CH 179

The stolen royal palace

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by SoundDestiny

Neferte has fled to the Kingdom of Zain.

In the kingdom of Athena, driven to ruin by the undead, countless undead have taken over the city with their own faces.

A crowd of skeletons parade through the main streets of the capital. Zombies have invaded the buildings and are devouring the food left behind. Translucent ghosts drifted aimlessly above the city. Half-rotten crows perch on rooftops, cawing and screeching in despair.

From time to time, residents who had escaped and were in hiding being dragged out by the undead and tortured to death by countless undead.

It is the end of the world. It is a terminal landscape that seems to embody the end of the human world in this world.

In the heart of the royal city, which has become a den of the undead.

In the glittering royal castle where the Athena royal family once reigned, a witch and her four knights, her entourage, have gathered.

In the throne where the king used to sit, a chestnut-haired woman – Osman, the witch of “earth” – sits, and an old knight is beside her. The remaining three knights are lying flat on a lower level of the throne.

“Do…………”

The witch, dressed in a lustrous green dress, uttered a few words.

As usual, the old man on the throne added to her incomprehensible declaration of intent.

“[It seems that the prince, Neferte Athena, has fled to the east. He has taken the holy sword with him.—Ah, what a mess! Garbolus, you’ll never know what it’s like to have your holy sword stolen!]”

The old man, Garbolus, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, scratched his wrinkled face with the nails on his hands and bowed down to Osman, who sat cross-legged on her throne.

“I am a knight of war, and I will go to the kingdom of Zain and take the holy sword for myself!　Please give me the chance to clear my name!”

“…………”

The old man rubs his forehead against the stone floor and pleads. Osman, who had been looking down at her aide with sleepy eyes, shifted her gaze to another knight.

“Ri……”

“Yes, your faithful knight, Ruluve. I have a few opinions to say to you, my beautiful Queen.”

Another knight opened her mouth, realising from Osman’s short speech that he was being asked for her opinion.

The first to speak was a beautiful lady knight with ample limbs.

“We are in favour of going on an expedition to the Kingdom of Zain. I have heard that there is a cursed holy sword, the Dáinsleif, in that country. There are also other holy swords in the east. If many holy sword holders unite, even if we lead a million undead army, we cannot be sure that we can win. It would be better to destroy them all individually before they join forces.”

In a voice as clear  as the ringing of a bell, the beautiful sorcerer speaks her mind.

“If you command it, I, the Knight of Plague, will go. I will not trouble the Knight of War.”

“Stand back, you little ‘plague’! You are disrespectful to me, the first of the knights!”

Garbolus lifted his head as if he had been hit by a shout from Ruluve.

Garbolus, the Lord of War, is in charge of the army of the Undead. It was a big mistake for Garbolus to let the crown prince with the holy sword Mistilteinn escape while he was in charge of the attack on the capital.

It was an unforgivable humiliation for the old knight to hand over the responsibility of cleaning up the mess to his peers, whom he considered inferior.

“Ara? I have no intention of taking credit for anything. Isn’t it a simple task to chase away a runaway lamb?　It’s a job that suits a young person like me.”

“I don’t need your help! This is my fault. My shame! I will not be trifled with. Mistilteinn is my prize!”

“Fu…disgusthing.”

The third knight, Wilfred, the knight of the Famine, laughs at the old man, who shouts at ‘Plague’ as if he is having a tantrum. 

The skinny boy with the glasses was smirking, his lips twisted in a grin. He must have been amused by Garbolus’s desperate attempt to make up for his own failure.

“Guh….you….!”

The old man’s anger was further twisted by the boy’s mocking attitude.

The four knights of the apocalypse are the apostles of the witch Osman, but they are not a monolithic group.

The only thing they shared was their loyalty to Osman, and their compatriots were almost rivals for the credit.

“I wouldn’t make the same mistake if I were you. The holy sword, Mistilteinn? I’ll get it for you. As the sister of Plague says, it’s a simple job that can’t go wrong.”

“Boy, if you think you’re insulting me, you’re wrong!　It seems that you want to go back to your grave!”

