Queen of Revenge - Chapter 65

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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 65
* * *
At that same moment, on the third floor of a dilapidated building in Winterbark Village Square.
An urgent message had arrived from the Fortress. It was a letter from the Princess of Elovis, who was staying at the Fortress.
Emeric, who had just returned from completing his schedule in the Capital, smiled with satisfaction.
[Tonight at midnight, the gates open.]
The time had come.
Emeric pulled the bell cord.
A clear bell chimed three times, and the office door opened. The White-Bearded Elder bowed respectfully before it.
“Village Elder, are the preparations nearly complete?”
“Yes, my lord. We have gathered the opinions of nearly all the villagers. Now we need only set the date and time for the uprising.”
“Begin tonight at midnight. Once you advance from the village toward the Fortress, flames will immediately engulf it. The castle gate will be open—do not hesitate and enter. This has been agreed upon with the Fortress Army.”
“Yes, I shall do so.”
With that, all preparations were complete. Emeric pushed himself up from the desk.
“We finish before dawn breaks. A hunt must be concluded in one swift stroke.”
That midnight, fire erupted throughout the Fortress.
* * *
“Your Highness.”
I awoke to a hand gently shaking my shoulder.
Lucian, concealed in the darkness, whispered softly.
“You must wake. They have come.”
As I rubbed my eyes, Bara crawled onto the bed and covered my nose and mouth with a damp cloth.
I glanced out the window. Flames were rising from all corners of the Fortress.
As Lucian opened the window, the acrid smell of smoke poured in.
“Reclaim the Fortress!”
“The Fortress belongs to the people of Winterbark! Those from the Capital—cease your exploitation and withdraw!”
The villagers of Winterbark, transformed into a mob, shouted at the top of their lungs.
As the voices of the Fortress Army joined in, the unified chant reverberated through the entire Fortress with a deafening roar.
“The Second Prince’s Knights are in the corridor. We will escape through the window. Keep your nose and mouth well covered with the cloth.”
As I nodded, Lucian lifted me into his arms.
Bara, nimble as a squirrel, vaulted over the windowsill and gestured to us.
Lucian, holding me firmly, leaped gracefully through the window. He bounded off the railing to the balcony below, then to the next level, his body moving with fluid speed.
But the final drop was far greater in height.
“If you’re frightened, don’t look down.”
“…I’ve already looked.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in Lucian’s embrace.
Meanwhile, Bara, who had climbed into the large tree across from us, threw a rope in our direction.
Lucian caught the rope and launched himself into the void. My heart shrank at the sickening sensation of descent.
Only after Lucian’s feet touched the ground again could I breathe.
Lucian muttered with a slightly weary expression.
“No matter how many times I see it, strength truly is king.”
Bara leaped down from a tree three stories high with nothing but her body, then puffed out her chest.
She had effortlessly gripped a rope that two grown men hung from with just one hand. It was something to be proud of.
Iolet glanced sideways to survey the situation at the Fortress.
The wide clearing before the Castle Gate had already become a battlefield. The Capital Guard’s shield wall stood firm in a semicircular formation, and villagers wielding sickles and pickaxes pressed forward against it.
The forearms of the village men swinging dull pickaxes were as thick as a child’s head. Yet the Capital Guard’s momentum was equally formidable.
“The Capital Guard certainly shows signs of rigorous training. For such an unexpected situation, their formation remains unbroken.”
“Dietrich isn’t a fool either. For now, we should avoid being caught by him and wait for Emeric.”
“Yes. I’ll take you to the place I noted earlier.”
Soldiers poured out from the Fortress Army’s camp like a tidal wave.
Soldiers wielding swords and clubs rushed out as if they’d been waiting, joining the villagers to begin pushing against the Capital Guard’s shield wall.
The dull sound of spears striking shields and the sharp screech of metal scraping against metal threatened to burst the eardrums.
Once the Fortress Army joined in, the Capital Guard’s barrier crumbled in an instant.
“Pathetic wretches. They strutted about so proudly just because they’re from the Capital, and this is all they’ve got?”
Crack!
