Chapter 211 - Live to Sienna Pt.211
Chapter 211: Live to Sienna Pt.211
Their attack was not going to end with arrows. Carl had to prepare for the next attack. He calculated when Kissinger’s unit, which was running from the palace, would reach.
The crowds that were filling the road were running away, falling to the ground or screaming after being hit by arrows. However, a considerable number of people, with grim faces, escaped the arrow by going under the carriage or the eaves of the building.
At a glance, Carl could tell that the attackers were trained. It would not have been difficult for them to hide among the crowds watching the march.
Carl shouted at his knights.
“The enemies are mingled among the citizens! When the arrow attack is over, we’ll pull the swords out, so don’t let your guard down and get ready for battle!”
As the number of arrows falling from the sky decreased, several people who were avoiding the arrows began to attack with their hidden knives.
They weren’t all. The Knights of Bluebell also pulled out the swords and began to attack Carl. Fortunately, Carl and the Royal Knights had already anticipated their attack, so they were able to defend the swords calmly.
Carl cut off the enemy’s waist, who was coming at him. Blood splashed over his clothes. He shook off the blood flowing on the knife with an indifferent face, and blocked the sword aimed for his neck.
The sword’s owner was a man who knew Carl well. He was a knight of the Ferrer family. He entered the Imperial Palace to protect Bluebell and was now swinging his sword at the Emperor.
Carl always admired his loyalty to the Ferrer family, but he was not as pleased now. Carl blocked the sword wielded, over and over.
The old knight turned and bounced off Carl’s sword, then slapped Carl on the chin with his elbow. Carl’s upper body shook heavily. Nevertheless, Carl slashed the side of the old knight without loosening his hand. The old knight crouched back.
Carl spat blood on the floor and said to him in an angry voice.
“The sword of an old dog is quite fierce.”
“The sword of the Emperor’s doesn’t give me a chance. It’s an honor to face you and your sword.”
His voice was so serene that it did not sound like a conversation taking place while swinging swords at each other’s throats. Carl’s lips curled up.
“Are you thinking of quitting now?”
“You can’t retrieve a sword that’s already been swung.”
Neither did Carl really think he would accept the offer. Carl was just saying it out of a little regret.
The old knight raised the sword again. Carl also fixed the sword.
It wasn’t until their swords clashed two more times that Carl was able to put a deep stab into the knight’s heart. The knight’s movement was limited due to the wound to his waist. Otherwise, more time would have been needed.
Carl checked the old knight lying on the ground and looked around. Most of Bluebell’s knights were lying on the ground. Except for the old knight, none of the Ferrer’s knights had good skills. Most of them were just greenhorns.
The problem was that they were not all. Enemy soldiers dressed in plain clothes and mixed among the citizens stormed to where Carl was.
All the enemy troops watched Carl. It was clear who they were after. If only Carl’s death were confirmed, this battle was their victory.
“Protect the Emperor!”
The knights were desperate to protect the emperor. Carl looked anxious to see if Sienna was safe. Fortunately, the enemies rushed at him as if they only wanted to take Carl’s life, so their blades did not turn to Sienna.
Carl was relieved, but at the same time thought that she might be hurt by a blind sword if he was beside Sienna.
“Phoenix knights! Protect the Empress until I return!”
Cried Carl. Already, the Knights of Phoenix were fighting enemies while surrounding the carriage where Sienna and Bluebell were hiding.
Carl and Sienna shared a message in silence when their eyes met. Carl nodded and shouted.
“Find Empress Arya and Count Ferrer! We have to finish the battle quickly.”
The battle was to continue in disarray unless Arya and Count Ferrer were caught. The incident had to be finished before the damage to the citizens and aristocrats, who were swept away in a daze, was about to get worse.
As Carl led the knights away, Sienna looked at him, biting her lips in anxiety. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in Carl’s swordsmanship, but she was worried about his safety as the situation was very serious. In addition, her fear grew as many enemies were moving along Carl.
Sienna couldn’t help but wish Carl was with herself. But the Royal Knights were supposed to move around him. If the most powerful figure had its feet tied by her now, the battle would become difficult. She pressed her fear hard and hoped in her heart that he would return safely.
Jamie led the Phoenix Knights and protected Sienna. Seeing his back in front of her brought a sense of security.
“Sienna, you’ve got to stay strong! Never raise your head and never close your eyes!”
Jamie shouted while swinging his sword against the swords of the enemies rushing toward them.
“Okay. You should be careful, too, brother!”
“Don’t worry. Knights of Phoenix! Maintain a narrow formation.”
“Narrow formation!”
“Narrow formation!”
The knights maintained the row at Jamie’s command and struck out the flying blade.
The carriage behind Sienna blocked the arrow, and Jamie and the Knights of Phoenix blocked the swords of the enemy. Knights and aristocrats from other noble families joined after defeating the enemy faced in front of them.
