『The blast cannon is unusable?!』

『I-I'm sorry, Sir!』

The crucial catalyst had gone missing. Men were heading to the warehouse to fetch some, but it would take at least two hours before they returned.

『Why you…!』

The rage building up inside Ludend prevented him from finis.h.i.+ng his words. He wanted to kick the lead engineer and the person in charge, both prostrated on the ground, really badly.

『Sir, we should think of another plan.』the Environmental Sanitation chief said.

『I know that!』Ludend replied, realizing this wasn't the time to get angry.『Dawn will be breaking two hours from now.』

『Yes… It'll be brighter then. The citizens will see the uproar for what it really is.』

The army's main force was out on an expedition. All that was left were the rebel army and the guards in the palace. The enemy shouldn't grow in number. But there were also police and firefighters in the city, brawny men and experienced fighters, who would no doubt join the king's side. If that happened, the rebels would be at a disadvantage.

『No matter how much time we spent in coming up with our plan, how well-thought out it is, in the end we'll have to rely on brute force, huh…』

『It would seem that way.』

『Gather all the men attacking the side gates to the front. Make sure the enemy doesn't find out. And Chief, bring those guys here.』

『What?! I understand…』

The Environmental Sanitation chief sprung into action. I've never seen Sir Ludend so furious before, he thought.

He was calm, cool, and collected. To top it off, he was also crafty, gloomy, and dismal. Something felt odd, but the Environmental Sanitation chief attributed it to the fact that it was an unusual night.

It wouldn't be long until the soldiers' adrenaline rush ended and they started feeling weary and losing focus.

So we have to use anything we can. We should've gained control of the palace hours ago.

They never expected there to be that many troops inside the palace. They thought they could keep the Healer in check. They were forced to use the blast cannon, but they never even considered that it became inoperable.

A lot of things were backfiring. There was no doubt that someone leaked information, but they didn't tell Grucel anything important.

Maybe there's a traitor among us. No, if that's the case, our plan would've been discovered earlier. Someone got intel on us? But who?

He had no time to think about it now.

We just have to do whatever we can. We're at the crossroads of life and death, the chief thought as he was running under the light of the stars.

Doriachi was in the audience chamber located deep inside the palace, with Duinkler by his side in his battered state. Soldiers stood guard there at first, but were sent away as there was no point in them staying.

『Duinkler, the bombardment seems to have stopped.』

『Yes… Perhaps they can't use the blast cannon anymore.』

That can't be right, Doriachi thought. Ludend was the head of the Sorcery Department, a man expert in sorcery. He could easily bring several blast cannons with him. Judging by his character, he would definitely prepare plenty of spare ammunition.

But the king thought refuting what Duinkler said was pointless. It was a fact that the cannons stopped firing, for reasons unknown.

『Can our troops fight?』

『You can rest a.s.sured, Your Majesty. The Healer is doing their best, so we should be able to hold until morning. The chances of that are now higher without their blast cannon.』

Duinkler thought the same thing as Ludend. While relieved, Doriachi was frustrated that he couldn't fight in the front lines. Save for a few extreme cases, a large-scale battle like this only ever happened against monsters. This was the first time fellow countrymen were killing each other. What's more, the enemy's target was him. He couldn't help but tap his foot in frustration.

『Your Majesty.』

『Oh… I'm sorry. I seem to be losing my composure.』

『I feel the same. I've been thinking about that for a while now.』

『It did look like you were deep in thought. What's the matter?』

Duinkler was pretty much clueless about tactics and strategies. That's why he refrained from fighting with the guards. He would only get in the way. Doriachi thought the plump man was silent because of that, but that wasn't the case.

『It feels like someone is interfering with my thoughts.』

『What?』

『Unreasonable fear, pointlessly stirring up emotions… Before you know it, you've resorted to drastic measures. Doesn't it feel that way?』

Now that he mentioned it, he could be right, Doriachi thought. Indeed, he was frustrated for not being able to fight, but a king fighting in the front line was a foolish idea in the first place. He only needed to remain calm to realize that.

『You might be right. What's the cause? A magic item?』

『I've never heard of a magic item that can do that. Perhaps Ludend invented one, but he himself seems to be acting hasty as well. He's firing the blast cannon nonstop. It doesn't make sense to me.』

『You're saying Ludend is being affected too?』

『I don't know. I've been thinking about it, but I just have no idea.』

As the two exchanged glances, a soldier came running from the front of the palace.

『Your Majesty! Lord Duinkler! It's the rebels!』

『What's wrong?』

『Th-They took the guests from Primeval as hostages!』

Duinkler went to the entrance of the palace as Doriachi's representative. What awaited him was a horrible scene unlike anything he'd ever imagined—holes in the ground, broken stone steps, fallen roofs, and holes on the walls.

The darkness made it difficult to see, but he could make out the blood splattered everywhere, although barely. The guards, b.l.o.o.d.y and covered in mud, still held their ground, partially-destroyed s.h.i.+elds in their hands. Tears welled up in Duinkler's eyes as he watched the men.

『Ludend!』Duinkler shouted.

Ludend hurting these loyal and devoted guards made Duinkler burn with rage. He thought maybe it was just his emotions being stirred, but he knew this anger was his. It's what he truly felt.

『You finally showed up. Someone who hides behind the safety of his soldiers, using them as s.h.i.+elds, is not fit to be a clan leader.』

Soldiers on the other side formed a line about thirty meters away. A magic lamp shone light from behind them, outlining Ludend's dark silhouette. About ten people were on the ground behind him. From their different skin and hair color, Duinkler knew right away that they were the Healer and knights from Vireocean. Gorja stood beside them nonchalantly.

「What is the meaning of this?! You invited us for training!」Luke Landon exclaimed in anger, but Gorja ignored him.

Gorja was on Ludend's side from the start. He detained Luke's company, thinking he could use them somehow, by inviting them to “training”.

『Duinkler.』Ludend said.『Tell the Healer inside that if they don't come out, we will kill all the guests from Primeval right here.』