Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Battle in the throne room (VI)

Eldi continued reading the book. He was unable to accelerate the reading speed, and was unwilling to stop and miss that unique opportunity.

No noble had yet died due to the book, but quite a few were incapacitated. Under normal circumstances, they would have lost consciousness, but the power of the book was somewhat sadistic. It forced them to endure the pain, to stay awake. Perhaps, more than one were envying those who had died at the hands of their enemies.

The royalist officers, who were in the throne room or in adjoining rooms, were now at a disadvantage. The Hnefist nobles, as Gjaki had named them, had lost their initial enemies, so they had joined the battle against those officers.

Some, especially mage with area spells, helped Merlin contain the soldiers. However, they knew that they could only buy time. Because of their numbers, the soldiers had much more mana, and there were more of them replenishing it at the same time. In a war of attrition, these soldiers had the upper hand.

It remained to be seen what these soldiers would do if they found that their superiors were defeated. Nonetheless, it was a risk to think that they would simply surrender. Many of them had crimes behind them for which they didn't want to answer.

It was then that an officer dressed in the blue uniform of the city guard appeared where the stained-glass windows had been. He froze for a moment. He was stunned by the pitched battle that was taking place in the middle of the throne room. Perhaps, it was the image of Eldi Hnefa floating with a book in hand, reading it, what astonished him the most. The battle mage was apparently unperturbed, like some kind of god oblivious to the battle.

Those who discovered the officer looked at him with suspicion and surprise. There were many meters to the ground. It wasn't so easy to climb up there. What side was the newcomer on?

He soon emerged from his stupor, as he was being urged from behind. He hastily jumped in, and bowed deeply to Eldi Hnefa before assessing the situation.

The next one who appeared was just as stunned, and the third. From the fourth onwards, their own companions helped them out. They didn't allow them to hinder the others' movement.

It didn't take long for there to be a dozen, two dozen, three dozen. Without stopping, the entire company of more than two hundred troops arrived quickly by climbing the Wind Staircase that Goldmi had created.

Although a bit apprehensive, they had followed Captain Liukton. He had swallowed and climbed first, thus setting an example. He had been trying not to look down, while stepping on the almost invisible steps of wind, not too confident.

The elf had had to rely on Mana Link and Mana Loan to have enough power to maintain the staircase for as long as needed. That meant she would have to return all that mana, and that she wouldn't gain it again until it was fulfilled. While that would diminish her capabilities, she could still shoot arrows. Luckily, Hawkeye and other skills didn't require mana.

When the last soldier arrived, a couple dozen rebels still followed them. Not wanting to be less than the first, they went up even though they didn't quite like it.

When they arrived, the throne room was almost under control. The queen and some nobles remained protected by a powerful barrier. Some officers were fighting at the exits, and there were still the royalist soldiers.

However, the numerical advantage of these royalist soldiers had disappeared with the arrival of the city guards. In addition, another group was pressing from the entrance of the palace, which prevented the soldiers from escaping.

Since not many could fight at once in the narrow corridor, the city guards let the mages cast their spells. Doing so, they forced their enemies to defend themselves and exhaust their mana.

These mages were advancing down the hallway. They were escorted by warriors, and with healers a few meters behind. If they ran out of mana, others would replace them at the front.

Merlin wasn't among them. He had already done his job, and he preferred not to mix with allies he didn't know, and in a war that was no longer his. However, many nobles did join. Some of them were powerful mages, more so than any of the soldiers.

For all this, the royalist soldiers retreated, until they realized that this was a lost battle. Therefore, they ended up surrendering. Maybe, some would have to answer for their crimes, but at least, they would survive for now.

When they returned from the hallway with their prisoners, they stared at Eldi Hnefa solemnly. He continued reading, with an aura that was growing in intensity and majesty.

There was a strange silence, as everyone was watching the scene with respect and amazement. This silence was barely broken by the cries of pain of some nobles, by their pleas for mercy.

However, what had been started couldn't be stopped. That was something that only a couple of nobles suspected. They were scholars of myths and legends, and had read some stories about the Book of Judgment. After comparing their knowledge with what was in front of them, they had reached that conclusion.

Those nobles watched very carefully, not wanting to miss a detail. That way, they could write their own study about the book in the future. In fact, they were wondering if they could question Eldi Hnefa about it. They were looking forward to it.

Before the arrival of the city guards, when the battle was still raging, Elsa had managed to leave the throne room. With her hand on her heart, and gritting her teeth because of the pain, she hurried towards a certain room.

"Who's there?" a royalist officer wanted to stop her.

Although he was an ally, she had no time to waste, nor did she want to explain herself. Therefore, she, with her level 91, cast a quick and lethal spell that pierced the unsuspecting officer's skull. He hadn't expected her to attack him there so decisively, so he didn't have his defenses up.

She left the corpse behind her, entered the room, activated the magical lock and opened a secret hatch. It led her to a long underground tunnel, one of the palace's emergency exits.

The long tunnel seemed eternal to her, as the pressure on her increased because of the Book of Judgment. Finally, while clenching her teeth and fists, she reached the end, and took out a small magical artifact to open the exit. It led to a small forest next to the palace garden, just behind an artificial lake deeper than it looked.

"Mother! What's happened!?" her son received her.

"The worst scenario! There is no choice but to demolish the palace with everyone inside!" she declared.

Her son looked at her in surprise. However, her mother's face was firm, despite the pain, and the fact that she needed to catch her breath.