I’m Sick of the Kind Protagonist, so I Might as Well Just Die - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#34
“Move aside! I’ve been unconscious this whole time, so I honestly have no idea who’s on our side!”
The Rebel Forces soldiers who had been grappling in close combat suddenly withdrew in unison, as if entranced, and crouched down. Perenustus must have helped orchestrate that. I had no time to offer thanks before transforming my holy blade into a greatsword far larger than my own body and sweeping it horizontally in a wide arc.
‘Ugh. My shoulder….’
I wanted nothing more than to spin around several more times and cut down every last standing enemy, but I couldn’t even complete a single rotation before the blade tilted.
Without any command from me, Basilect hummed and wrapped itself around my arm like armor, encasing everything from my fingertips to my shoulder without a single gap. The sight of my entire right arm transformed into a brilliant silver blade was apparently striking enough to draw gasps of admiration from the soldiers sprawled across the ground.
‘Good. As long as it looks impressive to others, that’s what matters. The books said that morale among our forces has a significant impact on victory.’
With that thought, I nodded and clicked my tongue while brushing blood and flesh from Basilect.
“Did the Imperial Forces only recruit idiots? If you were planning an ambush, you should have struck before we climbed the hill. Attacking the moment we reached the summit is just asking to be slaughtered like this.”
“Perhaps they intended to capture key figures alive, my lady. When raining down attacks from above, it’s difficult to distinguish between those worth killing and those worth sparing.”
A quick-witted Knight, who had been staring at me with his mouth agape in disbelief, offered that assessment. I glanced at him briefly, then surveyed the surrounding battlefield to assess the situation.
‘If the Emperor wanted to capture someone alive… there’s no question it would be the Crown Prince. He must be confident that Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis is still alive, which is why he’s prepared for this decisive confrontation so thoroughly.’
The Emperor was a madman willing to go to such lengths to establish his son as the unquestionable Crown Prince. There was no way such a man would allow Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike, who had declared herself the new Emperor, to live.
‘If the Emperor acts as I expect… he’ll announce proof that Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis is alive, then kill Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike, and finally take his own life. That’s the only way to solidify Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis’s position.’
That couldn’t be allowed to happen. If it did, both Perenustus’s carefully arranged ‘forbidden love’ and Estella’s desire to preserve the Imperial House’s bloodline would fall to ruin.
-Heavens, Aurelia. Have you truly come to calculate such things?
‘Impressive, isn’t it?’
-As a dispassionate observer, I should say yes.
‘But?’
-I simply hope that my charge will prioritize her own safety above all else.
It was an answer I hadn’t anticipated at all. So startled by this tenderness I hadn’t even dared hope for, my mind went completely blank. The sensation of Perenustus’s sigh filling that empty space felt strangely ticklish.
Meanwhile, the Knight gestured to organize his comrades’ formation and whispered to me again.
“This place is called the Hill of Lamentation.”
“Ah, the Hill of Lamentation. I’ve only ever lived in my own territory, so I’m not familiar with geography beyond it.”
Flustered, I let slip a foolish remark. The Knight, who had been wielding his blade like a demon mere moments before, looked taken aback by my vacant nod and added further explanation.
“It was just before entering the Imperial Capital.”
“So the Imperial Palace is right there? We’re practically at the gates….”
I muttered while gazing at the fortress ahead and the moat surrounding it.
The Rebel Forces couldn’t even approach closely because of the expansive moat. They seemed too busy defending against the rain of arrows pouring down from the towering walls to even consider assaulting the drawbridge. I could also see preparations being made to pour boiling oil from the ramparts.
“We must be reinforcements? Our forces and the Imperial Forces are both clustered against those walls.”
“Well, the people we need to protect are all gathered here….”
“I suppose. At minimum, the commander of the Rebel Forces should be on the front lines to boost morale, shouldn’t they?”
When I glanced at Cassian, the Duke sitting on horseback averted his gaze with an awkward cough. I patted the Knight beside me on the shoulder and raised my holy blade.
“In any case, from now on, don’t worry and just follow my lead.”
“Y-yes, but my lady, are you certain you’re all right…?”
To be honest, I wasn’t all right. My spine, already ruined, was screaming its limits even with the stronger painkillers Perenustus had provided. My shoulder was completely shot, making it far from easy to wield the holy blade. As Perenustus said, dying and starting over would probably be less painful.
