Looking Forward to Another World

*AOOO—!*

*AOOO—!*

Not long afterward, two intimidating roars echoed through the blizzard as a massive, luxurious dragon carriage raced toward them at incredible speed, charging directly into the trap without slowing down in the slightest.

”That’s it.”

Watching the majestic dragon carriage approach, a flash of killing intent crossed the leader’s eyes.

”Nock your bows!”

”Loose!”

*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*

In the next instant, arrows engraved with glowing runes—empowered by magic that allowed them to ignore the fierce wind and snow—shot straight toward their target.

As the attackers hidden all around drew their bows, they released the enchanted arrows without the slightest hesitation.

By the time the whistling sounds reached the air, a rain of arrows had already taken shape.

Countless arrows erupted from every direction, blotting out the sky as they descended upon the dragon carriage that had made no attempt to conceal its movements.

*Buzz!*

At that very instant, a buzzing sound rippled through the air.

It was the sound produced by a violent shift in the airflow.

Around the speeding dragon carriage, the air, which had already been thrown into turmoil by the raging wind and snow, suddenly became even more chaotic.

Ordinarily, that alone shouldn’t have affected the arrows enhanced with magic. Yet under the influence of the turbulent airflow, the rain of arrows flying through the air suddenly changed course, veering wildly off target.

”Silent Magic - Wall of Protection From Arrows.”

A magic specifically designed to block flying projectile magic appeared over the dragon carriage without any warning, altering the trajectory of the overwhelming barrage of arrows.

*BANG!**BANG!**BANG!**BANG!*

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

In an instant, the arrows that had lost their accuracy crashed into the snow around the carriage one after another, burying themselves deep into the ground before exploding one after another.

Meanwhile, the snowfield was blasted into a cratered landscape as snow exploded in every direction, with some of it even hurled high into the sky.

There was no doubt that these arrows had been crafted from a special material—clearly some kind of magical arrow.

*ROAAARRR—!!!*

*ROAAARRR—!!!*

The two lesser frost dragons pulling the carriage came to a halt and roared furiously at their surroundings.

”So arrows don’t work, huh?”

Hidden among the ambushers surrounding the area, the leader remained composed as he watched the scene unfold.

”In that case, we’ll use magic.”

With that, he raised a hand, and a squad of magicians immediately stepped up behind him and began chanting their magic in an orderly manner.

Unfortunately for them, they were too slow.

*Buzzz!*

As the air around the dragon carriage buzzed once more, streaks of light resembling meteors suddenly appeared.

”Silent Magic - Sacrament Aurora.”

In an instant, several orbs of light shot out without warning, indiscriminately bombarding the area around the dragon carriage in a carpet-bombing attack.

”DODGE!”

Seeing that, the leader’s pupils contracted as he shouted a warning and moved like a dragon in flight, his figure blurring as he dashed away, vanishing from where he had been standing in the blink of an eye.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

The dazzling orbs descended like a meteor shower, exploding one after another across the snowy field. Snow and shattered rocks were blasted into the air as everything within several hundred meters looked as though it had been struck by a storm of light explosions. Deafening blasts echoed continuously without pause.

At the same time, the attackers hidden beneath the snow either fled in panic, desperately trying to avoid the meteor-like bombardment raining down from above, or failed to react in time and were blown away by the auroras, their screams echoing across the battlefield.

If those attacks had been flames instead, a single volley would have turned the entire area into a scorched wasteland, leaving behind not even a single snowflake.

”Damn it!”

Cursing loudly, the leader desperately dodged the orbs, only to discover that even after avoiding a direct hit, they would immediately change direction and continue chasing after him.

Clearly, this was an offensive magic with a tracking effect, leaving him no choice but to roll frantically across the snow in a miserable attempt to evade it.

When he truly couldn’t escape, he actually reached out, grabbed one of his own men, and shoved him in front of himself as a human shield. In that instant, the orb of light struck the unfortunate man head-on and exploded instantly, blowing his body apart into countless bloody fragments.

Although the leader himself was sent flying by the blast and rolled pitifully across the snowy ground once again, at least he had avoided taking a direct hit from Sacrament Aurora and escaped with relatively minor injuries.

Even so, his miserable state only fueled the leader’s rage.

”Attack!”

He roared at the top of his lungs.

”Don’t leave anyone alive! Kill them all!”

However, his command was answered by a mocking voice.

”Kill us? Can you actually do that?”

As soon as the voice filled with ridicule reached the leader’s ears, his body froze for a split second before he spun around and slashed his sword with all his strength without the slightest hesitation.

He knew the voice had come from directly behind him, but...

