Chapter 391 – The Master of Flamsteed

The Sirius breached the interior of the barrier.

The air changed at a certain boundary. Could it be described as the air of night? Inside the barrier, despite it being daytime, a dim landscape of ruined streets spread out before them.

“Demon-Slaying Knight Order, all members deploy!”

“Yes, Commander!”

The Demon-Slaying Knight Order led by Elliot, mounted on wyverns and earth dragons. They were left in a spot high above the fortress – a blind spot for surveillance – after taking off from the deck.

Next, the soldiers led by King Farid appeared on the deck. The Sirius, having completed preparations, began descending in altitude. It descended near the water source while maintaining the Field of Light.

…Unfortunately, about three of Kahar’s private soldiers had come to draw water. They had empty leather bags loaded on a cart. They must have been preparing for deployment.

Though they couldn’t see the Sirius from their position, they seemed to have detected some kind of abnormality. Just as they looked up with puzzled expressions—

“Forward, my men!”

“Follow His Majesty!”

King Farid and his group, with drawn katanas, were the first to leap from the deck. Using Levitation Magic Tools, they kicked off the deck and broke through the Field of Light to reveal themselves. The soldiers followed suit. I too would join the ground battle initially.

After dropping off those participating in the ground battle, the Sirius ascended once more.

“Wh-what is this!?”

“K-King Farid!? Where did you come from…!?”

“Out of my way!”

“Eek!?”

The soldiers who had come to draw water were surrounded, dragged down, and neutralized by King Farid’s troops that suddenly swarmed them, unable to mount a proper response.

Given the suddenness of the situation, they seemed to lose their will to resist almost immediately. After two were taken down, the remaining one also discarded the leather bag he was carrying and surrendered.

Ignoring the surrendered private soldiers, the troops deployed around the area, completing the seizure of the water source.

Sparing their lives wasn’t out of mercy. The aim was to reduce enemy forces without fighting by promising to spare those who surrendered. Well, considering the possibility of feigned surrender, in that case they’d be sent to Mernpios via Teleportation Magic. The arrangement was that soldiers were already waiting in the temple inside the palace.

“Prisoners over here.”

We deprived them of consciousness with Sleep Cloud and examined their magical power through the monocle. Those with only minimal magical power had their Magic Seals omitted. They were restrained with Earth Magic and thrown into a nearby house.

“We’ve secured the water source!!”

“Ooooh!”

In response to the knight’s voice, the soldiers raised their drawn katanas high, their battle cries resounding through the air. The air vibrated intensely—it seemed to reach even the fortress.

The fortress sentries had been watching the distance, but only now did they seem to realize something abnormal was happening right beneath their feet.

King Farid plopped down heavily on a stone slab near the water source, while his close soldiers planted Baharzard’s flagpole.

This signaled that they had secured the water source and established it as their headquarters.

Using Light Magic, I created an impromptu telescope to monitor their movements. I could see the sentries’ eyes widen as they began moving about frantically.

“Ashley, water.”

“Yes!”

Ashley deployed a Magic Circle. Immediately, water from the canal began flowing backward toward the spring, gathering there. The water level visibly increased before our eyes.

“King Farid!? Where did he appear from!? What were the sentries doing!?”

Kahar showed himself at a window near the top floor of the fortress.

The moment he recognized King Farid’s figure, his eyes widened and he began shouting with foam forming at the corners of his mouth. Watching this scene through the telescopic magic, King Farid showed a belligerent smile, stood up, and shouted toward the fortress.

“Long time no see, Kahar! You’ve been scurrying about secretly, but I know all about your filthy schemes! I’ve come riding wyverns to punish you!”

Seraphina amplified his voice, making it resonate from the ruined houses toward the fortress. As if responding to King Farid’s voice, the Lindwurms dove down from above, revealing themselves. The members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order clad in Baharzard armor descended in altitude, conspicuously crossing before their eyes.

“Haha! Look at that ridiculous face!”

“He seems terrified at the sight of His Majesty!”

As the soldiers pointed and laughed at Kahar, his face turned red with anger.

“You… you lowly scum…! N-no, wait. Wh-what is that? What are they doing? W-water…!? Are they gathering water!?”

By the time Kahar understood the situation, the canal water had begun drying up, and it was becoming too late.

