Unification War - Dharon (3)
Unification War - Dharon (3)
Kwang— Kwagang!!
Exactly three massive explosion sounds.
And then followed the report from Lieutenant Colonel Dreven, commander of the Magic Artillery Battalion.
-The Magic Artillery shelling has just been completed. We will wait for about 10 minutes for the temperature to drop before we enter!
"Understood. Report to me immediately as soon as you discover anything."
-Loyalty!
As the red light of the communication orb faded with the Lieutenant Colonel's response, Belletria set it down lightly.
Her gaze turned toward me, as I still couldn't take my eyes off the thick smoke rising outside the window.
"I told you it would be fine, yet you're still worrying."
"Ah...."
Only then did I withdraw my gaze and awkwardly raise the corners of my mouth toward her.
"Since this is the first war on which my entire future depends... even though my head knows to trust Your Majesty's words and that it will be fine, I keep worrying."
"... Yes, that is understandable."
At the sight of me fidgeting with my fingertips out of nervousness, she merely burst into a small laugh.
Afterward, 15 minutes that felt like an eternity, enough to dry up one's blood, passed.
The communication orb placed on the table began to emit light again with a short vibration.
At the same time, Division Commander Gerbeon-nim and Division Commander Chern-nim, who were sitting inside the carriage, focused their gazes on the communication orb as if they had made a pact.
I also took a deep breath and braced myself, focusing all my nerves.
Belletria picked up the communication orb carefully with a relaxed gesture.
As soon as the magic connection was established, Lieutenant Colonel Dreven's highly excited voice rang out inside the carriage.
-As expected of Her Imperial Majesty! And the Commander-in-Chief-nim's insight is also phenomenal!
His rough breathing, unable to contain his excitement, was transmitted clearly.
-As a result of our Magic Artillery Battalion and the soldiers dispatched to each supply route searching the bombardment site, the enemies were reduced to nothing but ash, making it impossible to identify their exact numbers. However, we did confirm armor and weapon fragments from a few corpses that were dramatically left partially melted.
"... If the armor remained, identifying friend from foe would have been possible."
-That is correct! After analyzing the shapes and emblems, those who were lying in ambush were undoubtedly soldiers belonging to the Kingdom Alliance!
"Haa...."
Only then did my held breath burst out, and the tension in my entire body drained away.
I leaned deep into the backrest and stroked my chest in relief.
'I survived. I really didn't miss the mark.'
Belletria listened to the report calmly until the end, then ended the communication with a short word of praise for their hard work.
Then, she turned her head to look at my relieved face and smiled with a much softer expression than usual.
"Now, my fiancé will no longer have anything to be anxious about. Then, let us resume the advance."
"Understood!!"
As soon as her words fell, the two division commanders, who had been sitting opposite with stiff faces, hurriedly corrected their postures.
Their expressions were tinged with regret for having doubted and pushed me until just a moment ago.
Gerbeon-nim and Chern-nim took out communication orbs from their respective bosoms and urgently ordered all troops to resume the march.
After finishing the orders, the two of them bowed their heads deeply toward me in unison.
"Commander-in-Chief-nim... with our shallow insight, we doubted your profound wisdom. We sincerely apologize."
Division Commander Gerbeon-nim wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and his voice trembled.
"To think you saw through the Kingdom Alliance's trap that even the advance guard didn't notice. If it weren't for the Commander-in-Chief-nim's persistence today, the Imperial Army would have suffered a painful blow from the very first step. I am truly sorry for doubting your abilities."
Division Commander Chern-nim was also offering me complete recognition and an apology, with both hands clenched tightly on his knees.
And I looked down at the tops of their heads for a moment before showing a very generous and merciful smile.
"Raise your heads. Wasn't it all concern born from loyalty to the Empire? Above all, even I only managed to figure it out by pure luck... so there is no need to take it to heart."
"Commander-in-Chief-nim...."
"Rather than that, let's start the advance quickly. The Lord of Karlpen-nim must be waiting for us with his neck stretched out."
"Understood!"
Thus, Arkesium began to move its massive body once again for the conquest of Dharon.
At that time.
The central strategy meeting room of the Dharon Kingdom.
In that place where the bigwigs leading the kingdom, including Count Voltas-nim, Duke Hern-nim, and Marquis Vane-nim, had gathered once again.
While they were blankly staring at the communication orb from which only the word 'failure' of the Ahantera Peace Alliance had been heard for a long while without a word.
Count Voltas-nim, who had barely regained his senses, was the first to open his mouth.
"It is a fitting end for those who uttered such arrogant remarks. Don't you agree? Hahahaha!!"
The meaning of the news of the Alliance's failure was simple.
To stop the Imperial Army heading to Dharon for the first time before they reach the kingdom's border,
and to stop them once again with the four fortresses that had allowed the kingdom to survive intact for hundreds of years.
It meant that the plan, executed with the purpose of ultimately making the Empire give up the war first and return... had failed from the very beginning.
Count Voltas-nim stared straight at the numerous nobles who were still silent, or to be precise, ignoring reality, one by one.
"Isn't it quite funny? They failed to assassinate the Prince of Rihentra, and the lowly, trashy poor people that Baron Dereton-nim bribed have been chosen by the Prince and are getting closer to the truth based on their cooperation."
"That part...!"
"Be quiet, Duke-nim. I haven't finished speaking yet."
The Count, who had shut the mouth of Duke Hern-nim, who was trying to retort, continued his words.
"They even stopped Dharon, which tried to surrender even late, and supported them with the 7-Star Barrier, the masterpiece of the Alliance, and four companies of allied troops... but what was the result?"
"...... The Imperial Army approached right in front of us without any damage, and no matter how many days it takes, all of Dharon's fortresses will collapse, and in the end, the kingdom will disappear into history."
