Water Magician

Chapter 0523 Detached Palace Defense

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor:

“Don’t retreat! If we fall back now, they’ll push through all at once!”

Captain Milan of the 7th Guard Squad shouted to maintain the defensive line.

The initial assault by the raiders had already taken down the commander of the palace guard.

As a result, Milan was acting as a temporary leader, coordinating the defense of the main gate alongside the remaining palace guards.

However…

(There are too many of them.)

He barely kept the thought to himself.

Despite their efforts, the defenders were overwhelmingly outnumbered.

While the individual strength of the palace guards and the escort squad exceeded that of their foes, the sheer disparity in numbers was insurmountable.

Surrounded and outmatched, defenders were falling one by one…

Milan was directing the battle while fighting on the front lines.

His body already covered in cuts.

There was no time to drink a potion to heal.

“They haven’t started using magic or sorcery yet, it’s the only reason we’re holding…”

The battle so far was purely a clash of melee combatants.

Magicians and sorcerers had limits tied to their mana* reserves. (TLN: Magic power)

Once depleted, they could no longer fight.

In the Bosuntar Kingdom, such forces were often reserved for critical moments.

Until then, they were kept in the rear.

This implied that the enemy still had reserves.

True victory wouldn’t be achieved until those magicians and sorcerers were forced into the open.

But their appearance also risked shattering the defensive line in one blow.

Group battles were always a complicated endeavor.

That said, in a chaotic melee like this, there were fewer threats to worry about.

Such as long-range attacks with arrows.

Although magic-based ranged attacks could still hit, the enemy’s magicians had yet to join the fray.

Thus, only archers needed to be considered.

Yet firing arrows accurately in such close quarters was difficult…or so it should have been…

“Ugh!”

An arrow struck deep into Captain Milan’s left shoulder.

“Captain! ”

“Don’t come here!　Maintain the line! ”

Startled, one of Milan’s subordinates called out.

But Milan yelled back, ordering them not to approach him.

Every soldier was barely holding their ground.

If even one left their position to aid him, the line might collapse.

Milan’s sharp gaze locked onto the archer responsible.

It was the leader of the attacking forces advancing on the main gate.

A man whose name anyone involved in martial affairs in the capital would have heard at least once.

“General Feo Shu…even a man of your stature…Why?”

Though he understood the situation intellectually.

General Feo Shu was an ally of Duke Kang and, though officially retired from active duty, remained an advisor to Kang’s forces.

But once, he had served under the previous king as a celebrated general, known as the ‘Shield of the Nation’.

To see such a man partaking in this assault…

Filled Milan with disbelief and rage.

Even if he understood, he couldn’t accept it.

A man who would join such an atrocity was undeserving of respect, no matter his past achievements.

“Hmph.”

Milan severed the arrow lodged in his shoulder with the sword in his right hand.

The arrowhead remained embedded in his flesh.

It would be difficult to remove later, but there was no choice.

The protruding shaft would hinder his sword movements.

His left arm was now nearly useless.

But that didn’t matter.

He could not let the enemy break through.

He would defend this gate, even if it cost his life.

Milan’s determination reinvigorated both the 7th Guard Squad and the palace guards, inspiring them to fight on.

But then, another arrow found its mark.

“Ugh!”

The same precise, devastating archery continued to whittle down the defenders…

“General Feo Shu…”

Milan uttered the name again, his frustration evident.

Realizing that Milan had started paying close attention to him…

Feo Shu shifted his aim to other targets.

Each shot took down another.

Eeither killing outright or rendering them unable to fight.

“This is bad.”

Milan surveyed the battlefield grimly.

Within minutes, half of their forces were unable to continue fighting.

If any more fell, the line would collapse, and the main gate would be overrun.

The attackers seemed to understand this.

“Charge! ”

“Uoooh! ”

The enemy launched an all-out assault.

“Hold the line!　This is the critical moment! ”

Milan shouted.

The 7th Guard Squad and the palace guards fought with desperate determination.

They kept moving to avoid being surrounded…though each movement brought fresh injuries…

“This is bad! ”

Milan saw the right flank of the defensive line falter.

Neither the left nor the center could spare any reinforcements.

Even Milan himself was fully engaged.

(They’re going to break through! )

Milan thought, bracing for the worst.

Blood sprayed through the air.

Raiders fell one after another.

A crimson flash tore through the battlefield.

Painting the ground red with blood.

Milan barely registered a figure rushing past him, cutting down enemies as it went.

In mere moments, ten attackers lay defeated.

Finally, Milan saw clearly.

“Abel-dono! ”

“Sorry to keep you waiting! ”

It was Abel, Mifa’s master, wielding a brilliantly glowing crimson magic sword.

Abel kept cutting through the enemy, shouting back as he fought.

With each swing of his sword, an opponent was incapacitated, often without even a proper clash of blades.

“What skill. Truly, Mifa-sama’s master.”

One man turned the tide of battle.

Such feats were conceivable for a magician.

But Abel was a swordsman.

A lone warrior saving a nearly broken defense and incapacitating dozens in mere moments.

But the attackers did not stand idly by.

