The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wishes to Retire

47. A Hidden Blow! (2)

The assassin who blocked Glen’s sword was knocked back.

Despite being unharmed by the combined assault of the Imperial Guard, the assassin still coughed lightly from Glen’s strike.

“Did I pierce the wall?”

Glen did not answer the assassin’s question.

Seeing him like that, the assassin couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’re still inexperienced, but you pack quite a punch.”

Though it seemed he pierced the wall, Glen had only just reached the Master Class.

Thus, the assassin remained relaxed.

However, that confidence shattered in an instant as they clashed again.

“You…”

“You talk too much.”

As Glen said this, he unleashed an Aura Blade with all his power.

At the moment he swung his sword, the space wavered, erasing hundreds of the assassin’s full-powered strikes in an instant.

Then, the assassin began to panic.

Glen was unexpectedly strong. Although he had considered the possibility that Glen had reached Master, he was even stronger than he anticipated.

“Is this all you have?”

As the Imperial Palace crumbled, Kariel, who emerged from Arshuna’s magic, looked at the assassin bound near Glen and spoke.

At that, the assassin began to laugh maniacally.

“Impossible! You couldn’t possibly be preparing just this to capture the Apostle of God.”

The moment he said this, the corpses of Demon Dragons began to rise and merge together.

From all directions, the Demon Dragons started to coalesce into a bizarre-shaped monster.

“Protect the Emperor!”

Toto shouted, but the Imperial Palace Knights were too busy trying to fend off the assassins.

As more Imperial Palace Knights rushed in, it looked like the enormous monster was making its way to where Kariel was much faster than they could penetrate through the remaining Demon Dragons.

Still, the assassin, maintaining a relaxed expression while fighting Glen, asked him again.

“Is this all you have?”

Kariel’s repeated question caused the eyes of the assassin, who had been engaged with Glen, to waver.

“Looks like that’s all. Then, it’s settled.”

At that moment, small fireballs appeared above Kariel’s head.

“Block it.”

As Kariel’s orders rang out, the three fireballs swelled up collectively, forming a gigantic shape.

Watching this, the assassin grinned once more.

It seemed as if he had expected this as well. However, his smile couldn’t last a moment longer.

Just like Glen, Kariel’s summoned creatures displayed unexpected strength.

The Giant Wolf and the fire spirit rampaged, while the Fire Giant controlled them from the center.

– Don’t rampage! Do you want Kariel to scold you later?

Though they were summoned creatures behaving wildly, they showed overwhelming might against the undead giants born from the Demon Dragons’ corpses.

“The training pays off.”

As he slaughtered monsters, he reflected on the days spent training with Glen and Duke Welch.

While these two couldn’t exert much power now that they were Masters, they had previously demonstrated overwhelming strength even when fighting simultaneously against Kariel’s summoned creatures when the wall was uncrossed.

「Weakness Extermination!」

If someone were to express Kariel’s current state, it might be this way.

He was tough for Masters but displayed overwhelming power over the lower levels.

Thus, no matter how many undead golems swarmed, the giant summoned creatures burned them with dominating presence.

The assassin, backing away and wearing a blank expression from the unbelievable sight, was observed by Kariel, who then gave an order to Glen.

“Glen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Capture him alive. He’s got a lot to answer for.”

“Understood.”

Nodding slightly at Kariel’s command, Glen displayed his full power.

Seeing one by one the assassins dying and the Imperial Palace Knights gathering around Kariel, Glen was now able to attack the assassin with all his might.

Until now, he had been defensive to protect Kariel, but now he began to swing his sword violently, and the assassin’s expression twisted in horror.

“Damn it…”

“Do you think you can escape?”

As the space where the assassin attempted to flee rippled, he became frantic and crossed his swords to defend.

In that moment, just as he had been waiting, a Fire Magic spell flew toward the assassin.

