Chapter 155 The Empire's Turmoil (5)
Episode 155 The Empire's Turmoil (5)
[Oh, a wager? Hehehe— That’s interesting. Let’s hear it.]
The gist of what followed was...
That since he, the Saint, couldn’t fully focus on the Immortal King if a large-scale war broke out through the Rohan Duchy, they should put the war aside and decide the winner in a different way.
[Ah— How boring. You didn’t think I would accept such a simple offer, did you?]
The Immortal King’s cold response was what everyone, who had been listening to their conversation in the midst of the battle, had expected.
The premise of this offer was that there had to be an element that would pique his interest, so if he couldn’t present a solution, the conversation couldn’t progress any further.
Just as Heinrich was about to speak again...
[...No, wait, it doesn’t sound bad for a bit of amusement. Heh, I just had an interesting idea.]
And the interesting idea he came up with was...
A kind of board game— using the entire continent as the board.
The Immortal King would attack a specific location, and the hero would defend it.
If the defense failed, it would naturally lead to humanity’s loss, and if it succeeded, they could pick off the Immortal King’s forces that participated in the attack.
The hero’s victory condition was to defend against the Immortal King’s relentless attacks, head towards the demon king’s castle, and defeat him.
Defeat, of course, meant the destruction of the continent, which had become the board.
[Of course, since I’m accepting the offer, there should also be a penalty for you, right?]
Hans chuckled sinisterly, as if he had found a loophole, and slowly added.
[First, there will be no notification about the time and place. I’m just going to destroy wherever I want, whenever I feel like it. As a Saint, you should be able to handle that much, right?]
“Ugh...!”
And about the time limit of this ‘game’.
[Second, I’ll entertain you for three years. I don’t want to drag this boring wager on for too long! Hehehe, I’m looking forward to seeing if you can come and take my head within that time. The wait will be a different kind of amusement!]
Hans laughed, as if he was interested in the new distraction.
And so, the wager between the hero, who was trying to prevent a large-scale war and minimize casualties, and the evil Immortal King, who only pursued his own amusement, was made.
It was a condition that couldn’t be worse for humanity...
...Or so everyone thought and let their guard down.
[And third...]
His next words followed—.
And his gaze, as if containing the abyss, turned to a corner of the battlefield.
____________________
When the Fifth Princess and the Crown Prince joined forces,
“It’s been a while, Riley. It seems like you’ve been living comfortably without me. You’ve gained a lot of weight.”
“Did you have a good trip to the summit, brother? I feel sorry for the Church. Every time you go somewhere, a disaster occurs, it’s like you’re cursed by the Main God.”
They greeted each other with smiles and insults.
The Crown Prince didn’t hesitate to use all sorts of dirty tricks to keep Fifth Princess Riley in check as she gradually grew stronger and threatened his position, and she had no choice but to become even more ruthless to counter him...
Their relationship was already beyond repair.
But they didn’t openly antagonize each other because of the current situation and because neutral personnel from the capital defense force were also present.
It was the duty of royalty to consider even this situation politically.
And as they were making their way to the cathedral with an uneasy truce,
They were eventually trapped by the immortal army, which seemed to have been waiting for them...
...And that led to their encounter with the Immortal King.
‘Should I have tried to escape with Riley no matter what?’
Wooong—!
Magic power surged from Isea’s body.
It continued endlessly without stopping...
Crack—!
And the massive energy, woven according to a specific law, finally manifested in the world as an ultimate ice magic.
[Kraaagh! You little human, how dare you!]
Crackle!
Arch-Lich Dwell, who barely blocked the attack, cursed in frustration, his entire body covered in frost.
He had been barely avoiding direct hits, but he had already lost countless undead to her relentless magic.
And they were all useful subordinates, high-ranking undead!
‘She was just struggling to buy time and being cautious when she was with Karam, but now that I’m facing her directly, it’s hell!’
That Karam was currently busy blocking an old knight and couldn’t afford to pay attention to anything else.
The other executives were also busy with their own tasks.
The only ones who were leisurely in this battlefield were the Immortal King and the hero, who were having a conversation.
‘I have to admit it. That little girl is superior to me as a mage.’
He felt his pride crumbling, considering her young appearance, but he could at least accept it because she was a genius of the century.
And what Dwell couldn’t understand the most was...
‘How can a human have this much magic power! She’s still full of energy after unleashing so many high-level spells!’
Her magic power, which overwhelmed even him, who had lived for a long time, was the problem.
