Chapter 73: Assassination Attempt [1]

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A commotion erupted across the Red Leaf estate as everyone rushed toward the gate. Louis was attacked by four soldiers at once, and panic spread rapidly. Robert’s eyes widened. He sprinted to aid his prince, Juliette, close behind, while the rest were ordered to stay back, they weren’t prepared for a battle of this caliber yet.

“Who dares attack His Majesty?!” Robert’s voice thundered from behind Louis like a roar. The soldiers assaulting the prince froze as a chill raced down their spines. A towering man in golden armor stepped forward, massive axe in hand. Without hesitation, he swung, shattering a soldier’s shield in half and sending the man flying with a brutal kick. “Traitors! Are you traitors to the crown?! Shall I dispose of them, Your Majesty?”

“That’s the retired War Priest, Robert Handseng?!” One of the soldiers near Louis staggered back. “Haha, well, today we’ll kill a legend!”

“What did you say?!” Robert bellowed.

Suddenly, he sensed something behind him. A sharp claw of vines erupted from his shadow, seizing his shoulder and yanking him toward the darkness. “What in the world?!”

“I see…!” Louis surged forward, swinging his Ashen Frost Blade. He severed the vines and stabbed into the shadow, flooding it with holy light. The mass exploded in a burst of energy. A piercing shriek echoed as the creature emerged, writhing and retreating to hide behind one of the soldiers. “You’ve brought Entities. I see. You’re no ordinary mongrels. I can already guess the one behind this has been making excellent use of that Dimensional Rift!”

As Louis spoke, the fifth soldier he sent flying earlier charged back. His Aura flared with a chaotic blend of Ki, Mana, and Spiritual Energy. The spear in his grip gleamed with rainbow light, several glowing crystals shimmering as the power of his Spirit Artifact awakened.

“Ignore his subordinates! We came here to kill the prince!” the elf commanded. His long blonde hair whipped in the wind, and his glowing red eyes fixed on Louis with vicious malice. “Prince Louis Drakeheart, you die today!”

“Fool.”

Louis wasted no more words. He intercepted another soldier lunging for his back, evading the Spirit Lance and driving a fist into the man’s face. Then he swung his sword in a relentless barrage, slicing through armor and carving deep wounds across the soldier’s body. The attacker proved surprisingly weak, but the other two closing in from his left and right were far more dangerous.

Both wielded Spirit Swords, Sword Energy surging violently from their bodies, so sharp it sliced the very air. For the first time, Louis chose to evade after his opening strike. He stepped back swiftly and blocked their onslaught with his Ashen Frost Blade and Soul Gear White Lance.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

The two soldiers appeared to be twins, almost identical humans, save for their eye colors. Both had short silver hair; the one on the left had red eyes, the one on the right blue. Louis quickly realized they were not Earth’s humans but likely descendants of Yggdrasil’s people—naturally stronger, born with Mana Cores and innate magical talent.

“To think you would be a practitioner of the Sword Breathing Method…!”

“I see—you’re not merely the cripple the rumors claim!”

Louis remained silent, focusing entirely on the fight. He dodged and parried their ceaseless attacks while calmly analyzing them. His gaze swept over their Auras, swiftly gauging their true strength.

“You’re…!”

The twins grinned as they sensed Louis had discerned their real power. Their Auras exploded outward. Their Spirit Swords responded, extending dozens of times longer. They swung in perfect unison from both sides, aiming to bisect the prince.

“Spirit Blade Swordsmanship!”

“Fusion Form!”

“Soul Guillotine!”

Not only did they master the Sword Breathing Method, they also wielded the Fusion Aura Method Louis had once taught Fernand and Elises. The brothers relied on each other to overwhelm opponents with unavoidable, devastating strikes.

The attack came too fast for Louis to fully evade. His body was cleaved in two. The swordsmen smiled wickedly, believing they had ended him in an instant.

Yet at that very moment, Louis’s hands moved. He seized his severed upper half and pressed it back to his lower body. Ashen frost surged over the wound, sealing it shut. Using [Death Senses], he cheated death itself, leaving both attackers stunned.

