The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

Lynfia/Leo’s POV

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“Abel-san! Are you alright!?”

“Yeah, some-HOW!!”

Abel kicks away the skeleton while answering Lynfia.

The half encirclement along with the front line that held back the undead has already collapsed.

Leo, on the other hand, refused to withdraw and formed a defensive circle formation around himself.

With that being the case, they were almost surrounded on all sides by the enemies but he managed to maintain a strong defensive ground.

However, there was no time to rest because they were being attacked from all sides. Since earlier, the top adventurers like Abel and Lynfia along with the skilled knights have to struggle to hold the circle.

“Lynfia, how long will we have to keep this up?”

“I think that we should be able to move soon but…….”

“Even you don’t know huh.”

Abel looks around while saying so.

Little by little, their allies started to get done in. they managed to pull them back inside the circle so there’s no casualty but if this keeps up there will be no one left to keep up the fight.

“It would be great if those who ran away decided to come back but….”

“Counting on those cowards wouldn’t solve anything.”

There are only about a thousand men gathering under Leo. the other thousand ran away after the front line collapsed.

Most of them were knights and the people who remained by Leo’s side are mostly adventurers. The difference in mindset between adventurers who accepted the Raid Quest by their own will and the Knights who were ordered to be here by their Lords really show here.

Of course, there are many knights who stay but she couldn’t help but think how different a situation it would be if those who left decided to stay.

What Abel found especially unpleasant was the disappearance of some of the imperial knights who should be acting as Leo’s guard.

“Tsk! As I thought, I shouldn’t have accepted this request in the first place! I have got nothing but bad feelings since I came here!”

“Then why don’t you run away?”

“Don’t be stupid. We are adventurers. There’s no way we can just abandon the quest we already accepted!”

“Isn’t this outside the scope of your quest?”

“The quest we received was to protect the village. Fending off the monsters here and protecting that Prince is the best chance we got right?”

Abel’s party members also agree with him.

Unlike Abel who was considered to be a veteran among adventurers, his party members were full of wounds. Still, they smile.

They know well that there’s no use making a dark expression in a life and death situation like this.

“Leader! Once this is all over please make sure to ask Prince Leonard for a raise okay!”

“Yeah Yeah! We worked too hard for the pay!”

“Seriously, let’s do that.”

At the time Abel and his party were having such a light conversation.

Leo who was at the center of the formation muttered,

“They came back huh.”

At the same time, cavalries were approaching them from the north.

They are part of knights who retreat when the front line was broken earlier.

“Open the circle! We charge on Bassau! All men follow me!!!”

Leo leads the knights remaining with him and charges toward Bassau.

Meanwhile, the cavalries approaching from the north make their way through the horde of skeletons to join Leo.

“Oi Oi!? The hell is this!? Did they change their mind or something!?”

“It was His Highness Leonard’s plan.”

“His plan?”

“He purposefully ordered some of his imperial knights to withdraw from the fight and lead the knights who ran away back to him. There are those who just followed the flow and retreated along with those who wanted to run away after all.”

“He did that in such a chaotic situation…….?”

“Normally, the first thought anyone would have in that situation would be to retreat. But His Highness Leonard didn’t consider that to be an option from the start. That’s why he simply planned his next move from there.”

“If he decided to retreat it would be much easier for us though.”

“Yes, as expected of someone who aims for the throne right.”

Lynfia commented on such Leo and followed after him.

With Leo and his knights cut open the way for them, the adventurers follow behind them.

Their target was Bassau where the black sphere is.

“Your Highness! Please retreat! You have already done enough!”

“This is nowhere near enough!”

The imperial knight advises Leo to fall back but Leo stubbornly doesn’t give up.

He keeps confidently cut his way through the horde of skeletons, creating a path behind him.

Morale has risen enough. All that is left is to pass his baton to the imperial knights ahead.

Another squad is already nearby. if they can just meet up then their advancing power will increase.

There seems to be no reason for Leo to work this hard.

“At least please fall back to the second or the third line!”

“Don’t speak nonsense! Whether they are knights or adventurers, the one who put them into danger is me! Even so, they still choose to stick with us! It is because I am fighting alongside them! Who would follow someone who only takes command from a safe place!?”

The knights turned speechless.

Leo just showed them a completely different side of him they have known so far.

Despite being good at martial arts, Leo was not a fierce person. He has the impression of a good-natured and kind prince.

However, right now, the prince leading them on the battlefield is like a general.

“Your Highness……”

“Shut up and follow me! We will definitely get through this!”

Saying so, Leo made his horse run even faster.

After that, they met up with the other squad and their momentum increased even further.

Bassau that once was far away is now within their sight.

“Bassau is near! Use all your power and push through!”

When Leo issues that command, someone swings his sword at Leo.

Leo managed to intercept it but his horse’s legs stopped.

When Leo stopped, it meant that everyone had to stop and right now they are currently in the middle of a sea of monsters.

Stopping here means death.

Leo tried to rush ahead but there is a man standing in his path of advance.

“Who are you!?”

“Fuh…..who knows?”

The person who said that was a man in black.

He is the instructor who killed Dennis in the basement of the mansion. However, right now his eyes are dyed black.

Even the parts that are not supposed to be black are completely darkened.

The man’s appearance was obviously strange but what stood out the most to Leo is his ability.

His strength couldn’t be described with only the word strong.

The imperial knights who saw that Leo was struggling also went and assisted him but they still couldn’t push him back.

“Kuh!? The heck is this guy!?”

“Why is there such a strong guy here!?”

Leo aside, even the Empire’s elite like the imperial knights regard him as abnormal.

A man who they can’t lay a finger on even though they keep attacking him at the same time.

Someone with this level of ability should already be known to the world.

“Who are you?”

Leo asks again.

He repeated his question because the surrounding skeletons don’t even show a sign of attacking the man.

“If you are going to ask my name then how about giving yours first?”

“…….Leonard Lakes Adler. Eighth Prince of the Empire.”

“I see. A royalty huh. Then it is only appropriate for me to give my name. My name is Balaam. For you lowly humans it might be easier to call me a Demon.”

“A Demon!?”

That was a shocking statement.

Demons are considered to be residents of a world different from this one, the Demon World. In many cases, they are existences that are much stronger than humans.

There have been cases where they were summoned by mages and brought disaster to the continent. It was said that the Demon King the Hero defeated in the past was also a Demon.

And now that Demon has appeared in front of them.

Why?

“Don’t tell me….these monsters came from the Demon World……?”

“Correct. They are just the vanguard. There is a summon gate connecting the Demon World and this world together at the center of this city. Eventually, a large number of Demons will flow into this land. There is no tomorrow for you.”

“Then we will just close that gate!”

Leo then slashes at Balaam but he only lightly intercepts it.

“Give up. There is no way to seal that gate.”

“Unfortunately for you, I have already decided to never give up!”

“Hmph, foolish. You are already too late.”

“——That’s not necessarily the truth.”

A clear voice resounds.

At the same time, Balaam’s left hand flew through the air.

Balaam immediately took a distance and stared at the opponent who took his left hand.

“Woman…..who are you?”

“Marshal of the Imperial Army, Lizelotte Lakes Adler. Leo’s elder sister.”

“Aneue……..!?”

Leo’s eyes open wide as he stares at his sister who he hasn’t seen in a long time.

Engulfed with determination, her mantle flutters in the air.

Lize is still the same as Leo remembers her.