Their belief in the Sovereign’s eternal reign and century-spanning legacy was being shaken at its foundation. Everything up until this point was largely going according to Lernaean’s plans. With the royal guard left to defend the capital alone, everything hinged now on the Sapphire Blood and the peasant irregulars’ ability to cooperate and overwhelm the royal guard.
Excluding the members of Cobalt, the commoners weren’t armed with any useful weapons. They didn’t even have proper training. They were only here in numbers. No matter how skilled an individual knight was, taking on hundreds of opponents at once was bound to leave an opening. That was when the Sapphire Blood and Halahala-armed soldiers of Cobalt would strike. That was the basic plan. The commoners were essentially sacrificial pawns.
It was obvious for a noble like Lernaean to care little about that, but were the commoners of Cobalt really fine with it? Jubilia had her doubts, but things made sense when she had heard that Crow was actually a former scholar. Scholars were commoners who were granted Amrita. Their mindsets were similar to nobles.
In the end, this was a fight between nobles. That was how Jubilia interpreted it. The commoners and Crestfolk were only being used. They each had something to gain upon victory, so that was enough of a reason for them to participate.
The plan was working, but even so, the high-ranking nobles of the royal guard were far too powerful. She felt this before when she squared off against Gozo and Ivara. Their talent with blood calibers was on an entirely different level. The Sapphire Blood couldn’t afford to use Excitation Overdrive like she did back then. Consuming Amrita for battle couldn’t be done at an army’s scale.
Even as the strongest combatant in the Sapphire Blood, by her own evaluation Jubilia was still, at most, just above the average royal guard. The knights of the Sapphire Blood could only fight on equal footing against a royal guard in groups of two or three, at the cost of a few commoners.
Would they truly make it in time like this? They had given themselves three days. If the Obsidian Blood were to return, the rebel army would be suppressed without much of a fight. Nevertheless, the man standing before her was the very picture of composure. Lernaean’s attitude didn’t change even when the worst possible news was delivered to him.
“The Obsidian Blood has shown up on the main road!”
This had all the knights united in panic.
“Impossible! It hasn’t even been a day!”
“Were our plans discovered? Perhaps there was a traitor,” Lernaean said, acting as if it had nothing to do with him, then gave out his orders in a well-projected voice. “Retreat from the gate and reform our ranks. We’ll be caught in a pincer attack at this rate.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights left in a fluster. That was when Jubilia realized something terrible.
“If they’re coming from the main road, the message won’t make it to the rear in time!”
“I know.”
“Lady Saya is there!”
“I know that as well. Calm down.”
“I shall go rescue her.”
“I heard you weren’t in peak condition.”
“You need not worry about the side effects of Excitation Overdrive. I can still fight.”
The burden on her body was a lot more serious than she had imagined. Even though the side-effects had abated somewhat with the passage of time, just activating her blood caliber was agonizing. She needed at least another month to fully recover, but Jubilia believed she could simply push through the pain. She was getting ready to dash off when Lernaean called out to her in a cold voice.
“That’s unnecessary.”
“Why?”
“Even in this situation, there is still a prospect for victory. I’m simply waiting for it. There’s no need for a rescue.”
Lernaean implicitly admitted that he was purposefully exposing Saya to danger. He was likely hoping to trigger the royal caliber to activate. And as she came to this understanding, words spilled from Jubilia’s lips, spurred entirely by emotion.
“Then I shall return this sword to you.”
A knight’s true weapon was their blood caliber; the sword a knight carried at their waist held purely ceremonial meaning. It was a symbol of their loyalty. To surrender it was to tender one’s resignation.
“The Obsidian Blood will not lay a finger on Lady Saya. You may even aggravate the situation. Do you still wish to do this?”
“I have a grasp on what you’re planning, Lord Lernaean. I can understand, but I simply cannot shut my eyes to the danger this poses to Lady Saya.”
What in Agartha am I doing? she thought to herself. Her admiration and awe toward Lernaean remained unchanged. They actually felt greater than before. And yet, Jubilia chose to throw that all away.
“So she truly does possess the qualities of a ruler,” Lernaean muttered.
Jubilia didn’t agree. Her actions weren’t out of loyalty to the Sovereign. It was actually the opposite. It was precisely because she had spent time with her that Jubilia knew how far away that girl was from being a ruler. She was just an innocent and powerless girl. The only things she possessed were her desire for freedom and her longing to be with the boy named Nagi. A girl like that wasn’t meant to be used as a tool for battle. And above all else, that girl had called Jubilia her friend.
“Take your sword, you’ll need it. Devote it to whoever you wish.”
“Yes, sir.” Jubilia’s short acknowledgment carried a flood of emotion.
“Just pass that boy a message for me.”
She didn’t really know what kind of coded message this was, but she promised to convey it nonetheless.
“I thank you for your service until now.”
After bowing deeply for his gratitude, Jubilia ran off.
Just as Jubilia predicted, the rear line of the Sapphire Blood was in a disastrous state upon being beset by the Obsidian Blood. Not only were they attacked where they were least expecting it, the onslaught was fierce. The forces of the Sapphire Blood were being scattered and routed.
Jubilia managed to find Saya and Nagi in the chaos of the battlefield. Nagi had his Halahala-coated knife held out, facing off against several knights, protecting Saya to his rear. He was out of arrows and had cast aside his bow. The enemy knights were in the process of surrounding him.
“Excitation: Blood Blade!”
Jubilia cut her way into the middle of the knights with her blood caliber in hand. They were incapable of dealing with her ambush. Three of them fell in a single breath, opening the path as Jubilia ran up to Saya.