And he was even receiving indirect support from dark magic power through his subordination to the Immortal King!
He couldn’t comprehend it.
“Whew.”
Isea sighed lightly, ignoring Dwell’s thoughts, and raised the magic power that was starting to replenish in her body.
But at that moment,
Whoosh—!
An overwhelming energy erupted from Immortal King Hans’s body and enveloped the surroundings.
A terrifying presence that rapidly grew in strength, as if everything before had been just a joke.
Thick, abyssal energy, containing death, not ordinary dark magic power... started to consume the capital’s barrier and dye the surroundings with darkness.
Crackle—!
Sparks flew from the boundary between the two energies as they clashed.
Even the undead within that range were freed from the barrier’s influence, and their presence started to grow stronger.
Fortunately, the cursed energy didn’t have much effect on the humans thanks to Heinrich, who was spreading his holy aura and protecting them.
But while he was distracted by the Immortal King’s presence and couldn’t pay attention to everything,
[There should be a prize for the wager.]
“Gah— Gah!”
By the time everyone came to their senses from the sudden change, the Crown Prince, who had been protected by the deceased Count Garfield, was already in the Immortal King’s hands.
“Your Highness!”
“You bastard, Immortal King!”
The place instantly became chaotic as the enraged imperial knights and the undead blocking their path clashed, but...
Isea couldn’t afford to pay attention to that.
It wasn’t because she disliked the Crown Prince.
The Immortal King, Hans, whose gaze was unfocused, turned his head towards her, and their eyes met.
A chilling shiver ran down her spine as she met his abyssal eye sockets.
‘...Riley!’
Her thoughts accelerated as her mental strength surged the moment she sensed danger.
In slow motion, her head slowly turned towards Riley, who was next to her, and the magic power filling her body moved like a torrent, instantly forming the magic she desired.
‘It’s okay. I set up a barrier around Riley before the battle, and I also have a magic tool with me, so if I can just buy some time...’
Quick situation assessment, devising countermeasures, and a spell on the verge of completion.
She made up her mind in an instant.
To get Riley out of here, even if she had to push herself.
But...
When her head completely turned,
[Uhuhu... What a beautiful young lady... It reminds me of my younger days...]
“Gasp?”
Banshee Queen Olivia, who had appeared without a trace, was already hugging Princess Riley from behind.
“...No!”
Her magic power went out of control.
She forcibly twisted the structure of the spell that was almost complete in her body and changed its purpose.
“Ugh—!”
Blood flowed back from Isea’s nose and mouth.
But this was fine. She could still use magic.
And so, a magic circle to rescue Riley from the ghost was instantly deployed around her—.
[Ugh—! How long are you going to ignore me, little human—!]
Crackle!
But it momentarily malfunctioned because of the sudden interference of dark magic power.
“Ah?”
She only lost control of her magic power for a brief moment, but that short time was enough for Olivia to move to the Immortal King’s side with the princess.
“Ugh!”
[Your Majesty... I have brought her...]
[Hmm— Yes, two is better than one.]
While Olivia was bringing the princess, Hans, who had clashed with Heinrich again, slowly stepped back and nodded.
Crown Prince Simon and Fifth Princess Riley, the two most likely candidates for the next emperor, had become the Immortal King’s captives.
Isea, who was looking at them with a bewildered expression, turned her gaze, twisted with rage, towards Dwell.
“You, you... you—!”
Her body trembled with anger, and “Infinite Energy” activated endlessly, causing a massive amount of magic power to flow out.
She glared at Dwell for a moment and then turned her head to look at the princess, her face so pale that she almost looked like an undead.
Blood was even trickling down from her nose and mouth due to the aftereffects of her excessive magic power manipulation...
But the only reason she wasn’t acting recklessly was because of her strong rationality, honed to the level of an Archmage.
Even though she was enraged and dizzy with confusion, a part of her mind was calmly assessing the situation and controlling her body.
She knew that recklessly charging in wouldn’t help.
“No! Duke Conwell! Conwell! Save me! No! I’m... I’m going to be the Emperor of this Empire... Ugh!”
“Whew, whew—”
Simon struggled and then had his mouth covered, while Riley calmly tried to maintain her composure by taking deep breaths.
[I’ll be content with these for now. Try your best. I’ll let you live for now, but I can’t guarantee how long you’ll last with those human bodies. Hehehe—.]
And so, the two most likely candidates for the next emperor—.
Fell into the hands of Immortal King Hans.