“Your Highness! Where are you headed right now?” Nathan shouted as he fled from Duke Garcia’s troops.

    The direction seemed wrong, no matter how he looked at it.

    “This path leads to the castle walls! It’s dangerous!”

    It couldn’t be helped.

    When Ian invaded Duke Garcia’s territory, he used a black dragon.

    However, archers with keen eyes were stationed on the castle walls.

    No matter how powerful the dragon was, it would be shot down by arrows before reaching that point.

    But Ian smiled.

    “We just need to keep them occupied a little longer.”

    “What? Keep them occupied?”

    “We’re almost there. Just hold on a bit longer.”

    At that moment, with Duke Garcia and his troops fully out of the castle, Ian shouted, “Now!”

    Ian raised his hand.

    Instantly, the black dragon tattoo on his back seemed to come alive, writhing as if it were breathing.

    Then, a massive black dragon soared into the sky.

    “Get on!”

    “Wait! I can’t get on just yet... Your Highness!”

    As Ian shouted and clung to the dragon’s back, the knights hastily scrambled to mount it. Nathan, a bit slower, managed to grab onto the dragon’s tail just in time.

    The black dragon began flying over the heads of Duke Garcia’s troops, not towards the castle walls.

    Startled, Nathan shouted at Ian, “Your Highness! This is going too far! It’s like a suicide mission!”

    Was Ian mad to charge towards Duke Garcia at this moment?

    ‘This handsome knight Nathan’s life may just end here.’

    To their surprise, the black dragon simply brushed past Duke Garcia’s troops.

    The archers below stood in dumbfounded shock, their expressions revealing their astonishment as the dragon, which they expected to attack them, flew by. RaΝo?E?s

    At that moment, Ian yelled, “Hold on tight! We’re about to crash!”

    “What? Crash? Why all of a sudden?”

    Nathan had no time to be surprised.

    The dragon carrying them was diving straight towards Duke Garcia’s castle.

    In an instant, the enormous dragon crashed into the highest chamber of the castle.

    Bang!

    Upon impact, Ian and the knights were thrown off the dragon.

    The dragon let out a pained roar.

    Roarrr!

    The sound conveyed pain just by listening to it.

    Ian, unfazed by the dragon’s suffering, surveyed his surroundings with cold eyes.

    ‘Good. We’ve arrived at the Duke’s office.’

    This was Duke Garcia’s office, the highest room in the castle.

    Without dwelling on memories from his past life, Ian raised his hand.

    “Well done. Rest until I call for you again.”

    Roar...

    In an instant, the massive dragon reverted to its tattoo form and vanished.

    Ian swiftly gave orders.

    “From now on, it’s a race against time. Sir Nathan! Quickly subdue anyone inside the castle and block the doors.”

    “What? We won’t be able to hold them off for long.”

    “It doesn’t matter. Just delay them as much as you can!”

    Observing the Duke’s troops charging back towards the castle, Nathan realized there was no time for further discussion.

    With determination, Nathan raised his sword.

    “I’m not sure what you’re after, but... we’ll stall them for as long as possible.”

    With those words, Nathan and the knights rushed out.

    Meanwhile, Ian began searching the Duke’s office.

    And then he found it.

    “This is it.”

    He pulled on the arm of a statue in the corner of the room.

    A rough mechanical sound echoed throughout the space.

    Krrrk!

    Soon, a hidden room appeared from one side of the office.

    But it was a strange sight indeed.

    A secret room filled with numerous buttons and machines.

    The crystal balls were covered in dust, as if they hadn’t been used in a long time.

    Yet, Ian couldn’t help but smile.

    “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

    It was a place he had only visited once in his past life.

    He had been able to see it only when Nathan and the Third Prince cornered Duke Garcia.

    He knew more than anyone how powerful this room was.

    Just then, Nathan’s voice crackled through the crystal ball in Ian’s hands.

    “Your Highness! You must evacuate! The castle gates will soon be breached!”

    The enemy’s attack seemed to be more formidable than expected.

    Well, considering the White Hawk Knight Commander that Duke Garcia had, it was only natural to be worried.

    With no time for further dialogue, Ian swiftly retrieved an object from his belongings and inserted it into the device before him.

    Then,

    Whummm!

    With a rough sound, the machine began to operate.

    Light came from the crystal balls, illuminating the outside.

    And Ian could see.

    ‘There you are.’

    ‘That knight commander is stronger than I thought.’

    No matter what oath he had taken, to withstand such firepower was impressive.

