C179
The lyrical performance that resonated from the bow suddenly stopped.
In an instant, the deck filled only with rough shouts and the footsteps of the witches.
"Damn it, what the hell is this...?) exclaimed the 3rd prince as he looked around with a perplexed expression, and magical arrows began to sprout from the direction of the forest again.
The magicians led by Duke Seymour had prepared a scroll that could reach the forest downstream of the Renee River in advance and started the operation as soon as they received the signal.
As more and more magicians arrived in the forest, the momentum of the attack became stronger.
"¡Ugh!" In no time, mana, forged strongly like the tip of an arrow, pierced the 3rd Prince's shoulder.
The 3rd Prince staggered as he swallowed his breath from the pain of his muscles breaking.
"¡Ugh, ahhh...!" His right arm that held the sword was incapacitated, and his face turned blue.
The fact that he had fallen into a trap horrified him more than the pain in his shoulder.
The 3rd Prince had a lot of experience leading battles in the vanguard, but he had always encountered predictable situations because it was his mother who created the rift in the north.
When faced with a sudden situation, the 3rd prince lost composure in an instant, and the group of witches he had led fell like fallen leaves in a surprise attack from the enemy.
The 3rd Prince, who held the sword with his left arm while panting, quickly raised his sword and dissipated an arrow.
However, when the arrow attack stopped, out of nowhere, columns of water rose from all directions. Strong enough to capsize a boat.
"If this continues, we will be annihilated. Avoid it. It's a trap!" urgently told one of the witches nearby to the 3rd Prince, shooting black flames in the direction where the magic was flying.
Some had already jumped into the river to escape.
The boat, which had been pierced by the magic arrows, precariously shook as if it were about to capsize from the fierce column of water.
Damn it! The 3rd Prince, staggering, finally jumped.
"Cough, cough!" Barely poking his head above the water, he waved his arms to head towards the nearby dock.
"For now, I just have to get out of here".
At that moment, something blocked the third prince as he swam forward. It was the bow of a boat.
Thousands of boats approached as fast as a speedboat using wind magic and began to surround the witches struggling in the river, as if they didn't want anyone to escape.
The 3rd Prince, who stopped swimming and quickly raised his head, met a pair of bright red eyes.
Deborah Seymour.
The 3rd prince took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.
"How dare you?"
"It's the same for you who aimed at me. Thanks for coming in person), retorted Deborah.
"¡Aargh!" The 3rd Prince, with a face full of humiliation, cursed at the princess, but that also lasted shortly.
Bam-! Powerful lightning magic spread over the river where the witches were fighting.
An electric current ran through the soaked body in an instant, and the 3rd prince lost consciousness.
-----------------------
"It's over", declared Deborah.
The lightning magic that poured over the river caused the 3rd Prince and the witches to be electrocuted and stunned, and she could easily get the 3rd Prince.
"How is it that this guy doesn't deviate even an inch from my expectations? she wondered, clicking her tongue as she watched the 3rd prince being taken prisoner.
The 4th Queen is obviously a tough and difficult opponent, but that guy was just as expected.
"There is one thing that the 4th Queen has overlooked in this battle, she thought".
A decoy is a strategy used mainly when the identity of the other person is not well known.
"So she must have thought that this decoy was meant to lure her out, she speculated".
Indeed, the 4th Queen forgot to understand the tendencies of the 3rd Prince, his only weakness and burden, because she reserved and evaluated his intentions.
"She couldn't take decisive measures against her son, she realized".
In the first place, the opponent that Isidor and I thought, who had a chance of falling into this trap, was the 3rd Prince.
Through an informant from Blanchia who infiltrated Count Rowan's group, Isidor learned that the 3rd Prince was ambitious and dissatisfied with the current situation.
By attending the lavender diamond auction, he made it clear that the 3rd Prince coveted the Saint.
Originally, they planned a birthday party on a boat with only a few people participating, but rumors spread that there would be a proposal provoking the greedy third prince, and the result was a success.
The 3rd prince took the bait!
Isidor, who identified the scene of the 3rd prince and the witches crawling alone into the trap with flying magic, immediately appeared at the dock where the boat was expected and signaled.
