Chapter 61. Princess Knight (2) (2/2)
“Those two might have come from the same ancestors, sure. The important point here is that these two opposing forces that had been at constant loggerheads with each other for centuries – nay, millenniums – are joining hands. I want you to think carefully about how pressed and desperate the Federation must have been for such a situation to occur.”
Seol Jihu listened to those words and quietly agreed with them.
It was just like the proverb, ‘without lips the teeth will feel cold’. Right now, the humans and the Federation were in a similar relationship of interdependence.
'It makes sense.'
It was a simple enough story.
What if they stood by the sidelines once more sucking on thumbs and doing nothing as the Federation fell?
“Listen to me. If us royals really wished to do whatever we wanted, then we would have tried to invade the Parasite’s territory. After all, that would make it clear whose side we are on. But that's not what we did. We're simply building a fortress. As long as that is completed, we'd have ourselves a trustworthy fortress to rely on.”
Teresa suddenly began pleading with the group, sounding rather earnest now.
Chohong hmphed and turned her head away, but she kept her mouth shut as if she couldn't think of anything clever to say.
“That's why, please aid us. You already know this. Even though I'm a High Ranker, Earthlings don't respond well to directives issued by the royal families.”
“….”
“Dylan, not only are you a High Ranker, but you're also the leader of the famed Carpe Diem. I believe you'll be able to control them.”
“I must think about my comrades first. We were supposed to be returning to Haramark, but this…. Moreover, this friend here is still only a Level 1.”
When Dylan pointed at Seol Jihu, Teresa shook her head.
“I'm not that much of a shameless and brazen bitch. I'll have him return alongside the carriages and Horuses.”
“Hmm….”
“Dylan~ You can earn experience points from the battles, and you'll also earn lots of achievement points by participating in the war. Since the royal family will also give out suitable rewards, it will be like killing three birds with one stone. What is there to even think about? We've never short-changed you when it came to rewards, haven't we?”
Teresa spoke while folding her thumb, index, and middle finger one at a time. Even then, Dylan didn't show a single trace of being convinced. She let out a long sigh and raised her head to the sky.
It was a bit out of nowhere, but Seol Jihu found her deer-like neckline quite pretty and rather pale to the view.
A short while later, Teresa spoke in a powerless voice.
“….I understand. I won't ask you for anything excessive. I promise. I won't rashly order you to start fighting, so please, safeguard Ian if nothing else.”
“We can do that.”
Finally, Dylan agreed.
As if everyone was waiting for that…
Hugo's mouth opened and closed several times, and as for Chohong, she did look wholly unsatisfied but still, didn't say anything. It seemed that Dylan did indeed have a chat with those two earlier.
“Thank you.”
As if she was relieved by this, Teresa expressed her gratitude in a soft voice and eventually, pushed herself up rather lethargically.
“We'll set off again in five minutes. I wish we could rest for a bit longer, but the situation remains too urgent, you see. Please forgive me.”
She then walked away.
Seol Jihu watched her departing back as she strode forward, and activated 'Nine Eyes'.
“Seol, now that the situation has come down to this, I'd like to ask you for an important favor.”
Dylan suddenly spoke to the youth.
“A favor?”
“Mm. We'd be grateful if you returned to Haramark and safely guarded our loot. Until we return, of course.”
Ian revealed a toothy grin. It was a clear sign that Dylan was looking after the youth. But then, Seol Jihu looked behind him again at the distant back of the princess.
“….Seol?”
“I'd like to go with you.”
“Nope.”
Dylan refused right away.
“If you are thinking of your loyalty to the team or about your feelings, then let me tell you this, you've done more than enough already. You're a Level 1. There's no need for you to participate in a war yet.”
“Am I going to be a hindrance by going there with you?”
Was that an unexpected question for them?
Dylan quickly waved his hand.
“Not at all. You even managed to stand your ground against a female Lioner whose strength should have exceeded a Level 4 Warrior. Never mind your skills, that kind of balls means that you'll be helpful in any situation.”
“That's a relief. In that case, let me go with you.”
“Look at this kid. Hey, are you saying that for real?”
At Chohong's question, Seol Jihu simply nodded his head.
“Whether I want to or not, I'm bound to get involved in the war anyway. I figured that it wouldn't be so bad to experience it first-hand here.”
Of course, that was just the surface explanation. There was another reason Seol Jihu wanted to participate in the war.
Teresa Hussey, the person he felt an unknown but powerful attraction from the moment he saw her. He was curious about the reason for this.
He even thought that, were he to let her slip through his fingers here, then he'd never find another opportunity to see her again.
In other words, he was moving according to his emotions.
“Mm…. If that's what you want, I won't try to stop you. Looks like we'll have to add one more person to the list of those we protect.”
“You know, you shouldn't be acting like this already.”
Dylan shrugged his shoulders and spoke, while Chohong massaged her forehead as if she had given up now.
“I'm grateful about you guys wanting to protect me, but doesn't that mean I gotta pay you guys something?”
“Not at all. We still haven't even paid you back for the rest of the change, yet.”
