Episode 159: Dream in the game becomes reality

38. New era (5)

It is natural to expect that a person of Adrian's caliber would resort to some kind of trick to reduce damage to his allies.

Therefore, the Croesian Empire opened up many possibilities and prepared in its own way, but who would have predicted that they would invade the imperial palace?

It is true that the defenses were weakened due to the successive deaths of elites, but the imperial castle itself was not an easy place.

"It's not a bad situation. No, should I call it a chance?"

This was both a crisis and an opportunity for the empire.

The imperial castle of the Croesian Empire, which had maintained its status as a superpower for a long time, was no different from a dungeon for intruders.

If the main axis of the Kingdom of Reinharts, including Adrian, were eliminated here, it was clear that the direction of the war would again tilt towards Croissen.

Although the intruders include two Grand Masters and an Archmage who overwhelms the Auror Master, aren't they ultimately humans made of cloth?

No matter how close a person is to omnipotence, if his head is pierced, he dies.

"Are you planning on using it?"

"Okay, I can't miss this opportunity."

The intelligence chief, who realized the emperor's thoughts, asked, and when the emperor agreed, the ministers who were not familiar with the imperial castle's secrets tilted their heads.

To them, the current situation seemed like an unprecedented crisis.

However, looking at the smiling emperor, I realized that there was no need to be scared.

"Currently, there are no 8th Circle wizards in our empire, but looking back on the past, wasn't there more than 10 8th Circle Archmages who were born? "It means that this imperial castle has been strengthened over and over again by those great wizards."

The emperor said this and operated his terminal.

[Please set the intruder response level.] [Mortal Mode]-When executing mortal mode, the castle may be destroyed and some of its functions may be permanently lost. Additionally, the lives of personnel who cannot evacuate to a safe area cannot be guaranteed.

A scary message engraved on the terminal.

Aside from the destruction of the castle and loss of function, the inability to guarantee the lives of personnel outside the safety zone meant that their families, including their wives and children, could lose their lives.

However, the emperor carried out the function without hesitation.

[Activate mortal mode.]-For your safety, we recommend that you do not leave your current location.

The emperor spoke to his ministers with a cool smile.

"If you don't want to experience the hell that burns your soul, everyone, stay here quietly."

And the emperor floated a hologram in the center of the daejeon.

It was to watch the hardships of the intruders who had been harassing him all along.

* * *

Taylor, our military's second-in-command, is probably beating hard right now.

Until now, he had only had to play an assisting role behind me, but now he was in charge of the entire army without me and the main commanders of each unit.

There was only one instruction given to Deputy Commander Taylor, who was currently facing the main force of the Croesen Empire.

'Just pretend to fight.'

My instructions were to not do anything foolish and just prevent troop losses.

It was not a very difficult order, as the main force of the Croesen Empire must have been in a state of decline due to the series of defeats and even the death of its commander.

Deputy Commander Taylor and the main force take their time, and in the meantime, the kingdom's elite group, including me, raises the bell.

Cutting off the emperor's head would be the best, and just making him run away would send the empire's main army into panic, so it could be considered an achievement of the goal.

"Is it okay for me to make a sudden move like this?"

The Marquis of Trenton, an archmage of the 7th Circle, expressed concern over the unscheduled attack on the imperial castle.

I answered him firmly.

"Nothing good comes from wasting time. We must end the war quickly, even if it means putting some effort into it. "Only then will we be able to enjoy the status of a victorious nation while maintaining an intact military force."

"But maybe this is too impulsive."

Originally, he intended to completely crush the embers of war by simply destroying the enemy army.

But that was no longer possible.

The reason is because I received a piece of Blue Moon's intelligence through Gregory.

[It appears that the Crown Prince of the Croesen Empire led the Guard Knights toward Dragon Land.]In this situation, the crown prince is leading the precious knights of the Royal Guard and heading to Dragon Land?

Unless you're thinking about committing suicide, you can't help but think there's something there.

And I decided that something was arranged by the empire.

