Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"I'm sorry, Father, I just lost my composure."

Looking at his son, Richard's eyes revealed a trace of melancholy and confusion, but he quickly suppressed it.

“You’re too tired, William. I shouldn’t have rushed to see you,” the emperor sighed, waving his hand wearily. “Go and rest. Soon, you won’t need to work so hard anymore.”

“Go see your little sister, and then… reunite with your older brother and mothers. I…”

"I have official duties to attend to."

Chapter 777 Challenge

The banner of the King still fluttered over Magpares. Bloodstained faces fluttered in the wind, gazing at the once insurmountable city walls. Between the battlements stood the once-invincible royal guards and court mages.

“They are not invincible,” Raslaufer said, reining in Nightmare and squinting at the soldiers. “If they were truly as invincible as they claim, even with the secret protection of the priests, the Duke of Lance would not be able to hold out against the Emperor for so long.”

“They don’t even dare to come out and fight now, something must be wrong,” Felix said, his expression unreadable. “Your Excellency, Kingmaker, have they been like this ever since you arrived in this area?”

Raslaufer and Benjamin's light cavalry ultimately failed to catch up with Prince William's forces, so after arriving in the Magpares area, they stopped there to await the arrival of the main force led by Angelita and others. They also awaited the arrival of the main force of the Grand Duke of Reims, who now had no rivals.

Unfortunately, although Ruffer, acting as a messenger, repeatedly declared that the Grand Duke of Lance and his nobles were allies, the Grand Duke himself probably didn't share this view. With no army to hinder their advance, the Imperial faction's march actually slowed down, and they began to focus solely on consolidating their gains. Clearly, they intended to stand by and watch, waiting for the rising tide of power in Reislaufer and the stubbornly resisting Emperor to engage in a life-or-death struggle.

“It has always been like this,” Raslaw nodded. “At this rate, even if Grand Duke Lance had to crawl, he would have to crawl to fight alongside us.”

“He’s probably frantic by now,” Skuld couldn’t help but chuckle. “These past few days he’s been constantly advising us not to advance rashly, which is clearly the opposite of what he’s saying.”

Angelita gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar city walls, lost in thought. After a moment, she gently shook her head: "We don't have that much time to wait for him. The Grand Duke foresaw that."

“On the one hand, the vast majority of our soldiers are Inasas, and some are even Haidong people. The lack of results for a long time has a huge impact on morale, and it also drains military funds,” she glanced at Dieter beside her. Although he had not explained his difficulties to others, his increasingly furrowed brows were enough to tell the story. “On the other hand, I am worried that if we drag this out for too long, we may lose our last chance to save Prince William.”

Large-scale magical rituals require a great deal of preparation time. Therefore, Prince William may still be alive at this moment, but if it is delayed until the Grand Duke of Lance arrives, they will probably only be able to offer flowers and eulogies at the graves of the princess's relatives.

As a princess of the empire, Angelita knew she shouldn't act so impulsively. It would have been the right thing to do to join forces with the Grand Duke of Lance before advancing. But she was more than just a princess.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she turned her neck to look at the familiar and unfamiliar faces, "I don't want to wait any longer."

Edward looked at the young man hesitantly, noticing he was still dressed as a Black Dragon, a practice that allowed him to sit upright on his horse and avoid appearing inferior to the other kings. Finally, he spoke his mind: "Your Highness, while Magpares may not have an upper city like Treasure City, its scale is far, far greater. Until we ascertain the exact situation inside, I believe we should proceed with caution—Lady Kalista is in charge of all scouting; she should be able to—"

The pale-faced Tiflin wasn't on horseback. Seeing everyone asking for his opinion, he waved his hand helplessly: "Don't even think about it, there's nothing I can do. This city itself is like a giant trap. I sent out seven groups of people to infiltrate and investigate, but not a single one of them managed to bring back any news. It's unbelievable!"

“There are a lot of mages and mage towers, and they have made the barrier very well,” Bella added. “Yesterday I tried to turn into a bird and fly in, but I was detected as soon as I got close and had to fly back quickly—if only Esmir were here, but unfortunately the Rebels of War won’t be joining in.”

“If everything has to be solved by dragons, then we might as well just give this world back to them,” Amansa snorted. “Since the underhanded approach isn’t working, I suggest we take a more direct approach—let’s issue a challenge directly. If they don’t even accept this challenge, then it doesn’t matter whether this emperor is here or not.”

