get-shopping Chapter 272: Its grand for a first greeting.
Chapter 272: Its grand for a first greeting.
Diana, who was climbing up the watchtower and looking at the distant mountains, muttered without realizing it.“…It’s quiet.”
A few white clouds drifted across the clear blue sky.
As she stood on the watchtower and looked out at the surrounding scenery, she found herself feeling peaceful.
The leisurely atmosphere that went well with the clear sky and the clean air unique to places with lots of trees made people feel relaxed.
When they first joined, the knights and soldiers of the Everan Kingdom were stiff and couldn’t hide their nervousness at the thought that a battle with the Evil Cult they had only heard about was right around the corner.
But now that some time has passed, the tension they felt at first was hardly felt at all.
From beneath the walls, the sound of soldiers chatting among themselves could be heard.
Although they were trying to keep their voices as quiet as possible, unfortunately, Diana, whose senses were more sensitive than others, could hear their conversation in its entirety.
It was a story about the family left behind at home.
‘Not bad.’
Diana decided to just pretend she didn’t know.
It’s better to give some leeway rather than being too rigid.
However, Prince Llewellyn, who had just climbed up to the watchtower with a leisurely gait, seemed a little embarrassed by such subordinates.
“Everyone is too relaxed.”
Diana responded with a smile to Llewellyn, who was grumbling in discontent as he approached.
“It’s a little awkward when the prince says it like that.”
“That’s because they don’t know the reality since they haven’t encountered the cult directly.”
Diana smiled bitterly as she watched Llewellyn complain in a childish tone appropriate for his age.
“Please don’t scold them too much, since it can’t be helped. What brings you here?”
“What brings me here? I came to check on the situation. Someone from the Caerleon Empire has been pestering me through the communication port.”
“I’ll give him a warning the next time we meet.”
At Diana’s words, Llewellyn glared at her with disapproving eyes.
“You don’t have to say that out of courtesy, Captain Diana. The whole world knows that he’s not the kind of guy who would listen even if you warned him.”
“Haha, there’s nothing I can do. Since you’ve become friends, I ask that you endure it until the end.”
“Was this your true intention?”
Diana simply laughed off Llewellyn’s pointed question.
Llewellyn let out a deep sigh and turned his gaze towards the direction Diana had been looking at.
Under the clear blue sky, a not-so-wide plain stretched out, and beyond it, the ridges of mountains extending far into the distance could be seen.
It was a beautiful enough sight, but Llewellyn’s eyes only grew more and more complicated.
“I used to come here often on solo trips. I thought it was a really nice place because it was quiet and the air was clean. I even thought about asking my older brother to give me a fief here when he inherited the throne.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“Since things have come to this… look over there.”
Llewellyn nodded toward the mountain.
“I can’t help but think that it’s a good place for the enemy to hide.”
“Yes, it is good terrain for the enemy to hide a large force. However, since there is a small plain, it is also easy for us to notice the enemy approaching from this side.”
Diana replied leisurely, placing her hand on her sword.
“It means that the ancestors of the Everan Kingdom who built the walls here were very wise.”
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly bringing that up.”
Though muttering in disbelief, it seemed that Llewellyn wasn’t particularly upset, as he let out a small chuckle.
“But my thoughts haven’t changed. If someone were to attack the Everan Kingdom, the first battleground would be right here. So there has to be someone to protect it even more.”
“You have come a long way, Your Highness. But I think you have been away from your territory longer than usual, exploring.”
Llewellyn snapped back, looking embarrassed at Diana’s teasing remark.
“Shush.”
Naturally, the conversation stopped and silence flowed again.
The soldiers who were surprised by the prince’s sudden appearance all kept their mouths shut.
When the silence fell, Diana sharpened her senses again.
There was silence.
“…”
Diana’s expression became strange as she felt a sense of discomfort.
The same was true of Llewellyn.
Llewellyn, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Captain Diana.”
“Speak.”
“Do you hear the birds singing now? The captain is much more sensitive than I am.”
His cold, sunken gaze gazed silently at the mountain.
“No, I don’t even hear any animal noises.”
“Was it like this yesterday too?”
“No, it wasn’t like this until I was on patrol last night.”
The conclusion was reached.
Diana said calmly.
“Your Highness, below the walls…”
But her words did not continue.
It was because Llewellyn pointed down the mountain and shouted.
“Captain, over there! What’s moving there?”
“…!”
Diana, who turned her gaze absentmindedly, also discovered the same thing as Llewellyn.
Some of those who had been hiding in the trees were coming out.
“Are they human? I can’t see them properly.”
“It looks that way to the naked eye, but…”
Diana, who was answering the urgent question, suddenly stopped talking.
Her eyes captured human-shaped beings pulling something out from behind their backs.
Diana muttered without realizing it.
“…Arrow?”
The enemies were pulling out strangely shaped bows and arrows and stringing them onto the bow.
“What? From this distance? That won’t even reach us?”
At her words, Llewellyn also responded in disbelief.
An arrow shot from across the plain could not possibly reach the castle walls.
Besides, the wind was now blowing from the castle walls towards the mountains.
It meant that the situation was not suitable for carrying out an attack with arrows.
The two people who thought that far realized something at the same time.
