“I came to see my mother. Get out of the way, Hurant.”
“There was an order from His Majesty not to meet anyone.”
… … Ooh, this was unexpected.
If things go back like this, the campaign to subjugate Morgan will begin without even conveying your opinion.
“Then, tell me, Heurant.”
“He also refused.”
“I have important information to tell you about your brother.”
“… … .”
When Morgan’s name was mentioned, Heurant’s eyes shook slightly.
‘Maybe he’s controlling his emotions.’
The only thing left to do is to deprive the royal family and punish them.
Even if he rebelled, killing his own son wouldn’t be easy.
“… … Please wait.”
A few minutes after Heurant went inside.
He gave an answer with a difficult expression.
“His Majesty has granted an audience.”
“Yes, I see.”
“Degrade Cruz.”
I stared at Heurant at the call that seemed to catch me trying to enter.
“… … Currently, His Majesty’s emotions are somewhat intensified. You will have to be determined.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I nodded and went inside.
‘… … Was this what he meant to be careful?’
When I went inside, it was full of life.
Not only those with a low level, even I could faint.
It was surprising that even this was suppressed.
Because of that, for the first time, the state and strength of a queen were inferred.
There was no end in sight.
‘… … This seems to be on the level of competing for first or second place among the people I’ve seen in my previous life.’
I swallowed my saliva in the middle of a bitter life and faced the queen.
“Just keep it simple.”
“Please allow me to lead the subjugation of Brother Morgan.”
“No.”
“… … Do you really intend to kill your brother?”
“Be careful with titles, Cruz. At the time of the rebellion, he ceased to be royalty.”
Every time she spoke, she felt a fierce force.
I was so emotional that I could understand why no one told me not to.
If someone I didn’t know well saw it, they would have seen it as my feelings for Morgan.
‘That must be anger toward the Resurrection Church.’
Even the queen couldn’t figure out exactly what had happened.
He must be thinking that there is a high possibility that the Resurrection Church played tricks on Morgan.
The queen had already told Morgan that she would deprive him of his royal status and punish him.
I did this because I couldn’t completely cut off my feelings for my child.
“I will ask again. Give me command, Mama.”
“Are you asking me to give orders to my son to kill him? It’s enough for me to break ties.”
“Maybe the rebellion is not your will.”
At my words, the queen blinked once, but that was all.
“It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that Morgan rebelled.”
“Does your mother know about Archbishop Catuman?”
“… … Archbishop Catuman?”
So I explained to him.
He’s dead now, but he’s a person who handles artifacts that allow him to control and possess an opponent.
“Skadi said that there is a possibility that the artifact he was using could have been passed on to someone else.”
“Is that true?”
“yes. Judging from your sudden action, this seems the most likely.”
There was silence for a while.
The queen’s anguish was felt on her skin.
“If this is true, we can solve it with Skadi’s help.”
“… … .”
“Unfortunately, my older brother’s life… … It will be hard to find. But honor can be saved.”
In fact, for a queen, it would sound like sh*t either way.
They say you can’t change your son’s death, but you can save your honor.
It will only comfort your heart, but… … .
“If you solve this, you can get information about the possessed person.”
Still, I pushed on.
It was risky, but it was something that had to be done at this point.
“Give me permission to investigate the truth, Mama.”
After that, I stayed silent and waited for an answer.
There was still no emotion on the queen’s expression, but even in this situation, I could feel her cold calculation.
“Crews, I will give you the command of the Dark Cheongdae.”
The Queen accepted only half of my offer.
It was not military authority, but secretly giving command of the special forces.
“With the help of Amcheongdae, sneak in and find out. If the spirit’s prediction is correct, solve it according to your words.”
“If not… … .”
“Do not touch Morgan, and leave the place. This is an order.”
This was the Queen’s concern.
If I lead the military myself, it will go down in history as a younger brother who goes to kill his older brother.
No matter how much he is a traitor, it is bound to feel like a tragedy to the people.
But if you move secretly and don’t get caught, there’s nothing wrong with it.
‘… … Well, even if that’s not the case, you don’t want me to kill Morgan.’
I’ve never been a parent.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how cruel it would be to watch a child kill a child.
My father also hated fighting with his brothers.
