Published: July 3, 2025
When the audience chamber of the royal castle had turned into a sea of flames, it was not as if the outside of the castle was at peace.
Thousands of horseback people had launched an attack on 'Schultz'.
Naturally, the castle gates were supposed to be closed, but...
The horseback people who had been hiding in the city of 'Schultz' for several days attacked the gates, and the gates could not be closed, resulting in the assault.
The attacking horseback people ignored the civilians and targeted government facilities.
The knight order's station, the guard station, various ministries, the royal castle... and the square.
"Damn it, who are these guys? Form a defensive circle centered around the civil officials! Hurry!"
"B-but, His Majesty Rupert is inside the royal castle!"
"First, we need to deal with the attack from outside..."
"There's an enemy coming from inside the royal castle too!"
"What!? His Majesty's safety..."
The imperial delegation and their guards were in chaos.
That said, they were part of the Imperial Army, and their individual strength was high, so they managed to maintain the front line without complete collapse.
"Within the royal castle is the former King..."
"Can an attacker like this kill a man who even Lord Aubrey couldn't kill? Our priority is for us, the outsiders, to survive first!"
The alliance delegation and their guards had an incredibly pragmatic approach...
Should this be seen as a high regard for former King Robert Pirlo? No, it was certainly a high regard...
But is that really okay, Alliance Escort Corps...?
"Ryo, are you alright?"
"No problem. An attack of this level won't even leave a scratch."
The kingdom delegation and their guards were all inside an ice wall.
"Damn it, what is this invisible wall?!"
"It's no use; we can't break it with magic at all."
"Tribe leader, what should we do?"
The tribe that attacked the kingdom delegation was completely at a loss.
They literally had no means to counter Ryo's [Ice Wall].
"On our side, the [Ice Wall] is holding fine, but if enemies are coming from inside the royal castle, then there must be enemies in the audience chamber too, right?"
"That would seem so. They're likely fighting at the entrance to the royal castle to prevent us from getting closer."
As Ryo asked, Nils nodded in agreement.
Between the square and the royal castle, for some reason, the horseback people who came out from the royal castle had set up a defensive formation, preventing the Schultz soldiers from entering.
Inside the royal castle, there were the chief Hugh and chief negotiator Ignis.
Of course, there were also the former emperor of the Empire and the former king of the alliance, but well, that was that...
Hugh McGrath was a former a-rank swordsman and a hero of the Great War.
If he were alone, he could surely escape from any difficult situation.
However, negotiator Ignis was... not the type suited for rough situations.
Of course, as the second son of the great noble House of Marquis Hope in the west, he might have learned martial arts to some extent since childhood.
There is a possibility, but...
He was still not the type one could expect combat abilities from.
"Is Ignis...?"
"Yeah. It might be difficult."
Nils nodded in agreement with Ryo's concern.
At that moment, DeLong, the leader swordsman of the 'Coffee Makers,' ran over.
"Ryo, you can maintain this ice wall by yourself, right?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Good. Then, I'll leave the defense of the civil officials and d-rank members to you. Nils, we're going to charge into the royal castle with b-rank and c-rank parties to rescue the Grand Master and Ignis."
"Understood."
Nils replied firmly to DeLong's suggestion.
He had been thinking the same thing.
Hearing this, three individuals filled with determination glanced over: swordsman Harold, priest Zeek, and dual-wielder Gowan from 'Room 11.'
Looking at those three, Ryo called out to them.
"Harold, Zeek, Gowan. Please take care of Hugh and Ignis."
They seemed surprised by Ryo's request.
Harold's eyes widened slightly.
But he quickly returned to a determined expression.