The crimson light, like a laser at super high temperatures, shot toward him; even though he defended with full-powered magic, the assassin was pushed back.

“That’s for earlier.”

As Arshuna said this with a cold expression, Toto’s Great Sword fell, followed by attacks from Iris and Brion.

“Do you have no pride!”

After enduring the Imperial Guard’s strikes, the assassin unleashed a furious howl toward Glen, but Glen replied without a change of expression.

“Such pride is nothing compared to the orders of His Majesty.”

With the assistance of the Imperial Guard, Glen cornered the assassin, while the Demon Dragons and assassins that had attacked the Imperial Palace began to fall one by one.

Watching this, the assassin bit his lip as he gathered all his strength.

“It’s a self-detonation. Block it!”

“Get back!”

As Kariel’s command was given, Glen shouted to the Imperial Guard while swinging his sword with all his might.

The Imperial Guard quickly retreated from around the assassin.

At the same time, Glen’s aura accurately struck the assassin.

Crack!

Glen’s precise strike distorted the assassin’s left arm and heart area in a single blow.

Simultaneously, the surrounding space began to distort.

Glen’s attack, executed with all his power, had such devastating force that it warped the very fabric of space itself.

However, it was still not enough.

The self-destructing attack from the Master was meant to cause an explosion, and it wouldn’t completely vanish even under Glen’s strike; it would still produce an explosion.

Then, the Imperial Palace Knights hurriedly formed a barrier and stood before Kariel.

“Protect His Majesty!”

The Imperial Palace Knights shouted anxiously.

At the same time, the Mages also took flight to cast defensive magic in front of Kariel.

However, despite their efforts, nothing happened.

“Uh? What’s this…?”

“Wha—what the…?”

As everyone stared in disbelief at the spot where the assassin had been, the giant hand of the Fire Giant was covering that location.

– Damn, that hurts.

A gentle shockwave emanated with the giant’s voice.

Surt, who absorbed even that shockwave, grimaced before taking a quick glance at Kariel and then shrinking down to disappear.

Then, the Giant Wolf and spirit also vanished.

“I guess I’ll have to give them a reward later.”

Muttering that, Kariel looked ahead.

The assassin, who had tried to self-detonate, still survived.

His body, which should have been torn to shreds, felt as though it was being held together by some unexplainable force.

“Your Majesty, it’s dangerous.”

Hearing Glen’s warning, Kariel stopped approaching and merely stared at the assassin.

Then, the assassin, suspended in the air by dark energy, twisted his neck grotesquely while looking at Kariel.

– Interesting. Is there value in the sacrifice the gods have to make?

“…Who are you?”

– A specter of the past.

The assassin answered, claiming to be a specter when Kariel inquired.

With a frown, Kariel asked him, “Who are you? A demon?”

None of the demons he knew had this kind of power.

Not even the Demon King held such strength, so he was curious.

‘I’ve never seen this guy in my previous life.’

As Kariel glared at the assassin, he quietly met Kariel’s gaze before replying.

– Well, if you’re curious, come to the East Continent and find out for yourself.

As he said this, something slowly closed its eyes. Gradually, the dark energy began to seep out of the assassin’s body.

The moment that dark energy vanished completely, the assassin’s body, which had reached Master Class, burst apart with a loud noise.

His flesh, forced together by the dark energy, could no longer hold and exploded.

“Your Majesty.”

Talion hurriedly approached Kariel from a distance to check on his condition.

However, Kariel, unfazed by Talion’s concern, commanded, “Assess the situation immediately. The Imperial Palace Knights are to confirm any enemies remaining in the palace, and the Central Army is to stabilize the capital!”

At Kariel’s command, everyone bowed their heads.

“Rush!”

“Yes!”

“Talion, you assess the war situation immediately and bring it to me.”

After issuing this command, Kariel headed straight for his office.

*

A little while later, Talion rushed into the office.

“Golem legions have appeared in the East. It seems Talos has prepared them.”