*BANG!*

Before his sword could reach the person behind him, a devastating kick slammed heavily into his chest.

Because the kick was unbelievably fast and immensely powerful, by the time the leader realized what had happened, he had already been launched into the air.

”Pffft!”

A mouthful of blood burst from his lips, scattering crimson droplets across the snow as he was sent flying backward.

When he finally came crashing back down, he slammed heavily into the snow, sending up a spray of snow nearly ten meters high. Even the ground trembled slightly as a thunderous impact echoed across the battlefield.

*Cough!**Cough!*

As he felt the overwhelmingly powerful blow, it made him feel as though every bone in his body had been shattered.

Looking down with great difficulty, he saw that his chest had visibly caved in.

As he realized the extent of his injuries, his face filled with horror.

He had already received reports that Lukais’s invasion of Mitte had been stopped by a group of foreigners. Lukais’s army had been completely annihilated, suffering catastrophic losses that had enraged the king of Lukais.

Because of that, they had come thoroughly prepared for this operation.

Not only had they brought along a valuable unit of magicians, but they had also brought numerous magic items specifically designed for battlefield use.

Those magic arrows from earlier were merely one example.

Yet he had never expected that, before most of those preparations could even be put to use, he would already have been seriously wounded.

Were these foreigners really that powerful?

”RETREAT!”

Realizing the battle could no longer be won, the leader endured the agonizing pain and immediately roared the order.

However...

”Who exactly are you telling to retreat?”

Another sneering voice rang out, but it wasn’t the same voice as the one that had kicked him moments earlier.

As soon as he heard it, the leader instinctively looked up and glanced around, his breathing stopping the moment he saw what lay before him.

Every single one of the men he had brought lay motionless on the ground, while a tall, powerfully built young man wielding twin swords stood among the countless fallen bodies, looking at him with a cold sneer.

Meanwhile, the ranged attackers who had been firing arrows and chanting magic under his command just moments ago had all collapsed as well, though their deaths were even more horrifying.

Some had been burned until their entire bodies were charred black, while others had been sliced into several pieces. Some even had gaping holes through their chests, with their hearts ripped out.

Needless to say, they had all died gruesome deaths, leaving the ground soaked in blood.

Standing amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood was a beautiful, enchanting woman. She held a still-warm heart in one hand, while her golden eyes looked at him with nothing but indifference, as though she wasn’t looking at a person at all, but rather at an insect that was about to be crushed.

They were none other than Leo and Lilith.

As for Lizbeth and Ivy, the two of them had remained inside the carriage to protect Chloria and the still soundly sleeping Euryale.

For that reason, the leader only saw those two.

Just two people, yet in the blink of an eye, they had slaughtered over three hundred attackers.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

”You...”

Just as he was about to speak, however, the leader noticed the third person standing opposite him.

It was the silent figure who had appeared behind him without making a sound and crippled him with a single kick earlier.

It was Riezel.

Now, he stood before the leader’s eyes.

”I’ll give you one chance to explain yourself.”

With those words, Riezel gazed down at the leader lying in the shattered snow pit and spoke indifferently.

”So, you gonna tell me who sent you? Or do I gotta use magic to dig through your memories?”

Hearing those words, the leader’s heart trembled.

Someone among these people could actually use memory-reading magic?

As soon as he realized that, he immediately decided to take his own life.

”Too bad, you made the wrong choice.”

Riezel’s indifferent voice sounded like the devil’s mocking laughter as he calmly exposed the leader’s intentions, having already seen through them.

Take his own life?

Could he possibly kill himself faster than Riezel could stop him?

”Charm Species.”

Riezel chanted the charm spell.

In an instant, the man’s eyes trembled, and his expression gradually turned blank.

Moments later, his eyes glowed red. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Just like that, he had completely become Riezel’s puppet.

===

Five minutes later, Riezel and the other two returned to the dragon carriage.

”Master, are you alright?”

Lizbeth, who had been holding Moslow while standing guard, immediately ran over.

”Of course.” Riezel naturally reached out and patted Lizbeth’s head with a smile. ”They were just a bunch of cannon fodder. No way anything was gonna happen to me.”

Truth be told, the attackers had actually been fairly capable.

Aside from their leader, who was an expert Sword Master, there had been several other Sword Masters among them. Combined with their numerous magic items and the support of a twenty-man magic army, they possessed enough combat power to give even a Sword Saint some trouble in an ambush.

But to Riezel, if an enemy lacked the strength to easily deal with several Sword Saints at once, then they were nothing more than cannon fodder. Not to mention this group, which could only pose a slight threat to a single Sword Saint.

