Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Crisis of the Habis Kingdom
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'Haa, what kind of fate is this?'
After a hearty breakfast of rice and kimchi, Derbal came to visit.
He said they could no longer keep the wyverns from the Habis Kingdom.
The monsters the beasts were devouring were wearing out the territory's Sky Knights from all the hunting.
And so, here I was, heading to the Habis Kingdom.
'Who would believe this? Sigh.'
Not some beast tamer, but a string of Habis Kingdom wyverns tied to ropes bound to the legs of the Gold Wyverns from the beastmen.
The ones I'd carefully stowed away in case they might escape had oil dripping from their wings.
Those wyverns flew through the sky in groups of twenty, tethered to the lead Gold Wyverns.
'By now, the prisoners should have reached the kingdom too.'
The prisoners I'd kept tied up near the border with the Habis Kingdom, in case they might turn into rebels, should be crossing the border by now.
They were just draining the territory's food supplies, so there was no need to keep them around.
'The weather's nice today.'
Near the border between Neruman and the Habis Kingdom.
Unlike in the territory, there wasn't much snow piled up.
Where the sea breeze clashed with the continental winds, the gusts were a bit fierce, but seeing patches of earth here and there refreshed my spirits.
It almost felt like spring was coming.
Kuuooooooo!
Bebeto, dragging the wyverns along, couldn't pick up speed.
He let out a mighty roar, as if he'd spotted something.
'It's the prisoners.'
Beyond the border fortress below, a long line of people came into view.
They weren't bound with ropes like typical prisoners; they walked freely in formation.
Neruman cavalry kept watch over them.
Spotting Bebeto's roar, they waved vigorously.
'I was hoping to wrap this up quietly.'
The fortress and bridge that needed finishing before winter's end.
I earnestly hoped to return the wyverns to the Habis Kingdom without incident and get back quickly.
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"Count Cayer of Neruman is personally bringing the wyverns?"
"Yes, Your Highness. According to the urgent report we just received, Count Cayer is riding a black double-bred wyvern, accompanied by five Gold Wyverns leading about a hundred wyverns."
"Aah..."
Urgent reports on the rebels' movements had come in since morning.
On top of that, the Roen Principality's forces stirring trouble at the border for days had left Rosiatte sleepless. At the news of Cayer's approach, she let out a long sigh of relief.
'He's coming. He's really coming...'
How many times had she longed for him during these hardships?
Rosiatte yearned to rest her weary soul against his broad back.
Her blue diamond-like eyes soon grew misty.
"Where are they now?"
"From the report of the Zantra Fortress area, they should arrive in about an hour, generously speaking."
The noble in charge of intelligence reporting to Rosiatte.
"Oh my, then there's not much time left. What should I do..."
Her voice, so dignified lately as she shouldered a kingdom's burdens, suddenly changed.
It rang through the palace like that of a maiden greeting her beloved, full of excitement.
"Summon the Lord Chamberlain at once!"
Rosiatte calling for the palace official in charge of royal ceremonies.
"You've done well. You may withdraw."
Regaining her composure, she dismissed the knight who had witnessed her elation.
'Thank you, Cayer. You truly are... the knight God sent me.'
The wyverns Cayer was bringing back belonged to the Habis Kingdom originally.
If they returned, it would instantly resolve their current woes.
She hadn't even been able to ask out of guilt, yet Cayer had handled it himself.
"What should I wear? I can't stay like this."
Lately rumored among the knights as the Steel Princess, Rosiatte gazed at her dress, lost in thought.
A woman's heart, longing to appear as beautiful as possible to the one she'd awaited.
A smooth blush bloomed on Rosiatte's cheeks like autumn apples.
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"Their movements are unusual."
"Those bastards..."
At Jareron Fortress, the frontline outpost facing the Roen Principality.
For days, Roen Principality forces had crossed the border for minor provocations, but today they advanced with a massive army.
"This isn't provocation—it's war!"
The chief knight atop the watchtower, monitoring the Roen army, shouted in alarm to Viscount Antkain, the fortress commander.
"Cowardly scum!"
Until recently, the Roen Principality wouldn't dare cross the border.
They had to watch the Rabiter Empire, and the 20,000 elite troops defending Jareron Fortress were fearsome.
Plus, the fortress had about fifty wyverns assigned.
It was too much for the weakly armed Roen Principality to handle.
Yet now they were crossing in force.
Back when the Habis Kingdom suffered under the empire, Duke Roen had betrayed them and surrendered to the Rabiter Empire.
Knowing the kingdom's plight, he eyed the border.
"Gasp! M-My lord, look there!"
The adjutant, watching the 30,000 Roen troops openly towing siege weapons, pointed to the sky and called to his lord.
"Gasp!"
Viscount Antkain, fearless despite only 3,000 soldiers left in the fortress.
Appointed after the former castellan and count fled to the empire upon news of the royal purge, he guarded the border with youthful zeal. Now a gasp escaped his lips.
Kuaaaaaaaa!
Kiyuuuuuuuu!
They were flying in.
The fortress had fewer than five wyverns left, but about a hundred blackened the sky.
The boulders and logs for ground bombardment dangling from their talons looked especially large.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!
The fortress's emergency bells rang frantically.
"Air raid! Air raid! Everyone to cover!"
The knights' mana-infused voices rang sharp.
