Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 106
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 106
27. Civil War or Sketch Comedy (3)
A situation occurred that no one had anticipated, except for Arcia, who never let her guard down just in case of a one-in-a-million chance.
"Who the hell are you!?"
The appearance of a black knight who cut down five of the elite strike force members in a single strike.
Prince Luke Win Rhinehearts was flustered and demanded his identity.
In response, the black knight, who had casually severed the shackles binding the King's arms, aimed a pitch-black saber at the Second Prince's strike force as if protecting the King, and spoke.
"I am a knight of His Majesty the King."
"What? I have never once heard of a knight like you..."
"Well, of course. You, Second Prince, are not worthy of knowing. Did you think the King of the great Kingdom of Rhinehearts would fall so easily?"
Words that left him speechless.
But despite his sneering tone, his impression, revealed above his all-black armor and sword, was extremely dignified.
Faded, patchy brown hair and beard, streaked with white here and there.
Deep brandy-colored eyes and deeply etched wrinkles across his face.
His apparent age from his face seemed similar to the King's.
"What a frightening man. So you had a card like this that even your own children didn't know about. Or was it just me who didn't know!"
The King averted his gaze at the sight of the Second Prince biting his lip and letting out a furious cry.
But unlike the King, who seemed uneasy, the black knight snorted as he took a sword-ready stance.
"It was over the moment you put shackles on your father, wasn't it? Stop playing the tragic heroine when you're nothing but a traitor, and surrender."
With that, the black knight lowered his upper body.
In the blink of an eye, the heads of ten strike force members flew up into the sky.
The severed heads fell to the ground with expressions of not understanding what had just happened to them.
Just twice.
He had merely swung his sword twice, yet fifteen of the elite Vanguard members, all top-tier Aura Experts, had lost their lives.
"Aura Master?"
Thanks to that, only nine of the twenty-four strike force members remained.
Still, four of those nine were Aura Masters, so to an outsider, the situation still looked favorable enough.
"That's an Aura Master?"
But the man himself, Prince Luke, and his strike force members could not move an inch.
Of course even at their level as Aura Masters, they could not gauge the black knight's level.
No, without overcomplicating things, the fact that four Aura Masters could only stand by without any response was proof enough that he was absolutely no ordinary Aura Master.
"Not surrendering? Then I will continue attacking."
-Click.
At that moment, the back plate of the black armor that covered his entire body without a gap opened, and two streaks of light shot up.
Those streaks of light, too fast to follow with the eyes, soon bent at a right angle and swept down upon the Second Prince's strike force.
The elite strike force members tried to block the attack by pulling their Force Armor and Force Sword to maximum output, but...
-Thud! Thoom!
It was all futile.
The streaks of blue light tore through the Vanguards' Force and pierced through everything in their path.
-Clang! Craaash!
At the very least, Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis, both Aura Masters, managed to deflect the incoming streaks of light with their Aura Blades, but they were pushed back helplessly by the immense recoil.
By the time that third attack ended, only the Aura Masters the Second Prince, Marquis Vincent, Margrave Ignis, and Arcia survived among the twenty-four strike force members who had descended upon the King's office.
"Th-this can't be..."
But what shocked them was not the all-too-fleeting extinction of their subordinates' lives, but the two swords that coiled through the air like serpents, circling around the black knight.
The identity of the previous attacks was two swords soaring through the sky, and the blue light was the radiance of the Aura Blade enveloping the swords.
An Aura Blade cannot be maintained once separated from its user.
Furthermore, forming an Aura Blade on an object far away and moving that object at will was clearly not the domain of a swordsman by anyone's standards.
But there was an ability that made such a miracle possible that was "Sword Control."
It was the unique ability of a Grandmaster, considered the equal of a Grand Wizard, an 8th Circle Mage.
"Damn it, a Grandmaster?"
The Second Prince let out a hollow laugh at the futility of it all, and Margrave Ignis lost all will to fight.
But the Second Prince's cold-headed right-hand man, Marquis Vincent, gritted his teeth and shouted even though things had gone thoroughly wrong.
"Count Ignis! Count Klein!"
A sharp cry as if to say it wasn't over yet.
"I'll buy us time escort His Highness!"
The plan had gone awry, but as long as the Second Prince survived, an opportunity would present itself somehow.
No matter how humiliating it was, in the end, once the Crown Prince was killed, he would be the one to succeed him.
Snapping back to his senses at that, Margrave Ignis grabbed the Second Prince by the arm and pulled him along.