Lionel used Earth Magic to dam the canal, preventing the gathered water from flowing back toward the fortress. Seeing this, Kahar’s face turned from red to blue. He turned around and shouted at those around him.

“Damn it, what are you all standing around for!? Crush that small force in one breath! Bring me Farid’s head before me right now!!”

Spurred by Kahar’s shout, his private soldiers sprang into action.

They must have already been preparing for deployment. Soon the fortress gates opened, revealing knights and infantry riding camels and horses. Ballistas were prepared at the high windows of the fortress, apparently intending to shoot down any approaching wyverns.

“Well now, it seems you’ve gotten yourself into quite a troublesome situation. If you dawdle, reinforcements might arrive. No… there might even be ambushes? Shall we lend a hand?”

At that moment, Isolde appeared in the room and said to Kahar with a faint smile.

“Th-that small force, I’ll crush them immediately for you to see! So please, Lady Isolde, stay as you are…! You said yourselves that your existence should remain secret!”

“Indeed that would be preferable, but I have one complaint about your command.”

“And… what would that be…?”

“I’m wondering what you’re doing back here. If you can’t grasp the situation, shall I explain it from the beginning? Do you think you have the luxury to sit back arrogantly in the rear? What meaning is there in a fortress you cannot hold?”

“Th-that is…”

As Kahar hesitated, Isolde bared her fangs and showed a crescent moon-like smile.

“We allied with you—exiled from the capital because your blood relation to Baharzard’s royal family was deemed convenient for governance. But… if you show too much disgrace, even our master might lose patience?”

“O-of course! I-I shall personally take the field and defeat them for you to see!”

“…If we judge that you cannot handle it, we too will strike. Do your best to show us your capabilities. Now that King Farid himself has appeared like that, there might be other hidden cards as well.”

“Y-yes!”

I see… I can’t tell if she intends to strike as she says, or if she plans to abandon Kahar and escape, but it seems she intends to use them as sacrificial pawns to gauge our forces and cards.

We just need to crush Kahar when he comes out… but we should monitor the vampires’ movements.

And we need to adjust things so the vampires don’t choose to escape. We’ll reveal just enough of our hand to overwhelm Kahar’s forces while making the vampires think we’re no threat to them, skillfully drawing them into the battle stage.

“Don’t use the Aerial Combat Gear until the vampires appear. Levitation should be fine though.”

While informing everyone about the recent exchange, I also communicated the current situation to Elliot waiting above using the Communication Device.

“So he’s come out with his tail on fire. To not move until pressured—how pathetic.”

While this was happening, Kahar mounted on an earth dragon appeared at the fortress gates. Seeing this, King Farid spoke with apparent boredom.

Kahar’s attire consisted of a turban and mantle, plus a Magic Staff. This must be why Isolde told him to take command at the front. Regardless of Kahar’s personality or political skills, as a magician, he counted as a significant combat asset.

Kahar was giving some instructions to his private soldiers. Balor, waiting above, was watching the soldiers’ movements. Normally, the ruined streets would obstruct the view, but he could grasp the soldiers’ movements as if watching pieces on a chessboard.

He reproduced this exactly by creating a miniature model with Earth Magic.

“This is… quite clear.”

“It seems the enemy is dividing their forces into three units. The main force led by Kahar will come from the main street. The smaller units will detour through side streets… apparently planning to attack from three directions. It seems they’ve assigned archers to the units coming from left and right.”

“They’re assuming we won’t move from our water source headquarters. Encirclement and shooting tactics leveraging their numerical advantage. A reasonably effective strategy, but—”

“I’ll block the detour routes with Ashley. If the enemy comes, it will be through this street, this street, and here. If we make this impassable… the archers will have no choice but to join the main force from behind.”

“I see… So we deprive them of the opportunity to use their bows.”

“In the meantime, Sir Lionel, it would help if you could create narrow paths on the main street where numbers won’t matter.”

“Understood.”

A simple earthen or stone wall should suffice for this.

“Then let’s split up and finish this. When we return to headquarters, don’t forget to act.”

“Understood.”

“Right. Well then.”

Ashley and Rosemary moved using great leaps with Levitation.

I also moved to the designated location using Levitation. With Earth Magic, I dug large holes in the streets and used the excavated material to build walls, making advancement impossible. Ashley created Ice Walls to block streets, while Rosemary used Magic Threads to set up obstacles between houses, creating impassable conditions.

