Ch.946Welcome

# Fairy Special Forces

‘Smooth. Very smooth.’

The fifteen guardians dispatched by Alvheim as a special force.

Following the Elder Council’s plan, they had circled around the southern seas, evading the surveillance networks of the Holy State and the Empire to reach the vicinity of Hestella’s territory.

They were in a corner of the great plains between the Wall of Berengaria and the old Aishan capital of Ordos—a no-man’s-land since Orhan’s death.

“We’re almost there. Once we cross the wall, it won’t take long to reach Hestella’s capital.”

It was quite an achievement to have reached the enemy’s doorstep without being detected by anyone. The two weeks spent endlessly flying over the vast ocean had finally paid off.

“First, we’ll confirm the woman’s whereabouts, and as soon as we’re certain she’s departed westward, we’ll infiltrate the capital and eliminate the target.”

The commander of the special forces, Fairy Guardian Zeirphalos, surveyed the other guardians as he outlined their plan.

Like him, two were formal guardians who had been in long dormancy. Twelve were newly deployed artificial guardians.

A total of fifteen guardians had gathered here to assassinate the wielder of Gram.

This was enough force to easily subdue even a dragon lord if they were fighting on Alvheim’s home territory.

In human terms, it was equivalent to having three heroes in their prime alongside twelve who had just crossed the threshold.

‘No matter if they’re Gram’s wielder, they would have no way to counter such a force disparity. I’ve heard they can’t even defeat a single dragon lord alone.’

In a fifteen-to-one engagement, victory was assured. Therefore, the difficulty of the mission depended on how many forces Haschal had taken with her on the expedition.

Hestella was a country with an unusually high number of powerful individuals who had crossed the threshold relative to its population.

Thus, gathering information on this matter before starting the operation was essential.

“Understood? I’ll send you beyond the wall, infiltrate and report on Hestella’s current military strength. You’re the same species as those creatures, so gathering information should be easier for you.”

For this purpose, they had included three humans from their farms in the special forces and brought them here.

If fairies went around gathering information, they would be immediately detected and a full-scale war would inevitably break out. But humans would not arouse much suspicion from their own kind.

“Yes, Lord Zeirphalos.”

“We will do as commanded.”

The three livestock humans in the special forces knelt, bowed, and nodded.

There was no resistance. Such emotions had been castrated long ago.

They had been slaves and livestock from birth, and even after death, they were destined to live as slaves of the World Tree and the fairies.

As their ancestors had been, and as their descendants would be.

—-

Afterward, the guardians rested there for a night to recover from their journey fatigue, then used the cover of darkness to cross the wall and infiltrate Hestella’s capital.

Perhaps they couldn’t imagine fairies sneaking in this far? The security was surprisingly lax for a national capital.

While they couldn’t walk around openly in broad daylight, infiltration itself hardly required any effort.

“How can security be this loose…?”

They had entered the capital through the moat’s drainage system and established a base in an abandoned building in the back alleys.

Having infiltrated so smoothly without facing any crisis, Commander Zeirphalos felt rather uneasy.

Unless this was some kind of trap, how could a national capital have such gaping holes in its security?

“It’s a newly established country of monkeys. Even Carlos the Great took ages to establish his nation’s foundation. A country founded on mere momentum by barbarians who know nothing but fighting can’t possibly be functioning properly.”

Another formal guardian, Tiberius, chuckled as if Zeirphalos was worrying unnecessarily. He argued that a nation less than a year old couldn’t possibly be a proper country.

His words made sense.

Had Eleonora, who was working day and night to maintain this new nation in some semblance of order, heard this, she would have been so enraged she might have started planning fairy extermination.

And Chancellor Rambert, who like her had been deprived of the right to sleep, would have enthusiastically agreed.

“Hmm… You have a point. Perhaps I’m being too sensitive.”

But Zeirphalos knew nothing about the actual state of affairs in Hestella, so he agreed with Tiberius and dismissed his concerns.

“Let’s get to work. This isn’t a place I want to stay long.”

The last formal fairy guardian, Liberatia, covered the tip of her nose, displaying her discomfort. Her face showed she was struggling to endure the human smell permeating the city.

Zeirphalos and Tiberius thought she was putting on airs like the noble lady she was, but they didn’t voice this opinion.

Liberatia was notoriously prickly even among the few remaining female guardians, and they knew from experience that challenging her would only bring them trouble.

They had seen this behavior countless times over the past hundreds of years, so it was nothing new.

“Right. We need to hurry as the situation could change at any moment.”

Zeirphalos nodded in agreement with Liberatia’s statement, then ordered the three livestock humans to go into the city and gather information about Hestella’s current situation.

—-

A while later.

“We have returned.”

The livestock humans sent into the streets came back to the abandoned building after just half a day, having confirmed all the matters the guardians had instructed them to investigate.

“Already? That was unexpectedly quick.”

“The entire city is buzzing with that story; they don’t seem to be trying to hide anything here.”

Their answer implied that they didn’t need to engage in elaborate “information gathering”—simply walking around the streets was enough to learn everything.

