Bermuda [bl]

As the barrier collapsed on one side, one of the members standing in two rows on the right, who was close to the citizens, also fell over. The member in the back row was also pushed and nearly fell, but nearby members managed to grab his arm tightly, preventing him from falling.

However, the real problem was something else. As the barrier collapsed, a small space was temporarily created in that area, and someone took advantage of the confusion to throw a glass bottle.

"Ah, ah-!"

"Please don't come close!"

The glass bottle flew at high speed towards the iron cage, passing between the people pushing and the members resisting. Seeing this, Hugo swiftly extended his arm and caught it right in front of the iron cage, then fiercely glared in the direction the bottle had come from.

The people nearby flinched at his chilling gaze and looked around for a moment. Then, another glass bottle flew in from the crowd, and a member reflexively struck it away.

The deflected bottle shattered in midair, scattering shards in all directions.

"Aaah!"

As sharp pieces fell overhead, the people nearby screamed. At the same time, the shards must have hit the horse in front of the iron cage, as one of them suddenly neighed and cried out in fright.

This caused the other horses connected to it to also become agitated and start thrashing about. Andreas shouted with a startled expression.

"What the, why are they suddenly acting like this!"

"Commander, I think the horses were startled!"

One of the elite members tried to calm the horse, but it wouldn't cooperate and kicked and struggled.

That was the beginning. As if that movement felt like a whip to the other horses, the excited ones suddenly increased their speed and started running.

Flynn, who was holding the reins, momentarily lost his grip due to the fast-running horse, then quickly leaped up and mounted the leading horse to try to calm it. He then turned around and shouted to Hugo.

"Commander!"

As the horses gradually picked up speed and ran wildly, the connected iron cage rattled and shook violently. The members in charge of the escort also flew up and surrounded the iron cage, flying at the speed of the horses.

Hugo also closely followed behind and urgently shouted to the elite members surrounding the area.

"Cut the links connecting the horses!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the 4th Battalion's elite members drew his sword and struck the links connecting the horses and the iron cage with all his might. Another member also struck the opposite side with his sword. The links were instantly severed, and the excited horses charged straight ahead.

Concerned that the charging horses might injure the citizens, Hugo looked at Flynn, who was clinging tightly to the horse, and said,

"Flynn, take the horses and go straight to the headquarters!"

"Yes, understood!"

Despite the urgent situation, Flynn answered resolutely, firmly grasping the reins of the running horse and struggling to sit up. As he managed to regain his balance and steer the horse forward, Hugo immediately turned his eyes toward the iron cage.

The links with the horses were severed, but the accelerated iron wheels were still rolling rapidly.

Without a moment to spare, Hugo immediately sped up and flew in front of the direction the iron cage was rolling. He then gathered cold energy in his hands and grabbed the approaching iron cage, gradually applying force in the opposite direction to prevent it from gaining speed.

As he touched the iron cage, the ice rapidly vaporized upon contact with the high temperature, making a sharp hissing sound. At the same time, steam rose all around, obscuring the view.

Thud!

Amidst the chaos, a suspicious sound of something colliding inside was heard, and Hugo felt an increasingly ominous premonition.

As he was struggling to stop the massive chunk of metal head-on, an intense green light rose from the ground and rapidly expanded its range. It was Andreas, who had placed his hand on the ground and deployed a magic circle.

In the area where the green magic circle spread, thick tree roots began to sprout through the fine cracks of the shattered ground. The roots quickly intertwined, forming a sturdy net, and Andreas controlled it to instantly wrap around the rolling iron wheels.

At that moment, the wheels entangled in the roots abruptly stopped rotating, and the iron cage shook violently from the impact. As the situation looked precarious, the elite members of the 4th Battalion rushed to the front of the iron cage to assist Hugo, but he urgently stopped them with clenched teeth.

"Don't touch the iron cage. Help Andreas from behind!"

"Yes, sir!"

The 4th Battalion members immediately changed direction and went behind the iron cage, grabbing the rough tree roots created by Andreas and pulling them back with all their strength. This increased the friction between the wheels and the ground, producing an ear-splitting sound, and people covered their ears with pained expressions.

Screech!

