Chapter 194: The Empire’s Crisis (3)
Kuh!
He clutched the wound on his thigh.
Fortunately, it wasnt deep.
He seemed capable of continuing the battle without much issue.
As Gregory was about to seize his sword and charge at Lilith again, a grand voice resonated from one end.
Stop!
His voice, imbued with mana, brought the chaotic battlefield to a standstill.
Lilith was about to disregard the command but then turned toward the source of the voice.
There stood the young man who had previously visited their mountain and made bold demands.
Ray scanned the surroundings and clicked his tongue.
The once intact imperial palace was now in ruins, its remnants burning and emitting thick smoke.
The beautiful gardens had been reduced to ashes.
He addressed the calm, seemingly confused Lilith.
Didnt we have an agreement? Are you saying you want to break it now?
Instead of making excuses as he expected, she smiled bitterly.
Break it? Well, as far as I know, it was your humans who first discarded the agreement.
Her words baffled not only Ray but also the empires knights who overheard the conversation.
What are you talking about! We swear we received no orders to attack you! Stop making baseless accusations!
Even as they protested vehemently, Lilith slowly shook her head.
Blood is washed away only with blood. The crime of taking the lives of our kin and killing their children is not a light matter.
With her intent for war signaled, Ray desperately tried to defuse the situation.
Hold on, just wait a moment. The empire broke the agreement first? Are you sure about that?
If not, then who else could have stealthily attacked us right behind the imperial palace? It seems it was a small group, as we didnt detect them, and the magic used was predominantly of the fourth circle. Ive never heard of a human group capable of gathering such high-level magicians.
Ray found himself at a loss for words.
Her statement was unequivocal.
Anyone would conclude that the empire was the perpetrator.
Unless a massive organization like Proxia was alive, which was impossible since he had entirely dismantled it, no other group but the empire could have done it.
But that made the current situation very strange.
He had transferred the contract, written with the Wyvern Lords mana, to the Emperor.
There was absolutely no reason for the empire to attack the wyverns unless the Emperor was either dead or insane.
There seems to be something Im not aware of
As he pondered, even the empires knights, who had heard her story, were in doubt.
They wondered if the Emperor had secretly ordered an attack on the Wyvern Mountains without their knowledge.
However, if that were the case, Gregory, the empires Swordmaster with close ties to the Emperor, would surely have known about it.
But all of that was irrelevant to the wyverns.
They had been attacked and concluded the empire was responsible.
Their only concern was to exact bloody revenge on the empire.
There was no room for Ray to intervene in this straightforward process.
The Emperor, who had taken refuge from the mysterious explosion, shattered the armrest of his chair upon hearing the messengers words.
Kwaang-!
What nonsense is this! You call that an explanation!
Overwhelmed by the Emperors fury, the messenger could only tremble and continue his report.
The wyverns I just mentioned are attacking the imperial palace.
I never ordered an attack on the Wyvern Mountains!
But the wyverns claim they were attacked. The Imperial Guard, the First Knight Division, and about ten other magical battalions are in place, matching their numbers, but it seems they will soon reach their limits.
The Emperor slumped back into his seat at this absurd news.
How could this happen
With the interior of the castle already damaged, proper defense was impossible.
Whether to mount a defense or to strategize a surprise attack was moot; the palace was already being destroyed.
The Emperor couldnt understand the wyverns sudden aggression.
A mana-made contract could not be casually violated because doing so risked rejection by the ambient mana.
The moment the wyverns attacked the empire, it meant they had not violated the agreement.
This implied that the Lesian Empire might have attacked first, which was unthinkable since he had given no such order.
But as a ruler known for his iron resolve, he harbored some suspicions, though he had no solid proof.
Could the central nobles be behind this? No, thats unlikely. Even if they had formed an alliance, they wouldnt have the funds to form a force comparable to the palaces defenses.
Logically, the central nobles were wealthier than their provincial counterparts.
Even if they had united, funding an army, especially an elite strike force, would financially overwhelm them.
