Kuro no Maou 422

Battle Tower Pharos (Part 1)

Both his red hair and mantle flutter intensely on the devastating hot winds, but his muscular body doesn’t show the slightest sign of trembling. Standing above the castle walls with such presence is the 52nd King of Spada, Leonhart Tristan Spada…

“It’s the first time I see Pharos firing off something like that, but… this is ridiculous!”

… And his son, Crown Prince Eisenhart.

What they see is a dense black smoke that spouts into the air, revealing a red hot cross-section and the steel giants crumbling down. The same terrible gigantic ancient weapons that had terrorized the Spada soldiers had come crashing down to the snowy ground.

Briskly using his hand to comb back that red hair he had inherited from his father, Eisenhart turned around and saw that, in contrast with those golems, a pure white smoke was coming out of the four towers.

A little while ago, a scorching magical attack was fired from those towers, which had seriously damaged the golems.

The four towers that are located in the castle tower section of Galahad Fortress are formally known as “Battle Tower Pharos”.

The square castle tower section and its four smaller towers make a single building, all made in Spada-styled architecture. That kind of architecture doesn’t have any particular name, but it is still something special, as it has only been used when Galahad Fortress and the Spada Royal Castle were built. Just as the Crusaders brought their weapons known as ancient golems with them, Spada has their own ancient weapon.

And that weapon is Battle Tower Pharos. To put it simply, it’s a device that shoots a superheated beam from high up in the sky.

Though Model Magic alone cannot even analyze the ancient relic used in this fortress, anyone can understand just how much destructive power it has just by looking at the scene in front of their eyes. It has already been fifty years since Battle Tower Pharos was installed into the Galahad Fortress, but even now it still proudly serves as its most secret and powerful weapon.

Even now, this tremendous heat beam that has been brought back from ancient times seems to have reduced the signs of Spada’s giant enemies to ashes.

“Still, after one shot… half of them still remains…”

Breaking through the huge curtain of black smoke that cloaks the battlefield, an ancient golem still advances towards them, echoing with high pitched clanks and making gloomy machinery noises.

The Battle Tower Pharos has one shot per actual tower, for a total of four shots. However, there are some restrictions that make up for its sheer power.  It cannot fire in rapid succession, and what’s more, replenishing the amount of magic needed to perform the next shot now would take an entire day.

King Leonhart had made the quick decision to use all of his beloved Pharos’ power against the looming golem army.

Nobody can tell whether that decision was based on judgment or overly hasty, but the shot was still fired. All that’s left to do is find a way to defend against the five remaining golems’ threat.

“Man, I don’t want to have to jump on it and attack it head-on.”

Eisenhart’s ears are filled with the solemn echo of the drums, which can be heard even over the loud sound of golems’ footsteps. The unit ‘Braveheart’ led by King Leonhart marches on to battle, displaying a fearsome strength.

“Please wait, Your Highness! Don’t tell me you’re going too!”

A stern-faced middle-aged man with a prominent beard calls out to Eisenhart from the sides. Though he addresses him respectfully, he looks more like a belligerent warrior than a polite knight.

Indeed, his firm and manly build is covered with the red heavy equipment of the infantry, so he’s definitely a Spada soldier. Moreover, his armor and helmet is adorned with scarlet almandine garnet, which is only seen on the armor of the top of the elite of the ‘Braveheart’ unit, and the characteristic crest on his helmet is an authentic, genuine article.

As an added bonus, his right arm is completely covered in a shining golden gauntlet, which is proof that this man is one of the strongest of the glorious heavy infantry.

Nevertheless, how many people actually knows that such a helmet is hiding his long and narrow ears? Yes, this man is not a human, but an elf.

“I don’t really want to go, but I kind of have to, don’t I?”

“In that case, please take your humble servant Elwood as your companion.”

“No, you have to stay. You are the Vice-Commander, after all.”

“Your Highness, aren’t you the commander appointed by His Majesty to lead the fourth unit, ‘Gladiator’?”

Originally, Prince Eisenhart belonged to the first unit, ‘Braveheart’. Soon after, he served the military as Vice-Commander after his father Leonhart.

However, when the Fifth War of Galahad stated, Leonhart appointed him to the fourth unit, ‘Gladiator’. His reason for doing this was that he thought that his son would get experience better that way. Eisenhart didn’t consent to that, but one cannot simply dispute a king’s decision.

Then again, even if he were to disappear, Sir Galbraith — the previous Vice-Commander– would be reinstated, so the unit’s command would not be in disarray. So that kind of reassignment wasn’t that unreasonable. Certainly, leading the fourth unit, which would be a group of mercenaries, would be quite the experience. It was a bit of a sudden decision, but definitely not an unreasonable one.

That is how Prince Eisenhart became Commander of the fourth unit. In order to assist him, the Spada Knight Elwood, who had long served the military as the commander of a thousand men in the first unit, was appointed as Vice-Commander of the fourth unit as well.

“Well, well, isn’t that beautiful daughter of yours, who works at the guild’s headquarters’ front desk, waiting for you back in Spada? Don’t be doing anything reckless now!”

“Hmm? How do you know my daughter so well? Could it be that Your Highness is interested in her as well…?”

A thin line of sweat appeared on the half-hurried and half-shocked Eisenhart’s forehead as he answered the rebellious Elwood’s risky remark.

“No, I’ve told you already. It’s just something I heard before. You’ve asked me three times already, and you had been drinking every time!”

“Ah, I’m sorry! It seems I do nothing but boast about my daughter whenever I drink!”

That is something that all members of ‘Braveheart’ know too well, to the point of being almost unpleasant.

Thinking “You’re the only person in Spada who can make King Leonhart hear the constant boasting about your daughter”, Prince Eisenhart stares scornfully at Elwood, who brashly answers with a hearty “Wahahah!”

“But seriously, I’ll be okay going on my own. After all, Father rushed on by himself, so it is my duty to back him up.”

It can be clearly seen that former Vice-Commander Sir Galbraith will be appointed to the heavy infantry unit, ‘Braveheart’. At the Fourth War of Galahad, during the battle between King Leonhart and King Garvinal, the one leading the troops was none other than him. Just as one would expect from one of the Four Great Noble Houses of Spada. His fine job was worthy of his title.