I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: Rungir

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Icarus, one of the magic groups of the Imperial City.

Though Zion and Liushina had almost wiped them out the previous day, there were some who had survived. These were the ones who had been away from the city during the grand ceremony, and so had escaped the disaster.

Still, Icarus was nearly broken, and the remaining mages were shadows of their former selves.

For instance,

"Why must we do this?"

This complaint came from Albert, a mage and one of the two gatekeepers at the palace's main gate.

"Even with Icarus in ruins, shouldn't lesser knights from the city be put on guard duty?"

"Stop your grumbling."

Mage John, standing to Albert's right, gave him a warning glance.

"Frankly, we should be thankful we're still breathing."

"That may be true, but this is unfair. Why are we punished for the poor choices of our leaders?"

"Quiet!"

John quickly silenced Albert with a stern finger to his lips. They were standing before the royal palace; anyone inside could have heard Albert's words.

"For now, we should keep a low profile. Even if Icarus is shattered, our skills aren't gone. Once things calm down, we might be moved to different magic groups."

"But when will that happen? We've been left out of the royal ritual entirely. Did you notice? They gathered all the palace forces and sent them out of the city. But here we are, still stuck."

"......"

John didn't respond to Albert's complaint.

He too was unhappy with their current situation.

It was clear that Third Prince Enoch was heavily focused on the royal ritual scheduled for the next day.

In secret, he had deployed all forces, leaving behind only the minimum required for palace security.

The fact that they were still stuck at the palace meant they were totally left out.

Suddenly,

"What's...?"

Albert voiced his confusion, peering into the distance.

"What's happening?"

"Look. What's that?"

John's eyes filled with uncertainty as he followed the direction of Albert's pointing finger.

Thump, thump.

The ominous sound of footsteps echoed, creating a chill that touched their hearts, as a figure emerged from the distance.

The darkness that shrouded the figure, darker than the night itself, swallowed up the surrounding light.

Yet, it wasn't just the figure that puzzled Albert and John.

Hundreds trailed behind the lone figure.

Normally, an army would number in the tens of thousands.

But, for Albert and John, this small band of hundreds felt as immense as a full-fledged army.

A spectacle rarely seen, even within the Imperial City.

But the issue was that this small army was moving toward the royal palace.

"No, it can't be, they're..."

Thud!

Before Albert could finish his sentence, his head vanished, his body slowly toppling over.

"Albert!"

Figures began to emerge from the darkness, one by one, filling the now solitary John's view.

"You, you're...!"

And then, like Albert, John's head vanished in a flash.

Zion, the man leading the group, gazed at the fallen mages with dull eyes, then turned toward the shut gates of the royal palace.

"Let's move in immediately."

At Zion's whisper,

The palace gates exploded into fragments.

Zion slowly began to step into the now open royal palace.

As Zion crossed the entryway and reached the middle of the large hall,

"Intruders! We have intruders!"

Like an alarm, a wave of knights and mages poured from within the palace.

Their faces held shock and confusion, not expecting an attack inside the Imperial City.

"How dare you threaten the palace where Prince Enoch resides!"

Led by an older knight with a thick beard, the palace knights charged toward Zion.

As they neared Zion,

"Erase the first ones to attack."

Lloyd, captain of the first team of Egrasia, standing behind Zion, spoke in a cold voice.

At that, the spirit legion started moving.

Hundreds? No, thousands?

In an instant, countless ice spirits materialized, each one forming into a white spear and launching toward the oncoming knights.

"Argh!"

"Ugh!"

Unable to defend against the ice spears, the knights fell one after the other.

After all, the spirit magic cast by Egrasia's spirit mages had the power to rival mid-level magic.

So, the knights tasked with guarding the palace entrance stood no chance.

"!!!!!"

Horror filled the eyes of the mages who watched the scene unfold from the back.

Just one strike was all it took to understand who their assailants were.

After all, only one force in the world could wield that level of spirit magic, thousands strong.

The Spirit Legion, Egrasia.

"The, the Spirit Legion!"

"Why is Egrasia here!"

The mages' voices echoed with confusion, but it was already too late.

Boom!

The Spirit Mages of Egrasia, who had already cut down the charging knights, now surged toward the mages.

In less than ten seconds,

"Why is Egrasia... Argh!"

The hall was rapidly cleared of mages by the unstoppable Spirit Mages.

Known as the Spirit Legion, Egrasia was the Agnes Empire's most potent band of Spirit Mages, capable of matching a legion with mere hundreds.

Now, Egrasia's immense power was being unleashed without restraint.

Having cleared the hall in mere moments, Egrasia's Spirit Mages looked to Zion for their next command.

"Enoch's offices and bedrooms are all located on the palace's top floor. We'll pave a path there immediately."