From above the fortress, what we were doing must have been obvious, but Kahar’s forces who had already descended into the town wouldn’t know, and Isolde who should be watching this wasn’t moving.

As declared, the vampires seemed to have no intention of helping Kahar, instead wanting to see our methods.

They must be weighing whether to abandon him or come to his rescue. So we need to make them think only the Dragon Knights are forces that could oppose vampires.

Meanwhile, soldiers holding shields and spears advanced down the main street in a horizontal line. Their strategy was to prevent frontal approach with spear formations, then pin us down and shoot from left and right. But their advance slowed. They had to stop because of the narrow paths. When the front stopped, the entire army’s movement stalled.

Staring straight at the large force, King Farid shouted loudly.

“If you surrender and discard your weapons now, I swear by the name of Baharzard’s king that I will spare your lives! Just hand over Kahar to us!”

“Silence, usurper! Who would acknowledge someone like you as king!?”

“—I see. Then we too shall crush you without holding back.”

King Farid turned around, looked at me, and nodded.

Razak and others seemed quite resolved, but… if the vampires weren’t coming simultaneously, then we too could act freely.

Frankly, we had no intention of taking casualties while crushing what remained of Kahar’s private soldiers.

Kahar seemed to be planning to deploy a Magic Circle and use Tornado Magic if wyverns descended. So we needed to create a situation where he couldn’t do that.

“Then, shall we begin?”

I deployed a Magic Circle. Using Earth Magic and Wood Magic, I created impromptu catapults. Wood shaped like spoons fixed to foundations bent as pulled by sturdy vines. We launched rubble from nearby houses. The Golems created by Lionel loaded rubble onto the spoons one after another.

And—King Farid’s close attendant severed the vines with his katana.

The catapults sprang up vigorously. Rubble danced through the air in parabolic arcs. Sun-dried bricks, wood, and other debris rained down on the enemy’s heads.

“Guh!?”

“Gwaaah!?”

Screams erupted from the enemy’s rear. Since they wore armor and helmets, they probably wouldn’t die easily, but they wouldn’t escape unharmed either.

“Next!”

As the Magic Circle flashed, vines extended and pulled the catapults taut. Golems carrying armfuls of rubble loaded them onto the spoons. The vines were severed, and the previous scene repeated. The next volley changed angle, varying the impact points.

“Next!”

The same scene unfolded for the third time. The rain of rubble fired at changed angles now poured down on Kahar’s head.

“Wooaah!?”

Kahar screamed and activated the Tornado Magic that was supposed to be preparation against wyverns. The rubble scattered in all directions, blown by the strong wind. Kahar was safe, but damage spread to his surroundings.

He used magic, didn’t he? As if timing this, at Elliot’s single command, the wyverns descended from high altitude. They snatched up the commander-class figures riding horses and camels from above. They threw the screaming commanders with momentum into ruined houses or above the archers searching for detour routes, then detached. This time, they grabbed rubble with their feet and rained it down directly above the archers.

“Wh-what is this!?”

“You… you coward! Can’t you fight properly!?”

Who’s he to talk? Kahar shouted, but King Farid remained unfazed.

“My actions are for the subjugation of heretics. Isn’t it a bit late to ask to be treated as warriors? —Now, next!”

“Waaahh!”

“I-it’s no use! Run! Back to the fortress!”

“Eeeek!?”

“You… you all! Don’t run! Stand and fight! We outnumber them!”

Without waiting for the fourth catapult volley, the forces Kahar had brought with him fled in terror, completely routed. Pushing and shoving. Some fell and were trampled, others crashed into ruined rubble as if being crushed. A terrible sight. Kahar, unable to move amid the human wave, brandished his staff and shouted, but no one listened to his commands.

“You… you! Remember this!”

Ultimately ending up at the very rear, Kahar looked around, turned his earth dragon around, and fled.

If he thought he’d be safe once he reached the fortress, that was naive. Just as the soldiers reached the gates trying to flee into the fortress—the ground suddenly collapsed. Most of the private soldiers fell into the rubble.

I could see Corulis peeking its face from a side tunnel dug into the pit wall, blocking the hole it had used with crystals while retreating. The plan was to create a hollow underground, leaving only pillars supporting the ceiling—then when most of Kahar’s forces were on top, destroy the pillars and cause collapse. Princess Stephania on the Sirius would send the signal at the most effective timing.

