"Don't panic, please proceed slowly!"
Right after the decisive battle in the royal capital began, a plan to evacuate the citizens from the surrounding cities was set into motion. Leading the evacuation was Princess Francine, Ansem's sister. Transporting the citizens to a safe zone were the Imperial Fleet and the fleets from both duchies.
Prince Julio of the Albatro Duchy, who was entrusted with the command of the entire fleet, was aboard the Imperial Fleet's flagship, Alphonso.
"It's frustrating, isn't it..."
The captain muttered on the deck of the flagship. The fleet had just received news of the appearance of demons. Heroes from all over the continent were rushing to the kingdom, but there was no role for the navy. This frustrated the captain.
"Protecting the continent isn't just about fighting. I consider evacuating the citizens to be a noble battle as well," Julio said.
"You're mature for a prince."
"To be honest, I want to fight too. My admiration has always been directed towards the two princes. I want to be like them. If I could... like Silver who saved the duchy, I'd want to become a strong hero and fly off. But I don't have that power. I'm not strong enough to tell people who are crying from their powerlessness that everything will be alright."
Julio understood that people have their own strengths and weaknesses.
This was Julio's true feeling. He was frustrated and felt powerless, but he knew that now was not the time to dwell on it.
"I never thought I'd be lectured by someone as young as you. My apologies for my inappropriate remarks as a military man."
"Everyone feels the same way. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you. Shall we set sail soon?"
The number of citizens was enormous. Multiple trips would be necessary to evacuate everyone. Julio nodded and signaled the fleet to set sail. However, a few ships that had set sail earlier hastily assumed battle positions. Sensing the anomaly, the flagship Alfonso also went into battle mode.
"Something just passed under the ship!"
"What!? It's too fast!"
Just the passing of 'something' under the ship caused the flagship Alfonso to shake violently. Although the shaking soon stopped, the ship remained on high alert.
"Find out what passed by! Full search!"
"No, Captain. Let's prioritize the evacuation of the citizens."
"If it wanted to attack, it would have done so already. Its target is not us. We don't have time. The priority is to evacuate the citizens, as per the orders from the supreme commander."
As a sailor, he couldn't help but worry that there was something unidentified in the ocean. However, even though Julio understood this, he still prioritized the evacuation of the people.The identified being was only headed to the royal capital and ignored them. Whether it was an enemy or ally, they decided it was not their place to deal with it.
In the sky, Elna had just defeated a demon disguised as the crown prince's direct subordinate with a single blow from her Holy Sword. Only two remained. Carabia, one of the demons, felt his life was in danger. He wasn't part of the demons who participated in the war 500 years ago, most of whom were killed by the first Hero. He had gathered information and thought he understood the power of the Hero, but facing Elna made him realize that all that information was useless. ṜÅƝọʙÊ𝙎
"So this is the current Hero... quite different from before, huh?"
"The Brave family has one rule: all demons must be annihilated," Elna said with a smile.
The next moment, another demon was obliterated by a single blow from her Holy Sword. Elna's combat ability was extraordinary, even compared to the demons. Carabia couldn't keep up with her movements. He realized that the reason the information about Elna's previous battles was useless was because she wasn't serious then. She was only serious when facing demons.
Carabia decided to retreat into the barrier. His goal of delaying her was already achieved.
"I'll leave you to someone else!"
Just as he was about to retreat, a light arrow pierced through Carabia's torso. He wasn't dead, but his movements were halted.
"Too bad," Elna said.
Carabia tried to counterattack, but a torrent of light from Elna's Holy Sword engulfed him and clashed with the barrier around the royal capital. The barrier weakened but held.
"As expected, a barrier made by desperate demons is quite something. SS-rank adventurer! Lend me your power!" Follow current novels on novel⚑fire.net
Elna's voice reached the direction from where the arrow had come. A man who seemed exasperated ran his hand through his hair.
"You could ask a little more nicely... young girls these days are so difficult."
Saying so, the SS-rank adventurer known as the "Wandering Bow God" Jack, readied his bow.