Despite their location within the Royal Palace, Enoch's base, Lloyd spoke with a confidence born not just from their Spirit Legion's power, but from knowing that the palace was essentially deserted.

Almost all of Enoch's forces in the Imperial City had been drawn out, likely due to the royal festival starting tomorrow, a fact they had confirmed.

Lloyd found himself admiring Zion, who had orchestrated this entire situation.

'From persuading Princess Diana, who wouldn't move unless she was leading, to manipulating Enoch, creating this situation...'

Zion's intricate strategies were something to behold, even before considering his power.

Then,

"No, the rest of you go underground."

Zion nodded and spoke.

"Huh?"

"Diana has something she wants to verify down there."

"What's that..."

Although Lloyd was filled with questions, Zion's gaze had already shifted upward, toward the palace.

"... Squads 2 and 3 follow Zion. The rest head underground with me."

"Understood."

Watching Zion's retreating figure, Lloyd issued the instructions and quickly headed for the underground.

In his experience, swift action was important in such a raid.

"Who, who are you...!"

Crash!

"Intruders! Stop... Argh!"

Numerous troops tried to block their path, but none could stand against the Spirit Legion for even a moment.

Their attempts ended in a futile cycle of death.

The sight that awaited them at the basement's end was a colossal iron door, thrice as thick as any others and fortified with magic.

"We're breaking it down and going in."

Boom!

Upon demolishing the iron door, Lloyd and Egrasia stepped through, taking in the scene that lay beyond.

At that moment,

"Insane...!"

With a harsh curse, Lloyd's face, which had remained unchanged no matter what happened, started to contort uncontrollably.

---

---

Screech!

Meanwhile, Zion, practically sprinting up the stairs, had sword strokes aimed at his important points from both sides. As if he'd anticipated this, he fluidly sidestepped and angled his body to avoid the swords.

As he moved, the surrounding darkness swelled like a roaring flame, engulfing the knights who'd attacked.

"Argh!"

A wet squelch emanated from the inky shadows that had consumed the knights, but Zion passed by without a backward glance.

'I need to get to Enoch as quickly as possible.'

After all, the majority of the enemy forces would likely be located in the underground black magic laboratory.

Given the upper levels were nearly vacant, speed was of the essence. While it was improbable Enoch would flee to evade Zion, the slim chance remained.

If Enoch escaped now, it could severely disrupt Zion's future plans.

"Block him! He cannot reach the upper floors!"

Meanwhile, dozens of magicians loyal to Prince Enoch descended from the palace's upper levels, indiscriminately launching spells at Zion and the Egrasia trailing behind him.

Was this really the stronghold of a potential successor to the Agnes Empire?

The intensity of the magicians' attacks was a stark contrast to the minor skirmish at the entrance, even with their forces spread thin.

Spells of every kind painted the entire space red, leaving no room for escape. Their combined power created a potent synergy, transforming into an even more formidable force.

"Spirit Tree deploy!"

In response to the incoming barrage, Celia, the captain of Egrasia's second squad, called forth their defense.

Numerous spirits, summoned by the spirit users' composite shields, intertwined into a massive tree.

The Spirit Tree, a quintessential large-scale defensive technique of the Spirit Legion, Egrasia.

The Spirit Tree clashed with the onslaught of spells, resulting in a colossal explosion that echoed through the palace.

In that instant, a streak of darkness pierced through the blast.

The darkness streaked forward like a bolt of horizontal lightning, quickly closing in on the unsuspecting magicians loyal to Prince Enoch.

However,

"How dare you underestimate us! Are you seeking death?"

A battle-ready magician, displaying impressive reaction speed, noticed Zion transforming into darkness and attempting to bypass the palace's magicians. He immediately moved to intercept Zion's path.

Upon seeing this, other combat magicians quickly converged on Zion, augmenting their bodies with auxiliary and combat magic, cornering him from all sides.

"Damn it!"

Watching the scene unfold through the dissipating explosion, Celia sprinted towards Zion, expressing a curse under her breath.

'What is he thinking, going in alone?'

Confusion shone in her eyes. The recent clash had clearly demonstrated that these magicians were on a different level compared to the ones they had previously encountered at the entrance.

She couldn't understand why Zion had willingly thrown himself into the midst of these battle-hardened magicians. Even considering his remarkable growth recently, it seemed like a reckless, even suicidal, action.

"Bring him down!"

In response, the combat magicians swarmed, and Zion's figure disappeared amongst them.

"Dodge!"

Unable to reach him in time, Celia grimaced and shouted out a warning.

"Frenzy."

A soft voice resonated across the battlefield, reaching every combatant, including Celia.

"It seems you're the ones being reckless."

They were unaware that Zion had orchestrated this very situation.

The protective wall created by the combat magicians around Zion exploded violently. An eerily chilling black light erupted from within, radiating an unsettling aura that sent shivers down the spines of those who merely witnessed it.

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