To begin with, their enemies were not ordinary humans.
Diana, who realized the situation, shouted loudly.
“Everyone, duck!”
“Yes?”
The soldiers and other knights of the Everan Kingdom, who had not grasped the situation, asked back in bewilderment.
But there was no time to think long.
The enemy’s arrowheads gleamed in the sunlight, then quickly flew away.
Llewellyn shouted again at the people standing there blankly.
“If you’re going to duck, then duck, you idiots!”
!
But the screams were drowned out by a ridiculous roar.
The soldiers who had screamed briefly hurriedly hid themselves, and Diana looked down the wall.
A steel arrow, closer in size to a spear than an arrow, was lodged in the castle’s outer wall, leaving a large scar.
“…That’s ridiculous.”
A remark that would normally never leave her mouth slipped out.
Firing something so outrageous from that distance would have been absolutely impossible for an ordinary human being.
Perhaps thinking the same, Llewellyn exclaimed in disbelief.
“Those things, they’re not human, right?”
“It seems like that’s the case. …Oh no!”
There was no time to talk for long.
As if the threat shots were enough, the enemies fired their crossbows all at once.
A swarm of arrows flew up at once, turning the blue sky pitch black.
“Your Highness, go down!”
“Shut up! What do you think will happen if all of those are fired against the wall?”
Diana hastily pushed him away, but Llewellyn stubbornly remained in place.
“Get ready to respond!”
Llewellyn, who had strongly raised his magical power, activated his Until Dragonborn.
A strong gust of wind blew around Llewellyn.
“Prince!”
“I wasn’t just sucking my thumb like an idiot.”
Diana tried to dissuade him, but Llewellyn responded firmly.
“I learned some tricks from him.”
“…All right.”
Eventually, Diana gave up trying to dissuade him.
Instead, she shouted to the soldiers and knights.
“Prepare for battle!”
“Yes!”
Members of the Second Knights, who had realized the urgent situation, also completed preparations to be able to sortie at any moment.
Llewellyn took three magic stones out of his pocket at once.
As the magic stones suddenly lost their light, Llewellyn pulled out his sword.
Llewellyn’s face turned pale for a moment due to the strong consumption of magical power.
“Ugh…!”
But somehow he held on and stood his ground.
The power of the Until Dragonborn wrapped around Llewellyn’s sword pierced through the arrows flying toward the walls.
A strong typhoon blew over the soldiers’ heads.
Those who unconsciously closed their eyes and opened them were left with their mouths agape at what happened next.
“Wow..!”
Arrows that had lost their direction fell unceremoniously to the ground, and arrows that had flown straight up the wall would lose their balance and crash into the lower part of the wall.
There were repeated explosions, but there was little damage to the walls.
Only after confirming this did Llewellyn collapse to the floor.
Diana approached him and supported him.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, so don’t worry about it. I have no intention of holding you back, so don’t worry.”
But Llewellyn refused her hand.
“I can block it about three or four more times.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve gathered a ton of magic stones. So, figure out how to deal with them. Those guys can’t shoot those monstrous arrows in succession, right?”
Llewellyn smiled faintly.
Diana had a feeling that she would not be able to break his stubbornness.
A strong conflict appeared on Diana’s face.
Honestly, there was no way to completely block the same attack just now without Llewellyn’s artifact.
If arrows from crossbows with such tremendous destructive power were to strike the walls repeatedly, it would certainly not last long.
That meant that Llewellyn was needed in this battlefield.
“…All right.”
In the end, Diana had no choice but to give up.
“But if you are even slightly injured, you will be brought back to the palace immediately.”
“Hmph, even His Majesty has given up on me, so what can Captain Diana do?”
“I will tell Arendt.”
Llewellyn’s mouth shut tightly at the captain’s words.
Diana, who had successfully obtained the prince’s cooperation, shouted to her subordinates waiting below.
“Cross the plains and clear out the enemies hiding under the mountains! Ignore the other enemies and clear out the archers first, then return!”
“Yes!”
Helen and the other knights answered loudly.
The tightly shut gate opened and several members of the Second Knights slipped out.
At the same time, a black spectacle of enemy troops pouring out of the mountain came into view.
Diana focused her eyes and identified the enemy.
It was a half-and-half mix of ghouls and humans.
Moreover, there was no guarantee that those who appeared human at the time were truly ordinary humans.
It was the moment when it became clear that Jiklin was nearby.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
“It’s a bit grand for a first greeting.”
On the soldiers’ side, the captain shouted loudly.
“Captain Diana! The archers are ready!”
Soldiers stood by beside the archers, ready to light their arrows with oil.
Diana raised one hand, indicating to wait.
Soon the distance became close enough for the soldiers to see the enemy with their own eyes.
The soldiers began to stir at the enemy’s strange appearance.
But Diana’s shouts drowned out even that song.
“Stand by! Second Knights, prepare to sortie!”
“Yes!”
Helen’s group left first, and the remaining knights had already finished preparing.
Diana, looking into her subordinates’ determined eyes, added a joking command.
“I believe that no one will be hit by friendly arrows. Be careful not to get distracted by the battle and leave the safe zone. You don’t want to get hit by lightning above your head.”
“Yes!”
A spirited reply came back from the knights.
It was the start of the first battle.