Tswakakakakakakakak-!
The elves made it rain arrows that covered the sky.
Jude thought as he pushed the arrows away with the air waves that were generated when he opened the sixth door.
They had saved the life of the emperor who somehow managed to escape because of the preparations they made in advance, but the situation was not good.
Except for the emperor’s group, the rest of the party – that is, Jude, Cordelia, Lucas, Kajsa, Leon, and the Royal Knights, were locked in the Red Gate amidst numerous enemies. Jude did not also forget the particular fact that this occurred after they rescued the emperor.
‘They know.’
They knew about Jude and Cordelia.
They knew that the emperor had Jude who faced three Sword Masters by himself at the same time, and Cordelia who had already proven that she had risen to the rank of Archwizard when she cast the <Earthquake> spell.
Knowing that and setting a trap meant that they also had some countermeasures in place.
A countermeasure to deal with Jude and Cordelia.
“<Shield!> <Gust!>”
Cordelia defended against the arrows by using <Shield> and <Gust> magic simultaneously.
Lucas drew his sword with an Aura Blade, and Kajsa swung her chain to strike down the arrows that were falling down the heads of the Royal Knights as well as herself.
[They’re coming!]
At the time Melissa cried out, the rain of arrows stopped and the elves attacked.
At the forefront were the elven knights.
And behind them were many elves who threw nets.
This was to prevent the wizard Cordelia from flying into the sky.
Moreover, Cordelia was able to tell.
Mana was surging everywhere.
It was various spells that interfered with casting magic.
Elves had long lives, so they had a long time to learn and train in anything. There were many cases where they became lazy since they lived long, but most elves had at least the skill of a master in their profession.
And that was the current situation.
More than five wizards used interruption magic at once, so even if Cordelia was powerful, it would be hard for her to cast magic.
So Cordelia did not use her magic.
She did not lose her composure despite the fact that the elven knights were rushing in fiercely from all directions.
Even when the tightly woven nets covered her head, she quickly came to a decision.
Like a beast.
With her instinctual senses.
“Spirit King Punch!”
Cordelia raised her clenched fist to the sky. Instead of using magic, she gathered her mana and summoned the Spirit King who was fond of the pretty contractor he had after hundreds of years, so he immediately lent his power.
A huge golden fist appeared in the sky. It smashed the nets and instantly killed the momentum of the elves who were rushing like waves.
And one more reason.
The biggest reason why Cordelia summoned the Spirit King’s fist!
“Kajsa!”
Cordelia loudly shouted and Kajsa reflexively looked at her.
And Kajsa understood it.
She was a step above Cordelia in terms of beastly instincts, so she quickly understood what Cordelia wanted. Kajsa moved right away instead of asking why.
“Gather up!”
Kajsa took Cordelia’s hand. She swung her chain wide and wound it around herself and all the Royal Knights.
“AAAAH!”
It hurt because she had swung it strongly. Moreover, when the entire group was gathered around Cordelia, she couldn’t help but scream.
But in that time, Cordelia did what she had to do.
She dug into the gap created by the summoning of the Spirit King’s fist that stopped the interruption magic.
“<Tower!>”
It was the opposite of <Dig> magic, a spell that dug the ground.
Right after Cordelia shouted, the ground within a 2-meter radius quickly rose. The ground rose to nearly 20 meters high, and a physical distance was created between the group and the elves.
They wouldn’t be able to attack the group now.
It wouldn’t be easy to throw the net because the group was in a higher place.
But there was something else.
Another move she thought.
Cordelia let out her breath.
She looked towards the Red Gate, suppressing her desire to look back at the roar from behind, which was the sound of Jude fighting.
The height was just right. It was quite a distance, but those among here now were almost superhumans, so it seemed to her that it would work out.
“Jump!”
The first to understand that was Kajsa. The distance between the dirt tower and the Red Gate was over 30 meters, but she jumped. Lucas, Leon, and the Royal Knights also did the same.
It was pure recklessness.
But it was possible.
Kajsa boasted the strongest physical abilities in Legend of Heroes 2, so she somehow managed to reach the Red Gate, but it was too much for the rest of the group. Even Lucas and Leon were short of a distance from the Red Gate.
But behind them was Cordelia.
Instead of jumping together, she remained in the dirt tower and used her telekinetic powers to push all those who were lacking in distance towards the Red Gate.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
There were roars from behind again. Kajsa landed first on the wall and swung her chains at the bewildered elves, and Lucas and Leon stood up and helped her after they rolled on the floor. The elves were surprised by the sudden event, but they angrily shouted and began to attack.
