37-125

EP.125 The Decisive Battle for the Empire’s Fate (5) 

Eliza, seeing Yuno ambushed, shouted in a voice full of fury. 

"Count Kashu!! Tower Master Jennifer!! What are you doing, attacking in the middle of an honorable duel?!" 

"Hmm? Jennifer's a mage, so I don't really know about duels~ The emperor promised me ten hand-picked pretty boys, so shouldn't I work hard for that? There's no way anyone could survive a fireball compressed seven times, so just give up. Oh! But at least there was no pain!!" 

"Heh! Looking for rules of dueling in war. You really are a naive princess, raised too gently." 

"You were the ones who asked for a one-on-one duel first... such shameless..." 

Eliza wanted to rush through the dust cloud to Yuno, but knowing Count Kashu had been faking injury and suddenly launched a fierce assault on her, she could only grit her teeth and hold her ground. 

Count Kashu, sensing her agitation, once again infused his sword with murderous intent, while Jennifer prepared another attack spell from the air. 

But then, a familiar voice echoed across the battlefield, freezing them in place. 

"You've become quite brazen, Count Kashu. I see now that a knight's character changes to match his lord. As for Jennifer, she was always shameless, so don't mind her, Eliza." 

"Li... Lichtenauer..." 

"Hohoho, my dear husband... You just threw divorce papers at me and ran away, and now you're here? I get to kill my runaway husband, two birds with one stone!" 

With Lichtenauer's appearance, not only Count Kashu and Jennifer, but even the ordinary knights stopped fighting and turned to look at him. 

He had reigned as the empire's strongest master for over a decade, and even now, no master surpassed him. Even Heinrich's knights paid him respect. 

"Master Lichtenauer, we greet you." ... "It's been a while, Captain Lichtenauer." ... "I heard you retired, but here you are..." 

"All familiar faces. I have something to say, so please clear the way for a moment." 

At his gesture, knights from both sides parted to let him pass, and Lichtenauer slowly approached Eliza. 

"Master!! Y... Yuno!!" 

"Don't worry, Eliza. Do you think that guy would even flinch at Count Kashu's sword aura? He's a monster who could take my own sword aura head-on." 

As Lichtenauer finished, a gust of wind blew away the dust cloud, revealing Yuno. 

"Aw, Count Lichtenauer? I was going to surprise everyone here, but you spoiled it for me!" 

His clothes were in tatters, but his body was unscathed. Eliza, tears of joy in her eyes, ran to Yuno. 

Yuno tossed the unconscious Viscount Amin, who was still clinging to his hand, to Heinrich's knights and embraced his lover. 

"Yuno, you're safe!" 

"Haha, the sword aura was easy to block, but the magic attack was a bit dangerous. Still, it seems Miri's charm had some magic protection, so it blocked it once." 

"Heh, even if you got hit by that weak magic, you'd be fine. Weren't you unscathed when my sword aura grazed you last time?" 

"Still, I'd feel bad if you said it like that." 

While Yuno and Lichtenauer were talking, Count Kashu trembled in anger. 

"H-how dare you say my sword aura is nothing?!" 

"My usual sparring partners were Master Catherine Aragon and Count Lichtenauer. Did you really think you could beat me with that level of swordplay? Deep down, you knew you couldn't, so you relied on magical support." 

"S-shut up!! I can handle a traitor like you alone!!" 

As Count Kashu charged at Yuno, Eliza stepped in and blocked his sword. 

"Heh, Count Kashu? Our duel isn't over yet, you know?" 

"Y-you wretched traitor girl!!" 

Count Kashu's sword slashed wildly at Eliza, but she calmly parried, handling him with much more ease than before. 

'I was caught off guard earlier because I didn't know how much he was hiding, but if this is his limit... I can win!' 

Eliza analyzed his swordplay, absorbing his experience, and grew stronger even in the midst of battle. Conversely, Count Kashu's sword grew faster and more explosive, but his composure was fading. Yuno was certain Eliza would win and kept watch to prevent interference, asking both Heinrich's and Prinz's knights to pause the fight. 

Both sides, feeling their strength and skill were evenly matched, agreed, believing the outcome would be decided by the masters' duel, and calmly watched the battlefield. 

Meanwhile, elsewhere, a conversation was taking place between former spouses, but the atmosphere was so tense that it was hard to believe they had ever been married. 

"By the way, Jennifer, what did you do to get so young? You really can't act your age, tsk tsk." 

"As the greatest genius in the history of the Imperial Tower, I, Jennifer Grunthart, developed a secret spell called Life Drain. After enjoying intense sex with carefully chosen pretty boys, I sucked out their mana to the core. But the boys liked it too! I gave them the ultimate pleasure with my pussy, and now they'll remain inside me forever as the source of my youth." 

