Chapter 91 - Blood and Fire in Platinum City (Part 7)
Count Rad mentioned wanting to distance himself from Alphonse, and Charlotte felt much the same; she truly wished to avoid any further face-to-face encounters with him.
Charlotte held too many secrets, and Alphonse's gaze—that way he had of watching others as if they were merely part of a play, anytime, anywhere—made her skin crawl.
However, with her maternal grandfather visiting, she couldn't possibly avoid speaking with Alphonse indefinitely.
Laina, leaning against Charlotte, sensed the subtle tension in her friend's body. "What's wrong?" she asked quizzically. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing..." Charlotte shook her head, murmuring a soft deflection while her mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.
In the dim light, Alphonse gradually drew nearer. Each step he took seemed to echo like a fatal drumbeat.
Finally, at the last moment, an idea struck Charlotte – perhaps a viable one. With a deliberate tremor of her fingers, she knocked over the cup of hot water meant for dipping bread.
"Ah, how clumsy!" Laina exclaimed softly, pulling out her handkerchief to help dab at Charlotte's skirt.
Charlotte brushed at her skirt with feigned embarrassment, then stood up. "I'll go change my clothes," she announced.
Once away from the crowd, Charlotte whispered to Renee, "Bring me a mirror."
Inside a thatched hut requisitioned from the villagers, Charlotte sat before the mirror, narrowing her eyes to meet her own reflection. Then, she activated her ability: "Mind Guidance."
"Mind Guidance" couldn't alter memories, but it could steer thoughts. This was the first time Charlotte had used it on herself, and she wasn't certain it would even work, but she had no better option at the moment...
By the time Charlotte returned to the bonfire in fresh clothes, King Alphonse was conversing with Count Philip and Count Rad. The atmosphere among the three was far from warm, which wasn't surprising. Given Alphonse's personality, it was difficult for anyone sitting with him to maintain much enthusiasm.
Settling back down beside Laina, Charlotte inhaled her friend's faint fragrance and found herself struggling to suppress a burgeoning desire. She leaned close and whispered a couple of things into Laina's ear.
"Eh?" Laina glanced around, then whispered back, "Won't it be a bit cold?"
"Let's try it," Charlotte prompted, gently tracing Laina's palm with a finger. "Perhaps it'll even help us warm up."
Alphonse's gaze habitually swept over the newly returned Charlotte but didn't linger. It moved on so quickly that Charlotte didn't even notice.
Within Platinum City, flames and chaos continued to spread.
Throngs of nobles trapped within the city streamed ceaselessly towards the palace to protest. Henry, in turn, deftly redirected all these protesting nobles to the Dowager Queen Mary.
Dowager Queen Mary instantly felt immense pressure.
She didn't truly believe these nobles were suffering greatly at the hands of the tribesmen or were genuinely terrified of the brutal war. The mere fact that they could traverse a battlefield likely strewn with gore to come and bother her proved they had ample leeway despite the current conflict. The ones truly suffering and crying out amidst the flames were the common folk living in Platinum City.
Under normal circumstances, Dowager Queen Mary wouldn't have bothered dealing with these nobles stirring up trouble. She might have even questioned why they had the energy to complain instead of helping the city guard defend the walls.
However, the situation was different now. The tribesmen within the city had been let in by her father, Alphonse. Although this wasn't widely known yet, it couldn't be hidden forever; sooner or later, everyone would know. This put the Dowager Queen in a very passive position, forcing her to handle the nobles' discontent with caution.
"Your Majesty," began the leading noble, Lucheni Holovin, spreading his hands, "it's not that we're unwilling to stay put and wait for Duke Marco to deal with these tribesmen. It's just that our homes and manors are outside the city! If we wait any longer, we fear all our property will be plundered by those savages!"
Lucheni Holovin's words resonated with many of the assembled nobles.
Mary might have believed others if they expressed concern for their properties outside the city, but she couldn't believe Lucheni. Who was he? He was Count Sugis. Sugis was one of the wealthiest fiefdoms in the Oran Empire. Although Emperor Leopold hadn't allowed his younger brother to inherit the throne, he hadn't treated him poorly either. Lucheni Holovin's annual tax income alone was enough to sustain a life of utter decadence. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't believe he genuinely cared about a few houses and fields outside the city walls.
Plainly put, Lucheni was using this situation as a pretext. His ultimate goal was still to secure a voice for himself within the Empire's central power structure.
"Marquis Brown Lekman has already led troops to reinforce Duke Marco. Please, be patient and await news of victory or the arrival of the Gryphons..." Dowager Queen Mary attempted to soothe the nobles once more.
