They stood behind the building, protecting Sienna and Bluebell. Even at that moment, the fight continued in disarray.
“Damn it!”
Jamie wielded a sword, spitting out a harsh language. He had a lot of experience in combat with monsters, but the current battle was even worse.
Of course, the enemies in front of him were less militant than the monsters in the north. His sword was cutting through the bones and scraping through the flesh of human beings. Fighting against people made him feel terrible.
“I guess there’s a problem with the knights coming out of the palace.”
Said Havali with a somber face. Jamie nodded.
“We can’t stay here forever. I think we should either go through them to the palace or join another group of knights and endure.”
Sienna, who was protected behind Jamie, reacted to his words.
“Lord Waters! Let us join the Emperor. It’s closer than the imperial palace, and if they take the life of the emperor, we’ll lose everything even if we win.”
At Sienna’s words, both Jamie and the Knights of Phoenix nodded with a stiff face.
At that time, Carl checked the perimeter. The sudden attack left many dead. Everyone who survived was soaked with blood. Their appearance showed how fierce this battle was.
It was bitter in the mouth. The Royal Knights were informed of the revolt, and Kissinger was allowed to dispatch the Knights at any time, but there was still damage. Given the unexpectedly large number of Expert-class knights, it was clear that Castro sent his fullest power.
In fact, the problem was that there were more crowds due to the nature of the city march. While the carriages stretched thin and long so that there were many who could be protected, it was not easy to manage the knights.
Surprisingly, the archers have been prepared by the rebellions. The arrows from the roof of the building were pretty threatening.
The Royal Knights, who had participated in numerous battles, avoided arrows using topographical features, but the citizens who came out to see the parade did not avoid the attack properly. Watching the death of the people was hard even for Carl, who was accustomed to war.
“Protect the citizens!”
“Prevent unnecessary sacrifices!”
Carl’s cry was followed by his knights’ cries. They helped citizens who failed to cope with the sudden situation evacuate in a safe direction.
In the meantime, the knights of Arya wielded swords using the lives of the citizens as shields. It was more difficult for Carl’s knights to fight them than to fight with one arm tied, having to protect citizens against them who were only willing to kill unconditionally. But the Royal Knights couldn’t let the citizens die. The difficult battle continued.
Angry at the cowardly and barbaric behavior of the enemies, Carl moved more speedily in the direction where Arya was. It wasn’t difficult to find where she was because he was keeping an eye on the location of Arya’s wagon during the street parade.
The closer he approached her, the stronger the enemy’s attack became. But they couldn’t stop Carl and his knights from advancing. Finally, Carl was able to reach near Arya.
Arya stood with her back against the wall of the building near her carriage. Castro’s knights surrounded her to protect her. Dead bodies were full around them.
Carl yelled, glaring at Arya.
“As expected, you were the cause of this. Do you think you’ll get away with this treason?!”
“What do you mean treason? That’s ridiculous. I’m just trying to protect the Second Empress and her royal baby from the enemies.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hahaha! What’s wrong with you, smart man? You understood what I meant. History is written by the survivors. Today’s events will be recorded by those from the Castro Empire who will take the life of the Emperor. I will be the hero who protected the empress and her prince from danger.”
Sienna had reached near the road that Carl had drilled under the protection of the Knights of Phoenix and Jamie. Arya’s voice was also heard in her ears.
‘Arya! You’re exactly like in the past.’
But when she faced Arya’s ultimate motives, her fear subsided. There was Carl in front of her. He would surely protect herself and Sharillo.
Suddenly Sienna felt Bluebell shaking as she was holding her hand. Arya reached out to Bluebell.
“Empress Bluebell, please come this way. You should not be close to those who will soon be dead. The dead never try to die alone. They’re not going to let go of the Empress Bluebell’s ankle and fall into the swamp of death together.”
“Ah… ah… ah….”
Sienna looked to the side, doubting if Bluebell would readily hold Arya’s hand. She was groaning with her mouth open and with a look of despair. Her hand, held by Sienna, was ice-cold.
Bluebell managed to open her mouth and said, “Father…”
Arya tilted her head at her words.
“Father… …he’s…”
She only repeated the word ‘father’. Arya looked around her and found a body, and she put an exaggeratedly surprised look on her face.
“Oh, is this what the Empress Bluebell calls her father?”
