“Are we really in the Empire’s territory?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know? Just go and fight! We just have to kill those Empire bastards!”
“Right? Let’s go!”
“For Briol!”
“For Briol!”
The morale of Briol’s army was always sky-high.
And the reason was simple.
The noblest bloodline stood at the very front, facing the enemy head-on.
Yuri Briol never once hid away to save his own skin. Nor did he allow the enemy to simply pass him by.
He always led the charge himself.
When a royal risks their life in battle, how could the soldiers possibly fear death?
“Don’t let any of these bastards live!”
Yuri’s shout was met with a roar of approval.
The Empire’s forces couldn’t mount a proper counterattack.
Though their emotions were suppressed by dark magic, so they didn’t show much agitation, their response was utterly chaotic.
It seemed they hadn’t anticipated this ambush at all.
Yuri’s deception had worked perfectly.
He stabbed an Empire knight through with his sword, Guilty, and laughed.
“Surprised to see me?”
“Uh, how did you get here…?”
“Shocked?”
Blood gushed from the man’s mouth.
“What, are your friends busy setting up defenses inside?”
“Ugh…”
“I know everything, you bastard.”
Yuri kicked the knight in the gut, knocking him down, then drew Guilty again and moved toward another knight standing beyond.
The man retreated, wildly swinging his sword. Yuri kept just out of reach, matching his steps. The knight’s movements grew frantic.
“Yuri Briol! Gather here! Surround him!”
Black-armored knights began to swarm in.
Yuri shouted back.
“They want to kill me! Come protect me, quickly!”
But only one appeared beside Yuri.
“Why is it just you, Jared?”
“Beats me.”
Yuri had pushed so far ahead that the vanguard knights were still locked in close combat behind, and nearby, Roland ignored Yuri’s call.
Jared shrugged.
“Two is enough, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, let’s say it is.”
Though several Empire knights surrounded them, the two cut through from both sides, and the formation collapsed in an instant.
“I’m taking point! Follow me! We’re going to trample the Empire!”
“Yes!”
With a roar, Yuri swung his spinning whirlwind sword, tearing through the enemy ranks.
Empire soldiers were sliced into dozens of pieces, brutally slaughtered, as Briol’s forces surged forward like a tidal wave.
The Empire couldn’t hold formation and was tossed about.
Meanwhile, Briol exploited the breach Yuri created, breaking the Empire’s forces apart.
Occasionally, Empire-made monsters appeared, thrashing their tentacles, but Yuri smashed them to the ground, their fluids splattering as they disintegrated.
“No prisoners! Leave none alive!”
The Empire’s entire formation was crumbling.
By now, Yuri had done his part. He had cut through the thick armor of the prey and exposed the soft flesh inside; now it was enough to let his allies finish the job.
But Yuri didn’t stop.
In the heart of the battlefield, he strolled casually, scanning the enemy ranks.
Most of the Empire knights no longer dared approach him.
Yuri muttered,
“Pathetic.”
There was no one strong enough to challenge him.
Then—
“Yuri Briol!”
“Oh!”
Just as Yuri voiced his disappointment, someone shouted his name and charged. Yuri welcomed the challenger and turned.
A knight in black armor was rushing fiercely toward him.
“Die!”
“Fine, but your lines are so predictable.”
The man leapt up and brought his sword down. Yuri blocked it sideways with Guilty.
The clash of steel sparked.
Yuri frowned. The incoming attacks were heavy—this was no weak opponent. In fact, he was unusually strong.
Yuri swung his sword and asked,
“What’s your name?”
“Jeskil!”
“Your rank?”
“Commander of the knights!”
“Which order?”
“You don’t need to know!”
“For someone like that, you sure answer back promptly.”
“Shut up!”
Jeskil used centrifugal force to launch fierce attacks, moving like an acrobat.
Though not large, his balance and weight shifts were excellent, each strike heavy as a bear’s paw.
Yuri blocked Jeskil’s sword repeatedly, then dodged to the side and stabbed into his abdomen.
Jeskil arched backward as if falling.
“Huh?”
Before Yuri could react, Jeskil flipped over, planted his hand on the ground, and kicked out with both feet.
An unexpected counterattack.
Yuri was struck in the chest and fell.
“Ugh!”
Unluckily, Yuri stumbled backward, caught his foot on a rock, and fell.
Jeskil immediately brought his sword down.
“Wait!”
Yuri rolled on the ground. Jeskil pursued.
Like a stone tumbling endlessly, Yuri rolled out of the enemy’s range. Seizing the brief pause in attacks, he got back up.
“Phew…”
Looking up, he saw Jeskil’s face twisted in a grimace.
Like a demon.
“Huh?”
This wasn’t just a battle grimace.
His facial muscles were breaking down.
Yuri realized Jeskil’s body was collapsing in real time.
“Is that another trick of dark magic?”
“Shut up!”
The voice was grotesque.
His vocal cords were damaged, and his face sagged like an old man’s skin was melting.
“You pathetic bastard.”
Jeskil was burning his own body to draw power—both pitiful and hideous.
Yuri twisted his lips.
It was tragic that such a skilled knight had to meet such a miserable end.
Suddenly, his anger toward Cedric surged anew.
“I understand, Jeskil. I’ll put you out of your misery.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
Ignoring Jeskil’s desperate cries, Yuri narrowed his eyes.
Soon, his vision slipped into the realm of the soul.
Surrounded by Empire soldiers, the air was thick with dark magic. Among it all, Jeskil’s aura was the strongest and darkest.
Disgusting.
Yuri clenched Guilty and summoned his Soul Slash, raising a blade of spiritual energy.
“Rest easy now, Jeskil.”
