Chapter 227: Chapter 227

Ian dealt with those who tried to stop him and pressed forward. Soon, he arrived at the enemy’s base.

“Is this their stronghold?”

“Yes. They’re making their final stand.”

“In that case, let’s not keep them waiting. Begin the attack.”

At Ian’s command, Commander Aaron raised his hand, signaling the soldiers. With a thunderous roar, they charged toward the entrance.

However, discontent stirred among some of the aides.

“That’s right. Our loyalty lies with the Second Prince.”

Aaron gave a bitter smile.

“The Second Prince isn’t here right now. Isn’t that the truth?”

Their lord, the Second Prince, was safely observing from the rear. Even the knights—supposedly guarding him—were nowhere to be seen on the battlefield. The only commander still standing on the front lines was Aaron. Nearby, Leon looked on, his expression grim.

‘He should be leading from the front… yet he watches from the back.’

It was a bitter truth. Especially when Ian, who had no official ties to their army, was out there risking his life for them. Even now, he was leading the charge.

At the front of the formation was Ian, charging ahead with Galon and Nathan by his side.

“If it weren’t for him, I’d be dead by now…”

For Aaron, obeying Ian’s orders wasn’t a question—it was a given. Realizing this, the aides could only nod in reluctant agreement.

“Use the magic tools!”

As Ian dashed toward the entrance, the enemies scrambled to stop him, unleashing hidden weapons and activating traps. But no matter what they threw at him, Ian and his knights were far too strong to be stopped.

“Sir Galon! We’ll handle them!”

Ian activated Fiosen’s Iron Wall, while Galon invoked the Oath of Invincibility. Instantly, a massive barrier rose, shielding the soldiers from the incoming attacks. Nathan was already in motion. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI~Fire.net

Twisting through the air like a whirlwind, Nathan created a vortex that sucked in the incoming arrows, rendering them useless. The enemy cried out in shock.

“We… we can’t stop them!”

“We’ve used all the explosives! We don’t have any knights left!”

Their final defense was crumbling. At this rate, the entrance would be breached. In desperation, the enemy commander shouted:

“But… our allies outside will be caught in the blast—”

“This is for Lord Leon! Just do it!”

Soon, an explosion occurred above the gate. The massive steel gate began to fall.

“It’s solid steel. No matter how strong they are, they won’t get through it easily. This will buy us time to help Lord Leon escape.”

As the enemy began retreating behind the falling gate, a shout rang out from the allied side.

“Sir Nathan! The gate’s coming down!”

At that moment, Galon dashed forward. With a powerful stance, he threw himself beneath the descending gate, stopping it with his head and shoulders.

The crushing weight bore down on him, his feet sinking into the ground—but he didn’t budge.

It was the power of Invincibility—an oath so strong it could neither be broken nor bent.

This unshakable oath shielded his body and gave him the strength to endure the crushing weight of solid steel. The enemies shouted in disbelief.

“He’s stopping the gate!”

“What are you doing?! Take him down, now!”

The enemies rushed toward Galon, trying to force the gate shut before it was too late. But at that moment, a man slid out from beneath Galon like a blur. It was Nathan.

Nathan sprang to his feet, cutting down the attackers with swift, deadly strikes. The soldiers quickly followed through the gap.

“Secure the gate first!” Nathan ordered.

“Support Sir Galon! Bring a lever—now!”

“Everyone, together! Lift it! Reinforce the wall so the rest can get in!”

The soldiers worked quickly, lifting the gate and placing a support beam to relieve Galon of the strain. Thanks to the two knights’ efforts, the army was able to enter. Once the enemy was subdued and the gate stabilized, the soldiers quickly took their positions.

Forming two disciplined lines, they raised their weapons.

“The enemy has been subdued!”

“We’ve secured the entrance!”

Behind them came Ian. Though he had once taken on a dragon-like form, he had now returned to his original appearance. Even so, the soldiers’ respect for him had only grown—it was well deserved.

‘He led us from the front.’

‘He protected us and pushed forward without hesitation. If not for him, we’d be dead.’

‘He treated us as comrades, not pawns. If we follow him, we’ll survive.’

With that, Ian entered the enemy stronghold under a soldier’s escort. Following shortly behind was the Second Prince, who quickly tried to reclaim the spotlight.

“Ahem… I’ll take over from here.”

