## Chapter 668 – 668. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
I handed him the sword and armor. It was top-of-the-line equipment made by the dwarf slaves. Over 70% of it was made of silver, making it extremely effective against the undead.
“A-are you telling me to fight the undead now?”
“Yes.”
“I-I’ve never formally trained in swordsmanship. I only learned it briefly as a hobby. I’ve never hunted a monster, not even a small animal! I-I’ll just die if I go out there! Wouldn’t it be a problem for the Baron if I die too?”
“The knights and I will protect you so you don’t die. It’s necessary for the Prince’s reputation.”
“If the Baron does it and praises me…”
“It’s more effective if the Prince steps forward himself than if I do it. So hurry up and put it on.”
I growled, and the startled Prince put on the armor. He didn’t even know how to put it on, so he barely managed with the help of the royal knights. The Prince, with trembling legs, got out of the carriage.
“B-Baron, what do I have to do…?”
“Fight the undead. Show your courage, Your Highness.”
“F-fight those things…? No way! I’ll die!”
The Prince shook his head violently, looking straight ahead. In front of him was a large army of undead, ranging from low-quality undead monsters like zombies and skeletons to ghosts, wraiths, dullahan, and death knights that could not be ignored.
In terms of numbers, there were roughly 20,000. Of course, most of them were low-level undead.
“Trust me and the knights. Surely you don’t doubt us?”
The knights and soldiers here were the elite of the elite. If we only count the personnel capable of fighting, there were over 5,000 of us. And since there were many knights, even if there were over 20,000 undead, we could easily win if we focused on defense.
“I trust you! I do… but what if I get hit by a stray attack? I have a noble duty to inherit the throne. I can’t die here…”
“Your Highness’s patheticness is making me want to swing my sword wrong. Before I go blind, go out there and show your bravery. Quickly!”
“B-Baron! The sword, the blade touched my back! I understand, so put the sword down!”
“That’s not a sword, it’s aura. Would I openly point a sword at Your Highness’s back?”
“……”
The Prince rushed forward with a pale face. It seemed I was scarier than the undead. I followed behind the Prince with the female knights and glanced back.
“Don’t panic! We can overcome this! The injured retreat, and those who are fine, pick up stones and attack the undead! Use the carriages to block the front, and gather unnecessary luggage to start a fire, which is the nemesis of the undead!”
Princess Eileen gave instructions without rest. She had a charisma that captivated people. If I left it like this, it would only be helping Princess Eileen.
I opened my mouth wide, took in the cold air, and shouted.
“The Prince is personally taking the field! Don’t retreat! The Prince’s sword will give those dead corpses a second death!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Prince Aiden. The Prince felt the attention and raised his sword. I, who was close by, could see the Prince’s body trembling. As expected, Prince Aiden had a bit of a show-off tendency.
“T-that’s right! I will kill these rotten-smelling bastards again!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The morale of the knights and soldiers rose. The Prince was directly taking the field. He was bound to stand out more than Princess Eileen, who was giving instructions from behind.
“Yiaaaaaah!”
Prince Aiden swung his sword at a zombie. The effect of the dwarf-made anti-undead sword was excellent. It cleanly split the zombie’s body as if cutting tofu.
“I, I…”
Prince Aiden, who had swung his sword more than anyone else here, was the most surprised and delighted.
“I defeated an undead!”
The Prince shouted. It seemed like his adrenaline was exploding. I didn’t stop him and silently dealt with the undead around him. It was better than him crying about being scared of zombies.
‘Now it’s time to get rid of Princess Eileen. If the Princess’s command continues until the end, she will be the one to take the glory. Her commands have been accurate so far. Where is Yuria?’
I had given Yuria three orders.
The first was the destruction of the undead dungeon and the luring of the undead army. That was a success.
The second was the assassination of Duke Sunheights in the midst of the chaos. No matter how I thought about it, Duke Sunheights seemed like he would only get in my way, so I was planning to deal with him this time.
The third was the kidnapping of Princess Eileen. To remove the Princess from the funeral procession. Not to kill her. Just to prevent the funeral from ending. Then her reputation would fall.
Kwaaaang! Bang!
Explosion-like battle sounds came from behind. The undead army was pushing from the front, and there were no enemies behind us. In other words, this battle sound was caused by Yuria. I had a hunch that something had gone wrong.
‘Damn it. The giant of the North. Marquis Lukeman Petras!’
A week ago, when I visited the North, Marquis Lukeman Petras had joined the procession. It seemed he was near Duke Sunheights.
‘This is the worst-case scenario I expected.’
Marquis Petras was a master. Even Yuria wouldn’t be able to easily subdue him unless she went all out. Right now, Yuria was fighting while hiding her appearance with magic and slightly concealing her power. And…
‘Marquis Petras can’t die here right now. If he’s not there when the war intensifies later, the North will collapse.’
Yuria had told me about Marquis Petras herself.
‘At the very least, I have to kidnap Princess Eileen. Yuria will know that too, so she’ll either subdue Marquis Petras or shake him off. Now that the plan has started, there’s no need to feel impatient.’
I gripped my sword and focused on my task. I had to protect Prince Aiden and help him shine.
“You rotten-smelling things! I will wipe you all out! I am the Prince of Rapelli!”
Prince Aiden shouted and swung his sword. He was completely excited after tasting victory. In reality, it was all thanks to his equipment, not his skill. And the dangerous undead were found and dealt with by me and Floy first. Only zombies and skeletons were being sliced by Prince Aiden’s sword.
“I, I am the Prince!”
Perhaps Prince Aiden’s inferiority complex had exploded.
