Chapter 272
Chapter 272
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 272
Ryu-hwa rushed in like the wind the moment the door opened.
A soldier watching his back turned to the soldier next to him and spoke in a low voice.
"War?"
"Probably."
Their troubled voices hung low in the air.
The war news that had come that morning set the Haian Royal Palace stirring. In truth, the Kingdom of Haian was a nation wealthy in economic terms, but considerably vulnerable when it came to military power. The warning of war arriving just as they were beginning to get their system in order brought considerable chaos.
"Your Majesty, what shall be done?"
The high nobles who had previously thrown their weight around backed by the power of other empires—Duke Perisman, Marquis Iwaen, and their faction—had been pushed aside. Their places had been filled by Duke Til Li, who had retreated to the countryside and barely preserved his family line until now.
The House of Duke Til Li was a typical civil official family, and also a family that had served as royal tutors to the dynasty's children for generations.
At Duke Til Li's question, King Bera Han of Haian closed his eyes for a moment. There was only one path forward anyway. He knew it, but the thought of his people—strangers to war—shedding their blood tightened his chest.
"Your Majesty."
Marquess Gaun stepped forward, fists clenched tight. He looked ready to charge out that very instant. Beside him, Viscount Shu'an Wi, who had joined Marquess Gaun in the great undertaking, was staring intently at Bera Han.
"What are the movements of the Holy Empire now?"
Bera Han's eyes lowered as he asked the question.
A calm voice.
Marquess Gaun, who had stepped forward urging a decision, bowed his waist and backed away to his position. A wizard standing at one end bent deeply at the waist and opened his mouth to answer Bera Han's question.
"Some five hundred thousand troops are assembling on the Theodore Plains, Your Majesty, with a supply train of roughly three hundred thousand following behind."
"Fewer troops than expected."
Bera Han's composed voice brought tears to the eyes of Duke Til Li, who was also his teacher. This was not the image of the weak king from before, but the image of a calm and resolute king.
"According to information from Roselin, there is no major movement as of yet. However, the fleet's forces lost earlier are also estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand, so Your Majesty must keep this in mind."
"Understood. But what of the declaration of war? Surely the Empire would not begin a war without a formal declaration."
"For the moment, they are only assembling troops on the Theodore Plains."
Having received the wizard's report, Bera Han turned his head, sweeping his gaze across the ministers to his left, beginning with Duke Til Li.
"The Hermit Families here will know."
The Hermit Families referred precisely to those like Bera Han who had concealed their black hair and eyes, building their strength and surviving through the generations.
Not all, but roughly half of those gathered here were Hermit Families.
Their eyes fixed upon Bera Han seated on the throne.
"You will recall a strand of the legend we have clung to since ancient times. That was the reason we endured the humiliation."
The black eyes wavered.
"However, we do not know the legend's end. I mean that we do not know what will become of our Kingdom of Haian in this war."
The text of the legend contained only the passage about punishment. There was no mention of what came after. And strictly speaking, were they not also traitors themselves?
Bera Han and the people of the Hermit Families, who knew this, bit their lips softly. Bera Han continued without taking his eyes off them.
"From now on, I wish not to follow the legend, but to become a strand of it. Will you follow my will?"
Bera Han's declaration of resolve resounded quietly.
"The blessing of Divine Bird Trakhan shall blanket the Kingdom of Haian."
Duke Til Li's aged frame bent low.
"The reborn children of Han no longer flee!"
Marquess Gaun cried out, planting his sword and kneeling.
At the same moment, the nobles in the great hall all bowed deeply at the waist and cried out in a single voice.
"The blessing of Divine Bird Trakhan!"
Bera Han slowly rose from his throne and gazed in the direction where Gauri existed.
'I shall proclaim to the world that the Kingdom of Haian has been reborn with dignity.'
Even in the great hall of the Marlon Kingdom, where the Holy Empire's influence barely reached, numerous ministers were in deep deliberation. Among them were ministers who had opposed entering into an alliance with Gauri.
"The Holy Empire claims to have risen up for the restoration of the North Roselin Royal Family, but..."
The aged King Hwein had stepped down, and King Ssen, who had inherited the throne, sat on the royal seat rubbing his chin. The leaders of both the Kingdom of Haian and the Kingdom of Marlon already knew the fact that the North Roselin Royal Family had been annihilated.
Therefore, no one believed the Holy Empire's claim that they were protecting a prince of North Roselin and would strike the Kingdom of Roselin to uphold the mutual defense treaty.
"Your Majesty, you must not move rashly."
Marquis Kwaian spoke in a cautious voice. He was someone who believed the alliance itself had been a hasty judgment.
"Lord Marquis Kwaian, but if we remain idle under a mutual alliance, we would be breaking the treaty ourselves."
"Ahem, Count Solon. Who said anything about breaking it? Has there not yet been a declaration of war? Sooner or later, the Holy Empire will send missives to each nation in some form. I am saying it will not be too late to move after we see what that brings."
Marquis Kwaian cut off Count Solon's words firmly and re-emphasized his own argument. Watching the two debate, Ssen turned his gaze to Duke Ken, his swordsmanship instructor and the only Sword Master in the Kingdom of Marlon.
"As Marquis Kwaian says, it would not be too late to move then."
"Indeed, Your Majesty."
With Duke Ken, a military heavyweight, lending weight to his words, Marquis Kwaian quickly picked up the thread and pressed his argument upon Ssen once more. Just as Ssen's face began to show slight dissatisfaction, Duke Ken's voice, which had seemed finished, continued.
