CHAPTER LXV
Marie kept stomping on the collar and bracelet even while Juilius tried to calm her, but she wouldn't rest until she had made sure the damn things were beyond repair!
"S ok marie, that witch can't touch you here…" She was far from ok and her Prince Charming was an ignorant child who didn't even know she was replaced and would never be able to protect her from something like that!
But she was fine now, she managed to wrestle the control of her body back from that evil, vengeful spirit and now that she destroyed those things she can no longer try to possess her again!
"My King, we lost the eastern sector!" What was happening?!
Julius did not seem to care about the rather alarming bit of news they have just received!
Looking around she could see ships, lots and lots of ships, some with the colors of the royal army, others with the houses of her lovers but the most numerous of them were using the colors of House Redgrave!
How long has it been since she lost control of her body?
And what forced that thing to use so much of her magic and concentration?
She looked around for the thing that involuntarily helped her get her freedom and found it in the sky, the image of a well endowed blonde woman wearing a black and red dress… Olivia?
What the hell was she doing here!?
As far as she knew she dropped out of the academy before the second semester of the first year even started!
And as if to answer her unasked question she could see Angelica's image at her side…
Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!
If what she has heard so far is accurate they are losing the civil war to the Duke's faction, that means Julius, Jilk, Brad and Chris will be executed by the Duke and she was aware enough to know that she would be made a scapegoat for the Temple.
The situation is dire…
"Julius…" She whispered to her lover and he immediately gave her his undivided attention, that was good. "We need to escape"
0x0x0x0
BEAUTIFUL!
Roland will be taking that woman as a trophy once this is over, it's the least she deserves after preserving his chance to become a legend!
He charged with all his might at the Bartfort knight whose name he ignores and does his bst to overwhelm him.
He has more experience, he has better armor and the favor of heavens, it's just a matter of time before he claims that weapon that man is amateurishly brandishing and uses it to kill that damned Pirate's Bane once for all.
And with him dead, his side's morale will fall and he will eventually claim victory and he will be lauded for it!
As he clashed with the man once again he was sent back a few meters, but he didn't sustain any real damage.
This time he tries to feint the first strike but the knight doesn't bite, damnit!
That man has nerves of steel!
That'll make for an even better tale.
Truly, he could not imagine a highest honor for the man to be immortalized in his heroic poems!
What should he call him?
The Guard?
The Shield?
Nah, he better leaves the words to the poets!
This time the Bartfort knights charges in like a bull and Roland dodges like a bullfighter, moving juuuust enough to avoid the blow.
What a good partner!
But this is getting stale, he has bigger fish to fry and so little time!
"Hey you, come here and help me!" He orders a random man from his army.
The knight approaches dutifully, Roland pities the man, he will not be mentioned in his poems! ever!
"CHARGE!" He orders knowing full well that a normal soldier has no chance against a man like the one he has been fighting for the last 10 minutes.
However, the man will provide a decent shield and be a good distraction to boot!
Sacrifices must be made!
But the man doesn't charge…
"I SAID CHARGE!" Roland orders again and pushes him with the pommel of his sword, he will not be denied!
But the man still doubts…
He got closer to the man, sometimes fear can paralyze a man, but if this pathetic excuse of a soldier doesn't overcome that fear he will feed him to the enemy!
He pushes the man again but this time the mutt turns around and grabs his sword with all his might, so he panicked and decided to throw his life away against him instead of the Bartfort knight?
That's fine, it shouldn't take longer than a second to strike him down with a well aimed fist to the cockpit.
Only a second armor holds his free arm!
What the hell?!
"Unhand me you traitors!" Roland yells, this could have already been over had that imbecile not panicked!
"Get them off me!" He yelled again once he noticed that he wouldn't be able to free himself, there are still thousands of loyal soldiers he can use to replace them!
But when the reinforcements come they do not kill the traitors, instead they help them to immobilize him!
"LET GO OF ME YOU DIRTY SONS OF WHORES! he screams he struggles but nothing works!
They traitors waste no time and break his armor, external speakers included.
"Knight of Bartfort, I'm Lt. Chad Fia Brown, me and my men want to surrender, we don't want to fight for a fake Saintess nor a King who lays with her… and we bring the old King with us, he told us he is known in the battlefield as the Masked Knight!"
No!
Danm traitors!
Where are the soldiers loyal to him, where is that damn captain that was kissing the ground he stood on!
"I'm James, First knight of my Lord Leon Ff… Rapha Bartfort, I accept your surrender and I'll also inform you that the Duke put a price on that one's head!"
Roland tried his best to get out of the traitor's grip but that only made them tear off his armor's arms!
He was determined to escape, this couldn't be the end of his legend!
He was dragged inside one of Vince's ships, and he was gently removed from his armor by a team of mechanics.
He tried to fight them off, but they were so many and they were armed with wrenches and other stuff he couldn't even identify.
