Having eliminated the black magicians encountered deep within the underground ruins, Cain immediately ascended to the surface.
With the awakening of Onisia’s power and the imprinting of her sacred mark complete, there was no further business in the ruins.
The moment he emerged without delay, Aren Valerian and the paladins of the Imperial Church confirmed the safety of the surroundings.
It was a precaution against any remaining enemy forces or the arrival of reinforcements.
“It’s safe.”
Aren finished a simple detection sweep by scattering divine power around, then reported to Cain.
At that exact moment, Cain spoke quietly.
“It seems there’s an ambush.”
The authority of Onisia he had wielded in the underground ruins—the Will to Exterminate Evil—still lingered in his body, with Onisia’s sacred mark firmly imprinted.
Among the constellations active in the ancient mythic era, Onisia had been particularly hostile toward impure beings like black magicians, demons, and demonic creatures.
She had been one of the primary constellations to ignite the Dark Crusade to eradicate all negative existences on the continent—so earnest was her commitment to exterminating evil.
Thus, it was no surprise that Cain, bearing her sacred mark, had gained the ability to track and sense the presence of impure beings.
Detecting faint but unmistakably ominous black mana leaking nearby, Cain signaled his subordinates to be on guard.
“An ambush… you say, Your Majesty?”
Viscount Heinrich Denver, who had been recovering the bodies of subordinates lost to the enemy attack, reacted to the word “ambush” from Cain’s mouth.
His gaze turned toward Aren Valerian, the paladin of the Imperial Church.
Rather than rudely questioning the emperor directly, he sought confirmation from Aren, who as a paladin was sensitive to black magic auras.
But Aren, receiving that gaze, replied.
“The divine power His Majesty has displayed far surpasses my own.”
He offered no further details, but it was explanation enough for Viscount Denver.
In other words, Cain’s divine power had detected evil that his own senses might have missed—an admission of that fact.
“We’ll send people later to recover the bodies properly. For now, it would be best to leave this cursed place quickly.”
Viscount Denver made the decision swiftly, without a moment’s hesitation.
Leaving the bodies of fallen subordinates in the ruins naturally weighed on him, but it wasn’t the priority right now.
His duty was to protect Cain—the emperor who had awakened a sacred mark—for the future of the Felberg Empire.
“Viscount Denver.”
Cain called to him with a darkened expression.
Denver, who had been ordering his men to form a protective formation, approached.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I regret to say it, but it’s already too late. They’ve noticed us.”
Cain indicated the direction of the enemy with his eyes.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the ambushing figures began revealing their presence one by one.
Did they decide there was no further need to hide?
Their actions were akin to a flare signaling imminent battle.
At first, only Cain—with Onisia’s sacred mark—had sensed their faint traces.
But soon even Aren Valerian and Viscount Heinrich Denver could detect them without difficulty.
The enemy was approaching openly, without any attempt to conceal themselves.
Watching them close the distance, Denver muttered.
“There seem to be more of them than I expected.”
Yet his expression was noticeably less tense than before.
Unlike the despairing situation against black magicians in the underground ruins, this was far from hopeless.
In the worst case, he was prepared to prioritize evacuating Cain.
This was the surface, not a confined underground space.
Though they were in the depths of a forest amid abandoned ancient castles and ruins, it was close to the capital Granada and within the defensive perimeter where the capital legions could respond quickly.
If Denver fired a signal flare requesting reinforcements, the direct knight order of the 4th Capital Guard Legion—responsible for the northern defenses of Granada—would arrive swiftly.
Of course, that assumed they could survive until reinforcements came.
“Viscount Denver. It looks like they have no intention of retreating.”
“How coincidental. I was thinking the same.”
The moment the ambushers revealed themselves, battle had essentially begun.
Denver agreed with Cain’s words and pulled out a signal flare.
“Shall I fire it?”
He produced the flare that could summon central army reinforcements.
Normally he would have launched it without hesitation, but since this was an unofficial schedule, he sought Cain’s permission.
Fortunately, Cain answered immediately.
“Fire it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With permission granted, Denver shot the flare into the dark night sky.
A brilliant golden flame pierced the deep darkness, soaring upward before embroidering the crest symbolizing the Felberg imperial family at its highest point.
Not merely a visual signal—an encrypted magical telegram would have been sent simultaneously to nearby mages.
Soon, reinforcements would swarm to rescue the emperor.
“They’re moving!”
“Form defensive positions! Protect His Majesty the Emperor!”
The instant the flare pierced the night sky, the ambushers began moving in earnest.
