Chapter 356

Invisible Enemy [Part 2]

The truth was Joanna wanted to abandon this plan if she could.

She knew that the Empire’s orders were absolute.

However,

Starting now, many people would die because of her orders.

The aim was the Royal Castle.

Considering the artillery’s accuracy, the shells would mercilessly rain down on the surrounding area.

The center of the Royal Capital would turn into a sea of fire, and Joanna could easily imagine how the people living there would run about helplessly under the rain of shells, trying to escape for dear life.

Killing people with magic shouldn’t have ever happened.

Joanna was always taught that her power should be used to protect people. And she had also been passing down that teaching to others too.

But now, that belief had…

No matter how vigorously she proclaimed and ordered her subordinates, deep down, she didn’t want to do this.

Joanna was a magician, but she was also a human.

They had entered an era where people would attack others to protect one’s people.

“Joanna-sama?”

Perhaps feeling uneasy and nervous, her subordinate’s face was very pale.

“Let’s go.”

The number of magicians in the Empire had increased thanks to the country gathering magicians from all over the world. But just as they had increased, the number of magic stones had also decreased accordingly.

Great progress has been made on magic tool research. But as it progressed, the number of magic stones also decreased accordingly.

Magic stones had the property to amplify and store magic. They were especially indispensable items for barrier magic.

Without magic stones, magicians would be reduced to an existence whose job was only to apply barrier magic continuously in the borderland until they were exhausted.

Humans couldn’t live without barriers.

“Ah? …huh? Huh…?”

“What’s wrong?”

Joanna’s subordinate froze in place after opening the door.

“No one’s here.”

“Huh?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Magicians were constantly accompanied by guards from the Imperial Army. It was actually more for surveillance than for protection purposes.

The Imperial Army kept a constant watch on magicians so that those who were bought and came from another country wouldn’t run away, and those born and raised in the Empire also wouldn’t escape from the harsh and demanding environment.

“This is the first time something like this happened.”

The subordinate still saw imposing soldiers stationed everywhere in front of the room when he went to get wine earlier.

Despite that, there was not a single one of those soldiers who should normally be present all the time in sight.

“Joanna-sama, let alone the soldiers, the sailors and other magicians are also gone… UMMPHH!”

*chop*

“Hey!”

The subordinate standing before Joanna suddenly fell on the floor.

He fell in a way like he had been pushed down by someone, but that someone wasn’t present.

“Huh? What on earth…?”

*chop*

After the subordinate, Joanna’s body also fell because of someone.

But, same like before, there was still no one in sight.

“H-Hey. W-Who goes there… UMMPHH!?”

No matter how she strained her eyes, no one was there.

Even though there was no one there, a thread silently and swiftly wrapped around Joanna’s body, and when she tried to shout, even her mouth was blocked by that thread.

“Hmmph! Hmmph!”

Even if she raised her voice, no one would come to save her.

With the thread coiling tightly around her body, she couldn’t move her body as she wanted to.

Then, just as Joanna heard a *shoom* sound, her vision got warped suddenly, and dizziness hit her, accompanied by a noisy buzzing sound ringing in her ears.

After a while, Joanna realized that she was being moved at high speed as the scenery changed drastically, but her body was tightly bound by the thread and couldn’t move even if she struggled.

The thread wrapped around her body looked like a very ordinary fine thread, but it wouldn’t loosen no matter what she did. She couldn’t sense any magic in the thread, and it didn’t seem to be magic either. But if it wasn’t magic, she only got even more confused about what it really was.

*chop*

“!”