Water Magician

Sorry for the late release! Just came back from a short trip.

Editor: Tseirp

“Dammit, there are quite a lot of them. Hurry up and escape through the third underground passage.”

“You hear it, the third! The first and second escape hatches have been found! So go to the third!”

The knights, Zack and Scotty were building defenses in the ‘southern hideout’ to buy time for their allies to escape through the underground passages.

“I have to admit, these royal guards are good.”

“I heard that quite a lot of the guards who used to guard the royal capital are among them. Well, they too have to make a living, I suppose. So, they may have no qualms about serving the ‘Traitor King’.”

The two men, while having such a conversation, were defending the entrance corridor of the hideout while cutting off the guards who kept coming one after another.

In preparation for this kind of attack, a long and narrow passage was built at the entrance to make it easier to defend.

There is more than one entrance.

Since it’s a hideout, there are two direct entrances, one to the north and the other to the south.

However, they were attacked by the guards at the same time, and the southern entrance, in particular, was facing considerable difficulty.

The defense was led by C-rank adventurer Showken.

Showken was one of the skilled adventurers who had been through many ordeals, including taking charge of the adventurers who escorted the diplomatic mission to Twilight Land.

After the diplomatic mission returned to the royal capital, the party he belonged to disbanded, and the other party members moved on to a more comfortable life with the money they had saved up.

Showken, too, had saved up a good amount of money, but he didn’t have a hometown to return to, so he remained with the Adventurers’ Guild in the royal capital and led a quiet life as a part-time staff…however, everything changed with the fall of the royal capital…and before he knew it, he found himself among the ‘rebels’.

The southern entrance was being guarded by former D and E-rank adventurers under Showken’s command.

They weren’t elite by any means, but they were still putting their bodies on the line to help the rebel members, who were unaccustomed to violence, escape.

“Tsk…, they are not that strong, but there sure are a lot of them.”

“No need to defeat them. Just buy time!”

“Hang in there until those scattered all over the royal capital return…”

The rebels desperately guarded the entrance, shouting at the top of their lungs at each other.

Still…they were truly outnumbered.

If there is no significant difference in strength, the one with the greater number will inevitably have the advantage.

“Oh no…we’re going to be overrun.”

Although they had managed to persevere up to this point, the collapse of the southern entrance was already in sight.

And, sure enough, the guards were preparing to launch an assault to break through the defense.

“Ugh…”

The rebels, led by Showken, were already resolved to be overrun and perish.

Then….

Fire arrows rained down on the attacking guards from the flank.

It was a ranged attack in which a single fire arrow split into five and striked the opponent, and if done well, could pierce several people with a single arrow.

But the fire arrows unleashed in front of them were so masterfully executed that they incapacitated more than a dozen guards.

At the same time, three women jumped into the fray.

The spear wielder swept the crowd away with her spear, the scout launched throwing knives at the enemy’s necks, and the swordswoman took the guards down with certainty.

They were truly maidens who sweep through the battlefield…or female warriors who bring death with them….

“The ‘Valkyries’ are here!”

Showken had fought alongside them during the diplomatic mission. So there was no mistaking them.

The ‘Valkyries’, a rare C-rank party of five women led by the swordswoman Imogen.

Were a reassuring ally in this situation!

“Come on guys! We’re pushing back!”

With Showken’s command, the ‘rebels’ got back on their feet.

In coordination with the ‘Valkyries’, they succeeded in pushing back the guards that had pushed into the south entrance.

Thus, the southern entrance to the hideout managed to regain its footing.

Meanwhile, the guards were beginning to overwhelm the northern entrance as well.

“Wait, that commander-looking dude glimmering in the back…”

“Yeah. That must be the man we’ve heard so much about.”

“He’s the Prime Minister, and yet he’s on the front lines hunting rebels…maybe he should have stayed on as Minister of Home Affairs.”

Zack looked at him with a bit of sympathy.

The person at the end of their gazes was Count Harold Lawrence, who was responsible for the security of the royal capital as Minister of Home Affairs during the reign of King Stafford IV.

As members of the Royal Knights, the two had heard rumors that Harold Lawrence was an extremely capable man among the ministers.

Although Stafford IV was a king who did not have a prime minister, it was even said that Harold Lawrence would eventually be appointed prime minister.

His future looked bright…in the eyes of the knights.

But….

“The one who betrayed the Kingdom, communicated with Raymond, and even invited the imperial army the day the royal capital fell.”

“Yup, according to the rumors going around. And he got the position of prime minister for his trouble…moreover, Raymond didn’t give him any authority as prime minister…. And his popularity fell to the ground. What a miserable fellow. I wonder where it all went wrong for him.”

Zack quietly denounced him with a look that was more pity than vehemence, and Scotty replied with a look that went beyond pity to sympathy.

“Goddamn it, why do I have to be here!”

A low but sharp mutter escaped Count Harold Lawrence’s mouth.

He was undoubtedly the ‘Prime Minister’ under King Raymond.

The Prime Minister is the head of the administration, the highest position that leads the ministers.

Depending on the situation of the country, he may even have more power than the King…that’s the kind of position it is.

And yet Harold Lawrence was presently leading the hunt for rebels….

Of course, since it was a direct order from King Raymond, so to speak, an imperial order, disobeying was not an option.

But still… it would not be the job of a prime minister…

“Destroy them now!”

It was unavoidable that he gave such instructions unintentionally.

He had completely lost his composure.

The atmosphere he once wore… words like important, capable, and intelligent no longer applied.

The stares of the guards at the scene even seemed to contain ridicule.

Immediately after the escort led by Harold Lawrence made several charges, an earthen spear passed right by Harold Lawrence from behind.

The moment Harold Lawrence turned around, several of the last guards fell en masse.

“What’s going on?”

He shouted, but no one answered.

They were attacked from behind.

No one could afford to answer, and they didn’t have to say to know that they were under attack!

But Harold Lawrence, who never had much experience in the field, didn’t understand.

The feeling of impending death right next to you.

And that the enemy was aiming for you as the commander.

Before he knew it, Hector, the swordsman, was approaching from in front …

On that day, Earl Harold Lawrence, who was once touted as the excellent Minister of Interior Affairs, died.

Defeated by an adventurer party called ‘Morning Star’.

“It’s amazing that he’s a C-rank adventurer but have that kind of skill.”

“Yeah. That’s a sword that has been forged in battle. It’s different from a knight’s swordsmanship.”

Scotty and Zach watched as Hector slashed and Harold Lawrence fell.

At the same time, they pushed out from the hideout and crushed the guards in front of the north entrance at once.

The guards, which besieged the rebels’ hideout in the order of a thousand men, withdrew with the death of their commander, facing more than several hundred casualties.

“Alright, we’ll be retreating through the third passage.”

Although they had defeated the guards, the raided hideout was no longer usable.

Those who remained in hiding until the end and repelled the raid burned the hideout, collapsed the passages, and destroyed all evidence before retreating.

The destination of the evacuation was the ruins of a large workshop near the east gate.

The third passage was connected to the basement of the workshop, which was no longer used because the workshop owner died and the disciples became independent.

Of course, they won’t stay there too long.

They only took a break after moving to the next building.

The building next to it is… was a foreign embassy.

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