My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 153
#153
Rebellion of the Empire (3)
Kwaaang—!
“Aaaah!”
“What’s happening all of a sudden?!”
The capital of the empire, Geron, which had been enjoying a long period of peace as the continent’s most powerful nation, was suddenly filled with heavy drinking and screaming.
[Kihihihihi!]
[Uuuu….]
Numerous ghosts are constantly wailing and flying through the air.
visor-! Wow!
“Stop it!”
“You guys! How dare you tell me where this is!”
The defensive forces and guards of noble families deployed throughout the capital clashed violently with the attacking undead and other followers of evil.
But out of all of them, there was one place that stood out the most…
Naturally, it was the Imperial Palace, located in the very center of the capital.
[Kwoaaaa——!]
[Kiyaaa——!]
A dragon’s roar that terrifies those who hear it.
And at the same time.
Two rays of black energy, like those symbolizing death, struck the imperial palace.
Coo! Kwaaaaang—!
Fortunately, the brilliant silver barrier surrounding the imperial palace succeeded in blocking the terrible energy, but those gathered inside could never laugh.
Every time I blocked an attack, I felt the barrier visibly shaking.
“Tsk! Even the immortal king wasn’t enough, even the dragons…! What is the current damage?!”
“So far, only 4 people have been left behind! But if attacks like this continue, I can’t guarantee how long others will be able to endure!”
On the magic circle that formed the backbone of the barrier, Marquis Lawrence, the archmage of the Imperial Palace’s Magic Tower, gritted his teeth and glared at the image that appeared before his eyes.
The dragons had retreated due to the interception magic activated immediately after the breath, but the Immortal King Hans paid them no heed and was preparing for a follow-up attack by raising the black energy of death.
“shit! The next attack is coming! Everyone prepare for impact!”
Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu of!
As soon as those words were finished, an explosion of noise erupted, and a huge shock of magical power began to flow back along the barrier surrounding the imperial palace.
“Wow!”
“Ugh… I’m sorry. “No more…”
Unable to overcome the additional shock, the two wizards turned blue and withdrew from the magic circle.
As a result, six people have fallen behind so far.
Even though they were only assisting in maximizing the efficiency of the barrier, the aftereffects were continuing to be unbearable.
‘Of course, the only ones left out are young people who are still learning, but right now it is urgent to have one hand. If they fall out one by one like this, it will become a difficult situation for even high-ranking wizards to endure.’
If Lawrence gritted his teeth and just focused on defense, he could have lasted for a few hours, but without a counterattack, he would just be a punching bag.
Unless we knew what would happen next, there would be no benefit in continuing the current situation.
“Huh, Viscount Pristine! The imperial palace is in such chaos. Where are you and what are you doing now? “Even in this situation, you’re still stuck next to the princess, right?!”
There were a total of three great wizards residing in the imperial palace.
One of them participated in the summit meeting with the crown prince, and the other, Lee Se-ah, was still unknown.
I’m sure it’s not like I still don’t understand the situation properly.
“Well… that’s what I found out… It is said that Viscount Pristine left the imperial palace with the princess in the morning.”
“What? Does that mean he’s outside right now? And with the princess?”
Even at the moment when Marquis Lawrence was embarrassed, the backflow of magic continued.
They were able to continue their conversation again only after two more wizards fell behind.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t His Royal Highness say that he would return from the Holy Land today?”
“you’re right. In fact, the scheduled time has already passed… If you look at the timing, it’s probably somewhere in that mess by now…” “
…Oh my god. “The timing sucks.”
In the end, he had no choice but to close his eyes.
At this critical moment, the two archmages and the two heirs to the throne were all out there.
Not here, which is the safest place, but over there, where you never know what kind of danger might come.
Kwaaaang—!
However, as if he didn’t care about his miserable feelings, the Immortal King’s attacks continued without stopping.
***
Kwaaaang—!
A loud explosion once again erupted from the direction of the imperial palace.
“Princess, please come this way.”
Isea, who lightly pulled Princess Riley, stretched out one hand in the air, and the blue energy instantly converged and blocked a flying piece of stone.
