Chapter 0136: The Warrior Captain Loses Yet Again
When news of the noble army's defeat and retreat reached the ears of the noble faction, panic set in. Though the Second and Fourth Seats had dismissed these soldiers as "hopeless," they were, in fact, the best the nobles could muster. The so-called "lack of coordination" was simply due to this being their first alliance with other noble houses—internally, they still had some teamwork.
But...
It didn't matter!
Under the Fourth Seat's mass-debilitating spells, the soldiers who might have posed some challenge to the Second Seat became as weak as if they'd spent the previous night in excess. Combined with the Second Seat's warrior-captain-level strength and his clear-headed decapitation strategy...
"What do we do now?"
"Send more troops?"
"Are you joking?"
"Exactly! Barely any foot soldiers died, but not a single officer survived!"
"Damn it, if you're going to kill, kill the commoners!"
"Let's retreat and leave the trouble to the royal family."
"Agreed!"
"Send in the warrior field!"
"Agreed!"
Amid the chaotic discussions of the nobles, these spineless cowards who only cared about their own interests decisively decided to dump the problem onto the royal family—conveniently forgetting that it was their own idea in the first place: "It's just a small squad of the kingdom's army, wiping them out would be a great achievement."
What laughable parasites.
...
...
Under the eager anticipation of the Second Seat and the Fourth Seat, the Kingdom's Warrior Captain, Gazef Stronoff, finally appeared before them.
"Finally showed up," the Second Seat clicked his tongue impatiently. "I've waited so long the flowers have wilted."
The Fourth Seat nodded beside him, muttering, "Hurry up and defeat him. I want to go back for a bath, along with some sweet pastries and fragrant cake."
"Tch, women," the Second Seat smirked. He rolled his shoulders, drew his rapier, and once again wore the arrogant, villainous grin of a young noble. "Though, I do miss things back home too—let's defeat him first, then discuss what comes next!"
On the other side, seeing the enemy's champion step forward, Gazef raised a hand to stop the soldiers beside him. "There's no doubt they've also stepped into the realm of heroes. Don't throw your lives away."
"But, Warrior Captain—"
"No need to worry!" Gazef tightened his grip on his longsword and flashed his comrades a reassuring, confident smile. "I'm plenty strong!"
With that, Gazef dismounted, gripped his sword with both hands, and charged toward the Second Seat, chanting: "Mind Enhancement, Focus Fighting Spirit, Flowing Water Acceleration—"
"So impatient. I thought we'd exchange names first—" The Second Seat still wore his frivolous smirk. "But you're jumping straight into battle?"
"I have nothing to say to invaders!" Gazef's expression was stern and grave. "Once I defeat you, the Kingdom will demand answers from the Theocracy!"
"My, my, so confident—"
The Second Seat twirled his rapier elegantly. "Why not consider what happens if you lose instead?"
"Flowing Water Acceleration—"
"Immovable Fortress—"
"Ability Boost—"
"Ability Super Boost—"
"Fourth Seat, support is on you—"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Second Seat lunged at Gazef, his voice naturally drawing the attention of Gazef and the other kingdom soldiers.
"All troops, charge! Don't let his ally interfere with the Warrior Captain's fight—"
In the next moment, the army's deputy commander gave the order without hesitation, sending the soldiers rushing toward the Fourth Seat.
"Honestly, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"
The Fourth Seat shot an annoyed glare at the Second Seat before turning his attention to the incoming soldiers. "You definitely exposed me on purpose just so you could enjoy a one-on-one fight—"
At this thought, the resentment of the Fourth Seat grew even stronger. She brandished her staff, aimed it at the charging soldiers, and unleashed her magic.
"Blurred Vision—" Weakened sight.
"Enfeeble—" Weakened stamina.
With just two spells, a large swath of soldiers before her collapsed—some were even crushed under the weight of their own armor, utterly powerless to resist.
"Honestly."
The Fourth Seat pouted in dissatisfaction, then casually flicked a Weakened Swamp spell at the struggling soldiers, causing them to scream as they tumbled back into the mire. She then pointed her staff at the Second Seat and said with ill intent, "Second Seat, if you don't apologize, my next spell will be aimed at you!"
"Wha—you wouldn't!" The Second Seat hadn't expected to be backstabbed at this moment. After clumsily deflecting Gazef's attack, he hurriedly said, "I was wrong, I was wrong! Please don't interfere—let me fight him properly!"