The tears in Bluebell’s big eyes fell with a thud.
“Gosh, there are so many bodies lying on the ground that I can’t tell who is who.”
Arya pushed the body’s head with the tip of her foot as if touching something filthy. When the body’s head turned, everyone could see the face of Count Ferrer, whose eyes were wide open and whose breath had stopped.
Arya tapped the body in the face with her toes. Bluebell screamed at the act of defaming the deceased.
“What are you doing?!”
“Oh, don’t be too shocked. I’m checking whether he’s dead or alive.”
She said, looking back at Bluebell with a face of no pity.
“It seems to me that Count Ferrer is not responding—he must be dead. May the deceased rest in peace.”
Bluebell was about to blame Arya, and Arya said to Carl first.
“Your Majesty the Emperor! You are so cold-hearted.”
Carl frowned his brows. Sienna clung firmly to Bluebell, who was about to run out right away.
“The father of Empress Bluebell is your father-in-law, but you did not hesitate to take his life through your soldiers. Though Count Ferrer tried to rebel in agreement with Castro, isn’t this too cruel of you?”
“What are you talking about?! It must have been you that killed Count Ferrer.”
Arya shrugged at Carl’s accusation and said.
“Well, does it matter who killed him? He’s already dead.”
“Crazy b*tch!”
Shouted Siena, who had not been able to stand it anymore. Her stomach was seething with anger. How can a sane person do that? No demon crawling up from hell would do what Arya did.
Arya smiled and said to Carl.
“I don’t think I can give you any more time. Before your troops come out of the palace, I have to wipe out the witnesses. It would be embarrassing if the knights came out and you pointed me out as the leader of this.”
Carl frowned. Although he knew from the time when knights and soldiers mobilized by Arya indiscriminately killed citizens, she must have intended to slaughter all the citizens involved in the incident.
The dead were silent, and if they were exterminated, it could not be officially declared that Arya had revolted. Even if she was lucky enough to survive, those who were witnesses and survivors would remain silent in fear if Arya came to power because of this incident.
The time has long passed for Kissinger to arrive with the knights. It was too late, even considering the amount of delay it would have taken to get through the narrow and chaotic scene. There were knights planted by Arya elsewhere than in the front of the parade, so it was clear that they were fighting a showdown.
Carl fixed his sword. He couldn’t just wait for the reinforcements. Arya gave the order first.
“Take care of them all! But be sure to save one of the empresses, either Sienna or Bluebell.”
Arya looked at Sienna and said, “Actually, real would be better than a fake. Save that red-haired Sienna empress. Kill the rest of them all!”
Arya originally intended to take Carl’s life and lock Sienna up until she gave birth to a royal prince, or until it was time for Bluebell to pretend to have a baby.
Even if Carl died, Arya’s forces alone could not deal with the troops that followed Carl. It was clear that not only the armed forces in each region of Leipsden, but also the central army of the capital, would rush to avenge Carl.
But if the royal prince was in Arya’s hands, the cause was in her. If she takes the royal prince as a hostage, they would not be able to wield their swords at Arya at will. The last bloodline of the Leipsden Empire was itself a cause.
Arya was going to hold the prince in her hand and put the army in chains for rebellion. At first, they would be furious, saying they would avenge Carl, but as long as the royal prince was in Arya’s hands, their opinions would have to be divided.
By then, Leipsden would be so fragmented that it would no longer be able to maintain its name as an empire.
Even so, Arya wanted to have the Leipsden Empire all to herself.
The present empire might be intact and strong, but it wasn’t hers. She wanted to have the empire as her own, even by carving it up.
She raised her voice again.
“Kill the Emperor! If we take the Emperor’s throat, we shall win!”
WHAAAAA…
Arya’s men roared around her.
“The Knights of Phoenix shall protect the empresses, and the Royal Knights shall stop the rebels!”
The Royal Knights also responded to Carl’s order with thunderous shouts and clashed their swords with the enemies. CLANG-! The streets, which had been quiet for a while, were again filled with harsh breathing and metal clashing sounds.
Most of Arya’s knights extended their swords for Carl. He stopped the sword from falling over his head. Then he bounced the swords off at a rapid pace and slashed the waist of the man who sent the sword toward him.
That wasn’t the end. He struck out the constantly flying swords and thrust his sword in their necks.