Episode 239
EPISODE.120
Quaaaaaa!
A gust of wind occurred as the atmosphere was pushed out at a high speed at a flight speed that far exceeded the speed of sound.
The fierce jet stream stretched out like a tail and purred.
As the red dragon with two pairs of wings splits the sky, one of the men on its back shouted.
“War? You mean the Empire has launched an ambush?”
He was a rather rare young man on the continent with black hair and red eyes.
At that cry, the gray-haired, narrow-eyed man sitting behind the red dragon quickly nodded.
“yes.”
The two young men do not care at all about the strong winds blown by the high-speed flight.
It has to be.
The two men were Russell and Alan Page.
It was Russell, who had the same amount of magic as the 8th circle master, and Alan, who was looking beyond the 6th circle and the 7th circle.
To these two, such a strong wind was nothing.
Alan nodded and opened his mouth again—
“It was about three weeks ago… late at night, after midnight, when the Empire launched a surprise attack.”
—Soon his story was going back in time to the moment when the Empire’s surprise first began.
.
.
Citadel Laviton was a small citadel built near the border of the Eastern Territory of Endymion.
A fort built for the purpose of monitoring the suspicious movements of the imperial army and as an outpost to advance in case of war.
Is it because
As it was a small fortress, there were not many residents. Moreover, many of them were trained soldiers or officers.
The number of other civilians is small enough to be counted on one hand.
Whoo oh oh-.
The wind that blows soars over the walls, creating a sound like a ghostly cry.
past midnight.
One of the soldiers who stood by the sound grabbed the spear pole tightly.
As it was built with the purpose of being an outpost, it is only natural that the soldiers staying here will feel a certain amount of tension.
But lately, the atmosphere has gotten a little worse.
It wasn’t just a simple tension, but even a bleakness was hovering among the soldiers.
It has to be.
Since vicious rumors were circulating that an all-out war with the Empire might occur, even senior soldiers could not help but relax.
It was then.
Jerk-jerk-.
The sound of footsteps could be heard from the bottom of the stairs leading to the wall where Burn was standing.
When I glanced over, I saw people climbing up the wall with torches.
Those in the next turn were coming up for a shift.
“Oh, how cold…”
The man at the forefront, trembling and leading his successors up, was one of the senior soldiers like himself.
“If it’s cold, come up quickly. I should go in and have a cup of hot tea and go to bed.”
“It’s not like it’s a big deal if you stand for a few more minutes at most.”
The man who came up grumbling like that went and stood next to the man who was standing on duty first.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and handed the other cigarette to the man next to him.
“After… so what. Was there anything unusual while working?”
“I haven’t had it yet, but the atmosphere is bleak, but it’s so quiet that I’m rather worried.”
As if agreeing with that statement, the man who smoked first exhaled a long smoke and nodded.
“Say that. It’s been several days since those dog-like imperial bastards created a fear atmosphere, and a first-class alert was issued. Undead over there. Fucking babies. ”
The grumbling that was common in any unit was added with Endymion’s unique hostility toward the Empire.
“Just try breaking in. Head right now with this window…”
“Ah, why do you stop talking? If you destroy it, you destroy it.”
“There…”
At that moment, the cigarette in the mouth of the senior soldier who was talking suddenly fell out.
Seeing this, another senior soldier, who was about to turn off his cigarette and return to his quarters, turned his head, and at that moment, bells announcing the threat were heard from all over the place.
Dang dang dang dang dang dang dang-!
“It’s a raid, a raid!”
“Blue naturalization! The undead are coming!”
It had not yet dawned, and in the thick darkness beyond the horizon, blue natural flowers were rushing toward the fortress like waves.
Tadadadadak-!
.
.
“There were nine fortresses and territories that were attacked that day. Three of them suffered damage that was close to annihilation…”
Of the nine areas that were said to have been attacked, there is no need to explain where they suffered damage that was close to annihilation.
‘It must have been either a fortress with a small number of troops or a territory on the frontier.’
In the case of the latter, the damage to the civilian population will not be small.
It is also natural that Russell’s face hardened as he listened to the story.
Meanwhile, Alan continued to report.
“As soon as reports of a surprise attack came in, we dispatched troops to respond. Four of the nine regions currently occupied have been recaptured. Since then, battles large and small have been reported, and there is no information that the Empire’s superhumans have moved yet.”
Even though they fired the flares of war themselves, they still haven’t moved the superhumans.
It’s not like they don’t know the power of superhumans who change the battlefield alone and turn the war situation upside down.
‘What on earth is the Empire thinking?’
Russell frowned at the thought of these completely unknown people. then asked
“In the capital…How did Your Majesty decide?”
“Immediately after dispatching troops to respond, you mobilized the troops for a war against the Empire. They say that the gathered forces include elves and beastmen.”
That was also the reason why Arain, the Elves’ Meneur, was away.
Elves and Beasts.
These things were also included in the contents of the pact in exchange for providing a place to live for the two races.
‘Muyaho-nim must be included.’
If the kingdom’s best wizard is Daria, then Endymion’s strongest aura practitioner is Muyaho.
It didn’t make sense to make fun of that much power. The question is whether he can control his wild and free-spirited temper, but
in the meantime, Alan’s voice continues.
“From that day on, for three weeks, after completing all preparations and having a military parade, he will declare war on the Empire…”
“A military parade?”
“yes. So today…”
“—?!”