However, Duke Bonan, Fernandez Paste, who had remained silent until now, spoke up: "Your Majesty, perhaps you should allow me to lead troops out of the city."
"This..." Dowager Queen Mary looked at Fernandez in surprise.
"Duke Marco has confirmed the tribesmen's leader is commanding from their main camp, deploying troops from there. The camp's approximate location has also been determined. I am willing to lead an elite force out of the city to raid the enemy camp and slay their leader. Once that happens, the tribesmen will surely rout without a fight, and the conflict can end sooner," Fernandez stated.
Mary looked closely at Fernandez, noticing the faint bloodshot veins in the Duke of Bonan's eyes. She understood instantly: the prolonged uncertainty about the state of the Duchy of Bonan was making Fernandez extremely anxious. While both the methodical Brown Lekman and Dawid Boyan, currently leading the Gryphons back to aid the King, were almost certain to defeat the tribesmen eventually, it was too slow for Fernandez. The Duke was clearly desperate to return to the Duchy of Bonan immediately.
Mary could only nod. "Very well. I grant you five hundred Royal Guards. Additionally, I will have Duke Marco assign you five hundred elite City Guards. Will these forces suffice?"
"More than enough," Fernandez replied without hesitation. "The enemy is currently focused entirely on attacking the South Gate. Their main camp must be poorly guarded. We won't need a large force."
Although Fernandez claimed it was sufficient, Mary still compelled Lucheni and his followers to contribute another five hundred knights. Having just urged Mary to clear out the enemy quickly, Lucheni couldn't refuse now and had to reluctantly agree.
Adding Fernandez's own five hundred personal guards, he led a force of two thousand knights, galloping out from the North Gate. They circled around before making a direct charge towards the tribesmen's main camp.
Baxia was indeed in the main camp at that moment, and just as Fernandez suspected, his immediate vicinity was sparsely defended. After ordering the Blackfire Army to break through the South Gate into Platinum City, Baxia had dispersed the other tribes, allowing them to plunder freely in and around the city.
The remaining scattered remnants and stragglers were no match for the elite assault personally led by the Duke of Bonan.
"My friend," Baxia said with a smile to the black-robed figure beside him, listening to the approaching thunder of hooves and sounds of battle, "I have no intention of fleeing just yet. It seems I'll have to rely on you and your students now."
"I was beginning to think we wouldn't get a chance to act," the black-robed figure replied, his voice raspy.
The black-robed man's name was Bruce Kotick. A name once renowned in Platinum City, not only because he was a long-esteemed warlock scholar but also because he was the mentor who had single-handedly perfected the Effigy Warlock faction. On the Church's list of heretics, he was considered the greatest sinner.
As he spoke, Bruce Kotick stood up and slowly turned. Behind him stood a dozen or so other black-robed figures dressed similarly. Like Bruce Kotick, these were all Effigy Warlocks branded as heretics by the Church and exiled from Platinum City, some even from the Oran Empire itself.
"Esteemed scholars, dedicated students, fellow Effigy Warlocks," Bruce Kotick declared, spreading his arms wide. "Join me now, and let us demonstrate our truth to the world in the simplest way possible. All Things Can Transcend!"
"All Things Can Transcend!"
Voices echoed in response – old and young, clear and hoarse, deep and high-pitched – but unified by the unwavering conviction in their words.
Fernandez charged forward valiantly, leading his knights, the six wings of light behind him blazing, showcasing his power without reservation.
Mary believed Fernandez wanted to fight merely out of eagerness to eliminate the tribesmen and ascertain the situation in the Duchy of Bonan. But in truth, more than annihilating the tribesmen, Fernandez wanted to capture the man named Baxia.
Over a decade ago, when Fernandez first met Baxia, the man was merely the leader of a small tribe. He had knelt on the ground and kissed Fernandez Paste's feet, begging for a mere handful of grain and salt.
At that time, a tribe called "Stone Fang" frequently raided the Duchy of Bonan. Baxia had promised Fernandez that if the Duchy provided him with food and salt, he could eliminate the Stone Fang tribe. Fernandez deemed it a favorable deal and agreed. Baxia swiftly destroyed the Stone Fang tribe.
Afterward, many similar transactions followed.
Over the ensuing decade, Baxia's tribe grew continuously, yet Baxia always maintained a respectful demeanor towards the Duchy of Bonan. Every year, he would come to kneel before Fernandez, humbly addressing every member of the Paste family as 'Master,' and swore he would never violate the borders of the Duchy of Bonan.
