Chapter 417: Snap, Gone

Almost in sync with the events unfolding at the palace, the Royal Guard launched their raid on the Reid family estate. The soldiers’ exceptional prowess allowed them to move through the capital with lethal efficiency.

As an established noble house, the Reid estate and its holdings were situated near the headquarters of the Night’s Edge. Once the objective was confirmed by Gerard, the detachment arrived at the Reid perimeter in short order.

“Open the gates! By royal decree, we are here to search the Reid estate. Do not resist!”

Facing the heavily armed Royal Guard, the Reid sentries felt beads of sweat prickle their foreheads. Such a massive display of force—what could they possibly be planning?

“As nobles, the kingdom grants the Reid family the right to refuse entry if the purpose is not stated. Therefore, no matter who you are, we—”

Though the captain of the guard was trembling, he was well-versed in the hollow, bureaucratic rhetoric that could be recited in any situation. He began his rehearsed speech, but this time, he underestimated the resolve of the Royal Guard and found his luck had run dry.

With a surge of battle aura, muscles coiled with explosive power, and a hand moving so fast it left a blur, the commander of the Royal Guard struck. A sharp, whistling arc of steel flashed like a dance, and before the captain could finish his sentence, his head and body had parted ways.

“Squelch!”

“I said, get out of the way.”

A geyser of scorching blood erupted from the severed arteries, spraying the nearby guards and splattering the face of the Royal Guard commander as he sheathed his blade. The strength of a Grand Knight was not something a mere novice could hope to resist. At that moment, the commander looked like a cruel demon.

“Yes!”

Facing the cold, murderous warning of the commander, the ordinary guards, having witnessed such brutal efficiency, dared not provoke him further.

This decent job wasn't worth their lives. If they fled, the Reid family would hardly bother to hunt them down, but if they stood their ground, they would surely perish. The choice was painfully clear.

The gates swung open, and the Reid estate was laid bare to the Royal Guard. The main force surged in without hesitation, their overwhelming presence and murderous intent sending maids and servants fleeing in terror.

The Guard did not waste time on these insignificant souls. If anyone—whether out of shock or misplaced bravery—rushed them with a makeshift weapon, they were simply hacked into pieces.

“By royal decree, the head of the Reid family must clear the path and allow the Royal Guard to conduct their search!”

Beyond the courtyard stood the main manor, a structure of exceptional scale and style. As the home of a great noble, it was undoubtedly riddled with traps and defensive arrays; the commander preferred not to trigger them if he could help it.

“The royal family has long oppressed the Reid house. As an old noble family of Alastair, we have been driven to this point. Today, you do not even bother to keep up the pretense. For the sake of our nobility and the dignity of our house, my principles do not allow me to open these doors to you!”

The response from the head of the Reid family echoed from within the manor, righteous and firm, showing no trace of fear. He seemed prepared to fight the Royal Guard to the bitter end.

“Tch, troublesome. How did these spineless nobles suddenly grow a backbone?”

The commander clicked his tongue and frowned. Most of these nobles were fair-weather cowards who would abandon their honor the moment they faced liquidation. It was his bad luck to run into a stubborn one today.

“Charge!”

With a sharp command, the commander waved his hand, signaling the assault.

The disciplined soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons and stormed the manor gates. The heavy infantry in the front used their own bodies as battering rams.

“Boom!”

The thick, reinforced wood was sturdy, but only against commoners. Against a formation of knights, it stood no chance. With a deafening crash, the gate shattered into splinters.

“Mages, find the defensive arrays inside and dismantle them. Don’t let the Reids use them against us.”

“Do not fear their precognition. The kingdom has kept these nobles on a leash for a reason; their strength is strictly monitored. They cannot exceed the realm of a Grand Knight or Archmage.”

“They have no chance of leaving Alastair. No matter how they manipulate their prophecies, they cannot resist the weight of absolute power. Speed it up!”

The commander issued his orders. The accompanying mages began purging the visible defensive arrays, while the knights formed up in the hall, awaiting the next move.

While the mages worked, the commander briefed his men on the Reid family’s reputation as “Fate Weavers” to prevent morale from wavering. Whether the rumors were true or not, he kept his own counsel.