***
An hour passed.
It was starting to get tiring. Prince Aiden was already exhausted and was hiding among the knights, resting. And in the back…
Kwaaaang! Bang!
Yuria and Marquis Petras were still fighting. I thought about Marquis Petras. Marquis Petras had visited my territory before. He and I had competed in javelin throwing, and I had lost. He was a master with outstanding skills.
“Enemy!”
Someone’s voice was heard. Knowing that the enemy wasn’t referring to the undead, I raised my head.
“Enemy!”
The voice came from behind.
“Block them! They’re coming from behind! Block them!!!”
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
“Knight! My knight! What are you doing! Protect me… Kuaaaak!”
“Royal Knights of Rapelli! Give your lives to protect the Princess!”
I climbed onto the carriage and checked the back of the formation. Unidentified enemies, armed with armor and swords, were running towards the Princess.
‘Mercenaries? No. If you look closely, those bastards’ movements are consistent. Their teamwork is good too… They’re professionally trained. Some of them have movements that are beyond ordinary people. They’re knights.’
They weren’t part of my plan. And they were people Yuria hadn’t anticipated either.
‘Did they secretly follow us from behind? Or were they ambushing nearby? Who the hell are they? Could it be….’
The movements of the guys targeting the Princess were unusual. The royal knights were busy. I couldn’t just let Princess Eileen die like this.
“My Lord?!”
“Floy! Protect the Prince!”
Floy and the female knights would perfectly carry out my orders.
‘Acceleration.’
I used the skill to increase my speed. I jumped over the carriages and arrived in front of Princess Eileen. Princess Eileen was standing on top of a carriage to give commands. I stabbed the heart of the enemy aiming for Princess Eileen and grabbed Princess Eileen’s waist, pulling her down from the carriage. It was easier to deal with the enemies below the carriage than above it.
“Baron Prucus?!”
“Yes. Princess Eileen. It’s Baron Prucus.”
I looked around. The royal knights were fighting frantically. Some of them were already dead, lying on the ground as corpses.
“Why did the Baron… no, why did Baron-nim come to save me?”
“You can speak comfortably without pretense.”
“……Why are you saving me? Wouldn’t it be better for the Baron if I died?”
“I’m hurt. Princess. I am a noble of Rapelli.”
“I thought it was the Baron’s trick.”
“Even if I were your rival, I wouldn’t do something like this.”
“Princess Eileen! Dieeeeee!”
I split the body of the guy who was running at us, gripping his sword tightly with both hands and strongly raising his aura. Blood splattered everywhere. Arrows were flying. They weren’t aiming for me, but for Princess Eileen.
‘Instant.’
I raised my sword and deflected all the arrows.
“It seems the Princess is very popular. Do you know who they are?”
“……If it’s not your trick, they’re probably soldiers from the Bitrase Kingdom.”
The Bitrase Kingdom.
It was a neighboring country to the west of the Rapelli Kingdom. And as the saying goes, neighboring countries are distant countries, so the relationship was not good, even worse than with the Valt Kingdom.
“They’re not even glancing at the Prince, and only targeting the Princess.”
“The Bitrase Kingdom knows that I shouldn’t become king.”
Well, Princess Eileen was quite capable.
I swung my sword in front of Princess Eileen, protecting her like an iron wall. The number of enemies who died by my hand exceeded 20. Princess Eileen, who had found some breathing room, watched the situation with her arms crossed.
“Baron. Your skills are outstanding. It’s a waste for you to be under my brother. Would you consider coming to me?”
“If you become my woman, I’ll think about it positively.”
“You’re rejecting me with a vulgar joke. It was a sincere offer… I’m heartbroken.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Never mind. I give up.”
Marquis Petras, who had been fighting Yuria, joined the battle. Yuria had tried to escape a long time ago, but Marquis Petras had persistently targeted her, so she couldn’t easily get away, and only now had she finally managed to escape successfully. Marquis Petras began to slaughter the enemies as if to release the anger of losing Yuria. Every time his huge spear was swung, more than three enemies were swept away.
As the situation reversed, the enemies began to flee. There was me, protecting Princess Eileen, and Marquis Pertas, who was showing off a peerless force comparable to Lu Bu. Their morale was bound to plummet.
I touched my left shoulder and stopped the bleeding. No matter how skilled I was, I couldn’t perfectly block the enemies without getting injured.
“Princess Eileen. Why are you being quiet? Isn’t it more beneficial for you to give commands?”
“It’s my consideration for the Baron. The Baron is planning to make my brother the main player in this incident. I’ll play along. I won’t give any more commands.”
I lowered my sword and looked at Princess Eileen.
“Well, thank you. It was worth saving you.”
“Let me tell you, this is just consideration for the Baron. I’ll repay the debt of saving my life separately later.”
She was on a different level than Aiden. I almost wanted to pounce on her.
After that, Marquis Petras jumped into the undead army. The battle was over in less than three hours. Roughly 2,000 casualties occurred. Duke Sunheights only injured his right arm and was not in any life-threatening danger.
I had hoped that Prince Aiden would gain fame, but instead, my fame spread even more.
“I heard that Baron Prucus protected Princess Eileen against 30 knights.”
“30 knights? I heard it was 40. A royal knight I know was nearby, and he was so excited, saying it was like a hero from history.”
“As expected of the bloodline of Baron Prucus.”
Aiden was disappointed and locked himself in the carriage. Still, it was true that his reputation had improved a little.
‘……This is 100% Princess Eileen’s doing.’
It was different from the plan, but it wasn’t a bad thing that my fame had increased.