Upon hearing this, Raslaufer immediately prepared to ride off. For nobles, personal, family, and imperial honor were far more important than life, death, success, or failure, and they would never remain completely indifferent as they were now.

"Your Excellency, why trouble yourself to go out in person? Let me meet them first!"

Before he could finish speaking, Raslaufer felt a cold wind brush past his ear, and saw a thick-haired brown man appear out of thin air and leap out, flying straight toward the top of Magpares' city wall.

"I am Westwind Mok of the Strongman family, the guardian of the patriarchs of all generations! I've always heard that the empire is teeming with talent after the return of magic, all under the emperor's command, but what I've seen along the way is nothing more than that!"

Strongman, who called himself Mok, amplified his voice in all directions with magic. As he hovered in the air with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a sphere made of strong winds instantly formed in front of him, with faint arcs of electricity flickering inside.

"Is there anyone who dares to accept the challenge?"

Silence reigned atop the city walls. The mages seemed to feign deafness and dumbness, offering no response to Mok's provocation, much to the frustration of the Strongman family mage.

If it were any other enemy, he would have gone further to provoke them, but since both the princess and Mr. Boer were imperial citizens, he couldn't be too aggressive, and the situation was temporarily at a standstill.

Just when Moke thought that his opponent had no intention of fighting, suddenly a string of seven shimmering magic darts flew up from the city wall, tracing seven different arcs, and shot towards Moke's body. At the same time, a long sigh rang out:

“Mr. Moke, you’ve only learned a Storm Sphere, a trick that even the lower-year students in the academy know. There’s really no need for you to give yourself the name ‘West Wind’.”

Moke snorted coldly, and the light of the magic shield around him flashed, blocking all the magic darts. However, just as he was about to use the magic orb to counterattack with lightning, the orb made of strong wind suddenly became extremely unstable and vanished into nothingness in the next moment!

The Storm Orb only lasts for one minute, so the opponent clearly timed it perfectly and came prepared!

Chapter 778 The Academy's Defeat

"You shameless skunk, how dare you scheme against me?!"

Faced with this situation, even a fool would know what was going on. In his rage, Mok's eyes suddenly shone with intense spiritual light, and a fierce gale howled around him. Even the sky seemed to darken because of the mage's anger.

"Stop playing tricks in there and get out here!"

“Controlling the wind? That’s more like it,” a bald man emerged from the crowd in the city, chuckling coldly as he took flight as well. “Let me, a student of the Spellcasting Academy, give you a go—I am Alfonso Green, and I hope you’ll remember this name!”

"Alfonso Green?" Upon hearing this name, Paul looked up in surprise at the figure in mid-air whose eyebrows had been shaved off.

"Master Paul, do you know him?" Dieter asked hurriedly upon hearing this. Although Paul's magical skills were far from being those of a master, his relationship with the princess was special, so calling him a master wouldn't be an injustice to Dieter. "What's this person like? He claims to be a student. Is he very strong?"

Paul unconsciously stroked his beard, his eyes hesitant, but he finally revealed everything: "He graduated from Magpares Academy. After traveling around for a few years, he made a breakthrough in one of his research topics, so he was directly recalled to the spellcasting school with the title of professor. At the time, everyone thought that his future promotion would be smooth sailing. But unexpectedly, in just two years, he was caught red-handed by the law enforcement team in a brothel."

"This matter... it's not a big deal, but it's not a small one either. But somehow, it ended up with him being locked up for half a month. After he came out, his future prospects were naturally out of the question. He himself became increasingly depressed. Although he still holds the title of professor and is still teaching, he rarely acts like a student anymore. Sigh, this time he's probably trying to clear his name."

Paul wasn't at the Spellcasting Academy, and as the princess's teacher, he rarely participated in the academy's affairs. Yet, even he knew of Alfonso's name, which shows that the incident had caused quite a stir back then.

While this is certainly a breach of personal morality, his arcane skill is...

While everyone hesitated, the two mages in the sky had already begun their duel. Alfonso, as expected of a professor-level figure in the school of pyromancy, had merely unleashed his seven magical missiles earlier; now, facing Mork, he actually defied the winds raging around him, causing the surrounding air to tremble as he enveloped Mork. If this scattering spell were to take effect, Mork would be teleported directly from his own domain to any point on the ground visible to Alfonso. Not only would his reputation as "West Wind" be utterly destroyed, but he himself would certainly be captured on the spot, severely damaging the morale of the allied forces.

