At the southern region of the Coristel Human Continent, within the borders of the Gabriel Empire, the southern Chelsea Imperial Highway. The Kerklav Swordsman Academy’s returning carriage troop was intercepted by a band of thieves. Generally, bandits would not dare to cause any trouble in imperial highways like this, so there was about an 80% chance that they had a backer when they dared to come.
Bella did not get off the carriage. She was enjoying the beautiful eye candies that were these pretty swordsman ladies. It was simply a drag to get off now. As for the situation outside, she could see everything clear as day with the “Demonic Eye” on a Demonic Being that was hidden in the clouds. After defeating the invasion of the Beastman Race in the Darkness Sacred Region, many Demonic Beings with the “Demonic Eye” were set across the entire southern region of the human continent to spy on the area, covering practically the entire territory of the Gabriel Swordsman Empire.
The “Demonic Eye” was a kind of Demonic Being with only one big eye and small flesh-colored wings on its back. It was a Demonic Being about the size of a bat. Their main purpose was to act as scouts, so they hid behind the clouds in the sky, resting there 24 hours a day like Earth’s “Global Positioning System,” monitoring the entire southern empire in all weathers. The Gabriel Empire’s most mainstream profession was the swordsman. They hardly had any magic professions like the mage. So, they had no idea that they were being spied on by Demonic Beings, but this method might not have worked on other empires.
Relying on the vision of the “Demonic Eye,” Bella could clearly see a group of bandits over ten thousand in numbers in front of the carriages, as they had already blocked the road’s front and the rear with burning logs. This was an imperial highway, so an average thief wouldn’t come here, so the students didn’t expect to be ambushed here.
The bandits numbered around ten thousand, with six thousand in the front and four thousand in the back. From the ability of these bandits, they didn’t seem like an army of random vagabonds banded together, but more like men from military origins. The boys from the Kerklav Academy were already at the front, fighting with the bandits.
The more Bella looked at them, the more she began to suspect that these bandits were soldiers. Even though they were dressed in black, they were clearly seasoned soldiers. The swordsman student boys at the front weren’t any match for the bandits at all, and in just a few moments, many of them had gotten injured and were forced to return to the carriages.
Since the mainstream profession of the Gabriel Empire was swordsman, both sides fought with swords. This scene looked less like a brutal battlefield but more like a sword-fighting exchange with thousands of people. There were still a lot of students who did not come out to participate in the Twelve Academy Exchange Tournament and stayed back at the Kerklav Academy. The ones who came out might have been the elites, but they spent too much of their energy in the tournament, so they were in quite a miserable state when they encountered these experienced “bandits.”
The bandits didn’t land any fatal moves on the students but only forced them back to the carriages. So, Bella judged that they were the soldiers from the Empire. For over ten thousand bandits to be able to walk around in the Gabriel Empire so freely, the stationed imperial troops would have already swooped all of them up and thrown them in the slammer. This blatant dereliction of duty was no different than death for an empire.
“Mistress, Bella, please let us… No, please stop, I was wrong. Mistress, please forgive me!”
“Vice President Emily, where do you think you’re going? Your place is here in my arms. Wanting to go without my permission? Do you want to go out and fight naked?!”
Vice President Emily and the other Kerklav Academy’s elite students had all been confined in Bella’s carriage and could not go out to fight at all. Faced with Bella’s scoundrel ways, they could only stay there. If Bella won’t let them wear clothes, they couldn’t just go out and fight completely naked!
Nobody could be seen coming out from Student Union President Kliveny’s carriage either. Bella had already used the contact crystal to tell Kriss and the girls not to get out of the carriage. From what she could see through the “Demonic Eyes” on both sides of the forest passage, she found thousands of archers hiding there. The student union president’s carriage came with its own very strong anti-arrow armor and there was a chance they might be trying to lure out the Kerklav Academy’s student union president. Once they came out, they might be ambushed by the archers’ attacks.
It was not that Bella wasn’t going to act here, she was just leaving it to her subordinates. She freed one hand and pressed on what looked like a floating eyeball. That was the command center of the “Demonic Eyes,” and was the tool used by Bella to give orders and manipulate the other Demonic Eyes. Even if it were in broad daylight right now, it was a bit immoral to send her demons out to attack people. However, since the opponent was a band of fake thieves, then it would be funny to talk about morality in this situation.
At Chelsea Imperial Highway, the bandits who were on standby, waiting for orders, encountered a counterattack from monsters. Hundreds of reinforced Earth Demonic Bears clad in black heavy armor rushed over as if they were on steroids. These Demonic Bears stood above three meters in height when standing up and their eyes were blood red. They wore armor crafted from the Darkness Sacred Region. Under the sunlight, the armor could reflect the cold light, which looked very scary.
The originally C-ranked Earth Demonic Bears had already advanced to become A+-ranked Armored Demonic Warbears under the nurturing of the Darkness Sacred Region’s demons, and their battle prowess had long advanced from that of the past. The bandits in front of them were actually the soldiers of the Gabriel Empire and were all swordsmen. They did not even have a tanking profession like the knight. Facing the charge of these Armored Demonic Warbears, their defensive line instantly collapsed.