A streak of light cut through.
The dark magic controlling Jeskil was severed in two. The lower half sank into the earth, the upper half faded into the sky.
Yuri blinked.
His vision returned from the soul realm to reality.
Jeskil’s body, split in half, soared upward.
Blood and entrails rained down like a storm.
A brutal sight, but commonplace on the battlefield.
Even ordinary soldiers glanced briefly at Jeskil’s flying torso, then resumed fighting as if nothing had happened.
Yuri passed by the lower half of Jeskil’s body, sitting on the ground.
Countless more victims like this would fall.
Until he killed Cedric.
“Wait for me, Cedric.”
Muttering a curse under his breath, Yuri roared and charged forward.
Even the Empire soldiers who had lost all fear dared not stand in his way.
With every swing of his sword, blood and flesh exploded outward in a fan.
Yuri bellowed,
“Leave none alive! Kill them all!”
“The flowers have withered. We should plant new ones.”
“As you wish.”
“Remove the tree we planted over there.”
“Where should I move it?”
“Anywhere, just make sure it’s out of my sight.”
Cedric was walking inside the imperial palace with Emperor Ivar.
The palace servants, brainwashed by dark magic, had no doubts about Cedric. They even treated him as if he were the master of the palace, without a hint of suspicion.
“The garden is enough for now, Ivar.”
“Yes.”
Cedric spoke to the emperor as if summoning a servant.
“Explain what happened.”
“Pardon?”
For once, Cedric showed emotion and scolded Ivar.
“Explain why the Briol army is on the eastern front.”
“I… I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, then who does?”
Ivar bowed his head.
“They said they were advancing into the Empire’s interior, so why are they in the east?”
Though he asked, Cedric already knew the answer.
Yuri had deceived him.
Sensing Asana’s betrayal, Yuri had turned it to his advantage, feeding false information. While the Empire wasted time building pointless defenses, Yuri had slipped to the eastern front and launched a surprise attack.
Cedric didn’t need a report to guess the extent of the damage.
They might have been wiped out entirely.
That would mean a third of the Empire’s forces lost.
Humans could be mobilized anytime, but it was painful to see the creatures he had created through dark magic slaughtered.
“I’m sorry.”
Ivar, controlled by Cedric, kept bowing repeatedly.
“It’s all my fault.”
“You understand, then.”
“Yes. It’s my failing.”
As Ivar prostrated himself, Cedric helped him up.
“Get up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Well, what could you do? I didn’t expect Yuri to see through Asana’s betrayal either. That’s my brother for you, huh?”
“Yes.”
Ivar responded mechanically, matching Cedric’s tone.
“But there’s only so much patience I can afford. If I let this go on, that bastard might really end up blocking my path.”
Cedric muttered quietly to himself.
“I can’t tolerate this any longer.”
He had planted Asana as a spy to sabotage Yuri, but it backfired—he ended up being the one caught off guard.
At this point, he had no choice but to crush Yuri, even if it meant taking extreme measures.
Just then, Ivar spoke up.
“So, I sent Hasan on your behalf, Lord Cedric.”
“Hasan? Where to?”
“To the place you mentioned before…”
“Ah.”
Cedric nodded. It seemed the operation he had ordered through Ivar earlier was now underway.
A smile crept across Cedric’s face.
“Well done.”
Though proud of his younger brother, he couldn’t keep taking hits forever.
So instead, Cedric decided to strike elsewhere.
Right at the Briol royal palace.
Ivar explained, “Hasan and the assassin squad he leads have likely infiltrated the Briol palace by now. They should be executing the mission as we speak.”
“Good.”
At this moment, Briol’s main forces had all been dispatched to strike the empire.
Cedric seized the opportunity, sending Hasan and his assassins—enhanced by dark magic—into the heart of Briol’s power.
Their target was Joshua. If things went awry, they were ordered to complete the mission by any means necessary, even if it meant killing him.
“This will settle things soon enough.”
Cedric smiled calmly.
Though they shared blood, Cedric held little affection for Joshua.
The only person he truly cared about was Yuri Briol—the one unpredictable variable in his calculations.
He wondered what expression Yuri would wear when news of Joshua’s accident reached her.
Only then did Cedric’s mood lighten, and he placed a hand on Ivar’s shoulder.
“Well done, Ivar. This is probably the best you can manage.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So, how’s that other matter progressing?”
“Huh?”
“That one. The frostbite.”
“Oh, yes.”
Ivar’s eyes flickered nervously, and he nodded rapidly as if convulsing.
“It’s going well. Very well, in fact.”
He looked terrified.
Who could have imagined the emperor ruling the empire would wear such an expression?
Cedric nodded.
“Good. Once Hasan’s mission is complete, contact me immediately.”
“Understood.”
Hasan pulled his mask up as he watched the Briol palace.
“Begin.”
“Yes.”
At his command, the assassins lurking in the shadows answered in unison, moving as one.
“Our target is King Joshua Briol. This won’t be difficult.”
Neither Fiore nor Yuri Briol remained in the palace.
There was no one strong enough to stop them.
This mission was likely to end sooner than expected.
Hasan muttered to himself.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”
Back when he was still a mere pawn, chosen as a great warrior by Georg, Hasan had fought a trial by combat against a young Yuri Briol.
He lost.
It was a defeat he could never forget.
Whenever training became grueling, he’d grit his teeth and recall that day.
And now, finally, the chance to avenge that humiliation had come.
Hasan smiled darkly.
He was curious to see what expression Yuri would wear if he kidnapped her brother.
“See you soon, Yuri Briol.”
As Hasan moved, the assassins followed like shadows.
The Briol palace lay shrouded in mist.