Chapter 187: Founding Anniversary Ball (4) (1/2)
It’s here~! The twist is here. Anyway, it’s a cliff again, hahaha.
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.