And that was it.
It was up to Kajsa and the Royal Knights to run away from the wall. Cordelia turned around. She gritted her teeth at the expected sight. She cried out in her mind.
‘High-ranking demonic humans!’
It wasn’t one or two.
As many as three high-ranking demonic humans were attacking Jude.
They seemed to be from the Devil’s Eye as some of their body parts were shaped like an insect.
‘Virgo, Kairen, and Paul.’
Cordelia instantly recalled their names and took out Heavenly Judgment and Moonlight instead of Magic Blaster.
The dirt tower shook.
The elven knights were attacking the dirt tower to topple it down.
Cordelia held her breath. She knelt down on the swaying dirt tower and lowered her posture, seeing Jude and Elio Lombardi beyond the tower.
The grandson of the elves’ king.
A good character in the game.
The events he was involved in.
His personality could be inferred from those.
Analyzing and reasoning were Jude’s methods.
Cordelia just felt it.
The moment she saw Elio, she had a vague thought, ‘Oh, so he was such a person.’ and moved instinctively based on that thought.
“Traitor! Why did you betray us! Why the hell! What were you lacking!”
Cordelia spread her angel wings and shouted with all her might.
And everyone stopped at her cry.
Cordelia, who had turned into an angel, attracted that much attention.
And Elio raised his head to look at Cordelia.
He lowered his sword and fiercely glared at her. His gaze seemed like it was about to stab Cordelia to death.
But Cordelia did not avert her gaze from him. Rather than provoking him, she shouted once more as she looked at him.
“Why the hell did you do that when you have everything!”
“I have everything?”
Anger flowed out of Elio’s mouth.
His voice was low and faint, but everyone in the vicinity heard him. He trembled in anger.
“What do you guys know?”
The reason why Elio joined hands with the demon followers.
The circumstances that led to it.
Everyone focused on Elio.
One of the demonic humans who did not hear the reason for Elio’s betrayal was Paul who was a bit frivolous, and he turned his head to see Elio.
A temporary ceasefire.
Everyone including Jude and Cordelia focused their attention on Elio’s mouth.
Elio opened his mouth.
Born and raised as the king’s grandson, it was very natural for him to receive the attention and interest of everyone, so he tried to express his anguish and longing out of his mouth.
“I-”
Everyone focused more. They listened to Elio.
Everyone except for Jude and Cordelia.
“F*ck bang!”
Cordelia set an explosion in the air.
The light and roar blinded and deafened the eyes and ears of everyone who focused on Elio, and Jude leapt at that moment.
In an instant, he flew to the top of the dirt tower and hugged Cordelia’s waist.
“Let’s run!”
Who cares about the reason why you betrayed us! You’re just a traitor anyway!
Having been carried by Jude, Cordelia raised her middle finger while Jude jumped towards the Red Gate.
But the elves didn’t just stand around.
‘The Red Gate!’
A red barrier rose above the fortress wall.
It was a shield unique to the elven gate, which had been activated after Kajsa and the group began fighting at the wall.
“Attack!”
The elves shouted as they opened their eyes after some difficulty.
Jude concentrated the energy of the black dragon on his left hand that was not holding Cordelia, but he soon changed his mind.
He was lacking in time. It was impossible to completely crush the barrier with a single blow at this moment. Moreover, there was also the variable called demonic humans.
Jude changed his mind.
By releasing the energy of the black dragon behind his back, he stopped the flying demonic humans chasing them, and he ran over the shield at the same time. He kicked the air several times and then moved like Landius.
Booom!
He rushed into the air.
Jude tightly hugged Cordelia and accelerated in an instant. His movement was towards the inside the Red Gate and not outside.
“Catch them!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
The elves shouted and the demonic humans landed on the ground as they began running in the direction Jude flew.
They were inside the Red Gate, so if they headed that way, it was towards the Orange Gate.
If so, they could still catch the two. It was Elio’s jurisdiction up until the Orange Gate.
And at all these sights, Elio couldn’t bear it and became angry.
How dare you look down on me.
You dared make fun of me, the ruler of the elves!
“Catch them! You must catch them!”
Elio ordered again and prodded his Elven Steed as soon as he got on top of it.
He rushed towards the direction that Jude and Cordelia flew.
***
The reason why Elio Lombardi betrayed them.
Jude seemed to have a rough idea.
He originally dismissed it as a low possibility, but since Elio had already betrayed them, that low possibility became the correct answer.
‘HODL elves.’
Elves who held on and endured.
But patience was different for each person.
