Chapter 5 – The Heavenly Emperor And The Ice Emperor, Part 2
“I will surrender.”
At these words, the faces of her aides turned angry.
“Don’t be silly! You want us to give up our superiors to survive?”
“Think about it. It’s not as if you can’t imagine what you’ll be going through.”
The older aide shook their head in refusal.
Considering what the Grantz army had done to Felzen, there was no doubt that Aura would be humiliated. In fact, the sixth princess, Liz, was in such a state.
There was no way she could be treated properly as a prisoner of war.
“Aura-sama, rather than give you up, we are prepared to break our hearts and go to meet the Twelve Great Grantz Gods.”
Spitz said with a gentle look on his face.
“If it were only Booze von Krone, I would give him up.”
“Certainly, considering what he’s done.”
As they all said, Booze’s governance was atrocious.
It is said that the nobles who followed the Felzen royal family were beheaded, and their beautiful daughters and wives were sold into slavery. Furthermore, he turned the beautiful royal capital of Felzen into a hideous sight.
In order to gain favor with the nobles of the Grantz Empire, he had given them the privilege of doing whatever they wanted with the royal capital of Felzen.
By the time Aura was dispatched to Felzen on the emperor’s order, the royal capital was in ruins. Aura remembers that the Third Prince Blutar was very angry, which was unusual.
“Well then, Aura-sama, now that the enemy has given us some time, let’s think of a winning tactic.”
As Spitz walked to the desk in the center of the room, the others began to place pieces on the map as if they had no choice. The reserve troops are exhausted. The food supply is running out, the soldiers’ strength and morale are at their lowest point.
“It’s amazing that we can fight until we run out of everything.”
The older aide said in a joking tone, and the others nodded in agreement.
Aura looked at her subordinates and felt something hot rising in her chest. They said they still believed Aura, who had broken down and tried to surrender.
“Should we still try to attack?”
“Can’t we pretend to go out and rescue Her Highness Celia Estrella?”
“Aura-sama, we can’t make this decision on our own, so please join us for this military council.”
They were still going to continue fighting under Aura’s command. If that was the case ― then she should make up her mind. Since she had such subordinates, she should continue to resist without giving up hope.
“There’s no need to go out with the determination to destroy them.”
Aura walked lightly over to the desk and placed the pieces on the map.
“The enemy has the upper hand, and yet they are showing impatience.”
There’s something there. There must be an opportunity there.
If so, they would survive today’s attack and tomorrow, and the day after that, miserable as they were, they would survive. As long as they remain alive, they will find a way to survive. They must not abandon their lives.
“Live to the fullest. And win.”
Aura thrusts her fist out firmly and declares victory. No one denies it. The rest of the aides nodded vigorously, saying it was just what they wanted.
“First, we must survive today’s attack.”
Aura could feel her mind becoming clearer. She was no longer lost in thought. She has no more fear; she instructed her aides with an expressionless but lively color.
The aides dispersed energetically to different parts of the castle. They were in direct command of the walls on all sides.
Some of them would probably never see each other again. However, without saying a word, they ran out of the small tower with a gait that made no trace of such anxiety. Aura, who had finished her instructions, walked with Spitz to the courtyard.
“Aura-sama, are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes. I’ll go directly to each wall for support.”
The sun had already set, and Aura shivered as the air began to turn cold. However, a ray of moonlight was stretching through the clouds, illuminating Aura warmly.
When Aura appeared in the courtyard, the waiting soldiers looked at her anxiously. Everyone was bandaged up and soaked in blood.
Aura thanked each and every one of them for fighting so hard. That would soon be over. There were less than a hundred of them in reserve.
“I may be in the way, but I’m willing to fight too.”
The old soldier, Tris, appeared. Although he had wounds, his body was full of energy.
Aura was about to ask him what had happened, but Tris spoke up first.
“Cerberus-dono has just awakened a while ago.”
Aura’s face flushed with happiness, but then she turned and tightened her grip.
“So, in order to protect Cerberus-dono, I can’t let this fort fall.”
“…Best regards.”
“If Tris-dono joins us, we will be a hundred strong.”
Aura nodded her head, and Spitz shook hands with Tris happily. All around them, the reserve soldiers were singing happily shoulder to shoulder, as if inspired by them.
As time went on, however, everyone became tenser and tenser. No one wasted time talking. The courtyard was covered with a sense of oppression that seemed to crush their organs.
And then ― a shout came from outside Fort Mitte along with the footsteps of the enemy army. The sound of military boots, dozens of times more than before, is being carried up into the night sky.
“Your time is up! We will now launch an all-out attack! We won’t go easy on you!”
Skaaha’s voice could be heard. It was a voice that came through loud and clear and lingered in the ears. There is no doubt that she has the qualities of a commander. Aura made up her mind and pulled out the spirit weapon on her hip.