Fortunately, Mok, who was manipulating the airflow, seemed to have an unusual sense of perception in his area of ​​expertise. He immediately sensed Alfonso's trick. With a thunderous roar in the air, Mok disappeared from his original spot as if using a stealth movement technique in actual combat and reappeared in another location.

"Is this all you know, these underhanded tricks?" Moke roared, his thick, dwarf-like beard trembling in the wind. "Let's see how you'll withstand my move—Empowerment!"

As they spoke, the howling hurricane gathered again in the air and swept towards Alfonso. After all, Alfonso was just a professor in the academy, and his combat experience was far inferior to that of Mok. He was still struggling to resist the soul-shaking thunder after being shocked by Mok's Thunder Step. Now, he was enveloped by the gale and caught off guard, as if he had been hit by a giant hammer. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and his body fell uncontrollably downwards.

"Is that all you've got?" Moke let out a triumphant snort. "I thought the renowned Magpares Academy was something special, but it turns out—"

"Fine, we concede defeat. The academy will no longer interfere or participate in any of the matters."

In Magpares, a weathered voice echoed from a tower. As the last word fell, Mok's pupils contracted sharply. He saw a wisp of wind suddenly lift Alfonso, who had already lost consciousness, and send him flying into the city. At the same time, another stream of air appeared out of nowhere, breaking free from his control over the surrounding air and transforming into a wind blade, heading straight for his shoulder!

He would never be so arrogant as to think that this was due to the caster's poor aim. This was a warning, but he was fighting on behalf of the Allied Forces and, more importantly, the Strongman family. How could he swallow this defeat? Mok immediately began chanting softly, trying to rely on his mastery of wind and lightning arcane magic to block the wind blade.

He blocked it, but he didn't.

Just as he was manipulating the vortex and about to envelop and wear down the wind blade, the originally translucent wind blade suddenly solidified, turning into a cold ice spike that broke through the confinement and still aimed directly at Mok's shoulder. The mage quickly switched to another defense, but the ice spike turned into solid stone and then burst into flames!

Moke felt a sense of foreboding. To be able to perform such exquisite elemental control and transformations at such a great distance meant that the spellcaster's power was definitely beyond his ability to contend with!

Despite his deep resentment, Moke had no other choice but to let the attack pierce his shoulder blade. His body swayed in the air for a few moments before a small feather drifted away in the wind. He could no longer maintain his flight and floated lightly towards the ground.

Although both mages fell in a few moves, judging solely from the manner of their landing, Mok was still the victor. However, compared to the complete victory he deserved, this was somewhat of a loss of face.

"Is someone playing with fire?" Abelez Abelez couldn't hold back any longer. A pair of crimson dragon wings unfurled behind her, propelling her into the air a second time. "I am Abelez Abelez, and I've come to witness the famed Magpares!"

If a dragonborn's bloodline is strong enough, they can unleash the dragon magic hidden within them and conjure two spiritual wings on their backs to gain the ability to fly. However, the source of Ember's power is clearly not like that—her magic comes from the gift of the dragon. Those physical dragon wings are more enduring and more awe-inspiring than those that ordinary members of her race can conjure.

That means she has come a long enough way on the path of discovering the magic flowing in her blood.

Perhaps that's why, when she flew over the city to challenge them, even the arcane masters were unwilling to show themselves and fight. Just when the allied forces thought that the other side was cowardly, they found that the mages and soldiers on the city walls seemed to have received some kind of order and began to march down to the city walls in an orderly manner. At the same time, the drawbridge spanning the River of Elders also creaked and fell down.

Richard VII's voice, amplified by some magical device, boomed outwards in all directions:

"Reslaufer! I had hoped to avoid a confrontation with you because you protected my daughter for so many years, but you have gone too far! How dare a mere mercenary invade the very gates of the capital?!"

"Since you insist on having a war... then I'll give you one!"

Chapter 779 Turning Against Each Other

The entire city of Magpares seemed to come alive.

The surface of the River of Elders trembled with a thunderous roar, the fear amplified as herds of heavily armored warhorses trod overhead. Long feathers fluttered on the helmets of each knight, rustling in the wind. These elite warriors of the empire wielded gleaming lances, their tips pointing forward as if the entire forest of the Golin Otto Mountains were crashing down on the allied forces. Sunlight shone on their shields and armor, shimmering like heavenly fire.

