Episode 460 A gloomy atmosphere spread across the command center of the imperial army advancing towards Ruspelheim.
Not only was it not enough to proclaim a holy nation’s temple following the joining of the Kassel Tower, but it even went so far as to give the king of an enemy nation the status of an honorary saint.
This was because the situation was truly going from bad to worse.
“Now, even if we exclude the Kassel Tower from the war, it has become a foregone conclusion that we will have to fight the Holy Kingdom afterwards.”
Inside the barracks where superhumans gather. The audience became quiet at the words of Galen Decade, the mage of the cold wind.
Even though it was a gathering of all the elites of the current empire, there were more empty seats at the round table in the middle of the barracks than filled ones.
All of the eastern corps commanders were wiped out, and among the seven Aserian magic tower lords, only Sakpung survived. Among the superhumans of the Imperial Guard, there was only Jerome Decade, a one-eyed young superhuman who had been expelled.
Even the commanders of the Western 7th Legion, which can be said to be the main force of the current imperial army, have died, so the empire’s superhumans, which once numbered around 30, are now only seven.
And the majority of those killed lost their lives in McLane, the battlefield they are now heading to. That is why it is such a dangerous war.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the corps was at its worst, so no one could easily open their mouths, despite the fact that they had gathered for a meeting.
“Has your Majesty not contacted you yet?”
As soon as the youngest Jerome spoke with difficulty, he was met with a sharp gaze.
“How dare you speak of His Majesty! Even if you hadn’t committed immorality, the Holy Kingdom would have already been conquered! Our empire would be cornered like this…” “
Greg!”
“…sorry.”
In response to Galen’s yelling, Greg Paderson, the gray-haired older man and commander of the Western 1st Corps, gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed his anger. But he finally added one word.
“I’m talking about my nephew’s grandson…”
It was a low mumbling voice, but there was no one among those gathered here who could not hear it.
Including Galen.
“Do you want to cause internal strife now? I can fight you if you want.”
“…No. I’m sorry. I reacted nervously because my heart was heavy.”
“That’s great.”
He knew that wasn’t everything, but now wasn’t the time for allies to argue, so Galen changed the topic again, keeping Greg’s downfall in mind.
“Your Majesty will arrive before the war. Anyway, does anyone have any ideas to make up for the current situation?”
As Galen’s eyes scanned the remaining six people one by one, a thin man with a sharp look sitting on the edge opened his mouth.
“Has the General Staff not come up with any measures?”
At the words of Western 2nd Corps Commander Terry Godwin, Galen shook his head and gritted his teeth.
“Most of them are frozen and have no idea just because they heard that the temple declared a holy war. They are useless.”
If life in this world depends on the emperor, then eternal life after death depends on the gods.
For that reason, there were many devout believers in the upper echelons of the empire, the most powerful nation on the continent, who were loyal to the emperor. Because most of them were greedy people who wanted to enjoy happiness both in this life and after death.
In particular, civil servants had a strong tendency to be obsessed with such things, which led to unexpected side effects.
“Still, there’s bound to be at least one guy with ideas, right?”
“Yes. Those guys said strategic maneuver would be meaningless. It would only disperse troops.”
“yes?”
“In the end, it is said that the key to this fight is which superhuman will be wiped out first, and especially who will win, His Majesty the Emperor or the King of McLane, and there is no solution. You are just talking nonsense without seeing the most important thing. The General Staff. “It’s already gone.”
With those words, silence fell at the round table again.
Then, the largest brown-haired man among those gathered, Dakota Allen, commander of the 3rd Corps, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Still, aren’t our troops more than twice as large? The Northern Horn King’s Department and the Southern Dynasty King’s Department are probably also recovering the remnants of the Eastern Legion, so the actual number is even higher than that…” “The
problem is that the morale of those ordinary soldiers is going down. Ilse. The reason we are gathered like this now is to ask about a plan for it. As I said, the General Staff has not been able to come up with any response regarding this dispute at the temple.”
