Unification War - Dharon (1)
Unification War - Dharon (1)
Time passed, and finally, the day of the departure ceremony for the conquest of Dharon arrived.
At the southern gate of the capital, Iter, officers of at least the rank of captain from the 4th and 5th Divisions of the Imperial Knights were lined up in orderly fashion.
The mobile strike battalion under Marquis Rosian Azlo, the Empire's 2nd Heavy Cavalry Regiment, and three brigades of northern conscript infantry were waiting for departure at the southern border of Archesium.
I climbed onto the podium and looked down at the Imperial officers for a moment.
Beside me stood Beletria, wearing the Imperial military uniform instead of her usual languid appearance, with an expressionless face.
"Hoo...."
After taking a light breath, I drew up my mana and amplified my voice.
"Unlike my old homeland, Rihentra, this war will end within a week at the longest."
The numerous officers gathered on the parade ground looked up at me simultaneously.
I could see doubt and distrust flickering in the eyes of most of the officers.
It was a natural reaction, as it was an incredibly arrogant and unconventional declaration for a Commander-in-Chief who was a hostage from a ruined small-to-medium-sized nation to make in front of the Imperial Army that commanded the continent.
But precisely because of that, I didn't stop speaking and put even more strength into my voice.
"I know this might sound cocky. But there was only one reason why Rihentra was able to hold out for a whopping three months against the overwhelming offensive of the Empire."
"......."
"It was because the guy called the King finally reached out to the illegitimate son he had abandoned his entire life. It was thanks to my efforts in crafting every single tactic solely for the sake of the name 'homeland,' even while hating those who abandoned me to the bone."
'To think she had already figured out that I was an illegitimate son who had been stuck in a detached palace for 20 years and wasn't even treated like a prince.'
As I said this, I let out a dry laugh to myself.
Last night, while we were lying in bed together, Beletria had casually mentioned out of the blue that she already knew the whole truth through an intelligence unit called the Wolikdae.
And after a conversation that lasted late into the night, I decided to inform the entire Imperial Army of this fact myself before the war began.
While the Archesium Empire might not have much interest in other countries, there was a high probability that other kingdoms that had frequent exchanges, including Dharon, knew my name and my miserable situation to some extent.
That meant there was a sufficient possibility that my past would be distorted and spread as a laughingstock by the enemy during the war, and that would be enough to lower the morale of our troops.
Therefore, I thought it would be better to expose all my shameful secrets with my own mouth and prove it with my skills.
'Of course, the reaction doesn't look as good as I expected.'
At my blunt remark, the area became silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
At first, the officers showed signs of confusion, murmuring among themselves.
But soon, veteran officers who had personally experienced the war with Rihentra on the front lines nodded as if they finally understood.
"Certainly... from the first month, the movements of the Kingdom's army suddenly changed noticeably."
"That's right. The guys who were stupidly just maintaining their formation suddenly changed their attack tactics organically by using the terrain."
Sounds of people recalling memories of past battles could be heard faintly from here and there.
Facing their changed gazes, I was convinced that revealing my cards honestly from the beginning was the right answer.
And convinced that the atmosphere had completely shifted to my side, I turned my head slightly and looked at Beletria standing beside me.
She was still watching my speech without saying a word.
'She really is a woman I can't figure out.'
I looked at her face for a moment, then shifted my gaze back to the front and thought at the same time.
Surely, when she conquered Rihentra.
On the first day, she had shown off her overwhelming martial power by wiping out the enemy's Marquis and 10,000 Kingdom troops alone.
I know that right after that, she stepped back and did not directly intervene in the war, saying she wanted to check the loyalty and ability of the Grand Dukes.
It's all meaningless now, but to be honest, if she were to direct the war from start to finish and be active on the battlefield herself.
It would really be possible to subjugate all nations within a year, so I had wondered why she was going through the trouble of fighting a war, and that's why I asked her carefully yesterday.
And the answer that came back was very simple and plain.
'No matter how much I am the only transcendent on the continent, I cannot face at least thousands of knights every day without resting.'
'On top of that, it's even more impossible since there would be Aura users mixed in, not just ordinary knights. Above all, governing the inside of the Empire is more important than going out to war directly.'
Yes, it was definitely all true.
Because before being a Sword Master, Beletria is the Emperor of a nation, and an Empire at that.
'But unlike what she said yesterday, why did she suddenly decide out of the blue this morning to be with me from start to finish this time....'
She deliberately set the stage for me to prove my abilities to the entire Imperial Army, and now that she's participating, there's no meaning as Commander-in-Chief.
They aren't idiots; would they listen to my orders when the Emperor, whom even division commanders, no, 4-star generals, are terrified of, is participating in the war directly?
Therefore, I couldn't grasp her intentions at all, but since Beletria had already appeared on the podium, there was nothing I could do.
'Well... it'll work out somehow.'
I shook my head lightly to shake off distracting thoughts and fixed my gaze forward again.
"Therefore, for the glory of the Empire, and for the noble aspirations of Her Majesty. Within just one week, we will plant the flag of Archesium in the heart of Dharon!"
I drew the sword I was wearing at my waist and raised it toward the sky.
Clang-!
"All troops, advance!"
Around the time there was about 2 hours left until Karlpen, the 3rd fortress of Dharon, which was the first destination of the Imperial Army.
Inside the carriage where the 4th Division Commander Gerbern Ataolf, 5th Division Commander Chern Oldea, and finally, Empress Beletria Lien Archesium were riding together.
I was unfolding a map, feeling everyone's attention focused on me.
'Hmm... the gazes are quite stinging.'
The reason I was unfolding the map out of the blue when the plan was already completely finished was simple.
