Chapter 187

EPISODE 187 – FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY BALL (4)

Adelia and Gaël, who were facing each other and having a sweet kiss, jumped from their seats and looked out the window .

Towards the royal palace .

They didn’t hear wrong .

There was indeed a tremendous roar .

But they had no time to figure out why . The two were forced to turn towards the opposite window .

Beyond the guard post .

Higher than the walls that surrounded the royal capital .

Hundreds of people dived down amidst a rain of flames .

***

The Seven-Killings Sword, Seryu, was sitting in a crouched position as she raised her head .

She was surprised by the roar from the direction of the palace . But instead of running to the palace, she drew her sword .

The main gate of the royal capital .

Usually, the gate should have been closed when the sun set, but it was now open .

And there were people coming from beyond it .

What happened?

No, who is coming?

Seryu turned to the palace again and made a decision . Instead of the royal palace, she flew towards the main gate of the royal capital .

***

While sitting on a high spire and watching the street play on the roadside, Scarlet turned to the palace .

Most people didn’t hear it because of the noise from the festival, but not for Scarlet .

An explosion sound from the royal palace’s direction .

And at the same time, shouts began to be heard from the side of the capital’s walls .

What is it?

What’s going on?

“Pink Bomb . ”

Scarlet unknowingly murmured as she kicked the ground .

***

Koros stood at the main gate of the royal capital and stretched his arms . He chillingly smiled when he saw Seryu running towards him .

The east and west gates were opened .

It was not from outside but from inside .

Mion and Barras, officers of the Royal Guard, didn’t stop at just opening the gates as they set fire to the gunpowder and food storage areas .

As disciples of the Lord Protector, they replaced the roles of what the Black Moon should have played .

***

Flames soared all throughout the royal capital .

The demonic followers came in through the east and west gates, joining those who had already infiltrated .

All those who pretended to visit the royal capital in order to celebrate the founding anniversary finally showed their true colors, and their number reached a thousand .

Their plot was simple .

They abolished their original plan to cause terror in several places in the royal capital, and decided to attack the royal capital itself .

The Blue Moon’s guild master, Suppé, was attacking a branch of the Black Moon and felt the situation changing . He ordered his men to retreat and looked back at Janifer .

“Let’s run . ”

Let’s leave it to the knights to fight back .

Janifer did not refuse .

***

The main palace collapsed .

Just as how the Devil’s Hand raised the scale, the Lord Protector also raised the scale .

Destroy the grand banquet hall .

Forcefully create a situation in which the royal family must escape .

And block at the same time .

Those that made him uneasy .

The strong people that the Lord Protector himself couldn’t easily fight .

“Kyaaa!”

“Save me! Help!”

“I’ve been buried!”

Screams were heard in the dust and smoke . So the Lord Protector closed his eyes for a while and waited . It was not just the collapse of the building that he had prepared .

“Keuaaaak!”

A different kind of scream rang out .

Screams followed one after another, and their fear finally took shape .

“Z-zombies!”

“Don’t get bitten! Run!”

The royal palace servants had been infected .

They were released in time with the collapse, and they became wild beasts as planned, causing fear and confusion in the grand banquet hall .

It wasn’t a true undead monster, but a beast created through a disease by infecting living people, so it was easily spread inside the royal palace .

“Lord Protector! Lord Protector! This way! Lord Protector!”

At the desperate cries, the Lord Protector faintly smiled .

King Henry II was looking for him .

As he had expected .

“Your Majesty!”

The Lord Protector cried out loud before he headed towards the royal family .

***

Emma Ficus thought that she would die .

Because a huge slab of rock fell over her head .

But she did not die .

Her head was not crushed, nor did she shed a drop of blood .

“Corde…lia?”

Cordelia did not immediate respond to Emma’s stunned voice . After throwing away the rock she had lifted with her telekinetic power, she turned to Emma and shouted .

“To the center!”

The center of the grand banquet hall .

