Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 34: The One Who Brings Disaster (1)

The world tilted in my vision.

In Johan Kraubitz’s eyes, he could see grass stained with drops of blood.

‘Did I collapse?’

Yeah, I must have slammed my head into the ground and fallen hard.

And for a very brief moment, I must have lost consciousness as well.

I remember running ahead of those rebel bastards just moments ago, but my memory gets hazy after that.

‘Why did I collapse? There’s no way I was taken down in a single blow.’

Yeah, even though I can’t use mana, my durability is second to none—there’s no way Johan would go down in one hit.

So, this situation was quite baffling to me.

As I was momentarily lost in thought,

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My mana heart began to beat at an insane speed.

The moment I sensed that intense pulsation, I immediately understood the cause of all this.

The pain I felt just before collapsing resurfaced in my memory.

‘My mana heart went berserk, and I passed out. Fuck…’

Of all times, my mana heart had to go out of control now—what an unbelievably shitty stroke of luck.

“Grand Duke! Grand Duke!”

“Move His Grace to the rear of the formation!”

“Hurry!”

From somewhere in the back, the nobles of the Northern Alliance were clamoring.

Yeah, it seems like the rebels are advancing this way. If they’re even a few seconds late, I’ll be minced meat.

That’s why my loyal vassals are taking such great care to evacuate me, aren’t they?

Drag. Drag. Drag.

‘?!?!?’

With my face buried in the dirt, I was being dragged across the ground.

I could hear the nobles talking.

“Is it really okay to move His Grace like this?”

“Ah, just drag him! We don’t have time to lift him properly!”

“His Grace is too tall—we can’t carry him by ourselves.”

Drag. Drag. Drag. Drag.

Thunk. Clunk!

‘Ah, fuck… a rock…’

Since I couldn’t move a single finger, I was left to fully experience this rough evacuation service without any filter.

Naturally, this meant my mouth, hanging open powerlessly, was now full of dirt.

And at that moment, as I was being dragged along, my trembling head turned toward the rebels…

?!?!?!?!

‘A mage and a priest?’

At the rear of the rebel forces, I spotted a group of mages and priests wearing hoods.

They were all extending their hands forward, chanting magical incantations while casting spells, and their hands were unmistakably aimed at…

‘Me?’

Yeah, at me, Johan Kraubitz.

‘You fucking bastards.’

Now I get it. Now I understand why I collapsed at this particular moment.

It seems those bastards specifically prepared mages and priests as a countermeasure against me.

They must have used individuals highly attuned to mana to trigger an overload in my mana heart. That’s why I collapsed.

During the preliminary battle earlier, Grand Duke Escal Demaris of the Southern Province tried to assassinate me by sending Knight Devon.

Later, the investigation concluded that it was just an "accident" caused by Devon’s excessive competitiveness.

In the end, they couldn’t find any direct connection proving that Escal Demaris ordered Devon to assassinate the Northern Grand Duke.

But now, looking at the way these rebels are acting, it’s painfully obvious.

Escal Demaris has been targeting Johan Kraubitz for a very long time.

Huff. Huff.

I clenched my burning mana heart and glared at them.

My whole body felt like it was on fire, making it impossible to get up.

On top of that,

“Uh… is the Grand Duke weaker than we thought?”

“Maybe Knight Devon wasn’t that big of a deal after all…”

“He rushed forward like a madman and then collapsed immediately…”

I couldn’t move my damn mouth, so I couldn’t even refute their words.

In short, I was being ridiculed from both the front and the back.

And just a few seconds later, as the vanguard of the rebels reached the nobles' allied forces…

Waaaaaah!

Sching! Squelch!

Slash!

This was no longer a “battle”—it had turned into a one-sided massacre.

“Haha. These noble lords aren’t much, huh?”

“Shut up and slice their heads off! We need to clean up here quickly and head to the imperial palace for support.”

The knights of the Southern faction, like starving beasts, began to cut down and stab anything in their path, their eyes eerily resembling the crazed gaze of Escal Demaris.

A mid-rank Expert leading them barked out an order.

“Attack the Crown Prince! Bring me his severed head! We’ll hang it on the tower of the imperial palace for all the empire to see!”

Words that would normally result in severe punishment were now being thrown around casually.

Upon hearing that, the central nobles fought with their lives on the line to protect the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, you must flee! Quickly, this way…!”

“Everyone, gather around and protect His Highness! Now!”

Hearing this, the nobles of the Northern Alliance transported me to the rear where the Crown Prince was, then joined forces with the central nobles to desperately hold the frontlines.

Huff. Huff.

And in the midst of it all, I was struggling with everything I had to overcome the pain in my mana heart and get back on my feet.

If I couldn’t join the fight, it was clear that we would soon be annihilated.

So, even though I looked pathetic, I struggled to stand up, my limbs trembling.

Then, a dark shadow loomed over my head…

"Step aside."

I heard an unexpected voice—it was Crown Prince Arthur Pontiac.

He spoke to the nobles who were guarding him.

"Where would I even go if I ran from here? The entire empire is clearly engulfed in war. And if all of you die, what point is there in me surviving alone and returning?"

"……."

Sching!

The next moment, the Crown Prince personally drew his sword, and not a single noble dared to stop him.

And as the battle continued, his face became drenched in blood,

His face, exhausted and covered in sweat,

Could only be watched with despair.

If even one person here lowered their sword, the front line would collapse instantly.

So, we had no choice but to rely on the Crown Prince’s strength in this fight.

That fool of a Crown Prince, despite his appearance, did possess the combat prowess of a knight.

With his participation, the nobles' alliance managed to hold their ground somewhat.

But then…

Squelch!

A long spear suddenly flew through the air, slicing through someone’s shoulder.

And then,

"Your Highness!"

