Chapter 170

Mikhail’s sword inched closer, threatening Beatrice.

Instead of retreating, Beatrice stepped closer to the blade pointed at her.

“Then do it, Mikhail.”

“…!”

Beatrice stood still, gazing at Mikhail as if waiting for him.

The sound of rain could be heard.

“Go ahead, cut me down,” Beatrice said with a smile.

Mikhail’s hand, gripping the sword, trembled uncontrollably.

Unlike Mikhail, who couldn’t trust his mother, Beatrice believed in her son.

She knew her kind son could never bring himself to kill her.

Finally, a tear rolled down Mikhail’s cheek.

Yes, he could never kill his mother.

But…

As he swallowed his tears, the tip of Mikhail’s sword lowered and then shifted direction.

“Then how about this?”

Mikhail placed the blade against his own neck.

Beatrice’s previously composed eyes widened in shock.

“Mikhail…!”

Boom—!

Simultaneously with the Empress’s outcry, a deafening noise shook the palace.

The disturbance was so intense that the candle flames wavered, and everyone turned their heads toward the source.

“Is it an attack?” Beatrice narrowed her eyes.

It had only been a few hours since the palace gates were closed; where could siege weapons have come from so quickly?

As Beatrice pondered, screams and shouts from outside reached their ears.

Both Beatrice and Mikhail, along with the Emperor, sensed that something was seriously wrong.

At the same time, a knight guarding the walls rushed in.

“Y-Your Majesty! A beast, a beast has appeared!”

Following his words, a roar tore through the air, almost splitting their eardrums.

“Ugh!”

Everyone covered their ears and crouched down in pain.

But Mikhail, still holding his sword, ran outside.

As he entered the central garden, wet with rain and shrouded in mist, he saw a massive figure through the haze.

Unarmed servants and attendants were screaming and fleeing, while some armed knights were already injured and fallen.

The knights and soldiers struggled valiantly in the rain, but they were no match for the gigantic beast.

While the knights of Orhelin and the palace soldiers were excellent warriors in man-to-man combat, they were not beast hunters.

Beasts couldn’t be defeated with mere physical attacks.

The reason beasts were called such was that they couldn’t be hunted with conventional methods and had special abilities.

To hunt a beast, one needed to know its attack patterns, weak points, and specific details about it.

“This isn’t a common beast seen near the capital…!”

A knight who followed Mikhail said.

If it were a common beast found near the capital, the Orhelin knights’ knowledge might suffice.

But the beast in the central garden had an unfamiliar form never seen in this region.

The gigantic beast resembled a deer but had enormous wings on its back. Its head had large, curved horns like those of a ram, and its skin was covered in tough scales like armor, with a long tail covered in spikes.

The knights threw spears to subdue the beast, but the tough scales couldn’t be penetrated, only enraging the beast further.

Even Mikhail, who had studied various beasts, knew nothing about this unfamiliar creature.

“Look, up there…!”

At that moment, a soldier pointed to the sky filled with dark clouds.

When Mikhail looked up, he saw massive shadows moving through the clouds and mist.

“It’s not just one or two…!”

Mikhail recalled a story he had read in a history book.

About a hundred years ago, rare beasts had attacked the capital, causing significant damage.

The destruction was so severe that the emperor of the time considered relocating the capital.

Mikhail realized the situation was dire.

“Get His Majesty to safety immediately!”

He shouted, pointing inside to the trembling attendants.

The frightened attendants quickly nodded and rushed inside.

Mikhail then dashed toward the central garden.

“Open the gates!”

“But, Your Highness, outside…”

“Do you think we can handle all these beasts by ourselves?”

Mikhail asked the daft Orhelin knight.

The unanimous answer was “No.”

“Coordinate with the military police and Ruchtainer. Orhelin, form ranks!”

Mikhail took command of the panicked Orhelin knights in the face of the sudden beast attack.

Although they usually followed Beatrice’s orders, in this emergency, they had no choice but to follow Mikhail’s lead.

As Orhelin quickly formed ranks, Mikhail called for a servant.

“Find a scholar or hunter knowledgeable about rare beasts, anyone!”

