Chapter 73: 1 (Part One)

Chapter 73: 043 . Imperial Prince is Enjoying the Hunt -1 (Part One)

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Phwwwwhht, beeeeep-!

Along with the loud whistle noises, numerous bells began ringing loudly .

The whole citadel entered a state of emergency, and the Order of the Verdant Cross members were getting ready to set off while all kitted out in their green robes and balaclavas .

I walked over to the drill hall’s window and took a look outside . That’s when I discovered Hilda and Raphael leading the Verdant Cross outside the castle walls .

What was going on here?

It was then, knocks came from the door to the drill hall . I opened it to discover a dwarf standing before me .

He bowed slightly as a greeting . “Your highness, it seems that an emergency situation has developed by the mines . ”

“By the mines, you say?”

“Our comrades are trapped there, but I don’t foresee any difficulties . Even if the lycans are powerful monsters, we dwarves are people with resilient vitality, you see?”

This dwarf laughed in a rather easy-going manner . Even I could tell that he was doing his best not to look agitated, but judging from the cold sweat trickling down his forehead, he must be feeling really anxious right now .

“By the way, your highness? Aren’t you pushing yourself a little too hard? I’ve heard some loud commotion coming from the drill hall, so…”

The dwarf suddenly clamped his mouth shut .

I glanced behind me, at the drill hall, and couldn’t help but smile awkwardly . “Ah… well, uhm . Yeah, sorry about that . ”

I placed my hand on the dwarf’s head and lightly patted him there .

…There’s no doubt that this dude was in his middle-ages, someone far older than me . But since he was short and just about the perfect height for a head pat, so even before I could stop myself, I ended up patting him on his noggin .

“The drill hall, well… I don’t think you can use it anymore . ”

I half expected to be inundated with the protest of ‘But this is wrong!’ from him, but the dwarf remained in a pure daze while taking one faltering step at a time to enter the drill hall .

He finally said something . “…Just what did you do, your highness?!”

I too took a good look at the state of the drill hall .

In short, it was utterly ruined . Cut down, sliced up, broken to bits, and caved in everywhere .

At this rate, forget about trying to repair this place, you might as well demolish everything and build from scratch, instead .

I responded, “I was testing out my magic, that’s all . ”

“Your magic?” The dwarf sounded incredulous while he surveyed the carnage . His eyes opened up wider as he continued on . “But your highness! These aren’t the traces of magic . No, these were all done by weap… Hold on, where are all the weapons that were stored in here?”

This fella was sharp . The weapons that used to be stored in the drill hall were no longer around here .

Why? I stashed them away, obviously .

My stay so far hadn’t been a picnic, so yeah, I decided to stuff my item window with them . I needed payment for all the hard work I had to go through so far, so it seemed only right to procure some new items for myself .

Besides, the weapons I took could be found practically everywhere in this place anyways .

I avoided meeting the dwarf’s sharp gaze and pretended to not notice a single thing .

“Ah, by the way . I was thinking of getting myself a new item, so I need your help . ” I smiled slyly at the dwarf . “You guys also make musket rifles here, right?”

“Yes, we do . But even if we made them, their performance is…”

“I’d like to have a look at them, if you don’t mind . ”

The dwarf furrowed his brows, but even so, he still quickly organised a selection of musket rifles for me nonetheless .

All sorts of varieties were wheeled out .

“Magicians, Alchemists, and we Dwarves, have cooperated to manufacture these muskets,” said the dwarf .

One rifle boasted a long and slender barrel, while another had a stubby muzzle . Another one had a long ‘magazine’ attached to the barrel itself .

Every single one of them was overflowing with individuality .

To the dwarves, it didn’t matter what they were making, they would still craft them with the dedication of a true master craftsman . Meaning, even if they were only making decorative ornaments, they would still pour their whole being into manufacturing a ‘treasure’ that could produce the best possible performance .

“As you may know, your highness, although these can be used in real combat, they do a better job of serving as flashy decorations . To avid collectors, they are only mere wall decorations, while for ladies of nobility who know some magic, these things are only good for their diet routine . ” While kindly explaining the usage of the rifles, the dwarf glanced in my direction . “However, the story should be different if it concerns you, your highness . I mean, you’ve already sniped a Vampire over four hundred metres away, after all . ”

I picked up the musket rifles one at a time and took a closer look at each article .

Each weapon boasted their own unique personalities . And as they contained magic, I could use my [Mind’s Eye] to analyse what their performance specifications were like .

[Spread Shot], [Rapid Fire], [Snipe]…

These muskets were crafted with a variety of internal structures .

I have to say, they were all considerably appealing to my taste .

