< 096. Alliance and Empire (2) >
The appearance of the crown prince, covered in wounds, threw the Barkat Kingdom into chaos.
"The empire bastards seized the mana stone mines and ambushed His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The Philerium Mountains were a natural border that no one owned but everyone claimed.
It was absurd enough that the empire was claiming it as their own, but to dare injure the crown prince?
It was tantamount to a declaration of war. Or perhaps they looked down on the alliance that much.
"We can't let the empire bastards take the mana stone mines!"
The Barkat Kingdom dispatched its knight order and mage corps while sending envoys to every nation in the alliance.
In an instant, the alliance was abuzz.
'Just you wait, you masked empire dogs...!'
I'll tear you apart with my own hands.
Pablo Barkat steeled his resolve as he raced toward the mines with his knight order.
In the Jespain Empire's Blue Griffin Knight Order, the knight Prien shouted to his comrade who had slipped into the bushes.
"Hurry up!"
"Coming."
The fellow knight came running.
"You went to take a shit without even taking off your helmet?"
"Put it back on."
"Stomach feeling better?"
"A bit."
"Huh? Your voice sounds a little..."
"Hurry up and assemble! No time!"
"Yes, sir!"
Prien tilted his head but dashed off urgently. The advance party—already gathered with knights, mages, miners, and mine experts—had finished their brief rest and was preparing to depart again.
Prien returned to his position. His stomach-sick comrade stood beside him.
"No slacking. No letting your guard down. This is Philerium. One more slip-up and it's punishment duty."
"Yes, sir!"
Prien nodded under the vice captain's sharp gaze. He felt irritated that his peer had gotten him scolded too.
The empire's advance party set off again.
Monsters drawn by the scent of humans bared their greedy fangs.
But the knights and mages in the search party were the empire's elites.
Whoosh—
A gust of magical wind sliced through the ogre's body. A knight's aura carved out the troll's heart.
The monsters' corpses piled up like mountains, drawing even more beasts.
Yet the search party pressed on silently, treading a blood-soaked path until they finally reached the cave.
'What the hell? Philai, that guy—his skills suddenly shot up?'
There had been countless battles, and Prien marveled at his comrade's fluid movements.
He effortlessly dodged a lizardman's spear and severed its neck in one stroke. He toyed with a troll before killing it and held his own against an ogre.
'Just a while ago, he was about my level...'
He wasn't showing everything, but there was a newfound ease in his movements.
'Did he make a breakthrough?'
His energy even felt purer somehow.
It was eerie, but it could only be Philai. The swordsmanship he used was the empire's Arong style, a secret technique passed down only to the elite upper knight orders—never leaked outside.
"What, did you train alone every night or something?"
"Your skills jumped out of nowhere?"
Perhaps because of that, the other knights were merely surprised by Philai's exploits and said nothing more.
'No, something's off. It's like he's a different person...'
"Cave ahead!"
"Everyone quiet! Advance slowly! Stay alert!"
Prien's suspicions, peeking up, vanished without a trace amid the tension.
The empire forces entered the cave and encountered over a hundred kobolds forming a colony in a small cavern.
"Knights up front!"
"No fire magic!"
The knights formed a wall of shields. The kobolds' poison darts couldn't pierce the mages' barriers. Their rusted weapons were blocked by armor and shields. It was a one-sided massacre.
"Advance."
They advanced in fits and starts. Every hour, monsters poured out, living up to Philerium's infamous reputation.
Prien swallowed bitter saliva.
'Damn it, when does this cave end?'
The captain hadn't even explained why they'd come to this godforsaken place. The endless battles fueled his frustration.
Seeing search party members dying left his lips parched.
"Halt."
That's when they discovered the vast cavern—and the purple glow filling it.
Mana stones. Incredibly pure ones, breathtakingly beautiful at a glance.
"...It's real."
The search captain muttered. Prien realized the mana stones were their objective.
'A mana stone mine?'
Insane.
"Set up camp."
The empire forces bustled about, erecting tents and fortifying defenses. That's when it happened.
Footsteps echoed from the opposite passage. Accompanied by faint killing intent, when they entered the cavern, every empire soldier instinctively drew their weapons.
"Southern ant scum?"
"Empire dog bastards!"
'Oh god, that's...'
The furious bull at the front was unmistakably Pablo Barkat—one of the great Stars and the spiritual pillar of the southern alliance.
Why was he here?
As tension peaked, the search captain stepped forward.
"Long time no see, Prince Pablo Barkat."
"Austin Croin?"
The Blue Griffin Knight Order captain, Austin, slowly lowered his raised sword. Pablo's momentum faltered in response.
"Prince Pablo, why are you here?"
"That's my line to you bastards. What are you dogs doing here?"
"Is it strange for the empire to be on imperial territory?"
"Who decided it's imperial territory?"
Pablo bellowed, shaking the cavern.
"The Philerium Mountains are squarely southern alliance territory. This place belongs to the alliance."
"Nonsense. Philerium has been the empire's for ages and will remain so."
"You wanna go?"
"Think carefully. The moment you swing that sword, it's war. Can you handle the empire?"
"That's why the southern alliance banded together—to handle the empire, you dog."
"You think a bunch of ragtag ants can withstand the empire's wrath?"
Pablo scoffed at Austin's boldness.
"So you ambushed me?"
"Ambushed?"
"You gonna deny sending those trash to jump me and toy with me? Swing a sword and it's war? You started the war!"
Pablo reignited his slain momentum.
"No, wait. We didn't send anyone separately."
