The moment Yuri returned to Briol’s royal palace, she rushed to the throne room and pressed Joshua.
“We’re going to strike Bezos. Get ready!”
“Huh?”
“Exactly the reaction I expected.”
“Whaaat?”
“If even you’re surprised, imagine how shocked the Empire will be.”
“Wait, hold on—”
“Cover my back!”
Yuri pointed toward the entrance, where the group that had traveled with her was just arriving at the throne room.
Joshua’s eyes widened as he recognized each of them.
“Th-those people…!”
“Yeah.”
“Who are they?”
Unlike Yuri, who had wandered around and met many, Joshua didn’t recognize Francesco, Marirose, or Inariel.
“There’s a gaunt-looking man, a graceful lady, and a cute little kid. That kid’s hair is the color of the salmon I had for breakfast. So, new friends?”
Joshua chuckled.
But Yuri didn’t smile.
“Surely those three aren’t a family, right? Hehe…”
“…”
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
Yuri took a step back and politely pointed at Francesco with both hands.
“The Holy Knight of the Holy Kingdom, Francesco.”
Joshua, who had been slouching against the throne, blinked and slowly straightened his posture.
Francesco gave a somewhat sulky bow.
“Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“Y-yes…”
Yuri then shifted her hand to introduce Marirose.
“The Duke of Valshad, Mage Marirose Antre.”
Joshua, who had just sat up straight, now opened his mouth in surprise and awkwardly tried to stand, only to settle back onto the throne.
Marirose smiled warmly.
“Nice to meet you. You and your brother don’t look alike at all.”
“Sorry about that. Haha…”
Yuri adjusted her stance again, this time pointing to Inariel.
“The continent’s last elf, Archmage Inariel. And just so you know, very old.”
Joshua, fidgeting nervously, finally rose from the throne and bowed awkwardly at a diagonal.
“Oh my, such esteemed guests. I apologize for my rudeness.”
Inariel simply nodded silently, as if speaking was beneath him. Unbound by human status, he was unafraid even before a king.
Joshua clapped his hands to lighten the mood.
“My sister has brought some impressive company. Let’s forget the awkward first impressions and get down to business. You’re saying we’re going to take on Bezos?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to go head-to-head with the Empire?”
“Of course.”
“And these people…”
“They’re here to help.”
The news that Francesco, Marirose, and Inariel had joined was a huge boost for Briol.
Especially Inariel’s magic, which was unaffected by dispel spells, was a major advantage.
Francesco had also regained much of his former strength—not fully recovered, but enough to rival most knights.
And a mage like Marirose was invaluable in any situation.
“Retaking Bezos with just eleven of the Ten Strong…”
“Not eleven.”
Yuri tapped her sword, Guilty, and said,
“One of the Ten Strong is missing since Father disappeared.”
She smiled confidently, as always.
“It’s ridiculous how everyone’s been gossiping about who the next Ten Strong will be. I’ll take Father’s place. After this battle, everyone will know who the new Ten Strong are.”
“Are you serious?”
Joshua glanced around, but no one else seemed fazed. Yuri wasn’t just part of the Ten Strong—she ranked near the top.
“You’re already that strong?”
“Yeah.”
“I see…”
Joshua chuckled. He wasn’t shocked—Yuri Briol always exceeded expectations.
“Alright. I’ll leave everything to you. You have full authority. Do what you must.”
Joshua said, trusting his sister completely. If Yuri wanted, he would even hand over the throne.
“Thank you.”
“Just make sure you bring Bezos back.”
After all, Joshua was still Fiore’s son.
He couldn’t stand idly by while the Empire not only invaded their lands but occupied their castle.
Even if this battle escalated into a full-scale war with the Empire, it didn’t matter.
Briol and the Empire could no longer share the same sky.
“For Briol.”
When Yuri announced she was gathering an army to retake Bezos, the lords responded immediately. The nobles of Briol had already been preparing for war.
