Game's Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 140
============================================================
Game's Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 140
34. What Is This Now (4)
I rubbed my temples and asked the Crown Prince about his plan.
He replied calmly, taking a sip of tea.
"We simply continue living exactly as usual. Then those bastards will find an opening and attack on their own, won't they?"
That was true enough.
That was their job, and besides, doing so would invite less suspicion.
"So you mean we wait and wait, and when they strike, we crush them with overwhelming force in one go?"
"Correct. I'd also like Duke Klein and Count Hayden (Gregory) to help. I've already prepared the positions."
In other words, he wanted us to remain at the Royal Palace until the enemy showed up.
Hidden near the Crown Prince, at that.
"Well, I never expected to end up living in the Royal Palace."
"You won't find it uncomfortable."
It probably wouldn't take long.
After all, it was the assassins who were at a disadvantage the longer things dragged on.
He even went ahead and told us where we'd be staying...
"Isn't this good enough?"
"Ah, no. Putting aside whether it's good enough isn't this the secret passage the Second Prince's strike force used as an infiltration route? You haven't sealed it off yet?"
"It seemed too useful. And see, it's coming in handy like this."
A secret passage running from the Crown Prince's residence all the way to the King's office.
It was certainly an immensely useful route given the current situation, but I couldn't help being taken aback.
'This man he's not just bold, he's outright abnormal.'
I let out a wry smile as I looked at the lavishly furnished secret passage.
"Well, at least there'd be no discomfort in daily living."
"While you and the other secret Guards, including the Duke, remain here, there is something you must do."
"You mean leave proxies in our domains so it looks like we're still living there?"
"As expected, you're easy to talk to. I like that."
If the new figures representing the Kingdom of Rhinehearts' military power were to disappear from their posts unexpectedly, it would inevitably invite suspicion.
In other words, it wasn't just the Crown Prince who had to act as usual in order to catch them all in one sweep.
"I do hope we land a big catch this time."
Once the decision was made, I decided to return to my domain first.
Everyone in the Royal Palace knew I had visited, so I needed to make the move of returning to my domain.
"Ah, right... Before I go back, may I ask one thing I'm curious about?"
"Ask whatever you like."
But before I left the Crown Prince's residence, one question came to mind.
"How did you detect the assassins' infiltration?"
Just as when Gregory and August had invaded our domain to kill Ibril, a sneak attack was already a failure the moment it was discovered.
A force as significant as the Emperor's assassination unit wouldn't handle things sloppily.
Yet the Crown Prince had detected that assassination unit's infiltration far too easily and had been playing circles around them all along.
My question was perfectly natural.
He answered as if it were a simple matter.
"I remember every single person who works in the palace. Not just their appearances, but their mannerisms and habits too."
"What?"
"But this time, I spotted several people who weren't acting as usual. So I was certain. Ah, so the Emperor of the Croysen Empire is making his move... that's what I thought."
I had to widen my eyes.
Because this man was casually saying something absolutely staggering.
* * *
The Emperor of the Croysen Empire possesses many hidden powers.
One of them was his direct Shadow Unit a pack of hounds composed of one Aura Master and thirty top-class Experts, tasked with carrying out the Emperor's covert affairs.
They were ruthless enough to plan operations premised on throwing away their lives to carry out the Emperor's orders, and so emotionally restrained that they would sink a blade into their own family without hesitation.
Thanks to that, they had never once failed a mission, and in noble society they were secretly known by the name Hellhounds.
Their specialty was infiltrating strongholds and assassinating key figures through impersonation.
Every member of the Shadow Unit was an outstanding actor and a master of disguise.
So much so that even their own families wouldn't recognize them.
'As expected of the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts there's not a single gap in his security.'
The new order given to these men was the assassination of the Crown Prince of Rhinehearts.
Though they had handled many operations before, there was no need to say that this was the most difficult one yet.
The target was not just some royal from an ordinary nation it was the Crown Prince of the powerful Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
Across the Linehart royal house, 1,000 fully armed Vanguards and 5,000 soldiers were stationed at all times, and beside the Crown Prince stood Marquis Ackers, a loyal retainer and Aura Master, providing close protection.
At this level of security, even if they achieved their objective, it would be hard to make it back alive.
"The Crown Prince's coronation. That day is our chance. There will be many outside visitors, and with all the commotion, it'll be easier to approach the Crown Prince."
One would think being thrown away like this would anger a group that had done so much for the Emperor, yet Aren, the leader of the Hellhounds, found a gap without a shred of hesitation or wavering.
And so the day of the decisive battle dawned.
Through prior preparations, they had secretly taken positions around the Crown Prince's palace, and without missing the chaotic gap caused by outsiders, they narrowed the encirclement toward the Crown Prince.
"Wait, what are you doing? Stop!"
And at the moment the sacrificial unit drew the guards' attention
*Phat!*
The Hellhounds' main force fell upon the Crown Prince.
The servants carrying luggage, the maids cleaning, the butler of the royal household, even the Vanguards and soldiers hiding while pretending to be guards
Those who had seemed no more than part of the background suddenly transformed and lunged at the Crown Prince all at once.
"You bastards!"
The first to react was, of course, Marquis Ackers, the Aura Master.
But even a great Aura Master like him could not block every attack flying in from all directions with a single sword.
"There's no way we fail. This is a success."
The leader of the Hellhounds sensed victory.
"Your Highness!"
The moment the Crown Prince blinked once, a sword was already before his eyes.
There was no time to use a defensive artifact, and it was easy to see that with one more blink, the attacks flying in from all sides would turn the Crown Prince into a rag.
But was he simply out of his mind in the face of death?
"What?"
The Crown Prince, whose character was always drawn with slitted eyes, opened them slightly, and a faint smirk touched his lips.
