Chapter 24
We will bring down the lord.
Rex knew the weight of those words all too well.
But he could no longer stand by and watch the count's tyranny.
The people who had placed their trust in him could not be allowed to be sacrificed any longer.
With that principle in mind, Rex explained the operation to the knights.
“Innocent people must not be harmed.”
Even if they advanced on the capital, the battle could not take place in the outer city where ordinary people lived.
The battle had to take place exclusively at the lord's mansion and in the inner city.
To accomplish that, this force of just over a thousand guards needed to infiltrate at least as far as the inner city without being discovered.
“Can it be done?”
At Rex's question, the knights nodded without hesitation.
Thus, the operation was decided, and another three days passed.
The setting shifted to the capital where the lord resided.
On a night when everyone was fast asleep,
the guards stationed before the walls of the inner city, divided among the east, west, south, and north, were fighting off their drowsiness with yawns.
It was an ordinary, dull night, no different from any other.
That silence was shattered in an instant when an unidentified group approached the walls.
“Who goes there!”
A soldier guarding the eastern wall aimed his spear at the approaching group.
“Stop right there!”
Despite the soldier's warning, the group's advance showed no sign of stopping.
In the end, the soldier hurriedly shouted toward his comrade resting inside the guard post.
“Inform headquarters! Intruders!”
But no response came from his comrade.
“What are you doing? Contact them, quickly!”
Despite the guard's desperate shouting, no response came.
Only then did the guard realize that something was wrong and enter the guard post.
The guard rushed into the post.
Fortunately—or so it seemed—his comrade was perfectly fine.
Thinking that his comrade had fallen asleep, the guard patted his shoulder to wake him.
“There are intruders ahead! Contact headquarters, quickly!”
His lips moved soundlessly.
“What?”
But his comrade merely mouthed something, and no voice emerged.
It was only after belatedly realizing that his own voice was not carrying either that the guard's face turned pale.
“My voice···!”
“Communication and conversation are the only ways for humanity to venture beyond the caves.”
As though answering the guard's mutter, the intruder whom he had thought was far away spoke from behind him.
The guard's neck turned with a creak.
When the guard looked back, the dark elf man who met his eyes smiled gently.
“It is admirable to fulfill one's duty as a soldier, but unfortunately, the ruler you serve is no superman. To avoid diminishing your worth··· Ah, I don't have enough time to explain.”
The dark elf—First Company Commander Hedonius—wiped the smile from his face.
“Lower your spears. My lord does not wish for unnecessary bloodshed.”
As though agreeing with the dark elf, the knights behind him drew their swords, radiating a menacing aura.
The guards, their faces deathly pale, barely managed to nod.
Thus, the First Company passed the guards without making a sound.
The sight of so many knights moving in unison without even the sound of armor was downright eerie.
At the head of the group, Hedonius muttered,
“Under a lord who sells his own worth for far too little, there is no way loyal subjects willing to risk death could emerge.”
The knights following him nodded in agreement.
Eastern wall secured.
*
Something similar occurred at the western gate.
However, the person who came to the western gate was somewhat less courteous than the First Company Commander.
Thud.
The pale-faced guards collapsed at the entrance.
Anyone who had ever bled even a little would have recognized the symptoms as anemia.
Amid the soldiers who had collapsed en masse from anemia, a middle-aged man with a jaunty mustache appeared.
“You are fortunate. A trial that does not kill you is not an opportunity that comes easily. I hope this experience helps you grow.”
The man—Second Company Commander Jinaria—placed red flowers on the fallen soldiers and walked past them.
As the flowers melted over the fallen soldiers, color returned to their faces as well.
After passing through the entrance, the company commander unfurled a red cloak.
Swish.
Wherever the cloak's shadow passed, countless knights appeared.
At the head of the knights whose red eyes gleamed, Second Company Commander Jinaria bared his fangs.
“Now, it is time to pull down those who uphold this indolent morality.”
Western wall secured.
*
While the eastern and western walls were being seized, the northern wall was conquered faster than either of them.
However, the person who came there was also the most ruthless by comparison.
The one who came offered neither conversation nor an exchange.
Passing by the guards who had frozen—not metaphorically, but literally—the Third Company Commander radiated cold.
“I didn't kill them. I didn't.”
Third Company Commander Remesis patted the shoulder of a guard who had become an ice statue.
“They'll thaw by tomorrow morning. They might suffer from a cold, but that's better than dying, isn't it?”
He moved the ice statues into a corner and entered proudly with his company.
At that moment, a scar-faced man who appeared to be his adjutant asked Remesis a question.
“Aren't you going to persuade them or call for their surrender?”
“Would that change anything?”
“When you put it that way, I have no answer.”
Remesis replied curtly, twisted the corner of his mouth, and hurried onward.
“Tsk. My cigarette froze.”
He shattered the frozen cigarette, took out a new one, and lit it.
