Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Battle in the throne room (III)

When Night fell, Golgo cursed inwardly.

"You should have warned," he muttered.

He took out infrared glasses from his inventory, which would allow him to aim in the dark. However, to his surprise, he suddenly found strong paws pulling him down, and fangs pressing against his neck.

"You better stay still. This's not your war, and Gjaki would prefer that you not die. Though, if you move, she won't hesitate to finish you off. Surrender if you want to live," Merlin threatened him, while he was preparing the Frozen Cage against Asmodeus.

The sniper hesitated for a few moments. Getting the fragment was important to him, but living was more important. Once dead, it didn't matter whether he owned the fragments or not.

There was a powerful beast about to pierce his jugular. One gesture, one fluctuation of mana, and he would be finished. Furthermore, there was another powerful enemy nearby, and both of them seemed to be able to see in that unexpected darkness. He, for his part, hadn't had time to put on his glasses, which had fallen to the floor.

"You win, I Surrender," he accepted, frustrated.

By Surrendering to another visitor, his skills and spells were frozen for half an hour, as well as his access to the inventory. Therefore, he was practically defenseless.

He put on himself the shackles that Merlin threw at him, and sat there, waiting for the mage to fulfill his promise. Golgo was sure that he wouldn't kill him, because if they wanted to do it, there was no point in waiting. What he didn't know was what they would do with him.

The lynx walked away, as she headed to the battlefield, both to intervene and to be the eyes of her sister. There was still work to do.

The nobles were left blind. Those who had artifacts or abilities to see in the dark were quick to use them, although they were a minority.

The case of the rebels was very different. Most didn't know why, but they had all been equipped with devices to see in the dark. Now, they understood.

This gave them a great advantage against nobles and royalist guards, since almost everyone else was blinded. Initially, there were fewer on the rebel side. They weren't enough to counteract the number of enemies despite having attacked by surprise. Now, they had an advantage that they had to exploit quickly.

Eldi's escort was in the same situation. He had provided them with similar artifacts, which they had accepted despite not knowing exactly what they would need them for. Now, they were glad to have them.

The escort had been guarding their protégé's. They had barely held on to their physical and mana shields due to the onslaught of royalist soldiers. Luckily, those soldiers were limited by the width of the hallway they were coming from. Now, Eldi's escort could counterattack, covered by darkness.

Furthermore, some arrows had come to their aid out of nowhere. Some even had spells like Wind Trap that fell in the middle of the enemy ranks. The large number of soldiers made them an easy target for Goldmi and Elendnas. The rest of the battlefield was much more confusing, and it wasn't always easy to tell who was friend and who was foe.

Despite this, there were many of those royalist soldiers, and their level was above 60. Therefore, they could delay and hinder them, but it wouldn't be easy to contain them indefinitely. Even from a distance, some of those soldiers could afford to try to attack the battle mage floating with the book open. Nonetheless, the weak light surrounding him was impenetrable.

"... you will respect the freedom of your vassals..." Eldi's voice was heard meanwhile.

With every word, the royalist nobles who were facing their enemies felt stronger and stronger pressure. Even the queen and her three children, protected behind a powerful barrier, were subject to this pressure.

The two oldest children screamed in pain. Both had abused their position more than once, and even beaten servants to death.

The youngest son may not have committed murder with his own hands, but he wasn't innocent either. He had ordered others to do it. The pain wasn't that intense, but it couldn't say that he didn't notice it either, and it was increasing.

A different case was the youngest daughter, who was locked in her room. She paced around nervous, frustrated, anxious, not knowing what to do. She felt useless and alone, but the pressure of the book didn't affect her. It wasn't because of the distance. Since she had made the promise at fifteen, she had always kept it. It could be said to be Eldi Hnefa's only fan among royalty.

The queen didn't scream, but she clenched her teeth tightly. She was looking at the visitor with hatred.

"Finish him once and for all!" she shouted, between furious and scared.

She could see how her enemy was protected by a powerful barrier, and that what he was reading was wreaking havoc among the nobles. Like her, they felt the pressure in their mana, in their spirit, in every fiber of their muscles.

The worst thing for them was that they couldn't allow themselves to scream or writhe in pain. They were in the middle of a dangerous confrontation with their enemies, and they were losing.

With the arrival of Night, attacks had begun to come from all directions. The pressure due to the demand to keep their promises had worsened the situation. It had made it difficult for them to concentrate, thus decreasing their combat strength.

Because of this, they were in a passive position, and were investing their mana into defensive skills. It was almost impossible to fight with the pain and in the darkness.

It was true that some of the neutral nobles, and even some of the allies, also suffered the consequences, but in general it was much milder. That reminded them that they weren't entirely blameless, but that it hadn't been so serious that the punishment was too severe.

Meanwhile, the lynx, the vampiress and the cat king joined the fray. They had already taken care of the other two visitors, so their hands, or paws, were free. Furthermore, they could see in the dark.

Since her sister was now busy with other matters, the feline directly attacked the royalist officers. Although more powerful than the soldiers, they were dispersed, so it was easier for her to intervene.

Next to her, was the vampiress. As much as they had different opinions on costumes, they were on the same wavelength in combat. They had a long experience of fighting together, both in the game and after.

Merlin, for his part, directed his attention to the accumulation of soldiers who wanted to enter through the main entrance. While he had lethal individual attacks, his area spells were even more fearsome. Without wasting a second, he began to chant a dangerous incantation.