As a result, although the entire encounter had lasted five minutes, defeating the enemy had taken less than a minute, while the remaining four-plus minutes had been spent extracting information.

”Were those guys sent by Lukais?”

Ivy stepped forward and asked as well.

However, under everyone’s gaze, Riezel shook his head.

”Nope, they weren’t sent by Lukais. According to their leader, the people behind them belong to a noble family called the Varnard family.”

””A noble family?””

Everyone was immediately stunned.

”Yeah...” Riezel nodded, then walked over to the silent Chloria and sat down in front of her. ”Do you know this family?”

”...I do.”

After a long silence, Chloria finally replied in a low voice.

”The Varnard family is one of the marquis families of Theresis, and it is also one of the queendom’s foremost military families. The current Marquis Varnard serves as the vice captain-commander of the Queen Knightly Order. He is incredibly strong and is said to be very close to reaching the level of a Sword Saint.”

At this point, it was necessary to explain Theresis’s military structure.

Unlike Jinas, Theresis’s military was composed of both the knightly order and the regular army.

In this queendom, only swordsmen who had received the Sword Master Medal were qualified to call themselves knights. Any swordsman below the rank of Sword Master could only join the army as an ordinary soldier.

All knights belonged to Theresis’s one and only knightly order—the Queen Knightly Order.

They were the strongest military force in the queendom, possessing the authority to command the Queen’s Army while also bearing the responsibility of guarding the royal palace and protecting the queen and the royal family.

Simply put, the knights of Theresis were the queendom’s elite.

Some served as the queen’s personal guards.

Some were stationed as guards at the royal palace.

Others commanded the army.

As for the rest, they were assigned to the border territories, where they led military forces and defended the queendom’s frontiers.

Take Hugh, for example.

He was a member of the Queen Knightly Order, but he was also a knight sworn to serve the Beryl family.

Unlike Jinas, the nobles of Theresis were not permitted to establish their own knightly orders. However, they could have members of their families, or those loyal to them, join the Queen Knightly Order or the Queen’s Army, allowing them to gain military experience, earn promotions through merit, and build distinguished careers.

Hugh was one such person.

He had originally served the Beryl family, and with their support, he joined the Queen’s Army, trained there until becoming a Sword Master, and then entered the Queen Knightly Order. After receiving his assignment, he returned to his hometown to assist the Beryl family in defending their territory.

As a result, knights held a much higher status in Theresis than they did in Jinas.

Military families such as the Varnard family were much like the Borley family, producing outstanding swordsmen generation after generation who would join the knightly order and hold important positions within the country’s military.

Meanwhile, since the current Marquis Varnard was the vice captain-commander of the Queen Knightly Order, his strength was second only to the captain-commander’s, making him an exceptionally powerful warrior who stood only a single step away from becoming a Sword Saint.

In other words, just like the captain-commander of Jinas’s Royal Knightly Order, the captain-commander of the Queen Knightly Order was also a Sword Saint.

However, that wasn’t what surprised everyone.

”W-Why would a noble from this country send people to attack you?”

Lizbeth voiced the question everyone had been wondering.

Indeed, that was what truly puzzled them.

Judging from Leffy and Hugh’s attitudes, even if Chloria wasn’t a princess of the royal family, she was undoubtedly someone with an extremely special status and tremendous importance to Theresis.

Under such circumstances, it was easy to understand why Lukais would send troops to assassinate Chloria.

But for a Theresis noble family—and one as influential as the Varnard family, which held an important position within the queendom—to send assassins after Chloria?

No matter how they looked at it, that made the situation far more suspicious.

”The Varnard family doesn’t wanna see you set foot in Urvashi... or the royal palace?”

Looking directly at Chloria, Riezel asked the question.

”...”

Chloria fell silent, and this time, she truly remained silent without saying another word.

”Hey, what the heck’s going on? Explain it!”

Leo demanded impatiently.

However, the only response he received was prolonged silence.

”You...”

Seemingly irritated, Leo stepped forward, looking as though he intended either to rough Chloria up or intimidate her.

”Forget it.”

Riezel stopped Leo, his expression returning to its usual indifference.

”If you don’t wanna talk, then I won’t ask.”

”It doesn’t really matter anyway.”

”Let’s keep moving. Once we get to Urvashi, everything’ll reveal itself.”

Hearing those words, ripples appeared in Chloria’s eyes, while the others chose not to press the matter any further.

And so, the dragon carriage continued its journey.

As for this disturbance, unfortunately, it had only just begun.

===

[A bonus Chapter for reaching 300 Power Stones]

[Support and get early access to upcoming Chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]