Millennium empire, millennium emperor (4)
“Come on, you’re doing great.
The rider continued to whisper softly.
Kyak, kyaak!
The wyvern, which shook its head roughly, eventually lowered its neck.
But as if expressing its dislike, the wyvern continued to snort and gurgle for a long time after that.
“Right, good.”
The rider ran his hand across the nose of the tense wyvern.
Krrrr.
The wyvern cried softly and closed its eyes.
“Phew.”
Only then did the rider, Jin Katrin, let out a long sigh.
After barely managing to calm the wyvern, he turned his gaze to his surroundings.
Kyaaaak!
“Whoa. Calm down. It’s just us here.”
The strangely excited wyverns, and the sweating riders trying to soothe them.
Jin Katrin frowned.
“What the hell is going on?”
Although the sensitive wyverns were often grumpy, it was rare for them to be as troublesome as they were now.
It wasn’t even just one or two of them going wild with excitement, all of the wyverns in the citadel had started acting up at the same time.
Something didn’t bode well.
Because of that, the riders also felt uneasy.
It was the same for them.
Strangely enough, their minds were not at peace.
Their hearts raced without cause, and their bodies felt chilly for no reason.
They were anxious.
The sudden disappearance of the imperial army and the unprecedented nervousness of the wyverns were all troubling.
When His Majesty returned, the answer would be revealed.
Jin Katrin thought of the king who had crossed the border with a group of wyvern knights for reconnaissance and tried to calm his anxiety.
“Jin!”
Jin Katrin, who had been lost in thought, suddenly raised his head.
Prince Doris approached while waving his hand.
He walked at a comfortable pace, that damned prince.
Prince Doris’ expression was bright, as if he didn’t care about the situation in the citadel.
“You look great. While someone is here about to die from soothing the wyverns and listening to the groans of the riders.”
Dissatisfied with his attitude, Jin Katrin spoke harshly, but as always the prince didn’t listen.
“More than that, did you hear?”
The prince made a fuss as if he had heard some great news.
“If it’s about Your Highness’ proud friend, I must decline. Other than Your Highness, there are many people who tell stories of him.”
These weren’t just empty words.
After it was revealed that Ian of the Veil Mercenary Crops was in fact the crown prince of the Leonberg Kingdom, many nobles and knights often talked about Adrian Leonberger, the God of War.
In particular, the soldiers who had stood shoulder to shoulder with him on the front lines and the knights whose lives had been saved by him would tell stories of his heroic feats whenever they opened their mouths.
Even Commander Burg Berten, who was in charge of the fort, had mentioned his name several times and showed a strange bond.
As a magician, Jin Katrin could not understand the feelings of the knights.
He only knew that it had become difficult to distinguish if this was a military camp of the Dotrin Kingdom or if it actually belonged to Leonberg.
“No way. The news travels so fast.”
The prince drooped his shoulders in disappointment at Jin Katrin’s sullen attitude.
As expected, he seemed to have heard a few stories about the crown prince of Leonberg.
“What on earth is so good about him?”
“He is my friend.”
“Does he also think that? How come it seems like Your Highness is the only one to consider him a friend?”
This time the prince did not listen to him.
“If we can get over this hurdle, we’ll advance together with the Leonberg army, so maybe we’ll get the chance to stand on the same battlefield again.”
The prince, who conveniently heard only what he wanted to hear, said whatever he wanted.
It was not new to him, so Jin Katrin looked at the prince with a dull expression the whole time.
“Last time I was a bit behind, but this time I’m confident.”
The prince, who had recently succeeded in completely mastering a phrase of the royal family’s poetry, seemed eager to boast of his accomplishments to the crown prince of a neighboring kingdom as soon as possible.
“You seem to have forgotten that he is 8 years younger than you, Your Highness?”
Jin Katrin sarcastically asked the prince who excitedly wanted to be recognized by someone who was much younger than him.