“If your guess is right, you should make no mistakes. You should know that the information of the Resurrection Church is more important than Morgan’s honor, Cruz.”
“Yes, Mama.”
* * *
The captain of the Morgan Subjugation Force is the leader of the Kingdom Knights.
Khan Evert took over.
He led an army including first-class wizards and arrived at the front line where Morgan was.
They only confronted each other at a distance, but there was no sign of going any further.
One of the 1st-class court wizards accompanying him asked.
“Captain Khan, are you really okay?”
“I will take responsibility, so everyone build a defense line and stand by until the order is given.”
Everyone seemed puzzled by Khan’s words, but they didn’t ask back.
It was thought that there must be a reason since it was the judgment of Knight Noh, who has been maintaining the knight commander of the palace for 50 years.
‘Wait until the order is given… … .’
The reason Khan didn’t charge was because of the Queen’s orders.
There was a secret message telling me to wait until instructions are given.
Khan understood the reason without difficulty.
‘They’re probably in the process of investigating Morgangh’s background.’
Most, including him, were puzzled by this rebellion.
Not only did it happen out of the blue, but it wasn’t even prepared properly.
Right now, the rebels over there were also very bad morale, so I could see with my own eyes.
One day, out of nowhere, the kingdom army became an enemy.
‘Honestly, it’s not difficult to subdue… … .’
The morale of the kingdom was a problem.
Although they say that they are now deprived of their royal status, Morgan is the first prince of the kingdom.
I couldn’t just catch him and kill him without any investigation or preparation.
‘Then, once stationed, prepare for defense… … ?’
In Khan’s field of vision, he saw a familiar male figure.
“Mo, Lord Morgan.”
There was quite a distance, so I couldn’t see that detail.
Khan could clearly see Morgan’s figure.
‘… … As expected, something is strange.’
Dark red veins protruding from the face.
There, the whites stained black were not normal to anyone’s eyes.
“The authors… … .”
There were some strangers standing next to Morgan.
There were about a dozen people wearing white masks and black robes.
There was a strange atmosphere somewhere.
Gee-
They radiated magical energy out of nowhere and created a magic circle.
“Mirden, what is that?”
The target Khan asked was a first-class court wizard.
He watched for a while without answering right away, then answered in a slightly uncertain voice.
“Summoners… … It seems to be.”
“Are you trying to summon spirits or phantom beasts?”
“I don’t think so. It seems like they’re trying to summon something that was forcibly held in subspace… … .”
“All ready for battle! Get ready to repel the summoned beings!”
Following Khan’s instructions, the soldiers moved in perfect order.
The foot soldiers stood in front, and the wizards built a barrier for defense.
tooth support.
Before long, something appeared in the summoning circle.
Awl-like tentacles sprouted here and there from the body of a lion that landed on all fours.
And it was a monster with red skin.
It was none other than the second most dangerous level of monsters, Zuma.
‘weekend… … ? I’ve heard that they deal with monsters, but… … .’
I could feel the agitation of the soldiers in the confrontation.
It was understandable because monsters that were not easy even after reaching 6 stars came out of nowhere.
“Mirden, how many do you think will come out?”
“… … We estimate at least twenty.”
“what?”
Khan doubted his ears.
Twenty Zuma?
‘This is beyond what I can handle comfortably… … .’
If that monster joined forces with the rebels and attacked, the situation could be reversed.
‘… … No, it’s still fine.’
At this point, agitating the rebels could greatly weaken their strength.
First of all, there was an order from the queen to wait, so I didn’t.
It was also a decision made because I judged that I still had the strength to deal with them.
“――――!”
The summoned zoumas let out a roar in unison.
Not only the soldiers confronting him, but even the rebels nearby instinctively trembled.
There was a sense of intimidation in their cries that touched the survival instinct of creatures.
A herd of over 20 Zuma was truly intimidating.
“Don’t back down!”
Kahn’s cry overshadowed their presence.
Those who were instinctively frightened by the enchanted Old Knight’s shouts rallied themselves again.
“Anyway, it’s a monster! Don’t panic and focus on breaking each one!”
From a general point of view, Khan’s instructions were correct.
Unlike the jute and the blue horse, I hear that it is dangerous when it reaches the level of a juma.
