Episode 121
Count Brandenburg, wielder of the Holy Sword, led a cavalry unit composed of the Knights of St. Magdalena, while Lady Sephilia, the revered Swordmaster, commanded a cavalry of Iron Cross Knights who had joined the battle out of loyalty to her.
These two elite strike forces, led by the Empire’s finest knights, were ruthlessly trampling through the lands of the Duke of Lancaster.
Any attempt to send a pursuit force to subdue them was thwarted by the presence of these “unmatched warriors” leading the charge.
Moreover, mobilizing a large army to counter them was a risky move, as the main forces of the Marquis of York were poised at the border where the two territories met, a constant thorn in Lancaster’s side.
But this was of no concern to the “Black Prince,” who remained silent.
In the small town of Fulburn, within the Lancaster Duchy, the wind carried with it the arrival of men in bird-beak masks. They appeared before their “Shadow Lord.”
“The three hundred-strong strike force led by the Holy Sword and the Knights of St. Magdalena has begun to move.”
When the initial raids occurred, all Dale could do was wait.
The leadership of the Lancaster family was in the same predicament.
However, as the cavalry led by the two Swordmasters continued to penetrate deeper into the duchy, the areas where they could effectively execute their disruption tactics were steadily shrinking.
No matter how skilled the Swordmasters were, venturing too deep was impossible. If they lost communication with their main forces and were defeated individually, the double-edged nature of guerrilla tactics would turn against them.
Thus, predicting their movements while maintaining a minimum safe distance wasn’t too difficult.
At least not for Dale, who commanded the “Continent’s Premier Assassin Organization” and used them as his intelligence network.
”…”
After listening to the report from a high-ranking assassin acting as a scout, Dale nodded silently. Beside him, the Night Raven Knight spoke up.
“We’ve completed the evacuation of the town’s residents.”
Fulburn was not a grand or opulent city. However, it had enough stone structures, city walls, and a maze-like street layout to call itself a “city.”
An ideal battlefield for urban warfare.
“This ambush will only work once.”
But that single ambush would deal an irreparable blow to the forces of the Marquis of York.
Even if the enemy was aware of the “Black Prince,” they couldn’t possibly know about the Shadow Court and the existence of the Death Sword. Their primary concern was the “Heavenly Sword, Grand Duke Lancaster,” and York’s intelligence network was focused solely on his movements.
This was the blind spot Dale aimed to exploit.
From the start, the forces of the “Shadow Court” under Dale’s command were not stationed within the Lancaster Duchy.
York’s scouts were likely monitoring their forces and suspicious activities throughout the duchy.
Thus, Dale was the only one openly visible, while the Death Sword and the elite forces of the “Shadow Court” were stationed in remote areas, away from the Lancaster Duchy.
As the duchy was being ravaged and the “strike force” moved deeper into its territory, Dale and the high-ranking assassins of the “Shadow Court” began their operation. From outside the reach of York’s surveillance, they aimed to target the strike force led by the Continent’s Swordmasters.
Even York’s spies within the duchy couldn’t track movements happening outside its borders.
The high-ranking assassins trained by the Death Sword Master Baro were no mere bandits. They were disciplined and militarized, comparable to the knightly orders nurtured by the Empire’s great lords, yet unbound by the chivalric code, wielding the ruthless blades of assassins.
And the clash between these two forces would not occur on the cavalry’s home ground.
It would take place in the streets of Fulburn, a small town within the Lancaster Duchy.
Using “unmatched warriors” as part of “strategy and tactics” was not a privilege exclusive to the Marquis of York.
All that remained was for Dale to wait for his prey to walk into the trap he had set.
In war, the inevitable often occurs. For instance, a noble knight bearing the name of the Holy Sword, no matter how unsavory his avatar might be… he was still a knight with his own code of chivalry.
Thus, the act of pillaging the defenseless lands of the Lancaster Duchy was not something he relished.
Yet, what choice did he have? The illustrious “Marquis of York” had proposed an alliance through marriage to his son, the notorious rogue Philip. Despite being the son of the proud Swordmaster of the Holy Sword, Philip was a figure of disdain.
No one in the Empire expected Philip to become the “heir of the Holy Sword.” In other words, the glory of the proud count’s family would end with him. Even the Swordmaster himself had no illusions about this.
Nevertheless, the second daughter of the prestigious Marquis of York had extended her hand!
