Chapter 177
“Your Majesty, we have eliminated all the assassins who landed on the ground. Three of them have been captured alive.”
“Is there no way to capture those wyverns immediately?”
“…My apologies, but it would be difficult for us alone.”
Hearing the knight’s remorseful response, Kazhan simply nodded. He agreed with the assessment, so he saw no reason to reprimand them.
His gaze, cold and calculating, fixed on the five wyverns soaring high above, each carrying an archer on its back. Though their numbers were small, they had inflicted the most injuries and casualties so far. The iron-tipped crossbow bolts they rained down with destructive force were proving to be a major headache.
Normally, wyverns were best dealt with when they descended to snatch their prey. However, since they were being used purely as a means of transport, there was no opportunity to strike.
This was precisely why Uzephia’s wyvern knight order was feared. Wyverns could only be countered with magic, siege weapons, or an equally mobile aerial force—none of which were at their disposal at the moment.
That made one thing all the more puzzling.
“How did they manage to tame wyverns?”
Kazhan frowned as he murmured to himself. Everyone knew that wyvern-mounted forces were a formidable advantage, but the only nation capable of actually utilizing them was the Uzephia Empire.
After all, wyverns were monsters.
They couldn’t be domesticated by ordinary means. Uzephia had always controlled them using a highly specialized method, making this situation inexplicable.
And it wasn’t a matter of their training techniques leaking. Even if someone learned of their methods, they wouldn’t be able to replicate them. The key ingredient required for taming wyverns was provided in minuscule amounts by the Uzephian imperial family alone.
Even the handlers in charge of wyvern breeding and training didn’t know what that ingredient was.
To put it bluntly, it was the blood of the royal family.
More specifically, the blood of a Tennilath who had awakened their bloodline ability.
Of course, Kazhan himself didn’t provide his own blood every time.
Whenever new wyvern eggs were brought in, a small amount of ancestral blood stored in the imperial treasury was used as a base for a special potion.
The potion’s effects only worked when the hatchlings first emerged, binding them to their designated rider at that critical moment.
“The wyvern knights wouldn’t betray me…”
Kazhan briefly entertained the possibility that some members of the wyvern knight order had defected.
But that was nearly impossible.
Given how powerful wyverns were, the imperial family rigorously screened their riders before granting them their mounts. They also ensured that each knight had a weakness that could be exploited if necessary.
For those whose loyalty couldn’t be guaranteed, a blood pact was even enforced.
With such thorough measures in place, the idea of a wyvern knight betraying the empire seemed unthinkable.
“…No, it’s not entirely impossible.”
Kazhan’s eyes narrowed.
The previous generation, before he ascended the throne, had lacked the means to enforce blood pacts. It was entirely possible that some knights had escaped in that era.
Especially given how the former emperor had driven Uzephia to ruin, it wouldn’t have been surprising if some had sought to rebel.
Even Kazhan himself had seized the throne through rebellion, backed by Duke Barilio.
So, could these enemies be those who harbored resentment toward the Tennilath bloodline itself?
Had the previous attack been an attempt to wipe out his lineage?
Crack!
“Argh!”
The sudden scream of another fallen soldier pulled Kazhan from his thoughts.
He ran a hand through his hair, setting aside his contemplation for now.
The priority was resolving the current situation—not determining where the wyverns had come from.
The real problem was that, with their current forces, they had no means of fighting back.
“Your Majesty, is there any wyvern knight nearby that we can summon?”
“No. Keeping them stationed here would have been a waste of resources.”
The greatest strength of the wyvern knight order lay in their unrestricted mobility.
Since the capital and palace were already well-protected, all available knights had been deployed on various missions, including hunting down dark mages.
Had he anticipated an airborne assault like this, he would have left some behind—but nothing like this had ever happened before.
It was an unprecedented situation, making it all the harder to counter.
“Then I’ll summon a mage.”
“No need. The one we need is arriving right now.”
Kazhan answered plainly, his gaze fixed in the distance.
A figure was rapidly approaching, effortlessly leaping over trees despite having his eyes covered.
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