Even Hugo, who was holding the bars and trying to minimize the impact, frowned at the sharp, nerve-grating sound. As he tried to endure it somehow, lowering his head, his eyes suddenly flashed sharply as he looked down.

The tree roots from Andreas and the assistance of the elite members seemed to be quite effective, as the things flashing before his eyes were gradually slowing down.

Sensing the significantly reduced speed, Hugo waited for an opportunity, then planted his feet on the ground and pushed the iron cage in the opposite direction with all his might. Friction occurred where his feet touched, and smoke instantly engulfed the area, and the ground, unable to withstand the pressure, was pushed back and dug deep.

Hugo's two legs that had been resisting were buried in it, and the iron cage that had been tilting to one side due to the tree roots made a loud noise, rattling and finally coming to an abrupt halt.

The fervent cheers disappeared without a trace, and only murmurs were heard all around.

The square path where the procession had passed was in a mess, with the stone pavement shattered and the soil exposed. At the same time, dust rose in a disorderly manner, indicating that there had been a great commotion on the path they had traversed.

Hugo, who had been holding his breath for a long time, exhaled briefly and looked at his palm, where cold steam was rising, as he caught his breath for a moment.

Even though he had worn the Council's durable white gloves and wrapped ice around his hands before touching the iron cage, the gloves were burned, and the exposed skin underneath felt hot as if it had suffered a slight burn. The tree roots that Andreas had wrapped around the iron wheels also had their surface burning and snapping, falling to the ground.

Hugo quietly stared at the embers for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and raised his head to examine the condition of the magic stones and sealing devices surrounding the iron cage.

Soon, his face gradually stiffened. Before long, a brief sigh escaped his lips.

"Oh no..."

The sealing devices wrapped around the surface of the iron cage had shifted significantly from their original positions due to the impact of the shaking. Andreas, who had also flown to Hugo's side, examined the situation and noticed his stiff expression, asking,

"What's wrong? Isn't it fine as long as it stops?"

"The seals have been disrupted."

"What?"

The energy felt from close proximity was unusual. Hugo narrowed his brows and spoke to Andreas without taking his eyes off the iron cage.

"Evacuate the citizens immediately."

It was true that the seals had been slightly disrupted by the recent impact, but the sealing stones before their eyes were no child's play. Literally, even a dragon wouldn't be able to move a finger with this level of restraint. Andreas, who couldn't understand why Hugo was speaking with such a serious expression, simply stared blankly.

And then...

reak! Creak, creak!

The iron cage began to shake more violently than before, making even louder sounds. As Andreas flinched and turned his head, an eerie, surging energy faintly flowed out from inside, brushing against his skin.

However, before he could properly feel it, Hugo shouted at Andreas again in a fierce tone.

"Hurry!"

At Hugo's voice, Andreas seemed to sense the gravity of the situation, nodded, and instructed his subordinates.

"Evacuate all the citizens and set up barriers in all directions. This is an emergency situation!"

"Yes, understood!"

The elite members of the 4th Battalion immediately dispersed and deployed stronger barriers than the regular members, securing a wide space centered around the iron cage. Seeing this, the other members also drove away the nearby citizens, making them move far away from the scene.

"This is an emergency situation! Everyone, please step back!"

Amidst the serious atmosphere, at the mention of an emergency situation, the onlookers suddenly started screaming and hurriedly backing away.

Even those who had been rushing at Leonardo with the intention of killing him until just now felt the unusual atmosphere and hastily turned around and fled, prioritizing their own lives.

They were in a state of panic, as if the lion they had been watching had escaped from its cage. In the midst of this, citizens collided with each other and fell, causing injuries, and the square that had been resounding with a united voice was filled with chaotic screams, turning into a scene of pandemonium.

Hugo pushed Andreas back, sensing a different flow of energy from the iron cage, and he himself also moved away from it. Then, he chanted in a low and chilling voice.

"Ice Wall."

As he recited the spell, a huge blue magic circle spread instantly on the vast ground, emitting light. As an ice wall rose high, splitting the ground above the massive magic circle illuminating their feet, people who had been running away stopped and cried out in amazement.

Hugo and Andreas simultaneously flew up to the top of the ice wall. Perhaps due to the towering ice that cast a shadow over the square, a cool breeze circulated around the square, which had been warm.

