Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Mountains of Corpses and Seas of Blood (5)
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Loyalty to the kingdom had long since vanished entirely. It was only natural. Not just the nobles... even family...
To them, Anna was like a beautiful bird. A bird perfect for keeping locked in a cage.
She knew it well. Simply being born into royalty rather than as a mere serf was already more happiness than one could ask for.
The fact that there were far more people in even more unfortunate circumstances than her own. That was why she harbored no desire to resent them.
But... that didn't mean she wanted to spend eternity in that cage, basking in the stability and ruin bestowed upon her by others.
Even if being born in a golden cage was a blessing, she had the right to kick her way out of it.
'Even meaningless flailing would have been fine. I'd already half-given up anyway. And that's when you appeared before me.'
Your figure, refusing to give up the fight until the very bitter end, even in an environment far harsher than her own.
It was utterly desperate, and yet that very desperation made it poignantly beautiful... It was from that sight she first drew courage.
The cage suppressed her freedom like a prison, but it also served as a shield protecting her from threats.
What would be left to her if even that golden cage were stripped away...?
'I was afraid. Wasn't it really just about proving my abilities, wrapped in the pretty packaging of "for the kingdom"...?'
Even a fresh start proved far from easy. Especially with such an overwhelming benchmark right beside her.
Cain Blackguard. The famed general who triumphed over the imperial forces despite his dire circumstances and overwhelming disadvantage.
If the brilliance of his uniqueness was the sun, then Anna's own light wasn't even the moon—it wasn't a star either.
Shards of inferiority stabbed at her lungs. Jealousy flared like wildfire, rising all the way to her throat.
Yet even amid those feelings, Anna suppressed them herself. She even turned them into fuel.
I'll just do what I can right now. Even if it's small and insignificant, even if no one notices.
'This isn't about seeking recognition. It's not a stage to prove my abilities. It's simply... fulfilling my responsibilities.'
She started anew from the smallest tasks. They were grueling, and no one acknowledged her efforts, but they were surprisingly enjoyable.
She personally witnessed farm work she'd never seen up close before. She heard the clang of hammers in the forges with her own ears.
She became ears to hear the people's voices, eyes to see their lives, and a mouth to voice their needs.
And right now... thanks to all that experience, she could stand firm without fleeing, right before everyone's eyes.
"Princess Anna...!!"
"Your Highness, how much hardship have you endured all this time?"
"Just hold on a little longer. His Majesty the King will surely...!!"
"......"
If this had been the old Anna, who never once spread her wings inside that cage, she would have been overwhelmed by this near-fanatical scene.
But she was different now. It had only been three years, but she'd tasted every bitterness from the very lowest rungs.
And above all, hadn't she witnessed it closest of all? The ideal of truly caring for the people.
"I ask all of you enduring this precarious day: how long will you keep offering your lives for a false king?"
"What? What do you mean...?"
"You're slandering our king right now...!!"
"Don't you already know? If your king truly loved you, things never would have come to this."
Though their paths had diverged, she believed her brother's talents could bloom flowers even in a wasteland.
Of course, he'd already made mistakes too grave for that, but blood is thicker than water, right? Family all the same.
Yet Andrei had crossed the line. He'd shattered the fragile balance between the Empire and the Alliance.
This war's vortex wouldn't stop easily. And in the process, countless people would die.
"War always calls the names of the lowliest. It tears mothers' hearts and leaves promises to children that will never return."
"......"
"Your loyalty is noble, no doubt. But please, just once, think again. Is this any way to be normal?"
It was clumsy. Powerless. Like a candle flame about to flicker out, Anna's words shook feebly on.
And how could it not?
How many times had she ever stepped forward herself? This was probably her first.
Yet even in that awkward, clumsy speech that was little more than a plea, people's hearts began to stir.
It wasn't eloquence. Far from a grand oration.
Still, the reason that clumsy plea moved hearts... there was only one.
Sincerity.
While handling the territory's administration, Anna had taken in the sights of those living at the very bottom.
That was why she knew. The lives of the common folk... not jewels, but far more precious than any gem.
"This isn't an order—it's a request. Carry each other, protect each other, and come home together. Choose one another, not glory."
"Shut your mouth!! You know nothing, you traitor who abandoned us! How dare you try to beguile us with your silver tongue!!"
Of course, not everyone was swayed by her sincerity. Some even exploded in rage, drawing their swords.
But... that was no problem at all. Because the one protecting her was right there.
The eyes beneath his black hair gleamed with thick killing intent. Cain Blackguard stood by her side.
'...I disguised him as a regular soldier just in case, sticking close by. Luckily, he's doing even better than expected.'
Of course, thanks to the helmet pulled low and the disguise magic, no one realized he was Cain.
Maybe... she didn't even need to step forward like this.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thanks to Anna stepping forward personally, the people's hearts began to turn bit by bit. The overall mood hadn't shifted, though.
Soldiers crossing the wagon lines were still executed without fail. But... if they dropped their weapons and fled?
Or if they hid in villages to live ordinary lives...? They let those go. They could have caught them, but didn't.
Seeing Anna persuade them in person made them overlook it. There were hardly any soldiers causing real trouble anyway.
That said, it wasn't just Cain and Anna working hard. The imperial forces were giving their all too.
Especially the mages and priests—they'd suffered immensely. All to uncover the kingdom army's secret of immortality.
"Any progress?"
"Fortunately, we've made some headway. At first, we thought it was just pure regeneration, but it's not."
"...Then what is it?"
"In simple terms... there's some massive entity connecting all the soldiers together."
From the moment they'd first detected the kingdom army's immortality up to now, the Empire's mages and priests had poured in everything.
Thanks to that, they could now suppress and capture kingdom guerrilla forces even without Cain.
But unveiling that secret had hit massive roadblocks. And understandably so. The mage swallowed dryly.
"It's not mana... not divine power... nothing like that. Some people even lost their minds just from perceiving its existence."
"Lost their minds? Are they okay now?"
"Y-yes. Strangely, more issues cropped up among the priests than the mages. The reason's still..."
"That's enough."
According to the report, some bizarre force—not mana or divine power—linked the soldiers like threads.
And it couldn't be severed by physical force, nor even mana or divine power...
The only things with any effect were Cain's death force and Anna's speeches. Cain nodded.
"So that connecting entity is something like faith. To grant that level of power just through belief..."
"...That's the conclusion we reached too. It's something transcendental..."
"So the priests went mad from sensing something they couldn't handle."
"Not certain, but... that's the likely explanation."
Listening to the report, Cain fell into thought. He knew a similar power. No, he didn't just know it.
He'd used it himself to get this far. That's right. Defeat Regression. A force transcending time and space.
The kingdom's power felt similar in nature to Defeat Regression—not just a hunch.
"No choice. I'll have to check it out myself..."
"Then..."
"Yeah. Now that the occupied territories are stable and the kingdom forces shattered..."
We head for the capital.