Especially if it was a hot-blooded person like Elio Lombardi.
[Jude! Everyone didn’t betray us, right?]
Just then, Cordelia spoke with <Message> magic. They were close to each other, but she was afraid that he wouldn’t properly hear her voice because they were moving at such a high speed.
Jude also responded to her with <Message> magic.
[Perhaps. It’s possible that we’ll be safer if we enter the Orange Gate.]
It was only a possibility, but Jude made a gamble.
The reason why he fled inward when the Red Gate was blocked.
And Jude thought of the reason why Elio Lombardi betrayed them based on all his actions.
The reason he betrayed them.
It was simple.
He clearly couldn’t hold on any longer.
***
Elio Lombardi was the grandson of the elves’ king.
But he was not young.
He had already reached 300 years of age, so he was a mature adult with extensive experience based on ordinary elven standards.
But he was still the son of the crown prince, and his father was the crown prince for at least 600 years.
Elves lived long.
They lived a long life.
And the Lombardi family, especially Vincenzo Lombardi, were high elf royalty, so they were bound to live long.
Vincenzo was already over a thousand years old.
But despite being old, he did not become weak.
Perhaps he was blessed with a long life, as he seemed to be healthier than Elio’s father who was growing old.
When will my father ever become a king?
Will my father ever inherit the throne?
Even if his father inherited it, it would be a hundred or two hundred years from now.
And at that time, Elio would be over 500 years old.
It meant that he would only become the crown prince at an old age.
‘Will I ever be king?’
When will it happen?
What if my father live a long life like my grandfather?
How long will I have to wait then?
He refused to remain as a crown prince for 600 years like his father.
He didn’t want to be a king until he was about to die.
Elves certainly lived a long time.
But that didn’t mean their time went by faster.
A day for a human was a day for an elf.
A year for a human was a year for an elf.
He couldn’t wait.
He couldn’t endure it.
A little faster.
Not in 700 or 800 years, but now.
He didn’t even think about immorality.
A regime change.
If even that was impossible, he would go to war against the Sälen Kingdom.
And acquire new territories.
A land where Elio himself would rule as king.
“Catch them, we must catch them.”
Jude and Cordelia were not his only problems. The fleeing emperor also had to be captured.
Elio glared at the Orange Gate. He urged his horse and sped up.
Tswakakakakakakakak-!
The elves made it rain arrows that covered the sky.
Jude thought as he pushed the arrows away with the air waves that were generated when he opened the sixth door.
They had saved the life of the emperor who somehow managed to escape because of the preparations they made in advance, but the situation was not good.
Except for the emperor’s group, the rest of the party – that is, Jude, Cordelia, Lucas, Kajsa, Leon, and the Royal Knights, were locked in the Red Gate amidst numerous enemies. Jude did not also forget the particular fact that this occurred after they rescued the emperor.
‘They know.’
They knew about Jude and Cordelia.
They knew that the emperor had Jude who faced three Sword Masters by himself at the same time, and Cordelia who had already proven that she had risen to the rank of Archwizard when she cast the <Earthquake> spell.
Knowing that and setting a trap meant that they also had some countermeasures in place.
A countermeasure to deal with Jude and Cordelia.
“<Shield!> <Gust!>”
Cordelia defended against the arrows by using <Shield> and <Gust> magic simultaneously.
Lucas drew his sword with an Aura Blade, and Kajsa swung her chain to strike down the arrows that were falling down the heads of the Royal Knights as well as herself.
[They’re coming!]
At the time Melissa cried out, the rain of arrows stopped and the elves attacked.
At the forefront were the elven knights.
And behind them were many elves who threw nets.
This was to prevent the wizard Cordelia from flying into the sky.
Moreover, Cordelia was able to tell.
Mana was surging everywhere.
It was various spells that interfered with casting magic.
Elves had long lives, so they had a long time to learn and train in anything. There were many cases where they became lazy since they lived long, but most elves had at least the skill of a master in their profession.
And that was the current situation.
More than five wizards used interruption magic at once, so even if Cordelia was powerful, it would be hard for her to cast magic.
So Cordelia did not use her magic.
She did not lose her composure despite the fact that the elven knights were rushing in fiercely from all directions.
Even when the tightly woven nets covered her head, she quickly came to a decision.
Like a beast.
With her instinctual senses.
“Spirit King Punch!”
Cordelia raised her clenched fist to the sky. Instead of using magic, she gathered her mana and summoned the Spirit King who was fond of the pretty contractor he had after hundreds of years, so he immediately lent his power.
