Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 33: What the Arrow Aims At (3)

"Lady Trotsky! Lady Trotsky!"

Someone was urgently calling for Erina Trotsky.

Right now, Erina Trotsky was at the entrance of the forest, where the winner of the spring hunt was supposed to return.

She was seated in the highest section of the audience stands alongside the grand ducal families from all over the empire and the central nobles.

"Yes? What is it?"

When Erina turned toward the source of the voice, she saw an unfamiliar person standing there, holding a letter in hand.

That person urgently shouted.

"A carrier pigeon has arrived from the Duchy of Axen! It was sent with instructions to deliver it immediately to His Grace, saying it's an urgent matter..."

Since Johan Kraubitz was deep in the forest for the spring hunt, it seemed the letter had been brought to Erina instead.

Tuck.

Erina took the letter and quickly opened it.

Inside, in slightly uneven handwriting, a brief warning was written.

Your Grace, Erina, please leave the capital immediately.

From the direction of the capital...

I can sense ‘that being.’

The one who tried to make me their servant.>

Thud.

The moment she read the letter, Erina's heart began to pound wildly.

‘That being… If it’s ‘that being’… the Evil God who tried to enslave Krisha and bring disaster…’

Erina had once heard from Johan about the general plot of the novel Falling for the Beastly Northern Grand Duke.

The story was roughly about some wretched bastard trying to destroy this otherworld.

‘But now, you're saying that bastard’s presence can be felt here?’

Just as Krisha had written, it seemed that entity had arrived in this place.

And this was no trivial matter.

That being was the 'Evil God.'

Even though it had failed to take Krisha, it was a villain that constantly tried every means to drag this world into catastrophe.

Yet of all times, it had chosen to reveal its presence in the capital, right when countless people had gathered for the spring festival…

‘This place is in danger.’

Yes, there was no other way to interpret the situation.

Especially considering that Krisha, from what Erina had observed, was an exceptionally special child.

Tap! Tatatatat!

Erina Trotsky shot up from her seat in the audience stands and started running.

"Lady Trotsky! Where are you going?"

The nobles around her called out in shock.

And yet…

Erina Trotsky paid no heed and instead mounted a horse tied at the edge of the event grounds, then galloped away.

‘Johan…’

Yes, that fool whose Mana Heart was broken…

‘…needs me.’

Clang. Chaaang! Clang!

In the forest designated as the hunting ground, a fierce battle was raging.

By now, two solid hours had passed since the hunt had begun.

The empire’s proud Crown Prince and the Northern Grand Duke’s group were…

"Kill them! No, subdue them!"

"Show those central noble bastards what we’re made of!"

…engaged in a life-or-death battle.

What had started as a fight at the forest’s entrance had now progressed deep into its central regions.

"Hahaha. So these northern barbarians aren't much, after all?"

"Oh, is that so? You snobbish capital brat?"

"Wait a minute… isn’t that bastard the one who confiscated my territory…?"

"Get him! Kill him! No, subdue him!"

It was no wonder that the nobles participating in this spring hunt had many tangled relationships with one another.

And Johan’s confrontation with the Crown Prince had ignited all their long-standing grudges.

‘What the hell… Is this even normal?’

As Johan pummeled the central nobles, he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of futility.

Still, despite that…

Crack!

"Aaaaagh! Grand Duke of Axen! Spare me!"

He swung his weapon without hesitation, taking down his foes one after another.

Doubt was doubt, but for now, he had to beat them first and think later.

Finally, after a grueling battle, the northern coalition began to push back the Crown Prince's forces.

Ssswaaash!

Something whizzed through the air and grazed Johan's cheek.

‘What was that…?’

An arrow?

Johan couldn't hold back and shouted.

"What the fuck? Who the hell just shot an arrow at a person when we were given those to hunt deer? Come out, you bastard. Who the hell raised you? Let me see your parents’ faces."

No matter how much they fought, there were lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

The fight should end with subduing the opponent—firing arrows was clearly going too far.

And upon hearing Johan’s outburst…

Neigh! Hiiiing!

Arthur Pontiac, who had just fired the arrow from atop his horse, hesitated before slowly lowering his bow.

"A-Ah, Your Highness, the Crown Prince…"

"……"

Whether he was the Crown Prince or not, it was obvious that he had received little to no proper upbringing.

Johan felt that this tiresome confrontation needed to end.

After all, he still had to catch the golden stag and meet the Deities, didn’t he?

"Hear me, coalition! The nobles following the Crown Prince are already exhausted. Drive them down beneath that rock and subdue them quickly!"

"Yes!"

The dependable northern nobles, having heard my command, advanced forward.

Soon, that bastard of a Crown Prince would surely be bound tight.

He must be the only member of the royal family in history to get captured during a spring hunt.

This would go down as an unprecedented event in the annals of history.

So, feeling a little excited, I continued pressing the enemy when...

Ssswaaaash!

Thud!

The moment I heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow piercing through flesh, I could sense the distinct shift in the air.

"Aaaaaagh!"

A northern noble riding beside me collapsed from his horse.

And then...

Sshaaaaaaa!

The sky above the forest darkened for a brief moment before...

"Arrows! Raise your shields!"

A rain of countless arrows began to fall.

Pababababat! Thud!

Thunk. Thuuud!

They fell.

Too many arrows for the gathered nobles, shields, and even horses to withstand.

Thudududududuk!

I managed to take cover behind my shield, avoiding the worst of it.

But...

Fwoosh. Fwooshwoosh!

The horse I was riding was struck by so many arrows that it collapsed like a pincushion.

