Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Iron Emperor — Chapter 142
Silence filled the great hall. Every eye was fixed on the unmistakable footprint stamped across the center of the floor.
"Marquis Baikal, you could do something like this too, couldn't you? Right?"
Prince Pamilion Alsein Roselin's question was tinged with anxiety. It almost sounded like a child's petulant insistence: "My daddy can do that too!"
Marquis Baikal, his expression heavy, slowly parted his lips.
"Leaving a footprint like that is possible, but..."
"Ha!"
"Oh! I knew it."
Prince Alsein's face brightened, and at the same time, sighs of relief escaped the other nobles.
"However!"
A voice that instantly doused the mood like a bucket of cold water.
"I could not do it so naturally like that. Simply put, I would have to strike down with extreme force. Even then, the footprint would not be that clean. In short..."
Marquis Baikal's words trailed off for a moment. The tense Prince Alsein and the nobles watched him with anxious eyes. Marquis Baikal, receiving the stares of the assembly, smiled ruefully.
"They appear to be stronger than I am."
Thud.
For the first time in his sixteen years, Prince Alsein heard—truly felt—the sound of his own heart sinking.
Prince Alsein of South Roselin and his nobles were not fools. Go Jin-cheon's party had prepared a kidnapping plot as a contingency, but the South Roselins had not been contemplating such extreme measures themselves.
Even so, Jin-cheon's party's response was nothing short of shocking. Was it normal for someone to suddenly appear leading an army, declare, "I am the king of such-and-such a place," and demand negotiations?
South Roselin's reaction was, perhaps, the utmost courtesy they could offer while fighting a war without allies. But the situation had taken a strange turn. The actions of the Gauri people were discourteous, yet carried absolute confidence.
And on top of that, a man who surpassed even the War God of the East.
'Where on earth did such a person come from?'
It was far too bewildering a puzzle to be thrust upon a mere sixteen-year-old.
"Lord Bercel."
The one who stepped forward at Prince Alsein's call was an old man with hair of pure white. The Court Wizard, a sixth-class user holding the rank of Archwizard, he was the greatest Wizard in all of South Roselin.
"Measurement... was impossible."
"Haa..."
He had been attempting to gauge Risel's level based on the intelligence gathered beforehand. But the fact that even Hosion Bercel, a sixth-class user, found measurement impossible meant that Risel, too, was a Wizard of a higher circle.
Even the nobles who had half-doubted Marquis Baikal's assessment and opinions were beginning to grasp the sheer scope of the power these people possessed.
"Sigh..."
Marquis Baikal and the elder statesman beside him—Marquis Rui Terikan—filled Prince Alsein's eyes as the boy let out a deep sigh. These two were the pillars he could lean on.
"Does anyone here have any idea what they want?"
Though the voice was youthful, it landed upon the nobles with a weight heavier than any other.
Marquis Baikal and Marquis Terican could say nothing.
No matter how dire the war and the state of the kingdom, South Roselin was a nation with deep traditions. Yet he had scorned the position of marquis. No—given that their true power had now been revealed, it seemed only natural that he would dismiss the rank of marquis.
"Hoo."
A sigh escaped Marquis Baikal.
'Indeed, with a force and capability of that magnitude, the title of marquis in a kingdom as unstable as this might well be worthless...'
Anyone with power of that level would be treated with high honor no matter which nation they turned to, be it the Holy Empire or any other kingdom.
Marquis Baikal slowly turned his head toward Baron Silen Bels. There was no other outlet left to consult.
* * *
"Baron Silen Bels has arrived to seek an audience with His Majesty, the Yeolje of Gauri."
Though they had been assigned several rooms, they insisted on remaining gathered in a single space. This was because, for now, the people of this land were not true allies—they were a negotiating counterpart.
A moment later, Baron Bels entered.
He had brought a Translation Item beforehand, so Baron Bels's greeting came through without difficulty.
"Your Majesty, have you been well in the meantime?"
"Not particularly."
"..."
The reply perfectly reflected Jin-cheon's current state of mind.
Though it had been a ritual pleasantry, Baron Bels did not need to be told twice to gauge the mood of the room. They could have rested comfortably, yet all of them kept their weapons close at hand. Even Jin-cheon had not removed his armor.
Needless to say, the rank-and-file soldiers were the same.
They did not trust South Roselin.
Baron Bels gave a bitter smile. Whatever else might be true, these people had definitely helped South Roselin. And yet the kingdom could not even offer its benefactors its trust.
"..."
He had come, but he found it immensely difficult to open his mouth.
'Truthfully, it was a joke.'
If he could just say that, it would be better. But he was not that close with them, and above all, he had no desire to end his life here instead of on the battlefield.
The smiling figure of Hwi-garam to one side seemed to resurrect the terror he had felt on that earlier occasion.
Baron Bels bowed deeply from the waist.
"On behalf of the Kingdom of South Roselin, I apologize."
Some portion of it was genuine. At the very least, they should have sounded out these people's positions beforehand.
"Bels."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
When Jin-cheon called his name, he answered respectfully. Jin-cheon's voice reached Bels's ear.
"I suppose, in your eyes, I still seem like the king of a nation—like a Yeolje?"
"..."
It was a cynical remark. But he had no words to offer in reply. Jin-cheon slowly rose to his feet and gazed out the window. He spoke in a low voice.