Northern gate secured.
***
The southern gate remained peaceful until the three gates had been conquered··· or rather, infiltrated.
But only after the other three locations had been quietly seized did visitors arrive at the southern gate.
Footsteps.
One knight, one maid,
and one ordinary boy(?).
The group of three approached the southern gate head-on.
The guards were not so lax that they would overlook a group approaching the entrance after curfew.
“Contact headquarters!”
“We can't get through!”
“What?”
While the guards exchanged those words, the edge of a greatsword came to rest against one of their necks.
Duke spoke from behind the guard, who had frozen in place.
“I will not kill you. You did not see us today. Understood?”
The guards all nodded.
However, one soldier who still had a sense of justice drew his spear and aimed it at Duke.
Seeing the soldier's determination to fulfill his duty as a guard even if he could not win, Duke sighed.
“Loyalty is a virtue, but blind loyalty to a foolish ruler is mere stupidity.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange sound began coming from the conscientious soldier's throat.
Ghurk.
The soldier soon collapsed.
As though making an excuse to Rex, Duke spoke to another soldier.
“Take care of that soldier. And when your friend opens his eyes, ask him which sort of lord he intends to serve.”
Southern gate secured.
***
The operation had originally been intended to begin with infiltration.
But somehow, each company interpreted Rex's orders as permission to conquer the walls.
[We weren't discovered, right?]
[We weren't.]
[We were not, sir.]
They insisted that it counted as infiltration because they themselves had not been discovered.
Naturally, it was obvious who had taught them to operate this way.
[Duke. What have you been teaching them every night?]
“I merely gave them advice, as I did Ari.”
As a result, the company commanders and knights had each risen by one tier compared to before they had disbanded at the research facility.
However, whether that was the price or not, they seemed to have become slightly unhinged.
[Madness E]
The fact that this trait had been added to most of the knights Rex examined was proof of that.
Rex sighed and issued orders for the next operation.
[We'll head toward the lord. Handle the other vassals and knights in the inner city.]
[[Yep.]]
After sending the message, Rex headed toward the mansion.
While they were heading there, reports came in from each company that they had been discovered.
However, Rex had already anticipated this.
It would have been strange to think that several hundred knights crossing the residential district of the inner city, where the lord's close aides and vassals lived, would not be noticed.
In any case, they had assumed a frontal battle from the moment they entered the inner city.
[We will begin the battle.]
The company commanders sent brief messages and began engaging in battle.
Rex continued walking toward the mansion while issuing commands in real time.
Boom! Crash! Flash!
Ice pillars rose throughout the inner city, lightning crashed down, and red trees burst into bloom.
Thanks to the companies making such a spectacular mess of things, Rex's group reached the intersection where the mansion's main gate was visible without any interference.
However, Rex's smooth advance ended there.
Seeing a woman standing guard at the main gate, Rex let out a low groan.
“Lady Sneria···”
Under the moonlight, a woman with skin as white as snow lowered her head.
“I'm sorry. It's a contract between lords.”
“That lord won't honor his contract with you, Lady Sneria.”
“I know. I know there is no reason to show loyalty to someone who is doomed to fall. But in our domain, trust is a weapon. If we lose our credibility in this domain, what will the other lords think of us?”
She lightly snapped her fingers.
Black armor formed over her black uniform.
Then, when she lightly tapped the ground with her toe, a black scythe rose from beneath it.
“This is my duty as a lord. There are no personal feelings involved. You understand that well. The weight of responsibility.”
Rex seemed unable to refute her, so he steeled himself and gave Ari an order.
“Ari. I'm counting on you.”
“Yes, Master.”
Rex did not yet want to reveal the trump card known as Duke to the lord, so he sent Ari first.
‘I'm sorry, Lady Sneria, but···’
Moreover, Sneria was about one tier weaker than the other lords.
Against a level 49 opponent, Ari should be more than enough.
Duke merely stood beside Rex with his arms folded, quietly nodding.
“I shall go.”
Ari soon steeled her resolve and charged toward Hana.
All the while, Hana remained motionless before the mansion's main gate.
When Hana finally came within Ari's attack range,
‘Divine Possession!’
she released the White Tiger's battle aura and accelerated even further.
It was one of the minor techniques Duke had taught her to deceive an opponent's senses.
But Hana did not move from her spot even when Ari's fist reached her.
Then Hana's head burst apart from the blow, and when shadow rather than blood and brains spilled from the shattered head, Ari realized her mistake.
“Oh no—”
The shadow that had maintained Hana's form until a moment ago became a snake and coiled around Ari.
Having bound Ari with Ari's shadow, Hana rose from it and spoke.
“That was a fierce strike for someone just entering the fourth tier. But your understanding of magic is lacking.”
As Hana pointed out, Ari's understanding of magic was her weakness.
Normally, Ari would have tried to make up for that shortcoming.