Immediately after that, the main gate shook and let out a roar.
It may have been the start of an enemy attack, but Spitz turned his gaze upward.
“What are they doing to the north wall?”
There should be archers attacking from the walls, but there are probably not enough of them. It’s easy for the enemy to push their way to the gate and attack.
“Get down!”
Aura instructed shortly and raised her shield above her head. Spitz also raised his shield in a panic.
The next thing that happened was a loud noise in the courtyard as if stones were falling.
“The enemy is concentrating their attack on the north wall.”
Aura, noticing the unusual situation, said briefly and instructed the reserve troops to proceed.
“…The gate is already damaged.”
The gates are swinging wildly as if they had been built for a siege mechanism. There was an eerie crushing sound that made the dust fly.
Aura stepped out to head for the gate to provide reinforcement but fell over violently.
“…..Guh, why?”
She looked up as she hit the ground and saw a strange man standing in front of her.
“You have to die. I’m sorry, but I have to take your life.”
The man, dressed as a subordinate, said that and sharply drew the sword he had at his waist.
“Aura-sama! Please run away!”
Spitz’s impatient voice flew as he noticed something was wrong. There was a desperate distance between him and Aura, even if he tried to help her.
Aura glared at the man who raised the tip of his sword, but it had no effect. As the blade glowed in the moonlight, a large, hulking figure slid in between them.
――It was Tris.
“…..Eh?”
When Aura let out a confused voice, a loud splash of blood went up from Tris’ back. Fresh blood spread like a crimson stain across the starry sky. The same despair spread across the courtyard.
Everyone bared their eyes and looked at Tris.
“Gofuh… wh――.”
A heavy, dull sound shook the night air, and the huge body fell to the ground with a loud thud. But strangely enough, it was the assassin behind Tris who fell.
“Just in time, I guess.”
The voice was thrown from further behind.
“Nu? You’re…”
Tris turned around with a surprised expression and rolled his eyes at the sudden intruder. There was a brown-skinned man who was basking in the warmth of the moonlight.
“Who the hell are you? Where did you come from?”
Spitz shouted angrily at the new intruder.
“No, it was nothing suspicious.”
The man waved his hands in front of his face, desperately insisting that he was not suspicious.
“I’m Munin, Hiro-sama’s private army! I’ve been ordered to bring a letter to Aura-san!”
He’s got scars all over his face and a fierce look on his face, but he’s got an air of aloofness about him. He was clearly out of place in this tension-filled Fort Mitte.
“Lord Spitz.”
Aura makes Spitz lower his sword. Although discouraged, Spitz solemnly obeys.
Then Aura approached Munin and looked up at him.
“Munin. Who’s that coming?”
“It’s Hiro-sama.”
Munin’s vibrant smile was dazzling. It was the most unbelievable thing he had ever said.
Hiro is here. When was the last time she had exchanged letters with him? The last time was when he wrote to her that he was leaving for the Levering Kingdom, it seems.
“How many?”
“One thousand five hundred ― the most elite of the Raven Army.”
Aura shuddered. In an instant, she felt her body temperature rise sharply. It’s just that she hadn’t expected to hear the name in this day and age.
“On the path of the Raven Army, even the Demon King is no different from the grass and trees.”
Aura muttered and hugged the book of the second emperor in one of her hands.
Isn’t it scary to be compared? Many of the events of a thousand years ago have been exaggerated, and for better or worse, the Raven Army has become a legend. It’s hard to rewrite that.
The creator of the name was probably Hiro, but it seemed like a big deal.
“Still, it’s not the ‘Raven Army’ of the ‘God of War’, is it? They can’t defeat the Felzen remnants then, can they?”
Spitz interjected from the side, but neither of them was listening to him.
“And here’s the letter from Hiro-sama. He wants you to do what is written in this letter.”
“Okay.”
“Hiro-sama will take care of the rest. Just wait with pride.”
Aura read the letter with the help of the moonlight, and a faint smile appeared on her expressionless face.
“Aura-sama? Did you find anything interesting in the letter?”
But Aura shook her head, saying it was nothing. She was just smiling because she was happy.
However, Aura immediately tightened her loose cheeks.
“Lord Spitz, get all the troops to the north wall and build a lot of bonfires.”
“W-why? It’s not too risky to gather the troops only on the north wall.”
“Just do it quickly.”
Spitz stood bolt upright as a cold, leaden gaze was directed at him.
“Ha! Right away.”
Aura turned her gaze to Munin as Spitz ran off, leaving a salute behind.
“Munin, are you staying?”
“Of course, I believe in Hiro-sama.”
Munin laughed heartily.
This content is taken from free web nov𝒆l.com