“We shall guard your sides, Your Highness,” the knights added.

Naturally, these were the very knights who had previously vanished under the pretense of protecting the Second Prince. Now they had returned to his side. Nathan, watching them, spoke with disbelief.

“Huh. So you’re back now?”

“We weren’t fleeing. We were simply protecting His Highness…”

“Oh? Did I see wrong then? Because from where I was standing, you looked like a bunch of dogs with tails between your legs, running without even trying to fight.”

Tension filled the air. The knights and Nathan stared each other down, ready to draw swords. It was one man against more than ten. Under normal circumstances, Nathan would’ve been hopelessly outnumbered.

“What? Got a problem? Then come at me.”

However, the ones who retreated were the group of over ten knights. They had witnessed Nathan’s incredible strength firsthand as he single-handedly defeated the black knights.

Worse yet, they caught sight of Ian standing behind him, the man whose power rivaled that of a legendary dragon warrior. They had all seen with their own eyes how effortlessly he had defeated the monstrous knight, Vector.

Nathan quickly caught on that the knights were nervously glancing at Ian. He raised his hand toward Ian and called out, “My lord! You might want to hear what these guys have to say!”

“What do they want to say?”

Ian walked over slowly. The representative knight flinched and took a step back in shock.

“N-no, it’s nothing. We have nothing to say.”

“If you have something to say, then speak up.”

“No, really. There’s nothing at all.”

In an instant, the knights backed off and retreated behind the Second Prince, visibly rattled by Ian’s presence. The prince, looking confused, questioned them.

“Knights, what are you doing?”

None of them could answer, too busy gauging the atmosphere. Even so, the Second Prince wasn’t completely unaware.

‘They’re scared. Honestly, if I saw what they just saw, I might be too.’

He, too, had witnessed Ian’s power up close. Fear was a natural reaction. But he couldn’t afford to show weakness.

‘If I back down now, I’ll never surpass this man.’

He had seen Leonic’s humiliating fall after challenging Ian—and he didn’t want to end up the same way. Now, more than ever, he needed to seize the moment. Ian might be strong, but the Second Prince was of imperial blood. Ian was just a royal.

‘We nobles fight with legitimacy, not just brute force. To claim the throne, we must be the ones to defeat Leon.’

Only then could he secure the legitimacy needed to gain an upper hand in the tug-of-war with Ian. But before anything else, he needed to fix the embarrassing scene his knights had just caused. Subtly, he turned to Ian.

“Ahem. Shall I take charge of scouting the base and confronting Leon?”

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Haven’t you already used up all your trump cards?”

Ian tilted his head slightly. His tone was teasing, but his eyes were sincere. He wasn’t mocking the prince—just stating facts. The prince had led an army of hundreds of thousands and still hadn’t managed a proper fight. If not for Ian, the battle would have been lost long ago.

It was as if Ian was saying, “If that’s all you’ve got, there’s no way you can take on Leon.”

The Second Prince quickly waved his hands.

“I haven’t used my real trump card yet!”

Ian paused, thinking, then nodded without hesitation.

The Second Prince, now excited, commanded the soldiers. The soldiers followed him, their expressions showing that they found their situation unpleasant, as they were under his command rather than Ian’s. The knights followed suit, keeping close behind. Nathan watched it all in shock and shouted,

“M-my lord! Why would you give up the opportunity after defeating the enemies?”

Nathan appeared frustrated, hitting his chest.

“Don’t tell me… you’re giving him all the credit? That’s practically handing him a free win—!”

“Things are about to get dangerous. That’s why I’m letting him go first.”

Nathan was taken aback but soon understood Ian’s reasoning.

“Oh… so you’re pushing him into danger, then swooping in for the credit?”

“He’s too obsessed with glory. He won’t send them in—he’ll throw himself and his knights forward instead. That is, if he really believes in his secret trump card.”

Nathan finally smiled.

“Now that sounds like our prince. I knew you hadn’t gone soft.”

Ian raised an eyebrow.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I usually do bad things?”

“Hahaha, of course not! Ah! I just remembered—I’ve got something to do!”

With that, Nathan bolted, using his oath to flee. Ian looked at Galon, as if bewildered.

“Do you feel the same way, Sir Galon?”

“My lord hasn’t done anything bad.”

