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「Is Inglis coming?」
「I’m not sure, I was told that they would avoid being conspicuous, though?」

The ship carrying Inglis was a vessel of the Ironblood Chain Brigade. It would pose problems for it to board the royal palace so brazenly. Inglis, of course, wouldn’t be unaware of this.

Redas was sure he was told that the ship would wait a short distance away and they would go to the royal castle separately.

「Either way, I shall go and see!」

Redas walked out of the audience chamber, looked up to the sky, and then…

「What?! Whose ship is that?!」

It had no emblem of any country or chivalric order, and it was impossible to tell who it belonged to at a first glance. But, one thing was sure, that wasn’t the battleship that belonged to the Ironblood Chain Brigade that Inglis and Rafinha boarded.

That much was certain.

「Ready for battle!! We don’t know who’s on that ship!」

Redas’ booming voice echoed through the place, and the Imperial Guards all became much tenser at once.

A lot of their number had yet to return from their post defending the north, and even more of them had been sent toward Arlman. Frankly speaking, the defenses of the Royal Capital and the castle were stretched thin.

There was no denying that someone might target this very situation.

「「「SIR YES SIR!」」」
「PREPARE FOR BATTLEEE!!!」
「Set up a defense line with flygear units at once!!」

All of a sudden, the royal castle became noisy.

「Whose ship is that?! Are you sure that’s not the ship Inglis is on?!」
「Your Majesty?! It’s dangerous outside! That is not the ship Lady Inglis is on!」
「Which means, someone is trying to take advantage of the chaos in the wake of Prisma to take out the royal capital and I?!」
「But, who would do that?! The Ironblooded lots are on our side this time around!」

A uniformed bombardment was launched from the battleship. It landed in various parts of the royal castle, blowing off the roof and collapsing the walls.

「UOOooohh?!」
「AAaahhh?!」

Screams of the knights who were unfortunately hit by the bombardment filled the air. In an instant, the solemn and tranquil atmosphere of the royal castle was transformed into that of a battlefield.

「CEASE THAT BOMBARDMENT!!! Flygear units, attach to enemy ships and disrupt their ranks!」

As Redas gave out his orders, part of the exterior of the enemy ship popped off from the inside. It wasn’t due to an attack from the Imperial Guards, but rather something that was done by the enemy. And out of that hole, someone emerged…

「……?! A Venefian General?! It’s the Venefique Army?!」
「What audacity! They dare to invade here?!」

Their camouflage worked perfectly. Chaos due to the emergency response against Prisma plagued the whole country of Charalia. King Charleas even heard that the Ironblood Chain Brigade was lending its hand to protect the towns and villages near the path of the Prisma.

Amidst that, no one could afford to be bothered with a battleship of unknown origin flying in the Charalian sky unattended. Even if someone had some suspicions, it was easy to assume the identity of the Ironblood Chain Brigade, and no one would ask further. Such was the situation.

And then, the fact that they were now here, donning no disguise, and even flaunting their identity as the Venefique forces showed how confident they were that they would win. At the same time, they wanted people to know that the Venefian army had felled the royal capital of Charalia.

「HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!」

A formation of flygears flew out from the battleship. The knight at the head of the formation was laughing loudly, no less overbearing than Redas.

「Your Majesty the King of Charalia, King Charleas! I am honored to meet you! And I bid you farewell! It is I, General Ross Rochefort of Venefique! With your head as my medal, I shall be the first to gain merits in this war!!」
「General Rochefort?! This means that’s the one who took a Hyrule Menace into battle with our army! So, that’s a weaponized Hyrule Menace?!」

The huge golden shield as tall as he in his hand must be it. It was shining with a divine radiance.

「Yes, no doubt……How dare you say and commit such a vulgar act while wielding that hallowed power?!」

Rochefort, perhaps hearing this, poked his temple with his fingers and made a show of it.

「It is called strategy!! Say what you want, I have this power to protect those I am supposed to protect!! The rest of you can eat s̲h̲i̲t̲! Now, die! Die this instant! Die die die DIE DIEEEE!!」

Rochefort pointed his shield at King Charleas and prepared to charge.