Episode 212 Jeron’s Ordeal (1)
Jeron, the capital of the Azeria Empire.
It was a city that had experienced a great disaster, the Immortal King’s attack, just a few months ago, but now it was neatly organized, as if to erase all traces of that day.
Buildings were repaired, roads were repaved, and security forces were reinforced.
The Empire spared no effort or expense to erase the traces of that day, and Jeron was now even cleaner and more orderly than before the incident.
However, even though the incident was practically a natural disaster, with the Immortal King personally involved,
The fact that the successors to the throne had been kidnapped in the middle of the Empire’s capital was an undeniable humiliation.
And the Crown Prince who had been captured was still missing.
“Welcome, Your Highness. You’ve worked hard representing the Empire. We’ll escort you to the imperial palace from here.”
It was only natural that the escort this time was even more thorough than before, as the incident had occurred on the day they returned from the first summit.“I didn’t expect Sir Staub to personally come all the way here. It’s still within Jeron, where public order is good, even though it’s far from the imperial palace.”
Riley’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the middle-aged man standing at the front of the group waiting for her at the main gate of the Jeron Cathedral.
She had expected the best of the best to come and greet her, but it was still unexpected to see him here.
“We were careless last time, and it led to a disaster. It would be incompetent of us to not be prepared after experiencing something like that.”
After all, he was one of the master-level knights stationed in the Empire’s capital.
He was Staub, the captain of the Imperial Guard, in charge of the imperial palace’s security.
The Royal Knights were solely focused on protecting the Emperor, so the defense of the imperial palace, the Empire’s most important facility, was entirely the responsibility of the Imperial Guard.
And their captain was personally waiting for her here, over an hour away from the imperial palace by carriage.
“Even if the Immortal King attacks again, we’ve made all the necessary preparations to ensure your safe escape, Your Highness.”
Staub spoke curtly and bowed slightly.
He was also one of those who had fought against the Immortal King, and he seemed very confident, as if they had prepared thoroughly.
‘Come to think of it, he’s the knight who fought Hans with that really strong old man. He seemed to be seriously injured back then, but is he fully recovered now?’
Hesperon, who was watching their conversation from behind, nodded slightly.
Well, it had been several months since then, so a knight of that level would have recovered long ago.
“Viscount Pristine? He said so. So don’t worry too much.”
Riley subtly turned her head and looked at Isea, who was standing behind her, after hearing Staub’s confident words.
“…I understand. It would be inefficient for me to interfere with this much force.”
Isea reluctantly nodded.
Normally, she should be with the hero party right now, but she had asked them for their understanding and postponed joining them for a while.
Of course, the longer she was away, the worse it was, considering her strategic value.
‘I can’t teleport in the capital, so it would take three to four hours just to go back and forth from here to the imperial palace. And I’ve already wasted a lot of time…’
It wouldn’t be fair to her companions, who were trusting her and waiting.
“Then I’ll be going, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for your service to the Empire, Viscount Pristine. Please be careful.”
Isea smiled and said goodbye to Riley, who took her hand.
She scanned the guards who had come to escort the princess and then subtly nodded at Hesperon.
Even though he wouldn’t be of much help in terms of combat power, he was still the person Riley trusted the most, aside from her, so it would be helpful for him to be by her side.
Of course, his frivolous smile made her even more uneasy.
“Then Your Highness, we’ll escort you to the imperial palace. Please board the carriage.”
And as she left for the cathedral to use the gate again,
The guards and the delegation boarded their horses and carriages and started to move.
‘Hmm, I expected this.’
And Hesperon subtly scratched his head, sitting in a carriage far away from the princess’s.
It was only natural that a man of his insignificant status couldn’t ride with the princess in her personal carriage.
Of course, it would have been possible if Riley had pushed for it, but it was an important time for her, as she was about to be officially appointed as Crown Princess, so it was better to avoid any unnecessary gossip.
‘Well, it’ll be fine. Hans isn’t planning to attack. And even if something happens, there’s a master-level knight, dozens of high-ranking knights, mages from the imperial palace’s magic tower, and all sorts of magic tools.’
And he couldn’t do anything even if he was by her side.
He was growing abnormally fast, having already reached the Intermediate level after surpassing the Beginner level, but he was still at a level where he could barely handle a single knight here.
‘And even that’s only possible thanks to my skills and stats.’
He leaned against the window of the carriage he was sharing with the delegation’s servants and looked blankly at the passing scenery, lost in thought.
His main body had invested in stats instead of unique skill enhancement before fainting, so he was now much stronger than before in every aspect.
‘And I even gained new skills, thanks to my investment.’
“Super Strength”, which he acquired after strengthening his overall strength.
“Hypersensitivity”, which manifested from his senses, including agility and dynamic vision.
“Insight”, which he gained after raising his mental stats, including reasoning and thinking ability.
Unlike when he obtained “Super Regeneration” by focusing solely on enhancing his regenerative ability, these skills were all acquired by comprehensively raising various stats, so their initial bonus values were much higher than “Super Regeneration”.
‘They’re just nice to have for the avatars who have already established themselves in their respective fields, but they’re very useful for me, who’s still a nobody.’
His already outstanding stats were further enhanced by the skills, creating synergy.
And thanks to that, things that were impossible before were now possible…
A prime example was “Bond of Unity”, his initial skill.
‘It’s a shame I couldn’t learn summoning magic and use it properly.’
The skill, which gave additional bonuses when making contracts, hadn’t been of much use since it was used to maintain his connection with Princess Riley.
But new possibilities had opened up as his mental power increased significantly and he acquired “Insight”.
