Episode 449
“The walls of Ruspelheim have been rebuilt. With the help of wizards…” ”
The battlefield has been cleared. The damage is…”
Logan nodded with a tired expression as he continued to receive reports.
I was listening to the report with my ears, but for some reason I felt disturbed.
‘what?’
In the past, I would have just ignored it and moved on, but I couldn’t do that now that I had once again seen it beyond the limit and felt it.
Since I realized that in order to overcome my limits, I need to know my own heart and soul better than anything else, I wanted to understand the reason for my unreasonable anxiety.
But even after thinking about it for a while, I couldn’t figure out the reason.
All I can guess is.
‘Is it because I missed the emperor?’
That’s the only one.
“Tsk.”
I kept sighing at the hopeless situation.
As a result, my thoughts eventually led in one direction.
“…When will the advance to the West be possible?”
At that question, the expression of Damian, the representative of those who were reporting, hardened slightly. Damian, who seemed to be hesitating for some reason, soon calmed his expression as if he had made up his mind and took a step forward.
“I told you something a while ago. You will be able to stop the empire if you reach at least Penna, where King Dongyik’s kingdom is located. Do you remember?”
“Of course. And we occupied Ruspelheim first as planned. Now, isn’t it time to advance to Penna?”
“…It didn’t go as planned, but it went a lot better than planned.”
“yes.”
“So I’m having a bit of a problem.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
When Logan frowned slightly, Damian hurriedly continued.
“It was an overwhelming victory, much bigger than expected. And that is definitely a good thing. The loss of our troops was much lower than expected, and even the Imperial army’s superhumans dealt with an unbelievably large number. But…” The end of
the moment. Damian, who was chewing his lips while sighing, let out a small sigh as he felt Logan’s gaze staring at him.
“The empire has suffered such a heavy blow. I wonder if they will be able to stop us if they advance towards Aserian like this.”
At those words, the faces of everyone in Daejeon lit up.
In fact, similar sounds had already spread widely within Ruspelheim.
– Aren’t we going to take over the empire like this?
– Almost all of the Empire’s superhumans are dead.
– Our Majesty defeated the emperor…
– I guess there aren’t many imperial troops left?
Words flowing from the mouths of McLane’s troops, drunk with overwhelming victory and high morale.
However, the whispers of a single soldier and the conclusion of a strategist have different weights.
The unbelievable statement that the rumor that was floating around could become reality right before our eyes hit everyone’s ears.
“Now, let’s conquer the Aserians! Instead of Ares, we will be the empire, Your Majesty!”
Luther Kyle’s loud voice represented the feelings of those gathered.
But at that moment.
Damian poured cold water on those excited hearts.
“…We can invade, but we cannot occupy. We do not have the troops to cover Aserian territory. As a strategist, that is a shame.”
“What are you talking about!?”
“That is literally true. It means that after occupying such a large territory, we do not have the capacity to permanently station troops to suppress the resistance of the people of the empire.”
“That’s right, once they occupy it…”
“Imperial citizens with high pride are likely to cause all kinds of accidents. Rebellions, to be exact.”
Rebellion.
At those words, the noisy interior of Daejeon became quiet again.
“Will there be a revolt immediately after the war?”
“…Yes. That’s what I’m saying is unfortunate. But if you look at human history, the deeper the history of the conquered territory and the more prosperous the culture, the more severe the rebellion. In that respect, the empire….”
For at least 300 years. A country that has long been called the strongest country on the continent.
Since no one knew that fact, everyone’s expressions hardened.
“If you disperse your troops greatly for complete occupation, you will be eaten away by the remaining imperial forces and retreat back to the kingdom with only your national power wasted. No matter how much your majesty is.”
“If we station vigilantes…”
“It’s spring now, who’s doing the farming?”
“Aye. Don’t glare at me like that, Mr. Swordsman. I’m just saying this from experience. I’m not that ignorant either.”
“If you know, shut up lump.”
“Why are you again… hmmm. I’ll shut up.”
As Luther Kyle sunk under such glares, Logan nodded with a small sigh.
“…It’s a very promising story. But then, what should we do, Damian?”
As someone who has worked as an independent member of Grandia, this is a story that can never be ignored.
‘The empire has a population dozens of times larger than ours.’
If a group like the Grandia Liberation Front were to run rampant inside with more than ten times the number, it would be an instant for the country to collapse. From their perspective, it is an independence army, but in the eyes of the rulers, it is nothing more than a terrorist group.
Damian answered that question with a heavy expression.
“Only the Empire has troops that can handle the entire Empire. And there are many countries around us that have grudges against the Empire, including our Macline.”
Kassel Matap joined the Western Alliance.
Even if the emperor’s words that they decided to join the empire were true, this would also be an opportunity for the Kassel Tower.
‘The magic tower lord will not participate in the war himself, but will have his subordinates lead the empire towards destruction.’
A trick to avoid the weight of the covenant. If such a thing was really possible, it was quite a possibility.
In that case, the empire would have no choice but to suffer massive damage at a minimum, even considering the remaining troops and the emperor’s capabilities.
And if it becomes more than that…
“If the empire collapses like this…” ”
… In the worst case, more than half of the people of the empire, which has prospered for the past hundreds of years, which should be in the hundreds of millions, will become refugees. “It could be, if they don’t meekly accept the exploitation of the conquerors.”
Hundreds of millions of refugees.
The moment they heard those words, everyone’s complexions turned gray. Because it was very easy to predict that it would cause more damage than a swarm of billions of locusts.
“The Western countries will not sit still either. Wouldn’t it be okay if we share the empire with them?”
Logan offered his own solution, but Damian shook his head.
