In the imperial capital, the Garnet Empire’s greatest city that stood at the center of the nation, a hundred thousand soldiers had been assembled as First Imperial Prince Arthur’s subordinates. Among them, thirty thousand were from the Knights of the Silver Hawk and another thirty thousand from the Knights of the Red Tiger—both orders composed entirely of nobles. Then there were twenty thousand soldiers from Arthur’s private army, and the last twenty thousand were hired adventurers and mercenaries.
Such were the forces that Arthur had gathered to subjugate his younger brother, Second Imperial Prince Lance. He had called together all the soldiers that could move freely within the empire, the only exceptions being the men Arthur had posted in foreign countries. One look at the impressive size of this army would show just how serious he was about eliminating Lance.
The soldiers were preparing for their march, stocking provisions and weapons. And when they were done, they would head toward Lance’s current position—Berwick.
The greatest quarrel between brothers in the history of the Garnet Empire—the decisive battle between the two imperial princes—was right around the corner.
✦ ✦ ✦
〇 〇 〇
“Thousand Blades!” the man screamed. The next instant, bluish-white mana spread across the floor, and countless blades sprouted like plants. Then the man stretched out his robust arms to brandish two swords, and he turned to face his target.
“I see. So this is the Thousand Blades, huh? A fitting name. No wonder some call him a warmonger despite being an assassin,” Arthur Garnet muttered to himself, somewhat impressed by the trespasser before him.
Arthur was Millicia and Lance’s older brother and had been the ruler of the imperial capital ever since their father had fallen ill. Facing him inside one of the rooms of the palace was an intruder—a man in the prime of his life with a body like a fortress of muscle, bearing the scars of countless battles. He was the Thousand Blades, a renowned assassin who had come to take Arthur’s life.
“I know that my siblings and I are being hunted by assassins, and my subordinates have killed a few already, but you’re the first one to actually make it to me. Bravo,” Arthur praised the Thousand Blades. Strange as it might seem to extol the abilities of someone trying to kill him, anyone who knew Arthur would say this was exactly the kind of thing he would do. He was someone who truly respected power.
The Thousand Blades didn’t answer, however. Instead, he silently readied his swords born from the magic that gave him his namesake, measuring the distance between himself and his target.
“So you’re not one for words and prefer to let your weapons do the talking, huh? I’m starting to like you even more.” Arthur’s smile widened as he unsheathed his sword. “I won’t let my subordinates deal with you, then—I shall defeat you myself!”
“Here I come!” the Thousand Blades said, charging at Arthur as though he had been waiting for the prince to make the first move. However, instead of slashing at Arthur with his own swords, he did something unexpected—he threw them.
“Oh?!” Arthur widened his eyes in surprise, deflecting the blades with his own sword.
The Thousand Blades didn’t miss the opening in Arthur’s defense. “Die.” He pulled new swords from the floor and attacked Arthur with one of them.
“Hmm, I see. You’re not half bad!” Arthur kicked the side of the blade slashing down at him, shifting its trajectory, and followed with a swing of his sword.
The Thousand Blades quickly crossed his swords to defend himself against the helm-splitting blow. However, although his magic blades were just as tough as real steel, they easily broke under Arthur’s peerless strike.
“Ugh!” The Thousand Blades groaned in pain as Arthur’s sword smashed into his skull. He collapsed on the floor, and his magic was dispelled, making the countless blades it had created vanish.
“That was a short but exciting battle. If you have anything to say now, I shall listen,” Arthur said.
“...I am satisfied.” And with that, the Thousand Blades passed away.
Arthur shook the blood off his blade and sheathed it.
“Were you hurt, Your Highness?” asked a black-armored knight after entering the room, followed by the guards of the castle.
“Ah, Gawain.”
“I apologize for my late arrival. I was slowed down by other intruders.” Gawain bowed. He was Arthur’s close aide—one of his Twin Wings—and the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hawk. He was also known as the Black Knight. “Please punish me as you see fit.”
“I don’t mind. This was a good distraction,” Arthur replied contentedly. He wasn’t lying—he had been tired of all the paperwork that needed to be done before the march and had been lacking exercise recently. His fight against the Thousand Blades had been short, but it had been perfect to relieve the stress he’d been building up, and it had left him refreshed.
“Still, I suppose assassins shouldn’t be underestimated,” Arthur continued. “I didn’t expect one to reach me.” He cast a lingering glance at the knights as they dealt with the Thousand Blades’s corpse, then remarked to someone behind him, “Did you predict this, Merlin?”
“No, I didn’t,” answered a beautiful woman with a big pointy hat who had suddenly appeared behind the prince. She was Merlin, the other half of Arthur’s Twin Wings, and she had been hiding her presence with magic.
“Merlin!” Gawain snarled at her, angry at the fact that she hadn’t done anything despite being present while her liege was under attack.
“Calm down. I would have intervened if he had been in actual danger,” Merlin replied.
“This is what I wanted. Don’t be angry at her,” Arthur said.
“...Understood.” While annoyed, Gawain backed down.
Merlin snorted at him before returning to Arthur’s question. “That was an unexpected development. I must lack the information to make a reliable prediction.” She shrugged.
Merlin possessed the power of foresight, but without enough information, she couldn’t accurately predict the future. The assassin’s appearance had been unexpected and completely outside of her predictions.
“I see... Interesting.” Arthur laughed joyfully despite the circumstances. “A conqueror can’t be born from peace. Only strife can create a champion who will lead the empire to dominion over the entire continent.”
Arthur didn’t doubt for a single instant that he was the one who would seize victory and glory.
“We were delayed by the assassins, but it’s finally time for us to march! We shall defeat Lance and make me the ruler of the empire!” Arthur declared.
“What about your sister, Your Highness?” Gawain asked.
“If she surrenders, I’ll spare her life. But were she to stand in my way—she shall die,” he answered without hesitation.
“As you wish.” Gawain knelt, accepting his liege’s dispassionate order.
The showdown between the two forces was rapidly approaching. Now, it was merely a week away.