“B-but… it would be nice if you did something good once in a while…”

Under Ian’s gaze, Galon quickly looked away.

The Second Prince and his knights passed through various traps and enemy obstructions. Though their bodies were covered in wounds, they finally reached the inner laboratory. Upon entering, they were horrified.

“Is this hell? What is this place…?”

Their reactions were understandable, given the horrific scene unfolding in the room marked as a laboratory. Bodies and blood were strewn about, alongside dismembered organs scattered across the floor. But the most horrifying sight was—

The test subjects, no longer recognizably human, were still alive—twitching, writhing, suffering. They had been twisted beyond imagination.

The Second Prince grimaced at the sight.

“I can’t believe they were doing this kind of thing.”

He had joined forces with them to claim the throne, but he never expected they would conduct these kinds of experiments on his own people. And it wasn’t just people from Cantum, either.

“Are these people from Bahara?”

“It appears some are from Kaistein as well, Your Highness.”

Everyone began to glance at Ian, who was following behind. They all understood by now—he was the king of Bahara and the successor to Kaistein. Even more so, Ian’s expression was growing increasingly serious.

‘He must really be angry. We need to be careful.’

‘Let’s keep our mouths shut and not make things worse.’

Of course, Ian was angry.

‘This goes beyond human cruelty.’

It wasn’t just about basic dignity. As a member of Kaistein’s royal family—someone duty-bound to protect his people—the idea that anyone could subject them to such atrocities was unforgivable. Some victims couldn’t even die, no matter how much they wished to. How could he not be furious?

Those words from one of the subjects made Ian’s expression shift drastically. His voice was cold as he called out:

“Sir Galon. Sir Nathan.”

The two knights stepped forward immediately, drawing their swords without hesitation. They already understood what Ian was thinking. Quietly, Ian closed the eyes of the writhing test subjects.

In a swift, merciful moment, the two knights ended the victims’ suffering. So fast, they didn’t even feel a thing.

Ian’s cold gaze then turned sharply to the side.

“While I’m being polite, I suggest you put that down.”

Startled, the Second Prince dropped what he had been trying to steal from the lab. But Ian didn’t stop there.

“I’ll burn everything in this place—data, specimens, all of it. No one will be allowed to touch a single thing.”

His furious glare sent the soldiers and knights scurrying backward. No one dared to challenge him.

And then, it happened.

“To think you’re shaken by such trivial things… You’re still weak.”

A sudden voice made the knights flinch and instinctively draw their swords, but none of them moved forward.

The moment he appeared, a suffocating pressure filled the room. The knights froze, unable to resist it—and even Ian felt the crushing weight of his presence.

“Leon… Did you just call them trivial?”

“Yes, little brother,” Leon replied with a sneer. “Lowborns exist to serve the noble. They should be honored I even used them.”

Ian’s eyes narrowed, his fury surging. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding with rage.

The Fury within him roared in response to his wrath.

“If we take him down, the battle is ours!”

Some of the knights who recognized Leon rushed at him. But something unbelievable happened.

But then, the charging knights suddenly lost their strength and collapsed to their knees. And it didn’t stop there.

“I must silence those… who raise their swords against him.”

“W-wait! We’re allies! Ugh!”

The knights started to fight among themselves, as if they were mistakenly seeing Leon as the Second Prince instead of the one they were meant to serve. They looked dazed, as if under a spell. At that sight, Leon smiled enticingly.

“You’ve brought some foolish ones with you. With such weaklings, you can’t possibly cut off my head.”

At that moment, everyone’s gaze in the room became dazed. The Second Prince, as well as the soldiers, all looked mesmerized.

Weapons fell from their hands, slipping away as if their strength had vanished. That’s when Ian shouted:

A wave of powerful energy surged from his body. In an instant, those who had been enchanted by Leon came to their senses in shock.

“Wha—what just happened?”

There was no time to dwell on it. Ian quickly commanded them.

“Everyone, get out of here. I will deal with him.”

“B-but… I’m supposed to—”

“You’ll only get in the way. Leave!”

Ian’s sharp glare made the Second Prince flinch. Without another word, he turned and fled. Galon and Nathan followed, helping evacuate the others. And then, only Ian remained.

Seeing this, Leon smirked.

“Oh my… You intend to face me alone?”

“Of course. That’s more than enough.”

Burning with anger, Ian raised the royal sword in his hand.

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