Tara Viscounty was located closer to the west in the line dividing the central and western parts of the country and thus belonged to the western aristocracy. It had been like this since his father’s father’s era, and like his father, Viscount Tara had been living as a member of the West.

The relationship between the central and western regions was not good. Still, it was not enough to cause internal strife between the small territories and engage in a battle for the territory because the battles were fought with words by the high-ranking people in Barossa, the palace above the clouds.

There was no problem with the fact that the place where his estate was located was close to the central region. It was just a fact, and he thought it would continue to be the case in the future.

The only difference from other western territories was that his people were living in a slightly better environment since they were located nearer the central part, due to the geological characteristics where the land became more barren the further west.

And that wasn’t an exclusive advantage of Tara Viscounty. There were several other lands with the same properties in the west and some in the central.

So Viscount Tara felt it was unjust. Why did his territory become the main defense point and the first stronghold of the West? In other words, if anyone were trying to subdue the rebellion of the West, the first place to be attacked would be Tara Viscounty!

“Look at this. Doesn’t it look like the viscounty is blocking the border between the central and western regions of the country? Once the viscounty is breached, only Guillaume County is behind it. And just beyond Guillaume County is Verdin Duchy! Never let the emperor go that far!”

“We’re sending reinforcements from all over the West, so we should be able to defend it like crazy.”

“With us here, Viscount doesn’t need to worry. Even if Marquis Blemir or Sir Rohan arrives, we will never give up this estate.”

At the risk of our lives!

Flame blazed in the eyes of those who shouted resolutely. Viscount Tara found it very inconvenient and difficult for the owners of famous families in the West to do this on his own estate. He was more afraid than grateful for their willingness to block the enemy even if the land became devastated.

“Who will harm the viscounty when us brave people are so concerned about it? Would the imperial army come to this territory where an ironclad defense would be made? It’s not like there’s only one way to the west. Ah! Is there any other route for the enemies to sneak around? I’m afraid our hard work will come to nothing.”

So, Tara’s wish for them to go somewhere else instead of paying attention to this place and letting the enemy know that there was another way was quickly crushed.

“We were deceived by the cunning emperor and the 2nd Consort, but they are defining us as rebels and justifying their cause. And where are they? They are hiding together. Are the imperial army not ashamed of themselves with such weakness from the first fight?”

“The longer they turn around and delay, the more our power will be concentrated and the stronger our defense against the central region. Besides, it would be difficult for them to move to Verdin Duchy without ever being detected. If they go deep into the west without cleaning up their surroundings first, once they’re found, they will have to deal with the western’s attack in a place that is cut off from the outside. If they want to take all those risks, go ahead! We will appreciate it. What’s to worry about? Hahaha!”

The loud laughter somehow felt more cracker than cool. Come to think of it, it was said that his beloved knight commander and knights had been exterminated in Rotinan.

Viscount Tara shifted his gaze to the person next to him, who had been exuding an unusual aura for a long time.

It was a face he recognized, Count Bauer. Did his youngest son get his right arm cut off from there? He was told that his life as a knight was over because he would never be able to raise a sword again.

Rumors were rife about the scourge in Rotinan’s Pavezzo mountain range, and there was certainly a hushed side to everyone. As long as one was dead and wounded, they needed a place to vent their anger.

It was only natural to pour it out on the 2nd Consort, who had become a good opponent that could not be solved by the rebel group nor Duke Verdin, who was the head of the group.

It wasn’t that he thought he was cowardly, but what could he do with that when he couldn’t even say a thing to those running rampant in his territory?

Viscount Tara kept his mouth shut and hoped this time of hardship would pass quickly.

***

Murray City was a fortified city belonging to Viscount Tara, built on the border between the central and western regions and the beginning of the full-fledged West. It was not comparable to the central city where Viscount Tara’s original castle was located. Still, it was quite large as it was where people who came to and from the central and western regions often stayed.

And since the first Duke Verdin, who was militant, supported it with his military purpose, a wall of thick stone tightly surrounded the city.

Murray Castle, which would have always been noisy in the past, was still. The gate, which was usually wide open until nightfall to welcome guests and send off those who left, was firmly closed for some time and did not open.

The faces of those looking out from the wall were full of tension and fear.

“’We were suddenly framed and became rebels, so don’t let anyone get past this way and defend the castle.’ What’s with that crap?”

The castle’s soldiers were full of dissatisfaction, but they did not dare to speak out loudly and only talked among themselves. It was because the knights seemed more uneasy than them. In particular, Sir Daryl, who was in charge of Murray Castle, seemed to have aged twenty years older.

Although everyone hated him because of his eccentric and ostentatious personality, sympathy rose in unison when his only pride, his blond hair, which was actually more of a mottled pale brown, had turned white.

And more than that, they were worried about themselves.

What the hell is going on? They say they’ll send reinforcements, but when is it coming?

“Huh?”

Then one of the soldiers pointed beyond.