A huge golden fist appeared in the sky. It smashed the nets and instantly killed the momentum of the elves who were rushing like waves.
And one more reason.
The biggest reason why Cordelia summoned the Spirit King’s fist!
“Kajsa!”
Cordelia loudly shouted and Kajsa reflexively looked at her.
And Kajsa understood it.
She was a step above Cordelia in terms of beastly instincts, so she quickly understood what Cordelia wanted. Kajsa moved right away instead of asking why.
“Gather up!”
Kajsa took Cordelia’s hand. She swung her chain wide and wound it around herself and all the Royal Knights.
“AAAAH!”
It hurt because she had swung it strongly. Moreover, when the entire group was gathered around Cordelia, she couldn’t help but scream.
But in that time, Cordelia did what she had to do.
She dug into the gap created by the summoning of the Spirit King’s fist that stopped the interruption magic.
“<Tower!>”
It was the opposite of <Dig> magic, a spell that dug the ground.
Right after Cordelia shouted, the ground within a 2-meter radius quickly rose. The ground rose to nearly 20 meters high, and a physical distance was created between the group and the elves.
They wouldn’t be able to attack the group now.
It wouldn’t be easy to throw the net because the group was in a higher place.
But there was something else.
Another move she thought.
Cordelia let out her breath.
She looked towards the Red Gate, suppressing her desire to look back at the roar from behind, which was the sound of Jude fighting.
The height was just right. It was quite a distance, but those among here now were almost superhumans, so it seemed to her that it would work out.
“Jump!”
The first to understand that was Kajsa. The distance between the dirt tower and the Red Gate was over 30 meters, but she jumped. Lucas, Leon, and the Royal Knights also did the same.
It was pure recklessness.
But it was possible.
Kajsa boasted the strongest physical abilities in Legend of Heroes 2, so she somehow managed to reach the Red Gate, but it was too much for the rest of the group. Even Lucas and Leon were short of a distance from the Red Gate.
But behind them was Cordelia.
Instead of jumping together, she remained in the dirt tower and used her telekinetic powers to push all those who were lacking in distance towards the Red Gate.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
There were roars from behind again. Kajsa landed first on the wall and swung her chains at the bewildered elves, and Lucas and Leon stood up and helped her after they rolled on the floor. The elves were surprised by the sudden event, but they angrily shouted and began to attack.
And that was it.
It was up to Kajsa and the Royal Knights to run away from the wall. Cordelia turned around. She gritted her teeth at the expected sight. She cried out in her mind.
‘High-ranking demonic humans!’
It wasn’t one or two.
As many as three high-ranking demonic humans were attacking Jude.
They seemed to be from the Devil’s Eye as some of their body parts were shaped like an insect.
‘Virgo, Kairen, and Paul.’
Cordelia instantly recalled their names and took out Heavenly Judgment and Moonlight instead of Magic Blaster.
The dirt tower shook.
The elven knights were attacking the dirt tower to topple it down.
Cordelia held her breath. She knelt down on the swaying dirt tower and lowered her posture, seeing Jude and Elio Lombardi beyond the tower.
The grandson of the elves’ king.
A good character in the game.
The events he was involved in.
His personality could be inferred from those.
Analyzing and reasoning were Jude’s methods.
Cordelia just felt it.
The moment she saw Elio, she had a vague thought, ‘Oh, so he was such a person.’ and moved instinctively based on that thought.
“Traitor! Why did you betray us! Why the hell! What were you lacking!”
Cordelia spread her angel wings and shouted with all her might.
And everyone stopped at her cry.
Cordelia, who had turned into an angel, attracted that much attention.
And Elio raised his head to look at Cordelia.
He lowered his sword and fiercely glared at her. His gaze seemed like it was about to stab Cordelia to death.
But Cordelia did not avert her gaze from him. Rather than provoking him, she shouted once more as she looked at him.
“Why the hell did you do that when you have everything!”
“I have everything?”
Anger flowed out of Elio’s mouth.
His voice was low and faint, but everyone in the vicinity heard him. He trembled in anger.
“What do you guys know?”
The reason why Elio joined hands with the demon followers.
The circumstances that led to it.
Everyone focused on Elio.
One of the demonic humans who did not hear the reason for Elio’s betrayal was Paul who was a bit frivolous, and he turned his head to see Elio.
A temporary ceasefire.
Everyone including Jude and Cordelia focused their attention on Elio’s mouth.
Elio opened his mouth.
Born and raised as the king’s grandson, it was very natural for him to receive the attention and interest of everyone, so he tried to express his anguish and longing out of his mouth.