But Ari did not.
“Grrr···”
“Hmm?”
“Aaaah!!!”
With a mighty shout, Ari tore apart the shadow binding her.
Hana expressed surprise for the first time.
“You're tough.”
“I-! I cannot lose here!”
“Neither can I.”
Hana transformed into shadow again and slipped beneath Ari's feet.
“Where are you going!”
Ari slammed her foot into the ground with a powerful stomp.
Cracks like a spiderweb raced across the earth.
But Hana was nowhere to be seen beneath it.
“Careless. And crude.”
Hana emerged from the shadow of a wall and swung her scythe.
Ari ducked beneath the attack, but at that moment, the scythe transformed into a whip and coiled around Ari's leg.
“Cool your head.”
Hana wrapped the whip around Ari's ankle and lifted her into the air.
Then, using the shadow whip as a path, she swiftly moved behind Ari,
Wham!
and slammed Ari into the ground with a spinning kick difficult to associate with her delicate appearance.
Ari emerged from the dust amid a shower of stone fragments, coughing.
“Hmph. It doesn't hurt at all, you know?”
Ari spoke to Hana, who had turned away as though the fight were over.
But Hana did not answer her.
In response, Ari forgot even her manners and shouted indignantly.
“Where are you looking··· Huh?”
But before she could finish, Ari realized where she was and had no choice but to stop speaking.
“Whaaat??”
No wonder: moments earlier, Ari had broken through the wall with her attack and arrived at the lord's mansion.
And she was completely uninjured, despite having taken a fourth-tier attack.
Even after Ari had finally broken through the main gate, Hana was looking at Duke rather than her.
At this point, Ari could also read Hana's intention.
“Thank··· you?”
Hana did not answer.
At that moment, Duke also signaled to Rex.
“Go, my lord. I will handle things here.”
Duke would leave the lord to Ari while taking Hana himself.
After some hesitation, Rex nodded and ran toward Ari.
Hana pretended not to notice Rex passing her and looked only at Duke.
After sending the two of them on their way, Duke fell into brief reminiscence.
‘Just like the original.’
In the original story, Hana had also let Ari reach the mansion this way.
By pretending that she had lost track of her opponent in the chaos of battle.
She had deliberately used this method because there was a stark difference between doing one's best to fulfill a contract but failing and never trying in the first place.
The only difference in this world was that Duke himself had inserted his existence into the narrative.
“To catch both rabbits at once. A clever plan.”
“You figured it out.”
“With conviction settled in your eyes instead of fighting spirit, how could I fail to know?”
Of course, Duke had no ability to see through people by their eyes.
Duke ignored the conscience that kept nitpicking him and focused on the Shadow Queen before him.
He had thought of an even better story for this worldline.
“Out of respect for your honor, I will remain here.”
Wasn't it a more convincing excuse to say that Hana had sent Ari away because of Duke than to say that she had simply lost track of her opponent?
Realizing Duke's consideration, Hana tried to bow her head.
“Thank you for always looking out for me.”
Duke stopped her.
“I may have no ears, but there are many eyes watching. Do not bow your head.”
Duke's senses detected beings observing the scene from far away.
‘Spies from other domains, I suppose.’
He could not detect their voices, but they were at least watching the battle.
At Duke's words, Hana straightened and aimed her weapon again.
“I am incurring too many debts.”
“You may repay that debt later.”
Normally, he should have told her to repay it to Rex, her lord, but he did not even want to bring up those words, not even as an empty courtesy.
Duke mockingly called himself a jealous human, removed his cloak, and drew his greatsword during the brief moment when the cloak blocked their view.
“Show me all your strength from the outset. I will match it.”
As though responding to his words, she stamped her foot.
Shadows spread outward from her toes and surrounded Duke on every side.
“I am coming.”
With her declaration, countless silhouettes rose from her shadow.
All of them were her vassals.
The Shadow Queen.
That was why she had been given that epithet.
Her strength alone was already remarkable, but the true value of this ability lay in coordination.
The knights and vassals who shared her shadow magic could share their shadows with one another at will and coordinate with one another.
Because of this, her tier when coordinating with her vassals barely reached the middle of the fifth tier.
‘I almost want to let them land one hit.’
But Duke knew that allowing himself to be struck easily would instead be an insult to them, so
“Excellent.”
he stamped his foot as well, imitating her.
Rumble!
The shock wave produced by a single stomp swept through the vassals.
The shock wave's range did not end there.
The shadows surrounding Duke scattered as well, and the nearby buildings collapsed.
With the walls gone, the only place left for her shadows to extend was the ground.
Having created this scene with a single stomp, Duke looked around at Hana and the vassals surrounding him and spoke.
“I will say this one more time so there is no misunderstanding. Come at me with all your strength.”
The vassals, who had thought it was merely a performance, wiped away their cold sweat and readjusted their grips on their weapons.