A noble let out a desperate, hoarse scream.

'What? No way…'

I barely managed to turn my head in the direction of the scream.

The mid-rank Expert who had been leading the rebel forces was grinning wickedly, staring at the Crown Prince.

And in his line of sight…

"Khuk… Hah… Hah…"

The Crown Prince was gasping for breath, staring at the fountain of blood gushing from his own body.

Through clenched teeth, he managed to utter,

"…Don’t try to help me. Hold your positions."

Then, staggering, he forced himself to remain standing.

Seeing that, perhaps the nobles here glimpsed the empire’s impending downfall.

The enemy knight sneered and shouted,

"Look at that! Our so-called warrior Crown Prince is about to die. What are you all waiting for? There's no one left to fight back, so just slaughter them all!"

Then he charged forward himself.

As humiliating as it was, he wasn’t wrong.

Now, the rebels could recklessly throw themselves into the fight without concern.

Because there was no one left to pose a threat to them.

"Aaaargh!"

"Urk! Kugh…!"

Swept up in the overwhelming assault, several nobles collapsed in pools of blood within moments.

At this rate, most of the nobles participating in the spring hunt would soon be butchered.

Yes, that was inevitable.

After all, I couldn’t even move properly right now.

Thanks to those damn mages and priests over there, my mana heart felt like it was about to explode.

How the hell was I supposed to move?

I couldn’t even budge my limbs…

?!?!?!? Huh????

'Wait, what the hell is this…?'

Twitch.

To my shock, my body, which had been trembling uncontrollably, slowly began to move.

'My limbs… they're moving? And my mana heart… it's no longer rampaging? What the hell is going on?'

I was astonished by this sudden change, but I quickly pushed aside my surprise and forced myself to stand.

Then,

Thud.

I immediately grabbed my sword.

This was no time to sit around in shock.

Gripping my longsword tightly, I charged toward the battlefield.

'What a mess.'

My limbs still moved awkwardly.

My mana heart had finally calmed down, but the aftereffects were severe.

However…

'I can do this.'

Yes, Johan Kraubitz could do this.

This man was not bound by common sense.

Even with a battered body, he could still fight and win.

As long as his mana heart remained stable.

Fwoosh!

I dashed toward the enemy lines at full speed.

And as I surged forward like a tempest, I realized…

I wasn’t the only one who had cut through the forest.

Snort!

Neighhhhhh!

From the woods behind me came the heavy snorts of a horse.

And then,

"Fight. Quickly."

A familiar voice rang out.

A voice full of mischief, completely devoid of formality.

'Right on time.'

I glanced back and couldn’t help but smile.

The noble lady who was supposed to be staying put with the other nobles.

Or rather, the woman who seemed more suited to overseeing administration at Axen Academy.

Or perhaps not even that…

'My mana defibrillator.'

At least in this godforsaken world of ‘Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke,’

She was the one person who could help Johan Kraubitz more than anyone else.

Born with extraordinary divine power,

She was the only one capable of overriding the spells and prayers of all those priests and mages and calming Johan Kraubitz’s mana heart.

The woman who could work miracles was right there.

Riding a horse of unknown origin.

Just before the central nobles were annihilated, as the rebels dominated the battlefield,

Erina Trotsky finally appeared.

And so,

“Did you have your fun?”

Sching!

“You’ll all be found dead soon.”

At the moment when the Crown Prince and the nobles who had entered the forest for the spring hunt were ambushed,

Surprisingly, the nobles gathered at the entrance of the hunting grounds remained quite at ease.

And for good reason—Escal Demaris had severed all communication lines leading to the hunting grounds just before launching his rebellion.

He hadn’t even touched the nobles, their guards, or the common citizens gathered at the spring hunting grounds.

Instead, he had split his forces into two.

One was sent to deal with the Crown Prince and Johan Kraubitz inside the hunting grounds,

While the other was marching toward the imperial capital.

And the fact that his army was heading for the imperial capital was clear evidence that “something had gone wrong.”

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound of countless galloping hooves echoed across the land.

Escal Demaris was personally leading a cavalry unit straight toward the imperial capital.

Following behind him was a force of at least a thousand elite cavalrymen.

It was an army far beyond what a mere territorial lord should be able to muster.

“Damn it.”

Escal gritted his teeth and suppressed his rising frustration as he rode.

After all, who could have predicted that the emperor would suddenly decide not to attend the spring hunting event?

Escal had originally planned to encircle and wipe out the emperor and the central nobles by surrounding them at the entrance of the hunting grounds.

But this morning, the emperor had suddenly changed his mind and remained holed up in the imperial capital.

Because of this, Escal had no choice but to abandon his plan to deal with the nobles at the hunting grounds and instead set his sights on the imperial capital, where the emperor was.

If he divided his forces any further, he wouldn’t be able to guarantee victory.

Fortunately, most of the imperial palace guards had left the capital to oversee order at the spring hunt.

If his elite cavalry struck swiftly, capturing the emperor wouldn’t be difficult.

‘The news hasn’t spread across the empire yet.’

Most of the nobles and citizens were still leisurely enjoying the spring festival,

And only a few had witnessed his army’s advance.

It would take time for word of this to spread throughout the capital.

‘I will end this swiftly. You, who falsely claim the empire’s throne.’

Before long, the imperial capital came into view in the distance.

Escal raised his voice and shouted,

“Seize the emperor! And kill every single member of the imperial family, no matter who they are. Today, we shall…”

Yes, today,

“We shall offer the empire to its true ruler.”

“For loyalty!”

At last, his army reached the imperial capital.

A force as swift as the wind and as ferocious as wolves—the elite soldiers of the South.

‘Everything is proceeding as it should.’

Yes, the empire belonged only to him,

And so, there was nothing standing in Escal’s way.