Chapter 349

The tide of the battle had completely turned.

The princess’s rearguard was overwhelmed by the Guardians’ relentless assault.

Reinforcements had been sent from the flanks, but they couldn’t turn the tide.

They could only buy time.

“T-These monsters! W-Why won’t they die?!”

“Die! Die! Die! Die! Please die!”

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The princess’s soldiers stabbed and slashed at the Guardians with all their might.

But their swords and spears couldn’t penetrate the Guardians’ tough bodies.

However, their relentless attacks weren’t completely ineffective.

*Crack!*

The Guardians’ bodies would eventually crack, break, and shatter under the accumulated damage.

But,

The crucial difference between the Guardians and human soldiers was that the Guardians wouldn’t stop until they were completely destroyed.

If they lost a leg, they would keep fighting with the other leg. If they lost an arm, they would keep fighting with the other arm. If they lost both legs, they would crawl on their arms and deliver a fatal blow.

It was a terrifying sight for the princess’s soldiers.

*Wham! Bam! Wham!*

“Aaaaaargh!”

“U-Ugh!”

The princess’s soldiers fell, their bodies mangled and bloodied.

*Crunch!*

The Guardians marched on, crushing the corpses under their feet.

“H-Help!”

“S-Stay away! Stay away!”

The princess’s soldiers screamed in terror.

Their screams spoke volumes about the situation.

* * *

“Ugh, what the hell is going on?!”

Ethan groaned, his face contorted in frustration.

Emily’s face was also creased with worry.

“How should I know?!”

She snapped, her voice laced with irritation.

It was understandable.

They had been on the verge of victory, having broken through the enemy’s left flank.

They were just one step away from winning, and then the situation had been completely reversed.

It was a bolt from the blue.

“Damn it, they had a hidden force?”

“That’s not important right now! The important thing is that we’re under attack!”

They could sense the entire army wavering.

It was a bad situation.

They had to fix it.

The problem was,

That even though half of their forces had been sent to the rear, the situation wasn’t improving.

She wanted to get a better grasp of the situation at the rear, but they didn’t have the time.

“Just fight! Fight for your life, brother!”

“You’re one to talk!”

The Safia siblings fought desperately against the enemy, who was pressing their attack.

Blood, death.

Blood, death.

Blood, death.

The battle raged on.

They lost track of time.

They were out of breath, and sweat dripped from their foreheads.

After a while,

They felt the enemy’s assault weaken.

“Whew, is it getting better?”

Ethan took a deep breath, taking advantage of the lull in the fighting.

But Emily’s anxiety didn’t subside.

She could still sense the danger lurking on the battlefield.

She quickly scanned the battlefield.

And then,

“Oh, over there!”

She gasped.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“T-The center! The center! The center!”

“Gasp?!”

Ethan quickly turned to look at the center.

“T-The center is going to collapse, brother! We have to help them! We have to help the princess!”

If the princess was defeated, the war was over.

They had to prevent that at all costs.

“I-I’ll create an opening! Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

Ethan roared and charged into the enemy ranks.

“Ugh, everyone, attack!”

Emily followed him, summoning all her high-ranking spirits.

Fire, water, earth, wind.

Eight high-ranking spirits, not four, appeared.

It was a reckless move that made her dizzy.

But she had no choice.

She had to reach the center and help the princess.

“Anyone who stands in our way will die!”

The Safia siblings charged towards the center with all their might.

* * *

“Hahaha, my dear sister. Shall I teach you a lesson about war?”

The Crown Prince laughed gleefully.

His laughter spoke volumes.

There was no answer.

But he continued, “You don’t have to win every battle in a war. You just have to win the last one. Hahaha, isn’t that a profound truth?”

It was a blatant taunt.

It was infuriating, but the princess’s knights and soldiers didn’t have time to react.

The Crown Prince’s forces were swarming them like a pack of wolves.

“Form a square formation! Form a square formation and hold out!”

Marquis Safia shouted, his voice hoarse.

Their formation had already collapsed, so forming a square formation was the only way to withstand the enemy’s attack.

He was also in a square formation with his knights, holding out.

He was relatively safe.

Because his knights were skilled.

But the other soldiers were in danger.

“H-Hold out! Don’t collapse!”

“We’ll all die if we collapse!”

The princess’s soldiers gritted their teeth and held out.

But death was coming for them.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

“Aaaaaargh!”

“Ugh!”

The princess’s soldiers fell, their square formations broken.

The center was collapsing.

The survivors were fighting desperately, but they all knew that it wouldn’t last.

It was a hopeless situation.

And finally,

Princess Oscar stood alone, surrounded by enemies.

Blood stained her body red.

It was impossible to tell if it was her blood or the enemy’s blood, but she looked pathetic, like a wounded beast cornered by hunters.

“Hehe.”

Even her laughter sounded pathetic.

“What are you waiting for? Come on in. Aren’t you going to kill me?”

But it might have been an illusion.

Because her voice was steady.

How could she be so calm when she was on the verge of death?

She was reacting like she wasn’t even human.

It was an intimidating sight.

But the Crown Prince just grinned.

Because he knew.

He knew very well.