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense. These short-lived creatures probably think their country’s purpose is simply territorial expansion. Well then, report everything you’ve learned.”

“Yes. First, regarding the high-priority target ‘Haschal’…”

The representative of the livestock humans knelt before Zeirphalos and reported everything they had discovered.

Not long after news of the war between the Holy State and Alvheim spread, Queen Haschal of this place had flown westward mounted on a red dragon.

They reported all the details—the forces that accompanied her to the front lines and who she had left behind in the city.

They added that since the departure ceremony had been so impressive, all the city residents were aware of it, making information collection extremely easy.

“So the forces left behind are just Gram’s wielder, the court magician, and a guest of the northern duchy?”

According to the information collected by the livestock humans, the only high-ranking forces remaining in Hestella’s capital were Demian, Ophelia van Sigmillus, and Frider van Faelrun.

All the others had gone west with Haschal.

‘Gram’s wielder, one archmage, and one unremarkable human master…’

A knight unmatched within the kingdom except for Haschal herself. A magician who could not possibly be on good terms with the clergy of Elphirem.

And an imperial guest who would be awkward to involve in such a war since he wasn’t under her command.

It seemed she had left behind only the bare minimum personnel and taken all other high-ranking forces to the western front.

“Excellent. This makes our job quite simple.”

This was the best possible news for the special forces.

A mere master was a trivial opponent not worth their concern. The only enemies standing in their way were Gram’s wielder and the archmage named Ophelia.

Of course, they couldn’t underestimate an archmage rumored to have broken dragon magic, but they believed they could eliminate these two without much difficulty.

“Are you certain Haschal has departed?”

“Yes. There is no doubt the woman has left her post. The regent is handling all official duties to such an extent.”

The livestock human bowed his head and answered with certainty.

Unless the queen was absent, there would be no reason for a regent to handle all the affairs that should be managed by the queen herself.

“Very good. The World Tree blesses us.”

Zeirphalos nodded and smiled.

In his judgment too, if a regent was handling all duties, it was safe to assume the queen was absent.

“Tonight, we strike the palace under the cover of darkness. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

Thus, Zeirphalos turned to the other guardians and issued his orders. Tonight, they would attack Hestella’s royal palace and eliminate Gram’s wielder.

And night fell.

—-

With its core forces mostly absent, Hestella’s royal palace was enveloped in deep silence.

While servants and maids remained, they too had little to do and had retired earlier than usual.

The council chamber where the regent and chancellor stayed was relatively well-guarded, but the quarters of the Heaven Sword Corps, currently occupied solely by Demian, were virtually empty.

Ophelia had set up her research laboratory in separate quarters outside the palace, so there was even less to worry about there.

“Five for the magician, the rest will take on Gram’s wielder. Move out.”

Upon learning that Ophelia’s quarters were located outside the palace, Zeirphalos decided to split their forces to take down the two humans separately.

It was far more advantageous to divide their forces and defeat them individually than to face Gram’s wielder and the archmage simultaneously.

Magicians were typically vulnerable to surprise attacks, so five guardians should be sufficient. After sending them off, the rest proceeded toward Hestella’s royal palace as planned.

“We’ll swoop down from above. Summon a high-ranking elemental.”

Upon reaching the vicinity of the palace, the guardians summoned a high-ranking wind elemental, mounted it, and soared high into the sky.

There was no need for stealth. Once the battle began, the entire capital would be filled with thunderous noise anyway.

After rising to the airspace above the palace.

“There it is. Let’s go!”

Zeirphalos pointed to the Heaven Sword Corps’ quarters he had identified earlier and commanded the wind elemental to descend vertically for a direct assault.

– CRASH!

An aerial attack under the cover of night. The palace roof, colliding with the high-ranking wind elemental, scattered fragments like a fountain with a thunderous roar.

The shouts of the guards, startled by the sudden noise, were drowned out by the echoes of the explosion, and dust mixed with debris spread like fog.

And then.

“Good! Everyone summon high-ranking elementals! Eliminate Gram’s wielder!”

Just as Zeirphalos, who had successfully infiltrated without any interference, drew his sword and shouted triumphantly.

“You pointy-eared bastards.”

A female voice filled with displeasure momentarily halted his thoughts.

A voice that shouldn’t be heard.

A curse from someone who shouldn’t be here.

“What…!”

Zeirphalos’s head whipped toward the source of the voice.

“If you’re going to visit someone’s home, you should knock on the door, not break through the ceiling. Where did you learn such manners?”

The silhouette of a young woman gradually emerged through the dust that had spread like fog.

“Is that what your parents taught you before they became tree fertilizer?”

Scale armor combining the fur of the Were King with dragon scales. A silver-blue sword emitting a cold blue light.

Crimson killing intent swirling like tentacles and blue eyes burning brightly even in the darkness.

Exactly as described, Zeirphalos trembled and let out a groan mixed with shock.

“Why are you… here…!”

Astraea’s Blade.

Descendant of the madman Rotholandus.

The Sword of the Starry Sky.

The strongest knight of humanity stood before him.