Volume 4, Chapter 53 – The Rebellion is Underway

Slowly, Aldrich Alexia Diego opened his eyes.

Under the influence of the magic potion, his consciousness was still back at the moment he had finished instructing Herian. Almost instantly, his body jolted. Without observing his surroundings, he rolled out of bed. At the same time, his heart pounded, and every pore on his body opened to its widest, sweat pouring out from the tension.

“Herian!”

Subconsciously, Prince Schain cried out. Although he immediately recognized that this was his room, the silent environment made him feel extremely uneasy.

Until the door opened in response, and a plain-looking male elf opened it.

“My lord!”

“Hah…”

Seeing Herian, Prince Schain let out a long sigh of relief. He quickly walked to the window and pulled back the curtains, but what came into his view was not the dazzling sun, but a pitch-black, rainy night. Due to the curfew, there was not a single person on the noble’s street, and the sound of the rain was chilling.

Didn’t I tell Herian to give me the potion during the day on the second day? Why is it nighttime now?

As if he could see Prince Schain’s thoughts, Herian followed behind him and explained.

“My lord, I gave you the potion yesterday morning, but it seems there was a slight problem with it. You slept for two days and one night before waking up.”

“Two days?!”

Prince Schain’s eyes widened, but he quickly came to his senses.

Two days was probably normal. This was, after all, a Darkborn potion, not designed for elves. It was likely that the potion’s effect was too strong and his own constitution was too weak, which was why he had slept for two days. He did not dwell on the reason, but cut straight to the most critical question.

“What is the situation now?”

“I have already handled the matters you instructed two days ago. Excluding the few elites we’ve lost contact with, our men, plus the elite soldiers of Count Reinhardt, Count Lafaria, and the other few noble lords, over a thousand men in total, have all assembled.”

“It’s just that the Prime Minister is watching us very closely. Count Reinhardt and Lord Lafaria are worried about being exposed and have not come to see you. They asked me to pass on a message: gathering a thousand troops in the city will soon be exposed. They want to know when we will make our move. They hope you can make a decision quickly.”

“Don’t be hasty yet. Go and have the servants prepare something for me to eat. I’ve slept for two days and one night; I need to replenish my strength first,” Prince Schain said, stroking his mustache and organizing his chaotic thoughts. “By the way, did Dofilia really set out with the army? Did she come to see me?”

“Yes, the Eldest Princess set out with the military two days ago. We have received the same news from both our people and Godley’s people. It’s just that for some reason, the princess left that silver-haired woman by her side in the royal palace, letting her decide on matters within the palace on her behalf. As for your illness, as you expected, the princess sent a healer over to check on you. After the healer concluded that you just needed to rest for a period of time, she did not insist on you leaving the capital with the army.”

“Hmph. She’s keeping a card up her sleeve, letting that human woman hold down the fort for her,” Prince Schain’s eyes darted, and then he sneered. “This is actually a good thing.”

“A good thing?”

Herian tilted his head in confusion.

“She left a human in the royal palace to preside over the government in her stead. This gives us a more suitable pretext. I had originally thought of using the excuse that she had been bewitched by a human and was letting them influence the court, but now she has actually let that woman take control directly. How can the great Silvar be controlled by a human? This is an insult to us elves!”

“You mean… we’ll use this as the reason for our action?”

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“The princess, after losing her memory, was bewitched by a cleric from the Milcandis Holy Kingdom and no longer has the ability to preside over the court! We will act in Yelido’s name to restore order! The Elf Kingdom should be controlled by elves themselves! On behalf of the late Yelido, I will publicly execute the spy sent by the Holy Kingdom!”

“My lord is wise!”

The moment Prince Schain finished speaking, Herian’s eyes lit up. With the pretext of restoring order, their cause would be righteous. Those wavering nobles and servants would remain inactive due to the ambiguous situation and information gap, and might even pretend not to see. At the same time, after the fact, this pretext would also be more conducive to him controlling the political situation and becoming the one who truly held the king’s power.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, the Eldest Princess had been bewitched by a human to the point of allowing them to control the fate of the elves. At that time, no matter what she said, it would be interpreted as her still being under human control, and the real power would easily fall into his hands.

“Alright, let’s go out. Since the princess has been gone for two days, she certainly won’t be able to return in a short time. We must act quickly. After a brief preparation, we will move out!”

“Yes!”

After dressing in just a few moments, Prince Schain quickly left the bedroom with Herian in tow.