But.
‘If a woman draws her blade, she must cut something down.’
-…Wherever did you learn such a thing?
‘From a book!’
Deliberately injecting more vigor into my response, I drew upon both Estella’s knowledge and my own, and hoisted the Holy Sword with as much flourish as I could muster.
“I, the master of the Holy Sword Basilect, vouch for this! Beneath Keldrian’s banner, only the blood of our enemies shall flow as rivers! Cast aside your fear and advance!”
“Yes!”
The Knights, who had hesitated to approach while witnessing the fierce battle below the hill, gripped their weapons anew and began to charge after me.
“Open the drawbridge, or we’ll be slaughtered! By any means necessary, lower it!”
Behind us, Cassian’s roar echoed across the field. Glancing back, I saw the Duke remained mounted, shouting orders but showing no intention of joining the charging Knights.
‘Right. If he’s useless anyway, it’s better he stays back and protects the Princess and Crown Prince.’
“The chains securing the drawbridge are on the inside of the castle walls. The Imperial Capital is a perfect fortress—without someone betraying from within, there’s no way to open the gates from outside,” the Knight beside me explained hurriedly.
I felt the gaze of the Knights burning with excitement and anticipation as I subtly tilted Basilect.
‘Help me. Let’s just lower the drawbridge. We’ll have to enter the castle anyway.’
-No. You should be asking me for help, not that sword, Aurelia.
‘Perenustus, try not to interfere too much and just watch over things.’
-Ha…. I knew you’d say something like that.
Propelled forward by Perenustus’s sigh, I ran faster down the slope and raised my voice higher.
“Stand aside! The master of Keldrian comes to clear the path for the master of the Imperial Throne!”
As if answering my bluff, the Holy Sword Basilect began to emit a blinding white radiance. Startled soldiers, witnessing this sight for the first time, forgot even to draw their arrows and froze—and in that moment, I thrust my hand forward with all my might, the sword extended before me.
Without even pausing, I maintained my charging speed and assumed a drawing stance, whereupon the Holy Sword trembled with exhilaration and transformed its shape.
‘That’s right, I knew Perenustus would help me so stylishly!’
-…That wasn’t me. The Holy Sword responded to its master’s will.
Before his sullen reply could finish, a beautiful azure arrow materialized on Basilect, now transformed into a massive bow.
-This is my power.
‘…The arrow looks a bit too fancy.’
I tilted my head curiously and raised my arm, drawing the bowstring toward the sky.
‘If I shoot straight ahead, I might destroy the drawbridge too. Just the walls—just the walls.’
The arrow that soared skyward soon transformed into a slash of blinding light. Spheres of azure and white luminescence scattered like snowflakes, cleaving through the air.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the arrow that fell from the sky pulverized the castle gate and the surrounding walls into dust. Even the iron chains as thick as forearms that had been holding the drawbridge from within became scattered fragments.
In the silence where even breathing ceased, only the glittering dance of metal and light continued endlessly.
Screeeech—
The massive wooden bridge, freed from its shackles, crashed down onto the moat with a thunderous roar.
“The bridge is down!”
“Charge! Charge forward!”
“Break through! The name of Keldrian guards your backs!”
In answer to my cry, the soldiers’ roar shook the earth. The flaming arrows and boiling oil that had been hastily prepared atop the walls scattered around the moat long ago, buried beneath the collapsing ramparts.
Arrows that arrived too late were deflected helplessly as they struck the luminous spheres suspended in the air. Witnessing this miracle of arrows parting before them, the soldiers pressed forward with renewed vigor, clearing the path to the Palace.
“Excuse me, Knight. The vanguard has all entered by now, haven’t they?”
“Yes!”
“Then it’s practically a victory—we should call up the reserves.”
I stood deliberately upon the ruins of the devastated walls and raised Basilect high toward the Hill of Lamentation. The Duke, somehow understanding my signal, began to ride his horse down the hill.
Beneath the fluttering banner, the moment I confirmed Leonas and Bilateia on the same horse as the Duke, I poured all my remaining strength into a final, mighty downward strike with Basilect.
“Meet the Master of the Jade Throne!”
As the last remnants of the castle walls crumbled to dust, the Rebel Forces surged through the dissipating clouds of debris and poured into the Imperial Palace.
A perfect death to match a perfect victory drew near.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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