Chapter 019: The Opening Move

As the power of the Temple Knights grew stronger, it was only a matter of time before they could launch a counterattack against the secret guards.
The crown prince’s expression wasn’t entirely natural, but he had clearly anticipated this. Since the Holy See had sent the Temple Knights, it was only fitting that even the highly skilled bishops from the Imperial Cathedral were deployed as well.
However, if the enemy had even resorted to magic users, his own secret guards were likely no match at all… After all, with the Temple Knights charging ahead and magic users manipulating things from behind, no matter how brave the secret guards were, they couldn’t resist.
Fortunately, this situation was within his expectations. The crown prince let out a soft sigh and suddenly said to his bodyguards, “My lords… It seems it’s time to show those charlatans the power of a great magician!”
A faint sigh rose among the crown prince’s guards: “As you wish, Your Highness…”
Then, ten guards slowly floated upward from their positions. They dropped their weapons, their once-shining armor cracking, before falling to the ground. Soon after, over a dozen figures rushed toward the location of the secret guards like a whirlwind, with various magic shields appearing in the air.
The lead magician bowed slightly from afar toward Nicholas and said calmly, “Isn’t this Saint Nicholas? We’ve long heard of your fame. We worthless magicians have long wanted to learn from you to understand what true magic is and what a saint truly is… We just never had the chance before. Now that the opportunity has come, we hope Lord Nicholas won’t disappoint us!”
Nicholas still wore a holy expression on his face. His handsome features didn’t show the slightest reaction to the magician’s words. He simply smiled slightly and said, “Blasphemy?”

The lead magician’s expression changed slightly. The relationship between the Magicians’ Guild and the Holy Church had always been poor, and magicians naturally disdained charlatans who only pretended to be powerful. But upon hearing Nicholas’s words, this magician couldn’t help but laugh angrily and said, “Good! Very good! Charlatans are just charlatans! Even their speech is so full of arrogance! Then let’s not hold back!!! Let’s all see what true blasphemy really is!”

Prince Fischer, standing on the platform, his expression changed a few times before he quickly regained his composure. He pointed in that direction and said, “It seems the Magicians’ Guild has indeed made a serious effort against my elder brother this time! Du Fan, look… the power of these dozen or so magicians is equivalent to that of thousands of soldiers… It seems my elder brother was already prepared to use them to deal with the Holy Church’s forces… But he’s still too narrow-minded.”

Du Fan looked at Prince Fischer and said, “Oh?”

Prince Fischer smiled and said, “After all these years of managing things, my elder brother has naturally gathered some remarkable people under him… If he were to send them all out now, perhaps we would also need to deploy court magicians to confront him… But he wants to keep a few tricks in reserve… Or maybe he wants to fully exploit the Magicians’ Guild… But whatever the case, he’s made a mistake… By being so cautious and delaying things, he’s only giving me more time. After all, in such a situation, I can wait, but he can’t… Can’t my elder brother still not understand this by now?”

…

At that moment, outside the northern gate of the imperial capital, dust billowed at the end of the road. Although it was late at night, one could still see the ground shaking continuously. The sound of horse hooves, like thunder beating on drums, came from afar…

The imperial guards guarding the northern gate immediately grew nervous. After all, on this special night, they all had some idea of what was going on in the capital. And now, troops suddenly appeared outside the city walls…

Could this be…

No one dared to think further. Under the command of the officers on the city walls, the archers immediately prepared themselves!

In the distance, on the main road, a dense group of cavalry—so numerous that it was nearly impossible to count—was rushing toward them. The leader of the cavalry held a military flag high, atop which a splendid Bauhinia flower fluttered in the wind. An officer from the imperial guard stationed at the northern gate stood on the tower, staring at the flag waving below, filled with confusion… There had been no notice from the military headquarters stating which unit was returning, and judging by the flag, it did not belong to any of the known legions of the empire… Could it be the army of the Lani Empire? But if so, it should appear at the southern gate, not the northern! The army outside the capital was about to reach the city gates but stopped just an arrow’s distance away. A deep sound of a horn was heard, and the center of the army dispersed, revealing several men dressed as warriors in the front. The officer on the gate became even more puzzled… It was all cavalry… Within his line of sight, there were no siege weapons, so it was almost certain this army wasn’t there to attack! After all, given the height of the capital’s walls, even if all those tens of thousands of soldiers below died, they might not be able to form a human ladder! Trying to break through this greatest city on the continent with just cavalry? It was simply absurd! Unless their horses were flying horses! But flying horses? They were just mythical creatures! How could they appear here? Yet if that were the case, what explained the intense killing intent from them? Below the gate, in the center of the army, Oscar wore sleek armor, holding a fine whip in one hand and gently stroking the neck of his horse with the other. He narrowed his eyes at the magnificent city ahead, sighing slightly as he said, “It truly is a magnificent city! It’s not my first time here, yet why do I feel awestruck every time?” Brandon beside him bowed slightly and said, “Young master, that’s because the blood of the Bauhinia in your veins is boiling, burning—it tells us that this great capital, which should have belonged to us, has been taken by rebels!” Oscar smiled slightly and asked, “Oh? Is that really so? What do you two think?” Then his gaze fell on the twin lolitas standing on either side of him.

At this moment, the two of them were also clad in light armor, with slender silver swords hanging at their waists and long crossbows slung on their backs. Hearing Oscar’s words, the two girls exchanged a glance before saying in unison, “Young master, we think the same!”
Oscar clapped his hands, drew out the tubular object at his waist, and looked in the direction of the city gates. He said, “Since you both think so, then let’s take this place together tonight… We’re here not for revenge, not for killing, and certainly not to prove how great our Purple Blossom Dynasty is! We’re here simply to tell everyone that whatever the Purple Blossom has lost must be retrieved by our own hands!!!”
The military generals behind Oscar heard these words, exchanged glances, and their eyes gleamed with an unusual light. Looking at Oscar’s back, they couldn’t help but shout in unison, “The young master is wise!!!”
However, Viscount Evan, who was riding behind Oscar, smirked upon hearing this.
Oscar didn’t turn around, but it seemed as if he could see his expression. “Viscount Evan, don’t you agree?”
Viscount Evan replied softly, “Your Highness, I seem to have said… I’m just a businessman… So for what happens next, I’m just an observer. I’m here only to find out if there’s still business I can do! I also want to know… whether the Purple Blossom Dynasty has the strength to attract our investment!”
When saying the word “we,” Viscount Evan deliberately emphasized it, as if those two words carried some magical power.
Hearing this, a hint of sarcasm appeared in Oscar’s eyes, but it vanished quickly. He turned to look at Viscount Evan, his expression returning to normal…
Then, he raised one hand and gently placed it on his chest, bowing slightly—this was the most standard gesture of invitation in noble etiquette—
“Well then, Viscount Evan, let me show you… a grand drama that I, Oscar, have written and performed myself… This drama is called ‘Seizing the Blossom’…”