In just a quarter of an hour, he had snuck over to Count Reinhardt’s residence under the cover of night.

It was worth mentioning that he had only set out after eating dinner. Although it was the simplest of meals—a few slices of bread and a glass of milk—he had found the food unbelievably delicious. He didn’t know if it was because he had been hungry for too long, or if the excitement in his heart had dulled his sense of taste. In any case, he had wolfed it down in just a few bites.

At this moment, over a hundred soldiers were gathered in the vast courtyard. Most of them were men he had trained for many years, with a small portion being Count Reinhardt’s own private soldiers.

It should be said that, in terms of numbers, the private soldiers trained by the two of them numbered in the tens of thousands. The reason they had only gathered these was, on the one hand, a coup was not a matter of “the more the merrier”—the more people, the greater the possibility of a leak. On the other hand, in this world of magic, the strength of an individual was greatly amplified. A hundred Second and Third-Rank individuals combined were far more effective than a thousand ordinary people.

In addition, these hundred men were not the full force of the coup. In the residences of Count Lafaria and the others, the remaining nine hundred-odd men were scattered. The weakest among them was at the Second Rank, while the strongest had reached the Sixth. Those two Sixth-Rank practitioners had long been honored guests of his, their purpose being to deal with the less than a hundred guards at the back gate of the Royal Castle.

Under the rainy night, the torches held by the soldiers swayed back and forth, their shadows on the walls like demons baring their fangs and claws in the darkness.

Count Reinhardt’s face was covered in a liquid that was either sweat or rain. He came to the side of the prince, who was inspecting the soldiers, with his large belly sticking out. By the light of the torches, Schain could see that the count’s face had the same expression as his own, a mix of excitement and fear. The count’s panting had already exposed his inner agitation. Although the crime of rebellion was a capital offense that would implicate nine generations of one’s family, the corresponding merit of enthroning a new king was an honor that would also elevate nine generations.

“Hah… hah… Aldrich, our men are ready. We can set out at any time.”

Although both of them were standing in the rain, they seemed not to notice it. With the exception of Count Reinhardt, Prince Schain and all the soldiers had changed into sturdy battle armor.

Prince Schain forced himself to calm down.

“What time is it?”

“Half an hour to two.”

“It’s not the appointed time yet. Don’t act on your own. I happen to have something to say to you all.”

He cleared his throat and relayed what he had told Herian earlier to Count Reinhardt and the soldiers in the courtyard: “The Eldest Princess has been bewitched by the Milcandis Holy Kingdom. Now, a cleric from the Holy Kingdom is controlling the court of Silvar. We are the army to restore order. Today’s action is to right the wrongs and restore the orthodoxy of Silvar.”

“After we enter the Royal Castle, we will use this as our slogan. Reinhardt, take this opportunity to secretly send the message to the others.”

“Alright. I’ll send someone over right away.”

With that, Count Reinhardt turned around with a look of joy. But just at that moment, Prince Schain frowned and grabbed his arm, his eyes full of ferocity.

“Reinhardt, where is Loca!”

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“Loca? She’s in the Royal Castle, dealing with the Second Imperial Guard. Isn’t this what Herian and we agreed on?”

“My lord, that is indeed the case,” Herian explained.

Only after his explanation did the ferocity in Prince Schain’s eyes gradually fade. He let go of the count’s shoulder and let out a long breath.

“Prepare to set out.”

◇

Time quickly passed to two o’clock.

Taking advantage of the pitch-black streets during the curfew, a team of soldiers in black armor ran out of the residence, keeping low. The Prime Minister had originally sent people to monitor Prince Schain and the others, but those hidden observers had long since been dealt with by the two Sixth-Rank practitioners under his command. Therefore, the people in the Royal Castle were now like they had no eyes or ears, completely unaware of the changes outside.

What was important in a coup was not just strength, but also intelligence. If one’s own side could grasp the opponent’s every move while the opponent knew nothing, then the coup was already more than half successful. Prince Schain knew this principle well.

When he left his residence, Count Lafaria and the others also led the remaining nine hundred-odd men out under the cover of darkness. The visibility at night was already poor, and with the continuous rain, even the sense of hearing was covered by the sound of it. His advance party even walked up behind the patrolling soldiers without them noticing at all.

They marched in silence.

If there were no curfew, he would have almost certainly been seen by pedestrians. But now was the curfew; there was no need to worry about encountering passersby.

After quickly dealing with a few patrolling soldiers, he encountered his first trouble.

