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Chapter 73: 043. Imperial Prince is Enjoying the Hunt -1 (Part One)

**

Phwwwwhht, beeeeep-!

Along with the loud whistle noises, numerous bells began ringing loudly.

The whole citadel entered a state of emergency, and the Order of the Verdant Cross members were getting ready to set off while all kitted out in their green robes and balaclavas.

I walked over to the drill hall’s window and took a look outside. That’s when I discovered Hilda and Raphael leading the Verdant Cross outside the castle walls.

What was going on here?

It was then, knocks came from the door to the drill hall. I opened it to discover a dwarf standing before me.

He bowed slightly as a greeting. “Your highness, it seems that an emergency situation has developed by the mines.”

“By the mines, you say?”

“Our comrades are trapped there, but I don’t foresee any difficulties. Even if the lycans are powerful monsters, we dwarves are people with resilient vitality, you see?”

This dwarf laughed in a rather easy-going manner. Even I could tell that he was doing his best not to look agitated, but judging from the cold sweat trickling down his forehead, he must be feeling really anxious right now.

“By the way, your highness? Aren’t you pushing yourself a little too hard? I’ve heard some loud commotion coming from the drill hall, so...”

The dwarf suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

I glanced behind me, at the drill hall, and couldn’t help but smile awkwardly. “Ah... well, uhm. Yeah, sorry about that.”

I placed my hand on the dwarf’s head and lightly patted him there.

...There’s no doubt that this dude was in his middle-ages, someone far older than me. But since he was short and just about the perfect height for a head pat, so even before I could stop myself, I ended up patting him on his noggin.

“The drill hall, well... I don’t think you can use it anymore.”

I half expected to be inundated with the protest of ‘But this is wrong!’ from him, but the dwarf remained in a pure daze while taking one faltering step at a time to enter the drill hall.

He finally said something. “...Just what did you do, your highness?!”

I too took a good look at the state of the drill hall.

In short, it was utterly ruined. Cut down, sliced up, broken to bits, and caved in everywhere.

At this rate, forget about trying to repair this place, you might as well demolish everything and build from scratch, instead.

I responded, “I was testing out my magic, that’s all.”

“Your magic?” The dwarf sounded incredulous while he surveyed the carnage. His eyes opened up wider as he continued on. “But your highness! These aren’t the traces of magic. No, these were all done by weap... Hold on, where are all the weapons that were stored in here?”

This fella was sharp. The weapons that used to be stored in the drill hall were no longer around here.

Why? I stashed them away, obviously.

My stay so far hadn’t been a picnic, so yeah, I decided to stuff my item window with them. I needed payment for all the hard work I had to go through so far, so it seemed only right to procure some new items for myself.

Besides, the weapons I took could be found practically everywhere in this place anyways.

I avoided meeting the dwarf’s sharp gaze and pretended to not notice a single thing.

“Ah, by the way. I was thinking of getting myself a new item, so I need your help.” I smiled slyly at the dwarf. “You guys also make musket rifles here, right?”

“Yes, we do. But even if we made them, their performance is...”

“I’d like to have a look at them, if you don’t mind.”

The dwarf furrowed his brows, but even so, he still quickly organised a selection of musket rifles for me nonetheless.

All sorts of varieties were wheeled out.

“Magicians, Alchemists, and we Dwarves, have cooperated to manufacture these muskets,” said the dwarf.

One rifle boasted a long and slender barrel, while another had a stubby muzzle. Another one had a long ‘magazine’ attached to the barrel itself.

Every single one of them was overflowing with individuality.

To the dwarves, it didn’t matter what they were making, they would still craft them with the dedication of a true master craftsman. Meaning, even if they were only making decorative ornaments, they would still pour their whole being into manufacturing a ‘treasure’ that could produce the best possible performance.

“As you may know, your highness, although these can be used in real combat, they do a better job of serving as flashy decorations. To avid collectors, they are only mere wall decorations, while for ladies of nobility who know some magic, these things are only good for their diet routine.” While kindly explaining the usage of the rifles, the dwarf glanced in my direction. “However, the story should be different if it concerns you, your highness. I mean, you’ve already sniped a Vampire over four hundred metres away, after all.”

I picked up the musket rifles one at a time and took a closer look at each article.

Each weapon boasted their own unique personalities. And as they contained magic, I could use my [Mind’s Eye] to analyse what their performance specifications were like.

[Spread Shot], [Rapid Fire], [Snipe]...

These muskets were crafted with a variety of internal structures.

I have to say, they were all considerably appealing to my taste.

“Niiiice.”

I stroked the muskets with pure satisfaction, Then, I quickly began storing them all away in my trusty item window.