Emma reflexively followed Cordelia’s words and saw .

Count Chase was standing there .

Giant stone pillars rose from the floor and supported the collapsed ceiling, forming a safe zone .

Of course, it was usually much safer to go out of the palace .

But not now .

The garden was on fire, and they could hear the screams of zombies . The outside was a more dangerous place than inside the collapsing palace .

“F*ck . ”

The situation was bad .

This was originally not supposed to happen .

It was normally impossible to install magic circles and explosives that could explode in the royal palace, or hide zombies all over the banquet hall, or even sprinkle flammable chemicals in the garden .

The Royal Guard was on patrol .

But they were able to do it .

Since the Lord Protector received the king’s absolute trust, it was possible for him to trick the eyes of the Royal Guard and do the things that were happening now .

The two had considered dropping a few hints to Princess Daphne, but it was still impossible for them to completely block it .

Jude and Cordelia did not have the permission to search the royal palace .

“Hurry!”

Cordelia shouted again, but Emma couldn’t get up and run .

Because her legs had weakened .

But her fiancé was with her . He somehow carried Emma on his back while trembling, and he ran towards the center protected by Count Chase .

“There’s no sword!”

Someone shouted, and Lucas strongly agreed .

He had no sword .

The only ones who could bring a sword to the ball where the king attended were the Royal Guard Knights, who served as the royalty’s guards, and the Ten Great Swordmasters, the pride of the Sälen Kingdom .

“Give me a sword!”

When Lucas shouted at some Royal Guard Knights who were swinging their swords against the zombies, one of them drew a spare sword and threw it to Lucas .

There were only a few traitors among the Royal Guard Knights, but the zombies had risen into the dozens before they knew it .

Lucas stopped thinking for now . He swung his sword and cut the zombies in front of him .

“Jude!”

Cordelia cried .

And Jude understood what Cordelia was talking about .

Instead of running to the center where Count Chase was, he threw a sharp gaze .

King Henry II shouted something to the Lord Protector who nodded his head . At that moment, a bright light covered the place .

‘The royal family’s exclusive teleport!’

An emergency escape plan that was only for the king, which would lead them to a shelter hidden in the basement of the royal palace .

But only a few people could be moved .

Only the king and the three queens, as well as their immediate descendants – Princess Daphne, Prince Dion, and Princess Darianne, were allowed to use it .

The concubines, their children, and Henry II’s cousins were forced to rely on the Lord Protector and his disciples .

“Come this way!”

The Lord Protector led the royal family . He probably made an agreement with the king to meet again at the shelter .

‘Just like the original . ’

To annihilate the royalty there .

“Lord Protector!”

Jude shouted out loud .

His shout was quite loud and thunderous, but the falling rocks buried Jude’s cry .

The Lord Protector and the royalty left the grand banquet hall through a secret door .

Instead of running towards Count Chase, Cordelia ran after the Lord Protector, and so did Jude .

No, to be precise, she ran towards a man who was on their path .

“First Sword!”

Even though they omitted adding honorifics to his name, First Sword faced Jude with a serious face instead of being angry .

“Do you know something?”

“This way!”

They didn’t have the time to explain .

Jude simply appealed, and First Sword did not take a long time to agree . He immediately nodded and started running after Cordelia .

The screams continued .

An explosion sounded again, and part of the palace collapsed while the fire that burned the garden spread to the main palace .

Due to the Royal Guard Knights’ struggle, the number of zombies rapidly declined, but the situation was still chaotic .

“Lord Protector!”

Cordelia shouted again and kicked the secret door . And she swallowed her scream when she smelled the scent of blood that pierced her nose .

The royal family had been killed in the secret passage .

Not only the concubines but also the children .

Moreover, they suffered terrible deaths .

Some had broken necks, while some were split into two from their waist .

They had irregular and rough wounds, as if they were bitten by a beast’s teeth .

As soon as they entered the secret passage, the Lord Protector had killed the royalty .

