Even though Castor knew the structure of the castle, it was not an easy task to go inside it.
In the past, the castle was the centre of the kingdom of Styria, but now it is overrun by the kingdom of Lebla. The castle was constantly being patrolled by Lebla soldiers.
The ninja, Fūma Kotarō, had the means to hide himself by melting into the darkness, but only him could hide himself. However, he was not able to hide Castor.
“Haa …… haa ……”
“Are you all right, my lord?”
“Oh …… no problem.”
In addition to the fact that, as a result of the negative effects of activating the Heroic Summoning, Castor’s physical and mental strength is greatly depleted. It was quite a challenge to navigate through enemy territory with nerves on edge to avoid being spotted by the Revra soldiers.
If Kotarō hadn’t taken the route to dodge the patrolling enemy soldiers ahead of him, Castor would have been captured immediately.
“My lord, would you like to take a little rest?”
“No……there is no time for that. We must hurry to escape.”
Sooner or later, the Revra soldiers would notice that the guard in front of the prison stairs had disappeared. Castor’s escape would be exposed and he would soon be pursued by the enemy soldiers. There was no time for a break.
“…… The hidden passage is just around the corner. The well in the courtyard there, that’s the entrance.”
He walked cautiously down the corridor and opened the door to the outside slightly to look out. Outside the door was the courtyard of the castle, where a small garden had been created.
The well in the corner of the garden was the entrance to a hidden passage used by the royal family to escape in case of emergency.
But–
“That …… looks like an enemy.”
“…… It looks like soldiers are camped out there. They don’t seem to be guarding the well, though.”
In the courtyard there were several tents put up and the Revra soldiers were present.
It seems that they are letting some of the soldiers who cannot enter the castle sleep in this place. They don’t seem to know about the hidden passages, but in any case, the enemy soldiers are in the way.
“Damn. There’s no way we’re going to be able to hide through all these soldiers. I don’t know what to do……”
Castor peers out from behind the door and mutters to himself.
To get out of the hidden passage, they have to pass through the courtyard where the Lebla soldiers are.
Most of the soldiers seemed to be asleep in their tents, but a few of them seemed to be out of their tents, building fires and cooking meals.
There were more than ten soldiers outside alone. If you include the soldiers resting in their tents, there must be around a hundred of them.
“A man can go unnoticed by them, but it would be impossible to assassinate them all without being noticed. If we use the passage of the well, we shall have to fight them.”
Kotarō says in a calm tone.
He can either fight the Lebla soldiers to use the hidden passage or head for other escape routes such as the castle gate.
If he chooses the latter, he knows for sure that there will be soldiers posted there to guard. Either way, an encounter with the enemy was inevitable.
Castor made a quick decision.
“We’ll use the……hidden passage. We’ll fight them here.”
If he has to fight anyway, it is better to deal with the enemy right in front of him. If he is not careful, they will know that Castor has escaped.
Although he didn’t see it with his own eyes, he’s sure that the gates are more heavily guarded, as they have to guard against attacks by the remnants of the Styria side.
The soldiers in the courtyard, on their guard, must be easier to defeat.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Kotarō nodded at Castor’s decision.
“Then I will hide myself and cut off the heads of the enemies to reduce their numbers. While the opponent is confused, my lord goes to the well ……”
–And as Kotarō spoke, a high-pitched whistle sounded, cutting through the night. This is the sound of a whistle that tells the other soldiers that something is wrong.
“Not good! The enemy knows we’re here!”
Castor’s expression twisted.
It seems that his escape from prison has been discovered. Hearing the sound of the whistle, soldiers emerge one after another from the tent in the courtyard.
“We’re forcing our way through! Follow me my lord!”
There is no more time to think. Before Castor could give the order, Kotarō moved.
With his dagger in his hand, Kotaro kicked open the door to the courtyard and ran out into the orange light of the bonfire.