Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Dragon's Trial (6)
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Military law must above all else be solemn and upright. It is a realization born from the ceaseless experiences of the battlefield.
The loss of military discipline collapses formations and turns soldiers into a rabble.
How many battles ended in total annihilation without even properly fighting? That is why I upheld military law most strictly.
And that law admits no exceptions, not even in the imperial palace where the Emperor reigns.
"Your Majesty! This is far too harsh!"
"Indeed! How could palace maids working in the imperial palace know military law from the start?"
"Please show mercy to these poor girls and withdraw your imperial command!!"
From that perspective, the nobles had chosen a far wiser course of action than I expected.
Protesting against me, who had declared this place a battlefield and was acting accordingly, could easily lead to punishment under military law if they misspoke.
The Emperor's face, which had been watching with unexpected interest, soon twisted.
"Your retainers' words do have merit. I've seen enough of your abilities, so why spill blood unnecessarily?"
"We are immensely grateful, Your Majesty!!"
"Your Majesty's mercy shall reach the lofty heavens!"
Yet contrary to his words, the Emperor gazed at me with an expression of anticipation.
Even without regard for the Emperor's countenance, I had intended to refuse from the start.
I had already received sword and edict from the Emperor, declared this place a battlefield on that basis, and even issued warnings.
"Your Majesty, I have already received your command and become a general. And this place now is not the imperial palace, but a battlefield deciding life and death."
"That too is certainly reasonable."
War is the pinnacle of violence waged with lives on the line. A living hell where a single moment's decision determines whether countless soldiers live or die.
Waiting for an imperial command in a time-critical situation? That is the straight path to defeat. No wonder there's a saying about the swiftness of troops being like ghosts.
The countless battlefields I had endured and the myriad deaths I had witnessed flashed through my mind. I poured all those emotions into my words.
"Therefore... a general waging war on the battlefield may not even obey an imperial command."
Following my resolute voice came the chilling sound of a sharp blade tearing through skin and muscle, cleaving straight to the bone.
As the merciless beheading was carried out, the imperial palace froze in terror in an instant.
It seemed even they hadn't expected me to truly execute a palace maid with my own hands.
"Kyaaack?!"
"Sh-she really died!"
"M-Mother! Father!!"
The palace maids screamed in pale-faced panic, scattering in fright.
It was exactly like a scene from long ago. Just like the soldiers who fled in terror before the overwhelmingly mighty imperial army.
I could allow no further chaos. Tensing my throat, I bellowed at the top of my lungs.
"Silence, all of you! Have you forgotten military discipline?!"
Military discipline. At that single phrase, the maids' frenzied movements halted as if by magic.
The gazes fixed on me were no longer frivolously light as before.
Receiving stares stained with fear and terror instead of mockery and laughter, I raised my bloodied sword as a warning.
"Anyone who moves from their position without orders will be deemed deserters and punished under military law."
"......"
"Is there an army anywhere that gives no response even after receiving orders from a superior?!"
"Y-yes, sir! Understood!"
"Good. Next..."
Appointing two of the highest-ranking maids among the executed as unit commanders in their stead, I conducted the training exactly the same way.
They had started by ignoring me, laughing and chattering, but at least now they knew their lives were on the line.
They moved with crisp precision to the calls and drumbeats. Judging this sufficient, I turned to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, the army is ready. Will you command them yourself?"
"No need. With discipline instilled and movements precise, it matters not who the commander is."
"I am honored, Your Majesty."
"If I were to reprimand you for this incident... what would you say in response?"
I silently met the Emperor's gaze. Once again, his words and actions differed. His face was still filled with expectation.
In other words, this too was a kind of test. I racked my brains desperately.
Behind me stood 100,000 people. To protect them, I...
"Does Your Majesty wish to see the words of the military classics? Or the classics themselves?"
I could not fail. Not under any circumstances.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Even the heavy, dignified gaze of Emperor Leonis was helplessly captivated by the spectacle unfolding before him.
At first, it was a sight to behold. The palace maids openly ignored him or even mocked him outright.
The Emperor had even briefly worried that his second prince might be disheartened by the failure.
"Thus, for that crime, I sentence the two unit commanders to decapitation."
But the unbearable scene lasted only a moment. The place where he stood alone was none other than the battlefield.
The instant he clearly recognized this as a battlefield, the aura emanating from his entire being dominated the imperial palace in a flash.
Naturally, maids who had never held a sword in their lives couldn't withstand it.
"Your Majesty! This is far too harsh!"
"Indeed! How could palace maids working in the imperial palace know military law from the start?"
"Please show mercy to these poor girls and withdraw your imperial command!!"
That was when the nobles knelt before the Emperor. They were certainly no easy foes.
Interfering with Blackguard now could lead to punishment under military law if they erred.
They judged that kneeling and pleading to the Emperor was the only way to halt this horrific spectacle.
'Certainly not a wrong judgment. But... would it be that easy?'
Even so, having received their plea, he pretended to heed it. But it wasn't from true sincerity.
Rather, the Emperor used the nobles' request as pretext to test Blackguard.
And as expected, Blackguard passed the Emperor's test magnificently.
"Your Majesty, I have already received your command and become a general. And this place now is not the imperial palace, but a battlefield deciding life and death."
"Therefore... a general waging war on the battlefield may not even obey an imperial command."
His words were so perfectly logical that no rebuttal was possible. Hadn't the Emperor himself roamed the battlefields?
Having spent half his life on the battlefield, Emperor Leonis was all the more pleased.
What followed was obvious even without watching. Overwhelmed by his aura, the maids obeyed commands like different people entirely.
Having transformed the rabble of maids into a perfect army, Blackguard turned back to the Emperor.
"If I were to reprimand you for this incident... what would you say in response?"
This was the final trial. Would he offer loyal counsel staking his life? Or prattle flattering words like a sycophant?
Blackguard fell silent for a moment. But the pause wasn't long.
"Does Your Majesty wish to see the words of the military classics? Or the classics themselves?"
"...Ha, haha, puhahaha!!"
In the end, Emperor Leonis burst into laughter, forgetting even the dignity befitting an emperor. Yet no one mocked him.
He merely laughed heartily, but that aura alone overwhelmed the entire hall.
He was the Emperor of the Empire. Though now clad in attire unfit for the empire... his essence was that of a dragon, a tyrant.
"Sixty years. I have reigned for a full sixty years. Satisfied with my position now, with the achievements I myself forged."
"......"
"But a dragon is a dragon, even in old age. The ambitions etched in blood have not cooled even after sixty years!"
"......Is that so."
"Speak your desire."
No longer sat a human on the throne. It was a colossal being that subjugated countless humans with a single roar.
Though aged by the passage of time, the dragon that had lost none of its majesty reigned here.
Yet Blackguard showed not a hint of fear even before the dragon.
"I do not understand your meaning."
"Having passed the dragon's trial, you deserve fitting recompense. Refuse, and it would be a grave sin."
For so long an eyesore, the alliance was shattered, and here stood the talent to achieve continental unification.
And to claim that talent, the Emperor would give anything.
At the Emperor's bold declaration, the nobles' gazes in the palace turned to Blackguard.
In response, Blackguard knelt on one knee and bowed his head to the Emperor for the first time.
"Your Majesty, please take in the 100,000 people who followed me. I desire nothing else."
"Is that sincere?"
"Yes."
Only then did the Emperor understand why this loyal retainer had surrendered to the empire.
To protect those who trusted and followed him, he surrendered to the empire and even overcame the dragon's trial...
Truly... strict with military law yet cherishing those below him without personal desires, a hero of vast capacity and stratagems!