Episode 367
Episode 121. Tragedy in Rokshire (3)
As Yuma predicted, only nineteen survivors in Rokshire. At first, Yuma saved five knights from the Sorin family, four small and medium-sized nobles, and ten commoners.
With the exception of one Knight of Soringa and two commoners, the rest of them showed signs of extreme delirium after the accident.
It was difficult to hold on to one’s sanity, let alone testify about the situation at the time.
Because of this, the Soringa knights and commoners stood side by side on the witness stand.
It seemed to symbolize how meaningless high and low statuses are in the face of an unbearable disaster.
“Suddenly, something black flew from the sky. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I had seen it wrong, but at that moment, the building next to me collapsed, and within a few seconds… there were fires all over the place… “The knights of the Thoring family from the Rochshire estate, including me, were urgently
called together, but they were helpless. That Demon tribe wielded a huge ax high in the sky, and we lacked anti-aircraft countermeasures. He destroyed the first lord’s castle…
“No one could escape.
Since I live in a remote area, I tried to go outside the territory, but something like an invisible wall was blocking it.”
The testimony continued for several days, but there was nothing special about the accident.
However, judging from what a commoner witness described as an ‘invisible wall’, it was possible to infer that Halun set up a barrier in the city and started the massacre.
Barrier-free and only three hours. Inside, he completely destroyed Rochshire, and by the time Yuma arrived, the barrier had been lifted.
As soon as Yuma realized the existence of the barrier, he looked directly at the survivors.
Halun couldn’t have just put up a barrier to keep people from escaping. There was a high probability that he had set up a barrier ‘so that the summoned person would not escape’.
In other words, it meant that there was a possibility that the summoner was disguised as a survivor.
It was too painful for Yuma to do the confirmation work with the survivors as suspects.
However, the survivors were all normal human beings.
As they lived in a big city, their identity was clear, and no traces of black magic or summoning rituals came out even when all types of detection magic were used.
‘Then, it means that the person who summoned Halun has enough power or authority to ignore its barrier.’
That was Yuma’s conclusion. And as far as Yuma knew, the only person who could do that was Archmage Risol. Shiram’s ability is yet to be accurately identified.
A month has passed since the tragedy in Rochshire that shocked the entire Empire.
A special fact-finding unit was still searching the ruins of Rochshire. It was to find even the slightest clue about the underworld demons called ‘Halun’ and their summoners.
There were a lot of people sent to rebuild, but it was impossible to raise Rochshire again. It would have taken as long a time as the western region of the east.
Rochshire’s demise didn’t just end with hundreds of thousands of deaths being recorded.
The lives of those who have a business relationship with Rochshire, so to speak, or receive various daily necessities from Rochshire, are inevitably shaken.
A severe blow came to the economic situation of the entire empire. Traders whose goods were tied up were immediately endangered, and funds and manpower to fill the defense vacuum that Rochshire was in charge of were not springing from the sky.
In addition, fear spread rapidly throughout the empire.
There was a widespread perception that no land, not just Rochshire, was safe.
Fear was highly contagious.
And fear soon led to extreme inflation.
It was confirmed that essential items for survival, such as food, farming tools, winter clothing, and oil, were running out of anywhere in the market. Even though the price jumped more than ten times, there were more people who did not sell the goods at all.
A bigger problem was the fact that the opportunity to ‘buy’ such items was not equal.
First of all, the aristocrats hoarded most of the goods, and when wealthy commoners obtained the leftovers, it was not easy for the common people and the lower classes to even look around.
It was only for a moment that the dissatisfaction of the civilians who had been pushed out of the guarantee of survival reached an extreme. In the provinces, except for the capital and some large cities, the people of the country rioted every day.
All of these phenomena have now become the final homework for Empress Asuka Rose, who is about to succeed to the throne.
“your majesty! The riots of the commoners continue day by day! We must fight hard!”
“There are endless reports of raids on local nobles. The first garrison should be dispatched*••…
“How could the commoners who should have supported the great Roger and the nobles start a riot! Everyone should be strangled!”
While the aristocrats gathered in the palace conference hall had blood vessels around their necks, the empress looked down at them.
“okay. Is your opinion that all commoners who struggle to survive should be killed?”
“That’s…
“You incompetent bastards. Do you really think that’s the best thing to do and make fun of your snout?”
The nobles couldn’t answer, and the lady let out a deep sigh.
“Lord Duran. From today, search the warehouses of nobles and commoners throughout the empire and punish all those who hoard more than necessary. The level of punishment will be left to your discretion.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Even your Zach is no exception. Do you know?”
“Even if it’s my son, I’ll cut his throat if he’s doing that. I risk my honor.”
“And Baron Drake, come here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Let the owners of the large top tier, including you, know my intentions. For the time being, any kind of trade for profit is prohibited, and trade is allowed only for relief purposes.”
