By Zephyria Waaaaaah!
A shout that seemed to tear his ears off was heard.
As soon as they came out of the huge and magnificent gate, the first thing they saw were the Imperial Capital guards guarding the entrance. Behind them, under the dazzling sun, a bridge stretching straight towards the Imperial Capital and countless crowds shouting on both sides welcomed the group.
Council members were putting up barriers and blocking people to create a straight road, and among them, those in charge of guarding from the Council’s Central Branch were waiting.
They had come to greet Hugo and Flynn, and him sealed in the iron cage.
“Commander! Flynn!”
“Commander, welcome.”
“You’ve both worked hard!”
Unlike the Northern Branch, the members of the Central Branch welcomed the two more warmly, not just with formal salutes. The friendly titles that were exchanged made it possible for strangers to guess their close relationship.
Among them, a man who appeared to be a battalion commander released his arms and approached Hugo. He raised the corners of his lips with a smirk and lightly tapped Hugo on the shoulder.
“You’re quite late.”
Hugo also smiled nonchalantly in response.
“Let’s just say I came as fast as I could.”
“Oh my god, is that under your eye a battle scar? I can’t believe I’m seeing a scar on your face.”
Hugo, surprised at the sight of the wound, recognized the man as Andreas Frederick, the 4th Battalion Commander of the Council’s Central Branch. Andreas had soft, light beige hair with a hint of gray and light violet eyes. He was about the same height as Hugo, with handsome features that made him quite popular.
Andreas stared intently at Hugo, as if he had discovered something incredibly amusing. The scratch in an unexpected place made the face of his familiar colleague seem unfamiliar, even intriguing. It was a sight he had never seen before, which made it all the more so.
The initial welcome was short-lived. Hugo, annoyed by Andreas’s exaggerated fussing and scrutiny, waved his hand dismissively and turned his head. Avoiding the persistent gaze that followed him as if he had found something amusing, he looked around and suddenly noticed something odd.
Although the total number of members present was large because the members had to control the large crowd, the number of people waiting for protection was smaller than he had expected.
Scanning the crowd, he opened his mouth, displeased.
“Is this all the standby personnel we have?”
“Is that all? We have the 4th Battalion Commander and our elites escorting one magician. If you include the members controlling the citizens, you wouldn’t say that.”
Andreas said, sounding a bit hurt, and Hugo didn’t say anything more. He hadn’t seen how Leonardo Blaine fought, so it was understandable that he would think that way.
However, the Northern Branch had assigned three battalion commander-level escorts. The Central Branch had only sent one. Including himself, there were only two, which was woefully inadequate considering emergencies. Moreover, his adjutant, Flynn, was not a combat-type magician, and the elites would have to focus on evacuating the citizens rather than fighting.
As Hugo mentally prepared for any eventuality, he frowned, noticing that the personnel controlling the citizens were all wearing the Council’s white uniforms.
“Didn’t the military send anyone?”
“What do you expect from them? It’ll be a relief if they don’t interfere with our escort.”
Andreas shrugged, replying as if he didn’t expect anything.
At that moment, a faint creaking sound came from the iron cage, which had been silent all along. Hugo and Andreas simultaneously turned their heads in that direction.
Although it shouldn’t be possible since the sound was supposed to be blocked, Hugo stared at the cage with a hardened expression, as if ‘he’ inside was reacting to their conversation.
They had covered the cage with a black blanket to block the flames and obscure the view, but since they couldn’t see inside either, they couldn’t afford to relax their vigilance.
Andreas, who was also looking at the cage, glanced sideways at Hugo’s sharpened gaze. He was puzzled by the commander’s unusual appearance for a moment, but then he suddenly turned and walked towards the cage.
Seeing this, Hugo quickly reached out and stopped him.
“If you touch those bars now, your hand will burn. Don’t get close.”
“I know that much.”