The inferiority of superhuman strength can be overcome by the superiority of ordinary troops.
The difference in troops between this side and McLane will be more than two times or even three times. The strength of the Western Legion, which has been cut down to pieces due to repeated wars, is close to 250,000, and three of the four kings are scheduled to be added to it.
‘If we even take care of the remnants of the Eastern Legion, we’ll probably be at 400,000, but the enemy will number at most 100,000.’
To put it bluntly, if you have an advantage of over 300,000 troops, you can crush even if it is not the Aura Master but the Aura Master grandfather. That is, if they are properly trained and morale soldiers.
However, the problem was that the morale of the basic troops was dropping to the lowest level.
“Do you guys have no idea? There are a lot of rumors that you will be punished by God if you oppose a saint that has never been recorded in history! No, there are even rumors that the incident at Kyle Castle was already punished by God. !”
Galen let out a loud roar, but there was only silence inside the barracks.
In a gradually darkening atmosphere, Philes Delphione, commander of the Western 4th Corps and the only female Auror user, cautiously opened her mouth.
“When His Majesty comes, naturally….”
Boom!
Galen, who was trying to keep his cool as much as possible, eventually couldn’t hold back and hit the round table violently.
“Shouldn’t we come up with a plan before His Majesty comes!!”
A fierce shout echoing throughout the barracks.
However, the appearance of the Cold Wind Mage, known for being cold and arrogant, losing face and crumpling his face seemed to indicate the seriousness of the current situation, making the atmosphere even more gloomy.
“Ha, these are the corps commanders of the Empire….”
At that muttering, the faces of the five corps commanders except Jerome stiffened at the same time.
The thoughts that came to their minds at this moment were almost identical.
‘We are the victors and you are the defeated soldiers. But what?’
The moment when a violent atmosphere spreads within the barracks.
“It looks like you’re worried about this a lot…”
An old man wearing a black robe suddenly appeared with an unexpected voice. It was a sudden appearance, as if it came out of thin air.
“this…!”
“What a guy!”
“Where am I!”
visor!
The momentum of the corps commanders, who seemed ready to explode at any moment, turned towards the unexpected guest who suddenly appeared, but a gust of cold wind blocked the space between the old man and the corps commanders.
“It’s our team. Everyone calm down.”
“Heulheul.”
Galen clicks his tongue in disapproval even though he calls them allies, and the old man smiles strangely, revealing his few remaining yellow teeth.
Considering the contrasting appearance, as well as recent experiences and rumors, it was not difficult to guess the old man’s identity.
“Kassel Magic Tower….”
“Black snake?”
“…are they the wizards?”
“That’s right. Generals of the Empire, since you are now our allies, I would like you to put away your swords for a while…”
A relaxed smile and voice.
That upset the stomach of a person who had been disowned a little while ago.
“Don’t be ridiculous! The current situation is because of you…!”
“Philes!”
Blood Flower (血花) The only female corps commander in the empire with the nickname Blood Flower.
The red aura flower that bloomed at her fingertips instantly reached towards the old man and burst into flower buds.
But at that moment.
Quaaaaaaaaa!
With a loud explosion, the vision of the red flower that was disturbing everyone’s vision in the hall disappeared, and Philes Delpione’s body flew to the corner of the barracks as if thrown out and landed on the floor.
There was no one present who did not know that it all started with a single gesture from the old man.
“Huh! How dare you…”
“It’s an attack on an ally who came with a trick to turn the situation around. I don’t think His Majesty the Emperor will be angry if I just kill him.”
Philes, who was about to get up in a fit and attack the old man again, had no choice but to stop at that one word.
Then Galen came out with a frown on his face.
“Your hands are too strong, magic tower lord.”
“I was just defending myself.”
“None of Philes’ attacks were aimed at vital points.”
“Is that so? My eyes are getting dull as I get older.”
The magic tower owner calmly sits down in the empty seat with a sound that even a dog can’t believe.
In response, Galen sat down again without being able to straighten his frown, and the other corps commanders also had no choice but to sit down one by one with awkward expressions.
