Chapter 152: 082. Aslan’s Saviour -3 (Part Two)
Chapter 152: 082. Aslan’s Saviour -3 (Part Two)
Charlotte gritted her teeth.
Her grip on the divine sword strengthened even further.
“S-stop that Paladin!”
“Block the White Reaper!”
Aslan’s soldiers rushed in from all sides to surround her, trying to stop her from advancing forward. From the regular infantrymen to cavalry, and even Necromancers, they all doggedly pounced on her.
Swords and spears came flying in her direction. Their eyes burned in madness as thick bloodlust flooded out from them.
Towards the incoming Aslan warriors, Charlotte had only one thing to say.
“Get out of my way.”
Along with her icy voice, a powerful storm of divinity gushed out from her figure. White aura swirled violently on the sword gripped tightly in her hand.
She roused up even more divinity, and her ride, the white horse Unira, responded to the divine energy.
A massive explosion suddenly went off. The explosion of divinity flung away countless Aslan soldiers.
Blood from the severed limbs and torsos of the Aslan’s once-mighty warriors scattered in all directions.
The Paladins and Aslan warriors who were engaged in battles throughout the battlefield all flinched nastily and turned their heads.
As if to prove that she indeed was the White Reaper, death and destruction were spreading all around her. Countless enemy soldiers fell away after their bodies were cut and sliced apart.
Harman, who was also participating in the war, could clearly see her current state.
He groaned loudly. “Bloody hell!”
Charlotte had lost her rationale once more and started yet another rampage. And that caused the focus of the opposing army to fall on her.
Many countless enemies pounced on her position in the next moment.
Whenever something like this happened in the previous battles, she’d charge recklessly into the battlefield with her Unira horse.
“Lord Harman!”
A Paladin called out to Harman and the latter nodded his head. “Paladins, on me! We must protect the head of the White Cross!”
His loud call prompted Paladins to quickly gather around him. They urgently scythed through the ranks of Aslan soldiers and headed to where Charlotte was.
Meanwhile, swords and spears continued flying in her way.
Her cheek was cut open, and a spear stabbed into the Unira below her.
Even then, she didn’t hesitate for a second.
“I said...! Get out of my way!”
Her roar contained Spirit Speech.
She forced her way through an encirclement of dozens, nay, hundreds of enemy soldiers.
She clenched her teeth. Various nicks and damages gradually accumulated on the white armour bestowed unto her by the Imperial Court, and eventually, an enemy’s strike caused it to break apart.
Blood trickled down from her wounds. However, she still continued to cut down the Aslan army little by little before finally breaking free from the encirclement, and she resumed her sprint forward.
“...!”
The once-proud warriors of Aslan began stumbling back from fear. The fear of this White Reaper caused them to avoid her at all cost.
Now that the path had opened up, she could push her horse to run at its fastest speed. She pursued after the Aslan cavalry headed to the city’s outer gate.
When Charlotte injected divinity to the Unira, the horse’s hooves pounded on the ground even faster than before.
The creature heeding its master’s command dashed powerfully towards their destination.
“It, it’s the White Reaper!”
The complexions of Aslan’s mounted troops paled in an instant. They were supposed to be seasoned warriors, yet even to them, the White Reaper was an existence that evoked pure fear.
That display of her martial prowess earlier on couldn’t have belonged to a mere human, that’s why!
“Dammit, uwaaaahk!”
The cavalrymen realised that escaping from her was now impossible, so they yanked on the reins to turn their mounts around to face the incoming Charlotte Heraiz.
They urgently attacked with their lances. However, she simply deflected and evaded the outpouring attacks, and began killing the Aslan cavalry one by one.
“Dammit, dammit, dammiiiiit! Hashashins! What are you all doing?! Kill the White Reaper now! She’s a bloody monster!”
One of the Aslan cavalry members finally reached the vicinity of the giant tree, he loudly yelled out. But the hashashins didn’t display any signs of heeding his call.
No, they just glanced at him indifferently before shifting their gazes behind him.
The mounted soldier felt an ominous chill on his skin when the demi-human hashashins looked past him like that. It was at that moment he heard the familiar sounds of hooves and a presence of another person from behind him.
Just before he could turn around to look, his head went flying from his neck. The lifeless body rolled off the horse and collapsed on the ground.
After defeating the last of the cavalry, the female knight in white armour pulled on the reins to slow her mount down.
While breathing heavily, she turned her head and took in the sight of a boy slumbering away under the shade of the giant tree.
“Ah...”
A soft sigh escaped from her lips.
She slowly dismounted from the horse and began walking towards him.
The hashashins tried to block her advance, but Tina quickly called out to them, “Please, let her be.”
The demi-humans stepped aside and distanced themselves from Charlotte at those words.
Tina observed the human girl with silver hair.
From the top of her hair to the bottom of her white armour, her whole body was drenched in the crimson hue of blood. All sorts of injuries marked her figure.
Yet, she still strode forward without wavering or faltering once.
Charlotte felt the heavy knots crushing down on her heart come undone with every step taken. Although her body felt as heavy as a soaked sponge, her mind was progressively getting lighter.