“Where did these beasts come from? My god, where are the archers? Quickly shoot… Ah!”
“Run! We can’t hold them, they’re demons, they’re…”
“My leg’s been bitten! Help…”
The bandit group that numbered almost four thousand men were thrown to the ground and beaten like “dads educating their sons.” Constant screaming could be heard from the back of the road. The swords of the swordsmen could not harm the armor of the Demonic Bears, and they were sent flying with a simple fist to the face, or their bodies would just be torn in half. The bears with more than double their strength could easily tear apart most human infantry, even the elite heavy armor infantry units, so they were still useless against them.
Originally built against the Holy Swordsmen and the Dragon Knights of the Human Race, the humans were shredded like cabbage under the claws of these heavily-armored Demonic Warbears. The Kerklav Academy’s students were so scared of that bloody scene happening at the back that they didn’t even dare to come out of their carriages anymore. Most humans had never seen Demonic Beasts like these Armored Demonic Warbears.
The archers, who were ambushing both sides of Chelsea Imperial Highway, did not come to help because they had already been wiped out. Many transparent Mutant Devourers descended from the “Demonic Eyes” from the sky. These transparent mutant slime-like Demonic Beings were a kind of acidic slime monster that could instantly dissolve whatever they pounce on.
The archers didn’t even get to scream before they were completely dissolved, leaving only their weapons, arrows, and armor on the ground. Aside from the writhing white slime, they did not even leave any bones and disappeared straight into thin air. The entire scene was very bizarre. Thousands of people disappeared just like that.
The one responsible for commanding the scene was someone from the Gabriel Empire’s army. Seeing that things weren’t looking right, Chief Markel hurriedly ordered a retreat, but their path of retreat had already been sealed. Time Space Demon Noesha on Bella’s side had already teleported the Sarnia Duchy’s Sixth Guard through time-space summoning, an army of two thousand waiting for orders at the Darkness Sacred Region, to the front of Chelsea Imperial Highway, ambushing them.
“Chief Markel, we’re being attacked by a group of unknown Demonic Beings from behind. Are we really not seeing a single arrow from the archers at the sides?”
“I shouldn’t have taken this mess of a job. The people of the Kristoff Empire have really messed with us big time. Retreat as soon as possible! We’ll leave the students to the Demonic Beasts to deal with. Let’s just report back and get this over with.”
“But our men in the back haven’t retreated yet.”
“Why do you care? If you want to stay here and die, then go ahead!”
Chief Markel brought the remaining five thousand men and quickly escaped. They received orders to attack Imperial Princess Kriss and the others here, but they didn’t expect to be ambushed by Demonic Beings and were forced to retreat. Unfortunately, they failed to do so even to the end. More than two thousand people from the Sixth Guard of the Sarnia Duchy appeared ahead of them.
The soldiers of the Sixth Guard were wearing special silvery chainmail as they lined up in front of them in several rows. They were holding long guns and had a dozen mobile canons with their dark muzzles aimed straight at these imperial soldiers who were pretending to be bandits. Without waiting for Markel and the others to react, they opened fire. Gunpowder and bullets poured over, shooting the swordsmen running at the front full of holes, leaving only bloody corpses on the ground.
“Raise up your auras! Are you rebelling against the Empire? For the duchy’s army to open fire on the empire’s troops…”
Chief Markel opened his swordsman’s aura and blocked a few bullets before he was hit by an exploding artillery shell and was instantly gibbed. The defensive aura of a swordsman was not as strong as that of a knight’s. They could block bullets, but wouldn’t be able to stop a direct hit from a cannon.
“The leader of the thieves has been killed. Full fire ahead! Kill them regardless of resistance!”
Following Chief Markel’s death, the morale of the remaining troops fell sharply. After several hundred had been killed, the remaining four thousand imperial troops surrendered in disgrace to the Sarnia Duchy’s Sixth Guard which only had half their numbers. In front of these firearms, these swordsmen could only surrender their weapons.
After defeating these fake bandits, the Sarnia Duchy’s Sixth Guard rushed to the Kerklav Academy’s carriages and shot an empty shot of their muskets into the sky. In cooperation, the reinforced Demonic Beasts, the Armored Demonic Warbears in the rear ran away. After killing all the imperial soldiers there, they pretended to be scared by the sound of the guns and ran.
If they really fought, then the Armored Demonic Warbears could easily take several cannon hits to the body without any injury. These musketeers would only be abused by them if they fought. Since the Sarnia Duchy’s soldiers and the Armored Demonic Warbears were allies, they cooperated with the play and staged a fake escape.
The students of the Kerklav Academy were finally saved. Nobody even bothered to consider whether the Armored Demonic Warbears were scared away by the sound of the guns or not, they were saved. The Sarnia Duchy’s Sixth Guard smoothly came to greet the students. Bella was sitting in the carriage the whole time, bullying girls as she watched the live broadcast outside through the “Demonic Eye” like a movie.
