Ch#47
***
***
Regardless of his situation, the conquest of the Eastern Kingdom proceeded smoothly.
The Imperial Army pushed deeper into the heart of the Kingdom. As they drew closer to the capital, stronger wizards and knights were dispatched, but it made no difference to Victor.
He could no longer be affected by illusion magic.
He had already lost his mind.
The Grand Duke, who could ignore magic, became a nightmare for the Eastern Kingdom. As the number of soldiers he slew surpassed several hundred, the enemy began fleeing at the sight of the Black Lion insignia.
Nevertheless, the Eastern Kingdom refused to surrender. They denounced the Empire's aggression and resisted to the bitter end. The Imperial Army seized castle after castle, destroying their territories one by one.
After months of relentless assault, the only remaining city was Narande.
“Narande won’t be difficult to attack. It sits on a wide plain, surrounded by the Black Mountains. It’s ideal for a siege.”
“The problem is the wizards there, far stronger than the others.”
His staff’s words went in one ear and out the other. He was too exhausted to concentrate.
The staff continued, occasionally glancing at the Grand Duke, who had grown ferocious and brooding lately.
“The Queen of the Eastern Kingdom is a fearsome wizard, your highness. They say she can summon a fireball or call down a rainstorm with a single gesture.”
“Understood.”
Victor rose quietly. He could sense those around him shrinking back.
The Grand Duke leaned over the large map used for planning.
“Position our cavalry on the left and right flanks. Place the infantry in the center and draw their attention with catapults. The knights will swiftly approach the fortress walls. I’ll take the lead.”
“But wouldn’t that be too dangerous…?”
Victor looked up impassively.
“You know no one but me can break through, don’t you? This battle could end the war. It’s only natural to take any risk.”
They eventually nodded in agreement.
A detailed strategy was finalized, and the meeting adjourned. Victor exited the command tent amid fearful whispers rippling through the camp.
‘Come to think of it, Carlz mentioned rumors circulating.’
‘That I’m a man-eating monster or a dragon that only awakens at night.’
Command had threatened punishment under military law for spreading false rumors about the commander-in-chief, but in the end, they could do nothing.
Victor didn’t care. Given his condition, it was better if no one approached him.
Of course, his knights ignored the rumors entirely. They always welcomed their lord upon his return.
“Welcome back, my lord.”
“Care for some ale?”
Victor declined the offered cup and approached the bonfire. They quickly gathered around him.
Victor spoke curtly.
“We attack Narande tomorrow.”
The knights exchanged tense glances, especially after witnessing the Eastern Kingdom’s power firsthand. The Southern Kingdom had been nearly defenseless, but the East was the opposite. Without Victor, the Knights of Morte would have suffered heavy losses.
“Are we taking the lead?”
“Yes. To be precise, I—”
Victor cut himself off.
“Carlz has approved. No objections.”
Leonard bit his lip, unconvinced but bound by knightly duty not to defy his lord.
Sir Raoul of Radan joked to lighten the mood.
“Well, tomorrow we meet one of the continent’s strongest women. The wizard queen of the Eastern Kingdom… looking forward to it?”
“She’s the pinnacle of them all… Who else?”
“A few. Like the Mercenary King Yaji.”
“Yaji’s a woman?!”
The knights swiftly shifted topics, gossiping perhaps to dispel the tension of war.
Jane of Shaver, who had wandered the continent for over five years, chimed in.
“Southern Kingdom women are stunningly beautiful, Eastern ones wield magic. But the strongest are surely from the Northern Kingdom.”
“The Northern Kingdom? Isn’t it just called ‘the Kingdom’?”
“Oh, right. That’s what Imperials call it.”
Jane shrugged.
The Northern Kingdom had long been an Imperial vassal, so Imperials shortened it to simply ‘the Kingdom.’
Jane continued.
“The Kingdom is brutally barren. The capital’s tolerable, but the farther north, the fiercer the monsters. So plenty of women there handle weapons expertly.”
“Stronger than Yaji?”
“Who knows…”
Jane chuckled lightly.
“No one knows what lurks in the Black Mountains, right? There might even be monsters among the people. Rumor has it the Kingdom’s strongest knight is a woman.”
“Kinda scary.”
“Imagine: a woman as strong as his highness…”
The knights glanced at their lord and shuddered, picturing the continent’s mightiest male and female knights together.
Victor chided them playfully.
He didn’t stop them; it was a topic that intrigued him.
A strong woman. Someone who could subdue him, grant him rest instead of falling to his blade.
That was the person he sought.
‘Perhaps we’ll meet soon.’
The Grand Duke sank into thought.
Tomorrow, he would face the continent’s mightiest wizard. Intelligence reported the queen could incinerate hundreds of knights in an instant.
Victor gripped his sword hilt with grim anticipation.
***
The battle began at dawn.
As Imperial soldiers advanced on the castle, arrows rained from the walls. Cavalry flanked swiftly to the front lines while infantry shielded against the barrage.
Then, heat scorched the sky above.
“Everyone, scatter!!”
A massive fireball slammed into the ground, hurling knights aside. Victor steadied his spooked horse and gazed upward.
It was an eerie sight.
Fireballs poured down like rain.
Shouts erupted everywhere as soldiers scattered, formations crumbling. But the Knights of Morte had anticipated this. They advanced boldly to the trumpet’s call.
Victor led his knights on horseback.
Spotting the Black Lion insignia, enemy soldiers screamed.
“Walking Death!”
Victor cleaved through foes like paper. Lightning crashed from the heavens, but the Grand Duke scaled the walls undeterred. Neither arrows nor men could stop him. He slew wizards, knights, and archers alike, clearing a path for his allies.
His senses dulled to the metallic tang of blood. The ceaseless screams felt dreamlike.
And thus… the Grand Duke encountered the Queen of the Eastern Kingdom.
She wasn’t atop the walls but below, in a heavily guarded prayer chamber. The Grand Duke cut down the guards and entered.
It was unnaturally quiet inside.
A vast magic circle etched the floor, ancient runes encircling its edge, glowing black.
The woman at its center turned slowly.
Like Victor, the Queen recognized him instantly.
“Alas, death draws near.”
She laughed malevolently.
“I expected the face of a haughty victor, but Victor, why do you crave death?”
The Grand Duke stared silently.
She must have cast some spell. It felt as if she read his thoughts.
The Queen smirked twistedly.
“Lacking the courage to plunge a dagger into your heart, you seek another’s blade. You’re too strong for me to kill.”
The Grand Duke finally spoke.
“Then what am I to do?”
“You ravage my realm and ask me for answers?”
“Your people killed my family.”
“Hahaha!”
The Queen burst into laughter.
“How ironic, knight. In revenge’s name, you’ve slain countless of my subjects. Now you seek rest after such sins? You grow ever uglier.”
The Queen raised a finger, pointing at the Grand Duke.
“I’m finished, but one final act remains.”
Her lustrous copper hair framed her ornate crown perfectly.
“Your nightmares shall persist beyond the battlefield. No poison, magic, blade—not even your own—shall wound you. No matter how desperately you wish it.”
The Grand Duke’s eyes widened.
She invoked a curse few wizards dared attempt. Independent of the caster’s fate, curses endured based on their power; mighty wizards’ lingered for years.
This Queen’s curse…
The Queen laughed.
“You cannot die. That is my vengeance.”
As her words ended, knights burst through the door. They found the Queen and drew swords, but she extended her hands meekly. Wary, they bound her wrists.
Victor stared blankly.
His vengeance complete, the Eastern Kingdom’s throne was his.
Yet he felt nothing.
All for naught.
He was suffocating.
***
