Escalation of War (2)
Escalation of War (2)
The Epirus Kingdom.
Decades ago, the Kingdom had been on the brink of destruction after the Monster King's intrusion. With the Empire's help, it had barely survived.
Even now, the Empire's influence loomed so heavily over it that the Kingdom was referred to as a satellite state of the Empire.
"Then that might mean the Epirus Kingdom didn't make this decision on its own."
The Princess looked down from the hill at the troops deployed across the wide basin.
This was the territory of the Carlos Kingdom.
And yet, the Epirus Kingdom's army was encamped in the basin.
They were a force of only about two thousand—not very large for a kingdom's army—but they were well-trained, and their morale wasn't bad.
I surveyed the enemy camp alongside the Princess, recalling what had happened before.
On the day we set out for the capital, urgent dispatches arrived from the eastern territories.
They reported that the Epirus Kingdom, located to the east of our kingdom, had launched a full-scale invasion.
It was an absurd development, but urgent reports were flying in from multiple territories at once, so we had no choice but to turn back.
The Princess and the Duke of Gracia had their power base here in the eastern region of the Kingdom, and the Gracia Dukedom was only two territories away from the Epirus Kingdom.
Besides, while the fight against the other princes was a civil war, the Epirus army represented a foreign invasion.
Leaving an invading foreign army unchecked while marching on the capital would inevitably deal a severe blow to the royal family's honor.
After rushing here with our forces, we found the Epirus Kingdom's army encamped inside our kingdom like this.
The problem was that, although they had clearly crossed our borders first, the formation they had deployed in the basin was not one an attacking army would use.
A long wooden palisade and various obstacles had been set up.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a defensive formation.
"In the end, are they just buying time?"
The Duke, who had climbed the hill with us, seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
"Are they trying to stop us from marching on the capital?"
"Then must we assume that the Epirus Kingdom and the First Prince are working together...?"
At the Princess's words, the Duke muttered, and Senior Benjamin added his thoughts to the Duke's remark.
"It would be more accurate to see them as aligning with the Empire."
Benjamin had now firmly established himself as the army's strategist.
People often looked down on him, of course, because of his young age. But as a senior close to the Princess and, officially, the chief of staff for the royal forces that followed her, he was at least listened to on the surface.
At Benjamin's words, everyone on the hill grew somber.
The First Prince aligning himself with the Empire meant that his faction had grown that much stronger.
That was worrying, but even more than that, everyone was displeased by the fact that the First Prince had allied himself with the Empire.
"Surely, he doesn't intend to turn us into a satellite state of the Empire like Epirus."
The Duke scowled and muttered as well.
"It makes sense, and it's a good plan, but it's a plan that's hard to accept."
Even Benjamin spoke in such terms.
The nobles of the Carlos Kingdom took fierce pride in having withstood the Empire's pressure and protected the Kingdom for hundreds of years.
To them, an alliance between the First Prince and the Empire was unbelievable.
"It's not certain yet, so don't speak of this to others until it's confirmed."
Although it seemed obvious to me, everyone nodded at the Duke's words.
It seemed they found it that hard to believe.
But there was a way to verify it right away.
Finding a member of the Celine Cult would be one way, but there was an even better method.
While everyone was lost in thought, I raised my hand.
"I know someone in the enemy camp. I'll act as the messenger and feel out the situation."
He was easy to recognize, even from quite a distance.
That was because he wore armor that differed greatly from the other soldiers' and knights' armor.
An exceptionally splendid suit of armor—the kind only royalty would wear.
As a prince of the Epirus Kingdom, it was only natural for him to wear such magnificent armor.
The Prince of Epirus I had seen at Soroka Fortress, Max Epirus, was among the enemy.
My request was granted immediately.
Holding a flag in one hand, I rode my horse toward the enemy camp.
Then, after stopping a short distance from the camp, I prepared to shout.
But I couldn't bring myself to speak right away.
A message window had appeared before my eyes.
It was a message window that popped up at a truly unexpected moment.
<The civil war has begun. Would you like to set a new 'Save Point'?>
The phrasing was peculiar, too.
It wasn't tied to a location, a time, or any specific event involving me.
The civil war had already started a while ago, yet the prompt had appeared only now.
I knew its sense of timing was slightly different from ours, but I couldn't help feeling that this was incredibly random.
With everyone watching, it was difficult to think about it too deeply.
Looking at the message window, I answered, "Yes."
Looking back, I was quite satisfied with what I'd accomplished since leaving the capital.
And among those accomplishments were things I never wanted to experience again, like the matter with the Duchess.
If I'd had plenty of time to deliberate, I might have reached a different conclusion, but in this situation, this was the best choice.
I dismissed the message window and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"I, Alex de Gracia, a noble of the Carlos Kingdom and the guardian knight of Princess Aisha, have come as a messenger! I request an audience with Prince Max!"
My voice, infused with mana, carried far and wide.
A brief stir arose in the Epirus army's camp, and soon a knight rode out from the encampment.
"The Prince has agreed to receive the messenger. I shall guide you."
Fortunately, it seemed the Prince had recognized me as well.
As I followed the guiding knight, the message window I'd seen moments ago came to mind once more.
Though I'd brushed it aside because of the circumstances, the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
The timing of the civil war prompt was strange, and its appearance now was just as bizarre.
Did it mean something dangerous was about to happen here? Or was something major unfolding somewhere I wasn't present?
But there was nothing I could do right away.
Compared to a civil war engulfing the entire kingdom, I was merely one small individual.
In the end, all I could do was my best right here.
At the very moment Alex was looking at the message window, on the opposite side of the Kingdom, a battle between the two princes was about to erupt.
In the west-central region of the Kingdom, at the heart of the western territories famous as a breadbasket, the armies of the two princes clashed.