Clang!

For the first time in a long while, Abel’s sword clashed with another.

“Leader of the raiders, I presume.”

“I’ve never heard of a swordsman like you serving the princess.”

The one engaging Abel was none other than General Feo Shu.

Though older now, he was still the ‘Shield of the Nation’.

A man leagues above ordinary soldiers.

“Just happened to be invited to the princess’s tea party. Bad luck, I guess.”

“What’s your name?”

“Don’t you know, attacker? It’s a universal courtesy to introduce yourself first when asking someone else’s name.”

Abel replied with a wry tone.

That way of speaking resembled a certain water-attribute magician…

If his old acquaintances were present, they would surely say so.

“Advisor to Duke Kang’s army, Feo Xu.”

“I see. I am Abel of the Kingdom of Knightley.”

“Knightley of the central countries? The one sung about by minstrels? They say the king’s swordsmanship, wielding the crimson gleaming magic sword, is unmatched in the country. The king’s name…Abel the First…”

General Feo Xu frowned as he murmured.

“If I were him, what would you do? Surrender?”

“Nope!　That ship already sailed.”

“Then, there’s only one thing for a swordsman to do.”

“Indeed, let the swords speak! ”

Their blades clashed with increasing ferocity.

General Feo Xu, with his hair and beard completely white, was at an age that could be called elderly rather than middle-aged.

Yet, his sword and gaze retained their strength.

Even against Abel, he wasn’t losing in power.

(I see, he’s strong. Despite nearing seventy, to wield a sword like this… It’s not the sword of a pure swordsman. A commander, then? Yes, a commander’s sword…not one that cuts down enemies by charging forward, but a sword meant to ensure a commander is never defeated. As a king myself, perhaps I should be like that too.)

Abel chuckled slightly, self-deprecatingly.

He remembered the many times Dontan, the captain of the Royal Knights, had admonished him since he became king.

A supreme commander must never fall.

For that reason, charging into the enemy’s front lines was something Dontan earnestly wished him to stop.

(He’s strong. Far too strong. Even more so than I was in my prime… I thought the minstrels’ songs exaggerated, but this sword does indeed surpass all others. Is he truly King Abel? I don’t know why he’s here in the Eastern Countries, but…no matter. I must stop him, even at the cost of my own life…facing such a foe in mutual destruction wouldn’t be so bad. No, it would be an honor.)

General Feo Xu also smiled faintly, his expression tinged with self-mockery.

Abel could sense that fleeting resolve.

(He’s planning something.)

For Abel, this was welcome news.

He’s about to unleash a grand move.

If so, countering it was second nature to a swordsman like Abel.

In reality, time was running short.

(Here it comes! )

At the very moment Abel anticipated, Feo Xu closed the distance in an instant and swung his sword down with incredible force.

Abel caught the strike and locked swords with him.

And then—

A spell was cast from the raiding party.

The magic targeted both Abel and Feo Xu, now locked in close combat!

The intent was clear.

To take out Abel along with Feo Xu.

This trump card must have been planned from the start.

General Feo Xu had sent an almost imperceptible signal, one even Abel hadn’t noticed, and the plan was executed without hesitation.

In that moment, Abel saw General Feo Xu close his eyes.

Was it a resignation to death?

“Sword Art: Absolute Shadow!”

But Abel had no intention of falling here.

He unleashed Sword Art: Absolute Shadow.

A sword technique that dodged all ranged attacks.

It was one of the highest-tier techniques.

As its effects suggested.

Over ten offensive spells.

Abel evaded them all, while General Feo Xu’s body was struck and pierced.

Feo Xu collapsed to the ground.

Abel, however, ignored him and charged straight into the heart of the raiding party.

He already knew who had cast the spells.

It took less than a minute to neutralize them.

Every magician and sorcerer was defeated.

At nearly the same moment, Captain Milan and the Seventh Guard Squad, along with the guards, routed the remaining raiders.

With the situation under control, Abel returned to the fallen General Feo Xu.

“…Kill me.”

The general rasped weakly, blood trickling from his mouth.

“No, I won’t kill you. I need you alive as a prisoner.”

Abel declared firmly.

“You mean to make me live in disgrace?”

“Live and take responsibility. For failing to stop Duke Kang and his allies.”

General Feo Xu murmured weakly, though Abel’s tone lacked any hint of reproach.

“Captain Milan! ”

“Yes, Abel-dono! ”

“Take General Feo Xu prisoner. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

“Understood! ”

Captain Milan nodded.

And began administering a healing potion.

“I’m returning to the princess. I leave the rest to you! ”

Abel said, then took off running.

By now, he was certain.

There was another force targeting the princess directly.

This explained why General Feo Xu had tried to stop Abel, even at the cost of his own life.

Had Feo Xu died earlier, the attacking forces would have lost their commander.

Even if Abel had been removed, their ultimate goal lay in the detached palace’s inner chambers, with Princess Shio Fen.

For a commander to risk his life in a self-sacrificial move without ensuring the primary objective was achieved made no sense.

But if there was a separate force, one that would succeed even if Feo Xu died…

And so, Abel ran.