Isolde, who had been watching this, showed a shocked expression before clicking her tongue. She seemed to have realized that secret escape from underground wasn’t feasible as a route.

The earthen barricades forming the narrow paths were removed by Lionel. King Farid, mounted, raised his katana and gave the command.

“Full pursuit!”

“Ooooh!”

King Farid and his soldiers let out war cries as they began their pursuit.

Most of Kahar’s forces had been rendered unable to fight by the pitfall trap. The command-level officers had been taken out first, and the chain of command was in complete chaos.

In terms of sheer numbers, King Farid’s soldiers now held the advantage.

While they charged ahead—I dropped to my knees as if collapsing. Ashley and Rosemary, who had returned to the main camp, were also breathing heavily with exhaustion.

We were pretending to be out of magical power… We absolutely needed to get the vampires to take the stage.

King Farid, mounted on his steed, chased after Kahar who was desperately fleeing through the streets.

Kahar’s private soldiers, who hadn’t even secured water supplies, were trying to escape the city by pounding on the gates. But the sealed gates wouldn’t open without a battering ram.

“Futile! All gates leading outside are blocked! Neither you nor I shall leave this city until our fate is decided!”

This scene—was witnessed by Isolde and the vampires standing behind her.

Yes. They were like rats in a trap. The magicians were out of magical power. There were large-scale mechanisms in place. Without the dragon knights, they had no combat power to oppose the vampires, and they could escape neither above nor below ground.

Now it was just a matter of how the vampires would perceive the ground forces.

From the vampires’ perspective, it wasn’t clear whether their information had been compromised, and they probably didn’t want to live a life on the run if they could avoid it.

“—Let’s go, all of you.”

Isolde said.

“Lady Isolde…”

“It would be quicker to just take over King Farid. If they can’t escape either, then defeating those wyverns would be equivalent to our victory.”

By draining King Farid and his soldiers, they could take over Baharzard itself. It was worth taking the risk to continue their plan. Bat-like wings sprouted from Isolde’s back.

“I will handle King Farid. You deal with the wyverns.”

“As you command.”

With those words, Isolde and her group took flight. Including Isolde, there were five vampires with transformation abilities.

Isolde charged toward King Farid with tremendous force. And then—

“What!?”

A streak of light shot down like purple lightning from high above. The gleaming axe wrapped in fighting spirit tore through the space right before Isolde’s eyes.

Sheila and the others had moved to intercept the other vampires as well. We who had been pretending were already in motion too.

“Your opponent is me.”

Blocking Isolde’s path, hovering in the air—was Grace, her red eyes shining brightly.

“You… You are—!?”

Isolde—her eyes widened in shock when she recognized Grace.

“That reaction. You know my father and mother, don’t you?”

“…So… it’s you. The traitor’s daughter…! Oh, I know you well! You look just like your mother!”

Isolde’s astonished expression gradually twisted into a broken smile. At those words, a joyful smile also appeared on Grace’s face. She narrowed her shining red eyes and stared straight at Isolde.

“I see. You survived and came after us. Kukuku. I too have a score to settle—your father killed my direct subordinates. Before our master’s watching eyes, let me complete the job I couldn’t finish back then!”

So Isolde was the one who had sent the assassins. Whether it was on their master’s orders or her own initiative was unclear, but she was definitely the one who mobilized the operational team.

“—How interesting. That girl survived and came to kill me.”

A quiet voice echoed. From the upper floors of the castle fortress. A tall, slender man appeared in one corner. Silver hair and pale skin. Fangs visible at the corners of his lips.

Most distinctive of all—was the blood-red aura enveloping his body.

He possessed overwhelming magical power that set him apart from the other vampires. Far beyond even Isolde’s level.

…I could tell at a glance. This was the vampire from the Flamsteed Count family mentioned in the reports. August Flamsteed.

“Grace. I’ll handle him. Your enemy is my enemy.”

“…Yes. Good luck.”

Grace looked at me and gave me a gentle smile, different from the ones she gave the vampires. But only for a moment. When she turned back to face Isolde, her gaze had turned cold.

I turned my attention to August. August was also looking at me with a smile on his face.

Had he sensed something in Grace’s expression? It seemed his interest had shifted to me.

Exactly as I hoped. Well then—shall we begin the battle?