I wouldn't have been so concerned if it had just been an arrangement within the empire, but the fact that it was an arrangement hidden in Dragon Land sent a danger signal to my mind.

'If the arrangement was half-baked, there would be no reason to send the crown prince to the dangerous Dragon Land with the Royal Guard knights at this time. That means it's worth the risk. 'Is there a plan powerful enough to turn the tide of the war in one go?'

So I made a somewhat unreasonable choice.

"Do not worry. "It's my specialty to slit the leader's neck with a kick from behind."

It was like that during the Republic of Prius, and it was like that during the Kingdom of Roberto.

The Marquis of Trenton nodded in response to my answer, but still seemed unable to shake off his anxiety.

This may be due to the reputation of the Croesian Imperial Castle, which is called the tomb of invaders.

The elite of our kingdom's army organized to attack this imperial castle is as follows.

Grandmaster: Arcia, Duke James

Auror Masters: Gregory, Marquess of Acres, former Marquis Vincent, former Margrave Ignis

Archmage: I, Marquis of Trenton

Others: One 'pet'

Even if these members participate in the war right now, they have the power to kill thousands of Vanguards.

Even though it was made hastily, it seems like it has a good chance of success.

-Teeee! Tie!

As we entered the castle, a loud alarm welcomed us as intruders.

Duke James took up the baton from the Marquess of Trenton and made negative remarks.

"It's not too late. "I also have no choice but to recommend returning."

"We didn't just attack without any preparation."

"I have no doubt in your abilities… … ."

Everyone is following along because of the performance they have shown so far, otherwise this plan would not have been implemented.

"You don't have to worry. "Trust me."

I have the best item to avoid traps and a shield to block extreme attacks.

I looked around at the castle, which began emitting powerful magical energy along with a warning sound.

[Circle 8 Hellfire] [Circle 8 Mental Collapse] [Circle 8 Recognition Decrease] [Circle 8 Labyrinth] [Circle 8 Inferno] [Circle 8 Blizzard]Even if you take a quick look through Mangyeong, you can see that the level of intruder response systems installed throughout the castle is extraordinary.

'This is no different from hell. Is this an empire with a long history?'

I was greatly impressed by the imperial castle, which was incomparable to the Reinharts royal castle.

However, for me, who can look at the root of things, I could see strategies one by one.

"You must follow instructions faithfully from now on."

Everyone nodded as if there was nothing they could do, and I, under Arcia's protection, pointed here and there with my finger along the wide and long corridors of the castle.

"First, please destroy that place, that place, that place with the fish sword."

Arcia and Duke James followed my instructions and threw their swords.

Then, the flames of hell (8th circle hellfire) that spread throughout the entrance to the imperial castle were destroyed without being able to manifest.

[During shooting]After eliminating the nearby threat, I grinned and waved at the artifact that was filming the situation.

The emperor is probably watching this whole situation.

"Let's go."

I walked forward with long strides.

And then he quickly increased his speed and started running.

"excuse me."

-bang!

"excuse me."

-Quaang!

"There, there."

Kwakwakwak!

Even while moving, I continued to point here and there, directing the destruction of seemingly intact walls, and the two Grandmasters' swords responded as quickly as my limbs.

"After taking a quick look, I see that the Hwangseong Castle has a five-level intruder exclusion system in place."

The imperial castle was designed so that no matter which route you took to invade, you would have to go through all of these five ordeals.

And as you can see from the situation, the first area that can be considered the entrance is the Hellfire Zone.

There were as many as 100 8-circle spells that could destroy an ordinary castle with a single hit.

No matter how strong the castle is made, it is an ignorant number that makes you wonder whether it will be able to withstand it.

This means that it is a system that does not take into account the preservation of the imperial castle.

"With this, you have cleared stage 1 out of 5."

"B-already?"

Well, as a result, there was no need to worry about the sturdiness of the imperial castle.

Because we succeeded in breaking through while thoroughly blocking the activation of the artifact.