His thoughts spiraled into deeper contemplation.
Then, an idea struck him.
Could someone in the royal family be involved?
If someone within the royal family had been embezzling funds, they could have accumulated enough to finance such a force.
Combined with the provincial nobles resources, forming an elite strike force would be feasible.
The Emperor rose hastily from his seat.
Summon the princes and princesses to the grand hall immediately! And bring the Saint here as soon as possible! He couldnt have left the border yet!
The urgency in the Emperors voice was unprecedented, prompting the messenger to nod briskly.
Understood!
Tell him this is an official request from the empire!
With that, the messenger dashed out at breakneck speed.
Left alone in the grand hall, the Emperors cheeks trembled with rage.
Daring to pull off such a scheme theyre tightening their own nooses!
Unable to contain his anger, he struck the throne with a mana-charged force.
Kwaang-!
Once again, the armrest shattered.
The empire would need to repair not just the palace but also the throne after all this.
At Liliths request to stay out of it, Ray nodded.
He thought she had done enough.
She had agreed not to touch humans and had even made a mana-based contract.
The empire had broken it first, not her.
The current destruction of the imperial palace seemed like karmic retribution.
However, he continued to ponder the bizarre nature of the situation and the mastermind behind it.
Something is going strangely here.
His doubts continued to multiply.
Who would attack the wyverns, and for what gain?
The answer should be simple: the culprit would be the one who benefits from this incident.
By considering each possibility one by one, he would eventually find the likely suspect.
Ray was assessing every potential player in this scenario.
Surprisingly, the beneficiaries were quite obvious.
The First Prince and the Third Prince.
For the First Prince, being high in the succession line, such an act was unnecessary.
But the other two could contemplate rebellion if the empire was left in ruins by the wyverns attack.
With their position in the line of succession being relatively lower, time was against them.
If the Fifth Prince had been alive, there might have been checks and balances, but with his death, the First Princes position only strengthened.
To overturn this, they would need to take significant risks.
That seemed to be the motivation behind the attack on the Wyvern Mountains.
Without knowing the exact state of the empires finances and military, he couldnt be sure, but they likely wooed the nobles over time and used them.
Creating an elite small force is not easy.
It takes decades to build even one such unit.
But the effectiveness of such a force is tremendous, capable of causing major events like the current one.
Although the empire was in chaos, it couldnt be said that there were no gains to be had.
The empires knights and magical battalions clashed with the wyverns in the burning imperial palace.
Kwaang-!
Pshhh-!
Invisible wind blades and countless ice shards rained down, driving the wyverns from their flight.
Yet they dared not recklessly plummet to the ground, where the empires knights stood waiting, their eyes aflame, swords at the ready.
At first glance, it seemed the wyverns were at a disadvantage, but they had Lilith on their side.
With a mere wave of her hand, all the magical spells lost their structure and scattered.
Her abundant mana forced them to dissipate.
Witnessing this, Ray controlled the mana of everyone but Lilith.
Hold.
With a single word, the actions of the many forces instantly ceased.
Gregory shuddered at the Saints power to immobilize him with a simple gesture.
Is this the current Saint?
Even when he possessed the Original Dragons heart, his power was significant, but now it seemed he held their very lives in his palm.
Truly, he was an army unto himself.
Lilith gazed at Ray, perplexed.
Are you assisting us?
No. Im just resolving a suspicious point.
She snapped back at his words.
Who the perpetrator is doesnt concern us. Whether they belong to the empire or not, to us, all humans are alike.
Unfazed by her retort, Ray persisted.
By being struck in the wrong place and retaliating elsewhere, youre merely playing into the hands of the true schemer, arent you? Despite your view of humans as inferior, theyve completely outmaneuvered you.
His voice remained calm and even, yet it touched a raw spot within the wyverns.
Lilith scowled and responded.
What do you propose, then? Apprehend the guilty and deliver them to us? From among your own kind?
Her biting question was met with a smirk from Ray.
Yes. I will deliver each and every one of them to you.
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