Thus, all the Holy Sword could do was honor their trust, no matter how dirty, vile, or despicable the act.
Gripping his sword, Count Brandenburg, the Holy Sword, raised his head.
In the small town of Fulburn within the Lancaster Duchy, most of the townspeople had likely fled upon hearing of the raids. Yet, the Swordmaster was unfazed.
He understood the terror he could instill in the people of the Lancaster Duchy by seizing what they left behind in their hasty escape, or by simply setting the town ablaze.
The entrance to Fulburn lay open, and no one dared to stand in the way of the Swordmaster and his cavalry.
“The townspeople seem to have completed their evacuation.”
Upon hearing the scout’s report, Count Brandenburg, the Holy Sword, nodded silently.
“The Marquis of York has requested that we burn the Lancaster lands and towns to the ground.”
Nodding, the Swordmaster spurred his horse forward.
“In accordance with the Marquis of York’s request, we will not return until the entire town is reduced to ashes.”
“Understood!”
His subordinates bowed their heads in unison, heedless of the ominous silence that hung over Fulburn.
Silence descended. But the silence was expected.
At the border where the Lancaster and York territories met, the cavalry led by the two Swordmasters had already been raiding and burning… and it was clear where their next target would be.
Thus, the cavalry led by Count Brandenburg, the Holy Sword, crossed the streets of the small town of Fulburn without suspicion.
They traversed the narrow streets, unable to form a proper line due to the tightly packed stone structures, until they fell into the bottleneck trap.
Yet, they were not ignorant of the trap’s significance. Even if they were ensnared, the formidable Swordmasters of the Continent and the Knights of St. Magdalena were with them.
Unless the “Heavenly Sword, Grand Duke Lancaster” himself intervened, and with York’s intelligence network closely monitoring his every move, nothing would change. Everyone believed this without doubt.
This was the true value of “unmatched warriors” when they seamlessly integrated into strategy and tactics.
And as they crossed the cobblestone streets of Fulburn…
──Bang!
Suddenly, a sound echoed. A sound they couldn’t comprehend.
It was gunfire.
“Ambush, we’re under attack…!”
In an instant, one of the knights following the Holy Sword fell from his horse. A massive hole had been punched through the helmet meant to protect his skull, shattering bone and spilling brains.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out, and another knight toppled from his horse.
Despite quickly adopting a defensive stance, nothing changed.
Through the gaps between armor and shields, between man and man… death rained down.
“They’re using some kind of bolt magic! Don’t be afraid! Form a defensive line!”
A Knight of St. Magdalena shouted urgently, and his assessment was partially correct.
Except that what was striking them far surpassed any “ordinary bolt magic.”
Bang!
The gunfire continued relentlessly. Horses panicked and reared, and with each shot, helmets, skulls, and brains exploded, scattering in all directions.
Even knights who had reached the level of Aura Knights couldn’t track the movements of this bolt magic.
“Impossible…!”
Moreover, the “bolt magic user” wasn’t targeting the Holy Sword or the knights at the level of Aura Masters. No matter how extraordinary the bolt magic was, it couldn’t instantly kill knights capable of wielding avatars.
The sniper, hidden and unseen, was unleashing a barrage of “bullets of death” aimed at knights below the rank of Aura Knight, intending to shatter the morale of the entire cavalry with a plague of fear.
A sniper rifle.
From an unknown location, the sniper was targeting the knights traversing the city streets, delivering the “essence of slaughter” with each shot.
Faced with an invisible enemy dealing out “unknown death,” there was only one decision a sensible commander could make.
“Retreat! Turn around and get out of the city immediately!”
Bang!
Before he could even finish his command, another bullet struck. An Aura Knight fell from his horse, collapsing to the ground.
In response to the command of the holy sword, the subordinates began to turn their mounts, attempting to flee the city.
Or at least, they tried to.
─Now.
Until the sniper, who had been hunting them across the walls and streets of the city of “Polburnum,” gave the signal.
Boom!
An explosion erupted. It was a calculated detonation, designed from the start to bring down the city’s structures.
The stone structures at the city’s entrance and the points connecting the streets began to collapse simultaneously.
Bang!
Trapped in a snare with no escape, the knights were left in disarray, but the sniper’s actions remained unchanged.
Pull the trigger, claim a life, and pull the trigger once more.