And soon enough he was naked in the smallest cell he has ever seen, those men dared to steal his clothes too!
It's alright though, somehow he will be rescued!
0x0x0
Sonya Fou Evans couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine as the sound of yet another cannon reverberated in the basement of her mansion in the capital.
She tried to get closer to her catboy personal servant, but at this point that is physically impossible.
At least she wasn't trembling like in the beginning when her servant had to carry her to safety because her legs wouldn't respond!
She doesn't regret staying in her mansion, none of her friends had left the capital except for Martha… but she became the butt of the joke for everyone in the Forest of Ladies… until today.
However that doesn't mean she is comfortable with the war going on out there!
Her daughter is still at the academy and if her son is smart and did what she said he should be hiding somewhere in the palace too, so all of them should be safe.
Sonya just wanted this thing to be over already!
A couple of days ago she didn't care who won this war, things wouldn't change for the members of the forest either way.
From their point of view if the Loyalists won, nothing would change, and if the Duke won, they would only have to call a different man king, but both sides were the same to them.
The Holforts were always kind towards women, and the Duke was fighting to avenge his daughter's honor, whatever you say about Duke Redgrave, you have to acknowledge that the man knows how to treat a lady
However after hearing that woman speak of their legitimate dealings as if they were something amoral she started to fear for her safety
She tried to calm herself by rationalizing that the woman who gave that speech did so just to keep the veil on the barbaric men that were fighting for the Duke.
That Oliva was a noble woman as well, she must know how things work in this world too, right?!
BANG!
That one sounded close!
0x0x0
Gilbert looked around and despite witnessing the deplorable state of the previously beautiful capital, he couldn't help the smile that adorned his lips.
As predicted it didn't take long for the brother-in-law to make a hole into the Holfort's formation.
And he had the privilege of seeing him in action!
Gilbert himself is a talented knight… but he was no elite.
He knows that in a battlefield such as this one he would not last long in the role Leon is playing… But he would certainly last longer than the Field Heir!
He ruthlessly suppressed a chuckle, being done by a cobbler was in the first place in the most embarrassing ways to die of his personal list, it replaced the previous one that consisted of slipping on a banana peel while in a horse race he thought when he was only thirteen!
Even with all the pressure he felt while he was being prepared to become the next Duke he still had a good childhood studying, training, playing with baby Angie and sneaking a drink or two from his father's wine's cellar.
Those were simpler times that will never come back, once they dethrone the Holforts his father will be crown king, but he will abdicate shortly after to him… And with how biased Mylene was with the kingdom's affairs, ruling will be complicated to say the least.
His men cheer out suddenly, he looks at his second in command for an explanation and he smiles and says "The defenses around the academy and the Noble's districts is down"
Gilbert smiles and walks closer to the window of his ship to see what his crew is seeing and he finds a group of young men waving their hands at them in the platforms where the Anti air defenses were reduced to scraps of metal.
'Are those the Barons from the academy that hid in the dungeon?' he asked himself.
He could understand why the Holforts tried their best to keep them weak for so long…
They aren't even considered elites like the Bartfort brothers but they are still utterly terrifying!
They'll have to be pacified, but not like the Holforts tried for so long, he and his successors will have to think of something to keep them on their side while draining their power, somehow…
Something to be considered in the future.
"Lord Gilbert, the Masked Knight was captured in the northern front, you won't believe it but it was king Roland!" one of his men informed him.
Well… that was unexpectedly convenient, now his father will be able to get his revenge and a scapegoat.
"Good! But don't forget we have our own objective!" he reminded his men "Fire a warning shot and order the surrender of the academy and nobles in the district"
BANG!
"ATTENTION, AS OF THIS MOMENT THIS DISTRICT OF THE CAPITAL IS UNDER REDGRAVE CONTROL, DO NOT RESIST AND NO HARM WILL COME UPON YOU!"
That was perfect!
Now he only needs to distribute his ships in a protective perimeter and deploy a few men to enlist the Barons to establish ground control and wait for his father's victory!
"Knight Armor taking off from the academy spotted!" someone said in a casual voice, whoever was stupid enough to resist was just throwing his life away.
Gilbert sighed and with a movement of his head ordered his second in command to send a couple of their own armors to take down the brave albeit stupid brat, he very much doubted anyone in the staff had the balls to oppose his fleet
His men approach slowly, probably trying to talk down the enemy, considering the circumstances, it is likely to work, after all, Theri objective is to get a hold of hostages to use against the Loyalist, so they need them alive.
"They are down!" he was completely astonished by how fast they were taken down, that was no student!
"INCOMING!"
A/N: hey all, happy holidays, I have a bit of bad news today, nothing serious, it's just that there will not be a chapter next week, I'll be taking the week off to enjoy the holidays especially noche vieja.
See ya!