It was because the same report had just come up from the scouts and some of the advance guard that I had sent earlier to identify risk factors.
[The terrain near the path chosen for the 3rd and 5th supply routes is slightly different from what was drawn on the map we secured. So, we even used detection magic to look around within a 5km radius... but fortunately, no traps or Dharon troops were found.]
[The hill on the path that the Magic Artillery Battalion will pass through has become noticeably higher than it was a month ago. As a result of checking this as well, only the hill was a bit higher, and nothing else was found.]
It was a truly strange report.
Just then, 4th Division Commander Gerbern, who had been staring at my face from the opposite diagonal, opened his mouth with a good-natured smile.
"Commander-in-Chief. You don't need to worry too much. Haven't the excellent scouts of the advance guard already confirmed several times that there are no problems?"
5th Division Commander Chern, who was beside him, also chimed in.
"That's right. Once the war begins in earnest, there won't be much time to even sit down and rest like this, so you should put the map away and get some rest now."
"... Understood. I'll look a little longer and then rest."
I answered and shifted my gaze back to the map.
To my reaction, Beletria, who was sitting next to me, also added a word.
"The two division commanders are right. I also heard that report at first and, just in case, ordered a search party to be sent separately for a second investigation."
"I heard. That there was no problem...."
"Yes, it has already been cross-checked that there are no problems and no traces of any mana. You don't need to worry too much, my fiancé. Since it's your first command in actual combat, it must be because you've become overly sensitive than usual due to pressure and anxiety."
"Pressure and anxiety... yes, that's right."
As she said, all three of them seemed to think that I was buying unnecessary worries because I was so nervous.
However, for some reason, I felt I couldn't let my guard down until I saw something more concrete, so I kept staring at the map.
They stared at me for a moment, and when I still didn't take my eyes off the map, they soon shrugged and started talking among themselves.
"Above all, it is just an honor for us to be on this battlefield directly with Your Majesty. We sincerely thank you for giving us such a valuable opportunity."
As Division Commander Chern bowed and flattered her, Beletria replied with an indifferent face.
"Honor, what honor. I'm just going to watch what my fiancé shows, so don't worry about it."
She finished her short answer and turned her gaze out the carriage window to look at the bleak landscape of the plains.
In the meantime, I was only rolling my head constantly, looking alternately at the original map before the update placed on my lap and the map newly drawn by the scouts.
'There's really nothing?'
The timing was too coincidental to call it a natural terrain change.
'If the enemy really didn't tamper with anything, why did the altitude of the terrain change so noticeably right before the war?'
My gaze turned to the path of the Magic Artillery Battalion, marked with a red dot on the map.
'And why, out of the many Imperial Army branches, did only the hill that the Magic Artillery Battalion, which is the most annoying and obstructive in breaking enemy walls during a siege, will pass through become exactly 50m higher?'
Questions followed one after another, but no suitable answer came to mind.
'Are the three of them right, am I being too sensitive? Maybe an earthquake happened by chance and the terrain rose, or maybe there was a slight error in the terrain grasp by the Imperial intelligence department a month ago.'
Since no abnormalities were detected even by the mages' mana detection, there was really no justification to keep harping on it.
'Yes, there's really nothing. Since even the mages went out and found nothing, it's really not there.'
I tried to suppress my uncomfortable feelings, closed my tired eyes, and leaned the back of my head against the chair.
And it was at that very moment, when I was trying to relax and take a short break somehow.
'Wait, it doesn't get caught by detection magic?'
A fragment of the past suddenly flashed through my mind.
Back when I was trapped in the detached palace.
It was that night when I snuck out to a secluded spot in the garden and had a secret meeting with Ersil at the banquet hall for exchanges with foreign royals, which was my only outing.
—Idelon, this is a top secret I heard secretly from my brother. These days, they are gathering all the best mages and talents from each country in the Kingdom Alliance and developing a few very new barriers.
—New barriers? Why all of a sudden?
—The atmosphere of the Archesium Empire is unusual these days, isn't it? So it seems the Alliance side judges that a huge war that will swallow the entire continent will break out soon. It's a barrier they are making in top secret to stop that....
She whispered softly in my ear, watching her surroundings.
—The name hasn't been decided yet, but the core effect is probably Spatial Peeling.
—Spatial Peeling?
—Yes, do you know that 6-star barrier, the Infinite Corridor, which is banned on the continent? It's similar in overall effect, but it seems to be a barrier that feels like it has compensated for the fatal flaws and strengthened the strengths much more destructively.
—The Alliance can create a barrier with such an effect?
—Well... scholars also see that there is almost no possibility of it being created. But if, if it really is completed, they said that the eighth 7-Star Barrier in continental history would be born.
Dharon... it's not part of the Kingdom Alliance.
It was known that they had a bad relationship with the Kingdom Alliance since the days of the 3 Duchies.
However, the Kingdom Alliance had already sensed the war clouds and had been setting up countermeasures to resist for several years....
"C, could it be?"
My eyes snapped open.
7-Star Barrier.
The one that had only existed seven times until now.
And a barrier that had not appeared anymore since the last 7-Star barrier master disappeared.
If that absurdly powerful barrier was really completed, and the Kingdom of Dharon had deployed it on the path for this war?
'If it's a 7-Star Barrier... unless it's a high-level detection magic cast by a Great Mage of the same 7-Circle level, ordinary mages of lower circles can never find its energy.'
Beletria is also staying by my side.
It was a natural result that the advance guard's detection mages found nothing.
Because it was a gap that they couldn't even perceive in the first place with their level.
Therefore, having nothing more to worry about, I broke the peaceful silence of the carriage and shouted.
"We must stop the advance right now!!"