Troops began assembling swiftly.
But war couldn’t start just like that.
While the main force busied themselves with preparations, Yuri went ahead to Bezos, hiding and observing the enemy’s defenses.
“How does it look, Inariel?”
Yuri asked as she peered through a telescope at the castle walls.
Inariel crouched beside her and replied,
“I sense it. The aura of dark magic is thick. It seems they’ve already set some kind of trap.”
“That’s probably…”
Yuri recalled events from her past life.
The Empire’s soldiers had suddenly transformed—reckless as if stripped of fear, relentless as if numb to pain, and seemingly much stronger.
Looking back, it was all due to dark magic.
Judging by the timing, the same thing was likely happening now.
“They must have altered their troops with dark magic. That actually works in our favor.”
Yuri was oddly pleased by this.
If the enemy was tainted by dark magic, Inariel could use his magic against them.
“If Inariel can land a big blow, things should go smoothly.”
“Hmm…”
“Do you think you can break that?”
Inariel stared at the distant walls, observing something invisible to Yuri.
Finally, waving his staff, he said,
“One wall, maybe.”
“As expected…”
In siege warfare, the walls were the biggest obstacle. Being able to destroy even one at once was a huge advantage.
“Can’t you just drop a fireball and wipe out the enemy?”
“That would be too much.”
“Understood. I’ll handle the rest.”
Yuri lowered the telescope and muttered,
“Still, it feels like a waste to just sit here…”
News of the troop buildup had probably reached the Empire, but they likely didn’t know Yuri was already near Bezos.
“How about a quick strike?”
“I thought we were just scouting.”
“Time’s too precious to waste.”
“Then what do you plan to do with this small force?”
“Well…”
Besides Inariel, only Jared, Simon, Guiness, and Francesco had accompanied the scouting party. The rest of the vanguard knights were held back at the palace to avoid detection.
“Is there nothing we can do?”
“Just wait.”
“Hmm…”
As Yuri pondered, Jared approached from behind.
“Your Highness, Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“Something ridiculous just happened.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Jared looked utterly baffled.
“They came here.”
“Who?”
“The Easterners.”
“Huh?”
“For some reason, they just came straight to Bezos. We saw a band of ragtag people approaching and checked—it was them.”
“Ronin?”
“Yes.”
Since Yuri was the royal heir, the proper move would have been for them to head to the palace first. But somehow, they came straight to Bezos.
Luckily, the scouts spotted them early.
“Ha…”
Yuri scratched her head.
“Really?”
At first, it sounded absurd, but on second thought, it wasn’t bad.
Actually, it was good.
“That’s perfect.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to do something, but it felt awkward doing it alone. Now that the ronin are here, we can work together, see their skills, and move as one.”
“But you said we were just scouting.”
“Time’s too precious.”
“No…”
“Come on, let’s go meet the ronin.”
Jared glanced at Inariel as if to ask him to intervene, but Inariel just shrugged.
“There’s no magic to stop this guy.”
“Phew…”
Yuri ignored Jared’s protests.
“Hurry up!”
She headed straight to the temporary camp the group had set up. In front of a small tent, Simon and Guiness were lining up the ronin.
As Yuri appeared, the ronin all struck a respectful pose.
Yuri gave a wry smile.
“Wow, they really all showed up.”
Simon and Guiness looked equally stunned.
“Your Highness, what should we do?”
“What do you mean, what should we do?”
Yuri scanned the group of ronin.
“Is there anyone who can interpret? Like Iris or someone?”
“No interpreter. But this guy speaks the continent’s language pretty well.”
Simon pointed to a ronin standing before them—a middle-aged man, ragged in appearance but with sharp eyes.
The ronin bowed to Yuri.
“My name is Cheongun. Pleased to meet you.”
His sentences were broken and his intonation off, but his pronunciation was clear.
Yuri was impressed.
“You’ve learned this much already? That’s amazing.”