I couldn’t escape the limits of a monster that couldn’t move without control.
charrr!
Tentacles erupted from Zuma’s body.
In this case, the soldiers in the vanguard lead the attack.
It is common for mages in the rear to prepare magic focused on firepower.
The Kingdom Army also tried to follow the basics, but… … .
Shush shush shush!
The tentacles attacked not the soldiers in the front line, but the magicians in the rear.
It also showed a movement as if a large number of jumas were aiming for only one target.
It was a controlled movement that followed the instructions anyone could see.
“Huh-!”
Kwajik!
The javelin loaded with magical energy pierced the tentacles that had gathered.
It was thrown by Khan, who was standing behind him.
As he did, spear blades thrown by other knights pierced the tentacles and protected the mages.
“Wizards, don’t be agitated and focus on your magic preparations!”
Accordingly, the wizards began to prepare high-powered magic again.
The atmosphere of the soldiers was shaken by Zuma’s movement.
Thanks to Khan’s actions as if he had waited, his morale rose.
‘My foreboding was right.’
Although I told the soldiers it was no big deal.
Khan was guessing that they were different from normal monsters.
‘The atmosphere is different.’
He was a warrior who had served as the commander of the knights for more than 50 years and had gone through all kinds of battles.
That’s why I had a lot of experience dealing with monsters.
The atmosphere felt from them was somehow different.
‘There is no feeling of rawness.’
Basically, monsters are ferocious.
Although they move in groups, their movements are arbitrary.
There was no such movement or atmosphere in the summoned Zuma.
“There seems to be a spell to control them.”
These were the words of Mirden, who was observing and analyzing the situation.
“That’s how you command the masters.”
“It looks very likely.”
“They’re not the same guys.”
Having said that, Khan recognized the dangers of that notion.
If they have an army of monsters beyond that… … ?
‘Furthermore, considering the information I heard from His Majesty, there is a high possibility that he will commit other bizarre things.’
It’s still worth dealing with, but if some kind of method that you don’t know about is added here, it becomes dangerous.
Rebels may join the offensive.
That’s why Khan had the possibility of a retreat in mind… … .
Gyiing-
A magic circle rose from afar.
It was created by Morgan, and even the unmanned Khan felt its ominousness.
Eventually, the magic circle expanded around the rebels.
It wasn’t hard to notice that it was going to do something to them.
“… … Captain, it’s dangerous.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s very similar to the magic that controls the jumas.”
“… … !”
I immediately realized what Mirden meant.
That, in other words, is a means of controlling the rebels like a demonic beast.
“Probably, it seems to be controlling after forcibly blowing the victim’s consciousness.”
“Is that possible for humans?”
“… … This is normally not possible.”
Mirden added that it would not be eaten if the level was high, but it was meaningless in the current situation.
Because most of the rebels were less than 5 stars.
In the first place, the average level of general soldiers is 3-4 stars.
‘… … I must prepare for a retreat.’
Actually, it’s okay if you step back.
The real problem was the rebels.
Most of them are people of the kingdom who were forcibly conscripted.
I don’t know the exact identity of that spell, but I thought that I wouldn’t be safe after being subjected to it.
Khan didn’t hesitate.
He knew very well that nothing was more important than the lives of his allies.
The moment I was about to give the order to retreat.
Parching!
The magic circle centered on the rebels was broken.
At the same time, as if rebelling, I could see Morgan’s suffering.
The crowd in robes grabbed him as if to subdue him and took him somewhere.
‘That’s… … .’
Seeing this, Khan’s mind suddenly became complicated.
The unusual appearance or behavior just now was because Morgan seemed to be being manipulated by someone.
if so… … .
‘… … Wouldn’t it be wrong to punish the lower Morgan?’
Unless the rebellion was caused by one’s own will.
It means Morgan is moving as a puppet of the bastards of the Resurrection Church.
Then things get very complicated.
‘… … His Majesty’s orders were for this reason.’
I understood the intent of the order to hold off the rebels rather than confront them.
It must have been because he felt this possibility.
There must be people working behind the scenes to solve that.
“Captain, what do you want to do?”
“Focus on killing Zuma. After that, I will watch the situation.”
“All right.”