    Ian’s plan to force Duke Garcia to use his magical artifact had gone awry.

    But that didn’t matter.

    ‘With the castle under our control, they are vulnerable to attacks from within and without.’

    As Ian watched outside with cold eyes, Nathan asked, genuinely curious.

    “Your Highness, may I ask a question?”

    “Of course.”

    “How did you know the defensive system within Duke Garcia’s castle and, more importantly, how are you able to operate it?”

    It was only natural that not just Nathan, but everyone present turned their attention to Ian.

    They were all likely just as curious.

    To the knights, the devices that activated the Duke’s defenses and the crystal balls showing the outside appeared overwhelmingly complex.

    On top of that, there were countless buttons.

    They were all curious about how Ian was able to operate these mechanisms.

    ‘How is he manipulating these mechanisms with such familiarity?’

    ‘Has he memorized the functions of each button to utilize them all effectively?’

    In truth, Ian was using the devices quite naturally.

    Yet, he spoke as if it were no big deal.

    “Isn’t it a well-known fact that Lavaltor and Garcia’s castle have been around since ancient times? I did some studying.”

    “You studied how to use ancient devices?”

    “I found a book in the royal library.”

    “Really?”

    However, the knights couldn’t easily believe this.

    They exchanged glances that suggested only the Duke himself could operate the devices in Garcia’s castle.

    Ian couldn’t help but smile slightly.

    “Don’t you remember when we raided Ceres’s secret space? It was written in that guy’s book.”

    Of course, this was a lie.

    Ian had memories from his previous life of watching how Duke Garcia utilized these devices.

    He had clearly seen how Duke Garcia had made use of them when cornered by Nathan and the Third Prince.

    But he couldn’t explain everything down to that level of detail.

    “Besides, I also heard about it from Heinley. It seems he wanted to become a Duke quite badly.”

    “Huh... But still... there must have been some kind of security system in a facility like this, right?”

    Instead of responding, Ian placed his hand on a golden badge embedded in front of him.

    The strangely glowing badge looked familiar to Nathan as well.

    “Do you not recognize this badge?”

    “That... could it be...”

    “It’s the golden badge once owned by Karan. It holds the highest-level authorization code for the House of Garcia.”

    “!”

    It was the badge that allowed one to receive unlimited support from the House of Garcia.

    Originally, Garcia had entrusted it to Ian with the intention of giving it to him when the time was right.

    Ian hadn’t received it, so Karan had it, but he had already taken it from him.

    ‘To be exact, I took it the moment Duke Garcia was imprisoned.’

    But the Duke would not have known that Ian possessed this badge.

    Nor would he have known that Ian used it to activate the defense mechanisms.

    ‘I was glad I paid close attention in my previous life.’

    There were two items needed to use the devices: Duke Garcia’s seal and this badge.

    Although he hadn’t anticipated that a battle would break out, the preparations he had made for a day like this had come to fruition.

    ‘Of course, if I were to explain the detailed plan, it would mean revealing the secret of my past life...’

    But he still couldn’t disclose it to anyone.

    That was a secret known only to Ian.

    And he needed to keep that secret to outsmart not just Duke Garcia but also the First Prince.

    So, without showing any sign of hesitation, Ian pointed to the badge.

    “Anyway, with this, you can activate the second-level defense mechanism.”

    “Second level?”

    “What you just saw was the third level. This is the second level.”

    Ian skillfully manipulated the machine.

    As he pressed a button, the gun turret retracted, and the spikes that had protruded from the castle walls began to glow sharper.

    It looked like a hedgehog intended to prevent enemies from approaching.

    “From now on, unless they bring siege weapons, no one will be able to enter this castle.”

    The only issue was the food supply.

    The longer they held out, the more dangerous it would become for Duke Garcia.

    Just then, a shout interrupted his thoughts.

    “Your Highness! The storeroom of the castle is full of food!”

    “It seems that some food was moved here due to a fire.”

    Not only Nathan but others who had come along were delivering good news.

    Ian smiled and commanded,

    “Let’s not use the supplies we brought. Instead, let’s consume the Duke’s stockpile.”

    If there was food here, it meant there was none outside.

    It looked like the plan was progressing even faster than anticipated.

    Ian quickly issued the next command.

    “Swiftly dispatch a signal to the royal forces. Inform them that this place has been seized in the name of the Seventh Prince, Ian.”

    Without food, Duke Garcia wouldn’t last more than a few days.

    Naturally, this would allow for a bloodless entry.

    Ian couldn’t help but smile.