“You’re right. Come to think of it, Ian is really great. To be called a God of War at such a young age. Even our monstrous Majesty didn’t get that nickname.”
The prince laughed heartily, not realizing it was sarcasm.
Jin Katrin sighed.
He wanted to ask ‘Can’t you see that His Majesty can stir everything up by just standing?’
But he was unable to say those words.
“Oh, oh!“
“Why is this guy suddenly doing this?”
The bewildered voices of the wyvern knights entered his ears.
Jin Katrin was startled and looked towards the clearing.
Kyyaaagh!
Kuaa!
The wyverns, which had just barely been calmed down, suddenly began moving wildly again.
They weren’t just jumping around.
They had gone completely mad and were running rampant.
The Knights of the Sky desperately tried to soothe them, but their attempts made the wyverns even more agitated.
In an instant, the clearing where the wyverns were gathered became a mess.
Jin Katrin hurriedly headed over.
“Irene!”
Calling the name of his wyvern, which was flapping its wings as if it wanted to fly away, he ran.
By the time he reached the edge of clearing.
“Uh?“
The cries of the rioting wyverns suddenly stopped.
The dust that had been kicked up by the strong flapping of wings was blown away from a wind that came from somewhere.
The wyverns that had been rampaging were now lying flat on their stomachs with their necks hanging long.
Kreureung.
Moaning like frightened dogs.
Jin Katrin stiffened at that unfamiliar appearance.
Chill.
He suddenly got goosebumps.
He forcibly twisted his neck to look out the citadel.
The sky beyond the tall castle walls was dyed red with the sunset.
Jin Katrin, who suddenly felt a sense of incongruity, raised his head.
The sun was still in the sky.
It was too early to be sunset.
Jin Katrin once again looked at the sky over the castle walls.
The air shimmered as if there was a haze.
An acrid smell of sulfur permeated his nostrils.
“Ah…”
The moment he smelled that strong scent, he naturally realized.
The red light he had originally thought to be the setting sun was actually a tangible wave caused by something huge.
The air quickly dried up.
His eyes were sore. His skin was itchy, as if he had a rash. The inside of his throat tingled every time he breathed in.
“Warlocks! Prepare for an enemy raid!
He cried out, enduring the pain in his throat.
At that moment.
Jjeok.
The other side of the sky split open.
Hwareureruk.
And from that gap, bright red flames poured out.
At the same time, dozens of layers of translucent film created by the warlocks covered the sky above the fortress.
Tuduk.
The solid shield melted instantly.
It was literally an instant.
“Kkgh!“
Jin Katrin passed out from the agony of his internal injuries.
* * *
The first thing that entered his eyes as Jin Katrin regained consciousness was the world dyed in red.
Roaring flames.
The hideous melted ruins of the walls and the fortress.
Soldiers running around, clad in burnt iron armor, fell over one by one.
All of it was surreal.
Jin Katrin was shocked by the scene and stood up.
No, he tried to stand up.
But his body didn’t move.
He tried several times, but all he could do was raise his upper body up halfway.
Even that made him quickly run out of strength, and he fell to his knees.
Jin Katrin closed his eyes.
His head was blank.
His mind was hazy as if he was dreaming.
He quietly sifted through his memories.
They were broken in places.
While having a nonsensical conversation with a foolish prince, the wyverns had suddenly begun to riot, and he had run over to calm Irene.
Then he had stiffened and looked at the sky.
Ah…
Recalling the pouring flames, Jin Katrin shuddered, but someone forcibly raised him up.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Your Highness…?
There was Prince Doris in front of him.
Although the ends of his hair had been singed and his body had reddened, he looked relatively fine.
Even in the midst of his haze, Jin Katrin felt a sense of relief after seeing the prince in good health.
It was good. He was alive, and fortunately he looked fine.
Jin Katrin was greatly relieved.
“……! ……!”
Meanwhile the prince kept talking.
But no sound could be heard.