Dylan chuckled gently.
Whatever the case may be, this youth was an Earthling that saved their lives a few times already back in the Forest of Denial. For some reason, he made others hold high expectations of him.
“This is why I like you so much, Seol!”
Hugo suddenly pounced on him.
Seol Jihu did his best to push the bald and muscular black dude away from him and looked back at Teresa once more.
His 'Nine Eyes' did not see a color on her.**The expedition joined up with the reinforcements led by Teresa Hussey and immediately set off towards the Arden Valley.
Although it was already expected to some degree, the path leading to the Dawn Peak was an arduous one to take, with boulders and jutting rocks of varying sizes strewn about everywhere.
Not to forget, they were marching forward at a breakneck pace, so cases of Priests falling behind occurred as well. Of course, that didn't mean the army would abandon them and continue on, so the warriors had to go back and give them a piggy-back ride.
Before long, the sun was about to dip below the horizon; the fading twilight drew shadows, big and small, on several places of the steep ridge.
While being carried on Hugo's back, Ian was tirelessly manipulating the communication crystal to get in touch with the fortress.
For a time, these communication crystals played the strategically important role of swiftly transmitting the unfolding situation elsewhere. But that was only until the Parasite Queen developed an ability to emit the communication-disrupting interference.
With that, the Parasites also changed the way they attacked.
In the beginning stages of the conflict, they pushed forward with absolutely overwhelming numbers, but nowadays, the Parasites began performing sneak attacks after interfering with communication first.
From the perspective of the human alliance, this was a truly maddening development, but still, they couldn't stop using the crystals to communicate with each other.
When the distance between two crystals shortened, the strength of mana being sent between the two, not to mention the amount of time the two stayed connected, would improve greatly. Which meant that it was possible to break through the interference.
That was precisely why Ian tried his best to communicate with the fortress, even now. As long as they had not fallen, then the closer the reinforcement army got, the greater the odds of getting through to the fortress.
Pzzzzt!
Ian's once-worried eyes opened wider. A noisy discharge of energy came from the crystal.
“Yes!! It worked!”
Ian shouted loudly.
His shout was so loud that it even took Seol Jihu by surprise as the youth was breathlessly running up the steep slope.
“This reinforcement effort wasn't in vain. At the very least, it's not the worst-case scenario!”
Ian declared so, and hurriedly poured more mana into the crystal. Almost right away, it began emitting an ear-splitting mess of noises that contained all sorts of buzzes and crackles.
Dylan opened his mouth.
“Master Ian. Should I speak to the princess and stop the march?”
“No! It's fine. I'll continue to connect to them while we're on the move.”
Ian brought his face closer to the crystal.
“Can you hear me? This is the Magician Ian in the direct employ of the Haramark's royal family!”
—Ian?
Tzzzt, tzzzt.
Perhaps because he hadn't completely gotten through the interference, the cracking noise was still quite severe, but still, one could hear the urgent voice coming through.
Hell, the listeners could even sense desperation in the voice, too.
—Wait a second! If you're coming, then….?!
“As soon as all communications with the Arden Fortress had been cut-off, we summoned Earthlings and set off from Haramark with elite troops. We're on our way to the fortress.”
—But, the interference….!
When hearing that disbelieving voice, Ian began to carefully explain the situation.
“We already entered the Arden Valley earlier in the afternoon.”
—Truly? Did the Haramark royal family really figure out the situation on this side and dispatch reinforcements? This quickly??
“Yes, they have. Her Majesty Teresa Hussey is personally leading the troops.”
—The Princess is personally leading the troops?!
It was then, a loud cheer could be heard coming from the crystal.
Waaaaah!!
That couldn't have been made by just one or two people. They must have been elated because there were a couple of tearful voices mixed in there as well.
The sounds of things exploding intermittently, as well as strange beastly roars in the background, were simply an added bonus.
“How does the situation look?”
—We're giving everything we have to defend against the enemy horde, but their number is far too overwhelming! The defensive line will fall at any second now!
“Just wait a little bit longer! We'll arrive at Dawn Peak soon! Reaching the fortress will only be a matter of time!”
—Thank you! I beg of you, please hurry!!
The guy on the other side of the line shouted out in an elated, emotional voice.
The moment they realized that the royal family had not forsaken the Arden Fortress, the fighting spirit that was running dangerously low had been re-ignited.
“Can you tell us the enemy's size?”
—Understood! The invading Parasites are….!
Pzzzzzzt!!
Another wave of interference abruptly ended the communication. Ian clicked his tongue, poured more mana into the crystal, and shouted out.
“Dylan! Please go inform the Princess!”
Dylan ran forward hard as if he had developed a pair of wings.
Meanwhile, Seol Jihu swallowed down his saliva nervously.
During this rushed march forward, the whole thing felt intolerably tough, and he only wished that they could get there sooner. But, now that he heard the communication, his tension was shooting up through the roof.
Those people, just how much of a desperate struggle were they in right now?
Seol Jihu's eyes drifted upwards.
They were about to arrive at Dawn Peak.