And as I said, as if to indicate that the first ordeal was over and the second had begun, the surrounding scenery changed and a white space with nothing appeared.

After clearing the first stage without any problems, people's faces showed that it was surprisingly worth doing.

"If you feel like you can't hold on, just pass out."

"yes?"

But that lasts only a moment.

As the characteristics of the second area appeared, people's expressions distorted.

"Ugh! This, this."

"It's a mental attack."

Stage 2 was a mental attack zone, and the entire terrain was enchanted, so it was impossible to stop the attack in advance.

It was so terrible that even Grandmaster Duke James was rolling around on the floor, clutching his head.

If Duke James is like that, how can other people be like that?

If we delay this situation a little longer, we will all end up in ruins.

But I have a method of destruction for this.

That's right.

"Arsia, let's go."

"yes."

Break through head on.

I levitated my unconscious companions with magic and quickly broke through.

Unlike my companions screaming, tears, snot, and spit pouring out, the mental attack had no effect on Arsia and me.

This is the same situation as when I first encountered Auguste, a member of the Blue Moon special unit that deals with spirit spirits.

Arcia and I, whose abilities in the game were inherited intact, had enough resistance to withstand the dragon fear, so it was no problem.

"Stage 2 cleared."

"Oops! "Wow, wow!"

"omg! omg!"

Stage 2 was cleared more easily than Stage 1.

Since all you had to do was simply get out of the area, it didn't take more than 5 seconds.

However, it was easy by Arcia and I's standards, but it wasn't so by other people's standards.

Surprisingly, the people who looked as if it was something worth doing disappeared completely.

I tried to make an apologetic expression and fed the people a potion mixed with healing magic and a few drops of elixir.

"Uh, why are you guys?"

Grandmaster Duke James looked at me and Arcia with a haggard face for a few seconds.

I didn't feel the need to answer the question about why you guys were fine, so I shrugged my shoulders.

"I see, it's a vision of its own."

Everyone clearly looked like they wanted to rest, but every second was a regret.

Now we were playing the role of raiders.

"Next is the labyrinth area. Just take a breath. "I will move you with magic like before."

"Thank you."

"Okay, thank you."

The third area is the labyrinth area.

If you do not have the attack power to destroy the labyrinth or the interpretation ability to find the exit, it is an abyss of hell from which you cannot escape for the rest of your life and have no choice but to face death inside.

But what… … .

Do I really need an explanation?

"Cleared stage 3."

With the artifact with the world's greatest interpretive ability placed over my eyes, the labyrinth was nothing more or less than just a 'complicated path.'

"her… … ."

At this point, my companions reacted beyond surprise to bewilderment.

"I never thought we would break through the infamous Croisen Imperial Fortress so quickly."

Of course.

Until now, it was a section that Mangyeong's observation and analysis skills were enough to overcome.

But steps 4 and 5 are different.

It was a section that could not be overcome with Mangyeong's abilities alone.

"From now on, you can say it's a highlight."

Stages 4 and 5 can be seen as the environment itself destroying intruders.

Stage 4 is Inferno, Stage 5 is Blizzard.

The strongest attack magic in Circle 8 is Hellfire, but Inferno and Blizzard are the top two wide-area field spells.

However, as these two magics overlapped, a field similar to a quasi-9 circle was created.

Those are the 4th and 5th level areas.

"Arsia."

What is important in stages 4 and 5 is defense.

Even if I used 8-circle magic, it was unclear whether I would be able to break through, so I needed a stronger defense method.

Fortunately, we have such a defense.

Wasn't there the strongest shield that could defend against the bombardment of hundreds of sky fortresses?

At my call, Arcia put up her strongest shield with an extremely serious expression.

"uh? uh? "What are you doing?"

However, Bang Bang, who had an ego, was embarrassed and asked that question.

"Please take care of me, Shield."

The name of the shield that Arcia is holding is 'Iris Marignan'.

It was the fox beastman, the highest elder of the Elysian Alliance.