Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Battle in the throne room (IV)

"Leave my children alone!" the queen shouted angrily.

She was crouched down, while holding her older children in her arms despite the pain she herself felt. They were bleeding from their noses and ears, and their faces were covered in tears and pain. In their life, they had never suffered so much pain.

Perhaps, that moment was the first time in years that she saw the princes as her children, now that she was about to lose them. The queen even remembered that she had another daughter, and wished that at least she was fine.

Curiously, the queen's suffering was milder. Unlike her spoiled children, she had rarely mistreated her servants, and had never gone too far. Although, she hadn't prevented them from suffering at other hands, even though it was her obligation to protect her subjects. Of course, that part hadn't been read yet.

Eldi looked in the queen's direction. Because of Night, he couldn't see her, but he could feel her and everyone who was linked to the book.

That wasn't limited to the interior of the palace. Several hundred kilometers away, some nobles were writhing in pain. At first, they hadn't grasped the reason, but somehow the power of the book itself had made them understand it. Perhaps, they regretted it now. However, that didn't mean that the damage caused could be repaired.

The high human not only felt them, but also sensed the seriousness of their crimes. The princes' ones were especially ruthless, so he didn't feel any pity for them. Besides, there were still many laws to read.

Perhaps, he could force himself to stop, but if he did, Eldi sensed that he wouldn't be able to unleash the power of the Book of Judgment again. He could perceive that it was an inflexible and severe power, but not disproportionate. It could claim lives for breaking their oaths, but only if the breach was especially serious, with lives at stake. Many were.

The princes weren't the only ones who were bleeding. Some royalist nobles were unable to stand, and some even no longer had enough strength left to scream in pain. Among them, there was Ricardo, who had been one of the first to fall. His hands were very stained with blood.

Others did scream. There were also those who could still fight, and there were even those who barely felt any pain.

Of course Eldi was reading about direct treatment of vassals. He still hadn't said anything about exaggerated taxes, or allowing and encouraging their subordinates to abuse their position.

After seeing their companions being tortured, some wanted to flee, terrified. They ran towards one of the exit gates. Of course, it wasn't that easy. The power of the book would continue to reach them, and there were rebels at some of those exits.

Without a doubt, the side of the nobles allied with the royalty was crumbling. Some lay on the ground due to enemy attacks, or payment demanded by the book. Others had tried to flee. Some had taken refuge behind one of the barriers that protected the queen.

The case of royalist soldiers and officers was different. These didn't have to answer to the book, and their number was exaggeratedly high. It had seemed disproportionate to bring so many, but now they would have liked to be more.

The twins regretted their mistake. They had desperately attacked their enemies from behind, while wanting to protect their father, and had gotten rid of more than a dozen in a few moments. Now, they realized that their father didn't need their protection. If they had known, they would have attacked more selectively, and wouldn't have attracted the attention of so many enemies.

The twins were against a wall, surrounded by a semicircle of about twenty officers. Since attacking Eldi Hnefa proved futile, they had turned to other targets.

The only good news was that their enemies seemed a bit wary, and didn't dare to attack with all their might. They had seen several companions die, cut by those sharp swords.

Some rebels wanted to go to their aid, but it wasn't easy. There were skirmishes everywhere, so it was dangerous to act without caution. Attacks could come from any direction. Especially, now that Night had begun to dissipate in some areas, thanks to certain light or dispelling spells.

Of course, if you are a Blood Hound which doesn't care about wounds, it isn't such a big concern. Three of them rushed at the officers, without regard of themselves. Although Gjaki didn't expect that they could defeat them, they were enough to create confusion in the enemy ranks.

At the same time, five Bats attacked the faces of other enemies. Their attack power was practically zero, but they could be very annoying for a few moments.

She also added a dozen illusions, that were inspired by the nobles fighting beyond. Without a doubt, there were many to control, so she needed to rely on Parallel Thinking.

There was a fourth Blood Hound. Two officers faced it with confidence after seeing their modest power against their companions. However, said hound was an illusion that hid a much more dangerous foe.

Suddenly, the supposed hound was engulfed in flames. It Jumped at high speed on an unsuspecting third enemy, Shredded his chest and Chewed his neck.

The two who were going to confront the hound turned towards the lynx. They didn't suspect that she was being followed closely by a deadly vampiress. With their eyes fixed on the flaming feline, they didn't notice the swift attack with the whip. She Grabbed one by the neck, and sent him against the other, with the help of Dribble.

The unexpected collision of their heads stunned them. They were left momentarily defenseless, so one was finished off with two Backstabs and Sanguine Extension.

The other was bitten by the vampiress. Her mana and energy was absorbed through Yum, Mana and Yum, Energy. She was the more powerful of the two officers, and Gjaki had spent quite a bit of mana on Night, some attacks along the way, her summons and her illusions. Therefore, resupplying was a must.

The officer was Unsettled, and had lost her mana, energy and blood. She didn't survive long.

Meanwhile, the lynx had thrown a Fireball at the next officers, who weren't expecting such an attack from "a beast." Momentarily blinded, they were forced to defend themselves against the flaming feline.

One fell to the ground with claw marks on his arm, as his sword was repelled thanks to Steel Skin. The other was able to jump back. He looked at the lynx and prepared to counterattack. At that precise moment, several blades of light pierced him.

The twins had taken advantage of the distraction to counterattack by joining their swords to launch the attack again. They had one more left before the swords ran out of mana.

At the same time, they pounced towards the enemies in front of the lynx. In this way, those would be forced to defend on two sides at the same time.

It should be said that some enemies wanted to attack the twins from range, but some barriers were enough to defend themselves. The attacks had been hasty, as hounds and illusions had disrupted the circular formation, and confused the royalist officers.

Eldi's children arrived shortly after the feline launched two new Fireballs and jumped towards her enemies. They were the last two on that side, and they encountered the simultaneous attack of three enemy experts. They still desperately resisted for almost a minute, before meeting their end under powerful jaws or sharp swords.