Clang!
Alex unsheathed his sword from the scabbard tied at his waist and rolled to the side.
“Urgh!”
Another burrowing snake had appeared out of nowhere.
Thanks to the previous appearance, he was able to sense the danger and avoid the attack.
Though he didn’t have the innate talent for swordsmanship like the Third Prince, he had at least trained enough as a royal to match a decent knight.
“Your Highness!!! I will handle it!”
Kross, the captain of the escort knights, who had gained the upper hand against the first burrowing snake, immediately leapt into action, spotting another burrowing snake attacking the Crown Prince.
His speed was impressive, rivaling that of a four-legged beast.
Kross stood in front of the Crown Prince, narrowly dodging the burrowing snake’s attack by rolling on the ground.
“Thanks. It was getting hard to dodge.”
“I’ll take it from here. Please step back!”
Most knights wouldn’t dare face a burrowing snake alone, but Kross was different.
He boldly began to battle the burrowing snake solo.
I can win this. It will just take time.
Swinging his sword against the burrowing snake, Kross calculated his chances.
His subordinate knights were busy wrapping up another burrowing snake and couldn’t assist him.
Meanwhile, regular soldiers would just be a hindrance rather than a help.
He solely had to face it himself. While he was confident he could win, finishing it quickly seemed unlikely.
In fact, it’s quite an achievement in the Empire to catch a burrowing snake alone, but…
Kross felt the weight of the empty space where the Crown Prince’s guards should be.
With two burrowing snakes already out, it wouldn’t be strange if another showed up, and if more came, it would be a disaster.
Was splitting the forces a mistake?
He regretted sending half of the knights to assist Yustaf in investigating the enemy’s stronghold.
Had they been present, the situation might have been manageable.
But now was not the time for regrets. The burrowing snake before him was no creature to be underestimated.
And watching from a hidden thicket was Venom.
Venom was horrified.
Your Highness? So that guy really was a royal!
Even though he was quite far from where he was hiding, the voice of that fearsome knight carried with a sickening clarity.
-Your Highness!!! I will handle it!
Now it all made sense.
The reason these insane powers that were effortlessly dealing with the burrowing snakes showed up.
The escort knights protecting the royal family were powerful enough.
Especially that middle-aged knight hunting a burrowing snake all by himself.
Even facing the cult leader wouldn’t guarantee he could be subdued easily.
Damn it! How did I end up facing a royal…?
Venom felt the darkness closing in around him.
How could the royal family appear here instead of the Imperial Palace?
The moment he touched the royal family, it would mean annihilation for at least three generations, and he was done for.
Wait. I originally didn’t have a family, and dark wizards receive the death penalty upon being discovered, so nothing will change!
That’s right. One of the few advantages of being a dark wizard was kicking in here.
Most of them were family-less, and those who did usually had murderous feuds.
Furthermore, no matter how wicked their deeds, as dark wizards, they faced certain death.
Recognizing he was already a dead man walking gave Venom a rush of courage.
It’s a shame, but I’ll destroy the Chaos Crystal and cause the burrowing snakes to run wild.
Once that was done, he wouldn’t be able to control the burrowing snakes anymore, but it would temporarily throw them into chaos.
In that moment, he would risk his life to escape.
Venom grasped the Chaos Crystal tightly in both hands, channeling all his mana into it.
Creeeak!
The crystal began to vibrate violently, soon developing cracks, and ultimately shattering into dust.
“Kieeeek!!!”
And then the effects manifested immediately.
The two burrowing snakes, which were already on the verge of death, suddenly writhed and twisted violently.
“What the—! Why is this happening all of a sudden…?”
The knights confronting the burrowing snakes were briefly bewildered.
Fighting back a creature that was determined to go down swinging would only hasten their demise.
“Everyone, step back for a moment!”
The knights, realizing there was no need to deal with a final desperate struggle, retreated slightly.
But the burrowing snake had no intention of holding back.
It was strange to think of reason for a monster, but in a furious frenzy, it charged toward the nearby soldiers, not the knights.
“AAAAHH!!!”
To the escort knights, the burrowing snake was a fearsome beast. Faced with it, the regular soldiers felt like they were up against a dragon straight out of the hellish tales, causing them to panic and scatter.
However, not everyone could run away.
“Mom… Mom….”
Had he just turned eighteen?
Among the soldiers who looked undeniably young, one soldier collapsed in fear, his legs giving way.
The burrowing snake approached him, its massive, grotesque jaws gaping before him.
“Chrom!!!”
The cries of other soldiers from the area rang out like echoes as they witnessed the horror unfold.
The knights who had briefly stepped back rushed to block the rampaging burrowing snake.
However, Kross, who was battling the burrowing snake on his own, couldn’t do the same.
The burrowing snake, locked in a fierce battle with Kross, suddenly began to thrash wildly and dashed toward the unsuspecting Crown Prince.
