Barbarian-Style Incitement
Barbarian-Style Incitement
While talking with Milena, I realized a crucial fact.
Alexei Berkut was eighteen years old this year.
Not nineteen yet.
In other words, it meant that the prologue of the original work, <Splendid Days of the Golden Empire>, hadn't started yet.
One year.
The grace period is one year.
The original story will probably proceed around next autumn.
The reason for the Unified Empire's full-scale pressure on the Frozen Lands is the exploitation by the male leads. They use the Frozen Lands like their own treasure vault to win the favor of the female lead, a country girl, with their massive wealth.
I need to use the remaining grace period as efficiently as possible.
For that, I gave an order to Milena.
"You have certainly completed the Tsar's order, but... are you really sure about this? We could have covered it up as an attack by Frost Trolls."
"No, that's enough."
I sent Milena, the Tsar's personal guard, and the Gray Wolf Tribe to wipe out the Unified Empire's delegation. And I left the traces proving that the Tsar's personal guard had attacked them intact.
The reason is simple.
It had to be revealed that I was behind the ambush.
'Hmm.... I don't feel much of anything. Is it because I just experienced the cataclysm of possessing a sub-villain in a romance fantasy? I don't even have the luxury to dwell on guilt.'
I killed people.
There were about 50 people in total.
But even after hearing the detailed report from Milena, I didn't feel any particular emotion. I just conveyed my appreciation for the hard work of Milena and the Gray Wolf Tribe, who had perfectly carried out my orders.
Is it just because it's merely instigating murder?
Or simply because it was a necessary task?
I don't know.
I just decided to brush it off as nothing.
"Tsar."
Knock, knock-.
A slender hand knocked on the office door.
It was the maid who assists the Tsar.
"The tribal chiefs have requested an audience. As you ordered in advance, I have gathered the chiefs in the conference hall."
"Understood. I shall go."
Even if they were stupid and simple barbarians, they would have realized that the warriors of the Gray Wolf Tribe, the Tsar's personal guard, were the culprits.
Sword marks that precisely pierced vital points.
The daggers of the Gray Wolf Tribe.
I left numerous pieces of evidence at the scene of the slaughter.
An ambush.
It was a cowardly and pathetic act.
And for barbarians who value honor and courage, it was practically a taboo.
The tribal chiefs would surely shout in condemnation and denunciation. They wouldn't tolerate the fact that the King of the barbarians, representing the Frozen Lands, had committed the dishonor of a coward.
The expectation of Alexei, possessed by a modern person, was spot on.
In the conference hall where the burly tribal chiefs had entered, a dissonance of agitation and anger was repeating.
Fearsome faces full of scars.
Bulky bodies that looked like they could beat a wild beast to death with their bare hands.
Alexei took a step forward, feeling as if he were entering a wolf's den. Then, gazes mixed with dissatisfaction and contempt exploded in an instant.
"I want to ask the Tsar for the truth!"
"Even if the pigs of the Wall deserve to die a hundred times over..., for the Tsar to direct an ambush!"
"To hide in the darkness and take the lives of enemies! The Gray Wolf Tribe, who committed such dishonor, will not be able to ascend to Valhalla promised by the God of War!!"
The God of War.
Valhalla.
Honor and courage through fair duels.
These are all sacred things that barbarians worship.
The agitated roars of the tribal chiefs made the conference hall shake. They even showed ominous signs that they wouldn't hesitate to stage a show of force if I didn't explain the legality of the ambush right away.
"To the Unified Empire that has exploited and plundered the brothers of the Frozen Lands all this time..., as the Tsar representing the Frozen Lands, I will declare war on the pigs of the Wall. And I will pack the heads of the tax collectors and their attendants and send them to the Empress of the Wall."
There is no humiliating submission.
Now, there will only be war.
Is this the Tsar who trembled before the pigs of the Wall and obediently accepted oppression and tyranny? Alexei's declaration advocating for a declaration of war was enough to cover up the dissatisfaction and denunciation of the tribal chiefs.
"Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. I thought we had to pay them back in kind. Have you forgotten that the pigs of the Wall have been burning the villages of the Frozen Lands in succession without even declaring war? If you forget the grudges and vengeance of your brothers just to prioritize honor and courage, isn't that the very dishonor that contradicts the ascension to Valhalla promised by the God of War!!"
The obsession with honor and courage is the source that fuels the will of the barbarians, and at the same time, it is an obstacle that restricts the actions of the barbarians.
Tactics.
And strategy.