A series of sounds that made one’s flesh crawl erupted in succession. The Fortress Army began beating the Capital Guard in earnest.
“The Commander has given his permission, you bastards! Come on, let’s see how you like a taste of your own medicine!”
“Hold the line! Don’t let these rioters get inside the buildings!”
At that moment, a horn blast sounded from the Castle Walls toward the Unregistered Territory.
The Patrol Unit that had marched out was returning. With shouts from both sides and countless impacts, the camp quickly descended into chaos.
“Find the Second Prince first! Then this will be over quickly!”
Soldiers rushed toward the building where the Commander’s Office was located.
That was when it happened.
“You fools!”
A tremendous roar of authority pierced through the heat of the flames and the noise of battle like thunder itself.
The soldiers attempting to enter the Commander’s Office were repelled by the Guard Knights’ blades, and Dietrich walked out between them.
“What in blazes is the meaning of this?”
Dietrich’s face hardened menacingly as he surveyed the Fortress now reduced to pandemonium.
“Do you know where you are? You dare draw steel in the King’s land, the King’s army, against the Second Prince’s Knights?”
The Fortress Army’s formation, which had been pressing forward against the Capital Guard, visibly faltered. Spear tips wavered, and forward momentum ceased.
“Foolish wretches. From this moment on, any who draw a blade shall be deemed traitors. Think carefully!”
Dietrich issued his proclamation with ringing authority, then gestured for the Guard Knights to move.
He lowered his voice considerably as he asked.
“Where is Kairon Winterbark?”
“That is… before the Castle Gate leading to the Unregistered Territory. The First Squad and the Third and Fourth Squads are all pinned down there.”
“Damn it all. Bring the Princess of Elovis to me at once. Once we have the Princess, Kairon Winterbark will follow naturally. The audacious bastard, daring to employ such tricks?”
Lucian hid Iolet behind a tree. With soldiers positioned throughout, they couldn’t cross directly to the opposite building.
Iolet remained concealed within his cloak, observing the situation unfold.
“The fool is you!”
An elderly man who rushed forward at the front cried out without yielding.
“You should have brought the Demon Tribe from beyond those castle walls if you wished to suppress us by force! And yet you sleep soundly after stealing my grandson!”
“Ah, so you’ve chosen to draw your blade after all? Then I shall personally claim your life!”
Dietrich laughed loudly and placed his hand on his sword hilt.
The blade sang free from its scabbard, cleaving through the air as it rushed toward the old man.
“Neiman, sir!”
“No, Village Elder…!”
Iolet nearly cried out, forgetting that she was hidden.
Just before Dietrich’s blade could fall upon the old man, a clear voice cut through the air.
“That’s far enough, brother.”
The sword point wavered, narrowly missing the elder. Dietrich’s gaze snapped toward the source of the voice.
A man was descending along the path toward the castle walls.
He was a young man of impressive height with a lithe frame. He wore no armor, no heavy cloak—only light garments—and his pace was unhurried and leisurely.
The youth’s silver-gray hair danced in the wind.
Dietrich’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“…Emeric?”
The youth lowered the handkerchief he’d been holding over his nose and mouth to shield himself from the smoke. A cool, elegant smile appeared.
Dietrich forgot to lower his blade and stammered.
“How are you already here…?”
“Really now, isn’t that a rather clichéd line? Older brother.”
“Who opened the gate! Didn’t I order the fortress sealed!”
The Guard Knights moved to surround Emeric even as they began closing the castle gate. But then, a horn blast sounded once more.
Boooooo—.
A second call followed immediately after. This one was longer. And the third blast shook the fortress even more distinctly.
‘Three horn blasts?’
Dietrich’s ears deceived him.
A Guard Knight who had rushed from the castle gate reported breathlessly.
“Your Highness, a messenger…. It’s a messenger. We’ve confirmed the Royal Family’s golden seal!”
“Confirmed what?”
The Royal Family’s what?
As if waiting for those words alone, a sentry atop the castle gate raised his voice and cried out.
“A messenger of The King! We open the gate! A messenger of His Majesty The King!”

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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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