There was no way Kross could intercept this unexpected attack alone.
“Your Highness!!!”
Watching the burrowing snake attack him, the Crown Prince once again rolled on the ground to evade.
But perhaps it was due to a slow reaction to the surprise attack?
His right upper side was now a gory sight, blood pouring out.
“That insane burrowing snake!!! How dare it!!!”
Seeing the Crown Prince’s right arm torn away left Kross, along with the other knights blocking the burrowing snake, in utter shock and fury.
They were on the verge of hunting down the beast threatening the Crown Prince, but…
“Stop! No one is to leave their positions!”
At the Crown Prince’s command, they all had to hold their ground.
“If you recklessly move, who will protect the soldiers behind you? Kross, can you handle it by yourself?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Late to react, Kross swung his sword with rage at the burrowing snake, still making desperate attempts to fight back.
“Potions! Anyone with potions, come here now!”
Among the retreating soldiers, one jumped from the sidelines, hurriedly wrapping a torn cloth around the Crown Prince’s wound while searching for a potion.
“Everything will be fine now. Don’t worry.”
In stark contrast, the expression on Crown Prince Alex was utterly carefree.
Despite the immense pain of losing an arm, he smiled at the soldiers surrounding him.
*
“What the hell are you doing here…”
The head of the Abyss Cult, Bialom, the last remaining dark wizard organization on the continent, was on the verge of furious disbelief.
“There are those who would risk their lives to reveal the truth and those who believe them.”
Standing before the breathless Bialom was an elderly man with a long beard.
The Grand Mage Yustaf of the Empire felt sincere gratitude towards them for preventing the disaster.
Rupert, who published a book to unveil the truth despite his own family in danger.
And the Crown Prince Alex, who believed them despite the flimsy evidence.
Without their actions, countless lives aKross the Empire could have been sacrificed.
“Nonsense! Humans are all out for their own gain!!!”
“And that is why your plans failed! You were unaware that humans can be both cowardly and courageous at the same time!”
Bialom was in no condition to argue, acquiescing only with a grim silence, filled with resentment.
The day of his grand plan had come so close.
But everything had crumbled just one step away.
That he ended up facing a grand mage—was just too unlucky. Why had the Dragon polymorphed into a human to come after him?
This wasn’t an excuse; if it weren’t for Yustaf, Bialom would have been confident in fending off any interruption.
He could easily twist the necks of typical knights, and other mages nearing elder status were hardly good prey in comparison.
But Bialom’s formidable dark magic was merely child’s play before Yustaf.
The area around him was instilled with enough magic to nearly leave him powerless, and his opponent unleashed various spells without even chanting.
If Bialom hadn’t been who he was, he would have already become a cold corpse like the rest of the Abyss Cult’s underlings.
“Before I kill you, I must ask: what exactly were you hoping to transmute with this vile act?”
“Transmute? Ha… that’s ridiculous. This isn’t an alchemical circle; it’s a dark magic circle! A glorious gateway for our Lord of Destruction to descend!!!”
Bialom’s voice cracked in a scream.
The group was left in shock at that single word, Lord of Destruction.
On the Sylvania Continent, there existed not just the Goddess of Creation, but also the Lord of Destruction.
After the continent was created, the Goddess and the Lord fought fiercely, with the Lord ultimately being banished to the demonic realm.
According to legend, the blood shed by the Goddess during their battle transformed into humans, elves, dwarves, and beastfolk, while the Lord’s blood turned into various monsters.
This might explain why all the races that worship the Goddess had a primal fear and loathing of monsters inscribed in their instincts.
Yet, the horrific tale of trying to summon not monsters, but the Lord of Destruction himself…
“Indeed, dark wizards are not the same as humans.”
Upon one of the party members uttering in horror, everyone nodded in agreement.
How on earth could a human born of the Goddess’s blood seek to summon the Lord of Destruction and plunge the world into danger?
Such actions were absolutely unacceptable. Thus, dark wizards would always be treated as public enemies not just by humans, but by all races aKross the continent.
“Same humans? Don’t make me laugh… When was humanity ever such a noble race?”
Bialom merely scoffed at the group’s reactions.
“There is no race that has killed more of its own kind than humans!!! Nobles always…”
“Stop your nonsense. So were the people you killed nobles, huh?”
“T-That was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good!!!”
Thwack!
Bialom couldn’t finish his sentence.
A blade struck down like lightning upon his forehead.
It was Lina, a member of the Crown Prince’s escort knights who followed Yustaf.
Despite being a woman, she was an extraordinary talent who graduated top of her class from the Empire Academy’s military department.
She was a genius in swordsmanship, set to become the next commander of the legion.
“We must finish this as quickly as possible, gather evidence, and return to the side of His Highness the Prince.”
Everyone nodded, watching her nonchalantly wipe the blood from her blade with her clothing, as if nothing had happened.
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