“Has Roman moved too?”

“Yes.”

“Then the Eastern Army alone won’t suffice.”

Talion nodded at Kariel’s remark.

“I’ve already requested support.”

“Send part of the Central Army as reinforcements. After stabilizing the capital, dispatch some of the Capital Defense Force as well.”

“That’s… dangerous. We don’t know what threats might still remain…”

Even in response to Talion’s worried words, Kariel shook his head.

“It’s fine, as long as Glen is here.”

“…Understood.”

When Kariel spoke, Talion turned to look at the door of the office.

Glen, readying himself at the entrance for any potential threats, came to mind, and Talion nodded slightly, considering his greater than expected strength while Kariel added additional orders.

“Announce the victory in the capital to the entire Empire.”

“Understood.”

“On the way, summon the advisors. With their hidden move revealed, it’s time to end this war.”

After motioning Talion to leave, Kariel turned his thoughts inward.

Though he pretended it didn’t affect him in front of the assassins, he was genuinely feeling the strain.

Using full power of the three summoned creatures placed pressure on Kariel’s body, and his internal condition was far from great.

“Your Majesty, your potion.”

The attendant, noticing Kariel’s condition, quickly fetched a potion for him to drink.

“Leave the remaining matters to the advisors and rest.”

“Just a little more. I need to give my final orders before resting.”

With a small sigh, the attendant nodded at Kariel’s words.

A short while later, the advisors entered the office.

“Publicly announce that Rotheon has allied with the demons.”

“Understood.”

The Minister of Internal Affairs bowed at Kariel’s command.

“Inform the Holy Nation that if they stop now, they will at least be allowed to maintain statehood as a vassal.”

“Yes!”

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs answered and hurriedly left, Kariel then turned to the Minister of Military.

“Tell the expedition army to conduct a public relations campaign.”

“What content shall we use?”

“Surrender. If they surrender, we will deal only with the king and high nobles.”

After saying this, Kariel had one more thing to convey to the Minister of Military, who was leaving.

“If the Masters serve the Empire, there’s a chance we can spare the king.”

“Are you saying you would spare him?”

The Minister of Military asked in surprise as Kariel chuckled.

“It’d be a waste to let such a valuable asset go to waste. Even if it’s broken, we must repair and use it.”

The Minister of Military nodded gravely at Kariel’s words.

From the point they had thwarted Rotheon’s hidden move, it was basically as if the Empire had already secured victory.

The Golem legions in the East could be contained slowly as the Central Army mobilized.

Now, the only thing left was the surrender of the three nations.

Regardless of the order, in the end, they would have no choice but to surrender to the Empire, which had seized the upper hand.

However, since Kariel had suffered substantial damage from an unforeseen attack, he could no longer allow any more losses.

Thus, from this point on, he planned to dismantle them through public relations rather than war.

“Sweet.”

Could it be the sweetness of victory?

Today, the potion tasted particularly nice to Kariel.

As he sent the advisors away and began to drink the potion, he entered recovery mode.

*

While the capital gradually stabilized, the situation in the south deteriorated to its worst.

「Failure」

Count Pires’s face hardened at the urgent news received from the Empire’s Intelligence Department.

“Was it ultimately a failure?”

He had done everything he could, but it had ended in failure.

Now, all that remained was to be trampled by the Empire. Just as he resigned himself and prepared to face his end, an intelligence officer rushed in to report to Count Pires.

“His Excellency the Count, the Empire is communicating through the communications channel.”

“Speak.”

At Count Pires’s words, the intelligence officer, drenched in cold sweat, trembled as he spoke.

“…If you wish to save the… king, surrender quietly. If you take the lead in slaying the Dark Mage with the Empire’s sword, the king’s life will be spared.”

Upon hearing the intelligence officer’s words, Count Pires squeezed his eyes shut.

This same proposal was conveyed to Duke Cletta of Talos as well.