Andreas replied lightly but didn’t stop walking. Finally reaching the bars, he clicked his tongue at the magic stone net and sealing stones that wrapped around the cage, which was much taller than him.
“What is this, a Dragon? Is it moving even with this much sealing?”
Hugo shook his head and said,
“More than a Dragon.”
Andreas, who had been looking up at the large cage, slowly turned around at the words he heard. He knew that Hugo wasn’t one to joke, but hearing those words along with the scar on his face made him realize that the person inside the cage was even more formidable than he had thought.
Hugo, hearing the intermittent creaking and the surrounding shouts, said to Andreas,
“Anyway, we should move quickly. It’s best not to provoke him.”
At his words, the waiting members immediately surrounded the cage and took their positions. Andreas, watching their quick movements, nodded in agreement with Hugo and moved to his position.
When Hugo confirmed that the escort formation was ready, he gave a hand signal and nodded. Flynn, who was at the front, took the reins of the horse again and moved forward. The crowd also stirred, following the moving formation.
Once they crossed the wide bridge in front of the gate and entered the Imperial Palace, that was when the real ordeal would begin.
Beyond that bridge, an even larger crowd would be gathered, and crossing the bridge would mean stepping into the complete territory of the Imperial Palace, where the use of teleportation was prohibited in the entire area.
The scale of magic that could be used in the entire Imperial Palace was drastically reduced because small magic stones were widely distributed under the ground to limit the magic power of magicians.
This was intended to prevent chaotic situations by preventing people from getting hurt by the aftereffects of using large-scale magic in densely populated areas. In addition, it was also a means of defense to delay the time it would take for external forces with malicious intentions to invade the Imperial Palace.
Furthermore, the Imperial Palace was divided into four zones, each with a progressively stronger magic control barrier. The power of this barrier increased as one approached the Imperial Palace, and within the Imperial Palace itself, which was the fourth zone, the use of magic was almost impossible except for very small spells.
In other words, once they reached the first gateway to the Imperial Palace, it would be more difficult to respond to and control unexpected situations using magic.
The escort formation, filled with various concerns, moved slowly, keeping pace with the cage containing Leonardo Blaine.
The name of the bridge they were currently crossing was Diamond Bridge. When viewed from above, the eight bridges connecting to the Imperial Palace from each direction resembled a cut diamond, hence the name.
Moreover, its durability was extremely strong, living up to its name and reputation. However, for some reason, the escort personnel felt a slight tremor in the bridge with each step they took. It was supposed to be a bridge strong enough to withstand wartime bombings.
And they couldn’t tell whether it was due to the tension caused by the presence next to them or the numerous shouts coming from beyond.
As the iron wheels of the cage stepped onto solid ground, passing the end of the bridge connected to the gate,
An overwhelming crowd filled the vast plaza in front of the escort formation that had entered the Magic Control Zone 1.
Waaaaaah!
Another roar, as if piercing their hearts, was heard, and Flynn, who was the first to face the scene, swallowed hard without realizing it.
Thanks to the members who put up barriers and controlled the citizens, entry through the central passage was smooth, but the cheers of the people in the overheated atmosphere were on a different level than before.
The Laina Rogia Empire flag hanging on the tall building fluttered violently in response to the stimulating roar, and those who could not come out onto the streets also clung to the windows, watching the scene.
All eyes in the Imperial Palace seemed to be fixed on one place.
Creak—
As the cage continued to creak and move, Hugo’s ominous premonition grew stronger.
Even if he was bound and gagged, there was a high possibility that this level of noise would not be completely blocked. The surging commotion from outside was clearly stimulating him.
“Do not approach! It’s dangerous!”
The Council members held each other’s arms more tightly and tried to actively stop the citizens, but whether they didn’t realize the danger well or not, people were narrowing the road and pushing in more and more.
It was not enough to shout at the top of their lungs for cooperation for safety.
Perhaps they didn’t realize how frightening the being inside this cage was.