That his sister was a monster, just like him.

“Hahaha, you think I’ll fall for such a cheap trick? That’s not like you.”

“Trick?”

“You’re trying to provoke me, aren’t you? You want me to come over there and finish you off. But guess what? I’m not that stupid. Hahaha.”

He laughed loudly.

It was a mocking laugh.

A laugh of relief, directed at his sister, who must have been enjoying his downfall.

But guess what?

The situation had completely reversed.

“That’s strange. It would be so boring if someone else killed me. Especially if it was you, brother. I don’t think I’d like that very much.”

The princess tilted her head.

As siblings who knew each other better than anyone else, her words hit the mark.

It was true that the Crown Prince wouldn’t let anyone else kill his sister, when he had the chance to do it himself.

The thrill of that moment would be unforgettable.

But,

“It’s fine. Because that’s not going to happen. You’re not the type to die like that, are you?”

He seemed certain.

That his sister wouldn’t die at the hands of anyone else.

“You don’t know me very well. I think I’m quite fragile, like a little rabbit.”

The princess continued to try to lure him in, but he wouldn’t budge.

He nodded.

“Attack. I’ll grant a noble title and land to anyone who contributes to the death of the traitorous princess.”

He promised a huge reward, unlike what he had said earlier.

He knew that the soldiers would be blinded by greed and attack his sister with all their might.

That was the only way to weaken her.

“I’ll kill the princess!”

“No, the princess is mine!”

“First come, first served!”

As expected, the soldiers charged at the princess, their eyes filled with greed.

“My, my, how uncivilized.”

The princess clicked her tongue.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

And finally, her sword moved.

Her movements were light and fluid.

But,

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

Every time her sword moved, a soldier’s head flew off.

She was harvesting heads like a farmer harvesting crops.

It was a bizarre and surreal sight.

*Spurt!*

If it weren’t for the blood that spurted from their necks, they would have thought they were seeing an illusion.

“Haha, what a magnificent display of swordsmanship. You’re still as good as ever, my dear sister.”

The Crown Prince laughed nonchalantly.

He had already anticipated those deaths.

He had sent them to their deaths on purpose.

If they could weaken his sister even a little by dying, they had fulfilled their purpose.

On the other hand,

Vinchel and Sayanoid looked uncomfortable.

Even though this was war, it was cruel to send soldiers to their deaths like that.

It was an unpleasant sight.

Vinchel couldn’t just stand there and watch.

“Your Highness, our soldiers are no match for her. We’ll take care of her.”

But the Crown Prince shook his head.

“No, not yet. It’s not your turn yet. I can’t risk losing you. My dear sister has definitely gotten stronger.”

If she had been as weak as he remembered, she would have already been killed when she fell into his trap at the Imperial City.

But she wasn’t.

She had become terrifyingly strong.

He could see it clearly now that he was facing her.

But,

He grinned.

He knew.

He knew how to break her.

“Heh, you know what? Whether she’s cutting down wood or humans, that strange swordsmanship of hers consumes a lot of energy. Even a monster like her will eventually get tired.”

“…”

“So just wait. The dish isn’t ready yet.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Vinchel replied, suppressing his emotions.

He didn’t like it, but he had no choice.

This was the law of the jungle, the law of war.

“H-Help!”

“S-She’s not human!”

After a while,

The Crown Prince’s soldiers were terrified by the princess’s inhuman swordsmanship.

Even the promise of a huge reward couldn’t overcome their primal fear.

They hesitated, afraid to attack.

But the Crown Prince was prepared for that.

*Thwack!*

“Aaaaaargh!”

He drew his sword and sliced off a soldier’s leg.

The soldier screamed and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

The Crown Prince’s face was cold and emotionless.

“Attack. If you don’t attack now, I’ll cripple you. Choose. Attack, or become a cripple.”

“U-Ugh…”

The Crown Prince’s soldiers trembled.

They knew that being crippled was worse than death.

They had no choice.

“A-A-Attack!”

“K-Kill her!”

They charged at the princess again, screaming.

“Heh.”

The Crown Prince smiled, his smile twisted.

* * *

“…”

Max had been silent for a while.

He realized that he had miscalculated.

He had planned to rescue the princess and the western army when they were down to thirty percent of their strength, but at this rate, they would be down to ten percent, or even less, by the time he arrived.

It was cutting it close.

‘…Is she really going to die?’

He was actually worried about the princess, even though she was his enemy.

“What’s wrong?”

Regina asked, noticing his silence.

“N-Nothing. Should we hurry up a little?”

“Did you miscalculate?”

“C-Cough! Cough!”

“…”

Regina facepalmed.

“…We’ll hurry up.”

“Y-Yes.”

She raised her hand and gave the signal, and the army’s pace quickened.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell between them.

Regina said, “It’ll be fine.”

“Huh?”

“Your plans have never failed before.”

“Y-Yes, you’re right.”

Her words calmed him down a little.

‘Yes, nothing can go wrong.’

He clenched his fist, reassuring himself.

But he didn’t know.

No one knew.

What unexpected consequences his miscalculation would have for someone.

(TLN: the princess will fall……….for him)