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Chapter 77
Chapter 77: A Little Wind and Frost
Hoofbeats shattered the dark night, and guiding firelight lit up ahead.
A pursuit broke out. The cavalry immediately changed their direction of travel. At the rear of the formation, puddles of ink-like shadow came sweeping forward at high speed. After closing the distance, they swiftly folded and expanded, forming a chaotic mass of twisted black lines.
Luna leaped down from her horse. In the darkness, the sound of a sharp sword leaving its sheath rang out. A gale exploded with a roar, and shrieking wind collided with the densely woven black shadows.
In an instant, Luna disappeared from where she stood. Blurred figures in midair crossed rapidly, and the blade connected to the black lines spun. The impact and metallic sounds from their collisions rose in overlapping waves, so fast that it dazzled the eyes.
Ё n̈ ù m ӓ
Reversed wind currents moved swiftly backward. Luna pushed her ability to its limit, yet the black shadows did not slow in the slightest. They swept in with cold flashes, and sparks lit up continuously in the darkness, blooming toward the forest along the high-speed exchange between both sides.
“Paul, are you guarding me, or am I guarding you?”
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A small cut had been sliced across her face. The instant Luna fell from the forest, a cavalryman pulled her up. Borrowing that momentum, she vaulted into the air and stepped across the cavalrymen’s shoulders, swiftly returning to horseback.
Lisa floated up immediately afterward. Her staff lit up, and magic circles surrounded her as dense beams of magic erupted. Surging streams of Mana pierced through the black shadows one after another, like two raging undercurrents violently colliding together. The black shadows’ advance was instantly suppressed.
Firelight lit up again ahead. The cavalry accelerated and charged straight through the forest.
After they had opened up some distance, the instant the black shadows followed them out of the forest, Paul, who had long been gathering his strength, raised the longsword in his hand high.
Еǹ uma
“Blazing Star: Divine Word’s Fall!”
The earth suddenly split apart. Every inch of space underwent a violent chain reaction. High-temperature energy poured out along with red light, swiftly annihilating everything before him.
The black shadows scattered the moment they touched the red light. The material structure of the forest, the soil, and everything else was broken down, and a terrifying blast wave steamed into thick white mist.
Luna was nearly knocked off her horse. She came to Paul’s side, whose complexion looked somewhat weak, and silently observed the deep pit in the ground for a while.
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This fellow was rather strong…
“Is it over?”
Е̌ n̂ u m̊å. і̃ d̈
Lisa landed lightly, and her staff lit up. A breeze blew away the white mist.
Inside the scorched pit appeared five broken corpses that gave off a strange smell, as well as several extinguished candlesticks scattered around them.
Paul stepped forward and picked up a candlestick. These antique objects were still made of bronze, and their origins were clearly rather ancient.
“The remaining black shadows should still be nearby. Perhaps they are waiting for us to lower our guard.” Paul put away the candlestick and said in a deep voice, “We should still listen to Count Morphy and find a place with water to spend the night.”
Luna crossed her arms. Thinking back on how this matter had unfolded, she revealed a speechless expression. “This is all your fault. You were too careless. You actually fell into such an obvious trap.”
Lisa immediately activated her mode of pointing and criticizing. “Exactly. And the Duke even told us to keep your secret well hidden. But what happened? Who could that little matter of yours possibly fool?”
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Their words left Paul unable to respond. He had indeed lost his composure. But… exactly how gossipy was the Northern Territory? Why did it feel as though everyone knew his little matter perfectly clearly?
Last time in Ice City, there had even been a bucktoothed auntie who came to comfort him whenever she had the chance and said she would help him find a good girl…
“Are you happy now? We will have to sleep with one eye open.” Luna’s little mouth kept chattering nonstop. “Falling in love with a woman who does not love you will only harm you, Paul.”
“Does the King love the Queen? Does the Queen love the King? Does she love those followers around her? There are so many clear examples right in front of you, and you still do not understand?”
The three of them rode their horses and caught up with the main force, continuing toward the riverside. Along the way, Paul remained silent. The two little girls beside him were still chattering away, full of energy, as though the battle had not affected them at all.
“Women. You cannot live without them, and you cannot live with them either. As for men, it actually makes no difference whether they are loved or not.” Lisa seemed to have uttered a famous saying, and even she was shocked by her own astonishing discovery. “Paul, as a Holy Knight, have you not noticed one crucial problem?”
Е̌ num̈а̌
“There is only a goddess in this world, not a god!”
Lisa raised her staff and said with incomparable seriousness, “This proves that even the goddess does not care about love. Lifelong loneliness is the goddess’ ultimate trial for all of you!”
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“That is right. That is exactly it.” Luna thumped her chest, stretched out a finger, and expressed her approval of her best friend’s theory.
Paul… Why exactly did I agree to serve as the Young Lady’s guard back then?
The group rode directly across a small river on horseback. After they could temporarily rest without worry, they cleared out an open space by the river, lit a bonfire again, and sat in a circle.
Their tents and most of their luggage had been abandoned. They could only recover them tomorrow morning. This night was destined to be sleepless and difficult.
W̆ё b̀ n оv̇ еl̃ Е ṅ um̌ а̊
It was very easy to infer the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on Paul.
However, as if by tacit understanding, no one brought it up. Paul thanked them for their consideration, and he also thanked Luna and the others for not abandoning him.
It was obvious that these black shadows had come for Paul alone. Even those two children had been a carefully designed trap targeting him alone.
The trap was simple, but effective.
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“The world will not cease to be filthy just because you are pure.” The old Count walked over. His face was still a little pale. He patted Paul’s shoulder earnestly and sat down beside him.
