Chapter 164

Many people were running around busily.

They were guests attending Santia and Gwaemos's wedding ceremony.

But they were not dressed like guests.

They wore military uniforms from various countries, and even carried weapons.

Instead of songs of celebration, they raised their rough voices.

"Hurry! Build a barrier!"

"Are there no more logs?"

"Mage! Report on the barrier's progress!"

They were all preparing for battle.

At the center of the men was Grand Duke Pret.

He was a member of the Upper House of the Dawn Brotherhood.

As one of the seventeen at the apex of the West, he was more than worthy of being called a man of power among the powerful.

"Grand Duke, the one thousand five hundred infantry hidden on the Didio Ridge will arrive within an hour."

"Continue."

"Fifty-five elites from the Erta Magic Corps have just finished teleporting. As soon as their mana is restored, they can be deployed to the front lines."

"Continue, Rolo."

"The private soldiers sent from all over Bururade number three thousand. There are also some cavalry mixed in, and more than thirty have Ars."

Grand Duke Pret stroked his beard.

"You don't need to report every single detail anymore. We've already finished the strategy meeting, so only report when there's a major change. I'll leave the information to you, Rolo."

"Understood."

The man called Rolo bowed his head.

He was a former intelligence officer from Schmeizen, but his talent was so coveted that he was bought out for a large sum of money and brought to West-Erta.

Grand Duke Pret turned his head.

"Saffron!"

"Yes, Grand Duke."

"I have already requested cooperation from the head of the Guidone family. Use the mansion as a temporary headquarters and set up a garrison at a nearby manor."

"Understood."

Saffron also bowed and left.

Saffron was a born administrator.

He had a knack for feeding and housing thousands of troops as easily as if he were handling two or three newborns.

If supplies were sufficient, he could probably build a hill in a few days.

"Lastly, Betteo."

"Yes, Grand Duke."

"I entrust the command of the battle to you. You'll be better than me, who has been away from the battlefield for a long time. And gather a special unit for the assault. As quickly as possible."

"I will do so."

Grand Duke Pret handed the short staff symbolizing a commander to Betteo.

Rolo, Saffron, Betteo.

The three talents that Grand Duke Pret had personally cultivated.

Grand Duke Pret was an outstanding intelligence officer, administrator, and commander.

But he couldn't do everything by himself.

Now that he was old, the roles of head of West-Erta and member of the Upper House of the Dawn Brotherhood were already more than enough for him.

He had no choice but to learn how to fill the gaps created by his age with the help of young talent.

He left the young people and started walking.

A few bodyguards tried to follow, but he refused. Grand Duke Pret had his sword.

He wasn't so old that he couldn't protect himself.

He jumped a few times and climbed the watchtower.

In his youth, he was one of the best knights in West-Erta. Even though he had aged, he was still a superhuman.

Looking at the gathering troops, Grand Duke Pret muttered.

"About eighty-five hundred in total. We've gathered a lot for such a hasty mobilization."

The seventeen in the West, the members of the Upper House of the Dawn Brotherhood called 'Elders', had special authority.

The authority to exercise emergency command over all troops in the West.

It was created after the war with the Empire 53 years ago.

It was by no means easy to use, and after this was over, he would have to go through an enormous amount of diplomatic, administrative, and political procedures, but it was that serious a matter.

"Shion of Merion... you saved us."

He said, trembling with rage.

When he looked at the sea with a magic tool that allowed him to see far, it was teeming with scaly creatures.

There were a sickening number of them.

They say swords don't even cut through those scales well.

"...For over twenty thousand fishmen to suddenly rise from the sea. If we hadn't been prepared, today would have truly been a disaster."

At first, it was hard to believe Shion's words.

That the Empire would launch a massive attack using the wedding ceremony as a pretext.

There was no basis or reason to believe him, but he decided to trust Shion.

He had nothing to lose.

If Shion's words were true, it would be good to stop the attack, and if they were false, he could use this incident as a pretext to control him.

And, Shion's words were true.

A horde of twenty-two thousand fishmen was advancing.

The sight was chillingly vivid.