“Why don’t you retire, Grandpa War?　If you were working for Master Osman, I could take your place.”

“You’re a cheeky little brat, ……!　Fine, if you want to die, then by all means! I’ll drop you into the underworld right here and now.”

Countless skeletal hands sprouted from the shadows of the old man on the floor.

A dense murderous intent fills the room. Wilfred stood up with a sneer and tried to intercept the old knight by shooting magic from his body.

“Ara…..old people and children are so short-tempered.”

A low voice shook the air before Ruluve could even get into a fighting stance.

“Shut up!”

“……!”

The moment those words were spoken. The air in the room changes.

A chill wind rushes through the dense atmosphere of anger and hatred, sending chills down the spines of Garboras and Wilfred. Every single skeleton hand that had emerged from Garbolus’s shadow disappeared, and Ruluve, too, had cold sweat on her forehead, her beauty drawn out.

“We’re in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen. You must refrain from any unnecessary combat.”

With a few simple words, he subdued his compatriot, the last knight who had remained silent.

A dark-haired, brown-skinned, exotic beauty. It was Zansha, the knight of death.

His right hand clutched the hilt of a great sword at his waist, from which a mysterious purple aura emanated.

The exotic looking swordsman froze the three knights in their tracks with his words and sword pressure.

“Gh……..”

“………..”

Garbolas doesn’t bite back as he did earlier. Wilfred, too, withdraws his cheeky sneer and remains silent.

They know. Zansha is the mightiest of the four knights.

The great sword that hangs at his waist is Gáe Bolg, a magical sword created by the witch Osman.

“……Sorry for the disturbance. My apologies to Her Majesty, the beautiful Queen.”

In an attempt to change the frosty atmosphere of the place, Ruluve bows her head towards the throne.

Garbolus, Wilfred and Zansha fell flat after her.

“Phew…….”

Osman, who until then had been watching the fight between her subjects with a troublesome look on her face, let out a single sigh and spoke shortly.

“Yo…….”

“[Good, I forgive you. Your loyalty is well known to me. I now surrender my royal command.] –Ha,ha! We are at your service, Queen!”

“Ze………….Ga……………”

“[The expedition to the Kingdom of Zain shall be entrusted to two generals, Ruluve and Wilfred. Garbolus is to be on the lookout for foreign enemies, and Zansha is to be in charge of clearing out the remnants of Athena.] —Aha!　I will not refuse if it is the command of the great Queen! I’m sorry I’ve been so impatient, and I’m sorry I’ve been so impudent!”

“Yo………..Ko…………”

“[Good, I take it that the fight for the Mistilteinn on the battlefield is a sign of your loyalty. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.] —Of course!　I, Garbolus, will be forever loyal to you, and clear your name!!”

Garbolus shouted with emotion and even wept for joy, hitting his forehead on the floor. The other three knights accepted the queen’s order by prostration.

Two knights, Famine and Plague, have decided to go on an expedition to the Kingdom of Zain.

The problem was the route of their march. Between the Kingdom of Zain and the Kingdom of Athena, a steep mountain range stands in the way. If the army was to be sent, it would have to traverse the mountains over a long period of time, or take the sea route.

“There were hardly any ships left in the harbour. We may not have enough ‘legs’ to make it by sea.”

Wilfred looks up and shrugs his shoulders.

The people who lived near the harbour must have used their ships to escape the invasion of the undead.

“If we had a ship, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to build a ghost ship and send it back. What should we do?  Let a demon carry it away?”

“So…….”

“[There is no need for that. I will pave the way for our army myself.] —Her Majesty the Queen! It seems that you have a plan that I have not thought of!”

“………”

Garbolus is overcome with emotion, and Osman, with a sleepy expression on her face, nods her head.

Then she murmurs slowly, in a voice that sounds a little clearer than before.

“……go through the mountain. Go through there.” 

(TL: I actually thought that Osman would do this when the author wrote the position Athena and Zain were divide by rocky,ridge mountains, everyone seem to forget she’s an earth witch because her Underworld power outshines it)