She heard from Succubus Queen Aisha about the Gabriel Empire’s situation just now. Things really had turned chaotic in the dark. Bella had originally thought that internal conflicts would only arise in places like the Manasvir Empire with weak Emperors. Who knew that things were even crazier here in the Gabriel Empire. After confirming no threat from the Beastman Race, the Gabriel Empire’s secret had now come out into the open. The heads of the divided empire here were much more skillful than the officials at the borders of the Manasvir Empire during the turmoil.
It could be seen that the Gabriel Empire’s Emperor, Alfred the Third, had long been suffering from a great headache. Prince Daniel, who was originally chosen to take the throne, was captured in the war against the Beastman Race, but he was captured alive by the defenders when he attacked the Sarnia Duchy. After being released, his prestige plummeted. Many officials questioned the prince’s ability to lead.
To prove his strength, Prince Daniel led his troops while Bella was off studying at the Olsylvia Academy, passing through the Sarnia Duchy to attack the “new autonomous region” of the Beastman Continent, hoping to gain some military success in the territory of the White Wolf Princess Tania and regain his pride. That place had long been taken under the Darkness Sacred Region’s sphere of influence so the results could easily be imagined. The 300,000-troop army that Prince Daniel led did not even make it past the continental bridge before they were crushed by the beastmen.
Prince Daniel was almost captured by the Beastman Race during that battle but he took off his gold armor, a symbol of his royalty, replacing it with a set of deserter’s clothes before he managed to escape back. His miserable appearance really brought shame to Emperor Alfred the Third. More than half of the 300,000-troop army was lost and the rest did not even return, disbanding on the spot to defect to other duchies.
After this battle, Prince Alfred was locked up and Emperor Alfred the Third’s decision was once again questioned. The Emperor’s younger brother, Prince Frauer, who had a political alliance with Bella, advocated for the abolition of Prince Daniel’s position as heir to the throne and for the election of other princes.
Now, the only one supporting Prince Daniel’s succession to the throne was Emperor Alfred the Third’s father-in-law, Prince Angus. He had always been insistent on the political marriage between Princess Kriss and the empire’s well-known Renald Family. Bella didn’t like him much, especially since he supported Duke Brandon’s Norlander Duchy in the south and was trying to take control of Grand Duke Bellina’s (Bella) Sarnia Duchy.
However, Duke Brandon’s daughter, Emily, had long become Bella’s woman. Vice President Emily who was being sweet with Bella had already become Bella’s spy for the Norlander Duchy, so the end of this contest had been predetermined from the beginning.
Those ‘For’ and ‘Against’ the prince had already begun fighting each other in the Gabriel Empire and neither had any intention of backing down. Prince Frauer had repeatedly sent secret letters to the Sarnia Duchy, hoping to have Grand Duke Bellina (Bella) send troops out to the capital to support his ascension to the throne. After his success, he intended to appoint Bella as the “Grand Duke of the South,” taking command of the entire southern region of the Empire.
Bella was still participating in the Twelve Academy Exchange Tournament at the time and had no idea about these things. The person in charge of these matters was the Darkness Sacred Region’s deputy, Underworld Demon King Cornice. Cornice was very skilled in politics when she was still a princess of the Demon Race. She knew that if she kept silent here, then the other side might offer a greater price. To help gain more benefits for Bella, she chose not to respond. Sure enough, Prince Frauer promised greater rewards in his later letters. When Grand Duke Bellina was confirmed as a Dragon Knight, the reward was directly doubled.
According to information from Succubus Queen Aisha, there were at least five people who had their eyes on Emperor Alfred the Third’s throne. Besides his father-in-law, Prince Angus, who was keen on supporting his grandson, there was the younger brother, Prince Frauer. Emperor Alfred the Third’s older brother, Prince Brad, the eldest son of the No. 1 Renard family of the empire (Emperor’s son-in-law), as well as an illegitimate royal son that was born from an affair in Emperor Alfred the Third’s early years. All of them had traces of abnormalities.
With the support of various forces, all of them were eager to stir trouble. The ones who attacked Bella and the carriages included the people from the Kristoff Empire, only their plan did not succeed due to being ambushed. Bella was the greatest variable in political power throughout the entire Gabriel Empire. Her power was several times that of those who were eyeing the throne, and she also had successful “coup experience” from the successful control of the Manasvir Empire.
To ease any issues, Emperor Alfred the Third came up with the idea of taking advantage of the summer season when the Gabriel Empire’s flowers were in full bloom to have Princess Kriss and the others participate in some matchmaking activities during the traditional Hundred Flowers Festival, and rebalancing the power of the parties through a political marriage. The only one not invited was Bella.
At that time, if Emperor Alfred the Third had invited Bella to this matchmaking session, then the latter would not have caused so much turmoil in the empire. Even though he had long heard of the ambiguous relationship between Bella and Kriss, the conservative old emperor did not believe that love would truly blossom between girls, so he wanted to have Kriss stop with this farce through a betrothal, a hasty decision that would eventually become the hidden source of the great summer turmoil in the Gabriel Empire.
Bella was silent after listening to Aisha’s report. She was thinking about whether she should go to the coup herself, but when she returned to the northern Nation of the Knights during winter, it was likely her identity as the surrogate Princess Felia would be restored. When that time would come, it would be hard to launch a coup with that identity.
