Chapter 165

It is difficult for a person to fly in the sky.

This is true even in a world where there are demigods who have lived for a thousand years and split the sea with a sword.

It might be somewhat easier if you call simply launching a person like a cannonball flying, but to glide unharmed with a bare body requires at least the magic of the three stars, and if you were to fly with others, you would need the magic of the four stars.

It is something one couldn't even dream of unless they were at the level of the dean of the Imperial Academy of Magic.

Fortunately, Cornelius Merhes was a four-star mage.

With just a few incantations, he could effortlessly float in the air with thirty people.

Cornelius floated up.

Gwaemos and Santia were with him.

He quickly left the ground and gradually ascended into the sky.

Chief Handmaiden Nana tried to chase them.

She tried to shoot them down by throwing chairs and tables, but all her attempts failed due to Shion's interference.

Nana gritted her teeth.

The 'Fantasy Finger' was not a big threat to her.

Even if it had the power to crush a lump of iron, her body was incomparably stronger than any lump of iron.

However, since it was invisible, it was extremely annoying.

Whenever she tried to do something, it would constantly interfere, making it difficult to do anything.

The air was full of invisible hands, but because they were invisible, they couldn't be seen.

"You shouldn't be distracted."

Septem Arcana, the third.

'The Heated Iron Bloodline'.

It's ridiculously heavy and ridiculously hot.

While she was annoyed by the 'Fantasy Finger', Shion, who had pulled out the iron bloodline, flicked his wrist.

Even though the line just flicked, the atmosphere trembled.

The momentum, wrapped in heat, was so extraordinary that Nana tried to block it with both arms.

Nevertheless, a massive impact struck her entire body.

"Ugh……!"

Nana, who had taken a blow, let out a groan.

She thought she could block it.

She had intended to take one hit like she would a normal whip and then grab the line and snatch it away, but she couldn't.

Because of the enormous impact generated by the weight, and also because of the enormous heat it constantly emitted.

A clear mark was engraved on the arms that had briefly blocked the iron bloodline.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The pain was severe.

"……."

Nana gritted her teeth and glared.

Cornelius was disappearing into a dot.

Santia and Gwaemos were with him.

The failure was so clear that anger surged within her.

The iron bloodline still generated heat.

Nana's sharp gaze pierced through the heat and headed towards Shion.

"What a murderous look."

“…Shion, of Merion………….”

Nana opened her mouth.

"There was someone in the Bururade Peninsula who was constantly interfering with the intelligence agency's plans. It was you, wasn't it?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Destroying the Del Contis, attacking the hatchery, and smashing the magi-soldiers……."

"That's right. It was all me."

The regressed prince felt an uncontrollable sense of triumph.

Having trampled on the plans of the Cordis he so hated and enraged them, joy surged from the depths of his soul.

"The Empire prepared a disaster, but this Shion of Merion crushed it."

"...You know about the disaster. How did you know? It's a top secret even within the Empire."

"Do you think I would tell you?"

Even Cornelius, who had been the dean of the Imperial Academy of Magic, although pushed out of political strife, did not know about the disaster.

The same was true for Santia.

The disaster was that kind of secret.

Furthermore, Nana remembered.

Shion had said that the purpose of the marriage was Santia's death.

That Cordis would gain a pretext to invade the West only when the daughter of the Great Emperor lost her life in the West.

Nana had almost fainted when she heard that.

It was because Shion had spoken so lightly of a secret that should not have been spoken of so lightly.

"But there are two things I can tell you for sure."

Shion held up his index and middle fingers.

"First, the Empire's plan to gain a pretext for war by killing Her Highness Santia has failed."

He folded one of his two fingers.

He had folded his index finger, so only the middle finger remained.

He raised the lone middle finger towards Nana.

It wasn't a hand gesture with any particular meaning, but he just felt like doing it.

Nana also didn't attribute any meaning to that middle finger, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had been insulted.

"Second, you are surrounded."

***

Led by Grand Duke Pret, the forces of the West rushed in.

The men who burst in, kicking down doors, breaking windows, and smashing walls, were each the elite of the elite.

Nevertheless, Nana showed no signs of tension.

On the contrary, she looked down on them, her gaze filled with contempt.

She regarded everyone except Shion as if they were insects.

A few of the proud ones blushed. It was because their pride made them sensitive to signs of contempt.

They spat out insults that ignored Nana's character, but Nana was a girl who did not listen to the insults of insects.

"...You said it was a failure. What do you think?"

She looked down at her arms.

The skin that had been burned by the iron bloodline was already healing.

It wasn't an Ars, just innate physical superiority.

Nana dusted off her hands.

She also cracked her neck a few times.

She looked like a slender girl with three braids, but her spirit was incredibly fierce.

"Isn't it enough for me to beat you all to death right now and bring back Her Highness Santia?"

"Cordis is always arrogant."

Grand Duke Pret growled.

"Your subordinates are all dead or captured. What can you do alone?"

"More than you can imagine."

With those words, Nana lost interest in Grand Duke Pret.

"Shion of Merion."

She had not taken her eyes off Shion the entire time.

In her opinion, there was no one more dangerous here than Shion.