He focused on “Bond of Unity” again, both for practice and to see if he could use it in this situation.
Riley’s presence in the carriage ahead was clearly felt through their faint connection.
‘If I focus more, I can even know her condition and mood…’
But he didn’t try anything further because he thought he might become a pervert.
But those thoughts were interrupted by the princess’s faint emotions that started to flow through their connection.
Suspicion. Curiosity. And a hint of wariness.
‘Suddenly?’
He frowned, confused.
Such worries didn’t suit this peaceful return trip.
But she wouldn’t be feeling uneasy without a reason.
He thought for a moment and then focused his mind to get more information.
And at the same time,
Boom—!
A loud explosion erupted from nearby.
“On guard!”
Staub’s command echoed, and…
Clang—!
Clang, clang!
The guards, drawing their weapons, instantly surrounded the carriages, forming a defensive formation and emitting a sharp presence as they scanned the surroundings.
“Sir Staub? What’s going on?”
“We haven’t identified the cause yet, Your Highness. But it’s dangerous outside, so please close the window and wait inside the carriage.”
He could only see the back of the princess’s carriage from where he was, but it was definitely Riley and Staub’s voices.
But he ignored the commotion and focused on “Bond of Unity”.
He could feel her growing certainty of danger.
And at some point, the emotions he was sensing changed.
Bewilderment. Surprise. And joy.
And the target of those emotions was…
Hesperon himself.
‘…It seems like she can also sense my presence.’
Well, it was only natural, considering that the ability wasn’t about reading the other person’s mind, but about strengthening their bond.
When it was faint, only he, the caster, could vaguely sense it, but as the connection strengthened, the gap seemed to be closing.
‘Maybe I can use this for telepathic communication.’
But those were thoughts for later.
She was probably surprised by the situation, but she was desperately trying to convey something through her emotions.
‘Suspicious… outside…? Is she talking about the commotion? …No? She’s not certain either?’
He concentrated even harder, trying to grasp her incomplete thoughts.
His outstanding growth rate was shining at this moment, and as both parties actively tried to connect, “Bond of Unity” quickly stabilized.
Boom—! Boom—!
Explosions continued to erupt from all directions.
He could faintly hear people screaming in the distance, so something was definitely happening.
“Don’t act rashly and stay alert! The fact that this happened here today means they’re targeting the princess! Be suspicious of everything that approaches!”
Staub, who had drawn his sword, entered the defensive formation, standing protectively in front of the princess’s carriage and the mages who were gathered together.
‘Wait, don’t tell me they’re suspicious of…’
Hesperon’s mind raced as he grasped a few keywords.
His senses were heightened, and he absorbed the surrounding information in an instant in his “Hypersensitive” state.
He was just a mid-level mage, but his specs couldn’t be defined solely by his level.
And “Insight” extracted something strange from the collected information.
‘This is… unsettling.’
A subtle dissonance.
A distortion he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been suspicious from the beginning was felt from the guards.
Of course, this was a common occurrence if they hadn’t worked together before.
‘But they’re the Empire’s elite knights.’
Hesperon’s mind was flooded with alarm bells, and a sense of crisis rang.
But before he could even react,
The situation was escalating rapidly.
Swoosh—
In the slow-motion world, only a single sword light moved quickly and beautifully through the air.
He admired its speed, then…
Crack! Crack!
Whoosh—!
Red flowers slowly bloomed where the aura passed.
And just from that,
Not a single mage remained alive around Staub.
‘Ah, damn it! Why don’t my bad feelings ever go wrong?!’
The protective barriers and magic tools that the mages were always wearing were useless against a surprise attack by a master-level knight… especially one as strong as Staub.
And it didn’t end there.
Countless auras, a beat slower, were piercing the bodies of his companions…
No, those who had been his companions.
Thud—
“Gah!”
Whoosh—!
“Ugh, what’s the meaning of…!”
Some endured the surprise attack as expected of knights, and some reacted quickly, but… it didn’t change the overall situation.
The number of those who survived was now smaller than the number of those who had betrayed them, as many died in the attack.
“Ugh! Captain, why…!”
“You should have joined me sooner.”
And above all, Staub, the captain of the Imperial Guard, was there.
He eliminated all the mages except for a few who seemed to be accomplices and then mercilessly stabbed those who had been his subordinates.
-Hannibal Strauss: This is bad. An avatar’s death is a huge loss. You should escape. “In the Hero’s Footsteps” should work to some extent even within Jeron’s barrier.
-Hesperon: What about Riley? Is there no other way? If only the Immortal King would suddenly appear…!
-Hannibal Strauss: Impossible. Do you even know where you are? I need at least an hour to prepare.
Hesperon was desperately searching for a solution, his thoughts accelerating.
He couldn’t summon reinforcements through the transfer formation or escape using ‘Dismiss’ because his main body was unconscious.
And time was running out, and the location was isolated because of the barrier, blocking any help from his other avatars.
‘There’s no answer.’
He couldn’t just leave Riley behind and escape with “In the Hero’s Footsteps”…
Crack—!
…Staub’s aura, as he destroyed the barrier around the princess’s carriage with his accomplice mage, was too menacing.
“S-spare me! I’ll cooperate!”
“Hiik! I didn’t see anything! Please…”
And the knights approaching his carriage didn’t look friendly either.
They were clearly intending to kill him.
-Hannibal Strauss: You can’t resolve this situation with your ability. I’m telling you again, abandon the princess and escape.
‘Damn it…! That useless bastard…!’
It seemed like they were screwed.
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