Jeron’s Suffering (1)
Jeron, the capital of the Azerion Empire.
It was a city that suffered a great tribulation from the Immortal King’s attack just a few months ago, but now it was in such a clean and tidy state that no traces of that time could be found.
From repairing damaged buildings to reorganizing roads and increasing security forces.
As if trying to erase the traces of the day, the empire poured in effort and capital sparingly, and in that way, Jeron was able to have a cleaner and more tidy appearance than before the incident.
However, no matter how much the Immortal King directly stepped forward, no matter how much the incident at that time was like a natural disaster.
The kidnapping of the imperial family’s heirs in the middle of the empire’s capital was a humiliating event that could never be tolerated.
Even the prince who was captured at that time had not yet returned.
“Welcome, Princess. You have gone through a lot while representing the Empire. We will serve you from here to the imperial palace.”
Since that happened on the day I returned from the first summit meeting, it was only natural that the security this time was more thorough than before.
“I never thought Sir Stave would come in person. No matter how far it is from the imperial palace, it’s still a matter of moving within Jeron, where security is good.”
Princess Riley opened her eyes wide in surprise as she looked at the middle-aged man at the head of those waiting for her at the front gate before Jeron.
She had expected the best elites to come out to meet her, but it was quite unexpected that the person in front of her had come this far.
“Last time, I was careless like that, so it didn’t matter. It is not enough to say that you are incompetent if you do not prepare for such an event.”
Not surprisingly, he is one of the master-class knights who resides in the capital of the empire.
He was the chief guardian of the imperial family who oversaw the guards of the imperial palace.
As the Royal Guard Knights only focused on protecting the emperor, it was only the imperial guards who were responsible for defending the imperial palace, the most important facility in the empire.
However, the head of that place had personally come to meet me and waited for me, which took over an hour by carriage from the imperial palace.
“Even if the Immortal King comes to visit us again this time, don’t worry as we have prepared everything so that the princess can escape safely.”
Stave bluntly continued, then slightly lowered his head.
He must also have been one of those who fought directly against the Immortal King’s attack, but it was a remark full of confidence, as if he had prepared so thoroughly.
‘Come to think of it, that nobleman was a knight who fought Hans with that very strong old man back then. I think I was seriously injured back then, but now I’m fully recovered.’
Hesperon, who was watching their conversation from behind, nodded slightly.
Well, several months had passed since then, so it was enough time for a knight of that level to recover right away.
“Viscount Pristine? They say yes. So don’t worry too much.”
Then, hearing Stave’s rant, Riley turned her head slightly and looked at Isea, who was standing behind her.
“···All right. I certainly have this much power, but it would be inefficient for me to forcefully wear it.”
Seah Lee reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Originally, she should have been with the warriors’ party by now, but she asked for their understanding in advance and put off joining for a while.
From noble mtl dot com
Still, considering her strategic value, it is natural that the longer the time, the worse it is.
‘Since you can’t move in space in the capital, if you follow it from here to the imperial palace, it’s only three or four hours round trip. I’ve already wasted a lot of time, but if I go that far…’
After all, that was something she couldn’t do for her colleagues who believed in her and waited for her.
“Then I’ll just go, Princess.”
“I am always grateful for the performance on behalf of the Empire, Viscount Pristine. Please take care of yourself.”
Lee Se-ah greeted Riley, who held her hand, with a smile on her face.
Then, after taking a look at those who came out to escort the princess, he finally turned his gaze to Hesperon and gave her a small nod.
Although he might not be of much help in powerlessness, but aside from her, Riley was her most trusted partner, so just being by her side wouldn’t help.
Of course, his careless smile, which seemed to respond to him, rather increased his anxiety.
“Then, Princess. I will escort her to the imperial palace. Get in the carriage.”
So let’s disappear before her instead of her to use her gate again.
The escorts and envoys mounted their horses and wagons and started moving.
‘Hmm, I thought it would be like this.’
And Hesperon scratched his head lightly in a carriage quite far from the princess.
In fact, it was only natural that an alien man with a non-special status could not ride in the wagon exclusively for the princess.
Of course, it would have been possible if Riley pushed a little harder, but since it was an important time ahead of the crown princess’s installation, she had better avoid anything that would cause gossip.