“Sir, the defensive arrays have been neutralized. The Reids have likely retreated to their inner sanctum. We can begin the search now.”

The mages were efficient, stripping away the magical defenses in moments.

“Good. Advance in formation. If you encounter narrow passages, break through them. Do not give them a chance to use the terrain. Remember, the target is Shael Reid. Stay alert—this incident involves the movements of two legends. Expect the unexpected.”

The commander’s strategy was cautious. If the Reid family’s abilities were truly unique, he would not give them a window to use them. Yet, the “unexpected” arrived sooner than he anticipated.

“Sir, there is a massive fluctuation from a teleportation array!”

The mage’s nervous warning came from beside the commander. He sensed a violent spatial distortion, and…

“Are they trying to teleport away? Seal the space! Do not let them escape! This mission is of the utmost importance.”

The commander issued his next order immediately. If the Reids escaped, they would find nothing in this house.

“No, sir. This isn’t a fluctuation of them leaving—it’s a fluctuation of something arriving. And it’s already too late.”

“I don’t know how they masked the activation of a teleportation array, which is usually impossible to hide. The fluctuation is so intense that we only sensed it now, just as it’s completing.”

The mage’s voice was strained. Large-scale teleportation was notoriously difficult to conceal; history had never seen an army of a hundred thousand suddenly appear in an enemy’s base. But what was happening at the Reid estate, while not quite that extreme, was certainly of the same nature.

“Watch out, the teleportation is complete!”

There was no time to stop it. The mages could only throw up mana shields and shout a warning to the soldiers.

“Bang!”

The words had barely left his lips when the floor of the hall erupted. A chain-blade wreathed in cold, sharp battle aura tore through the floorboards, hurtling straight toward the commander standing in the center of the formation.

“Clang!”

A crisp, explosive sound rang out. The chain-blade pierced through a soldier and his armor before striking the commander. He had reacted just in time, intercepting the blow with his heavy longsword. Sparks showered the room.

“Thud, thud, thud!”

The commander retreated several steps. The figure emerging from the crater made his heart sink. He knew his strength as a Grand Knight was no match for this opponent.

From the hole in the floor rose the former Grand Commander of the Royal Guard. Uller, his body wreathed in solidified battle aura, retracted his chain-blade and stared at the commander with cold indifference, making no further move.

“Retreat! I’ll hold him off! A teleportation array couldn’t have brought just one person. The palace is nearby—reinforcements won’t take long. Call for backup!”

He issued his orders calmly. If the Northern Duke’s men were here, he couldn’t handle this alone. He chose to summon more troops to deal with the unknown number of enemies.

Uller didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Facing the tense commander and the orderly withdrawal of the soldiers, he remained still, his hand resting on his chain-blade, ready to strike at any moment.

“It’s the Night’s Edge! Weren’t they supposed to be out of the capital? How could they return so fast? And where did they get a legendary combatant? Damn it, this is a trap! Signal the palace!”

The soldiers who had just retreated from the manor barely had time to breathe before realizing they were surrounded. The scouts they had left outside had been silently eliminated. Leading the encirclement was Kevin, a veteran of the Seowintan campaign.

In truth, the “unlucky” guard captain killed earlier had been a doppelgänger created by an infiltrator. From the moment the Royal Guard entered the estate, the web had been closing in.

Facing enemies on both sides, the well-trained soldiers felt a deep, creeping dread. They were at a disadvantage in both position and numbers. Their only hope was the distress signal they had already sent.

The soldier cast his gaze toward the distant “Throne” peak, where the palace stood. Surely, the royal mages could teleport reinforcements here in no time. They would fight to the death and hold out until help arrived.

Something flashed across his vision—a streak of light, far away. It seemed like an illusion. That position… was that above the palace?

“Boom!”

First came a light so blinding it swallowed the massive palace atop the mountain, instantly obscuring everything in the soldier’s field of vision. After a long moment of agonizing pain in his eyes, the shockwave finally reached them, a roar that threatened to shatter their eardrums.

Though he fought to stay standing, it took him nearly a minute to recover from the suddenness of it all. When the haze finally cleared, the mountain peak in the distance was nothing but a ruin.

Snap, the reinforcements were gone.