At the sight of Marquis Vincent, the black knight let out a taunt that bordered on admiration.
"You're a loyal subject, aren't you? But your loyalty is misplaced. Wouldn't you say that when a disciple errs, you should correct him rather than shield him?"
"Silence!"
Marquis Vincent flung himself at the black knight with bold spirit and swung his sword.
But the black knight blocked his sword all too easily, and as the two clashed blade-to-blade, the two swords that had been prowling around like fish lightly tapped Marquis Vincent's cheeks in mockery.
Each time the Aura Blade-wreathed sword grazed Marquis Vincent's cheek, his Force Armor protected him, but had they been swung with real intent, he could not possibly have survived.
"Your Majesty, shall I execute them all on the spot?"
The black knight seized Marquis Vincent's utterly rigid sword and pressed on, asking the King.
But the King refused his request.
"No. They are vital assets of this kingdom."
"They are traitors."
"They are a force that will crumble without a focal point. So Lu Luke alone..."
The King could not bring himself to say the words to dispose of his own child.
But the black knight, who understood the King's words perfectly, averted his gaze from Marquis Vincent and looked at the Second Prince.
"As commanded. I will deal with only Luke Win Rhinehearts, the Second Prince."
The King pressed a palm to his forehead and lowered his head, and thus the Second Prince's fate was decided.
Marquis Vincent tried desperately to break away and swing his sword, but as if glued, his blade was stuck fast to the black knight's Aura Blade and would not come free.
Even letting go of the sword was of no use.
Marquis Vincent, who had been called the finest sword of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts and revered by countless knights, had been subdued all too easily by a figure of unknown origin.
"Where did a monster like this come from!"
Then the flying swords that had been tapping and mocking Marquis Vincent's cheeks, like missiles with a locked target, flew at the Second Prince Luke, who had decided on a tactical retreat.
A speed that, to an ordinary eye, could only be seen as teleportation.
But they too were Aura Masters, so there was no reason to yield to a straight-line attack no matter how fast it came.
The Second Prince and Margrave Ignis deflected the two flying swords.
-KWAANG! CRASH!
But they did not know.
That just because the opponent was using only two flying swords did not mean that was his limit.
Had it not been said that a seasoned Grand Master could send up to four swords flying?
"Beneath your feet!"
Just as they deflected the visibly straight-flying swords far away and launched themselves toward the exit
Two hiltless blades that had dropped from the black knight's backplate had burrowed into the ground.
The two hiltless blades advanced toward the Second Prince silently and stealthily like submerged submarines, and the moment he let his guard down, they shot up from the earth.
-THUD! THUD!
"Mm?"
Under normal circumstances, even with a delayed reaction, he would not have been able to block both swords.
That was the black knight's judgment.
But then Arcia, a female Aura Master who bore him strangely little hostility, swung a pure white sword of light and defended against the attack.
Moreover, others who took his attacks were sent flying by the recoil, yet Arcia remained utterly still.
"Oh ho."
"Lord Klein, well done!"
The black knight marveled, and the Second Prince and Margrave Ignis, saved from the brink, praised her as they fled.
But they ultimately failed to escape the King's office.
The swords they had deflected earlier tore crudely through the wall and crossed over, blocking the two's path.
The Second Prince and Margrave Ignis once again swung their swords to deflect the flying swords, but this time it was not so easy.
For the swords wielded swordplay as if they possessed free will.
It was hard to dismiss them as simply swung swords, for the will and depth of swordsmanship embedded in them were far from ordinary.
It was only two or three steps to the exit if they used their Aura, but today that distance felt especially far to the two of them.
And so, the Second Prince and Margrave Ignis unexpectedly found themselves in a sword duel against a formless knight.
Even with Vanguard equipment on, they had no leeway to release their presence.
The swordplay of swords not connected to an arm was far too free, too fluid, and too fast.
"What is this? I thought the youngest would be the easiest to subdue?"
But the most striking figure among them was Arcia, who, facing two flying swords, didn't swing her own blade but lightly moved her shield to Cancel Out every attack.
Her defense against the flying swords was so firm it was as if she had driven her feet deep into the earth she seemed more a shieldbearer than a swordswoman.
She blocked every viciously pressing attack without faltering, and even showed the composure to slowly close the distance to the Second Prince, who was about five meters away.
-KWAANG!
And in the end, she succeeded in reuniting with the Second Prince and Margrave Ignis.