‘Well, since Hans doesn’t plan to attack, there shouldn’t be any big deal. Even if something happens, there will be one knight in extreme danger, dozens of knights of higher rank, and even wizards from the mage tower of the imperial palace and all sorts of magic tools overflowing.’
Besides, even if he was by his side anyway, there was nothing he could do in particular.
He was already showing abnormal growth to the extent of reaching the intermediate level beyond the lower level, but he was still at the level of whether or not to deal with a single knight here.
‘At least it’s possible thanks to skills and status.’
He leaned his arm against the window of the wagon he rode with the servants of the delegation, staring blankly at the passing scenery outside, lost in thought.
Before his body fainted, he gave up strengthening his own skills for a while and invested in his status, so now he has advanced in all aspects on a completely different level than before.
‘I’ve come up with new skills to make the investment worthwhile.’
[Supernatural strength] obtained after strengthening the strength of the whole body evenly.
“Nervous hypersensitivity” Expressed in the sensory system, such as instantaneous power and moving vision.
The “Eye of wisdom” That was created by raising the mental system, such as reasoning and thinking skills.
Unlike when [Super Recovery] was obtained by concentrating on resilience only, perhaps it was a skill that was created by raising various stats in a complex way, so the initial correction values were all abilities that greatly exceeded [Super Recovery].
‘It’s better than nothing for avatars who have already established themselves well in their respective fields, but it’s quite useful for those who don’t have anything special yet.’
Even if it wasn’t, it was showing excellent synergy with a skill that compensated for its outstanding ability.
This made it possible to do things that were impossible before…
A representative example of this was Hesperon’s initial skill, [Binding String].
‘I couldn’t use it because I couldn’t learn summoning magic.’
This skill, which gives additional compensation when contracting, has been of no use since it was used to maintain a relationship with Princess Riley.
On top of that, as his mental ability grew significantly and even the “Sight eye” was added, new possibilities began to bloom.
While he thought about it, he practiced again, and focused his mind on the “String of solidarity” again, as he had been steadily doing so far.
Then, through the tenuous connection, Riley’s presence in the carriage ahead began to be clearly felt.
‘If I concentrate a little more in this state, I’ll be able to know things like the other person’s physical condition and mood.’
However, I didn’t try any further because I thought that if I went further, I would become a real pervert.
But now that I’ve realized the potential, if I use this well, I think I’ll be able to take care of it really well when I have a summoner later…
‘Hmm? What?’
Just like that, the moment I was about to break the connection of the “String of unity”.
Some of Riley’s hazy emotions began to flow through that tenuous line.
Dubious. Wonder. And some vigilance.
‘Suddenly?’
His brow furrowed at the fragments of that incomprehensible emotion.
Because such worries were not suitable for such a peaceful return.
But she wouldn’t have felt that uneasiness of hers for no reason.
After thinking about it for a while, he focused his mind more to get more certain information.
And at the same time.
Kwaaang-!
An intense explosion erupted from a short distance away.
“Boundary!”
In line with that, the command of the Imperial Guard Captain, Stave, resounded.
Chandang—!
Chae Chae-in!
The escorts, who drew their weapons in unison, immediately surrounded the wagons, packed up a square, and began to radiate sharp momentum, vigilant in all directions.
“Sir Stave? What happened?”
“The cause has not been identified yet, Princess. It’s still dangerous outside, so close the windows and wait inside the carriage.”
From Hesperon’s side, only the rear of the princess’s carriage could be seen, but what was heard from the front was unmistakably the sound of Riley and Stave’s conversation.
However, he ignored all the fuss and instead focused more on the “String of solidarity”.
Contrary to the sound of her voice in her ears, her confidence in her sinfulness was growing in her.
And from a certain moment, some of the emotions that felt like that changed.
Embarrassment, surprise, and delight.
And the target of that feeling is right away.
It was Hesperon himself.
‘… I guess I can feel my presence over there.’
Well, if you think about it, in the first place, the ability itself was not to read the other person’s mind, but to strengthen the bond, so it was natural.
It was only when it was vague that only this side of the skill, the subject of the skill, could only vaguely feel it, but it seemed that the difference diminished as the connection became stronger.
‘Maybe we can use this to mutually communicate telepathically.’
However, such use was an afterthought.
Even though this situation must have been quite sudden for her right now, several urgent thoughts passed through her emotions as if she was trying to convey something to her.