As my horse fell, I and the other nobles barely managed to land safely on the ground.

Thanks to keeping our shields close, we avoided taking critical damage from the arrows.

And finally, when the storm of arrows ceased...

"Guhhh...!"

"Aaaaagh!"

I could see the Crown Prince’s forces, driven into the open space beneath the rock, suffering devastating losses.

Even the nobles who had been closest to him, serving as his guards, lay sprawled on the ground.

‘The stench of blood…’

The sounds of flesh being torn, arrows piercing bodies, and the sickly scent of iron filled the air.

The spring hunting ground was now thick with the scent of death.

And moments later...

Step.

Someone walked out from the forest where the arrows had come from.

No, to be more precise, an army emerged.

One of the nobles shouted upon seeing the scene.

"Th-Those are knights from Southern Provin! What the hell are they doing here...?"

As his voice echoed through the forest, murmurs broke out among the other nobles.

Another voice called out, coming from a northern noble standing behind me.

"That's right. Those are knights from the Southern Grand Duke’s forces. I saw them when I visited Provin before."

"Now that you mention it, yes. That one over there is a mid-rank Sword Expert, and that one..."

Voices of recognition came from different directions.

It seemed certain now—these were knights from Southern Provin.

Hearing this, a baron standing near the Crown Prince shouted.

"You bastards! What the hell do you think you're doing? I know that some tricks are tolerated during the spring hunt... but bringing an army into this is clearly crossing the line!"

His face turned red as he continued to yell.

"This isn’t just some competition—this is a serious crime, punishable as murder of nobility! On top of that, the Crown Prince himself is present here! And yet, you dare—"

Before he could even finish, one of Provin’s knights sneered and cursed under his breath.

He was the one who had been leading the charge.

"Tsk, fucking hell..."

"What? What did you just say...?"

The crude remark left the central noble momentarily speechless.

The knight smirked and continued.

"You still don’t get it? We just rained down a storm of arrows to wipe you all out, and yet you're still talking about a ‘spring hunt’...? Hah. You must be living in a dream."

"……."

A heavy silence fell over the battlefield.

It was as if everyone had instinctively held their breath to hear what the knight would say next.

He slowly opened his mouth.

In a low and rough voice, he declared:

"Crown Prince, Grand Duke, central nobles... I’m sorry, but—"

Srring!

The enemy soldiers simultaneously drew their swords.

And with his final words, the new battle began.

"—you all have to die here."

"Uwaaaaaaaaah!"

As the enemies surged forward, I quickly assessed our forces.

‘The Crown Prince’s side has about twenty fighters left. On our side, about thirty...’

All together, we had barely fifty men.

And looking at the nobles still standing, not all of them seemed to possess knight-level combat ability.

"H-How are we supposed to win against that many...?"

"The army from Southern Provin is famous as one of the empire’s elite forces..."

No wonder they were trembling in fear.

Although the nobles here had passed the preliminary duels for the spring hunt, that only meant they had beaten other nobles in competition.

Some of them had just gotten lucky with their matchups, rising through sheer fortune rather than skill.

So it was impossible to compare them to an actual army.

Hoo...

I couldn't help but sigh.

The southern bastards had brought about three hundred troops.

There were at least twenty knights among them, all elite among elites.

On the other hand, aside from a few northern nobles and the Crown Prince’s closest aides, our side barely had anyone who could properly cross swords with them.

So...

"Fuck... I've really been screwed over this time."

I realized that I would have to throw Johan’s body into the fray without holding back.

Otherwise, the Crown Prince and the high-ranking nobles of the empire would all be slaughtered.

‘That wouldn’t do. I still need them for the final battle later.’

Hooo.

I took a deep breath and then roared loudly enough to shake the heavens.

"Nobles of the Empire! What are you so afraid of that you're standing there trembling?"

All eyes turned toward me.

"We are the highest and proudest nobility of the Empire. And here, we have the Empire’s Little Sun whom we must protect. So prove your valor by risking your lives. Right here, right now..."

Yes, right here.

"Protect His Highness the Crown Prince and crush those rebel bastards beneath our feet!"

After shouting that, I reorganized our formation.

Gripping my longsword tightly, I personally adjusted the formation of the stunned nobles.

I also instructed the Crown Prince’s closest aides to focus solely on protecting him rather than engaging in the fight.

"What are you doing? Johan! I will fight too!"

The Crown Prince, Arthur Pontiac, threw a fit.

‘You dumbass… If you die here, it’s all over. Just stay the fuck out of it.’

I bit back the curses rising to my throat. Instead of smacking some sense into his empty skull...

Swoosh.

I turned back and spoke to the Little Sun.

"I will bring you victory. Please wait here."

That much was necessary to make him think I was following his orders to fight.

At the very least, I had to maintain that idiot’s dignity.

Anyway,

I took my place at the very front of the noble army and slowly raised my longsword.

‘I’ll finish this in one go.’

If these rebels were running rampant here, then there were surely others causing chaos across the empire.

I had no time to waste.

So I prepared to unleash Kraubitz-style Silent Blade, which had now become Johan’s signature technique…

"Are you ready?"

A knight leading the rebel forces shouted.

He had a large sword scar across his face and wore a rather nasty smirk on his lips.

"Then, present the gift to His Grace the Northern Grand Duke."

He spat out those chilling words.

The moment I, controlling Johan Kraubitz’s body, charged forward…

It was a clear mistake.

Boom!

Just as I surged toward the enemy with full force, Johan’s Mana Heart suddenly began to tremble violently…

And then, Johan Kraubitz’s massive body crumpled…

Thud.

He collapsed on the spot.