“I understand, Your Majesty. And I apologize… I also have a request I want to make to Your Majesty.”
“Ivosio, Baron Drake! What pleas do you make to His Majesty in this situation!”
“Get that guy out. Those who are willing to have a useless quarrel like that guy in this meeting room, go out now. If you don’t want your neck to drop. State your requirements, Baron Drake.”
The conference room was literally a slab of ice. Asuka Rosé looked sharper than ever. Soon, he would have to hand over the throne to his daughter.
Before the end of her self-proclaimed term, she wanted to lay at least a cornerstone to overcome the Rochshire crisis.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. In fact, my company is already conducting relief work by allying with other large companies. However, except for my corps, other places are experiencing great difficulties in transporting supplies due to the lack of escorts.”
“Are you talking about sending escorts to each guild for relief?”
“That’s right.”
“It makes sense. However, it was impossible for the imperial family to provide all of that many escort troops.
The request for troops to quell the riots has not been fully fulfilled. Doesn’t your request include a trick?
“The Capital Knights. I dare to ask you to send them.”
The empress’ eyes narrowed when the word ‘capital knights’ came out.
In addition, the aristocrats sighed, saying, “What kind of nonsense is this?”
It was unimaginable for them that the Knights of the Capital leave the imperial family while the security of the entire empire was at stake.
“your majesty! I’m going to say no! Not because they want to quarrel with Baron Drake, but because the Knights of the Capital are emptying Kyle in this situation!”
“I am of the same opinion!
Not to mention, Prince Duran is also away for the time being to thank you, so who’s going to keep His Majesty safe!”
This time, the claims of the aristocrats were also not wrong. The Empress closed her eyes as if lost in thought and lifted her head.
“Go ahead, Baron Drake.”
“I didn’t mean to send the entire Metropolitan Knights, Your Majesty. Do you know of a knight called Mars?”
“Know. He is a friend who has a similar corner to you.”
“Yes, he is also the first person from a commoner to join the Order of the Capital. The reason he was able to join the Order of the Capital was not because of his superior military strength. It’s because of a report I submitted to the lower Hella, who is on duty as the chancellor.”
“report?”
“This is a report describing the redeployment of the Metropolitan Knights.”
The Empress’ gaze reached Hella, who was sitting next to her. As if Hella had expected Yuma to bring up this story, the atmosphere was calm.
“It’s a report on the redeployment of the Knights Templar… Hell, why didn’t you tell me that? Even Baron Drake knows.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s because I decided it was something I would do in the future.”
“What is the content of the report?”
“It was said that the manpower of the Knights Templar was wasted. It’s been more than a thousand years since the first Knights of the Capital were founded, but compared to that time, the Knights have grown as much as the empire has grown stronger, and the land mass of the Capital remains the same.”
“So you mean that more people than necessary are concentrated in the capital?”
Hella nodded, and Asuka let out an incomprehensible laugh.
“I didn’t leave the Knights of the Capital alone because the predecessors, including me, didn’t know that. It is because the symbolism of the capital of this land is that important.”
“My momma girl doesn’t think that any symbol of the empire is more valuable than the lives of its people.”
With that word from Hella, the atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became cold. It was because the remarks that openly insulted Asuka Rosé were no different.
At that point, Yuma and Duran had no choice but to open their eyes wide. Not even the two of them could have expected that Hella would make such a direct statement.
“Hey, crazy.”
After about 10 seconds of silence passed, these were the first words the empress uttered. Hella bowed her head respectfully and was silent.
“In many ways, it feels like being stabbed in the back of the head. Yes, I knew your governing tendencies were different from mine, but… I never thought you would openly disrespect me like this.”
“Oh my God, the girl never said anything like that…
“I decided to hand over the throne to you soon, but that doesn’t mean that my authority will already lose its luster. How dare you! Are you looking straight into my eyes and saying that?”
“The girl made a foolish remark. If you punish me, I will accept it sweetly.”
The furious empress glared at Hella. However, her eyes were full of complex emotions besides anger.
“Daughter.”
“Yes mom.”
“I’m old. To grow old means to become weak. And when people become weak, they become emotional. When a ruler gets emotional, he usually becomes a tyrant or a rebel.”
Suddenly, Asuka stood up and raised her hand. It was a motion to slap Hella, but the rest of the servants hurriedly lowered their heads.
However, Asuka did not lower her raised hand and just kept her eyes on Hela.
“If I hit you as I please here, I will become a rebel.”
Asuka slowly lowered her hand and wrapped it around Hella’s shoulder.
“This is my final teaching and my motherly gift. I will allow the dispatch of the Knights Templar.
All the servants, including the princess, mobilize all means to resolve the tragedy in Rochshire.”
That was Asuka Roze’s final order as empress.
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