"Not just her personal skill her equipment is special too."
Dealing with the unyielding Arcia was a waste of time.
After all, the King's order was only to eliminate Luke, the Second Prince.
The black knight withdrew the flying sword attacks aimed at Arcia and directed them all at the Second Prince at once.
-BANG! BANG! BANG!
Yet even in that sudden crisis, she didn't panic she wielded her shield and blade of white light against four flying swords, performing the feat of protecting the Second Prince.
"Lord Klein!"
The Second Prince, whose face had been badly twisted, called Arcia's name with a grateful expression.
He had realized that her efforts were essential for them to escape.
But...
"Huh?"
What followed defied everyone's expectations.
-KWAANG!
A flash of pure white light flickered, and with a powerful impact, the Second Prince was sent flying into the air.
"Ah, no!"
"Your Highness!"
At the unexpected turn, Margrave Ignis shouted, and Marquis Vincent cried out in anguish.
Yet the one most shocked of all was none other than the black knight who had been fighting them.
"Wh-What?"
He was so rattled that even he, who had crushed everyone with overwhelming martial prowess, stammered.
The Second Prince, with a large hole punched through the center of his chest, stared in disbelief at the person smiling at him.
The owner of that smile was Arcia, who until just moments ago had been his shield, faithfully guarding his back.
"Arcia Klein."
The Second Prince, struck by a sudden betrayal from the woman he loved, spat blood and reached out toward her.
His gesture seemed to ask what he had done so wrong.
"Sexual harasser removal."
But in answer to his silent question, she gave a cold reply, deflected all the frozen flying swords that had halted in shock, and swung the Holy Sword in her hand.
At the same time, the Second Prince's head rose into the air a complete confirmed kill.
"Aaah."
Marquis Vincent let out a strange sound that was neither scream nor cry, despairing, and Margrave Ignis collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Their future and hope had been brought to an end in the form of betrayal.
The black knight shook his head slowly and withdrew the overwhelming presence that had dominated the area.
"Pretending to be on the same side, you were just waiting for the chance to kill the Second Prince?"
"The original plan was a bit more complicated, but thanks to you, things wrapped up easily."
"Hah..."
According to the Crown Prince's plan, the Second Prince was to seize the Royal Palace with the King, hold it, rally the rebels, and serve as bait to surround and isolate himself.
But the unexpected intrusion of the black knight had ruined that plan.
Of course, in a good way.
After all, a Grandmaster the peak of power had become their ally.
"If your goal was to kill the Second Prince, why did you block my sword?"
"Because I saw a chance to kill him myself without any loose ends, and I didn't want to hand it to someone else."
Arcia shrugged and offered a salute to the King, who sat collapsed to one side.
Unless one was a fool, it was impossible not to realize she was part of the Crown Prince's plan.
Even so, the King looked at her with a mix of emotions over his son's death, but he did not show anger.
"I don't like this."
But the black knight, who had been used without his knowledge, showed that he couldn't accept the current situation.
Arcia looked at him with a perfectly composed expression, as if to say, "What do you want me to do about it?"
"You said it was a chance to kill the Second Prince without any loose ends? Are you sure there will be no loose ends?"
Then the black knight released the Marquis Vincent he had been holding in his capture.
At that, Marquis Vincent, who had been gaping like a carp, lunged at her screaming like a vengeful demon.
"You bitch!"
In his fury, he charged at Arcia to kill her.
But even if it wasn't a direct attack, she was the one who had defended against a Grandmaster's sword aura.
There was no reason for her to fall to his now-simplistic attack.
-KWAANG!
She casually deflected Marquis Vincent's attack and spoke to the black knight.
"I serve the Crown Prince, the rightful heir of the kingdom. May I assume you won't attack me?"
"I won't attack, but I won't help either."
"That's enough."
"How irritating."
And the black knight stood guard before the weak-hearted King until he regained his composure, watching the battle turn into a 2-on-1 as Margrave Ignis burst in as well.
"Until Sir Adrian finishes off the main rebel force, I'll take both of your time."
When the situation changes, the plan and each person's role changes with it.
As of now, Arcia's role was to stall Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis from rejoining the main rebel force.
But facing two Aura Masters alone might not be easy... so
-KWAAANG!
Black Eagle, who could share magic with Adrian, smashed through the wall and burst in to support her.
And so, the succession struggle of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, which everyone had expected to erupt into war, cracked wide open from the very start.