The Imperial Guard slowly spread out to the flanks, revealing a torrent of steel behind them. Shieldbearers, spearmen, and crossbowmen were arranged in overlapping squares, these professional soldiers, commanded by the Emperor rather than gold coins, possessed far superior equipment and discipline compared to mercenaries, making them far superior to the forces under the nobility on the western front. Above them, the Eagle Legion soared; around them, spellcasters were ready to unleash their first wave of magic.

The air was thick with the scent of iron and fire, and the raging flow of magic stirred everything up. The thunderous sound of war drums drowned out all the noise. The ancient capital seemed to be transforming into a monster that was gradually awakening, opening its blood-red maw to devour any prey that had awakened it.

However, what lies before it may not be prey, but rather an experienced hunter.

"Come on, let's get our guys from Shinwood moving!" Leslaufer waved back. "What are heavy cavalry? Look at these big guys!"

One after another, shadows as large as mountains rose up under the influence of arcane magic and machinery, casting shadows as dark as night. These constructs, originally used for logging and transportation, required little modification to become terrifying killing machines. On their arms, giant axes and chainsaws were unremarkable attachments; the ballistae and battering rams mounted on them were far more dangerous. With them, machines that originally required a large amount of manpower to operate became weapons for individual soldiers. In an era when giants had long since left the world stage, these were giants who were still alive!

The allied forces' flags were not as uniform as the emperor's army, and their equipment and deployment were even somewhat disorganized. However, unlike these elite troops with their gleaming armor, these mercenaries did not rely on elaborate weaponry to distinguish themselves.

The fact that they are still alive and standing here means that they are strong enough!

Two-handed greatswords, each as tall as a man, were loosely arranged in formation, interspersed among the infantry. The allied forces lacked both light and heavy cavalry, but these Doblers could easily fill that role. In their shadows, elite soldiers of races distinct from humans, such as dark elves and dwarves, were poised to strike, ready to make up for any potential shortcomings.

Richard VII was confident that he could abandon the defense of the city and fight the allied forces in the open, while Raslaufer and others were also confident that as long as he dared to extend his claws, they would be able to cut them down!

Princess Angrita sat atop the unicorn Veruna at the forefront of the army, followed by two Nightmare mounts, one grey and one crimson. Behind her were her companions, the Deinonychus Blackclaw, and the kings of the kingdoms of Inasas. Veruna's horn emitted a soft glow, enveloping the surrounding area in a hazy moonlight veil. Hundreds upon hundreds of magnificent creatures seemed to be hidden within, ready to descend to the mortal realm at any moment and charge alongside Angrita.

“Father!” Angelita cried out, “I beg you, come see me! If my questions could be answered, perhaps things wouldn’t have come to this!”

"If you don't want to see me, then please have my mother come!" The girl pursed her lips. "And my brothers, I demand to see them!"

The opposing army did not react at all, while in the city, Richard VII's voice came several minutes later: "When you ignored our pleas and insisted on leaving the Empire, you were no longer my daughter."

“I am very disappointed in you. They are also very disappointed in you. As a daughter, as a sister, as a princess, you have not fulfilled your duties. What face do you have to ask to see us?”

"Dismount and surrender immediately! If you have even a shred of honor and shame, that might at least make up for your mistake!"

Angelita's gaze wavered for a moment at the familiar reprimands, but quickly returned to its somber tone: "...If they are truly disappointed in me, I want to hear it from their own mouths, Your Majesty! What about the Empress and Consorts of this Empire? What about the two Princes of this Empire? I want to hear their voices! Is my mother more harsh than you, so harsh that she won't even speak a word to me? What about Ted and William? I was just corresponding with William not long ago!"

Once again, there was no echo in the city. As time ticked by, Angelita felt her blood growing colder and then, just as it reached freezing point, it began to boil and even burn again.

Are they truly unwilling to talk to me? Or have they become incapable of talking to me anymore?

"...All troops, listen to my command."

As Angelita spoke, the voice from within the city rang out almost simultaneously. The father and daughter, conversing across time, paused in unison, as if waiting for the other to speak first, but in the end, they spoke at the same time:

"Defeat the rebel army and capture the traitor Angarita Matt!"

"In the name of the Empire, reclaim Magpares and depose the Mad King Richard!"

Raslaufer was the first to move. The mask of purgatory covered his face, and greyish-white flames rose, transforming into an indestructible heavy armor along with the Broken Halberd. The Infernal Lance materialized in his palm, and with a single lance, he nearly crushed the entire opposing heavy cavalry unit. And the Kingmaker's command was far simpler and more direct than the rhetoric of the Matt family father and daughter:

"Follow me, kill!"

