episode_0039

39. A Desperate Measure

The Five Great Lords now faced an unprecedented crisis.

They were so panicked that they couldn’t even maintain their dignity, their hands trembling uncontrollably.

No longer the high-ranking powerholders they once were, reduced to pitiful old men, they hastily began the meeting in frantic voices.

“Is it true that Erica Grace and Cecilia Luxia have formed an alliance?!”

“Oh, god… Of all people, those two…!”

The reason for their terror was simple.

Erica’s Redmain and Cecilia’s Arcadia were vast territories.

If the two were to unite, they would control a quarter of the massive Frontier Empire’s land.

Worse still, Arcadia was known as a blessed land abundant with people and crops, making the situation even direr.

Ever since the late emperor, who had protected them, passed away, the Five Great Lords had been gradually losing power.

Meanwhile, Erica—a monster who had completely unified Redmain—was only growing stronger over time.

Cecilia, expected to overthrow her foolish older brother Cedric and conquer Arcadia.

Unlike them, these two nobles only grew more powerful as time passed.

A crippled, aging dragon plummeting from the sky, and young dragons growing sharper fangs—who would win was obvious to anyone.

And even worse…

“Liliana Pendleton… Her sworn sisters were guarding the emperor’s quarters.”

“Deril’s son-in-law, Alvaren Aldrin’s exceptional generals…”

The ruler of Nigrel, a relatively small northern territory.

But a man whose combat prowess was such that, if he so desired, he was considered capable of unifying the north.

Erica, Cecilia, Alvaren.

A gathering of the empire’s most promising young monsters.

For the weakened and unsupported Five Great Lords, this was a fight with absolutely no chance of victory.

The Five Great Lords groaned in despair at the disastrous news of the alliance.

“After dedicating our bones and souls to the empire, His Majesty fails to recognize such loyal subjects…”

Disgustingly distorting even their own memories, one of the lords proclaimed himself a loyal servant.

But all these wretched old men could do was lament.

However, among them—

The youngest of the group, still capable of radical proposals.

The scribe slammed his fist on the table, drawing the attention of the others.

“Pathetic.”

“What did you just say?”

The Minister of the Royal Household flared up at the scribe’s words.

But the scribe didn’t retract his statement. Instead, he glared back at the other lords.

“Originally, we Five Lords were of lowly status.

The dregs of lesser houses, unfit to be titled nobles.

A hollow station created solely to serve the emperor.”

Despite being a radical statement, it was undeniably true, silencing the Five Lords.

But the scribe, his voice heavy with suppressed fury, continued with conviction.

“Yet through ability—not bloodline—we proved ourselves!

Even with humble origins, we guided the emperor and seized power worthy of His Majesty’s favor and our own competence!

We succeeded through our merit and claimed it with our own hands!”

The Five Lords nodded at the scribe’s speech.

Some even clapped, tears welling in their eyes, as though swelling with pride at their own achievements.

Then, one of them spoke up.

“Do you have some brilliant scheme in mind, Scribe?”

In a strong voice, the scribe made his proposal to the lords.

“Let us kill His Majesty, the emperor.”

Kill the current emperor and place his nephew on the throne.

If the emperor wouldn’t listen, they would simply replace him with a new one.

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Today was the third and final day of guard duty.

Since it was my break, I was resting in the lounge with Taisy.

I kept racking my brain over sterilization methods, researching ways to make canned food.

Taisy sneakily sipped from a small bottle of liquor she had hidden, but before long, exhaustion overtook her, and she collapsed onto the sofa, snoring loudly.

I chewed on some snacks from the table while jotting down notes when suddenly…

Taisy, who had been loudly asleep, jolted awake as if startled, her eyes snapping open wide.

“Did you wake up…?”

I tried to greet her, but she raised her palm, cutting me off.

Then, gripping her long spear tightly, she spoke to me with a deadly serious expression.

“Grab your weapon.”

“Huh?”

“Now!”

At her shout, I slung my quiver over my back and gripped my bow.

Simultaneously, Taisy kicked the lounge door open with brute force, shattering the ornate wooden door panel.

Stunned by her sudden violent act, I locked eyes with a fully armed knight standing beyond the now-open door.

Before I could react, Taisy drove her spear straight through the knight’s chest—right into his heart—killing him instantly.

Pulling her bloodied spear free effortlessly, Taisy.

Though bewildered, I followed her into the hallway with my bow at the ready.

“…What’s going on?”