"So I fought ghosts?"
Austin glanced at his search party's officers, but they knew nothing.
"We're the advance party. We haven't planned anything like that."
"That's what I heard too."
"Bullshit!"
Pablo growled.
"I've fallen for empire lies one too many times."
"Why would we ambush a prince?"
"To steal this mine, obviously. I found it first, so you tried to take it."
"Only an ant would spew such novel crap."
The voice came from behind Austin. From the ranks of the Blue Griffin Knight Order standing at attention.
"Philai?"
Prien was stunned by his comrade's sudden action. Philai broke from the ranks and strode confidently to the captain's side.
"We found this place first, under the captain's orders—me and my comrades. You tried to steal it, swinging your sword first, and we beat you and buried you. You survived only because you're a prince, per the captain's directive to avoid clashes with the southern alliance at all costs."
"You bastard...!"
Pablo's eyes widened. The helmet hid his face, but the glint in his eyes and that voice were unforgettable.
"And yet here you are, utterly shameless after we spared your life."
"Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
The knight drew his sword.
"Captain, as an imperial knight, allow me to teach this ungrateful wretch the greatness of the empire!"
"...No, wait. When did I ever say—"
Before Austin could stop him, the knight charged at Pablo.
His sword, cloaked in red aura, unleashed the empire's Arong swordsmanship.
"Ponder the empire's greatness in defeat and reflect."
Clang—
The red flash failed to reach its mark, blocked outright. Not a scratch on the prince. But that sequence was enough to ignite the kingdom forces' fury.
"Empire trash ambushed His Highness!"
"Protect His Highness!"
The Barkat Kingdom soldiers' blades rained down on the knight.
"They're attacking our ally!"
"Show these ant scum who's superior!"
The empire forces rushed forward to defend their knight.
Old rivals with bad blood between them. Once the dam broke, killing intent filled the cavern.
Battle erupted. War broke out.
Atop the carnage of blood, corpses, screams, and rage, the empire forces remained standing.
A hastily assembled Barkat force versus the perfectly prepared empire army. Victory was decided from the start.
Pablo's fierce resistance inflicted heavy empire losses, but the southern alliance crumbled faster.
"You'll pay for this, you bastards!"
Pablo ground his teeth, rallied his kingdom troops, and retreated.
"Damn it..."
Austin rubbed his forehead.
Even in victory, the sudden battle had caused significant casualties.
This fight wouldn't end as just a skirmish.
Mana stone mines were at stake.
The alliance's prince was involved, and soldiers from both kingdom and empire had died.
War wouldn't be surprising. No—in this state, the alliance wouldn't back down.
"...That knight."
Austin gnashed his teeth.
"Who the hell was that knight?"
"No idea, sir. First time hearing that voice."
"He knew imperial swordsmanship and was in the Blue Griffin ranks. You expect me to believe you don't know?"
"Philai! It's Philai!"
Prien shouted.
"Philai?"
'That aura wasn't Philai's...'
It was hot and pure, like flames.
Austin was the Blue Griffin captain. He knew his knights well, and the Philai he knew didn't wield such pure aura.
'...No way.'
A chill ran down his spine.
It prickled like a thorn caught in his throat.
"Bring him here!"
But.
"He's gone!"
"Philai vanished!"
"No corpse either!"
"...!"
The search party's faces paled.
"His Majesty the Demon King seems better at acting than I am."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Honestly, it had been nerve-wracking. He had no talent for acting and kept his mouth shut as much as possible.
He'd nearly been caught a few times, but luck had saved him.
And in the end, he'd achieved his goal.
'They can't avoid war now.'
A mana stone mine alone was enough to spark conflict, but now their armies had clashed head-on.
What nation would let that slide?
The empire might try.
They held the mana vein and had won the fight. They'd want to sweep it under the rug somehow.
But would Barkat and the southern alliance?
Would they let empire enemies—who they saw as mortal foes—simply take the mana vein in what they considered their territory?
Especially after the empire struck first and inflicted heavy losses?
It wouldn't end in a minor scuffle like before.
"Good thing you knew Arong swordsmanship."
"Not me—Lady Kaede. I just memorized the forms."
Kaede had trained in various Jespain sword styles. And the ever-bored Ernan had almost always watched.
Watching someone else's training was rude, but Kaede didn't mind. In exchange, she'd promised to summon Ernan if she contracted a new high spirit.
That didn't mean Ernan had mastered Arong swordsmanship perfectly. It was just the form—an empty shell without substance.
A hollow technique was half-baked and could harm the user, but it didn't matter. It was for show, and without peering inside, they couldn't discern the execution.
"What surprises me is how His Majesty flawlessly mimicked it after watching just a few times."
"Because I'm the Demon King. Not for nothing was I called the top graduate of all time."
"Top of all time? They called you that?"
Damn, loose lips.
"...Forget it."
"Top graduate of all time?"
"Wanna die?"
"Elena would be sad if I died."
"So?"
"Lady Kaede would be too."
"Already that close?"
"Of course. We're both Four Heavenly Kings. Dark Spirit Sorceress and Dark Knight."
"Does Kaede think so too?"
"...Shall I summon Niru Niel for you?"
"You want me to listen to more drivel?"
"Niru Niel likes His Majesty."
"She likes stupid delusions."
"She does seem a bit like a starving wolf."
"That's an insult to wolves."
Unless it was a hellhound starved for a year.
Berge snorted.
Instead of voicing Niru Niel's buzzing in her head, Ernan just beamed.
< 096. Alliance and Empire (2) > End