"If you're about to lose, I'll still step in." The Fourth Seat temporarily withdrew her staff, then yawned in boredom. "Also, you'd better hurry up, or His Majesty might get upset—"
'His Majesty?' Gazef's pupils constricted sharply. He felt he had just heard something astonishing—could it be that the operation against the kingdom was ordered by the ruler of the theocracy?
'No, that can't be! Since when does the theocracy have a "Majesty"? Isn't the theocracy a country where politics and religion are unified, with high priests handling state affairs?' Gazef, visibly shaken, pushed the Second Seat back and panted as he asked, "You're not from the theocracy—you're from the empire?"
"?"
The Second Seat froze, then turned to exchange a glance with the Fourth Seat. Simultaneously, they burst into loud laughter, as if amused by the warrior captain's wild imagination.
"Want to know the answer?" The Second Seat, after laughing his fill, tilted his head at Gazef and said, "Then surrender—His Majesty has said he admires your character, so he ordered us to capture you alive. You'll have the chance to see His Majesty's glorious visage in person—"
Whether they truly submitted to Hayashi or not, at least they had to put on a show in front of outsiders. Otherwise, they might end up strung up by Antilene and have their little brothers snapped with rubber bands—terrifying no matter how you thought about it.
"I must decline that offer—" Gazef took a deep breath and reassumed his battle stance. "The answer to my question can be obtained by defeating you!"
"Is that so?" The Second Seat chuckled lightly, his eyes gleaming with an eerie light. "What a confident declaration—worthy of the kingdom's warrior captain. It's just a shame..."
I've got comrades, you fool!
"Fourth Seat!"
"Got it!"
With the Fourth Seat's curse magic, Gazef's stats took a significant hit. Once a match for the Second Seat, he was now at a clear disadvantage. Unable to hold back, he questioned, "Don't any of you have the pride of a warrior?"
The Second Seat retorted, "Shut up! We lost that the moment we joined the team!"
It was beaten out of us—punch by punch—by that monster, Antilene Heran Fouche!
...
...
Meanwhile, in the Empire.
"Huh?"
The Bloody Emperor—first in otherworldly delusions, heartfelt cheerleader for the Warrior King, suffering from hair loss—let out a bewildered noise as he listened to the report from his subordinate. "The Warrior Captain of the Kingdom was defeated and captured!? What the hell happened—"
He snatched the intelligence document from his subordinate's hands, scanning it at lightning speed to grasp the full picture. But instead of delight, his face twisted in anger as he slammed the table and cursed, "Damn it, we've been played by the Theocracy!"
So that's how it is!
I was wondering why those Theocracy dogs suddenly deployed their army to our borders. Turns out their real target wasn't the Empire at all—it was the Kingdom's Warrior Captain! The army was just a diversion to keep my attention away from the Kingdom, wasn't it?
Heh, clever! Who the hell came up with this plan? Managed to outmaneuver me—
But don't think the Empire is some pushover. If they dare station their army here, they'd better be ready to pay the price!
"Someone—"
The Bloody Emperor grinned sharply as he issued the order to mobilize.
Just you wait, Theocracy. You think you can scheme against me? I'll make sure you regret it!
...
...
The Floating Castle.
Since it was their first time visiting the Floating Castle, both the Second and Fourth Seats wore expressions of awe and curiosity. As they escorted Gazef to the prison under Kaire's lead, their eyes immediately landed on Clementine—lounging in another cell, idly picking at her toes.
"Whoosh—"
In an instant, Clementine spun around, her face stiff with disbelief, and turned her back to the door. Honestly, running into an acquaintance in prison wasn't all that awkward—unless you were the one locked up while they were free.
And it was even worse when said acquaintance was escorting another prisoner in. The sheer disparity in status was downright humiliating.
'Dammit, why are they here!? Did the Black Scripture capture me? No way, absolutely no way—' At this moment, the Clown Princess channeled her inner Cao Cao, vehemently denying the possibility. 'The Black Scripture doesn't have monsters like that! My attacks couldn't even scratch their defenses—what kind of joke is this!?'
As the Clown Princess spiraled in existential crisis, the Second Seat—grinning ear to ear—rapped on her cell door.
"Hey, you're Clementine, right!? The former Ninth Seat! Fancy seeing you here—long time no see~"
Taken at face value, it sounded like old classmates reuniting at a massage parlor. But the Second Seat's tone—dripping with sarcasm on par with Kizaru's—left no room for such misinterpretation.
For example, Clementine was already clenching her fists, her face twisted as she glared at the wall in front of her, vividly imagining beating the Second Seat to the point where even his parents wouldn't recognize him.