Cleaning the Kingdom (3)
The carriage carrying the investigator exited the main gate of the Baller County estate and approached a nearby forest path.
A distance of only a few hundred meters from the estate.
Close enough to hear the noisy cries of the Gorani.
Thanks to the barrier Elisa had spread, our appearance and presence remained undetected.
Of course, if we had entered through the territory checkpoint, hiding those Gorani bastards would have been difficult no matter how good the barrier was.
That's why I had Seria and the knights take a large detour through mountain paths to enter the territory.
The carriage carrying Elisa and me passed through together with the investigator's carriage.
Anyway, seeing the investigator who came out of the estate shake his head at me according to the pre-arranged signal, it seemed he was rejected as expected.
Well, it was an expected result, so no problem.
From now on, I just have to break things, which is actually more convenient for me.
The moment my signal fell, the Gorani cavalry led by Seria spurred the ground and burst forward.
-BWEEEEEEK!
-KYAAAAAAAH!
-KWA-BOOM!
Seria, at the very front, blew apart the estate's gate with her aura-wreathed Gunlance.
-DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG
The sound of the alarm bell signaling a surprise attack echoed throughout the estate.
“Surprise attack! Surprise attack!”
“Raise your shields!”
The private soldiers hired by Count Baller hastily grabbed their weapons and rushed out.
They seemed to have received some basic military training.
But it was obvious they had been hastily gathered with money and trained.
Their shield stances were sloppy, their marching steps were crooked, and the tips of their spears trembled with tension.
Truly a ragtag bunch just filling numbers.
Of course, there were also some who looked like low-level Experts mixed in.
‘Are those the knights who originally guarded the estate?’
At that moment, Seria's voice came through.
With that reply, Seria led the Gorani riders and charged at the enemy.
-BWEEEEEEK!
-KYAAAAAAAH!
“H-hiik...!”
“What the hell are those terrifying deer! Uwaaaah!”
The Gorani, charging with loud screams and drooling saliva, were terror itself to the private soldiers who couldn't even use aura.
Moreover, when even the warhorses inside the estate started fleeing from the Gorani's howls and the explosions from the gunfire, the estate's front yard instantly turned into chaos.
“Maintain formation! Don't be afraid!”
Knights who seemed to be low-level Experts from the estate raised their swords and urgently shouted orders to the soldiers.
But even with their orders, the soldiers, who had no loyalty to the Count, only thought of saving their own lives.
Eventually, despite the knights' shouts, the formation began to crumble.
“You idiots! Get out of the way!”
Unable to bear the frustration, the Expert knights stepped forward, raising their aura.
They raised their swords toward the charging Gorani cavalry.
But Seria and her knights had no intention of playing along with their tune.
Seria and the knights at the front simultaneously drew the An-24 carbines holstered at their waists.
-Click.
-BANG!! BANG!!
The bullets spraying from the barrels instantly turned the leading knights into swiss cheese.
“Kuaaaaagh!”
There was no way a mere low-level Expert knight could block the fired bullets.
Count Baller's knights, who had stepped forward so confidently, ended up bloodied and rolling on the ground without even landing a proper attack.
“The knights have fallen!”
“We need to run...!”
Witnessing the knights fall so easily, the private soldiers completely lost their will to fight.
On top of that, as the Gorani, further excited by the smell of gunpowder, approached with howls, they one by one laid down their weapons and began to surrender.
“I'll drop my weapon!”
“Surrender! I surrender! Please just spare my life!”
-Thud. Clatter.
The sound of weapons being thrown to the ground came from all around.
Then, as if expressing they had no more will to fight, they raised both arms.
Confirming the enemies were surrendering, Seria ordered the knights to cease fire.
Since the knights were currently communicating through me as a hub, Seria's orders to the knights were also audible to me.
“That ended easily.”
I got off the carriage with Elisa.
It felt more like cleaning than a battle.
Now we should search the estate.
“Elisa, let's go into the estate.”
“Understood.”
Elisa grabbed one of the Count's still-living knights and made him guide us.