‘Suspicious…Outside…? Are you referring to the commotion that is happening now? ···No? Aren’t you certain?’
He focused more on the still incomplete connection.
His outstanding power of growth was always shining at this moment, and as both parties actively accepted the connection, the “String of solidarity” began to find stability at a rapid pace.
Koo-! Quaang—!
In the meantime, explosions explode in succession from all sides.
The faint sound of people screaming in the distance seemed to indicate that something had definitely happened.
“Don’t be alarmed, don’t let down your guard! Needless to say, the fact that something happened in this place today means that the people who did it are aiming for the princess! Be suspicious of anyone who approaches this place!”
Stave, who had drawn his weapon, shouted harshly and entered the square, holding on to the place where the princess’ carriage and wizards were gathered.
‘Wait, I can’t believe I’m suspicious right now…’
Given a few keywords, Hesperon’s thoughts began to flow rapidly.
All of his senses, including his five senses, were wide open, and in a state of “Nervousness,” he absorbed the information around him in an instant.
Gyeongji was only a mid-level wizard, but his specs simply couldn’t be defined by that alone.
And from the information collected in this way, 「Hye An」 extracted some disparate information.
‘This is a bit… Embarrassing.’
Subtle discrepancies.
Distortions that would not have been easy to notice if they hadn’t been suspicious from the beginning were felt throughout the escort.
Of course, this kind of problem was a common occurrence if you had never worked together, so it was not the stage to say anything right away.
‘If those parties weren’t the Empire’s most elite knights.’
In an instant, alertness soared in Hesperon’s head, and a sense of crisis rang an alarm.
However, before he realized the situation, he did something.
The situation was going to extremes in the blink of an eye.
Suagh—
In a world where thoughts expand and flow slowly, only one sword light embroiders the air quickly and beautifully.
I wondered if that was a really slow speed.
Quadduk! Kwajik!
Chow-!
Where the aura passed, red flowers slowly began to bloom.
And just for that.
He—there wasn’t a single living mage left around Stab.
‘Ah, damn it! Why don’t bad premonitions go astray!’
The protective shields and magical tools that magicians always wore were meaningless in the face of a surprise attack by a knight of the highest rank.
And the problem didn’t just end there.
A lot of Auras started a little later than that, and the friends who were next to me at the same time…
No, because it was burrowing into the bodies of those who were colleagues.
Fu-wook—
“Cuck!”
Chew-!
“Kuh, what is this…!”
Indeed, there were those who endured surprise attacks like knights, and those who reacted quickly to sudden attacks… But that did not have much of an impact on the general trend.
Of course, the number of those who survived was less than the number of those who betrayed, as many died in this attack.
“Cheuk! Captain, why…!”
“Is that why you held my hand long ago?”
Above all, there was Stave, the captain of the imperial family’s guard.
He eliminated all wizards except for a few who seemed to be accomplices, and then mercilessly drove the sword into the bodies of those who were his subordinates.
-Hannibal Strauss: This is wrong. Avatar’s death is a great loss. Get yourself out of here The “Hero’s Footsteps” that have grown so far should be effective to some extent even within the barrier of Jeron.
-Hesperon: If I go like that, what will Riley do? How could there be no way? Even now, if the immortal king appears…!
-Hannibal Strauss: Impossible. Where do you think you are now? At least an hour of preparation time is required.
And in an accelerated accident, Hesperon continued to seek a way out.
As long as the main body has lost consciousness, neither reinforcements from the transmission team nor emergency escape using summon cancellation are possible.
In addition, seeing how things were going, time was running out, and the place was closed due to the barrier, so the help of other avatars was blocked at the source.
‘There’s no answer.’
Believing that they won’t hurt Riley right away, and avoiding the place alone in “Hero’s Footsteps”…
Quadduk—!
…Stab, who was breaking the barrier on the carriage of the princess with her accomplice wizard, was too vicious.
“Sah, save me! I will cooperate with anything!”
“Hee! I didn’t see anything! Please···!”
No, more than that, the atmosphere of the knights approaching the wagon right now was unusual.
No matter how you look at it, isn’t it full of momentum to destroy?
-Hannibal Strauss: It is impossible to overcome the situation with your abilities. Say it again Abandon the princess now and escape.
‘Ah write…! That useless fellow…!’
Well, no matter how you look at it, it looked like jojin.