“Niiiice . ”

I stroked the muskets with pure satisfaction, Then, I quickly began storing them all away in my trusty item window .

The dwarf watching this spectacle was gradually getting more and more flustered . “Could it be that all the weapons inside the drill hall were also…?”

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

It was then, the bells began ringing loudly again .

The dwarf unhappily massaged his temples . “Those f*cking bastards are really getting on my…”

But when he noticed that I was still here, he hurriedly coughed to clear his throat, and then corrected his manner of speech .

“…It seems that those bastards are raising a lot of ruckus, your highness . ”

“You mean the lycans?”

“Well, because the Vampires all fled from our Theocratic Empire, they probably believe that their time has finally come or some such . ”

“…”

“Judging from how quiet it is inside the citadel, they must’ve attacked the villages outside . Even if we’ve come up with defensive measures and have people on guard, it’s still not enough to stop their raids . In order to completely exterminate them…” The dwarf continued addressing me . “…We’ve requested assistance from the Theocratic Empire . But then, you showed up, your highness . ”

Why did it sound like he was asking me for help?

“The Order of the Crimson Cross will not lift a finger without your commands, your highness . From what I heard, their number one priority is to provide you with protection . ”

Sure, I could step up to the plate here . But since the Crimson Cross guys were also here, why do I need to…

“Of course, we could also mobilise ourselves, but we are unfortunately slow walkers, so…”

Cold sweat began trickling down my face .

“Your highness, your subjects are in danger . ”

“…”

“Ah, ah! If it’s the famed Crimson Cross, then those monsters wouldn’t even be an issue anymore!”

The dwarf began looking up at me .

Rather unfitting for a middle-aged man, he was utilising his shorter height to look up at me with sparkling eyes before landing the final blow to the nail . “Don’t you want to test out your new muskets, your highness?”

**

(TL: In 3rd person POV . )

It was really uncommon for the lycans to attack the villages located in the outskirts of the citadel .

“Everyone, evacuate inside the citadel!”

However, with all the Vampires having disappeared, it wasn’t wrong to assume that no creature capable of stopping them currently existed .

Numerous combat forces had been dispatched to the villages, but regular soldiers weren’t enough to fight off the lycanthropes . All they could do was help evacuate the villagers inside the citadel walls .

However, the lycans scaled the tall outer walls using their claws and infiltrated inside . They then opened the gates to let the zombified animals disperse throughout the city .

“Everyone, hurry and evacuate!”

While being guarded by the soldiers, Alice focused herself with the evacuation of the villagers .

“Priestess-nim! My child, my child’s hurt! Please help!”

A woman who must’ve been the mother to the young child currently held in her arms, hurriedly approached Alice and tearfully begged her .

When the child also started crying, Alice made a gentle and calming smile while stroking the head of the tearful kid .

“It’ll be alright, I’ll make the pain go away . ”

She proceeded to heal the injured child .

It was around then, she began sensing this uncomfortable aura . She quickly turned her head and discovered a horde of zombified animals rushing towards her location .

Ku-aaaaahk!

They screeched out while pouncing on the soldiers .

“Lady Alice! Please escape from…!”

The soldiers staggered and backed away .

A lycan perched up on the roof of a nearby building glared at Alice at that very moment . It roughly sniffed the air . Its expression distorted hideously at the thick scent of divinity wafting out from her .

The lycan leaped off from the roof, and while extending its sharp claws, pounced towards her position .

Alice flinched and hurriedly looked up .

“My lady, danger…!”

She sucked in a deep breath and lowered her posture .

After stepping on the ground, she jumped up, grabbed the lycan’s head, and then slammed it straight into the ground .

BOOM!

The creature’s head crashed into the hard earth below and the surface shattered into bits .

The soldiers nearby gasped in admiration . They were impressed by the fact that a girl as young as her could produce physical strength that amazing .

Just as Alice let out a sigh of relief, the lycan’s eyeballs shifted and suddenly glared in her direction .

“Huh?!”

She urgently leapt away from the lycan to create some distance .

Despite its head being slammed to the ground, the monster simply stood right back up . It was even smirking derisively, as if it found the previous exchange laughable .

In an instant, it bared its fangs and growled threateningly . But just before it could pounce on her once more, its head exploded spectacularly .

The hulking body over two metres tall fell on its knees and collapsed to the ground, just like that .

‘Was that a magic attack?’

Alice quickly scanned her surroundings, but she couldn’t see any Magician responsible for firing that magic attack .

She then shifted her gaze behind her . More specifically, at the steeple where the bell would be rung in the case of emergency . She could just about vaguely spot a person-shaped silhouette up there .

But the distance from here to there must’ve been nearly five hundred metres .

Who could it be?