* * *
The palace of Conrad IV, the new emperor of the empire, was a place where high marble pillars supported the ceiling and art pieces that were obviously expensive at a glance were decorated here and there.
What was surprising was that, despite this, there was an unknown bleakness lingering in the palace.
Among those who worked in the imperial palace, there were often those who felt chills or had nightmares when they entered the palace.
Despite such an uneasy atmosphere and rumors drifting around, Conrad IV did not care.
As if unaffected by it, he sat in the palace and opened his mouth.
“Thanatos.”
“yes. master.”
At that call, the darkness on the corner of the palace gathers together and soon transforms into a human form.
It was Thanatos, a man who was tall enough to stand 2 meters tall and had ominous eyes emanating from between the robes he was wearing.
“I heard that the army was moved towards Endymion not too long ago, but what happened after that?”
Thanatos lowered his head once at King Conrad IV’s question, then slowly opened his mouth.
“I will report you. master.”
Only the positions of the Empire and the Kingdom, which were not much different from Alan’s report to Russell, were reports that were opposed to each other.
“They’re preparing for the military parade and gathering troops…”
He hung his horse’s tail and picked up the chess piece in front of him.
“Finally, we can start a proper war.”
Dalgrak-.
Unlike normal chess pieces, they are crimson colored pieces like dried blood.
After turning it in his hand once, Conrad IV giggled.
His laughter, which had been giggling for a long time, suddenly stopped.
Emotional change as radical as it is frightening.
Get the card-!
With a terrifying sound, the chess pieces in my hands shattered, and some of the fragments fell off.
Patter-.
Soon, his gaze turned to the map of the continent lying next to the chessboard.
Endymion and Britannia are two powers that divide the continent into two.
He murmured, scattering powder from the smashed chess pieces towards one of them. “A war
in which the territory of the empire will be completely covered with blood…”
Surprisingly, the place covered with blood-red powder was not on Endymion, but on the territory of the empire….
It’s just that you seem to be smiling.
It happened in the imperial palace just a few days before Russell returned from the spirit realm.
* * *
“Your Majesty.”
The King, who was preparing for the military parade with the help of the lady-in-waiting, nodded at the Minister of National Defense’s voice.
“Okay.”
Then, wearing a cloak embroidered with the symbol of the royal family, he asked with a worried expression.
“That… is there any news from the Grand Duke yet?”
“yes. I know it doesn’t exist yet. your majesty.”
“Umm…”
King Alfonso Ratmos drooled at the Minister of Defense’s reply.
I muttered to myself as I recalled the message I received from Arain, the Meneur of the Elves, about a month ago.
‘What a serious state he’s in. A month has passed and he still hasn’t returned from the spirit realm.’
Because of that, his daughter, Hecate, also didn’t express it, but wasn’t it in the middle of losing sleep with worry?
‘Please come back safely.’
With that thought in mind, the King went outside.
I climbed onto the pre-prepared podium.
Then, the figure of the kingdom’s soldiers filling the bottom came into view.
A number that seems to exceed tens of thousands even at a cursory glance. Surprisingly, those present here were only a small fraction of the mobilized troops.
Several times more forces than this were gathered outside the capital, and if you add up the numbers gathered in each province, the number will increase to more than ten times.
“Please, Your Majesty the King!”
Aaaaaaaa-!
Behind the bursting cheers, the king raised his hand.
chuck-.
“A group of cruel empires broke the peace and destroyed the territory of our country…”
He continued with a solemn voice, restraining the cheers.
“So the great King of Endymion, Alfonso Latmos, will accuse the Empire of sin in order to comfort their souls and spirits.”
thud!
he stamped his feet wildly. Although he never reached the rank of Master, he trained his Aura since he was young.
Waves of heavy energy spread over the platform.
“Daria Snowwhite, the lord of flames, has been appointed by the king to be the commander of the 1st army and commander-in-chief!”
At the angry King’s voice, Daria stood up first and knelt down.
“Daria Snowwhite, the master of flames. I follow the orders of His Majesty the King.”
Fire and lightning, which are said to be the most destructive among the four major attribute magics, are the pinnacles of the Flame Tower Master.
That’s how she came to the fore.
“As the commander of the 2nd Army, Gillian Pulson, the lord of the Fall Achievement Castle…!”
3rd Army Commander Areks Kylen.
Fourth Army Commander Niccolo Machiavelli.
The commanders of each army were called out in order, and the king paused while leaving the order of the commander of the last 5th Army in front.
The 5th Army was a corps that included Muyaho, who was called the King of Water.
Looking at Jininba’s armed forces, it would be right for her to be the commander.
However, his free-spirited personality did not suit the position.
‘So I was thinking of appointing him who can control her as the commander of the 5th Army…’
The situation turned out like this.
There is no choice but to have Amelia Merwin, who was supposed to be in charge of supplies temporarily, as her commander.
“The commander of the 5th Army is…”
Thinking so, the moment the king opened his mouth, he said, “I love you!”
A single red bolt of lightning pierced the sky and pierced the front of the platform.
“Where are you!”
The moment the escorts were startled and tried to put their hands on the scabbard.
chuck!
Contrary to the terrifying speed, the man descended to a landing that was extremely stable and knelt down on one knee with waving black hair.
“Russell Raymond, Grand Duke of the Kingdom. We have just arrived. Your Majesty.”
dragon-swallowed wizard