“…Thank you, Viscount Pristine.”
They were having a formal conversation as there were attendants and guards around them, but they shared each other’s feelings with just their eyes and moved to find a safe place again.
‘Why is this happening now? … If you’re going to give me a warning, please be more precise.’
Se-ah Lee sighed inwardly and blamed the church for its foolish actions.
It was an inevitable choice for the princess and her party to leave the imperial palace on the day of the crown prince’s return.
There was a hint that he was trying to exert separate influence on the military, using the church’s warning as an excuse to call in additional troops to protect himself.
If political issues get involved, the princess can’t just sit still.
In a situation where we were already outnumbered, we couldn’t even be late in responding, and rather, we planned to take advantage of this and turn it into a stepping stone for a counterattack.
‘Even though it has become pointless now.’
However, the warning given by the church was only that something was likely to happen in Jeron soon, so it was impossible to just hide in the imperial palace without making any promises.
Who on earth would trust and follow a leader who is so scared of such an abstract word that he doesn’t even leave the house?
‘As long as the capital’s defense barrier is activated, no matter how great a wizard I am, I cannot teleport without permission. In order to move safely, an authorized magic circle is needed… No, there is no way the passage would have been left open when the imperial palace was under attack like that.’
There may be a passage for the command center to escape in case of an emergency, but all entrances would have been blocked to prevent the enemy from infiltrating.
In the end, there was no choice but to give up on returning to the imperial palace and try to survive outside.
‘The distance is a bit far, but I think it would be safest to go to Daesinjeon and use the gate. If I had to, I would abandon everyone else and only take care of Riley…’
“Ah.”
Lee Se-ah, who was leading the group while thinking of a solution, stopped without realizing it.
As she continued to secretly spread her magic and explore her surroundings while moving, a very familiar energy was detected in her senses.
“Viscount Pristine? What happened?”
“That…”
Even as Princess Riley opened her mouth to ask, her expression remained frowning and didn’t seem to improve.
That’s right, this magical power I felt right now….
“It seems like His Royal Highness is nearby.”
Like hers, this aura of dispersing magical energy to explore the surroundings clearly belonged to Count Garfield, who had participated in the summit meeting with the crown prince.
As much as she sensed him, she must have figured out his location.
No matter how bad the situation was, considering what the crown prince had done so far, it wouldn’t be a good idea to be with him.
Riley frowned slightly as if she was thinking the same thing.
“…It’s approaching this way. What should I do?”
But it seemed that their judgment was different from theirs.
Well, even if they did dirty things, the crown prince did it, but this side always kept a certain line, so their thoughts were bound to be different.
There was still quite a distance, but it was difficult to avoid them now.
The 5th princess ran away out of fear of the crown prince, the egoist who refused to join forces in a crisis, and So In-bae, who abandoned the cause and prioritized his personal feelings… Because I
didn’t know what kind of frame the other side would try to use this to create.
“Phew—there’s nothing we can do about it now that it’s like this. “Make sure everyone stays alert until the end and never shows any slack.”
The moment they finally made up their mind and were about to take a step towards the crown prince and his group.
“ah?”
Ise-ah paused once again and turned her head to one side.
In a similar direction to where the crown prince and his party are, but a little further away…
“This…”
A hot, passionate, and brilliant energy like the burning sun.
Goooooh—
coming at you at breakneck speed.
Whoa!
It passed by them, leaving only a strong afterstorm and a remnant of light.
“Aaaah!”
“Fast, fast…!”
The maids closed their eyes and turned their heads as the wind blew for a moment, and the knights guarding the princess swallowed dry saliva with their swords half-raised.
He left a strong impression on them just by passing by, but in reality, that wasn’t important right now.
Ise-ah, who knew this well, immediately raised her senses and turned her head towards the imperial palace where the energy was directed.
Then, as if at the right time, there it was.
Couuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch—!
A strong aftereffect began to spread along with binge drinking that was incomparable to anything seen before.
Fortunately, it was suppressed to a great extent thanks to the barrier surrounding the entire capital, but it was a shock wave on a different level from anything that had erupted so far.