“I-”
Everyone focused more. They listened to Elio.
Everyone except for Jude and Cordelia.
“F*ck bang!”
Cordelia set an explosion in the air.
The light and roar blinded and deafened the eyes and ears of everyone who focused on Elio, and Jude leapt at that moment.
In an instant, he flew to the top of the dirt tower and hugged Cordelia’s waist.
“Let’s run!”
Who cares about the reason why you betrayed us! You’re just a traitor anyway!
Having been carried by Jude, Cordelia raised her middle finger while Jude jumped towards the Red Gate.
But the elves didn’t just stand around.
‘The Red Gate!’
A red barrier rose above the fortress wall.
It was a shield unique to the elven gate, which had been activated after Kajsa and the group began fighting at the wall.
“Attack!”
The elves shouted as they opened their eyes after some difficulty.
Jude concentrated the energy of the black dragon on his left hand that was not holding Cordelia, but he soon changed his mind.
He was lacking in time. It was impossible to completely crush the barrier with a single blow at this moment. Moreover, there was also the variable called demonic humans.
Jude changed his mind.
By releasing the energy of the black dragon behind his back, he stopped the flying demonic humans chasing them, and he ran over the shield at the same time. He kicked the air several times and then moved like Landius.
Booom!
He rushed into the air.
Jude tightly hugged Cordelia and accelerated in an instant. His movement was towards the inside the Red Gate and not outside.
“Catch them!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
The elves shouted and the demonic humans landed on the ground as they began running in the direction Jude flew.
They were inside the Red Gate, so if they headed that way, it was towards the Orange Gate.
If so, they could still catch the two. It was Elio’s jurisdiction up until the Orange Gate.
And at all these sights, Elio couldn’t bear it and became angry.
How dare you look down on me.
You dared make fun of me, the ruler of the elves!
“Catch them! You must catch them!”
Elio ordered again and prodded his Elven Steed as soon as he got on top of it.
He rushed towards the direction that Jude and Cordelia flew.
***
The reason why Elio Lombardi betrayed them.
Jude seemed to have a rough idea.
He originally dismissed it as a low possibility, but since Elio had already betrayed them, that low possibility became the correct answer.
‘HODL elves.’
Elves who held on and endured.
But patience was different for each person.
Especially if it was a hot-blooded person like Elio Lombardi.
[Jude! Everyone didn’t betray us, right?]
Just then, Cordelia spoke with <Message> magic. They were close to each other, but she was afraid that he wouldn’t properly hear her voice because they were moving at such a high speed.
Jude also responded to her with <Message> magic.
[Perhaps. It’s possible that we’ll be safer if we enter the Orange Gate.]
It was only a possibility, but Jude made a gamble.
The reason why he fled inward when the Red Gate was blocked.
And Jude thought of the reason why Elio Lombardi betrayed them based on all his actions.
The reason he betrayed them.
It was simple.
He clearly couldn’t hold on any longer.
***
Elio Lombardi was the grandson of the elves’ king.
But he was not young.
He had already reached 300 years of age, so he was a mature adult with extensive experience based on ordinary elven standards.
But he was still the son of the crown prince, and his father was the crown prince for at least 600 years.
Elves lived long.
They lived a long life.
And the Lombardi family, especially Vincenzo Lombardi, were high elf royalty, so they were bound to live long.
Vincenzo was already over a thousand years old.
But despite being old, he did not become weak.
Perhaps he was blessed with a long life, as he seemed to be healthier than Elio’s father who was growing old.
When will my father ever become a king?
Will my father ever inherit the throne?
Even if his father inherited it, it would be a hundred or two hundred years from now.
And at that time, Elio would be over 500 years old.
It meant that he would only become the crown prince at an old age.
‘Will I ever be king?’
When will it happen?
What if my father live a long life like my grandfather?
How long will I have to wait then?
He refused to remain as a crown prince for 600 years like his father.
He didn’t want to be a king until he was about to die.
Elves certainly lived a long time.
But that didn’t mean their time went by faster.
A day for a human was a day for an elf.
A year for a human was a year for an elf.
He couldn’t wait.
He couldn’t endure it.
A little faster.
Not in 700 or 800 years, but now.
He didn’t even think about immorality.
A regime change.
If even that was impossible, he would go to war against the Sälen Kingdom.
And acquire new territories.
A land where Elio himself would rule as king.
“Catch them, we must catch them.”
Jude and Cordelia were not his only problems. The fleeing emperor also had to be captured.
Elio glared at the Orange Gate. He urged his horse and sped up.