“W-Wha…?!”

“How did he…?!”

Shocked by the impossible, Louis transformed without hesitation. He refused to underestimate this pair. He immediately recognized them as Masters of the Second Step of Sword Breathing, Sword Experts. Though not Spiralwalkers, their combined strength could rival or even exceed his own.

Louis took no chances. He fused with all three of his Incarnations at once, unleashing a torrent of Sword Techniques and Lance Attacks through four arms. Each limb ended in long blades and spear-like claws forged of metal and solidified Pain.

“Tremble. I will show you the true strength of your Prince.”

“…?!”

“Wha…!”

An overwhelming dread consumed both swordsmen. Their senses screamed danger. They tried to dodge, barely managing to retreat, but the attacks still struck. Dozens landed in seconds, shattering their Spirit Armor and tearing into their flesh.

“Guuuaaaaahhh!”

Both screamed in agony, hurled backward. They crashed into the walls, stone exploding around them. The brothers vomited blood, swords slipping from their grasp as they stared at Louis advancing with bloodshot eyes.

“T-That bastard…!”

“S-Stand up, brother!”

The older twin forced himself upright and pulled his brother to his feet. He returned the fallen sword. As Louis drew nearer, they trembled, touched identical tattoos on their hands, and nodded silently.

“Summon!”

They activated a Summoning Rune. A magic circle flared into existence before them, summoning a massive creature of dark green vines shaped like a three-headed chimera. It roared with thunderous fury and charged Louis without a moment’s hesitation.

It became painfully clear to the prince that these men were cooperating with the Gardener in some way. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to summon his Entities with such effortless precision.

“Prince Louis, you will die today!”

“…!”

As the beast barreled forward, another soldier struck from behind. Louis silently praised their sense of honor for announcing themselves, then swiftly dodged the spear thrust. The chimera attacked without restraint, once again hurling the lance-wielding elven knight aside.

“Is that guy an idiot?”

Louis sighed and glanced toward Robert and Juliette. Both were locked in fierce combat with a single soldier, holding the line to keep him from reaching Louis while simultaneously fending off the Entity the man had summoned, a humanoid figure of dark green vines studded with metallic golden spines.

“I have to finish this quickly.”

Louis wasted no time. He closed in on the swordsmen, noticing the chimera already lunging at him again. Somehow the monster had locked onto him completely, barreling through anything in its path without deviation.

He shot into the sky, evading the creature entirely, then charged his Soul Gear with an immense surge of Light. Belladine poured every ounce of her power into this single strike.

“Gaze upon my power.”

He unleashed the lance. It descended like a bolt of lightning, piercing the monstrous Entity and incinerating it from within. A blinding explosion erupted. The entire creature burned to ashes and crumbled into charcoal-like fragments. Its crystallized core shattered into countless tiny shards.

The two swordsmen stared in stunned disbelief. One of their greatest trump cards had been obliterated in an instant, and they were next.

…If only Louis had noticed the fifth soldier sooner.

A spiritual arrow streaked toward him, aimed straight at his heart. Louis reacted instantly, folding his wings to plummet downward and avoid a fatal strike. The arrow still pierced his shoulder.

“Tsk!”

Three more arrows followed in rapid succession, striking both legs and his left shoulder. Louis twisted through the air, dodging as best he could while scanning the farmlands. A presence hid there, completely invisible, cloaked by some spell or technique that rendered it undetectable to sight. This soldier was proving far more troublesome than the shouting lancer or the wounded swordsmen.

“Where are you?!”

Louis ripped the arrows free from his flesh and expanded his aura in every direction like a razor-sharp blade. It sliced cleanly through the surrounding farms and gardens. His target was forced to flee, and the plants trembled as he moved!

Louis gave immediate chase, closing the distance fast, only for the lance-wielding elf to intercept him once more. The knight unleashed a relentless series of thrusting strikes, his Spirit Lance surging with power. Spiritual lances formed from his technique multiplied the assault, making him seem like a one-man army.

“I’ve finally caught you, Prince Louis! Perish!”

“Spirit Lance Style!”

“Myriad Thrusts!”

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