Aren Valerian warned of the battle’s start upon sensing their movements, and Denver ordered the remaining imperial guard knights into a defensive formation.
After the fierce fighting in the underground ruins, few of Cain’s escorts remained.
Only about ten imperial guard knights were left, and including Aren, just three paladins from the Imperial Church.
At least the mages from the imperial army brought by Viscount Philips Grey had suffered no casualties, but shielding the knights against the black knights had drained most of their mana.
“Your Majesty. We will do our utmost, but the mages’ firepower support won’t last long.”
Viscount Philips Grey also reported the mages’ near-depleted mana to Cain.
“How long until reinforcements arrive, do you think?”
At Cain’s question, Denver narrowed his eyes, calculating the distance to the nearest capital legion garrison.
Then he continued.
“Since they wouldn’t have stationed troops in advance around here, we’ll need to hold for about an hour before a meaningful force arrives.”
“That won’t be easy.”
An hour until reinforcements—that was no light matter.
Though his response was casual, steeling his mind wasn’t simple.
His escorts were already exhausted, and reusing Onisia’s sacred mark—their strongest weapon against black magicians—required time to recharge.
Moreover, sacred marks were not omnipotent.
A freshly imprinted mark was inherently weak.
To strengthen it required raising proficiency with the constellation’s power or sustained communion with that constellation.
Even Onisia’s sacred mark, known as the Evil-Slaying Paladin, couldn’t perform at full capacity immediately after imprinting.
To make it truly powerful, more evil had to be judged.
“But it’s not hopeless. Let’s hold out.”
Cain maintained his composure, showing no anxiety.
A sovereign must never appear weak.
He had to stand firm always.
Seeing Cain unwavering, the imperial guard knights renewed their resolve and drew their swords once more.
“They’re coming!”
With Aren’s shout, arrows cloaked in darkness began raining from the sky.
A wide-area attack aimed directly at Cain’s position.
The moment dozens of arrows wreathed in dark flames poured down, the Sacred Mark of Brünjak activated upon sensing mortal danger.
[Baron of Swiftness Brünjak’s authority, ‘Momentary Swiftness,’ activates.]
With the brief message, Momentary Swiftness engaged, and everything around Cain seemed to slow.
All his senses entered an accelerated state.
In that accelerated perception, Cain immediately spotted the dark arrows falling overhead and chained the Sacred Mark of Vendelhaven.
Brilliant golden energy gathered, forming a massive shield that blocked every dark arrow.
“His Majesty the Emperor protects us!”
Aren Valerian’s cry rang out, and the knights cheered as Cain read a new message appearing before his eyes.
[Sub-story: The Lord of Prophecy and the March of the Impure progresses.]
[The Lord of Prophecy and the March of the Impure (Sub-story): The apostles of the demon god, defeated in the Dark Crusade and the War of the End, were either sealed or fled into the Abyss Forest. Though their influence waned across the continent, they were not eradicated.
When night falls, worshippers of the demon god’s apostles still gather in the dark shadows of cities. Due to the prank of Ancient Oblivion, even the Ellington Holy Alliance had forgotten most of their sacred duties, resulting in scarcely any proper heresy inquisitions or executions over the past several centuries.
But according to the forgotten prophecy, the wanderer has reawakened the power of a holy constellation, changing everything.
The clergy of the Holy Alliance will remember and fulfill their long-forgotten duties once more, and impure beings will now target you.
Please survive.]
It was the message announcing the start of a sub-story.
He wasn’t certain, but awakening Onisia’s power sleeping in these ruins seemed to have triggered this sub-story.
‘Of all places for a sub-story to start here…’
Most main stories were ones he had either created himself or reviewed, but many sub-stories bore the influence of other planners or were outsourced.
Thus not all details came to mind immediately, and it was natural his expression soured.
Yet.
‘Come to think of it, this isn’t a bad situation.’
At first he thought it dire, but upon reflection, it wasn’t so bad.
Why?
The sub-story description stated that by awakening Onisia’s power and imprinting her sacred mark, the curse of Ancient Oblivion had weakened, causing the clergy of the Ellington Holy Alliance to recall their forgotten sacred duties.
‘If I play this right, I could paint quite a pretty picture.’
The Ellington Holy Alliance, relatively quiet and subdued for centuries, resuming their duty to exterminate evil meant large-scale heresy hunts would begin.
And the current Empire airborne forces had more than enough circumstantial ties to black magic.
If handled well, he could drag not just the Beheading Priest personally, but the entire Ellington Holy Alliance’s grand heresy hunt into sweeping up the airborne forces as well.
Of course, that was only if he survived the current enemy assault.
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