After he killed the young and weak ones with his rough swordsmanship, he left .

To kill more royalty .

To kill the immediate royal family members who would be hiding in the shelter .

Jude and Cordelia had to stop him .

They had to catch up to the Lord Protector and stop him .

Cordelia used her magic . At the same time she transformed into a witch, she smashed the secret passage with her powerful mana .

Beyond the wall .

Where the Lord Protector had passed .

Jude took the lead .

Cordelia and First Sword followed .

Outside the secret passage .

The hallway of the main palace was ruined by the collapse and explosions .

They saw the back of the Lord Protector .

Jude called him, and Cordelia fired a blade of black mana .

Clang!

The Lord Protector turned and swung his sword . As he deflected the black blade, he saw Jude, Cordelia, and First Sword next to him .

Jude clenched his fist .

They had to stop him here .

In this place, they had to stop the Lord Protector .

Jude himself and Cordelia .

And even First Sword .

They had enough power .

They would be able to stop and subdue the Lord Protector .

Rather, the only thing they should worry about was the Lord Protector escaping .

And the disciples of the Lord Protector they hadn’t seen .

Where did they go? Did they go ahead first? Or were they planning something different?

The two did not know .

Therefore, they focused on the Lord Protector .

They made stopping him their top priority .

“Lord Protector, you traitor . ”

Jude said . By saying such strong words, it attracted the attention of the Lord Protector . Cordelia also screamed and took a step .

“I know all your plans! You’re planning to cut off the blood of the royal family and neutralize the barrier of the royal capital!”

It worked .

The Lord Protector looked their way with surprised eyes . Instead of turning around and running away, he showed interest in Jude and Cordelia .

“Indeed, you’re the demon hunters . ”

One of the aliases given to Jude and Cordelia as a result of their achievements in the north .

“We won’t let you! We’ll stop you here!”

Cordelia shouted again, and spread out her angelic wings of light . She was planning to use Fallen Angel Mode, but she had spread out her wings first in order to get the Lord Protector’s attention even by just a bit .

And it worked again .

At the sight of the pure white light that spread, the Lord Protector let out a small voice of surprise .

‘A little over 30 meters . ’

Jude awakened the energy of the black dragon and measured the distance between himself and the Lord Protector .

‘What I need is one attack . ’

An attack that would grab his feet but not necessarily defeat him .

‘That will do . ’

They had First Sword with them .

His quick sword that was like the light would deal with the Lord Protector .

“Is it the Guardians of the Holy Cross?”

The Lord Protector asked, and Cordelia nodded again . She silently chanted a magic spell .

And the Lord Protector laughed .

Not because Cordelia’s words were ridiculous .

Because he, who did not know much about Jude and Cordelia, could only think that the Guardians of the Holy Cross had known all of his shady actions .

“It’s the end . ”

The end of living under the name of the Lord Protector .

All that was left now was just a traitor who betrayed the royal family .

No, he knew this would happen anyway .

He had raised the scale in order to create the current situation now .

The Lord Protector let his shoulders fall down . Instead of raising his sword and taking a battle posture, he sheathed his sword .

What was the reason?

Did he give up?

Did he admit that he had no chance of winning?

It wasn’t that .

It wasn’t the reason .

The Lord Protector just thought that there was no need to fight .

That was why he sheathed his sword .

Why?

What made him do that?

“Jude!”

Cordelia quickly screamed, and Jude hurriedly used Hyper-Fast Thunderbolt .

A sword .

He was cut .

No, he wasn’t injured . He had mistakenly thought that he was cut because of the terrifyingly fast sword .

Jude’s breathing grew rough .

Cordelia too couldn’t hide the restlessness she felt .

The ominous feeling .

Her unidentified worry after the Banquet of Swords .

She now knew .

Why such feelings arose after the Banquet of Swords .

“I told you, right?”

First Sword .

The Sword Saint of Light, Rhun Froud .

“Because of you two, I decided to stay . ”

He smiled as he raised his sword .