As Baxia's tribe conquered and expanded, the western border of the Duchy of Bonan gradually grew peaceful. Until recently, for two or three consecutive years, no tribesmen had descended from the mountains to raid. Fernandez Paste had once felt quite smug about his decision to support such a tribal force.
Yet, who could have imagined that this dog-like creature would deliver such a massive, terrible surprise!
When Fernandez heard the tribesmen chanting "King Baxia," his head was ringing.
He had to capture Baxia, capture that cur, and make that creature understand the price a dog pays for offending its master!
Fernandez ground his teeth, thoughts consumed by rage as he cut down his enemies.
Furthermore, Fernandez needed to find out: Who was the traitor?
He refused to believe that these tribesmen alone could breach the defenses of the Duchy of Bonan. If they had managed it, there could only be one explanation – an inside traitor had leaked intelligence about the Duchy, perhaps even coordinating with the enemy's attack.
Swish!
Fernandez's sword cleaved through another tribesman. Faint, flickering red flames danced around him, seeming to grant him boundless energy.
Just ahead...
Fernandez gazed towards the tribal camp before him. In the darkness, he felt a sense that the half-giant figure who once knelt to kiss his feet was now watching him.
The Duke of Bonan spurred his horse onward again, ready to crush the crude encampment built by these barbarians.
However, just then, his horse's hoof suddenly met empty air.
A veteran of countless battles, the Duke of Bonan instantly recognized the abnormality in his mount. With a single push of his hand, he vaulted off the horse's back.
But after leaping down, Fernandez didn't feel solid ground beneath him. Instead, his leg sank up to the calf.
Quicksand?
Why would there be quicksand here?
Confusion flared in Fernandez's mind. He struggled desperately to escape the sand, but the more he fought, the deeper he sank.
Behind him, panicked cries of men and horses erupted as more and more knights became trapped in the quicksand.
Fernandez quickly realized this wasn't ordinary sand. It felt as though the grains were sucking the power from his body, reminding him of the Empire's unique weapon – Eagle-Hunter arrows.
Could this be some kind of special transcendent material?
Fernandez's question was destined to remain unanswered, as the sand began to surge and writhe as if alive.
"Damn it! What is this stuff!"
Fernandez swung his sword, hacking furiously, but it was utterly futile. The sand rapidly overwhelmed him, flooding into his body through his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth. His magnificent, ornate armor offered the Duke of Bonan no protection whatsoever.
What began as ripples in the sand quickly grew into waves, then into a surging tide.
A mountainous wave of sand swept across the battlefield, consuming everything in its path – living or dead, enemy or ally.
The sound of the flowing sand was like a deep, rumbling thunder.
Oran knights and tribesmen alike scattered in terror before this incredible power.
Whether they could escape, however, depended entirely on the mercy of the one controlling it.
"What is that?"
Marco Lehmann stood stunned on the city wall, staring at the dark silhouette in the distance.
The silhouette resembled a mountain.
But the mountain was moving.
The mountain was gradually approaching the walls of Platinum City.
As it drew closer, its outline sharpened. The shape was that of a person—no, more accurately, it was the upper body of a person.
What kind of person could it be? Its upper body alone towered over the city walls!
"Hiss... Truly formidable..."
King Baxia, though not directly facing the "mountain" or "person," couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. He genuinely hadn't expected the black-robed figures accompanying him to be capable of such a monumental feat!
Suddenly, a faint stirring occurred within King Baxia's heart, as if sensing something. His gaze shifted from the giant figure towards the direction of Platinum City's royal palace.
"Give the order! Gather the entire army! It's time for us to leave," King Baxia commanded the attendant beside him.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The attendant took the order and departed.
By now, the upper body of the mountain-like figure had reached the city wall.
In the dim, flickering firelight, the figure raised its arms, clasping its hands together.
Alarm bells screamed in Marco Lehmann's mind. "Take cover!" he yelled frantically.
The figure's arms swung down, crashing heavily onto the West Wall.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...
The earth trembled violently.
Ripples seemed to emanate outwards with the West Wall as their epicenter.
Marco Lehmann felt himself thrown into the air by the sheer force of the ground shaking, then slammed back down hard, nearly knocking the wind out of him.
A single blow seemed poised to shatter the entire section of the wall.
Under this terrifying pressure, the morale of the City Guard collapsed. Soldiers scrambled down from the ramparts in panic, terrified the next blow would utterly demolish the wall.
Fortunately, however, the second strike never came.