Luna threw firewood into the flames. “If you can say something so philosophical, why do you not say it to my Brother?”
Е ñ u m̈ӑ
Say that to the Duke… The old Count smiled awkwardly. He had lived a long time, but he had not lived enough. It was not his place to advise the Duke to be kind.
“We should discuss what to do afterward.” The old Count changed the topic and said solemnly to the three of them, “Politics is highly dangerous. If we can return to the Northern Territory safe and intact this time, then we will have already successfully achieved our goal.”
“The Church wants to kill Paul to silence him, and some people may also want to use Young Lady Luna to undermine the situation. Multiple forces are hiding in the dark. We can also take this chance to muddy the waters.”
Everyone nodded after thinking it over. The King’s renewed attempt to win over the Northern Territory was a strong political signal.
After the initial chaos, the kingdom’s current situation had already become clear. The powerful figures in each region had all made the choices they were supposed to make.
If Princess Diana had not suddenly made those inexplicable moves earlier, triggering tension between the Northern Territory and the Central Region, perhaps the King would already have finished mustering the army and marched south to suppress the rebellion.
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As for the nobles of the Southern Territory, they naturally did not want to see such a thing happen.
After the heir apparent they supported was eliminated by Frank’s coup, these people immediately conceived the next-best idea of pursuing autonomy and independence for the Southern Territory.
In their expectations, the interests of the various Dukes were aligned. Even if the other two Dukes wavered indecisively like Trist of the Western Territory, they still had a great chance of obtaining independence.
However, aside from the bizarre Duke Dale, the Northern Territory’s repeated back-and-forth maneuvers had also become increasingly confusing.
“What can be predicted is that the Southern Territory’s independence faction will use this chance to attack us. Add in the Church targeting Paul, as well as Princess Diana, who may make small moves behind the scenes, and no matter which situation it is, we must raise our guard.”
Hearing this, Lisa stood and rubbed her chin.
Wéb̃ nо v еl Enu m а̌
“Now that the Count has put it that way, I understand. Do not worry. I already know what we should do next.”
The old Count was utterly baffled. No, what exactly did you understand?
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Luna immediately stood as well and said in a ringing voice, “In other words, as long as we sign an agreement with the King and then return safely to the Northern Territory afterward, that counts as success, right?”
The old Count wiped his face, suddenly feeling a bad premonition. Wait, my Young Lady, what exactly did you understand this time?
…
At noon the next day, Frank set up a ceremonial guard outside the city gate. Standing on the red carpet, he looked far into the distance at the approaching Northern Territory envoy delegation.
Еň û ḿ а. і́d
For some reason, the cavalry formation was chaotic, and their overall condition seemed somewhat wrong.
The ceremonial guard began playing orchestral music. Frank silently watched as the battered cavalry appeared before him, and the welcoming words he had prepared immediately stuck in his throat.
Luna, who was equally dirty, had a wound on her face, and her clothes were covered in bloodstains, dismounted. Although her appearance was messy, her face was calm. She gave an elegant bow.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
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The corner of Frank’s eye twitched. “Er… good. Luna, what happened to you?”
“It was merely a little wind and frost.”
W̌ е.b́ ǹ ov́ е̄ľ Ě n u ḿ.a
Luna looked calm and casual. She took out a handkerchief and coughed, revealing a smear of red blood with an exceedingly casual motion.
After calmly putting away the handkerchief, Luna took a deep breath and bowed again. “The journey was difficult. I hope Your Majesty can allow us to rest first. After last night’s bitter battle, the soldiers are already exhausted.”
After this smooth little sequence of moves, Frank froze. He turned his head and slowly swept his gaze across the crowd behind him. Then he flew into a rage. “Tell me! Who was it? Who attacked you?”
The many officials and nobles behind him trembled, hurriedly lowering their heads one by one, not daring to meet His Majesty the King’s gaze.
Frank was truly angry this time.
What angered him was not that Luna’s group had been attacked, but that guests he had invited had been attacked on land under his direct jurisdiction. In terms of time, only one night had passed, and the distance was so close, yet he had not received even the slightest hint of news!
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Who exactly had such reach that they could act behind his back?
Luna quietly sighed and forced out a comforting and understanding smile. “Your Majesty, please do not ask anymore. If you continue asking, Your Majesty’s kingdom will fall into chaos under heaven.”
The moment the words “chaos under heaven” were spoken, Frank felt as though a basin of cold water had been poured over him from head to toe. It suddenly made him remember the secret report sent from Ice City.
According to the report, Oswald had secretly mobilized troops toward the Southern Commercial District. Their specific destination was unknown, and their numbers were unknown, but what could be confirmed was that a large-scale personnel movement had appeared within the Northern Territory’s elite knight order.
If any accident happened during Luna’s envoy mission to the Royal Capital, then what Duke Oswald would do afterward would be difficult to predict.
The celebratory orchestral music was still playing, but Frank felt as though a shadow had fallen over him.
Е̂ňũ m̄ ä.і̂ d.
He could almost be certain that there was a force he had not anticipated that had set its sights on Luna, and on the peace between the Northern Territory and the Central Region.
Within the envoy delegation, there were only four valuable targets.
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The old Count could be eliminated first. The Count’s daughter Lisa could also be eliminated. Their weight was not enough to cause such a great disturbance.
Holy Knight Commander Paul could be eliminated as well. He was the Archbishop’s man, and no one dared touch him. Moreover, although the Archbishop had ties with the Northern Territory, Paul was merely acting under orders. No one would attack him because of that.
So the other party must have come for Luna… But aside from the nobles of the Southern Territory, who else had both the ability and the intention to destroy the peace between the Northern Territory and the Central Region?
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