Chapter 106: The Ambush 2

Another’s success can evoke negative emotions in someone else.

And in this moment, the fury and envy consuming her stemmed from precisely that.

“Haaaaah!”

-THWACK!-

Infusing her blade with mana, she savagely struck the training dummy – cleaving it asunder as if it were mere paper.

In the dead of night within the deserted practice grounds, the relentless woman mercilessly hacking away was Queen Andreas.

She seethed with resentment over recent developments.

The war between the rebellious Bohemia and the suppressing Imperial armies.

Their victory swiftly followed by an alliance with the neighboring Repsodis territory.

Then solidifying the Heretical Alliance itself with that fateful pact.

This unbroken chain of events had ironically rendered the once-imperiled Bohemia stronger than ever before – leaving her father Count Turen in an uncharacteristically jubilant mood of late.

Yet with each successful development, Queen found her heart increasingly consumed by profound discontent, rage and envy.

For the mastermind behind this entire sequence was someone she could never regard favorably – he whom she utterly loathed.

‘Santara…’

Her very brother – designated Bohemia’s heir from infancy for the mere circumstance of being born male.

Simultaneously, the wayward troublemaker who had defied their father by abandoning their household to become a knight errant.

In stark contrast to Queen’s ceaseless strivings to earn their father’s recognition day and night, Santara had utterly renounced both paternal authority and their noble lineage.

Yet despite that ignominious history…

Upon his return, Santara had effortlessly secured their father’s affection and esteem in ways Queen could never attain, no matter her devotion.

Furthermore, in the wake of his astonishing exploits under this wholly transformed persona, not only their father but all Bohemian nobility now wholeheartedly embraced Santara as the unquestioned heir apparent.

Thus, as her insolent younger brother claimed everything she had striven for yet failed to obtain, Queen felt herself utterly consumed by seething resentment.

An all-consuming wrath she could only vent through this relentless series of training bouts masquerading as practice sessions.

‘Just what makes him so special…? What gives him the right?! I’ve done everything asked of me! Devoted every waking hour to honing my blade and mastering the arcane at Father’s behest! Yet how could he so easily attain what eluded me despite my utmost efforts?!’

Unleashing mana-infused slashes brimming with incandescent fury, Queen continued thrashing her training dummies into oblivion.

“Huff…huff…huff…”

Even after shattering the last dummy, she remained doubled over – gasping for breath amid her lingering rage.

Until a frantic voice snapped her back to reality:

“My lady! Lady Queen!”

Suppressing her turbulent emotions, Queen replied with feigned composure:

“…What is it?”

“C-Catastrophe, milady! Some fiend has infiltrated the inner courtyard!”

“A fiend? The enemy launches an attack? What are their numbers?”

“Only a single intruder! But…”

“But what…?”

The attendant’s horror-stricken expression compelled Queen to immediately hasten toward the courtyard despite his incoherent babbling.

“Graaaaaahh!!”

“Gwaaaaahh!!”

Piercing screams echoed from every direction as Bohemia’s court mage Ludwig trembled – utterly dumbfounded by the unfolding nightmare.

Widely regarded as a formidable Rank 5 practitioner with justified self-assurance in his prowess…

Yet in that moment, Ludwig tasted a degree of sheer despair he had never known.

Relentless semi-translucent skeletal warriors surged toward him and his comrades with reckless abandon.

No matter how fiercely the soldiers countered with blades and gunfire, their frantic attacks phased through the spectral assailants as ineffectually as striking wisps of smoke.

Yet conversely, the ghostly legion’s own strikes inflicted harrowing damage despite leaving no visible wounds.

Blades passed harmlessly through flesh without even scratches. Lances penetrated bodies cleanly, emerging unsullied by blood.

Weapons clashed yet phased through one another unimpeded.

However…

“Gwaaaahhh!”

“Guoooohh!”

Despite their ethereal forms, every impact from the phantasmal host’s weapons sent men crumpling to the ground – convulsing in sheer agony before swiftly succumbing to what seemed an agonizing, invisible blight.

“Wh…What sorcery is this…? Is…Is this even magic…?”

For all Ludwig’s decades dedicated to the mystic arts, the supernatural onslaught before him defied anything he had ever witnessed or conceived.

Certainly, rudimentary necromancy involving reanimated corpses shared surface similarities.

Yet even at its pinnacle, such magic remained fundamentally bound by physical limitations – easily shattered by sufficient force.

In stark contrast, these ethereal ranks seemed impervious to all conventional harm.

Even concentrated mana blasts from reinforced staves passed through them without effect.

And now, directly before Ludwig’s horrified gaze…

One of the ghastly cavaliers charged – phantasmal steed whinnying in an otherworldly shriek as it lowered its spectral lance.

“Hiiiiiieeee!!!”

Paralyzed by sheer terror, Ludwig could neither flee nor muster any countermagic before the inevitable struck.

Until a piercing cry rang out:

“Haaaaaahhh!”

“!”

-WHOOSH!-

In that instant, the onrushing specter became engulfed in searing flames – the inferno utterly consuming it as swiftly as a sheet of paper incinerated to ashes.

Then that stern, familiar voice reached Ludwig’s ears:

“Collect yourself! These shades are vulnerable to flame – attack with fire magics!”

“!…Y-Yes! Understood, Lady Queen!”

There stood the mage Queen Andreas – longsword wreathed in scorching conflagration having banished the phantasmal knight.

Her fiery intervention momentarily stalled the relentless spectral advance – allowing the beleaguered defenders to regroup and rally.

And in that moment, the entity who had summoned this ghastly host regarded Queen with a hint of intrigued curiosity:

“Oho… Impressive indeed. I did not expect anyone could so swiftly analyze and counter my magic.”

Leveling her blade at the mysterious woman, Queen demanded:

“Who are you?! State your purpose for this incursion into Bohemia!”

Yet the intruder merely replied with an unsettling, mirthful smile:

“Heheh, well now? I cannot divulge my identity for certain reasons. But if you insist on knowing my purpose… Call it mere whimsy, if you will.”

“…”

Her flippant demeanor only fueled Queen’s icy rage as she steeled herself – unleashing an even more potent aura of power.

“Is that so…? If you cannot answer, then I shall force your silence to break!”

With that declaration, Queen charged the intruder with reckless ferocity.

Her lingering frustrations with Santara now thoroughly inflamed, she mercilessly swung her blazing sword without restraint.

Simultaneously, the wreathed inferno scythed through the phantasms – instantly dispersing each into nothingness upon contact.

What had seemed an unstoppable army rapidly crumbled before the furious onslaught.

Witnessing their formerly unassailable ranks dissipating into meer embers rallied the surviving troops. Following Queen’s lead, they too set their own weapons ablaze before pressing their counterattack.

“Attack! Destroy these fiends!”

“Uwwwwwaaaahhhh!”

Heeding their captain’s order, the soldiers charged with flaming blades and pikes.

Yet they remained unaware that even as her phantasmal legions burned…

The intruder’s lips still curved in an unsettlingly serene smile.