Others might not agree, but that didn't matter.

"I must kill you."

"I don't want to die."

"Of course, before I kill you, I'll have to hear where you sent Her Highness Santia."

"I said I don't want to die."

"Because Her Highness Santia must return today, no matter what."

Shion grumbled, and Nana stubbornly continued to say what she wanted to say.

She was a girl who never seemed to lose her composure.

In the end, Grand Duke Pret, annoyed, intervened.

"Shion! How long are you going to listen to that insolent talk! She's getting too arrogant!"

He gripped his sword and his beard trembled with anger.

"Shall I show you how sharp the sword of Erta is!"

"Oh really……?"

Grand Duke Pret rushed forward. In his youth, he had been the best knight in Erta.

He still had pride in his skills, and it was a well-deserved pride. If only his opponent hadn't been Nana.

"...Grand Duke Pret! You fool……!"

Shion shouted in bewilderment.

Grand Duke Pret thought it was the first time he had seen Shion bewildered.

And he realized that Nana's fist was right in front of his beard, and that he couldn't possibly block it.

It was a moment too short to even be called an instant.

If it hadn't been for Shion, he would surely have lost his life.

Shion, who had approached in an instant, summoned his second Ars, 'The Unclosable Twenty Steps'.

Nana and Grand Duke Pret were pushed back in opposite directions.

But before they were pushed back, Nana's fist left a clear wound on Shion.

"Kuhk……!"

"Sh-Shion……."

"...Grand Duke Pret, you should be more careful with who you pick a fight with at your old age……."

He groaned, looking at his shattered wrist.

Even though he was already wearing Valziart, one punch had completely pulverized his bones.

He quickly threw a golden medicine into his mouth, but it seemed like it would take a while to heal.

"Oh my... you're quick……."

Nana smiled sweetly.

"It was a chance to kill one of the Upper House members of the Dawn Brotherhood, what a shame."

"I told you your opponent was me, Nana."

"I know, but it was just so funny I couldn't help it."

She chuckled and continued.

"Shion, you know who I am, don't you?"

"...How could I not?"

"That's right. But look at them. They're supposed to be at the top of the West, but they don't seem to have any idea who I am."

How can they fight when their information is so slow?

What a bunch of morons.

She didn't hide her sneer.

Smiling faintly, she untied her three braids.

Her black hair cascaded down.

"Ah, the people of the West, so foolish. Who is surrounding whom?"

Nana took out something like a long string from her pocket.

Only Shion recognized the identity of the string and bit his lip.

She wrapped the string around her fist.

Nana was surrounded by dozens of men with swords.

Each one of them was a renowned strongman in the West.

Outside, there were hundreds, thousands of troops, and they were her enemies.

"And to be so arrogant with just a few thousand men... it's almost insulting to my pride."

Nana had been composed all along.

It was a well-deserved composure.

"Let me introduce myself formally, everyone."

She held the hem of her skirt and bowed politely.

The maid's uniform suited her so well, yet she was an unbelievably strong girl.

"My name is Nana. Nana Nereyades."

Everyone froze in astonishment. It was impossible not to know the surname Nereyades.

The image of a giant old man, the Whale of Hobel Bay, the 11th Legion Commander of Cordis, Niko Nereyades, naturally came to mind.

"The ninth of the Ten Great Generals of the Cordis Empire, the Nine Streams General."

***

There are those called the Ten Great Generals of the Empire.

They are the ten who symbolize the military power of the Great Empire of Cordis.

It would not be wrong to say that they are the ten most outstanding generals on the continent.

At least seventy percent of them would probably match.

They are the pinnacle of the Empire's military.

At the same time, they are superhumans who have surpassed the limits of individual martial prowess.

They are more like monsters than monsters, and they are also the biggest enemies who stand in the way of Shion's destiny.

There are monster-like people.

Those who embody the military power of a nation in their bodies, such as Yosef Haider, Marina Debius, and Niko Nereyades.

Marina and Niko were once part of the Ten Great Generals, but not anymore.

This was because they had suffered permanent injuries or had grown too old.

But Nana Nereyades was young and uninjured. Her prime was not in the past, but now.

Therefore, a thrill beyond fear arose.

"...The Ten Great Generals of the Empire……!"

Sighs of disbelief erupted from everywhere.

No one had expected it.

This was the West.

To think that they would encounter one of the Ten Great Generals in a place so far from Cordis.

Titles like 'Master of Maesh' were not just shabby, but shameful.

And, Nereyades.

Wasn't the surname of Niko, who had reigned over Hobel Bay from long ago until now, and was once called the Nine Harbors General, Nereyades?

Those who knew the old man who carried a giant oar could not help but chatter their teeth in fear.

In the midst of deep fear and bewilderment, everyone was at a loss for words.

The confidence that they had surrounded her simply melted away in front of the name of the Ten Great Generals.

"Now that the introductions are over."

Nana clenched her fist.

She no longer hid herself.

She revealed to the world what kind of power one must possess to become one of the Ten Great Generals at such a young age.

Just by clenching her fist, the walls trembled, the air trembled, and finally, even the ground trembled.

"I will crush you."

No one could hold on to their senses.

Except for Shion.