"Correct."
The leadership of Dharon, who had finally clearly recognized the reality they had been trying hard to ignore.
They opened and closed their mouths as if they had something to say, then soon bowed their heads deeply.
It was because they realized that whatever they said, it was all meaningless.
That was when.
"Isn't this all because Marquis Vane-nim and Viscount Delton-nim, who is not here right now, decided to assassinate the Prince!?"
Breaking the silence, someone shouted in a voice filled with malice.
"That's right. So take responsibility! Before the Empire's invasion begins in earnest, offer your lives as an apology!!"
"Sacrifice yourselves immediately so that Dharon can at least leave a name behind!!"
These were the people who had silently agreed even though they had heard the plan to assassinate the Prince earlier.
However, as soon as the Empire's blade reached their chins, they all began to point fingers at Marquis Vane-nim as if they had made a pact.
"Ugh!!"
However, Marquis Vane-nim didn't just listen quietly either.
He turned red in the face, jumped up from his seat, and shouted.
"Y-you despicable bastards! Are you trying to pin all the responsibility on me now? Didn't you all shut your mouths and agree when you heard my plan!"
The Marquis shouted while pointing fingers, but nothing could be heard by the nobles who were terrified by the fear that had reached right in front of them.
Thus, the meeting room eventually turned into an ugly mess in an instant, with resentment and blame toward each other intertwined, and it was the moment when internal division was about to reach its peak.
Bang!
The door of the strategy meeting room opened, and a messenger covered in dirt and dust suddenly appeared.
Duke Hern-nim yelled at the messenger with a heavily distorted face.
"How rude! Daring to barge in here, knowing where this place is, you mere soldier...!"
"R-report!"
The messenger, unbothered by the Duke-nim's yelling, squeezed out his voice urgently while prostrate on the floor.
"T-the news is that 7,000 troops of Dharon, including Count Denias Karlpen-nim, the Lord of the 3rd Fortress Karlpen... have surrendered to the Imperial Army before the full-scale battle even began!"
"W-what!?"
The mouths of the nobles who were fighting with veins popping out at the completely unexpected news fell open, and Count Voltas-nim helplessly dropped the documents he was holding to the floor.
Soon, the meeting room was submerged in perfect silence, where not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
At that time, the back gate of the 3rd Fortress, Karlpen.
Amidst the momentum exuded by tens of thousands of Imperial troops, there was a man walking in the lead, bowing and scraping.
It was Count Denias-nim, the Lord of Karlpen.
He was diligently guiding them through the interior of the fortress, constantly checking the mood of Belletria, who was leaning on the window frame of the carriage with her chin resting on her hand.
Belletria looked down at the back of his head as he led the way for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"I am still not sure."
The Emperor's voice, indifferent to the point of suffocation.
Count Denias-nim's shoulders flinched.
"Whether I should brand you a cunning traitor and drag you away. Or whether I should cut off your head immediately since I don't know when you might betray the Empire. Or if not that, whether I should praise you for being truly wise and then give you an appropriate reward."
It was a low and antique voice befitting the dignity of an emperor, but the meaning contained within it made people shrink back on their own.
And Count Denias-nim, who had grasped the situation faster than anyone else, bowed his waist deeply like a ripe rice stalk and answered urgently.
"R-reward is something I dare not even hope for, Your Majesty! If you could just allow my territory, Karlpen, to continue to exist safely in the future, that is all I, your subject, need."
Watching his bent back with sweat drops falling, Belletria laughed as if snorting softly.
Then, as if she had lost interest, she turned her gaze to look at the procession of the Imperial Army following the carriage in an orderly manner.
I watched the scene silently from right beside her, then poked my head out the window slightly and asked Count Denias-nim.
"More than that, what is the real reason you surrendered?"
"Pardon? T-that is, Commander-in-Chief-nim...."
"Even though the identity of the spy Olden-nim was discovered, it seems a bit insufficient to be the justification for holding 7,000 troops and throwing the fortress gates wide open without even putting up a fight."
At my pointing out, Count Denias-nim coughed and avoided my gaze.
He rolled his eyes here and there for a moment, hesitated, and then lowered his voice as much as possible to whisper.
"W-well, actually... I had been dissatisfied with Dharon's centralized system from the beginning. I had guarded the barren border for hundreds of years, but the center never treated me properly even once."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and glanced at Belletria to check her mood.
"But as it happens, the great Imperial Majesty decided to walk the great path of continental unification, didn't you? You are already walking that path, and it seemed clear that you would finish it before long. So... I just wanted to offer Dharon first and take a position before that."
"Hoho... I see."
'Wow, this guy is an opportunist to the bone. His skill at playing both sides is an art.'
Clicking my tongue lightly inside, I showed a soft smile to make him as relieved as possible.
"You are quite materialistic. That's why I trust you even more."
"Haha... I will take that as a compliment."
Leaving the Count-nim, who was laughing awkwardly, behind, I leaned my body back into the chair.
After continuing along the road for about 40 minutes, the silhouette of a wall rising massively over the horizon in the distance began to enter my view.
It was Basern Fortress, one of the core defensive lines of Dharon where the full-scale battle would begin.
I unconsciously stroked the area around my collarbone, which hadn't fully healed yet, and stared outside.
'Will I have a chance to draw my sword and fight there too?'
I saw the back of Ruamel, who was riding a horse while escorting the carriage, maintaining a constant distance outside the window.
Seeing her unshakeable, straight back, I decided to neatly fold away the thought I just had.
'No. If I act up for no reason and get hit by a stray arrow somewhere, it's a dog's death. For now, I should just stick right next to Ruamel no matter what.'
Survival is the top priority.
I firmly engraved that proposition in my heart once again and exhaled deeply.