Chapter 358: Luke is Gone 3
The southern continent consisted of several large nations and dozens of tribes.
The most powerful of them was the Song Empire.
The Song Empire, which had occupied more than half of the southern continent in the past, had lost its land due to the succession of the Devil King's army.
However, it was still evident that it was a nation with the largest territory and largest population on the southern continent.
Nanjing was the cultural, commercial and transportation hub representing the southern part of the Song Empire, and it was a gathering location for food from the southeast area.
It was also called the second capital of the Song Empire because it was the starting point of the Grand Canal to the capital.
Anyway, that was how important that place was, so high ranking officials and royal family members often visited Nanjing.
Jo Won-rak's, the current 3rd crown prince, itinerary, who was patrolling the south of the empire was also in Nanjing.
"Is your body alright, prince?"
Around 500 medium and long cavalry guarding like an iron tank and in the center was a gorgeous carriage being drawn by 6 horses.
Among them was a person in gold and giving out a strong impression, who had asked, "Until yesterday my heart was in a mess. But everything feels fine now."
From the inside came a voice of a young man in his twenties.
He was Jo Won-rak—the emperor's favorite son.
He was a man, who was usually interested in the livelihood of other people. He made a request to the Emperor and asked him to go on a tour to the southern borders and provinces.
It was his purpose to serve the people who had suffered due to the drought and the famine that had been going on for the past few years.
However, the crown prince ended up eating water and food that became stale, and his body began to hurt.
Due to high-fever and vomiting, the crown prince had no choice but to lie down for a while. He was taking all the medicine the military doctor had prescribed him.
"But, General Zegal, when will we arrive in Nanjing?"
"In around half a day. But, this is the first time for you to visit Nanjing?"
"Right. I heard that if there was a palace in heaven, it will be Nanjing, which had flourished in the past. Oh, General Zegal are you from Nanjing?"
"Haha. To be precise, I am from a place near Nanjing."
"Is that so. Then you must have visited Nanjing quite often?"
"Yes, prince. When I was young, I often visited here and there. Well, the Nanjing I saw..."
It was when General Zegal Hui from the Zegal clan was trying to explain about Nanjing that suddenly, the ground in front of them began to change. Masked men began to pour out like bees.
"W-what is this?"
"This is an attack! Protect the 3rd prince!"
They were a cavalry of 500 men, and they weren't just composed of ordinary soldiers.
They were the elite men selected from the Eorim troops that were directly under the Imperial family.
Their individual skills were strong enough to match the warriors of Kang Ho.
And the three chiefs, who led the troops, were first-class warriors, and Zegal Hui was like the peak of strength.
Wheeeing!
"Go ahead!"
"Don't step back even a little!"
With the Eorim troops and the masked men clashing.
Soon, the noise and clashes of the swords began to spread loudly.
It was the first time for Jo Won-rak to face such a situation.
In addition, he was a literary lover, who had no idea about martial arts, so seeing a vicious battle unfold in front of his eyes, his complexion went pale.
"Ze... General Zegal!"
"Don't worry. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed, Crown Prince. I don't know who is aiming for the Crown Prince, but soon they will feel pain for deciding to do this."
There was a reason why Zegal Hui seemed so assured.
With just the power of the chiefs and the soldiers, a fairly large scale of men could be wiped out.
Hundreds of assassins weren't much of a matter.
"Expand the circle! Let the rear cavalry fire!"
Indeed, according to Zegal Hui's assurance, the masked men couldn't beat the Eorim troops.
The Eorim troops were superior in their individual abilities, and their organizational skills and tactical abilities were superior to those of Kang Ho.
The defense formation of the Eorim was like an iron wall.
Whenever they counterattacked or shot arrows, the masked men fell on the ground splattering blood everywhere.
'Ho Ho Ho, yes...!'
Watching the performance of the soldiers trained under him, Zegal Hui smiled contently.
However, his smile disappeared when a new group of masked men appeared.
"Kuakk!"
"Kugh!"
"W-what are these men? The swords aren't being used!"
When the new group of masked men pushed out, three people wearing exotic clothes appeared.
Two wore a steel full body armor as if they were knights from the Rhodesia Continent, and the other wore a robe like a wizard.
'Aren't they northerners? Why are they here...?'
As the trade between the two continents became active, information about knights and wizards began to flow out, and Zegal was able to know them because of that, but he couldn't understand why they would attack their Crown Prince.
Goooo!
KiKikI!
The knights and wizard were giving out ghostly sounds from their mouths.
However, their ability was unmatched to their ghostly sounds.
Every time the knight wielded his sword, 10 or more soldiers fell on the ground coughing up blood, and whenever the wizard cast his spells, huge explosion broke out, making men collapse from the heat.
Kwaang!
"Kuakk!"
"S-save the men!"
In the blink of an eye, around half of the soldiers had died or had been injured severely.
Zegal Hui, who saw his men being sacrificed, ran ahead with his sword.
"You bastard!"
Slash!
His sword, which was moving at a tremendous speed, was faster than light.
Just when he was about to land the blow on the wizard's neck, a knight interrupted his sword.
'Huh, without any fear?!'
No matter how strong the opponent was and after taking down the soldiers of Eorim, he was an Expert.
When they went to the Rhodesia Continent, it was said that there were people with the status of Master, which was similar to his rank.
And if he, with his full power, went against them, he believed that he would be able to cut the knight's body in half.
"I don't know if your body is covered with gold armor, or you are wearing an armor made from iron core, but even that won't be able to take the might of my sword!"
Kwang!
Zegal Hui and the black knight's sword collided.
A powerful wave caused the dust around them to move.
However, the results were shocking.
It was because the body and sword of the black knight were perfectly intact.
No, just being able to stop it at that level was shocking itself.
"Kuak!"
When Zegal Hui backed away after attacking the knight, he began to vomit blood. The soldiers of Eorim and the 3rd prince Jo Won-rak were shocked.
"G-general!"
"Kuek, you guys aren't the apostate..."
Before Zegal Hui could even finish what he was saying, the black knight attacked.
Slash!
When the powerful attack, which seemed strong enough to cut down a mountain, came down on Zegal Hui, he got pushed.
He wasn't being pushed back because of the swordsmanship skills of the knight but because of the invisible Magi emanating from the knight.
'I guess not. I can't handle this one.'
Moreover, there was another knight and wizard left.
In addition, Eorim troops, who threw away the masked men the first time, had collapsed.
There were hardly 100 men who could fight. Zegal Hui had to take special measures for things to turn their way.
Kwang!
"Oh?"
Suddenly, Zegal Hui's arm began to lit up, and the black knight stepped back to be cautious.
Zegal Hui, who missed the gap, ordered the standing soldiers.
"2nd squad and 3rd squad stop them! The 1st squad will move with me to save the Crown Prince!"
Zegal Hui, who rushed to the carriage, pushed the horsemen to the side and held onto the reins.
"Prince, hold on tight!"
"Understood, General Zegal!"
Zegal quickly turned around the carriage and swung the whip.
The horses, which were surprised, ran ahead like the wind. The soldiers of the 1st squad were following them.
They left the 2nd and 3rd squad to stop the masked men from approaching the carriage.
"Don't let them go!"
"We shouldn't let Jo Won-rak live!"
The masked men were trying to get past the remaining men of Eorim who were stopping them.
The knights and the wizard, who was fighting like a machine, flew to the air and began to chase after Zegal.