The checkpoint at night.

Besides arranging for soldiers to patrol the streets, the curfew also involved setting up checkpoints at every important intersection. A checkpoint was guarded by eight soldiers, equipped with sandbags, cheval de frise ¹ wooden spikes of defensive barrier. the kind that blocks cavalry , and metal spikes on the ground. Although these soldiers were not strong, once the whistle in their hands was blown, soldiers from other directions would immediately rush over, which would in turn alert the people inside the Royal Castle. And once the guard there activated the barrier that protected the castle, it would be extremely difficult for people outside to get in.

Due to the cover of the rainy night, and the fact that his group had not brought torches, the soldiers at the checkpoint did not notice them. And when Prince Schain saw the torches lit by the guards, he immediately waved for his men to stop. He gestured to the people behind him, and then, with Herian and a few others, he stepped out of the line.

Before setting out, he had designed a series of countermeasures, including a method to deal with these checkpoints. He and Herian’s group walked around the street corner and came directly up to the soldiers behind the checkpoint.

“Who’s there? Stop!”

“No one is allowed out during the curfew! Violators will receive twenty lashes!”

When he was still several meters from the checkpoint, he was threatened by the soldiers with their long spears. Three soldiers came forward to check, while the remaining five were on standby behind the checkpoint. Prince Schain quietly chanted [Wind of Exploration]. The result showed that these soldiers were all ordinary soldiers of the First Rank or even lower.

He was relieved. He said with an expressionless face.

“I am Prince Schain, Aldrich Alexia Diego. I have an urgent matter to report to the Prime Minister.”

“Your Highness?”

Hearing his title, the three soldiers lowered their long spears. Although they had never seen him, if the other party was really a Prince, their future would undoubtedly not be good. There was no need to risk their lives for a salary of less than one gold coin a month.

One of the soldiers said.

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“Please show your family crest.”

Braving the rain, Prince Schain handed the dagger with his family crest to the soldier. After the soldier had carefully examined it by the light of the torch, a clear look of panic appeared in his eyes, and he hurriedly waved to the soldiers behind him.

“Move the things away! It’s Prince Schain!”

Very easily, his group obtained permission to pass. They advanced without showing any expression, until they passed the five soldiers who had relaxed their guard, at which point they all erupted at the same time.

No magic was used, as it would create eye-catching light. The people with him, including Herian, were at least at the Third Rank. Even if the checkpoint had a few more soldiers than his side, the outcome would still be one-sided.

Fists smashed into faces, or swords were drawn and plunged into windpipes. Although the soldiers let out some muffled grunts, these sounds were difficult to detect under the cover of the rain. As for the three soldiers who had passed him, they had already been dealt with by the soldiers who followed behind. His presence had attracted the attention of these eight soldiers, and the hundred men behind him had quietly crept up while the soldiers had their backs turned.

“My lord, it’s all taken care of,” Herian explained in a deep voice.

“Order them to find a place to hide the bodies. We’ll keep moving.”

“Yes!”

The noble district was not much smaller than the Royal Castle. Along the way, he had dealt with a total of four checkpoints before arriving at the castle gate. And here, he had also gathered the soldiers who had come from several other directions. There were many gates to the castle, but this one had the highest probability of direct entry.

According to the schedule, this gate was to be guarded by the Third and Fourth Imperial Guard squads tonight. And the commander of the Fourth was one of his men, having been won over long ago.

Although the Imperial Guard was directly loyal to the Elf King, and normally even if their leader rebelled, they would not necessarily follow, he was fighting under the banner of restoring order. With the information gap, he was the righteous party in the eyes of the people. At any time, elves were more willing to believe elves, not to mention that many of the people in the Fourth were the collateral descendants of the nobles on his side.

“Aldrich.”

Seeing him, the slender Count Lafaria, who had the strength of a Fourth Rank, had a look of joy on his face. While keeping an eye on the patrolling soldiers on the distant castle wall, he squatted in the corner of a building and said in a low voice.

“There’s a bit of a problem on the west side. They’ll be here in a little while. Should we wait for them, or go in now?”

“How many people do you have?”

“Three hundred. How many did you gather on the way?”

“Five hundred. Eight hundred is enough. We can’t delay. If they find out that the checkpoint soldiers have disappeared and the guards in the castle react, it will be over. We’re going out.”

“Alright!”