The imperial corridor was in chaos—so much that even I could sense something was wrong.

The metallic clang of armored boots echoed harshly against the marble floor, accompanied by clamorous noises from all directions.

The screams of maids and the shouts of servants mixed with the stench of blood, filling the air.

Taisy scowled deeply and spoke to me.

“We’re heading to the emperor’s quarters.”

“Got it.”

Recognizing the severity of the situation, I gripped my bow tightly and followed Taisy.

As we rushed toward the emperor’s chambers, a barrage of arrows flew toward us.

“Where do you think you’re—!!”

Taisy spun her three-meter-long spear like a fan, deflecting every single arrow.

I retaliated by firing explosive arrows at the knights charging at us, scoring direct hits.

**-BOOM!**

The explosions left the hardened knights incapacitated—some missing pieces of armor or limbs, others bleeding profusely from shattered plating.

But the emperor’s safety took priority, so we pressed onward.

“Taisy, Cain!”

Liliana called out warmly as we neared the emperor’s quarters—where she and Ellara stood guard, the latter wielding a massive guandao.

The petite emperor was sandwiched protectively between the two tall women.

Reuniting with Liliana’s group, I immediately demanded answers.

“What the hell’s happening?!”

“The Five Lords must’ve decided to gamble.”

Her explanation stunned me.

They weren’t even trying subtle poisoning—they were outright sending knights to kill the emperor?!

Wasn’t this not even an assassination but a full-blown coup?!

Liliana elaborated for my bewildered self.

“Since Senior Alvaren, former Duchess Erica Grace, and Marchioness Cecilia Luxia joined forces, they must’ve gotten desperate.

If we return after this… Ugh, explanations later!”

“We should get out of here first. Ellara and I will clear the front.”

“I’ll cover the rear!”

Liliana charged ahead, swinging her twin swords at the swarm of knights pouring through the narrow hallway.

Ellara slashed with her guandao, obliterating knights alongside Liliana.

Taisy thrust her spear in a blur, brutally dismantling the rear guard.

While the three carved a path, I guarded the emperor.

Irene Pendleton, trembling as she clung to my sleeve in fear, began apologizing.

“My apologies… This is all due to thy unworthy servant’s shortcomings.”

Shivering under the murderous gazes of knights flooding from both ends of the hallway, Irene.

I scooped her up effortlessly and called to Liliana.

“Lil, think you can carve through?”

“I’ll switch to the rear—let Ellara and Taisy take point!”

The moment Liliana spoke, Taisy seamlessly swapped positions.

Their teamwork was so fluid it deserved applause.

But the situation was far from optimistic.

“There’s no end to these bastards!”

“Haha… Regret not bringing more explosive arrows now?”

Taisy was right—knights endlessly poured toward us from both sides.

Liliana, never anticipating such an incident during guard duty, had left her explosive arrows back in her quarters.

If these had been mere soldiers, Ellara and Taisy would’ve blended through them effortlessly.

But these were knights—warriors who’d trained their entire lives, skilled in magic-enhanced combat.

No matter how strong Taisy and Ellara were, cutting them down like wheat wasn’t an option.

“Something’s burning…”

To make matters worse, black smoke began curling into the hallway.

Liliana clicked her tongue.

“These knights… They’re attacking fully intending to die. They plan to burn the entire emperor’s quarters down with us inside.”

We were screwed.

Being pinned between elite knights made advancing impossible.

And with flames rapidly spreading, we were racing against time.

I clutched the tiny emperor, deep in thought.

“What if we break through the wall?”

“Impossible. The emperor’s quarters are built with mana-dispersing stone.”

Which meant brute force alone wouldn’t work.

I surveyed the surroundings.

We hadn’t moved even a meter from the entrance, trapped like flies in amber.

The growing pile of knight corpses further hindered movement.

Finally, I kicked open the door to the emperor’s chambers.

“Bleak in here.”

A room themed for a young emperor—plush teddy bears and a girlish atmosphere.

Separate from the main palace, a standalone building designed to thwart assassinations.

So much so that not a single window allowed moonlight inside.

Perhaps realizing this, the young emperor muttered resignedly.

“This is the end…”

I couldn’t let us die like this.

They say even if a tiger bites you, staying sharp might save your life.

Setting the emperor down momentarily, I rapped my knuckles against the wall.

“Marble?”

“Y-Yes!”

“How thick?”

“A-About… 15 centimeters…!”

Barely manageable.