'Is the kingdom doomed like this...'
The Rabiter Empire hadn't invaded yet, but if the Roen Principality overran the forward fortress, what came next was uncertain.
Knights and soldiers dispersed quelling the rebels.
If Gets Principality and Delpiran Kingdom lunged for a piece, the Habis Kingdom—oldest in the northern continent—would vanish in an instant.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
"M-My lord!"
But they couldn't surrender tamely.
Viscount Antkain leaped from the watchtower to his wyvern waiting in the training yard.
Flap. Flap. Flaaap.
The viscount and his wyvern took to the air, wings beating.
Four more wyverns followed, soaring powerfully into the heavens.
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"I greet Princess Rosiatte."
"Welcome, Count Cayer."
The royal castle of the Habis Kingdom, not far from the border.
As we approached with the wyverns, royal guard Sky Knights came out to greet us.
They guided us to land at the castle's Sky Knight squadron grounds outside.
And there she was again, the flower of the northern continent, Rosiatte.
'There's no sin in loving beauty.'
The fragrant violet scent wafting from Rosiatte as she extended her hand still lingered in memory.
Smack.
I knelt on one knee and kissed the back of her hand, honoring the lady.
My eyes took in Rosiatte's form.
Her wavy long golden hair, clear blue diamond eyes, petite face with adorable lips and cute nose—they delighted me.
'She's grown thinner.'
Thinner than last time.
It spoke volumes of her recent torments.
"What a stately castle."
I straightened and met her gaze, praising the castle.
'They said it's the oldest kingdom...'
Old buildings crumble shabby, but masterpieces gain noble grace with age, or so I'd heard.
This castle fit that perfectly.
I hadn't entered yet, but its image from before landing stuck with me.
Not as grand or vast as the Bazran Empire's imperial palace, but like the quaint, dignified structures in movies.
"I'm flattered."
Rosiatte seemed pleased, blushing as she spoke.
I hadn't expected the princess—no, the one now shouldering the kingdom—to come greet me in this cold winter weather.
"It's cold outside. Please, go in."
"What do you... You're leaving right now?"
Rosiatte startled, grasping my implication.
"I have much to handle back in the territory, so I must return immediately. I'll visit properly next time."
"That's..."
'Whoa!'
No sooner had I finished than teardrops welled in her eyes.
It wasn't as if I'd done anything wrong or breached etiquette, yet she looked saddened.
"Count, please come in for some tea. Her Highness has waited out here quite a while."
The Habis Kingdom's chamberlain spoke up, unable to watch.
'Eek. Why the tears?'
We weren't longtime sweethearts, and I'd never done anything to be accountable for.
I couldn't fathom why she grieved so.
'Alright, she must be exhausted. I'll chat a bit before going.'
They say a beauty's tears are the world's strongest weapon.
I changed my mind about leaving at once.
"Haha, don't invite me twice, or I really will go."
"Y-Yes? No, please come in."
Rosiatte startled again at my sudden words.
Her tears gone, she beamed at me.
Drip.
But then, a single clear teardrop traced down her cheek.
'Sigh...'
A sigh burst from my chest.
I wondered what God was up to.
Not striking down a playboy like me, that is.
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"Don't spare a single one! No surrenders needed!"
"Waaaaaaa!"
Clang-clang-clang!
"Aaaargh!"
Thud-thud-thud.
Screams filled Jareron Fortress.
Fortress lord Viscount Antkain, resisting fiercely, perished gloriously with his Sky Knights.
He'd downed seven enemy wyverns before skewered on a spear, crashing with his wyvern into the frozen ground and shattering.
Then came the fortress siege.
A massacre.
The Roen Principality Sky Knights, well-prepared, bombarded relentlessly.
Habis Kingdom soldiers couldn't show their heads as enemies neared the walls.
When the bombing paused and they recovered, the gates were open, enemies over the walls.
Surrender was impossible.
Jareron Fortress had repelled Roen forces countless times.
To make an example for other forts and castles, the order was slaughter.
"Kaaaargh!"
"Guh!"
Habis Kingdom soldiers, leaderless and trapped.
Like cornered rats, herded this way and that, they fell one by one to cruel spears and swords.
"A great victory, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Kuhahaha. Of course. Conquering this pathetic fortress is child's play for our Roen Principality troops."
Roen Principality's crown prince Remitar burst into arrogant laughter at his adjutant's report.
'Finally, our principality can become a kingdom!'
How long he'd awaited this war.
For over a century, ancestors betrayed Habis Kingdom to become the empire's dogs.
They gained principality status but lived in fear.
One word from the emperor could merge them into the Rabiter Empire, so they'd licked imperial boots while building strength.
Today, the first step toward their long-cherished wish.
A secret order from the Rabiter Empire: provoke war with Habis Kingdom via border incursions.
"Rest briefly and regroup the troops. We'll move out soon."
"Yes, sir!"
Reinforcements would come soon; he'd hand them the fortress and press on.
His small eyes gleamed with ambition.
'Before the empire intervenes, I must seize more land. Half the kingdom this time.'
The Roen Principality, barely sustaining after annual tribute to the empire.
More territory meant more power-building chances, the crown prince knew.
'Heh, who can stop our principality? Not this pathetic kingdom.'
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Remitar laughed maniacally from the ramparts.
He didn't know.
Who had just arrived at the Habis royal castle...