The first to arrive in this territory was the Second Prince.
And the territory itself supported the Second Prince.
The Second Prince had secured a highly advantageous position for battle in advance and, with the local lord's assistance, diligently established a defensive formation.
He built barricades, trained soldiers, and sent out scouts.
Along with generals highly skilled in tactics, he diligently refined his strategies.
While the Second Prince prepared in this manner, the First Prince also marched into the territory.
The Second Prince calmly prepared for a pitched battle, but the First Prince had no intention of playing along with him.
The First Prince didn't bother to send a messenger, nor did he send a vanguard to test the waters.
Upon spotting the barricades in the distance, the First Prince simply—
"All forces, attack! Trample the enemy just like this!"
He ordered an immediate, headlong charge.
It was an absurd charge.
The Second Prince's side was dumbfounded, but what followed was even more mind-boggling.
For the First Prince's knight order broke through the Second Prince's central unit and its wooden palisades in an instant.
There was no time to ready their own knights, nor any opportunity for the nobles to unleash their abilities.
As the enemy nobles' abilities rained down, the wooden palisades shattered, and the Royal Knights supporting the First Prince swept through the gap.
The various obstacles the Second Prince had prepared, along with his meticulous tactics, were all rendered useless.
None of it could withstand the overwhelming momentum of the First Prince's faction.
With its center breached, the army collapsed on the spot.
Despite their diligent preparations, a mere handful of joint training sessions could not unite the disparate nobles into a cohesive force.
Terrified nobles abandoned the formation, leading away the troops they had brought, while mercenaries began to flee to save their own skins.
The knights acting as barrier troops swung their swords at the fleeing soldiers, but a collapsed formation could not be restored.
Watching his lines collapse in utter disbelief, the Second Prince spotted the First Prince in the distance, swinging his sword alongside his knights.
The First Prince bellowed at the top of his lungs as he brandished his blade.
"Hahahaha! Kill them all! I'll distribute all the spoils once the battle is over, so focus on killing even just one more bastard right now!"
His face and voice both seemed utterly mad.
The man swinging his sword over there was not the First Prince who had always seemed bored with everything.
It was as if the First Prince had finally found his true calling.
The madness in the First Prince's voice suited this battlefield all too well.
"Was I wrong...?"
The Second Prince stared blankly at his older brother.
"We must retreat!"
The knights and nobles with him dragged him away.
At their words, the Second Prince snapped out of his daze.
It wasn't over yet. This was merely the very first battle.
The Second Prince rode his horse westward, his brother's laughter ringing in his ears.
Regrettably, once the front line began to give way, it could not be restored.
Even after that, the Second Prince continued to lose territories and was forced to keep retreating.
On top of that, the Duke of Gracia and the Princess, who were supposed to strike the enemy's rear, were nowhere to be seen.
The deeper the Second Prince's side sank into despair, the more spirited the attacking First Prince's forces became.
This was because the nobles who had set out late eagerly caught up with the main army upon hearing news of their victories.
As the conflict persisted, the First Prince's forces steadily swelled in number.
At the center of the First Prince's army camp, bright lights illuminated a grand, luxurious tent.
Although the war was far from over, a massive drinking party was underway inside.
Though it was nominally a celebration of their recent victories, the people guzzling alcohol seemed to care little for such justifications.
Deep inside the tent, seated on the highest and most ornate chair, the First Prince was downing cup after cup of alcohol offered by the nobles.
"To think you would mobilize the Epirus Kingdom! Your Highness, First Prince, you had everything prepared in advance."
"Your Highness is a valiant knight with brilliant resourcefulness. You will become a king to rival the First King—no, you already are that king."
"Your Majesty's fame shall shake the entire continent, and bards will sing of your deeds."
Perhaps because of the alcohol, the flattery from the nobles surrounding the First Prince was endless. Seemingly in high spirits after his consecutive victories, the First Prince basked in their sycophancy.
"But word that we joined hands with another kingdom—and the Empire, at that—might be a bit dangerous..."
In his drunken state, one noble dared to speak the harsh truth, but nearby knights immediately dragged him out of the tent.
To lift the suddenly dampened mood, another flattering noble spoke up.
"Then, did you likewise prevent the Duchy from making a move?"
At the noble's question, the First Prince grinned.
"There's no way I'd move while leaving enemies at my back. Those bastards coveting the throne have all fallen prey to my schemes."
It seemed the First Prince had been eager to boast about his schemes all this time.
Was it because he was drunk?
Now that someone had given him an opening, the First Prince excitedly babbled on, singing his own praises.
"...And so, I raised my sword and roared, 'Offer up your necks! Otherwise...'"
Just as the First Prince was excitedly rambling while waving his goblet—
Whoom!
The tent flap was flung wide open, and a soldier gasping for breath rushed inside.
Everyone turned to look at the soldier.
"How dare you barge in without a word? Do you know where you are—"
Someone tried to vent their anger, but the soldier spoke first.
"The Grand Prince's army is approaching the capital! Multiple territories have fallen, and the capital's forces cannot hold them back!"
The tent fell dead silent in an instant.
At the soldier's words, everyone seemed to sober up instantly.
Every eye turned toward the First Prince at the back of the tent.
The First Prince hurled his goblet aside and began to laugh.
"Hehehe. As expected of those Empire bastards. To think they would stab me in the back like this."
As the First Prince continued to laugh, a noble beside him asked cautiously,
"Then, shall we return to the capital?"
The First Prince waved his hand with a chuckle.
"Kiki, no, we march forward as we are. They truly are magnificent villains. No matter what I do, I just can't seem to beat those Empire bastards."
Despite hearing that the Grand Prince's army was approaching the capital, the First Prince's army continued to march westward.
It was an incomprehensible move, but the First Prince kept marching. Before long, people would learn why.