The dwarf watching this spectacle was gradually getting more and more flustered. “Could it be that all the weapons inside the drill hall were also...?”

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

It was then, the bells began ringing loudly again.

The dwarf unhappily massaged his temples. “Those f*cking bastards are really getting on my...”

But when he noticed that I was still here, he hurriedly coughed to clear his throat, and then corrected his manner of speech.

“...It seems that those bastards are raising a lot of ruckus, your highness.”

“You mean the lycans?”

“Well, because the Vampires all fled from our Theocratic Empire, they probably believe that their time has finally come or some such.”

“...”

“Judging from how quiet it is inside the citadel, they must’ve attacked the villages outside. Even if we’ve come up with defensive measures and have people on guard, it’s still not enough to stop their raids. In order to completely exterminate them...” The dwarf continued addressing me. “...We’ve requested assistance from the Theocratic Empire. But then, you showed up, your highness.”

Why did it sound like he was asking me for help?

“The Order of the Crimson Cross will not lift a finger without your commands, your highness. From what I heard, their number one priority is to provide you with protection.”

Sure, I could step up to the plate here. But since the Crimson Cross guys were also here, why do I need to...

“Of course, we could also mobilise ourselves, but we are unfortunately slow walkers, so...”

Cold sweat began trickling down my face.

“Your highness, your subjects are in danger.”

“...”

“Ah, ah! If it’s the famed Crimson Cross, then those monsters wouldn’t even be an issue anymore!”

The dwarf began looking up at me.

Rather unfitting for a middle-aged man, he was utilising his shorter height to look up at me with sparkling eyes before landing the final blow to the nail. “Don’t you want to test out your new muskets, your highness?”

**

(TL: In 3rd person POV.)

It was really uncommon for the lycans to attack the villages located in the outskirts of the citadel.

“Everyone, evacuate inside the citadel!”

However, with all the Vampires having disappeared, it wasn’t wrong to assume that no creature capable of stopping them currently existed.

Numerous combat forces had been dispatched to the villages, but regular soldiers weren’t enough to fight off the lycanthropes. All they could do was help evacuate the villagers inside the citadel walls.

However, the lycans scaled the tall outer walls using their claws and infiltrated inside. They then opened the gates to let the zombified animals disperse throughout the city.

“Everyone, hurry and evacuate!”

While being guarded by the soldiers, Alice focused herself with the evacuation of the villagers.

“Priestess-nim! My child, my child’s hurt! Please help!”

A woman who must’ve been the mother to the young child currently held in her arms, hurriedly approached Alice and tearfully begged her.

When the child also started crying, Alice made a gentle and calming smile while stroking the head of the tearful kid.

“It’ll be alright, I’ll make the pain go away.”

She proceeded to heal the injured child.

It was around then, she began sensing this uncomfortable aura. She quickly turned her head and discovered a horde of zombified animals rushing towards her location.

<ul>

Ku-aaaaahk!

</ul>

They screeched out while pouncing on the soldiers.

“Lady Alice! Please escape from...!”

The soldiers staggered and backed away.

A lycan perched up on the roof of a nearby building glared at Alice at that very moment. It roughly sniffed the air. Its expression distorted hideously at the thick scent of divinity wafting out from her.

The lycan leaped off from the roof, and while extending its sharp claws, pounced towards her position.

Alice flinched and hurriedly looked up.

“My lady, danger...!”

She sucked in a deep breath and lowered her posture.

After stepping on the ground, she jumped up, grabbed the lycan’s head, and then slammed it straight into the ground.

BOOM!

The creature’s head crashed into the hard earth below and the surface shattered into bits.

The soldiers nearby gasped in admiration. They were impressed by the fact that a girl as young as her could produce physical strength that amazing.

Just as Alice let out a sigh of relief, the lycan’s eyeballs shifted and suddenly glared in her direction.

“Huh?!”

She urgently leapt away from the lycan to create some distance.

Despite its head being slammed to the ground, the monster simply stood right back up. It was even smirking derisively, as if it found the previous exchange laughable.

In an instant, it bared its fangs and growled threateningly. But just before it could pounce on her once more, its head exploded spectacularly.

The hulking body over two metres tall fell on its knees and collapsed to the ground, just like that.

‘Was that a magic attack?’

Alice quickly scanned her surroundings, but she couldn’t see any Magician responsible for firing that magic attack.

She then shifted her gaze behind her. More specifically, at the steeple where the bell would be rung in the case of emergency. She could just about vaguely spot a person-shaped silhouette up there.

But the distance from here to there must’ve been nearly five hundred metres.

Who could it be?