Chapter 306

Where all hell breaks loose.

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Episode 306: About One Month (6)

Feeling a creeping sense of anxiety washing over him, Kyle clenched and unclenched his hands into fists several times.

As he forcibly suppressed the intense emotions rising from deep within him, he raised his gaze to survey the hall.

‘They’re heading that way.’

Tara, led by Knight Commander Taylor, moved to a spot next to Hans Button just below the podium.

After that, he no longer spared her a glance, solely focusing his attention on safely handling the ongoing operation.

A moment later, the Emperor gave the signal, and the Phoenix Knights emerged from the secret passageway, and the battle began.

Walter and the Emperor's escort knights took charge of Emperor Louis while Kyle moved toward the crowd trapped by the guards in the VIP section and drew his sword.

“Waaaaaah!”

In an instant, the Grand Ceremonial Hall turned into a battlefield.

The Royal Guard ranks were thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of the Phoenix Knights and Second Prince Kyle. The Council members supporting Joseph, who had been standing below the platform, were startled by the turn of events and attempted to rush up onto the podium.

However, they were blocked by the Imperial Guards protecting Joseph, throwing them into the turmoil.

The Phoenix Knights numbered roughly just over 50 men.

In contrast, the Imperial Guard, led by the Toulouse Knights and mercenaries, outnumbered them about four to one.

Nevertheless, the Phoenix Knights spread out as if they had planned this in advance, dividing their forces between the Emperor and the crowd and instantly forming defensive and offensive formations.

"The Second Prince's traitorous troops! Seize them all!"

At the Duke of Toulouse's shout, the Imperial Guard charged the Phoenix Knights. The sounds of clashing weapons mingled with the roars of battle.The screams of those teetering on the edge of death turning the hall into complete chaos.

Kyle turned his back to the podium and stepped forward to open the doors of the Grand Ceremony Hall.

Once the doors were opened, the space would expand, allowing the civilians to escape to a safe location. It would also remove the constraints on combat, making it easier to engage in battle.

***

Momentarily stunned by the turn of events, I quickly snapped out of it and scanned my surroundings. For now, the spot against the wall—where no one dared to approach—was the safest place.

I immediately unfastened the buckle on my thigh and pulled out my axe, holding it tightly behind my back against the wall.

[Hide the fact that you're armed as much as possible. That way, your attacker will let their guard down. You can use that moment of complacency to launch a counterattack.]

I took a slow, deep breath, reflecting on Bernard’s words.

The noise was deafening.

Just as Bernard had taught me, I pressed my back against the wall, spread my legs and slightly bent my knees, keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings. Then a shout rang out from the stage.

"Pick it up! Stay where you are. Follow your training!"

Bernard was engaged in a skirmish against the knights charging at the Emperor.

They were clearly outnumbered. Though it was unclear how many soldiers, knights and mercenaries there were, Joseph's troops poured ceaselessly out of the second and third floors of the Ceremonial hall.

Then, suddenly...

“Stop!” Kyle shouted harshly.

“Aaaargh!”

My gaze naturally turned towards the piercing scream.

And for the first time since transmigrating here, I saw someone’s throat get cut right before my eyes.

The Imperial Guards had sliced through the throats of two young noblemen who were trying to escape through the door.

For a moment, I felt as if all the blood had drained from my body. I felt dizzy, as if I was about to throw up.

But I kept my eyes wide open, gripping my axe tightly, and scanned my surroundings.

In the distance, I could see Kyle and the Phoenix Knights facing the enemy while shielding the crowd behind them.

Behind them, Andrei and Allen were actively tending to the women and the elderly as they slowly followed Kyle, advancing step by step toward the doors.

Kyle, sword in hand, looked like the very embodiment of death.

The ground where he passed was littered with the corpses of enemy soldiers.

At first glance, Kyle’s swordplay appeared incredibly simple. The ease with which he handled his sword while he carefully traced the blade’s path in front of him was almost uncanny, yet with every swing, his enemies fell, struck by a fatal slice.

He and his knights defended with all their might until the doors opened, and Andrei and Allen were able to lead the nobles out.

Kyle was splattered with blood from head to toe as the dance repeated itself. He would cut down two enemies in front of him, then four more would charge in from both sides. His movements grew increasingly sluggish, and eventually, the tip of his sword began to tremble slightly.

Kyle, now covered in gore, continued to cut down the enemies rushing at him with the intent to kill. But, eventually, their blades reached him as well.

“...!”

A fierce, heart-wrenching pain suddenly flooded my chest.

“No….”

“Oh ho, what’s this?”

Goosebumps instantly rose on the back of my neck.

“....!”

I whipped my head around at the sound of the voice by my ear, only to find Hans standing right next to me, a knife pressed against my throat.

The moment I felt the cold blade against my neck, Bernard's words flashed through my mind, and I immediately prepared myself.

[Just move one beat faster than the enemy and strike at their weak spot!]

"You've lost a lot of weight, haven't you, fatso? Heh. I almost fell for it. I heard you two were fooling around? So then why did he accuse you of being a spy—?!"

As that Button bastard kept wagging his cheap tongue, I firmly grabbed the wrist of his knife hand with my left, and at the same time lightly lifted my right, which held my axe, and thrust it diagonally at him in one swift motion.

“Aaaargh!”

His arm went limp as the knife fell to the ground.

"Ugh, you lunatic!"

At the same time, I slammed my elbow hard into Hans's side, then spun around to create some distance. I was now about two steps away from him.

“Get that bitch!”

Hans shouted while pressing his right hand firmly against his left shoulder, which was gushing blood. Just as three enemy soldiers nearby drew their swords and charged at me, Bernard's voice rang out from afar.