“…Saint Heinrich Saint Landgard….”
Isea unconsciously muttered his name in a low tone as the energy radiated from its source as if boiling.
“yes? Could it be that it was the saint who just passed by?”
“Yeah? Are you talking about the saint of the main church? “That hero…!”
“Saint Seo just passed by us? “Oh Lord!”
Not only the princess but also others reacted at once to her self-talk.
There are even believers who pray to God without even realizing it.
But that is what a saint was.
If we had to judge his status, he would be on the same level as the emperor… no, in the current crisis situation on the continent, he would be considered higher than that.
‘If you think about it, you could say that that man is the main character of this world.’
The savior of this world chosen by God.
Of course, a pressure proportional to the weight of that heavy name would always be weighing on his shoulders.
Sacrifice and dedication must have been a daily occurrence for him.
He had to be seen as a great person who was about a million light years away from Lee Se-ah, who found it difficult to take care of just one person.
‘…What is that person thinking right now?’
Whether it was a sense of responsibility for this situation or some kind of noble mission… she probably would never understand him in the future.
***
“Don’t panic and maintain your line! “The barrier is still intact!”
“Don’t act rashly! You are the imperial guards of a proud empire! Are you planning to disappoint His Majesty the Emperor?”
Heinrich lightly licked his lips while listening to the loud noises of those preparing for battle at the border of the barrier.
‘The timing was just right.’
The Great Temple of Xeron was located on the outskirts of the capital of the empire.
In fact, with the exception of sacred sites, the situation was similar not only in Jeron but also wherever facilities larger than a temple were located.
Aside from the fact that the land it occupied was large, the rulers of the land were not very pleased with the armed groups such as the Holy Knights and the Holy Knights residing there.
It was only natural that this was the capital of an empire where even the emperor lived.
In fact, since most residents used small prayer centers and temples located throughout the city, the accessibility of the main shrine, which was no different from a special facility, was not particularly important.
However, that meant that the distance between the imperial palace and the main shrine in the center of the capital was bound to be that long.
The story was that unless you had superhuman abilities like Heinrich, you would not be able to cover that distance in a short period of time.
‘Yes, just like the crown prince who was still wandering around in an awkward place. … I didn’t know there would be Ise-ah and the 5th princess.’
Geek! Quang!
He swung his lightsaber, struck away the black scythe blocking his path, and immediately rushed back to the Immortal King, cutting down the energy of death.
[Hahaha! also! I thought you would block my way. Heinrich, my only adversary! I don’t know how he knew and came to me so quickly, but a warrior would have to do that. Hehehe!]
“All things in the world are under the will of the Lord. You too cannot escape that fate! Just like all the immortal kings of all time, you will soon follow in their footsteps, Hannibal!”
The Immortal King and the Knight of Light face off against the background of the imperial palace engulfed in brilliant light.
On that fantastic, fairy-tale-like stage, a gloomy voice that seemed to have come from hell and a strong voice full of faith resonated loudly.
[Koooooo——!]
[Kyaaaaa——!]
As if to strike a chord, the bone dragons that were hovering in the sky, avoiding the rays of light coming from the imperial palace, looked down at Heinrich and roared in unison.
However, the Immortal King lightly waved his hand as if to block further intervention and looked down at him again.
[It’s fun. It’s very fun. Knight of Light Heinrich St. Randgard. Do you know? Every time I face you, every time you block my path, I desperately realize that I am alive. Even though he is already dead!]
He raised his head and looked up at the sky with his hands wide open, as if trying to embrace the world in his arms.
[Ego-! Teach me more. Life! The will to live! A strong heart that does not break even in the face of death!]
Even though it is a voice created by resonating magic power that does not feel emotions, it is deeply felt…. It
was only an ‘obsession’ for something he did not have.
And as if in response, Heinrich, enveloped in auspicious light, slowly raised the holy sword and opened his mouth.
“Now I know for sure why such a revelation came to me that day.”
The light of the sword blade moved gracefully, beautifully decorating the air, and the tip of the sword was finally aimed precisely at the Immortal King.
As if it were a play.
“This is also God’s guidance.”
It was really a play.