“While we are fighting with Western countries, the powerful nobles of the empire may unite and rise up. There are also concerns about the rebels I mentioned earlier. It is a truly unfortunate situation, but right now we do not have the capacity to handle the empire’s territory beyond Penna. doesn’t exist.”
“…Even though you won, did the situation get worse?”
In response to Damian’s assertion, Luther Kyle spat out a foolish comment.
“It’s not that it’s gotten worse. It’s just that if the enemy you were trying to defeat dies, it becomes a bit more difficult to deal with it.”
“That’s what you mean… oh okay! I won’t say anything anymore!”
Damian continued speaking, pretending not to see Luther sinking under the glare again.
“Still, it is true that the situation is going in our favor. Therefore, I propose that we change our course depending on the outcome of the war in the West.”
“how?”
“As originally planned, we will conquer Penna, but depending on the extent of the damage to the empire, we will decide whether to advance further from there or not.”
“…As soon as maintenance is completed, we will have to advance towards Penna.”
“yes.”
“Okay. So what’s the best situation for us?”
“Of course, it is the joint destruction of the empire and the ten Western countries.”
“If that happens, there will be more choices, but it might be difficult, right?”
“yes.”
“Hmm, what is the most likely?”
“The Western countries are defeated by the Empire, and the Empire’s Western Legion also suffers significant damage.”
“Can we ride that momentum and go further?”
“Yes. At that time, we can take over Aserian and deal a critical blow to the empire. Of course, in that case, we will just plunder it and return to Penna and Ruspelheim.”
“Are you saying that Penna is the borderline that can lead to invasion and subsequent occupation?”
“It may be more possible now, but anyway, we have to prepare for the next situation as well.”
“What happens next?”
“If Aserian collapses, suspicion of the imperial family and the emperor’s control will spread within the empire. Even if the capital is restored, it will be difficult to control public opinion that has already begun to waver. If duke-level nobles unite or one of the four kings If even one rebels…”
“…the empire will not fall but will be torn apart.”
“That is the most likely move, no, the best move we can make. Of course, if we can kill the emperor in war, there is almost a hundred percent chance of doing so.”
As he said those words, Damian’s gaze at Logan was full of anticipation, and Logan also smiled and nodded.
“…Okay, let’s do that.”
A few days after that.
A communication port was delivered to Logan, who was busy preparing for the advance.
A bead that appears smaller and more precise than any technology known to the world.
Even the person who brought it was quite an unexpected person.
“Ronian? What is it?”
“…I’m sorry, brother. I promised her that I would do her a favor just once. I know it’s ridiculous, but please listen to her. Of course, you can of course refuse anything she says.”
“she?”
Despite Logan’s rebuttal, Ronian just looked away as if embarrassed.
Logan, who couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the sight, took the bead and soon the bead showed a familiar face.
[Good evening, Your Majesty.]
A beauty with black hair, blue eyes, and pale, white skin.
Logan’s face couldn’t help but frown when he saw that.
“…Princess Luisa?”
[It may be shameless, but I have something I really want to tell you, so I am giving you this expedient greeting.]
“I guess so. If you had appeared in front of me, I would have just ripped your head off.”
[…I won’t make any excuses for that. We followed the tower lord’s orders and betrayed His Majesty. But you must hear this.]
“Why me?”
[…You need to know the plot the tower owner is plotting.]
“Ha?”
Please listen to what the traitor says?
I looked at my younger brother in bewilderment, but the younger brother who had started this incident just lowered his head with an apologetic look on his face.
Luisa must have seen that and once again let out an earnest voice.
[You may think this is a traitorous act. We have no choice but to straddle both sides. You can ignore it later. Please just listen to me for now.]
Luisa’s expression looked truly desperate as she said those words.
[…I know you won’t believe it. So, I would like to start by telling you about the deep circumstances of my father and daughter. Could you please give me a moment, Your Majesty?]
Soon, a long story continued from her mouth.
And the story unintentionally caught Logan’s attention.
Just 10 days later.
Unexpected news was delivered to McLane’s army, which was preparing to advance west from Ruspelheim.
* * *
“Wipe it all away!”
bang!
“Shoot!”
Pabababak.
“Aaaah!”
“Ugh….”
“Die!!”
A battlefield where swords and spears clash, arrows rain, and magical explosions continue.
Kellerheim, once one of the empire’s famous metropolises, had literally become a hell, with mountains of corpses piling up everywhere and rivers of blood flowing.
That too to the Allied forces occupying the city.
“Uh, we wizards!?”
“Damn it! Where has everyone gone!?”
As members of the Western Allied Powers, the knights guarding the walls of Callaheim repeatedly looked back and expressed doubts.
However, there was no trace of the bizarre magicians that the leaders of the 10 countries had dragged into by going to great lengths.
“He’s a great mage!? Who is that person!?”
Bless Grid, the superhuman of the Torre Kingdom, roared in anger.
There are only five superhumans left in the Allied Forces.
However, the approaching imperial troops included not only five corps commanders and a one-eyed superman, but also a magician of the cold wind.
Although the Emperor, the Great Mage, was nowhere to be seen, he was already inferior in terms of superhuman strength.
Even the level of troops and equipment was inferior.
The only thing they could trust was the reinforcements, but there was not even a trace of the reinforcements they were looking for anywhere.
“What the hell happened!”
Fabia, the superhuman of the Linden Kingdom, was also screaming as if she was struggling on the other side, but contrary to the Allies’ wishes, the situation only got worse.
And in the worst way.
“The castle gate is open!”
“who!?”
“I don’t know! All the gates are open!”
“Damn it!”
Shouting pouring in from all directions.
As if mocking McLane and the world’s predictions, the western battlefield was tilting towards the empire’s unilateral superiority.