These are things that barbarians, who chose courage and honor, have abandoned.
The reason why the barbarians, a race of one-man-armies appearing in <Splendid Days of the Golden Empire>, were destroyed in an instant was for two reasons.
Conflict and division.
Absence of tactics and strategy.
It was truly a tiresome, incurable disease.
If they couldn't solve this incurable disease, the barbarians would face their destined destruction. That is why Alexei, who knew the ending, attempted a drastic prescription for this incurable disease.
"If I declare war, will you truly follow me?"
I asked as the Tsar.
Then, the tribal chiefs showed conflicting reactions.
Tribal chiefs who strongly agreed with the war.
Tribal chiefs who hesitated to answer.
It was proving the reality of the 'same bed, different dreams' that the barbarians of the Frozen Lands were facing.
"Do you not know the reason why the Tsar of the Frozen Lands had no choice but to submit to the pigs of the Wall? It is because of you idiots who do not follow the Tsar's orders, do not trust your brothers, are hostile to your comrades, and yet, while worshipping honor and courage, hope to receive the ascension to Valhalla!"
Alexei slammed his fist down with an agitated shout.
Krrraaaack──!!
A thunderous roar echoed.
And the table made of carved granite collapsed.
The tribal chiefs stepped back from the scene of destruction with expressions mixed with bewilderment. Also, Alexei, the culprit who had slammed his fist down without thinking, was just as bewildered.
'What the, I just wanted to make a sound to get the tribal chiefs' attention. The granite table just shattered like that? Even if I'm an indecisive and kind-hearted Tsar..., is a barbarian still a barbarian after all?'
Overwhelming physical ability.
Powerful skeleton.
Intuition and instinct inherited from ancestors.
It is innate martial prowess derived from the barbarian bloodline.
Naturally, the direct lineage of the Tsar who rules the Frozen Lands is no exception. In particular, Alexei had inherited innate martial prowess so strongly that even his indecisive and weak personality was lamentable.
'There must be watchers planted by Boris among the tribal chiefs. It wouldn't be just one or two..., but I hope it's not more than half.'
Boris Berkut.
The Tsar's uncle.
A big shot who has numerous tribes under his command.
And a traitor of the Frozen Lands who is colluding with the Unified Empire.
There is no way a greedy uncle eyeing his weak nephew wouldn't have attached watchers. Among the tribal chiefs who agreed to the war, and even among those who hesitated to answer, Boris's followers must be hiding.
"Tsar. Your hand is bleeding."
"Ah.... I didn't know because I was agitated for a moment."
After the tribal chiefs retreated,
A beauty with flowing silver hair approached, taking a step forward.
Drip-. Drip-.
Drops of blood flowed down his hand.
It seemed to be a wound from slamming the table.
"To get hurt just because a barbarian slammed a table.... The tribal chiefs must have laughed a lot, right?"
"The Tsar is more magnificent than anyone else."
I threw a joke while letting out a dry laugh.
Then, Milena answered in a serious voice and pressed her lips to the back of Alexei's hand, where the blood was dripping down.
The reason Boris Berkut, who had seized control of the tribes of the Frozen Lands, condoned the actions of his puppet nephew, who bowed to the tax collectors of the Unified Empire every time, was simple.
It was to shift the role of the scapegoat that would invite backlash and disappointment entirely onto his nephew.
Alexei's reputation continued to decline.
On the other hand, the public sentiment of the tribes toward himself was on an upward trend.
It was going very smoothly.
The moment would come when the tribes of the Frozen Lands would challenge Alexei's reign. Boris waited only for the opportunity to ascend to the position of Tsar while acting as a seasoned uncle assisting his dim-witted nephew.
"What? Alexei..., killed all the tax collectors and their attendants?! That cannot be! He is a gentle lamb who doesn't even have the guts or the nerve to do that!!"
It cannot be,
It cannot be!
Wiped out the Unified Empire's delegation?
The work of the Gray Wolf Tribe under the Tsar's command?
He even ordered the tribal chiefs under him to declare war on the Unified Empire?
Was it because of the chain reaction of shocks?
Boris, who slumped into his seat, pressed his temples.
I need to go see Alexei. First I need to meet him and… find out what on earth is going on. Surely he hasn't lost his mind…. No, don't tell me he's gone completely mad?
He had already received a secret letter from the Empress promising to appoint him as the Margrave of the Unified Empire on the condition that he sell out the Frozen Lands and all the tribes. Boris revealed his will for usurpation while imagining the wealth and glory promised to him.