flowed through his body. The lightning had been summoned by an unstoppable order and will, and as soon as it was summoned, it expanded to complete its mission.

 

The freak shouted, sending blazing lightning from his eye sockets, nose, ears, and mouth.

 

“Grghghghgh!”

 

He couldn’t even scream properly because of his shrinking muscles. The freak thrashed his arms in all directions, overcome by the anguish and shock of having all of his inside organs shocked. The magical power that stayed in his arms also poured out with terrifying force, striking Russell, who was standing close.

 

Boom!

 

Russell, who had been hit in the face and chest at the same time, flew backwards and came to a stop. He attempted to shake off the shock, but it was too close.

 

He had used his right arm to protect his face, but not the other side. Russell looked up to see his damaged coat and his chest, where flesh had been torn away despite his great protection.

 

The monster, whose body was releasing black smoke that blended in with the bandages, took shaky steps to hold himself.

 

The burnt flesh mask slid off in small pieces, creating a faint sound. Russell could see the freak’s face, which had been obscured by the skin mask.

 

His unbandaged visage resembled that of a youngster who had dabbled with clay before abandoning it and adding human facial features. The freak, who had revealed his smashed face, raised his shaking hand and lifted it.

 

The freak’s mask had fallen off, and he opened his blue lips and said, confirming it with his touch.

 

“That was quite a shock. . . Heh heh heh. . . Hell, it’s like the only thing ya can count on is the unexpected. . .”

 

Even though the effects of the electric shock were still visible on his body, generating blue sparks, the man concluded his speech. His pronunciation was bad since his tongue was not working properly, but his rage was obvious.

 

Russell didn’t wait. Russell’s axe, which had been shot like an arrow on a string, sailed through the air before being thrown.

 

Woooosh!

 

The ax, which was spinning round and round as it soared, lost shape and became a disc of light. The eyes in the decaying flesh blazed with rage and fury at the disc. The corners of his mouth, which had been brutally wrenched apart, were pulled back, presenting a broad, snake-like smile.

 

The dim light that had been flowing on the surface of the black bandage then accumulated quickly and formed a whirling magic circle around the man’s mouth. The man, who had taken a big breath and puffed out his chest, made a sound.

 

“OaaaAAA!”

 

A sound resembling a beast growl burst forth. The man’s magical force and will, which had burst out of his mouth, responded to the magic circle floating just in front of him and transformed into a beam of light.

 

While lying on its side, a clear wave in the shape of a cone was drawn, with its wide half facing Russell, and the beam of light struck Russell’s Final Frost.

 

The flying disk of light reached the handprint Russell had left on the freak’s chest and scratched it, demonstrating both the freak’s might and Russell’s brutal might.

 

When the freak removed the ax lodged in his sternum and hurled it away, he raised his head again.

 

A fist was dropping on top of his skull. Russell slammed his hand like a hammer, which must have made the freak feel like a nail. Russell’s fist was as strong as a war hammer, but the freak was not a nail.

 

A loud noise caused the structure to shake. The building’s protective barrier, which barred both outside infiltration and internal escape, trembled and vibrated furiously before shattering.

 

Russell stood on the gradually sloping floor with the freak in the center, looking down. He had used the freak’s body as a mallet to explode the lightning inside it, and he had used it as a battering ram to directly attack the building.

 

Russell felt free of the suffocating field of vision and pressure, as if he had been immersed in water. When he turned his gaze, he saw the outside scenery exactly as it was. The lowering sun was about to proclaim the start of dusk.

 

“You. . . Ugh. . .”

 

His attention shifted back to the groaning freak. His body was horribly mutilated, as if it had been used to break the building’s force field.

 

The freak, who was lying down with his twisted limbs and legs stretched out in all directions, raised his head to stare at Russell.

 

“You’re. . . dead.”

 

Russell raised his palm to his eyes after hearing those words. Russell, who was looking at it carefully, stated it in an amused tone.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Heh, heh. Laugh it up while ye can, son of a b*tch. The tides be turnin’, and that laughter’ll soon dry up like a drop o’ dew in the scorchin’ sun. When sorrow and despair come knockin’, ye’ll be weepin’ like the banshee wailin’ on the moor━”

 

Crack!

 

Russell’s kick interrupted the freak’s words. The flesh inside the black bandage burst into ash and scattered like charcoal.

 

The black bandage also turned into an ordinary bandage, emitting no mystical power or energy and sinking.

 

Russell, who kicked the remains of the bandage with the point of his foot, quickly recognized the occurrence.

 

“Is it like a terminal?”

 

His senses immediately saw traces of the messenger spirit scattering from the freak’s body, which had fallen in an instant. It was a spiritual power rather than a magical or physical force. It was also an uncharted territory that he had not yet visited.

 

Russell, who had clearly detected the freak’s absence, looked about. The three-story building was barely standing, with only the skeleton remaining. Among the fallen roof and blown-out walls, just the stone-built frame remained, awkwardly holding its hefty body.

 

Then he noticed the corpses. Bodies that were still bleeding hot but could not be collected and kept were lying down in any way.

 

Russell averted his sight from the dead mercenaries, lifted Weizen, who had fainted on the second story, onto his shoulder, and exited the building.

 

The setting sun, which had begun to set completely, tinted the alley’s streets reddish-gold. Russell cast a long shadow as he walked along that route. Now that he’d destroyed the trap, it was time to punish the person who set it.

 

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