The Empire's Guardian (2)
The Winter War had ended in the empire’s victory, bringing the Long Winter of the Apocalypse to a complete close. Thanks to that, the empire began to flourish rapidly, drawing on the experience and resources it had accumulated over the years. It was no exaggeration to call this the empire’s golden age.
But the empire was not the only one reaping such benefits. The monsters that had remained silent throughout the endless winter were beginning to stir once more. They could not be dismissed as mere beasts. These were creatures that had survived the apocalypse itself. Their strength was not to be underestimated. In fact, the academy had even published a thesis claiming that the monsters within the empire were at least three times more vicious and powerful than those found in other regions.
And that was precisely why she had been summoned.
Having her hard-earned holiday interrupted left her with a sour expression, as if she had bitten into something foul. Still, she did not voice any complaints. The situation was simply that grave.
Monsters were living beings, after all. The key difference from ordinary ecosystems was that, unlike beasts that usually formed packs with their own kind, monsters banded together indiscriminately. Alliances could range from goblins and kobolds working together to drakes and lizardmen mixing in the same group. Their compositions were so varied that predicting their behavior was nearly impossible.
But that wasn’t the important part. It was natural for monsters to form groups, and if they caused trouble, they could simply be subjugated. The real problem lay elsewhere.
“So you’re saying the monsters have settled right on the border between the empire and the kingdom?”
“That’s right. It’s incredibly annoying.”
“Damn it, why the hell did they have to pick that exact spot?”
The monsters had chosen to settle precisely on the border between the empire and the kingdom. Because of that, neither side could easily deploy their armies. Hiring adventurers was one option, but since the adventurer’s guild did not exist in the empire, that was not a viable solution. Moreover, the kingdom had already hired adventurers three times, only for every party of A-rank adventurers to be completely wiped out. All three times.
The adventurer’s guild had concluded that at least an S-rank party was necessary, but every S-rank party affiliated with the kingdom was already committed to other requests. In the end, they had no choice but to mobilize their armies instead of adventurers.
Yet if the empire moved its troops, the kingdom would do the same. If their forces encountered each other on the border without any prior agreement, the worst-case scenario was war.
“Have there been any reported civilian casualties?”
“Fortunately, none. That area is uninhabited.”
“Then there’s no need to rush into action.”
Wolfgang Leonhardt was the very model of a hero. She placed the highest priority on human lives and despised unnecessary bloodshed. Even if it meant suppressing her own hatred.
Honestly, Leipen wouldn’t have minded going to war with the kingdom. In fact, she had recently grown so radical that she now advocated crushing the kingdom entirely. But rationally speaking, starting a war with the kingdom right now would be an enormous loss. The empire was currently enjoying a golden age of prosperity, yet the wounds of the past had not fully healed. To thrust a blade into a body that had only just begun to grow new flesh? Even if they won, they would lose far more than they gained. That was the conclusion Leipen had reached.
Rationally, negotiating with the kingdom was the correct choice. As emperor, Leipen had already come to that decision. But as the commander of the Vendetta Legion, she found it deeply displeasing.
Fortunately, they had managed to get through the last incident somehow. Even so, Leipen had no desire to become entangled with the kingdom once more. In her heart, she simply wanted to ignore the whole thing. Civilian casualties, border tensions with the kingdom—those were all just excuses. She simply didn’t like it.
However, Leipen was not foolish enough to let personal feelings override public duty. Could they really afford to ignore a monster horde that had grown large enough to swallow the entire border region? Absolutely not. It was true that relations with the kingdom were poor, but using that as an excuse to delay would only cause the damage to reach the empire itself. And as emperor, she could never allow that.
“It seems we will need to hold talks with the kingdom.”
“Yes, that appears to be the best course of action.”
The moment Leipen spoke with imperial dignity, Wolfgang naturally adjusted her tone of address. Even in Wolfgang’s eyes, the fastest way to resolve this was to hold talks as quickly as possible.
Naturally, the kingdom was not incompetent enough to overlook the issue. In fact, they seemed to be on nearly equal footing with the empire, as they had already begun preparing for talks. Though swords were not drawn, a fierce battle of pushing and pulling unfolded at the negotiating table. In the end, both sides agreed to launch a joint operation to subjugate the monsters.
In truth, it was an obvious outcome. If left alone, monsters would grow powerful enough to threaten entire nations. Moreover, the leader of the horde currently occupying the border seemed to understand the human concept of “national borders.” In other words, there existed a monster with intelligence equal to—or at least capable of understanding—humans.
Both the empire and the kingdom judged that further delay would lead to a catastrophic disaster. Unusually, they concluded the talks in just two weeks and decided on a cooperative operation. After all, history was littered with examples of nations that had been destroyed by monsters after wasting too much time.
The empire naturally dispatched Wolfgang Leonhardt, the war hero who had led them to victory in the Winter War. However, the kingdom sent an unexpected figure.
His name was Zaiha von Barcleon Mines. The deposed crown prince had been chosen as their commander.
Zaiha had been an almost perfect crown prince. He possessed both excellent character and sharp intellect. Most importantly, he had the martial prowess befitting a kingdom known as the Land of Knights. His younger brother, Zaid, had initially coveted the position of crown prince, but soon gave up. He had realized he could never win the battle for the throne.
Therefore, it was not particularly strange that Zaiha had been selected to command the monster subjugation force. He possessed sufficient strength, and his abilities could not be considered lacking.
But Theodor was not the type to simply watch and wait. The empire had already announced that Wolfgang herself would take the field. Of course, she was no longer his little sister but the hero Wolfgang Leonhardt. Still, facing the man who had once abandoned her was bound to stir up emotions. From Theodor’s perspective—one who wished only for his sister to walk a path of happiness—he could not simply stand by.
That was why this uncomfortable march had begun.
At the head of the column rode Prince Zaiha von Barcleon Mines on horseback, with Theodor sticking close to his side. Anyone who knew the full story would have found the sight so suffocating they might have fainted. Fortunately—or unfortunately—few ordinary soldiers knew the details that deeply.
At first, Theodor had tried to slowly discern Prince Zaiha’s intentions. Sadly, there was no time for that. The moment they believed they had reached the monsters’ nest, the creatures launched a unified assault.
And they were incredibly diverse. Not only goblins and kobolds, but even ogres had appeared.
“Maintain formation! Mages, focus your firepower on the ogres! Soldiers, prepare for close combat!!”
“Move faster! If we lose momentum here, we’re all dead!!”
Fortunately, the kingdom was not so easily overwhelmed. Though they had been caught off guard by the sudden ambush, they quickly regrouped under the command of Theodor and Zaiha. Aside from the initial casualties, they did not suffer any devastating losses.
Yet as the battle continued, Theodor began to feel something was off. At first he thought it was simply an ambush. But upon closer inspection, it looked less like an organized attack and more like a desperate flight. As if the monsters were fleeing for their lives from something overwhelmingly powerful.
Whoosh—!
Boom—!
Prince Zaiha’s question was answered without difficulty. A streak of flame fell from the sky like a meteor and reduced the lizardman he had been fighting to nothing but ash.
Boom! Bang!!
Only after every monster charging toward him had been turned to cinders did Zaiha finally have a moment to look up at the sky.
A woman with white hair, her entire body wreathed in flames. With a mere wave of her hand, blazing meteors rained down from above, sweeping away every monster in sight. The creatures fled in terror, unable to even think of resisting such overwhelming power.
Instinctively, he understood.
She was the empire’s war hero.
Wolfgang Leonhardt.
She was looking down at them all from the sky.