"...You crazy woman... If I could, I'd go back in time and cut this tie for good!!" 

"Hohoho, why? Are you jealous? Seeing your wife young again, do you want to take back the divorce and have another go like our honeymoon? Too bad, I’m not interested in your old body anymore." 

"Y-you... you filthy whore..." 

Lichtenauer cursed in anger, but Jennifer ignored him, scanning the battlefield before fixing her gaze on Yuno. 

"Yes, that's more like it... Only someone like the Third Prince is worthy... I'll kill you and that Eliza girl, then make the prince my sex slave! And after I find out how he blocked my compressed fireball, I'll drain all the mana from that powerful body and become eternally young!!" 

"You filthy whore, how dare you target my disciples? Today, I'll take your head with my sword!" 

Even as Lichtenauer drew his sword and unleashed killing intent, Jennifer smiled confidently. 

"Kekeke, you? You think you can kill me? In the past, now, and forever, you'll never be my match!" 

Lichtenauer gritted his teeth. 

'As much as I hate to admit it, she's right... I never won a one-on-one duel with her before... But after all the training with Yuno and Eliza, maybe this time I can!' 

It wasn't just Yuno and Eliza who had grown stronger through training. Recently, Lichtenauer himself had broken through a wall that had blocked him for years, and his body and mana core had become tougher. This time, he was confident. 

Lichtenauer unleashed a massive sword aura at Jennifer. But she easily dodged with advanced flight magic, and blocked his precise sword auras with barrier magic. 

'What the hell! A barrier that absorbs sword aura? She used to just dodge before!!' 

"Hahaha, what's this? Is your sword aura so weak because you're old? If this is all, I can defend and attack at the same time." 

"W-what? No way..." 

"Kekeke, what do you think I am? As the greatest genius mage Jennifer Grunthart, I can even dual-cast!!" 

To prove her words, Jennifer began conjuring a fireball while maintaining her barrier. The fireball grew, shrank, and glowed ever more intensely, making Lichtenauer grit his teeth. 

"Dual casting and compressed magic... just like the legends?" 

"I'm that legend! Now, take this quietly!!" 

Even for her, maintaining dual casting and compression was difficult, so Jennifer fired a fireball compressed four times at Lichtenauer. 

"Hmph! No matter what, a master knight's sword speed is still faster than magic!" 

Lichtenauer slashed the incoming fireball, used the explosion’s shock to rush at Jennifer, and aimed to break through her barrier. 

"This time, even your precious barrier can't stop me!!" 

There’s a world of difference between firing sword aura and striking with a sword imbued with it. Seeing Jennifer’s face turn to panic, Lichtenauer was sure of victory. 

At last, his blade broke through the barrier and cut through Jennifer’s neck. 

But... 

"That... felt strange..." 

"Hehehe, you tried hard, but... fail♥" 

What Lichtenauer had cut was Jennifer’s illusion. She had already slipped behind him and unleashed a lightning spell. 

BZZZZZZZZT!! 

A massive surge of electricity shot through his body, pain exploding from his back, but Lichtenauer desperately stifled his scream. 

"Ughhhhhhh!!!" 

"Oh my~ Even now you hold back a scream. Don’t want to look weak in front of your ex-wife? Well, you’ll have to faint for a bit. Later, you can just watch while I have my way with the Third Prince. As your ex-wife, I’ll even let you jerk off in front of me, so don’t worry. Hohoho." 

Hearing Lichtenauer’s stifled scream, Yuno fired a ki blast, but Jennifer blocked it effortlessly. 

"Hehe, why are you in such a hurry, Third Prince? Charging in like a virgin who’s been promised sex. Are you that curious about my pussy? Just wait a bit and I’ll give you a very pleasant experience." 

Jennifer cast a binding spell at Yuno, trapping his feet. 

"This... this magic... ah!!" 

Yuno tried to break the binding with his fist, but Jennifer’s magic held firm. 

"You’ll need at least a ki blast to break my spell. But if you do, you’ll shatter your ankle. So just wait patiently." 

Facing the overwhelming power of the archmage, Yuno’s mind raced. 

'Damn, what do I do... At this rate, Master will die... and Eliza probably can’t defeat Count Kashu quickly either...' 

"Arrrgh!!" 

Unable to endure the pain, Lichtenauer finally screamed, and Yuno, desperate, prepared to smash his own foot with a ki-charged punch to break the spell. 

But at that moment  

"Yuno, what are you doing! Get a hold of yourself!!" 

"Brother! Why are you trying to hurt yourself?! Are you going to lose to that old hag?" 

"Hehe, Master~ Your body doesn’t belong to just you." 

"In a crisis, call for us, your loyal maid duo!" 

With the arrival of four women on the battlefield, the tide began to turn once more.