Finding some solace in the fact that it wasn’t concrete, I pulled all remaining explosive arrows from my quiver.

Having used one earlier, ten remained.

No time to bundle them, so I planted all ten into Irene’s pillow to stabilize them.

“Get out!”

Warning the emperor loudly, I wedged the arrow-studded pillow between a chair and the wall.

Taking deep breaths to steady myself, I yanked the fuses free.

Each arrow contained 800 grams of black powder.

Total blast equivalent to slightly more than two grenades—theoretically enough to shatter 15cm of marble… barely.

“Fail, and we die. Succeed, and we live…!”

Steeling myself, I dashed out, rejoining Liliana’s group and pressing against the wall.

“Please, please, please…!”

Watching Liliana’s team fend off knights, I prayed to a god I hardly believed in…

And as if heaven heard, a deafening explosion erupted from within the emperor’s quarters.

**-KABOOM!!!**

The monstrous blast made everyone—Liliana’s group and the frenzied knights alike—instinctively flinch.

But having trained with grenades in the military and hearing countless explosive arrow detonations, I acted instantly.

Grabbing Irene, I checked the quarters…

“Damn…!”

The wall was barely holding—crisscrossed with massive cracks but still standing.

Behind me, Liliana’s group shouted.

“Cough…! Smoke’s already rising…!”

“My deepest regrets… The confined space restricts our movements…!”

“Hey, Cain! We’re gonna die! Did it work?! Tell me it worked!!”

Their voices echoed in my ears.

Clenching my fist, I punched the fractured marble wall.

**-THUD!**

Striking the weakened cracks yielded only small fragments.

Undeterred, I kept punching.

**-CRACK!**

More pieces fell away, revealing larger fissures.

But my fist was a mangled mess—fractured bones, skin shredded to bloody ribbons.

Still, I didn’t stop—driving my ruined fist into the cracks repeatedly.

Maybe thirty more strikes later?

My fingers were bent in unnatural angles, knuckles shattered and twisted.

But I didn’t pause. Instead, I rammed my shoulder into the cracked wall.

**-THWOMP!**

Though my magic was pitiful compared to the superhuman women here, my physical strength was formidable.

190cm tall, 100kg of pure muscle.

The explosives weakening the marble, my punches chipping it thinner…

Finally, after repeated impacts, the wall began to groan.

“URGH—!!”

Ignoring the agony of what felt like a shattered shoulder, I slammed into the wall one last time—

—until it collapsed, revealing a hole large enough to escape.

Cool air rushed in. Beyond it, the training grounds where we’d met Rayna and Athena came into view.

“Nice one, Cain!”

Liliana cheered as she darted through the breach with the emperor.

Cradling Irene, she leaped from the third-floor hole and landed safely below.

“Well done, my lord.”

“You damn bastard—you actually shattered mana-resistant stone with brute force?! No magic?!”

Taisy and Ellara followed once Liliana got clear.

Unable to even reply from the pain in my ruined hand and broken shoulder.

“Don’t move! Just trust me, damn it!”

Humiliatingly carried princess-style by Taisy, I leaped from the third floor.

Familiar dwarves stood below—Brook and Eitri.

Whether they knew I was on guard duty or coincidentally nearby didn’t matter.

“Genius, what the hell happened to you?!”

“Sis, hurry! Bandages and splints!”

With my right hand utterly destroyed and one shoulder broken, their reactions made sense.

Meanwhile, Liliana, Ellara, and Taisy gave me thumbs-up and praise.

“We owe you our lives…!”

“I see my inadequacy clearly now. Truly, thank you for saving us.”

“Hell yeah! Falling for you all over again, man!”

Erica and Cecilia, however, just clenched their teeth silently upon seeing my state.

The two women glared at the burning building.

“Those Five Lord bitches…”

The knights who hadn’t pursued us peered down from the broken wall before quietly stepping back into the inferno.

Watching them, Cecilia urgently barked orders to her own knights.

“Secure anyone still alive inside—now, move!”

But the first floor was already engulfed—straw fueling the flames, blocking entry.

Despite her commands, the knights hesitated before the blistering heat.

Meanwhile, the traitorous knights walked willingly into the flames…

The men who had tried to murder the emperor of the Frontier Empire vanished in the fire.

Only agonized screams, like macabre music, echoed from within the blazing structure.

The next day, 87 knight corpses—slain by Liliana’s sworn sisters—were recovered.

Alongside 113 more who had burned to death in twisted agony—their own handiwork.