Queen of Revenge - Chapter 55

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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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Chapter 55
“Medical personnel! Bring stretchers. Now!”
Soldiers shouted frantically, searching for physicians. Even a cursory glance revealed countless wounded.
Some had limbs severed clean away, while others lay motionless on the ground, already wrapped in burial cloth from the battlefield.
The physicians from the Medical Clinic rushed out to examine the casualties.
Among them was the Village Elder Neiman. His momentary composure shattered as his face drained of all color.
“Noah, Noah! Where is my boy? Noah, Grandfather is here!”
“Village Elder, please wait. I need to tell you something. Noah, he—”
A Fortress Army soldier, drenched in blood, gripped the Village Elder’s hands. An ominous premonition seized him.
“He… he…”
The Guard Knight struggled to speak, finally bowing his head in defeat. Iolet’s lips parted soundlessly.
Lucian, standing beside her, released a heavy sigh.
The Elder’s back was turned, his expression hidden. His frail frame crumpled to the earth like a puppet with severed strings.
His silhouette was soon obscured by the physicians and soldiers rushing to his aid.
Iolet forced herself to look away. Another group of Guard Knights was entering through the Castle Gate.
The atmosphere surrounding the knights as they dismounted was anything but ordinary.
“You utter fool!”
Someone was seething with terrible rage. The roar was so loud the Fortress itself seemed to shake.
In the midst of the commotion, Iolet spotted the man she sought. Kairon Winterbark stood with his head bowed before someone. The man had a sturdy build and short, ash-gray hair.
“You claim to have exterminated the Demons, yet you couldn’t even anticipate their tactics and let yourselves be ambushed?!”
The moment she heard that scathing rebuke, Iolet understood instinctively who this man was.
“That is Prince Dietrich, the Second Prince of Kalande. He led the reinforcements here personally.”
Franz shifted his weight nervously.
“Upon arrival, he insisted on joining today’s scheduled patrol of the Unregistered Territory… and it seems we encountered the Demons. I knew this would happen!”
Prince Dietrich of the Kalande Kingdom was the very embodiment of a military man.
Though his height matched Kairon Winterbark’s, the thick, defined lines running from his neck through his shoulders and arms gave the impression of solid iron.
His brows were heavy, his nose and jawline sharply angular, creating an overall impression of unyielding severity. His narrow, double-lidless eyes gleamed with cruel intent.
His voice was as commanding as his physique.
“And you dare claim the title ‘Shield of Kalande’? I knew it was hollow, but I never expected you to bungle even basic reconnaissance! Five of my knights fell today. Does five seem trivial to you?”
Kairon Winterbark, who had been listening in silence, let out a dry laugh.
“Then why did you insist on coming along, insist on coming along?”
“What did you say, you bastard?”
“Ah, my apologies. Did you hear me?”
Kairon Winterbark answered with deliberate insolence, his gaze drifting into empty space as though addressing someone beneath his notice.
“I made it perfectly clear. You would do well to abandon any notion of attempting dialogue with the Demons. They excel at provoking and antagonizing humans. Yet you ignored my warning entirely…”
Ha!
Prince Dietrich sneered and raised his hand. His massive fist came down squarely against Kairon Winterbark’s cheek.
Crack—!
“…!”
Kairon Winterbark’s head snapped violently to the side.
Iolet’s jaw dropped.
Kairon Winterbark was right.
It was truly a shocking sight.
‘Is that prince going to die here?’
Prince Dietrich did not stop there.
He seized Kairon by the collar.
“Do you know why I descended here personally, Commander Winterbark? Because of you.”
“….”
“Just because you wear a commander’s insignia, don’t think you have the authority to make decisions as you please.”
Kairon pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek.
He rolled his tongue briefly as if his mouth had split, then spat blood onto the ground. But Dietrich’s brutal grip lifted his chin once more.
“I’ve had my eye on you since you started spouting such arrogance about marriage and whatnot. Do you think you’ve become something special just because you married the Princess of Elovis? She’s nothing but a disgraced half-wit cast out by the Royal Family—what gives you the nerve to strut about?”
Kairon blinked slowly.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
“So that’s how it is.”
In the blink of an eye, his hand shot out and seized the Second Prince by the collar.
His demeanor, which had been filled with irritation, transformed completely.
Kairon’s eyes blazed as he bared his teeth.
“You’re dying to get beaten again—.”
“P-please forgive us, Your Highness!”
Franz, his face drained of color, shot forward like an arrow.
“After battle, the Commander becomes extremely sensitive, and his words grow harsh. Please show him your understanding!”
“Understanding? That’s rich.”
Dietrich snorted loudly and kicked Franz’s legs out from under him. Franz yelped and crumpled to the ground.
Dietrich rolled his right foot and stamped it hard against the earth. Guard Knights in full regalia poured out in orderly fashion, surrounding the Fortress Army.
The Fortress Army soldiers bared their teeth and moved their hands to their sword hilts. The moment resistance seemed imminent, Dietrich’s knights immediately drew their blades.
It was a powder keg waiting to ignite.
“Your Highness, it would be wise to step back for now,” Lucian whispered softly, shielding Iolet behind his back.
Prince Dietrich’s fury swept across the Front Courtyard like a tempest.
“I’ve seen the situation with my own eyes, and it’s quite the spectacle. The Demons are strong and cunning, so don’t approach them? You lack even the will to attack their stronghold, scrambling merely to contain them? How can you call yourselves the mighty military of Kalande?”
It was an unfair accusation. Fault-finding for its own sake, nothing more and nothing less.
Yet no one dared speak back to the prince.
“I can no longer tolerate such laxity. Effective immediately, I declare the Northern Fortress to be under direct Royal control, and I am replacing the Commander.”
“What?!”
The Fortress Army soldiers gasped in unison.
Franz, who had been rubbing his shins, sprang up like a coiled spring. Even the wounded soldiers receiving treatment from the medical staff jolted upright.
“Direct Royal control and a commander replacement? What do you mean by that, Your Highness!”
“This Winterbark is not a formal military installation under Royal administration. You’re not part of the Kingdom Army either. I’ve overlooked your accumulated merits until now, but I can turn a blind eye no longer.”
“Not part of the Kingdom Army? What do you mean? We are clearly the Border Fortress Army!”
“No, what do you mean we’re not part of the Kingdom Army? We clearly have our own distinct name—we are the Border Fortress Army!”
“Then all the more reason you should obey me, who comes bearing The King’s direct command?”
The tension stretched taut as a bowstring.
Prince Dietrich made his proclamation.
“With the Northern Fortress now converted to direct Royal control, I hereby strip Commander Kairon Winterbark of all titles and authority. As Supreme Commander of the Kingdom Army, I shall personally oversee the fortress. Derek Fionelt shall be appointed as the new Deputy Commander.”
Silence descended upon the assembly.
“Well, Kairon? Do you have anything to say?”
Kairon fixed Prince Dietrich with an inorganic gaze.
A veil of murderous intent draped across his blood-red eyes, momentarily overwhelming Dietrich. That oppressive aura even scraped across the skin of Iolet, standing at a distance.
He bore the eyes of a Tyrant.
The eyes of one who had mercilessly cut down and trampled anything that stood in his way—brother, father, or neighboring kingdom alike.

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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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