Since it was rare to see magic of this scale in the Imperial Capital, people thought they would be safe and shouted cheers again, opening their mouths and looking up at it.

However, Andreas, who had been worried about the aftermath while using tree roots from the ground and seeing the ground being torn apart, was astonished as he looked down at Hugo's majestic ice wall that had split the ground in the middle of the Imperial Capital.

"Hey, Commander. Is this okay? This is the Imperial Capital. Do we need to go this far?"

"This far, you say?"

Hugo looked at Andreas and gave a hollow laugh.

"Andre, you're underestimating the guy."

* * *

When the iron cage had finally reached the gate of the Imperial Capital after a long journey, Leonardo, who was confined inside, was lying flat on his back with his arms, legs, and neck all restrained.

What bound him were restraints made of magic stones, which wrapped around every joint of Leonardo's body, firmly securing him to the bottom of the iron cage.

The iron bars also had properties that weakened the flow of mana, suitable for confining powerful monsters, and the outside of the bars was also tightly wrapped in a black tarp that blocked light and sound to some extent, fixed with various magic stone nets and sealing stones.

In short, he was in a state where he couldn't even move a finger, with his entire body crushed by the suppressive energy.

However, even in that situation, Leonardo, who was extremely angry, emitted heat from his body to the point where the iron cage became scorching hot. If the place confining him hadn't used special materials, it would have melted away long ago due to the heat.

Until now, with his eyes and ears covered and a gag in his mouth, he had been estimating where he was solely based on the shaking transmitted through the floor and the faint sounds.

However, the moment the slowly moving iron cage passed through the teleportation zone of the final gate...

He realized, not with his five senses but with his instincts, that he had entered the Imperial Capital, which he so despised.

A feeling of blood surging backward from deep within his body and his internal organs twisting as if in anger was felt. As the stimulating cheers and condemnation directed at him penetrated his covered ears from all directions, each and every one of his cells was engulfed in fierce flames, boiling.

'I dedicated my everything to the empire.'

It felt as if his entire body was burning hot. Just like that morning when all the sins were placed upon his body, it felt like falling into an endless abyss.

'The fact that you bastards can live comfortably in this Imperial Capital right now is all thanks to me.'

He trembled with anger at the ignorant humans. He felt resentful and enraged at the public's ignorance.

'Just die.'

'Why did you come back alive?'

Various hallucinations whispered in Leonardo's ears. His body twisted at the maddening whispers. At the same time, the sound of people's cheers echoing from outside pierced his heart and brain as if rejoicing in his defeat.

Was a single act of disobedience such a heavy sin that he had to be told to die by the people he had risked his life to protect?

Why were they cheering so much, why were they resenting so much, and why were they hating so much?

'Murderer bastard.'

Leonardo's breathing became labored. The sounds ringing in his ears caused his head to ache intensely as if being pierced by an awl. Although his eyes were covered and he couldn't see anything, it felt as if hands reaching out towards him were lurking before his eyes.

Everything was futile.

Reminiscing about past glory, resenting those who knew nothing, and being hurt by their words were all futile acts.

But why did the world keep dragging him, who was trying to endure, back into the midst of everything he wanted to shake off? Why did it make him suffer this humiliation? Why was it so eager to tear apart his flesh? He couldn't understand at all.

At that moment, while Leonardo was fighting against the hatred suffocating him, the iron cage suddenly shook roughly with a thud, and the impacts coming from the ground seemed to gradually increase. Following that, the fierce cries of excited horses pierced his ears sharply like an ominous omen.

Soon, the shaking iron cage quickly gained speed, moving fast enough to be felt even from the inside, and the urgent voices of the Council members could be heard from the surroundings.

The hallucinations whispering in his ears were fading away, and his mind was gradually becoming clearer.

Even though his entire body was restrained, Leonardo, who had opened his eyes in the darkness, sensed Hugo's mana seeping in from the blocked exterior with his skin. The fact that he was emitting mana to the extent that it could be felt beyond this iron cage, even in the Imperial Capital, meant that there was definitely a problem.

As the iron cage swayed and the frequency of impacts increased, the force restraining his body gradually loosened.

At that moment, Leonardo instinctively knew that an opportunity had come to him.