Chapter 357 – 102. The Beginning of the Raid (3)
Holy sword Siertia. And after the sword, Atlin’s sword. That sword is a famous sword handed down from the first Reinhardt.
In the Reinhard family, there are not one or two heroes who left their names in history.
Of course, the High Knights of the Guard Knights did not know the name of the holy sword. And the rumors about the sword were well known to the knights.
Lyles said.
“Sir Tyler is right. I heard that Siertia is the Ego Sword with her ego. As well as a holy sword blessed by Jedin. So, I heard that even the head of the Reinhardt family was not chosen by that holy sword.”
“I’ve heard of that too. As it is a very excellent holy sword, they say that it is very picky about choosing its owner.”
Most of the head of the Reinhardt family is a swordsman who is chosen as the strongest of the time. It seems that the standard for selecting the owner of the holy sword was so difficult that even such great swordsmen could not be chosen by the holy sword.
‘A sword that emits such a divine light. Rather, it must be natural.’
However, Siertia has been known to have gone missing since the last use by Atlin, the swordsman, 100 years ago.
So, the hero of the Great War, Marquis Wilhelm. The Lion Grand Duke’s sword was also a sword other than Siertia’s.
‘Still, His Highness Wilhelm would definitely be chosen by Siertia.’
However, the current Siertia’s owner was not him, but Wilhelm’s grandson Julian. Tyler mentioned it.
“The fact that Siertia, which has returned, has chosen Count Julian, it might mean that at least that Count’s potential is greater than Grand Duke Lion.”
At Tyler’s words, the knights’ expressions changed. It was an obvious surprise. Lyles agreed.
“If we hadn’t seen the Count’s skills in person, we wouldn’t have believed it.”
The Royal Guard Knights knew the information about Yulian better than expected. He was the fiancé of the princess, Lilia. It was also the duty of the Knights of the Royal Guard to keep track of information about him.
I heard that Archduke Wilhelm cared very much for his only blood relative, Julian. So it seems that he didn’t properly scold him for his foolish behavior.
If the knight here also hadn’t seen Yulian’s true face in Dalian and the underground sewer. Of course, he must have misunderstood that the margrave, who cared for his son-in-law even to death, reluctantly gifted the holy sword.
Of course, none of the current knights suspected Yulian.
“In the past, we would have misunderstood like that. However, since we who are here have seen the count use the holy sword in person. Like Sir Tyler said, the Lion Grand Duke may have believed in the Count’s potential and handed over the holy sword.”
The knights nodded. If only he had received the holy sword because he was the heir to the family. There was no way the count could use the holy sword so well.
A little while ago, in the underground sewer, the holy sword constantly emits light green holy power, proving its divinity.
The user of that sword is Count Julian. So, the Count is saying that he has enough qualifications as a user of the holy sword.
‘And with that sword, I cut the beasts’ necks very lightly. It’s proof that he’s already using that holy sword like a limb.’
Not only that. Just a while ago, the basilisk, that type 1 vicious beast, had hardened its body as it was.
The Earl explained that the phenomenon was due to Siertia’s divine power.
Lyles clearly saw it. A basilisk’s evil eye that paralyzes anyone it encounters. But rather than avoiding those eyes, the count looked straight ahead.
‘According to common sense, this is very crazy. That Evil Eye is so terrifying that even priests with very high divine power and outstanding auditors can’t stand it.’
But the Count was not at all afraid of the basilisk. No, rather, it was the basilisk that was feared.
‘It is possible to scare a basilisk with a human gaze. It’s really unbelievable.’
Of course, the highest-ranking monsters are not afraid of humans. Not to mention, the Basilisk is a vicious monster that is called a Demon Dragon depending on the region and is feared.
Even the demonized basilisk was several times stronger than that.
However, the Count subdued the demon with only his gaze. That meant that the count’s status had already reached immobility.
‘At least 50 years of dedication to swordsmanship… Do you mean that young Count has a heart that’s as strong as Vice-captain Tyrese’s?’
If I had told this to the other knights of the Royal Guard, not to the knights here. I would have thought it an outrageous lie. But it was true.
Unknowingly, Lyles was filled with awe for Count Julian.
“Sir Lyles. I guess it’s time to get out of here.”
Then, the count who followed behind approached the knights and said. Siertia once again emitted divine power.
“May you be blessed by the Great Light, Jedin.”
In that divine light, the knights once again put on their pious expressions. Lyles, too, bowed his head towards Count Julian before he knew it.
After a while, the party left the sewer and entered the imperial palace.
And the imperial palace had changed to a completely different place from where she had been before.
***
The faces of the group became serious.
The party who came out through the exit to the sewer were now on the outskirts of the imperial palace. And as soon as they entered the imperial palace, Siertia showed a violent reaction.
‘This area. His magic power is too high.’
Common sense makes it impossible. This was the center of the empire, the imperial palace.
A place where more sacred obelisks are installed than anywhere else. Not to mention, the concentration of magical spirits shouldn’t be so high in this place, which isn’t even an underground sewer like it was just a moment ago.
“What the hell is going on in the imperial palace…”
Lyles was wary of his surroundings. The imperial palace is not just a place with one huge building. This is a place where dozens of huge buildings are located on a wide site.
In other words, it is more than three times the size of the Pantheon’s academy.