"You bastards!"

Instantly, with a thud and the sound of slicing flesh, the soldier standing closest to me collapsed, Bernard's axe embedded in the back of his neck with surgical precision.

“......!”

“Ugh!”

The shock the other two knights experienced at their comrade's death was brief, and they closed in on me, swinging their swords. I immediately deflected their attack with my axe.

Clang! Clang!

Once, twice, three times. I parried their swords—they had been lulled into a false sense of security by my appearance—and dodged their blows. The knights, who had attacked me slowly at first, now swung their swords with greater speed and force in response to my movements. I narrowly avoided the blows and retreated backwards, but then I was blocked by the wall and could move no further.

Then, in the blink of an eye, a razor-sharp blade was right in front of my throat.

"Take her axe away and hold her carefully! You fat crazy cow - on top of everything else, you’re also swinging an axe around?"

I struggled to escape when one of the knights snatched my axe.

But they crossed my arms and clasped them tightly behind my back to keep me still. Then one of them pressed a blade right up against the skin of my neck. I felt a shiver run down my spine as a hairline slice appeared on my skin, drawing blood. I didn’t even feel the pain, likely because of the adrenaline.

Hans approached me and thrust his face - pale as a sheet from bloodloss - right up close to mine.

"You dared strike me with an axe? Heh. Well, at least you’re worthy of... serving as bait. Hehehe. A mere cut on the shoulder is nothing to me. Hehe. Isn't that right, my spy?"

“You crazy sociopath!”

“Hmm? Heh. Socio- what?”

Hans tilted his head in confusion, his face leaning even closer to mine.

“.....”

“I’ve never heard that word before, Sociopath… Hehe. It rolls off the tongue nicely. Hmph, heh heh heh.”

“This isn’t going to happen the way you expect it to.”

“What do you think I’m expecting to happen, fatso?”

“You’re going to take me hostage and use me so you can escape. Or perhaps you’re planning to use me as a hostage to put the Second Prince at a disadvantage.”

“Oh ho... Correct. You’re important to that bastard, the Second Prince. So tell me, why won’t this work? You’re excellent bait, are you not?”

"... Thanks to you, I'm now considered a spy. That’s why I was expelled from the Palace. There’s no chance I mean anything to the Second Prince, especially now. So, run away while you still can, you little sociopath."

“Heh heh. This is fun. So much fun. You seriously underestimate your own value, fatso.”

“You lunatic. Look behind you. The tide has already turned.”

Button turned at my words.

On the platform, the battle against the last remaining knights was in full swing. However, the tide of battle had clearly turned in favor of the Second Prince.

Bernard, who had thrown his axe to save me, had somehow seized an enemy's sword and was working his way toward us. The Emperor was nowhere to be seen - perhaps having already retreated to safety.

As for Third Prince Joseph, the Duke of Toulouse, Knight Commander Taylor and the Empress, they had disappeared as well.

The doors to the Grand Ceremony Hall stood wide open.

Countless corpses of fallen enemy soldiers lay scattered amidst the VIP seating area, along with a few wounded ladies and noblewomen leaning against the walls. The Phoenix Knights were easily identifiable, facing off against the remaining Palace guards.

Meanwhile, some of the Phoenix Knights had begun to restore order within the hall, and the sound of cheers sounded from beyond the doors.

Outside the Palace, the Elias Knights were likely participating in the battle as well.

In the midst of the grotesque scene, Kyle stood bathed in a beam of light with his entire body covered in blood—his gaze on us.

He stood motionless, sword in hand. His body was covered in wounds.

“Damn it, that murderous monster. Heh, heh. Hold her tight! She's our only chance of survival!”

“Ugh.”

Button’s shrill order made the knight tighten his grip, and the gash on my neck cut deeper.

Bernard took two more steps forward. In response, Hans quickly scanned the area, then shouted.

“If you move, heh, this fatso dies. Drop your weapon!”

Bernard stopped dead in his tracks, while Kyle remained standing in the same spot, staring silently at us.

"Alright, shall we get out of here?"

Hans pressed himself closer to me, and I could feel the knight holding his sword to my neck go stiff as a board from the tension.

No wonder - most of his comrades lay dead or mortally wounded on the floor; not a single one had been left unscathed.

“What should we do, Consul?”

“Military units near the Capital are on standby outside the Palace. His Majesty will soon issue the order to storm the hall. Heh. All we have to do is stall for time.”

Hans shouted directly at Kyle.

“Drop your sword! Hehe. No. Order all of your men to drop their weapons!”

“You lunatic. I told you that won't work.”

At my words, Hans, who had been panting, took a deep breath and clenched his shoulder tightly again.

He muttered his next words quickly, low enough that only I could hear.

"See the look in that bastard's eyes? Why do you think I created the Black Crown villages? Humans are so stupid—they'd even sacrifice their own lives for those they've lived side by side with, their families! That murderous monster is the only one who wouldn't, at least until you arrived. That idiot, that bastard who’s never known a woman other than his mother since she died on that beach, came to the Palace with a woman at his side for the first time ever. No, wait. The first woman he’s ever loved. And that’s you, you fatso. Do you really think he’d forget his first love so easily? Hehe.”

“.......!”

I was almost persuaded by his words. However, I hadn't forgotten the private favor Kyle had asked of me that day.

Kyle had ruthlessly pushed me out of his life. Therefore, Button’s words held no weight.

“The Second Prince wastes no emotions on a woman he believes has betrayed him...!”

Clang!

The sword in Kyle’s hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.

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