Sienna was worried about Carl who was out of sight, but after confirming that he was maintaining a certain distance from the direct threat, she felt a little bit more relaxed. She looked at Bluebell sitting next to her. Bluebell’s face was pale.
SWOOSH- Blood splashed through the knights’ legs. Bluebell curled up, hugging her knees in great fear. Sienna grabbed her shoulder.
Someone’s wrist fell before them. The lost hand seemed still moving because its life had not run out yet.
Ahhh! A scream came out of Bluebell’s mouth. Sienna bit her lower lip. The smell of blood rushed from the dust that had been soaked in the blood, stirring up fears that she might die.
“It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s because of you, not my fault.”
Like a madman, Bluebell repeated the same words with her loose eyes. Sienna held Bluebell in her arms. Sienna still felt resentment toward Bluebell. Her terrible choice was taking the lives of so many people.
But on the other hand, she felt sorry for her. This cruel incident will haunt her forever. Even if she didn’t criticize loudly, Sienna knew that Bluebell would blame herself and rot.
Bluebell would live her whole life in torment and self-destruction. Dreaming of an illusionary dream of turning her life back.
Beyond the shoulders of Phoenix knights, there was a vivid glimpse of lives collapsing in despair. Jamie told her to keep her eyes open for possible threats that he couldn’t stop, but Sienna wanted to close her eyes and pretend not to know the situation. The misery that was happening in front of her eyes was simply terrible.
It was bizarre to see people, who were breathing and moving just a moment ago, bleeding like dolls with broken threads. It was torture to have to watch the loss of lives so closely.
THUD!
The man, who appeared to be an enemy, fell before Bluebell and Sienna with his eyes open.
Argh!
“Go away! Go away!”
Bluebell screamed and struggled at the eccentric scene. Sienna held her tight. But because she couldn’t forgive Bluebell, Sienna couldn’t say everything would be okay.
Count Ferrer, who was marching in the city, hid himself under a prepared shield as soon as the carriage entered an alley full of buildings. The archers had settled on the rooftop as planned, so his carriage could also be dangerous.
His knight, who came up for a report earlier, said everything was going smoothly. He said there were some soldiers who checked the roof just in case, but most of the preparation was completed with the help of the knights Arya had prepared.
When the wagons entered this alley, archers hiding on the roof of the building were supposed to shoot arrows. He bribed a man in the military for it.
The military could not siphon off archers or save large quantities of bows because Carl was so tightly managing it. Count Ferrer had to put a lot of effort into buying off each person in charge and siphoning off materials little by little. He was forced to do so because Castro refused to transfer the weapons out of his empire.
That wasn’t the end. Unable to save the archers, Count Ferrer had to teach the soldiers of his territory how to shoot arrows. Half the hard-earned arrows were used to train them. He felt sorry for it, but he couldn’t help it.
SWOOSH-! The sound stopped as if the arrows that were pouring like a heavy rain had quickly run out. The sound of screams and weapons clashing initially covered by the sound of arrows could now be heard. Kenyon rose with regret.
“That ended too soon for the money I put in.”
Looking down on and around the carriage, he could see the effect of the arrows shot at unexpected points. There were quite a few people crawling on the ground, wriggling in pain after being hit by arrows.
Kenyon, with a pleased look, opened the carriage door to head to the carriage on which Arya was riding.
Since he was busy only with centralizing himself and increasing his voice in the political arena over the long years of Carl’s absence, his knights and soldiers were not strong enough to break through the battlefield due to their lack of force and their focus on archery. So those whom Arya had prepared escorted him.
Although he usually thought Arya was not a trustworthy individual, Count Ferrer didn’t doubt that she would stab him in the back in such a great alliance they had now.
He was the empress’ father. He was the grandfather of a child who would soon be officially the son of Bluebell and Carl. That’s how important he was.
“Hurry up! I will go to where Empress Arya is.”
The carriages for the parade were organized in the order of title, so the distance to the carriage of Arya was never close. Moreover, the ground was packed with citizens who died after being hit by a barrage of arrows, and the road was rough because knights and soldiers were wielding knives in narrow alleys.
Eventually, Kenyon curled up his full body and headed for Arya. The safest place now was by her side.
Knights brought by Arya also attacked Count Ferrer’s soldiers, who were swept away by the battle. His soldiers were not strong enough to defeat the swords of the expert-class knights.
“Dumb bastards who can’t even tell their enemies! Eliminate all those who stand in the way!”
Count Ferrer shouted to a few of his men. His knights continued to die out because of the strong attack. Count Ferrer was worried that he might lose all the knights before arriving at the carriage of Empress Arya and be protected.
When Count Ferrer arrived where Arya was and stood before her, there were only two knights beside him. Neither of the two knights was in a condition to guard him. One man lost an arm and writhed in pain, and the other man was as good as dead from a large cut he got on his back while protecting Count Ferrer.
Arya got out of the carriage, stepped aside to one side of the building and watched the battle. Only around her was a peaceful atmosphere as if she had nothing to do with this war.