Cheongun seemed to understand and bowed again in thanks.
“When I was young, I was a prodigy. But my status was low. I took up the sword to eat.”
“Ah, so that’s your story…”
It seemed the East also had rigid class barriers.
“Impressive. You understand well, and your pronunciation…”
Yuri suddenly hesitated.
Cheongun’s intonation was off, but his pronunciation wasn’t far off.
He was different from some others.
“Um, is the pronunciation difficult for you?”
“The continental language is difficult. Pronunciation is okay.”
“Is that so? Is it the same for everyone?”
“My comrades are similar. Sentences confuse us. Speaking is fine.”
Yuri’s suspicion about Moyongchan was confirmed. She had a feeling, and sure enough, he was deliberately slurring his pronunciation just to tease her.
Determined to address this the next time they met, Yuri extended her hand to Cheongun.
“I’m Yuri Briol.”
Cheongun hesitated briefly, then politely bowed and shook her hand. Yuri smiled and patted his shoulder.
“Feel free to relax, Cheongun.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t expect you to come so quickly, but since you’re here, let’s get straight to work together. Sound good?”
“I’m ready!”
“You’re a martial artist, right? You’re not going to fall flat on your face over something trivial, are you?”
“I will destroy everything.”
“I like your spirit.”
Yuri glanced toward Bezos Castle.
“Our mission is…”
Although the empire had taken the castle, it was essentially isolated at the edge of enemy territory. That meant supply convoys had to come and go regularly.
Yuri planned to strike one of those supply convoys.
“We’re going to hit the supply convoy.”
Jared sighed.
“I thought you wouldn’t actually do it…”
“We need to wear the enemy down.”
“Or maybe you’re just itching for a fight?”
“It’s a strategic decision.”
“Lies…”
Ignoring Jared’s complaints, Yuri looked over at the ronin.
“Good thing these guys showed up.”
The ronin looked terrible. They must have had a rough time getting here from Bezos Castle—thin, dirty, and worn out.
If anyone saw them, they’d probably think they were just a band of refugees or vagrants, not a battle-hardened unit arriving first.
Cheongun clenched his fist.
“I will fight with all my might.”
His stomach growled loudly.
“Did you come here starving?”
“Well…”
“That won’t do. Your body is your greatest asset.”
Yuri immediately handed out all the food she had to the Easterners. They were deeply grateful for her kindness.
“Cheongun, tell your comrades to eat slowly.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Listen carefully. From now on, what we have to do is…”
“Yes.”
Cheongun listened calmly.
“There’s a better way.”
“Hm?”
“We did this every day back home. It’s easy.”
Yuri and the ronin circled around to the back of Bezos Castle.
After about a day of waiting, luck was on their side—the supply convoy appeared right on schedule.
“Do you really think this will work?”
“It will.”
Hidden in the bushes, Yuri eyed the confident Cheongun with suspicion.
Not doubting his plan, but his background.
“By the way, are ronin considered bandits back in the East?”
“No.”
“Good…”
“Actually, it’s similar.”
“…”
“They become bandits or mercenaries. Sometimes even soldiers.”
“I see…”
“I even worked with the Nokrim.”
“You don’t have to explain—I know what kind of place that is.”
As they talked, the supply convoy drew closer.
Yuri lowered her voice.
“They’re coming.”
The imperial soldiers carefully moved along the road, flanking the carts loaded with supplies.
Lying on either side of the road were the ronin.
“Hmm…”
Yuri groaned softly.
The ronin weren’t hiding in ambush. They were sprawled openly by the roadside, as if daring the enemy to notice them.
The lead imperial soldier slowed down upon spotting the ronin.
As the distance closed, the ronin suddenly rose as a group.
Just as the startled soldiers raised their weapons—
“Please give us some food. Yes, please.”
“Please give us some food.”
“Just a little, please.”
The ronin began begging in broken continental language.