The Beginning of a Fierce Battle

『Protect the Healer!』Duinkler shouted.『They just tried to kill her!』

The palace guards readied their weapons all at once and charged. But there was one person who moved faster than everyone else.

『Ludend! Did you aim that blast cannon at this lady?! Answer me!』

Galixon closed the distance between him and the enemy in the blink of an eye. One swing from his sword decapitated two gunners, blood gus.h.i.+ng out of their necks like a fountain.

『Ludend!』

Ludend yelped.『P-Protect me!』

Galixon, his eyes bloodshot, found Ludend behind a number of soldiers holding s.h.i.+elds. He kicked them aside, thrusting his sword between the smallest gaps. The line of defense collapsed in no time.

Palace guards came charging in. Up until now, they'd done nothing but stay on the defensive, protecting the palace walls, but now they were fighting back, causing confusion among the rebels.

Paula was unable to keep up with what has happening ever since the bell rang. Protected by the furious fifteen bodyguards, all she could do was watch in stunned silence as the guards pa.s.sed by her. The bodyguards were furious as well after the enemy tried to hurt her.

『The captain's way too scary.』

『We'll only get in his way.』

『I hear ya. Heck, I think he already forgot he's supposed to protect the G.o.ddess.』

Knowing how terrifying Galixon was, the men chose to stay and protect Paula instead.

『Ludend!』Galixon screamed as he brandished his sword. As soon as his sword became dull, he took his enemy's sword, swung it around, and once it dulled again, he picked up another one. He was like a G.o.d of death wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

Duinkler's quick judgment was splendid as well. He knew Galixon was a famous soldier, but he thought the man would act solely as Paula's bodyguard. But the enemy made a mistake by attacking the Healer out of all people. It was plain as day that Galixon would go berserk. As his alias suggested, Galixon had the strength of a hundred men. With the difference in power now gone, they now had the overwhelming advantage.

Antic.i.p.ating all this, Duinkler ordered the palace guards to attack. He barely had any experience in commanding troops in battle, but he knew when the critical moment was. A fight would be decided upon the actions of the men. This applied to both war and politics.

『Victory is ours.』Snorting in satisfaction, Duinkler turned around to report to Doriachi, when his feet stopped.『Wh-Wh-What is that…?』

By this time, they could be seen from the palace—giants towering in the night sky, closing in on the city walls.

At the same time, Paula also noticed the Yamamaneki. It was then that she realized that the low-pitched ringing of the bell wasn't a warning of a monster attack, but a signal for an evacuation.

「Everyone! This is not the time to fight!」Paula yelled, but the men fighting didn't hear her, Galixon included.

『What's wrong, my lady?』one bodyguard asked.

「Please stop the fighting! There are other things we have to worry about!」

『Hahaha. It's fine. I'm sure the G.o.ddess is just feeling emotional after being targeted.』

『I see. Rest a.s.sured, my lady. Captain Galixon will take care of all the bad guys.』

「Why are you smiling?! Look over there!」Paula pointed at the city wall.

『Hmm?』

The bodyguards finally turned their heads to the direction she was pointing at.

『Wh-What the h.e.l.l is that?!』

『Monsters attacking!』

『Ring the bell!』

『Someone already did! So the bell ringing was for this?! 』

No matter how much they raised their voice, the ones fighting were in too much frenzy to stop. In such a case, instruments would be used to issue instructions, but the bodyguards didn't know where the gongs or drums were kept, and the rebels' instruments were on the other side of the battlefield.

「Pleeeeeeeease stoooop fightiiiiiiing!」Paula screamed at the top of her lungs.

Then, an explosion occurred in the night sky. Light poured down. Her ears were ringing. The sound was so loud that everyone stopped fighting and looked up. Then another fireball appeared and flew straight toward the northern sky.

「Lavichan.」Paula muttered in a whisper that no one heard.

Paula spotted a black silhouette on the roof that vanished into the darkness the next instant. The effect of Lavia's fire magic was remarkable. As the soldiers followed the fireball and turned their gaze northward, they noticed the head of the Yamamaneki over the wall. Some couldn't see it because of buildings blocking their view, but a few people seeing it was enough.

『Yamamaneki! They're coming! A lot of them!』

『What? What did you say? I can't hear—』

『Emergency evacuation! Emergency evacuation! Run!』

『Stop fighting! Now!』

As confused as the soldiers were, so was Ludend. He was retreating from Galixon, who was coming at him with a ghastly expression on his face, when he spotted the Yamamaneki from the alleyway.

『Th-Th-This can't be… Forget overthrowing the monarchy, the nation is in danger!』

『What do we do?』the Sanitation chief asked, his face pale, clearly shaken.

There was always a possibility of the revolt ending in failure. Everyone was prepared to receive the death sentence if ever that happened. But peris.h.i.+ng in the hands of monsters was not what they expected.

『Evacuation… is our only option. What's going on?! Where's Gorja?!』

『I lost sight of him.』

『Useless piece of… Then we—』Ludend paused. A figure clad in black and wearing a silver mask stood before him, a mask with star engravings.

『Y-You're a friend of Silver Face!』

『You know now's not the time to panic.』

『You can speak our language?!』

Both Ludend and the chief of Sanitation were surprised.

『I need you guys to hold the monsters back while the citizens evacuate.』

『That's impossible. There's no way that we and the guards can cooperate amidst the chaos. Besides, we don't stand a chance against the Yamamaneki with our current equipment!』

『Of course you can.』

『How can you be so sure—』

Star Face dropped a bag on the ground.

『The catalyst?! I see. You stole it!』

『We needed to prevent as many casualties as possible.』

『What does that… Wait a minute. You sound like you knew the monsters were coming.』

『We considered the possibility. I've already informed the guards, so good luck.』

『W-Wait! What are you going to do?!』

Star Face, who was about to disappear into the darkness, stopped.『Prepare to evacuate all citizens.』

『Evacuate…? Where will they go?』

『Somewhere far, far away.』she said.

Ludend noticed white fur wrapped around her neck.