"Shion, Shion of Merion......"

A sigh escaped him.

"How on earth did he know......"

No one knew.

No one even noticed a hint of it.

Because those fishmen suddenly rose from the deep sea.

But how did Shion know that they would advance today, at this time?

He even seemed to have a rough estimate of the size of the force.

"...No. It's a useless question. It's not too late to ask after I've dealt with those monsters."

Grand Duke Pret was over sixty.

He was at an age where he keenly knew how important it was to forget what needed to be forgotten.

He stroked his beard once and suppressed his questions about Shion.

What he had to do was clear. He took out the communication magic tool from his pocket and asked.

"Betteo, are the preparations for the assault ready?"

[We have been waiting for the Grand Duke's command.]

"Surround the wedding hall."

The old noble said, as if declaring.

"Capture the Cordis bastards."

***

"Capture the Empire bastards!"

"Keep them alive, but a certain amount of injury is permissible!"

The Westerners shouted and rushed into the wedding hall.

The beautifully decorated wedding hall became an unspeakably grotesque scene as blood and screams mixed.

The pure white flowers, the jaw-dropping banquet, and the delicate crafts could no longer be beautiful once they were splattered with blood and mixed among the corpses.

"Subdue all Imperial citizens except for Her Highness Santia and Delegation Head Cornelius!"

"These Cordis bastards!"

"I thought they were suspicious from the start!"

Shion had requested the protection of the two from Grand Duke Pret.

Naturally, they were Santia and Cornelius.

Shion had told him that they were cooperating with him, and Grand Duke Pret had readily agreed to protect them.

"Be careful!"

A knight from Maesh stepped back.

A long wound was left on his forearm.

It was a sword strike sharp enough to cut through expensive leather armor like paper.

Even though he was a renowned knight in Maesh, it was difficult for him to read his opponent's sword.

"There are Cordis intelligence agency agents mixed in with the delegation!"

"You can't just knock them out! Those intelligence agency bastards are experts at playing dead!"

"Bind them with the restraints we prepared!"

A chaotic scene unfolded.

Swords and blood flew in the wedding hall.

The intelligence agency agents hidden throughout the Cordis delegation resisted with hidden blades and the like.

Their skills were so sharp that they could face three or four heavily armed knights with just a short dagger.

In particular, the senior agents' momentum was at an incredible level.

Tectus Tatium killed thirty-two soldiers with sixteen hidden blades and after using up all his weapons, he took the lives of seventeen soldiers with a dinner fork and knife.

The fiftieth soldier was fortunate enough to be saved by a master from Maesh who rushed over in a hurry.

He was left with a lifelong scar, but he was lucky to be alive.

There were a total of three senior agents from the Cordis intelligence agency. 49, 37, 44.

These were the numbers of Westerners they took with them as companions before they lost their lives.

With hardly any weapons, just three of them killed 130 people.

The people felt fear at the might of the Cordis Empire.

"Santia, Santia......!"

Gwaemos Gustav Guidone screamed without hiding his horror.

He ran through the swords, blood, and screams, feeling absolutely terrible.

This was his mansion, and at the same time, the wedding hall.

But what was this scene? Human dignity was nowhere to be found.

It was just chunks of flesh holding lumps of iron, turning each other into lumps of blood.

"Santiaaa......!"

He called out the name of the woman who was to be his wife in desperation.

He didn't even have the leeway to use the title 'Your Highness'.

Seeing the door to the bride's waiting room, Gwaemos immediately threw himself at it.

Even the mustached mage who was guarding the door amidst the chaos couldn't help but be flustered.

"Lord Gwaemos! You can't go in......!"

"Santiaaa-!!"

There was a crashing sound.

It wasn't heard well amidst the screams in the chaotic scene.

Cornelius, who couldn't bring himself to use magic, got tangled up with the charging Gwaemos and became a lump.

The door to the bride's waiting room burst open as if it were broken.

Chief Handmaiden Nana, who was next to Cornelius, watched the scene with interest.

Santia was startled by the suddenly opened door and the fallen Gwaemos, and Shion smiled as if he had been waiting.