And then
*KWAANG!*
A defensive spell, which clearly no one had had any chance to cast, appeared and blocked their attacks.
Even the Force of the top-class Expert wielding a Force Dagger and the Aura Blade of the Aura Master.
"..."
Those frozen by the unexpected turn of events began to react belatedly.
Maids shrieked, and the Vanguards guarding the area charged in with fire in their eyes.
But to Aren, the leader of the Hellhounds, the only thing that caught his eye was a man calmly opening a wall and emerging from a hidden passage.
"Duke Lawrence!"
A Mage walking forward with a Magic Staff in hand.
And at the moment he saw two Vanguards radiating fierce Aura Blades at his side, he realized the operation had failed.
Even so, they did not give up until the very end.
Because even if they fought to the last, died fighting, as long as they sank a blade into the Crown Prince's head, it would still be their victory.
"Do we look like amateurs to you?"
"Wh-what is this."
But it did not take long to realize that such thoughts were nothing but wishful thinking.
When they came to their senses, every member of the Hellhounds, including Aren the Aura Master and their leader was face-down on the ground.
Only three people had been added to the original guard force.
No matter how strong they were an Aura Master and a 7th Circle Grand Mage it was incomprehensible that they would be defeated so overwhelmingly and helplessly.
A handsome young Duke looked down at them with a confident expression.
Unlike themselves, who lurked in the shadows reaping lives, this man lived openly in the public eye, doing as he pleased so much so that he seemed the very embodiment of a protagonist from a movie or drama.
Looking up at Adrian, who stared down at him as he lay face-down on the ground, Aren felt anger for the first time.
* * *
The plan was concluded successfully.
The Crown Prince had prepared so thoroughly that there was hardly anything left to do.
Perhaps quickly binding the bastards so they couldn't escape?
"An assassination unit containing an Aura Master, huh..."
The Crown Prince looked at the subdued assassins with a curious expression.
"It seems the Emperor was quite angry after all."
"Indeed."
Throwing away this much force as a suicide mission I suppose the Empire was an Empire after all.
Since we blocked them without taking any damage ourselves, the Empire took a one-sided loss, but something about it felt weak.
Even inflicting the loss of a single Aura Master would be a big gain, but inwardly I'd have loved it if a bigger fish say, a Grandmaster had gotten caught up in this too.
"They don't bite poison teeth to kill themselves like in movies or dramas?"
"I used magic to seal their mouths shut."
At the Crown Prince's question, I used magic to pull out all the teeth of the nearby intruder.
"Here it is. The poison tooth."
"Ah, so these really do exist."
Among the teeth, there was a strange device attached, and once the Crown Prince and I confirmed it was a poison tooth, we both reacted with fresh surprise.
Then the Crown Prince looked at me and asked.
"You're not going to kill them?"
Judging by how I'd prevented them from committing suicide, he seemed to think I had something else in mind.
I grinned.
"If there's a way to gain double the profit, would you care to hear it?"
At that, the Crown Prince showed great interest, and I looked down at the subdued assassins and spoke.
"Rather than removing 1 from the enemy's strength, it's better to take that 1 and make it your own, gaining a profit of 2."
In other words, I meant turning them into ours.
"Aren't they specially trained individuals? Is that possible?"
"Perhaps it might be."
Beings who had tried to take his life.
Even though I was proposing to spare such beings, the Crown Prince seemed amused and responded cheerfully.
"If that's possible, there's nothing better. If the Croysen Emperor saw the very unit he sent standing on our side, his reaction would be quite entertaining."
Watching him, he's a man who's mastered the art of provoking people.
I was just saying we should recycle them since they were too good to waste, but his purpose was to mock the Emperor.
And so, with the Crown Prince's permission granted, their fate was decided.
I had them bound and sent Gregory to escort them to Blue Moon.
Because there was a specialist in brainwashing there.
* * *
The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts was newly crowned.
After the lavish coronation ceremony concluded and several days passed with no reaction, the Emperor realized the mission he'd given the Shadow Unit had ended in failure.
"Didn't you say the success rate was 50%?"
Aren, the captain of the Shadow Unit, was always someone who considered the worst-case scenario when estimating odds.
That was why the Emperor considered the 50% he spoke of to be a number incredibly close to success.
But they were eliminated quietly without doing anything the Emperor realized the Kingdom of Rhinehearts' strength and the Crown Prince's no, the new King Mikhail's abilities were not to be underestimated.
"What a waste. I got too excited."
Belatedly, he regretted using Aren and the Shadow Unit as disposable tools.
Still, an Emperor of the Croysen Empire's caliber had plenty of forces to replace them.
"Your Majesty!"
The Emperor acknowledged his own misjudgment and reflected on it.
However, it didn't take long for the Emperor's mood to shift drastically....
"Intelligence Chief, what is it?"
"Th-this, you should see this."
It was because of a single document the Empire's Intelligence Chief handed over.
The document contained a video of Duke Lawrence of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
But soon, realizing something was off, he had to rub his eyes.
"Is my vision failing? That looks like Lord Aren?"
The reason was that among those trailing behind Duke Lawrence like ducklings, he spotted a familiar face.
"It is indeed Lord Aren."
"Did those bastards stage a play to provoke me?"
"The nature and volume of his Aura match Lord Aren's exactly."
"So you're saying that really is Lord Aren?"
The Intelligence Chief swallowed dryly and bowed his head, and the King recognizing that as a sign of affirmation let out a low laugh.
"Your, Your Majesty!"
But only for a moment.
Soon, the expression vanished from the Emperor's face, and it began to turn bright red.
"Hah!"
Then, unable to contain his agitation, the Emperor grabbed the back of his neck and staggered.