The place where the party is located is the outskirts of the site. Even though it was on the outskirts of the imperial palace, the atmosphere was filled with demonic spirit power.
Then there was only one conclusion.
“The center of the imperial palace. Something must be happening in the Central War.”
The knights nodded at my words.
“But in order to defeat Grius, we must enter the place. No matter what the risk, we must go to the central battle…”
Lyles calmed the excited knights for a moment.
“I agree with that idea. The one who is leading us right now is Count Julian. Let’s listen to what the Count has to say.”
All eyes of the group were on me. I answered.
“Considering the time it took to get here, the rebels and resistance forces would have already engaged in battle by now. Still, I guess I’ll have to look at the imperial palace’s reaction.”
I spoke to Lyles and asked where to hide for a while.
“Then follow me. We know the location of the imperial palace best.”
A warehouse used by the servants of the imperial palace. The group hid themselves around it.
“This is a deserted place. Since it is a garden outside, there will be no one walking around leisurely now that it is an exhibition. And if the opponent is an ordinary servant, not an Awakener, they won’t be able to find our presence.”
Still, the imperial palace is in the middle of the enemy camp. Rosette cast a spell to completely erase his party’s presence. I said to Lyles.
“It’s good that it’s out of the way so there’s nothing to be discovered, but instead, it must’ve been difficult to infiltrate the central battle that much.”
“That’s right. I know the shortest route to it, but right now I don’t know who might be waiting there…”
Lyles was right. If the vigilance is strict, and if the fact that the party infiltrated from this outskirts is discovered. The success rate of a raid is that much lower.
‘Not only the Greek guards, but also the Byrea mercenaries. If even the monsters we met in the sewer stop us…’
So it was difficult If you lose your strength before you even meet Chris. No matter how bad it is, it’s dangerous.
And the intuition as a Demonic Dragon warned him. There must be a reason for the magic power that is full around you. In order to respond to that variable, we had to maintain the power of our allies.
‘Then we have to go all the way to the central battle while minimizing the party’s damage…’
However, if I couldn’t move while hiding my body like this, it would be difficult to find the optimal route.
There might be a way to scout the surroundings using spirits.
This is the Imperial Palace. So even among the guards, there were spiritists with excellent skills. If they find me or Rosette’s spirit, the party’s location may be traced back.
Lyles said that there was no way he didn’t know that the current situation was not easy.
“It is difficult. You cannot stay here forever. There is no doubt that the surroundings will be strictly guarded, so if that’s the case, we’ll open the way even at the risk of our lives…”
“No. You don’t have to do that.”
“But otherwise, at the moment, we can’t clear the road to the central war…”
“You don’t have to worry. There is a way to figure out the safest route to Daejeon.”
Lyles looked at me curiously. Like I said earlier, I was confident.
It wasn’t just me and the knights who entered this place. Lucia and Rosette are also there. And Rosette is a very outstanding witch who was born with true blood witch’s blood.
‘I thought something like this might happen. That’s why I brought Rosette with me.’
Rosette also noticed the intention of my words. She said.
“For a moment. If it were me, I could look around without being noticed by the guards.”
At the same time as he said that, Rosette’s red eyes glowed.
***
A little time has passed.
Rosette’s eyes were still shining.
“There are too many troops deployed in the imperial palace than I thought. It seems that some troops were left here even though the battle between the rebels and the resistance should have started.”
At the same time as she said that, she created a video-like picture on the wall behind the warehouse with her spirit art.
The image made of water projected the image of the imperial palace as it was, like a moving map. The knights admired the magic beyond common sense.
“Such sophisticated magic. With this moving map, I think I can figure out the movements of the guards!”
Like that said. Rosette used her witch’s spell to make a friendly contract with the creatures around the imperial palace in real time.
So, a bird perched on a tree. A bug landed on the grass. Even small animals like squirrels. All of her became her Rosette’s familiar, and she was giving her real-time information about the surroundings of the Imperial Palace.
‘It’s really ridiculous magic.’
It is not an area that can be achieved through effort. The Imperial Palace is very large. In order to grasp all the information in that area, the number of familiars required exceeded dozens.
‘And Rosette succeeded in that contract.’
Considering that it is difficult for ordinary witches to command more than three familiars. What Rosette did was nothing short of a miracle.
‘It’s not just that. Reconstructing the shared visual information through the spirit…’
Rosette has always been familiar to me, though I sometimes forgot about it. She was born with true blood witch blood.
I realized again that I was Rosette, who had been chosen as the best cadet of the Pantheon. Lyles said, checking all the real-time information provided by Rosette.
“With a force of this size, there are far more guards than we could have imagined. And the ominous predictions were correct. It seems that Grius somehow tamed and used the Witchbeasts.”
Like he said It seemed that not only the guards but also the monsters seen in the sewer were now located throughout the imperial palace.
But Lyles was not discouraged. I asked him
“Still, we have to go catch Grius. Isn’t it?”
“The Count is right!”
And he said confidently.
“When it comes to the imperial palace, we know better than anyone else. I’ve already figured out the layout of the guards through this map. I will guide you to the safest route.”
I answered him.
“I will believe you. Please guide me to the Central Daejeon.”
The party left the outskirts of the imperial palace as it was. And the party soon encountered a new danger.