"kill!!"

Angelita lifted the elven-crafted crown with both hands and placed it on her head. She had never used this magical artifact before, but today was different. A holy white and gold aura rippled outwards, mirroring the gleam of the sword she drew, the Long Ballad of Will. As Veruna raised her shimmering shield, the girl hesitated no longer. She didn't need to do anything more; all she had to do was charge ahead of the Imperial Guards who had sworn to protect her and her family!

There was nothing to fear, for after the white-horse knight, the red nightmare followed closely, and the black claws followed in quick succession, and after all three—

"The one riding the gray horse is named Death, and Hades follows him."

Chapter 780 The Mysteries of Magic

"call--"

Fireballs, like apocalyptic fireballs, rained down from the sky, indiscriminately crashing onto the chaotic battlefield. A gray phantom darted past, effortlessly blasting the head off a knight who had just killed two duples with a single spear thrust.

The fearless soldiers immediately swarmed in like a tide, and the Nightmare, already reduced to bones, tore and kicked, together with its master, reaping all the enemy souls around them.

Flames erupted from Raslaufer's body, making him appear as if a fire demon had descended, and the howl from the abyss chilled all who heard it. Seeing that the lance was not suitable for this situation, the King's Greatsword, guided by the gauntlet, immediately pierced through the air, unleashing a dragon's breath as it swept across, instantly burning all living things around to ashes.

Her eyes, already completely stained blood red, looked around and saw that Skadi was being besieged by the emperor's soldiers on one side, while a mage was using several unfallen corpses as cover to secretly unleash arcane magic to attack the king of the Kingdom of Wenzel.

Nightmare vanished instantly, emerging from the ethereal surface to confront the mage once more. A狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/merciless) smile appeared on the face beneath the mask. Raslaufer reached out, gripping the spellcaster's neck and pressing his head against his own burning chest.

These spellcasters serving in the Imperial Army had expended countless efforts, even sacrificing their talents and futures for the skill to cast spells while wearing armor. But before Raslaufer, the frail iron plates could not stop the mage from being burned alive. Raslaufer was like a true Grim Reaper, leaving behind only mutilated corpses, devoid of even their souls, wherever he went.

But even so...

"boom--"

Pulled by several iron chains, the massive Shinmu puppet was pulled to the ground, crushing and injuring a number of warriors who couldn't dodge in time. Dark elves were impaled on spear tips by knights like rag dolls, and dwarves were grabbed by eagles and slammed to the ground, their bodies shattered.

Raslaufer and his comrades could change the course of a local battle, but they could not convert local advantages into a complete victory. And if this continued, apart from Raslaufer, no matter how capable the others were, they would ultimately not be able to maintain it indefinitely.

Druid Bella could no longer maintain her transformation; severely wounded, she was carried away. The Dragonborn, having exhausted their spell slots, used their depleted energy to conjure dragon wings once more, battling the eagle and its knights in mid-air. The rest could only linger on the edge, trying to avoid being caught in the vortex. Felix and Skadi were both exhausted, and their guards had been nearly wiped out after several charges. As for those familiar to Raslaufer, those even less capable than themselves were in even worse shape. Although most of them were not yet dead, the situation was dire.

Mary staggered and traversed another semi-circle, stepping onto the bottom of the pit piled with corpses. She severed her enemy's wrist with her rapier and then pierced his heart with the tip of her sword once more. But this time, she could no longer maintain her graceful posture. The Corazonde swordsmanship was a trade-off between mental exertion and physical strength, but now both were nearing their limits for her.

This gift from the deep sea has erupted three times, allowing her to break free of her shackles repeatedly, but she doesn't know if there will be a next time, or... whether she can hold on until the next one.

Golden hair, soaked with blood, fell from his temples and covered one eye. The clash between sharp weapons was extremely dangerous. If one could not maintain a level far superior to that of one's opponent, and if the opponent attacked with the aim of killing to the death, even a sword saint would find it difficult to escape unscathed—even Leslaufer could not do that. However, he was no longer human, and his powerful physique completely made up for this.

But Mary is different. Even if she learned at least 70% of the true skills from that swordsman of Corazonde, she is still a mortal. In other words...

She's probably not far from being replaced.

Mary took a deep breath, preparing to face her next opponent—who might also be her last.

"Still a long way to go!"