"By then, I would wager, we would receive the missive, deliberate at our leisure, assemble an army and set out—at which point Roselin would already be a wasteland. By the time we arrived, I suppose we could pick up a few refugees."
"Your Grace!"
As Marquis Kwaian, his face flushing red, opened his mouth to Duke Ken as if to protest, someone interrupted and blocked him.
"Oh my! In that case, if by the slightest chance the Federal Empire moves against us, would not our allies do exactly the same? This is a grave matter!"
"Count Solon!"
Marquis Kwaian trembled as he looked at Count Solon, who was playing the fool beside him. But the assault on him did not end there.
"If Roselin falls, will the Federal Empire stand idle?"
It was Ssen.
At his question, Marquis Kwaian opened his mouth in a slightly subdued voice.
"They will not allow it to fall, Your Majesty. The Maritime Empire, too, will not wish for the Holy Empire's power to grow stronger."
"Perhaps."
"History up to now attests to it."
As King Ssen nodded half-heartedly, Marquis Kwaian invoked history. While it was not untrue so far, Ssen apparently thought slightly differently, and he asked Marquis Kwaian another question.
"What if the Holy Empire turns a blind eye to the Federal Empire's designs on our Kingdom of Marlon in exchange for allowing the Holy Empire to annex Roselin?"
"Surely such a thing could not happen."
Marquis Kwaian denied it.
"Do you not recall the fact that the Holy Empire's Grand Fleet vanished toward the Maritime Empire?"
"Th-that is..."
"What if—truly a what-if—the Holy Empire entered into a secret pact with the Maritime Empire to keep the Federal Empire in check until Roselin is annexed?"
"The Maritime Empire could not possibly do that. Knowing that if the Federal Empire is struck they alone could not withstand the Holy Empire, they would not make such a reckless choice."
Marquis Kwaian's words were entirely reasonable. But Ssen's words were not finished.
"What if—a truly extreme what-if."
"Just speak, Your Majesty."
When Duke Ken spoke with a small sigh, Ssen coughed awkwardly as if embarrassed and stated his hypothesis.
"What if, after doing so, the Holy Empire turns a blind eye to Marlon's annexation, and in turn the Maritime Empire cedes a few duchies atop the Federal Empire as compensation? If the Holy Empire has already occupied Roselin, would the Federal Empire not seek to absorb us and eliminate the threat to its rear?"
"Hmm."
It was a hypothesis, but not without possibility. Yet Marquis Kwaian did not simply back down.
"There is also the possibility that while the Holy Empire occupies Roselin and the Maritime Empire keeps it in check, the Federal Empire strikes us."
At Marquis Kwaian's words, King Ssen fell silent for a moment.
"That is entirely possible, Your Majesty."
Even Duke Ken could not ignore this point, and he stepped in with agreement. Count Solon also kept silent.
"If we mobilize troops excluding those needed to withstand a Federal Empire attack, what would be the possible number we could dispatch?"
"If the Federal Empire pushes in, we will inevitably be pushed back regardless, but given their nature it will take them time to assemble an army. By that reckoning, around ten thousand would be the limit."
"Hmm."
At Duke Ken's words, King Ssen had no choice but to deepen his pondering. An alliance was good, but one could not ignore visible danger.
"If I go, our numbers may be small, but we can still make a respectable showing."
"Lord Duke Ken!"
Marquis Kwaian stared at him with startled eyes.
"You must not! It would be better to mobilize five thousand more troops instead."
"Marquis Kwaian. For a defensive siege, troop numbers matter more than the presence of a Sword Master. And for them to act against the Kingdom of Marlon, time will inevitably be required. And though we fall short of the empires, are we not a nation of warriors? In the unlikely event we are attacked, I will either lead the army back or we may receive some support from Haian or Gauri."
At Duke Ken's words, Marquis Kwaian let out a deep sigh and could say nothing.
"First, let us open magic communication to Gauri. We must inform His Majesty the Yeolje of our kingdom's views. This is not our problem alone, after all. Well, he will hear out a request from his younger brother, I'm sure."
"Y-younger brother!"
At his act of calling Go Jin-cheon "big brother," Marquis Kwaian clutched the back of his head. Ssen, jealous that Bera Han and Alsein called him "big brother" and followed him around, had simply gotten drunk and called him "big brother"—but still.
'What in the world did these men do in Gauri...'
Not being able to accompany them had become a deep regret.
In the storm-lashed Roselin Royal Palace, they were waiting anxiously for messages from Gauri as well as the Kingdoms of Haian and Marlon. Gauri they trusted in their hearts, but regarding the Kingdoms of Haian and Marlon, unease was inevitable.
"Your Majesty!"
"Has contact come from the allied nations!"
As King Alsein, who had been venting his frustration at the communications wizard rushing into the great hall, looked at the utterly crumpled figure of the wizard, he began to sense that matters had started to take a difficult turn.
"The Holy Empire has circulated a magic missive to all nations."
"What is its content?"
When Alsein asked calmly, the wizard respectfully brought the magic missive copied via Copy Magic and presented it to Alsein.
"Hmm."
About the time Alsein unfolded and began reading the missive, Duke Baikal, having heard that new information had arrived, rushed in.
"What is its content?"
Duke Baikal asked the pale, terrified wizard about the missive's contents.
"Th-that is..."
Crumple!
"Those despicable—!"
Before the wizard could even open his mouth, Alsein crumpled the missive and trembled with rage, eyes bloodshot. Seeing this, Duke Baikal carefully approached and took the crumpled missive.
"Wh-what the—!"
Duke Baikal's reaction was no different.