“Yes, y-yes! I'll guide you...”
As expected, Count Baller and Baron Monte seemed to have fled upon hearing that we had invaded.
But it seemed Count Baller wasn't a lord trusted by his servants, as with their cooperation we found the secret passage in the mansion.
With the tracking magic I used, Seria and the knights easily recaptured the two.
‘But they even abandoned their families and ran. What a joke.’
Well, most noble marriages are political alliances chasing profit and power rather than love.
When their own lives are on the line, they wouldn't care about family or anything.
‘I shouldn't be like that.’
Anyway, it's also funny that Baron Monte was at the county at this critical time.
I've already sent knights to Baron Monte's territory too, so that should be over quickly.
“Elisa. Did you get information?”
“Yes. I was going to torture, but as soon as they saw the torture tools, they started spilling everything.”
“I-I see.”
I was curious what the torture tools were, but I felt I shouldn't know, so I didn't ask.
“So? What did they say?”
“It seems they planned to attack the capital with their private soldiers.”
“Huh? Really?”
When I talked with my brother and father in the office, I did mention that in the worst case, they might side with the Empire or march on the capital.
But I didn't think they would actually try to march on the capital.
‘...Are they a bit stupid?’
Of course, if I try to understand, it does make some sense.
Roxanna's family.
That is, the House of Krasen has maintained political neutrality for generations.
They did so even during the fierce succession wars, and even when the royalist and noble factions were in intense conflict, they did not interfere in the kingdom's internal affairs.
What they protect is not the royal family but the Espada Kingdom itself.
On the surface, they are known as a family that has never once deviated from neutrality.
‘That's also why Roxanna doesn't often attend state council meetings despite being the Knight Commander.’
They swear oaths not to protect the royal family, but to protect the kingdom.
But Roxanna, who was almost certain to be the next head of that family, swore an oath to me, a member of the royal family.
So it was natural that chaos erupted in the House of Krasen.
I heard Roxanna somehow managed to persuade them afterwards.
But seeing the head of the House of Krasen covered in bruises when I met him a few days later...
I can only guess they probably had a duel.
Anyway, because of that, the political neutrality of the House of Krasen is virtually broken, but on the surface they still hide the fact of the oath and maintain neutrality.
So they probably thought Roxanna and her knights wouldn't move.
‘Honestly, I still don't get it.’
Were they trying to threaten the capital's citizens?
“And there were traces of Black Wizards left behind.”
“Black Wizards?”
I couldn't believe my ears at what came out of Elisa's mouth.
Suddenly Black Wizards here?
“What exactly kind of traces?”
“There was a hidden room connected to the underground secret passage. Also, a magic circle drawn with monster blood and the mana of Black Wizards remained there.”
As she said that, Elisa's mana was thicker than usual.
She has the qualities of a Great Witch, so she must have been affected by the Black Wizards' mana.
‘So, the reason they tried to march on the capital...’
It wasn't because they trusted the House of Krasen's neutrality.
Did the Black Wizards promise them something that could deal with Roxanna?
If so, it fits together to some extent.
‘So there was a reason they were trying to buy time.’
If they allied with Black Wizards, just stalling for time using the Commoners' Council would increase their chances of victory.
“Hmm... This got annoying.”
“Indeed.”
The reason I say it's annoying rather than difficult is because Elisa is here.
Black Wizards are just hard to find; once found, Elisa can easily sweep them away.
After all, Elisa is at the top of the Black Wizards.
But honestly, I don't really want to get involved with Black Wizards.
Getting involved with them inevitably means facing the Holy Kingdom...
‘What a headache.’
The Holy Kingdom has the original novel's final male lead.
And also the original novel's villain, that crazy bitch.
Those guys really don't listen to reason.
As I was racking my brains over that.
-Clunk.
I heard running footsteps from the hallway, and then Knight Alberto opened the reception room door and entered.
“My lord! I have something to report!”
“What is it?”
“It's not that! Count Baller and Baron Monte, who were tied up, have died bleeding black blood!”
What?