The boat, carrying only dolls and recording artifacts sponsored by Michele Grandbert, could move to the location of the enemies through Rosad's wind magic.
Since Rosad can handle the wind freely, the operation to surround the witches who jumped into the river became easier.
From the beginning, I had no intention of starting a dangerous fight.
"I don't want to see the people I care about getting hurt."
After shooting magical arrows to make the enemies jump off the boat, we surrounded them with boats on the other side of the forest and finished them off with an electric shock.
"I managed to catch the 3rd prince and a group of witches without sacrificing anyone."
Patting my chest, I took a deep breath and looked around.
"Just throw them."
Duke Seymour looked at the witches tied with ropes and gave a cold order.
The limbs of the witches were filled with restraining tools containing divine power, and the magicians by order of Duke Seymour abruptly threw the stunned witches into a prison-shaped cart.
They are the ones who have committed murders and kidnappings to make sacrifices to the devil.
Even if they don't dirty their hands, the imperial judicial power will punish them severely.
After a while, Belreck, who had been exploring the forest surrounding the river to see if there were any residues, appeared.
"These bastards tried to summon a demon by sacrificing human corpses."
The witches captured by Belreck were tied with ropes next to a magic circle drawn with blood.
"They must have tried to summon an active monster in the water to destroy the evidence."
Isidor, who picked up the magic circle with a strange pattern, twisted the corners of his mouth.
"I need to present this as evidence to show how the 3rd prince conspired with the witches. Still, even without this, he can be sentenced."
As Isidor said, the opponent is on the edge of a precipice.
Not only the Seymour direct line but also the Magic Tower and the White Knights participated in this operation.
Nobles from other families also witnessed with their own eyes the image of the 3rd prince leading a group of witches attacking the boat, so there were enough eyewitnesses.
"Put it over here."
The precious hostage, the 3rd prince, was specially thrown into the most resistant cart with a triple barrier.
"... By the way, are you trying to make an emperor out of this kind of person? Did Seymour think he would accept and follow this idiot as emperor?"
Rosad murmured with a puzzled expression.
I also had to swallow the absurd feeling when I saw the unconscious 3rd prince.
No matter how talented and intelligent the 4th Queen was, she didn't seem very objective when it came to her son.
"Children don't always behave as their parents want."
Duke Seymour murmured bitterly.
The night grew deeper and deeper, and when the situation came to an end, an informant planted by Isidor ran hastily toward here.
"Duke Visconti!"
"Report."
"Suspicious behavior of the 4th Queen has been identified."
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"What? Javier... my Javier... Led the witches and was kidnapped by that girl?"
"C-Calm down."
"That can't be true. Say it again!"
No.
No!
No matter how much she tried to deny the reality, Javier's empty bed was a clear indication that her son had fallen into the trap with his own feet.
"Kkugh!"
The 4th Queen, who had been strangling the neck of her aide who had given her the shocking news, trembled and rushed out of the palace panting.
Her mind had already lost reason, and her eyes were red and bloodshot.
Because when tomorrow dawns, her son will be dead.
The laws of the Empire do not tolerate witches.
Black magic was classified as a high-level crime, and the punishment also applied to the imperial family without exception.
Idiot! Stupid bastard!
Since this is the case, she has no choice but to kill and ruin Seymour.
"Those damn Seymour snakes! They will regret daring to touch me terribly!"
Shouting, she ran toward the cave where the summoning circle of the Great demon, Lucifer, was located.
Surprisingly, the cave was located within the Sky Forest, the forest closest to the imperial family.
Who would have imagined?
The fact that one of the highest-ranking witches had her home near the Imperial Palace, which was strictly hostile to black magic.
After biting her finger and bleeding, the well-sealed cave door opened slowly, and she hurriedly descended the long stairs that looked like a maze.
"I will give you my entire soul, please come!"
Standing on a magic circle with her name written in blood, she cut her arm and sprayed blood.
The blood spilled on the floor like a river, and a gentle breeze extinguished all the candles that illuminated the interior.
The demon had been summoned.