To kill a beast of this size, they needed to know its weak points and target them precisely.

Other attacks would only provoke and waste their strength.

Until they identified the weak points, all they could do was try to contain the beast’s rampage and minimize the damage.

“Get ropes and chains to restrain the beast. As many as you can.”

Mikhail ordered another soldier. At that moment, the beast raised its front paw.

Though unfamiliar with this specific beast, Mikhail knew the action was a prelude to a significant attack.

“Everyone, fall back!”

He shouted, but it was impossible for everyone to retreat at once.

As the beast was about to sweep one side of the garden with its long horns, a beam of light pierced through the rain and struck the beast’s forehead.

An arrow with a burning tip lodged in its forehead, causing the beast to roar and collapse.

When he turned to see where the arrow had come from, there stood Killian.

“Killian…!”

Behind Killian, Ian and the military police, along with the Ruchtainer knights, entered.

The Orhelin soldiers stepped back from the intruders but soon realized their swords were aimed at the beast, not Orhelin.

“The weak point is fire! Prepare fire!”

Killian shouted for everyone to hear.

The scales of the rare beast Nubes could only be destroyed by fire.

Upon hearing this, the knights tried to attack Nubes with fire, but the torrential rain made it impossible.

“The fire won’t catch!”

Starting a new flame was out of the question. Even transferring flames from indoor candles or torches was futile as they were quickly extinguished by the rain and wind.

“We need more Wykerinis skin.”

The hide of the magical beast Wykrinis is so highly flammable that it is said to ignite even underwater when soaked in oil. Although dangerous, it is useful for torches and other lighting on rainy days.

Surely the palace had some stored.

“But, Your Highness, the path to the storeroom is blocked.”

The rampaging beasts had caused a wall to collapse, obstructing access.

Just when all seemed lost, a small light appeared at the palace gates.

A wagon, pulled by horses, stopped at the entrance to the central garden.

“Killian!”

Sophia’s voice pierced through the rain.

Simultaneously, five arrows with flames that wouldn’t go out cut through the damp air and struck the beast Nubes in its torso.

Everyone turned to where the flames had come from.

“Lady Estelle!”

Estelle, lowering her bow, knocked another arrow wrapped in skin.

And atop the wagon, tearing the skin to wrap around the arrows, was Sophia.

“Why is Lady Estelle here…?”

The Ruchtainer knights were bewildered by Estelle’s appearance.

She was supposed to be hunting beasts in another region.

“Why are you standing there? Move!”

Ian snapped at the dazed knights.

Ian’s sharp command snapped the knights into action, and they ran to the wagon.

“Sophia.”

Killian also ran to the wagon, checking on Sophia.

Despite wearing a raincoat, Sophia was soaked, distributing the Wykerinis skin to the knights.

“The timing was perfect.”

Sophia smiled upon seeing Killian safe.

She had remembered the difficulty caused by the lack of Wykerinis skin in the original story and had prepared them in advance.

In fact, she had initially thought she was being overly cautious by preparing for a beast attack when the issue with Beatrice wasn’t resolved yet.

But as she was loading the hides onto the wagon at the Fraus trading company, she saw a huge shadow pass over the sky.

Realizing the beast attack was imminent, she rushed to the palace with the hides.

‘Thanks to the original story, Estelle being in the palace means the civilian casualties are minimal.’

Because of the original story, she had warned Killian about the rare beast Nubes in advance, allowing him to respond immediately.

“More wagons will be coming soon.”

Sophia had hurriedly brought just one wagon, but more were on their way from the trading company.

Killian noticed Sophia’s hands.

They were bleeding from handling the rough skin, the wounds worsened by a previous carriage accident.

“What about Lady Estelle?”

“She was on her way back to the capital after hearing about my accident. She’s quite angry with me…”

She had wanted to explain everything to Estelle, but she had left the capital before she had the chance.

Likewise, she would have to explain everything once the situation was resolved.

Sophia glanced at Estelle, who hadn’t looked at her and was silently drawing her bow again.

Was it the rain? Killian thought Estelle looked like she had been crying.