Jin Katrin laughed like he was watching a cheap pantomime.
“……!”
The prince shook him.
As if his body belonged to someone else, he didn’t feel anything.
He only noticed his vision moving and felt dizzy.
“……! ……!”
The prince continued to shake him.
Then suddenly, he raised his hand.
Jin Katrin was afraid.
Even in his hazy consciousness, the prince’s iron gloves could be seen in his eyes.
W-wait…
The moment he opened his mouth to scream, his vision flashed.
At the same time, the sensation in the body that did not feel like it belonged to him suddenly returned.
His cheek throbbed.
But it wasn’t his cheek that really hurt.
It was the splitting pain of his internal organs.
“Argh!“
Jin Katrin screamed.
Immediately afterwards,
“Jin! Wake up!”
Sound returned to the world where there had been only silence.
“Jin! Jin! Please calm down…”
The prince raised his hand.
“Stop! Stop! Crazy prince! You’re going to kill me!”
Jin Katrin shouted desperately to avoid being slapped on the cheek by the iron-gloved hand again.
“Jin! You’ve come to your senses!”
“I already came to my senses earlier! What the hell, knights are so ignorant! How could you deal with a wizard experiencing a mana rebound like this…”
Before Jin Katrin could vomit out all of his anger.
Suddenly.
Prince Doris hugged him.
“Thank god. I thought that Jin… I’m so glad.”
At that earnest voice, Jin Katrin closed his mouth.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Thanks to Your Highness’ slap, my teeth are shaking.”
“That’s because you weren’t coming to your senses, so I had no choice…”
“If you want to hit someone on the cheek, take off your glove before doing it.”
At that, the prince quietly let him go and took a step back.
“Oh, this? It wouldn’t come off. It must have melted and stuck to my skin.”
It took some time for Jin Katrin to understand.
He absent-mindedly took another look at the prince.
It had been an illusion to think he was fine.
Almost half of his iron armor had melted, and the exposed bare skin was bright red.
It was serious.
“Anyways, I’m glad. Jin.”
Even after such a mess, the prince was just relieved that Jin Katrin was safe.
“Can you get up?”
The prince asked him the moment he was about to say something.
Only then did Jin Katrin remember the situation the citadel was in, and he kept his mouth shut.
The prince used his burnt hand to help him stand.
The pain in his stomach felt as if a blade was tearing through him and made his eyesight flicker, but he didn’t show it.
Only after he managed to stand while enduring the dizziness did the state of the fortress come into view.
“Ah…“
Raising his body, he saw his surroundings properly for the first time.
“My feet! My feet!”
A soldier whose feet had been completely melted screamed.
“Kuh. Mother…”
A burnt archer sobbed and fell over limply.
“Keeagh!
Those whose bodies were on fire ran away screaming, and died just like that.
“Ah…”
If hell existed, it would look just like this.
“At least half of the troops stationed at this citadel are dead. Even among those who survived, there are only a handful of people who are fine.”
As I stared blankly, Prince Doris’ sad voice entered my ears.
“W-what about Irene?”
Jin Katrin unconsciously looked for his wyvern.
“A few of them died, but most of them lived. Irene is fine except for a few molten scales.”
“Ah, that’s fortunate…”
He involuntarily let out a sigh of relief, then closed his mouth.
The prince said that at least four of the eight legions stationed at the citadel had been killed.
But he was so relieved to hear that his wyvern was fine.
He lowered his head in shame.
“Raise your head. The warlocks have done their part well enough. Thanks to you, at least half lived. No one would have survived without your efforts.”
The prince grabbed his cheeks and forced him to raise his head.
“Your Highness…?”
Jin Katrin, who had been looking at the prince with a devastated face, belatedly frowned.
“That hand! Stop using it! If you keep moving it around, it’ll be much more troublesome after you recover…”
While scolding the prince for carelessly moving his injured hand, he suddenly stopped talking.
The prince had a strange expression.
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