Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Empire's Offer
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“I am deeply concerned about the situation unfolding on the Isle of Britannia...”
Duke Sachsen began.
“However, our duchy is already strained, defending the Empire's territory against the great migration of demons from the Demon Realm.”
He feigned regret, but his resolve was clear: he would never send Sachsen's forces to the Isle of Britannia.
“Huhu, we understand that point perfectly. His Majesty is well aware of Your Grace's dedication to the Empire.”
Scarlet smiled as if she had expected as much.
“What we desire is not the forces of House Sachsen, but rather the invincible mercenary company whose fame resounds throughout the continent... the Black Armor Company.”
Lady Scarlet said, turning her gaze toward Dale, who stood beside Lord Black's throne.
“The legend itself, writing a saga of invincibility under the command of the infamous ‘Black Prince’!”
“...”
“They say he is not only gifted in sword and magic but is also a prodigy of military strategy, reading the tides of war and moving his ‘pieces’ to seize victory.”
Lady Scarlet began to speak of the talents people whispered about Dale.
“The young lord's military genius, which once annihilated the dogs of the Holy Sword in the Black-and-White War...”
Dogs of the Holy Sword. She continued, not bothering to hide her cold mockery and derision for her own allies.
“Won't you please unleash it to your heart's content for the sake of the Empire, against the traitorous rabble of Britannia?”
At her words, a flicker of hesitation crossed Duke Sachsen's face. He was surely reluctant to send his son to an island nation far across the continent, especially in a situation where an internal enemy could strike him in the back at any moment.
But he could not back down here.
The Holy Maiden of Salvation, who has declared herself the standard-bearer of the independence movement against the Empire's tyranny. The Britannia Kingdom's war of independence. This was an opportunity he absolutely could not miss.
Therefore, just as Dale was about to nod in his father's stead,
“Very well.”
Just then, Lord Black spoke.
“...!”
It was an unexpected agreement, one that even Dale had not anticipated.
“However, hiring the Black Armor Company in a situation like this is, as Lady Scarlet said... akin to buying my son, who is called the greatest talent in the Empire.”
It was an unexpected addition that even Dale hadn't considered.
“My son, a genius of military strategy, whose individual prowess dares to rival the strongest in the Empire.”
“...”
Lord Black continued, laying on the praise for his son so thickly that even the great Dale blushed, much like a simple father boasting about his proud child.
“Furthermore, the heavy infantry of the Black Armor Company are the elite of the elite, trained under the harsh tutelage of the Night Raven Knights.”
Duke Sachsen continued.
“Even now in the Sachsen Duchy, there are hundreds of candidates awaiting official enlistment into the Black Armor Company.”
As tales of their valor spread throughout the Empire and it became a dream job for mercenaries, hopefuls from all over flocked to the Sachsen Duchy to formally join the Black Armor Company. These applicants are being rigorously screened, preparing to be reborn as the strongest heavy armored infantry.
It's no wonder the existing mercenary companies feel their livelihoods threatened and show hostility.
“Is the Imperial Family prepared to pay a price sufficient to hire them all?”
Besides, the circumstances were what they were. The opponent the Black Armor Company would face was not some rabble they've dealt with before, but an independence army led by the Holy Maiden. And on an island at the eastern edge of the continent, no less.
This was not a matter that could be settled with a paltry sum.
“It would require a king's ransom.”
Discerning his meaning, Lady Scarlet smiled.
“But to buy the talents of Lord Dale...”
Her tone was deeply significant.
“Even a king's ransom would be an absurdly cheap price.”
She showed no intention of negotiating the price, instead accepting Duke Sachsen's demands far too readily.
“We will pay a hundred million.”
“...!”
Lady Scarlet uttered an outrageous sum, one that defied comparison with any mere mercenary company. It was a fee that surpassed the imaginations of both Duke Sachsen and Dale several times over.
“After all, to buy the talents of the ‘Black Prince,’ enduring an expense of this magnitude is nothing.”
As if even that was a price she could readily bear in the face of Dale's talent.
“Isn't that right, Lord Dale?”
“...”
A heavy armored infantry of Dale, by Dale, for Dale. To buy the Black Armor Company was to buy the ‘talent of the Black Prince’.
The fame of the Black Armor Company had been resounding for some time now. He recalled the countless anecdotes of nobles who had hired them in seemingly unwinnable situations and achieved miraculous victories.
Sometimes those victories stemmed from Dale's own martial prowess, but most were strategic triumphs won by Dale moving the ‘pieces’ in his hands.
It wasn't just about the strength of the Black Armor Company's heavy infantry; he commanded the employer's entire forces... seizing victory with bold and precise judgments, striking at the enemy commander's weakness like a dagger. The tales of ‘miraculous victories’ Dale had secured in this way were already innumerable.
Just as Dale had once envisioned, their greatest value lay in possessing ‘operational capabilities superior to the client’ and intervening in every aspect of the operations necessary for victory in war.