Receiving his answer, Prince Schain knew there was no turning back. He summoned his courage in his chest, was the first to stand up, and walked straight out from the corner of the building. Then, the soldiers squatting behind him also came out—in their eyes, they were the righteous party, not rebels, and it was for this reason that he dared to lead them directly towards the castle.

Without a sufficiently upright and righteous posture, it would be difficult to convince not only his subordinates, but also the Imperial Guard. At least by walking straight towards the castle like this, the guard would not attack first. They would first ask for his reason.

In just a few seconds, the guards on the city tower discovered him, and the people on the wall were immediately spurred into action. They lined up behind the battlements, their arrows nocked on their bowstrings. At the same time, the captain of the Fourth Squad and the vice-captain of the Third Squad also appeared on the tower. Although he couldn’t see their faces because of the rain, he could guess that the two were arguing. His captain was surely trying his best to entangle with the vice-captain of the Third, to prevent him from sending people to notify the guards in other directions.

It wasn’t until the distance between the two sides had closed to twenty meters that the vice-captain of the Third Squad finally had time to speak.

“Stop! Who goes there!”

Taking a deep breath, Prince Schain slowly approached the city tower with Herian. He tried his best to fill his eyes with determination and looked up at the black arrowheads.

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“Aldrich Alexia Diego.”

Hearing his voice, the vice-captain’s tone softened.

“Prince Schain? Why are you here at this time, and with soldiers?”

“I have an urgent matter to see the Prime Minister.”

“If you have something, you can tell me first, and I will relay it to him. You just have to wait a little.”

“Relayed by you? If you delay an urgent matter, can you afford the responsibility?!”

As his tone had become more threatening, the vice-captain was no longer polite. A hint of severity entered his voice.

“Responsibility? Prince Schain, you bring hundreds of soldiers to the castle gate in the middle of the night, at a time when both His Majesty and the Eldest Princess have left the capital. What are your intentions? If you don’t want to make things bigger, then lay down your weapons immediately. Otherwise, I will fulfill my duties as an Imperial Guard. This is my first warning!”

“Hmph, I have come to the Royal Castle to restore order! The Eldest Princess, after losing her memory, has been bewitched by the Holy Kingdom! Now, not only has she brought a human into the castle, but she has even let a spy from the Milcandis Holy Kingdom control the court! How can Silvar be defiled by a human! Open the gate immediately! This has nothing to do with you! I, the Northern Prince, will today cleanse Dofilia of the ghost that has bewitched her, in honor of Yelido’s spirit in heaven!”

The moment Prince Schain’s voice fell, an invisible commotion spread from the city wall. Everyone knew that Fia had left Claire in the Royal Castle to make decisions in her place. As members of the Imperial Guard, although they were curious as to why she had made this decision, no one could change anything, so they had not paid too much attention. Now that he had laid out the inside story, they instantly understood that the reason she had done so was only because she had been bewitched by a villain.

For a moment, some of the arrowheads aimed at him wavered slightly.

Seeing this, Prince Schain shouted again.

“Open the gate now! You are aiding a tyrant!”

“I must first report to the Prime Minister—ugh!”

Before the vice-captain could finish, a blood-stained longsword pierced through his chest. Then, the captain of the Fourth Squad, who was holding the sword, kicked him away.

“What are you doing!”

After a pause of less than a second, the city wall instantly descended into chaos. The soldiers who were on good terms with the vice-captain and belonged to the Third Squad desperately charged towards the city tower, while the people of the Fourth, as if they had agreed on it beforehand, formed a human wall to block them. The two sides began to fight without any exchange of words.

Until someone shouted.

“Fire! Use magic! Prince Schain and the Fourth are rebelling!”

However, besides a few scattered arrowheads, most people had no time to pay attention to him at this moment. The soldiers of the Third were no match for the already prepared Fourth. And the soldiers behind him also reacted quickly. They deployed magic shields to block the arrows while rushing towards the city gate. His side soon had an overwhelming advantage.

And in just a moment, the city gate rose amidst a series of weapon clashes and the clanking of chains from the inside man.

Ignoring the chaos, Prince Schain, without a second thought, led Herian and the others into the gate. He already knew the layout of the Royal Castle like the back of his hand. Next, he just had to go straight to the back gate, which led to the Holy Tree.

He knew in his heart that success or failure would be decided tonight.

Translator Note

uh yeah i want to mention this but always forgot the things…

so the skill [bee shield] to [bee shield force field] is not that i change it myself, its from the original text itself that changed :3

peace~