At that moment, General Kaijelu, retreating with the Star-Seers and guards clustered around him, wasn't surprised in the least. If anything, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief, like the second shoe had finally dropped.
...So it really was a trap! That meant all the preparations I'd made hadn't been for nothing!
But why? What were they trying to do?
Take me hostage? Use me to force the entire fortress to lay down its weapons?
Come on, what proper army would lay down its weapons just because its commander had been taken hostage? Even a personal guard made up of trusted retainers and family servants wouldn't do something so stupid.
That unmentionable demonic dragon couldn't really believe such a clumsy Trojan Horse trick would let it take my fortress, could it?
Even if His Highness King Slien hadn't switched sides, they still wouldn't have had the slightest chance of succeeding.
General Kaijelu couldn't help glancing again at the young prince dangling from the old knight's grip, and felt deeply impressed. Honestly, what more could you ask of an underage girl who showed such extraordinary courage and resolve?
The House of Slien certainly had a bright future ahead of it!
"Open fire! Blow up my ship! And Miss Fina Li is on board, so make sure you capture her!"
Perhaps because she had finally reached safety and felt protected, the princess-elect spoke in a remarkably loud voice—so loud she hardly sounded like a girl. Beneath her clear tone, there was also a faint note of unwavering resolve.
The soldiers seemed to sense her determination and instinctively raised their weapons. Combat robots emerged from their hiding places, and even the two turrets beside the harbor gate, which had been facing out toward space, turned back around.
But come to think of it,