They couldn't possibly be unaware of Dale's fame, which echoed endlessly day after day.
A war-for-hire corporation.
Now, the Empire was preparing for war in the truest sense. And they desired the talent of the ‘Black Prince’ as its commander-in-chief.
It was an offer he had no reason to refuse.
***
That evening, in Duke Sachsen's office.
“You agreed more readily than I expected.”
“It was an offer I couldn't refuse anyway.”
Lord Black replied to Dale's words.
“And even if I had tried to refuse, you would have agreed.”
As a father, he seemed to understand Dale better than anyone. He had hit the nail on the head.
“You can't spend your entire life cooped up in the frozen lands of the Sachsen Duchy either.”
Duke Sachsen continued.
“It wouldn't be a bad thing to experience the mighty figures of the Empire firsthand over there.”
Regardless of Dale's own will, future clashes with the people of the Empire would be unavoidable. Therefore, it was necessary to gain solid experience on this occasion.
The strong ones of the Empire, their true nature.
“I understand.”
It was Duke Sachsen's own form of resolve, and Dale had no reason to refuse either.
“I will never betray your expectations, Father.”
***
The night was dark. In the deepening gloom, an unexpected shadow blocked Sephia's path.
“Oh my, what's this?”
“...”
It was the crimson witch, smiling alluringly, clad in a sheer, red lace gown.
“To think I'd run into you here, Miss Sephia.”
“...Lady Scarlet.”
“Are you on your way to attend to the young lord of Sachsen for the night?”
Sephia remained silent in the face of a taunt not even worth a response.
“Huhu, you have the face of a female burning with possessiveness.”
Scarlet continued, clearly amused.
“To think the world's most straitlaced elf would make such a face.”
As if she found it unbearably funny.
“This just makes me all the more curious about Lord Dale's technique.”
Sephia could only remain silent.
“A Snow Elf so renowned for being noble and haughty.”
Nevertheless, Scarlet paid her no mind.
“To reduce her to a concubine who not only brings shame to her clan but also warms the bed of a human child.”
She made no attempt to hide her blatant mockery.
“Your mother... the Crystal Queen must be heartbroken.”
At that name, Sephia's expression froze.
“Isn't that right, Princess of Crystal?”
Princess of Crystal. Just then, a biting cold, sharp enough to freeze, began to swirl around Sephia.
“Oh my, how frightening.”
Seeing this, Lady Scarlet hastily took a step back.
“Get out of my sight. Now.”
“Huhu, alright, alright.”
She feigned an exaggerated fuss.
“Then, for the sake of your cozy night together, the intruder will quietly take her leave.”
With that, she turned her back and melted into the darkness down the hall.
“...”
Watching her go, Sephia remained silent, biting her lip in unconcealable agitation.
***
A few months later, around the time Dale's twelfth birthday had passed.
A mobilization order was issued throughout the Empire, and a grand imperial army of nearly 40,000 soldiers was assembled.
Dale of Sachsen, the Black Prince, and his Black Armor Company also officially joined the Empire's large-scale dispatch. By then, they had grown into a heavy armored infantry of 500 men.
In addition, some of House Sachsen's Aura Knights, including Charlotte, joined as ‘officers of the Black Armor Company.’ The 6th-circle elven mage, Sephia, was no exception.
To support their commander, Dale of Sachsen.
The grand army of the Empire finally began its landing on the Isle of Britannia.
To face the Britannian independence army, rallied under the name of Orelia, the Holy Maiden, standard-bearer of salvation.
***
“...Please, do not grant me mercy.”
Before the statue of the Sister Goddesses Systina, the Holy Maiden Orelia knelt, clutching a cross necklace in her hand.
“Grant your mercy and compassion only to those I must protect.”
It was a cross carved from wood, without a single embellishment of gold or shining jewels.
A birthday gift from her deeply devout father, long ago.
“We have intelligence that a grand army from the Empire has begun to move on the continent.”
Just then, her second-in-command, the knight Gilles de Rais, appeared at the chapel entrance. A large-scale dispatch of the Imperial Army. The worst-case scenario that everyone had feared was now a reality.
“Furthermore, it seems the ‘Black Prince’ of House Sachsen has joined the war as one of the Imperial commanders.”
News from the continent did not travel easily to the Isle of Britannia. Nevertheless, she too was aware of the eldest son of House Sachsen, whose name echoed day after day.
“To entrust such a heavy responsibility to a mere child.”
Gilles de Rais tilted his head, unable to comprehend.
“I, too, was nothing more than a ‘serf's daughter’.”
“H-Holy Maiden...”
“What is seen on the surface is not all there is to this world.”
But there was not a hint of carelessness on Holy Maiden Orelia's face.
“Just because the eldest son of House Sachsen is young is no reason for us to let our guard down.”
A twelve-year-old child and a serf's daughter. Who would dare dismiss the Holy Maiden as a mere serf's daughter?
The same would be true for the eldest son of House Sachsen, the Black Prince.