"Lord Gwaemos, you've finally arrived. And Cornelius too."

Shion welcomed them.

Even in the midst of this chaos, his attitude was as relaxed as if he were enjoying teatime.

He was so composed that the others were dumbfounded.

He took Gwaemos's hand and led him.

"Come, Mr. Groom, stand next to the bride."

"Huh? Uh......"

"Cornelius, you are there too. That's right."

Santia, Gwaemos, and Cornelius stood side by side.

Shion had Cornelius place his hands on the shoulders of the bride and groom.

Chief Handmaiden Nana still watched them with interested eyes.

"Cornelius, do you know how to use levitation magic?"

"...As a four-star mage."

"It's a difficult magic, so that's a relief."

Shion continued.

"Your job is simple. Take the bride and groom and hide in the place written here. You must hurry before the horde of fishmen arrives."

"...Yes."

Cornelius almost said, 'Your Highness Zionis'. He swallowed his words and glanced outside.

It was still a chaotic scene. The Empire and the West were mixed together, shedding blood.

It was not easy for him to leave them behind.

Shion noticed his feelings.

"I told you, the Empire's objective. They intend to kill Her Highness Santia to gain a pretext for war."

Shion said.

Cornelius and Santia nodded.

Gwaemos's eyes widened as if to ask what this was all about, and Chief Handmaiden Nana's eyes, who had been listening from a short distance, became sharper than ever.

"As long as Her Highness Santia survives. Then we win."

"...Shion."

Santia wanted to call Shion 'Zionis'. But she couldn't, so she only let out a sigh.

"...What are you going to do?"

"I have to stop the enemy, so that you can all escape safely."

"...Didn't you say there are still two hours before the horde of fishmen arrives?"

"The horde of fishmen isn't the only enemy."

Shion turned his eyes.

"There is an enemy very close by."

The air vibrated.

A massive impact tried to strike Shion and Santia.

It was so fierce that the sound of the air being torn apart, paaaang-!, was heard after the impact.

Even Cornelius was so creeped out that his mustache trembled, but Shion was composed.

It was Chief Handmaiden Nana.

She rushed forward with her bare fists, trying to put a hole in Santia's chest.

It was a punch powerful enough to make the surroundings vibrate.

But Shion's 'Fantasy Finger' did not allow it.

Over a hundred invisible hands grabbed Chief Handmaiden Nana.

"You're very strong, Chief Handmaiden Nana."

"......"

"You're quite angry, aren't you?"

Shion smiled faintly.

Santia muttered.

"Nana, why are you......?"

"Your Highness Santia, don't you understand? She was the ringleader. She was monitoring your every move from the closest position and reporting to the Imperial Family."

"...No way!"

Santia screamed in horror.

Nana did not utter any words of denial. Instead, she clenched her fists even tighter.

A power that did not suit the girl's small frame made the surroundings shimmer.

Her attitude proved that Shion's words were true.

"...Shion of Merion."

"Yes. That's me."

"...I guess I shouldn't have let you get close to Her Highness."

"You know now? Your realization is late."

"......"

Chief Handmaiden Nana, the girl with three braids who always smiled brightly, glared at him with utmost rage.

The meaning in her gaze was clear. Rage, question, murderous intent.

The things that excited Shion.

"Cornelius!"

"Yes, yes......!"

"What are you doing, you have to escape!"

Shion shouted.

Cornelius hastily summoned a blue-green light and enveloped Gwaemos and Santia.

The bodies of the three men and women floated up.

Chief Handmaiden Nana had no intention of watching.

She shook off the 'Fantasy Finger' and flew into the sky, but was suddenly pushed back.

It was because Shion had approached and summoned 'The Unclosable Twenty Steps'.

Cornelius flew through the sky.

He took the bride and groom and headed for an unknown shelter.

Nana had to chase them, but Shion kept blocking her.

It was so annoying it was killing her, and that was exactly what Shion intended.

"You shouldn't get so worked up already, Chief Handmaiden Nana."

A thick vein popped out on the regressed prince's neck.

The third Ars, 'The Heated Iron Bloodline'.

"The fight has just begun."