“Something is coming! Maybe it’s the reinforcement..?”

Everyone looked at his fingertip. Indeed, a certain group was rapidly closing the distance.

The number was considerable, and as the horses they rode sprinted off the ground, a cloud of dust covered the ground like fog.

And the moment he recognized it, he immediately straightened out and rushed to the wall. He was mistaken. It looked like a tsunami, not fog!

The knights who were just watching what the soldiers were doing exclaimed.

“Hurry up and call Sir Daryl!”

They had never imagined what would happen to them until then.

***

Daryl rushed up the wall after the soldiers who came to call him.

The rushing brown tsunami stopped at a certain distance from the fortress wall. The opponent’s figure was gradually revealed as if the dust faded like foam.

“How did they get here already? No matter how hard they run, they wouldn’t have reached the area near the viscounty so soon.”

He looked at it and wondered, but it was strange.

“Is that all?”

Since it was a strategic point, the number of troops sent was too small for what they (the rebels) had planned. But the opponent’s energy was unusual, and they were all riding horses.

“Are those all knights?”

It would be a different story if there were no ordinary soldiers in that number.

But the surprise wasn’t over yet. The leader of the unfamiliar group got off the horse.

Beneath the cleared landscape, where nothing obscured the view, was a slender woman who appeared. It should’ve been a problem. But from there, everything—! Everything—! Became a problem!

A gentle breeze blew through her silver hair. Her eyes contained the sky as it was, and her expressionless, indifferent face remained as it was known.

“Send a message to the viscounty! The 2nd Consort is in front of Murray Castle!”

“Yes!”

A nearby knight ran towards the stairs from the top of the wall.

“The reinforcement hasn’t arrived. What should we do?”

When asked by the deputy closest to him, Daryl answered nervously.

“We have to take care of it! Even if they are made up of only knights, what’s the use if they can’t get past this wall? We’ve got plenty of supplies, and reinforcements will come someday, so if we hold out, we’ll win!”

As soon as the words were finished, a roar rang out.

Kwaaang!

Kwaang!

The castle walls shook. When they looked down again, wondering what this was, they saw huge water columns gushing to the left and right of the 2nd Consort.

Two pillars of water were tilted and level with the ground with the gesture of the 2nd Consort, then when she clenched her fists tightly, the pillars were shot forward.

If the previous shots caused the walls to vibrate, these second ones went over the walls and penetrated deep inside.

Kwaaaang!

“Uwaagh!:

“What is that? Avoid it!”

There was a commotion with screams from inside the castle walls. Daryl was astonished and stood firm there, clenching his teeth at the sight of the woman who had put her hands up again.

Fighting with the wall as your own fence meant you had an advantage hundreds of times more in air defense than your opponent.

So the opponent would try to destroy the castle when they attacked it. If that didn’t work, they could either cross the wall or infiltrate to find a way to open the gate and get inside.

But the 2nd Consort did not prepare for a siege and was attacking the wall alone.

“Unbelievable..”

Daryl, who was muttering, gulped down the air. Perhaps the delicate figure he was looking at felt his gaze, because she turned her head and made eye contact with him.

I’m sure it’s not. No way.?He was in denial for a while.?Her fingertips are slightly twisted to the side.?Daryl, who had been checking for minor changes with both eyes, was unsure.

But when a water column was stretched out towards him as the woman’s hand moved forward and turned towards him, he could not deny it any longer. To be exact, he didn’t have a head to deny it any longer.

Pop!

With the sound of a hard object being crushed at once, everything in the path of the water column disappeared and the body left with only the neck below collapsed to the floor. The head was too weak to block the water column, and it sank into the inner wall behind where Daryl had stood.

Kwa-dang!

At the bottom of the wall, a water column was stuck inside a warehouse containing various weapons used to attack from the wall to the outside. Due to the nature of water, those weapons would not explode, but many became unusable.

That alone reduced the spirit of the knights and soldiers of Murray Castle, which had already gone by half, with the other half about to go out as well. They thought it was over, but it wasn’t.

Elisha was just starting. At Elisha’s request, Undine made a path on the wall from the ground where the party was.

Elisha jumped up the slanted slope of a series of water streams rising from below. There was no restriction on movement as sufficient force supported the bottom.

Elisha looked back. Not only were the enemies within the fortress wall surprised, but the knights recruited from the nobles were also gulping with their eyes wide open.

When Elisha spread out her left hand, a couple more similar paths were made. Both the enemy and the allies stared at it as if possessed.

As Elisha narrowed her brows, Spot, whom she had left behind, snorted and turned its head to the horses behind it, then it kicked one of them with its front hoof.

Neiiigh!

The startled horse shot forward.

“What’s with you?!”

Perhaps Elisha’s narrowed brows, or perhaps because of the cheekiness of the black horse similar to its master, had offended Spot..

The horse that Prince Raymond was riding started running towards the wall along the waterway that Elisha had made.