She glanced at the Dark Elf hugging the boy. The pointy-eared child seemed to be protecting the Imperial Prince.
Charlotte had absolutely no doubt in her mind that his highness had been protecting this child. And that’s why she was also doing her best to protect him in return, as well.
Charlotte shifted her gaze back to the boy. The aura of divinity coming from him was faint and his face was full of little wounds.
He must’ve forced himself to use too much divinity again. To protect someone else, he probably had to utilise the power he couldn’t quite deal with just yet again.
Just like how he had saved Charlotte, he must’ve saved someone else this time as well.
She stood before the slumbering boy. His eyes were closed peacefully in a deep sleep. This happened always; he would wreck himself to protect the others, and then fall into a deep slumber for a long while.
It happened in the past, and the same thing would happen again in the future. And she swore that she’d be beside him whenever such a thing occurred. That’s why she persevered so much. That’s why she gained this much strength in the first place.
However, why did it feel like she failed to uphold her own oath every single time?
This insidious murmur in her mind threatened to blight her heart once more.
Charlotte’s previously ice-like expression finally crumbled down. She knelt down before the slumbering boy as she raised her voice, “The head of the marquis house of Heraiz, and the captain of the Order of the White Cross...”
She bowed her head deeply.
“The first Paladin of your highness, the Seventh Imperial Prince...”
Her voice trembled. Wanting to hide her emotions somehow, she deliberately raised her voice even louder.
“Charlotte Heraiz, greets your highness, Allen Olfolse!”
Her loud shout echoed in the surroundings. It was her last-ditch attempt to disguise her voice wavering in a flood of emotions.
Harman arrived belatedly and witnessed this scene from behind. He stood there in silence for a little while before spotting the Seventh Imperial Prince, then began walking over to the boy’s location. His subordinate Paladins followed after him.
Once they got near the sleeping boy, they all knelt down in unison before bowing their heads.
Paladins also loudly shouted out their greetings that adhered to the established decorum. They thought that this was the only way to hide a young girl’s quiet sobbing.
Charlotte cautiously reached out, and gently held the Seventh Imperial Prince’s hand.
It was now time for him to return.
To his home back in the Theocratic Empire.
**
“He... he really was the Imperial Prince.”
Hans stood there watching while his slack jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
Ruppel standing next to him sighed in relief, knowing that he’s finally safe.
Now that the Paladins were here, he should be able to return to the Theocratic Empire in one piece as well.
He muttered out softly, “Fuu-woo, how fortunate we are. We managed to survive this ordeal somehow.”
While feeling greatly relieved, he approached the Paladins paying their respects to the Seventh Imperial Prince.
There was no need for him to cower anymore. After all, the dependable back-up that would support him had gathered here. Plus, it seemed that the Theocratic Empire was enjoying an overwhelming superiority on the battlefield as well.
The only thing remaining was to return home. He’d get to live in comfort once more after regaining his status as the Imperial Prince.
Ruppel strutted towards the Paladins and raised his voice, “Vice captain of the Paladin Corps, Harman! What good timing this is. Start escorting me immediately. And also...”
It was then, Charlotte abruptly raised her head and spoke up, “Sir Harman.”
Ruppel flinched in surprise and stared at her.
He felt unhappy at the fact that she dared to cut off an Imperial Prince trying to say something. Just as he was about to rebuke her for it, he belatedly realised the nuance in her words seemed odd.
Did she talk down to the vice captain of the Paladin Corps just now?
Because Ruppel knew the faces of every captain in charge of the empire’s five main forces, he couldn’t help but be puzzled by this event.
Harman was surprised by it as well. He turned his head and stared at Charlotte. That’s because she had never addressed him without polite speech until now.
Since her back was turned towards him, he couldn’t quite see her expression, but the dense killing aura oozing out from her spoke plenty enough for her current emotions.
She was enraged.
“The instigator of this entire event...”
Her tone of voice implied that she was suppressing her emotions.
A voice as cold as snowy winter slowly reverberated throughout the surroundings.
“...Sir Harman, you shall now apprehend the traitor, Ruppel Olfolse.”
Harman shot up from his kneeling position. He realised that although Charlotte was suppressing her emotion as much as possible, he must act right now if he wanted to prevent the summary execution of Ruppel Olfolse, who was suspected of being the mastermind behind this entire event.
“H-hold on! What are you even... A traitor?! I am...!”
Ruppel’s complexion paled in an instant.
“I shall obey.”
Harman unsheathed his sword and placed the blade right next to Ruppel’s throat. The Third Imperial Prince’s expression hardened like a rock.
Harman stared at him and declared loudly, “Ruppel Olfolse, from this moment henceforth, you shall be judged not as an Imperial Prince, but as a traitor to the empire. It’ll be the same for the currently missing Second Crown Princess Consort, Rose Darina. You are...”
The Paladin took in a deep breath before continuing on.
“...Now under arrest for the suspicion of high treason.”
< 082. Aslan’s Saviour -3 (Part One and Two) > Fin.
(TL: Sorry about the slight delay.)