“It has to be a surefire way, old man.”
The head of the black snake smiled as he looked at the murderous eyes of the Philes corps commander, who had suddenly become covered in dirt.
“Of course, General.”
When everyone frowned at that soft smile, Topju continued his words.
“The method is simple. If morale is low, why not raise it? Even by force.”
“What is that…?”
“I will cast the magic of our Kassel Magic Tower on the entire imperial army. If all of this large army become warriors who risk their lives, how can we lose the war?”
At those words, the expressions of everyone in the barracks hardened.
“…You mean to brainwash the soldiers? And all that?”
“It’s not something we can’t do if we have your cooperation.”
“That’s ridiculous! Don’t you know why we’re in this situation right now? If you use your tactics so blatantly, you’re endorsing the Holy Kingdom’s right and wrong!”
“If you don’t use it, it seems like the Seongguk will simply step down? They even gave your enemy the title of Seongwoong?”
“….”
The old man looked coldly at the silent barracks for a moment and then spoke again.
“I assure you that if you accept my proposal, you will be able to conquer not only McRain but also the Holy Kingdom without much difficulty. What do you think, Mage of the Cold Wind? Would you convey my opinion to His Majesty the Emperor?”
“…Your Majesty is not here right now.”
“Oh really? For some reason, you haven’t been answering any of my calls lately. That’s why I came here in person…”
Galen, who was looking straight into the old man’s narrowed eyes, soon hardened his complexion as if he felt something and raised his magic power.
Kwasik.
Soon the white and blue wind mixed with the dull gray light and disappeared.
“Where do you make modifications?”
A cold wind began to blow around Galen, who spat out a harsh remark.
The old man’s eyes lit up for a moment when he saw him, but then he put his hands together with his signature sly smile.
“Ah, I just wanted to find out if it was true. If I was rude, I apologize politely.”
An old man appears in a low posture as if there was a collision at some point.
However, Galen’s expression as he watched the scene was cold.
“Tower lord, this is your first and last warning. No matter how great you are as a great mage, you can’t defeat all seven of us at the same time. If you try to modify it again….” “
Ah, I’m saying you made a mistake. Then, I will give it to you without any special fees. “Let’s cooperate. Is that okay?”
At that absurd sound, Galen momentarily forgot his anger and laughed.
“…What were you planning to receive?”
“Did you think that brainwashing this great army, a task that had to be done as quickly as possible, would be completed with just a penny or two?”
“Stop talking nonsense and leave if you have nothing more to say. You will be able to hear the answer to your plan after His Majesty returns.”
Cassel Matapju narrowed his eyes again at that bloody force.
But even for a moment.
“…Say that. There is probably no better way.”
He smiled strangely and chose to take a step back.
“Do not look down on the Empire or Your Majesty the Emperor.”
The old man also heard that no measures had been taken a while ago. The other person would know that too. Nevertheless ,
there was no hesitation on Galen’s face when he said that, and the corps commanders were also naturally nodding their heads in response. Even though the
regular soldiers of the empire did not know this, they still did not give up their faith in the emperor.
‘Only the fanatics of the Holy Kingdom ‘I’m not crazy. These things are just as crazy.’
The old man clicked his tongue and said his last words,
“…I guess they are preparing in Regal, a small town located south of Penna. It’s on the way to Ruspelheim, so come there when you’ve decided. Well, if you want any other help, that is also possible. “Isn’t it a relationship where we have to cooperate with each other right now?”
“…As I said, it’s the emperor…”
“Yes, yes. His Majesty, the proud emperor, will decide. The imperial army is in such a mess, and I really wonder where and what the emperor is doing.” As
soon as the old man finished speaking, he disappeared without a trace.
The superhuman stared blankly at the place where he had disappeared. The meeting continued with a heavy expression and no answer.
And three days later, when the old man was about to meet Regal, he said,
“Your Majesty, come!”
The emperor, whom everyone in the imperial army had been waiting for, joined the main camp of the imperial army.