"I did not come here to bask in glory in the first place. I have long kept an eye on South Roselin, judging that its outlook differed from that of the Haian Kingdom or the Holy Empire. But then the war broke out, and I found you in a hard place. I hesitated, but..."
As Jin-cheon's voice continued, Baron Bels's shoulders hunched inward. Meanwhile, Ung-sam, seated near the entrance, muttered internally.
'A blatant lie.'
Jin-cheon's speech went on.
"I judged that the right thing to do was to help in a difficult hour, so I dispatched my troops to forge a bond with South Roselin."
"..."
Baron Bels was increasingly feeling a sense of wretchedness at the revealed true intent(?). He was turning into a guilty man.
Jin-cheon spoke again, his voice seeming to pierce straight through Baron Bels's heart.
"Marquis, was it..."
"I am deeply sorry."
This was a distinctive trait of Jin-cheon's character: he would bring the matter up again just when you thought it was behind you.
"If that is how you viewed me... viewed Gauri, then I shall receive compensation commensurate with that view. I would have spoken after the battle was over. Even mercenaries get paid. We will accept payment in coin for the battles we fought. In addition, relay this message."
"Yes, speak, and I will deliver it."
He had nothing left to say to these people. Nor had he been granted any authority. All he could do was convey whatever they said.
"The royal house of South Roselin likely believes that we are merely a kingdom that rose up by exploiting the cracks of war."
Baron Bels's shoulders gave a faint twitch.
'Is the truth about Gauri about to come out?'
Just as Baron Bels's senses went on high alert, a voice laden with power rolled forth.
"Tell them to judge whether a mere band that arose from the chaos of war could forge a force as powerful as the Hawk Corps and the rest of this army. And tell them this: do not assume this continent holds only the places you know. You will know. You know our strength."
"I will deliver it."
Baron Bels rose from his seat, drained of strength. He blamed himself for not having been more persuasive. Even until the quiet moment he paid his respects and stepped out, Baron Bels reproached himself.
Just as the door opened and he set his foot forward, Jin-cheon's voice reached his ear once more.
"The moment you walk out that door, we will cease to be the nation of Gauri, which bears goodwill—and will become exactly the mere band you have judged us to be. We will take only what we are owed, and then we will return the way we came. This is not our war, after all..."
For a moment, the sunlight that had been draped over South Roselin was hidden behind a cloud.
Baron Bels went outside, and only they remained.
"Gowin."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Calculate."
"Pardon?"
Gowin tilted his head at Jin-cheon's order, unable to grasp its meaning. Jin-cheon, who had been staring out the window, slowly turned his body and added,
"You must extract more than the Hawk Corps ever received whenever it marched to war in foreign lands."
"..."
The eerie smile cast across Jin-cheon's face by the setting sun stopped every thought in Gowin's head.
"Understood."
As Gowin bowed his head in answer, Jin-cheon's muttered soliloquy reached his ear.
"Hmm... Come to think of it, there were quite a lot of wounded in this battle."
"..."
It was the moment he clearly understood exactly why Jin-cheon had made so many perfectly healthy soldiers wrap themselves in bandages. Jin-cheon's firm voice pressed into Gowin, whose face had gone slack with stunned disbelief.
"Only this once. Next time we will collect it with our heads held high. And if we cannot collect, then we will take it—one way or another. I swear it! Gowin. Henceforth, our soldiers will not fight in pointless wars like this. They will only fight glorious wars. Wars truly meant to protect."
"Loyalty!"
Gowin had no choice but to believe. And he seared it into his own mind: this moment called for ruthlessly extracting everything they could get.
'Including the share of the soldiers who died. Without fail.'
As he plunged into the calculations, Gowin's eyes turned ice-cold. Little by little, Gowin was adapting to Gauri.
* * *
Ung-sam, returned to the main camp of the Gauri army set up on the city's outskirts, grumbled as he summoned the commanders. Before long, some thirty officers had formed ranks. Ung-sam slowly stepped forward and came outside.
"This is the command of His Majesty the Yeolje!"
"Loyalty!"
At Ung-sam's words, the commanders dropped to one knee, awaiting the order. Satisfied by their crisp, unified discipline, Ung-sam smiled with approval and continued.
"From this moment, we begin a show of force."
"Loyalty!"
"Now, as for how we're going to do it..."
And then Ung-sam launched into a long-winded explanation.
Yet even as he spoke, Ung-sam's own face wore a look of utter disbelief, and the commanders listening to the explanation stared back with unmistakable incomprehension.
"Are we not jesters?!"
Once the explanation was finished, Buyeo Gi-yul, who was standing to one side, responded in a deflated voice. At that, Ung-sam burst into a hearty laugh and replied,
"Heh, what can we do? These folk here only believe what they see with their own eyes. Ah! And as an aside, in South Roselin they made a noise about appointing His Majesty the Yeolje as a marquis in reward, so—"
Swish.
Before Ung-sam could even finish speaking, Samdopyo and several other commanders sprang to their feet.
"Where are you going?"
"Krh, we're going to crush some skulls."
"Keul, let it go. It was exactly what we expected from the start. We do as we are told."
Seeing the murderous fury flashing in the commanders' eyes, Ung-sam wore an expression that showed he well understood their mood. But that was not the right course for now. Calmed down by Ung-sam's steadying words, Dupyo and the other enraged commanders ground their teeth and sat back down.
"Whatever the case, we move now. Execute!"
"Loyalty!"
Even in their answering shout, the seething killing intent still roiled beneath the surface.