Chapter 434 Operation Rescue Princess

Chapter 434 Operation Rescue Princess

As the King had planned, we would be attacking the demons' lair one day before the supposed end date since the King still needed some time to gather their forces.

According to Mother's sources, in order for the demons to use the princess to call more demons, they need to set up some kind of ritual which would take them three days to prepare.

I'm not sure how she came upon this information but here we are, hiding behind some bushes overlooking a building in the middle of a clearing.

It seems like this place used to belong to some noble who abandoned it after building a bigger house for themselves. The place ended up being eroded away and some bandits even used this place as their base a few times before they were driven out.

Now it seems like it's being used as the hidden base of that demon cult.

Of course I insisted that I be part of the team that goes in to save Tiara, I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste!

What opportunity you may ask? Of course to gather all those Demonic Cores from these demons! They've now become part of my trump card so naturally I would like more of them!

"Are you sure that this is the place?" I asked, looking at the decrepit looking manor house in front of us.

"We are sure, Mistress. This is indeed their hideout," Katsuki assured me.

Odeta stood up and cracked her knuckles, "Alright, then what are we waiting for?! Let's charge in!!"

Katsuki pulled the Amrap back down, "Quiet. We are not meant to be the main force. Our informants did say that while the ritual is supposed to take place tomorrow, they might still be able to trigger an incomplete one before the time is here so we still need to be careful. The Royal Knights and the Mercenaries will be attacking from the front while we shall sneak in from the back and locate the princess and the other nobles who were taken."

"Bahhh!! Then I should be with the people attacking the front! Why am I here?!"

Katsuki gave Odeta a look, "So you're saying you would leave Mistress behind?"

"Hmph!! Of course not! If I were to make even more noise at the front, Sister Aster wouldn't need to face as many enemies when sneaking in!"

"Ok, ok... No need to fight... I'd prefer it if you remained with me, Odeta, is that alright?" I interjected.

"Wahaha! Since Sister Aster is the one asking, of course it's alright! I will protect you from those pesky demons!"

"Ehehe~ I'll be depending on you~"

I can't help it, ok? She's so cute when she's so serious~

Katsuki spoke up, "Mistress, I believe the attack will be starting soon."

I nodded before looking back at the small 'hit squad' that I was given for this mission.

Aside from several maids including Rita, Fia, Tracey and even Ulyia, there was one unexpected person who showed up for this.

"Your Majesty... Are you sure it's alright for you to be here?" I asked.

The King herself smiled at me, "You don't expect me to just wait at home when this concerns my little Princess, do you? Worry not, Aster, I am a capable enough fighter, I shall not slow you down."

Just saying... I tried to use [Screened] on the King before but her stats showed up as a bunch of question marks just like with Mother, so I have no idea what her stats are.

I guess they must have some kind of item that completely blocks that skill completely. Otherwise it might be a Unique Skill of theirs? Well I can't really ask them since that would be admitting that I tried to peek at their stats.

Oh well... I just hope I won't be held responsible if the King of this country ends up dying... Of course I'll still try to protect her if I can.

"It's starting," King Justinia muttered, right as a warcry came from a distance away.

From the side, a crowd of fully armoured knights was leading the charge towards the building. Behind them were various parties of Mercenaries who have split up into multiple groups to cover the knights' advance.

There was a shriek coming from the manor house and the doors burst open to allow several demons to flood out from within, crimson flames shooting out from their palms.

I noted that following the demons were a bunch of imp like creatures and also deformed monsters that looked like they came out from some kind of freak show.

I'm guessing that those might be the subordinates or servants of those demons. At least I can be assured that there were only a handful of the demons right now, otherwise it would be quite a disaster.

The two sides clashed and the chaotic melee between them began.

Katsuki tugged on my sleeve, "Mistress, this way."

I followed behind the maids that were sneaking through the undergrowth to reach the back of the manor, ignoring the fighting that was going on at the front of the building.

There was a stretch of open ground that we had to run through to get to the back door but thankfully everyone was too distracted in the fight that no one noticed us.

Getting through the door was no problem seeing that the door was practically just hanging on by a single hinge too.

Ulyia took point and pushed open the door carefully, the Amrap maid looking especially serious today.

Just like how they had snuck through the first cult's hideout, the maid's were very efficient as they formed squads to start clearing the manor room by room.

We even managed to catch a demon by surprise when we entered the main hall, the demon having been watching the battle from inside.

He tried to yell out a warning but Ulyia shoulder checked him into the wall before the other maids descended upon him and slaughtered said demon.

All I could say was? that they were really efficient in the slaughter.

Just as I was thinking this manor was a little too empty for it to be the demon's base, one of the maids came up to me and bowed.

"Young Mistress, we found a trapdoor behind the stairs. We suspect the main base is actually underground."

Ugh, typical... They even did the exact same thing as the first cult too... Except they didn't even bother to hide the entrance for this one.

With the King, Katsuki, Odeta and the rest of the maids accompanying me, we descended the trapdoor until we came to a place that looked like a dungeon.

Within the cells of the dungeon were various Mahuns that seemed to be unconscious and chained up to the walls. Judging by the expensive clothes they were wearing instead of prison rags, I think we have found the nobles that were kidnapped.

Unfortunately, a single Scarlet Fiend demon seemed to be guarding it and he stood up to snarl at us the moment we entered.

"Hmph, should have known that there would be some ants trying to crawl their way in here. Too bad for you but your journey ends here!"

"Aster, allow me. I'll take care of this vermin myself," King Justinia requested, stepping forward with her sword drawn.

Eh? Really? The King herself is going to fight the demon herself? Well who am I to argue anyway...

The demon sneered at Justinia, "Ha! Take care of me, you say? Who do you think you are?! I'll rip off your head and feast on your remains for that insult!"

The demon lunged towards the King but Justinia did not seem that worried.

She lowered herself into a combat stance with her sword held parallel to the ground and the hilt facing towards the demon.

The demon was almost upon her before the King disappeared from view to reappear behind the demon.

"[Sacred Slash]"

There was a moment of silence before the demon let out a croak, "Im... Impossible... You're... You're..."

Justinia turned back and thrusted her sword through the demon's chest, stabbing the blade through his body.

"That's right, it's King Justinia to you, demon."

As though on cue the bars of the jail cells were also cut apart, leaving them wide open while the demon started to burn.

I was expecting the fire to start healing the demon but it seemed to be originating from Justinia's sword and incinerating the Scarlet Fiend instead of healing him.

The demon spat on the ground, "Ha... Haha! You think you're so smart eh? Well guess what?! The ritual has already started! You're already too late! The moment we sensed your presence here, we had already gone ahead to use that little princess to call more of my brethren here! I'd think that little Mahun is already--"

He did not get to finish his words before the fire consumed him and burned him up into ashes.

Noooo... My Demonic Core... I wanted to harvest more...

The King glared at the demon's remains, "Rescue the survivors, hurry! Aster, forgive me but I shall be rushing ahead!"

Well I'm right behind you too. No way am I letting them get away with hurting Tiara! The maids should be able to take care of the prisoners without us anyway.

Let's go rescue that princess!