Chapter 274
Chapter 274
Iron Emperor — Chapter 274
"Get out there and do the job that befits your position!"
"Y-yes, Your Majesty."
The title "Chief of Intelligence" meant that his highest priority was collecting all information across the continent and monitoring the movements of hostile nations.
Yet now, the Chief of Intelligence had missed the most critical intelligence of all—the collusion between the Maritime Empire and the Holy Empire. In truth, even Vish had never imagined the two empires would join hands.
"Damn it, what am I supposed to tell the Federal Assembly...?"
Emperor Bishu's worries were piling up like mountains.
On the night of the Holy Empire's declaration of war, the Roselin royal palace was staring resentfully at the silent magical communicator.
"Has there been any contact?"
"Nothing yet."
Duke Baikal, clad in immaculately polished armor, answered King Alsein's question with a bitter voice.
"Why would the Maritime Empire..."
Listening to Alsein's helpless lament, Duke Baikal could say nothing. In this situation, no words could offer comfort.
Shring.
The sound of Duke Baikal's bastard sword sliding cleanly from its sheath rang out with crystalline clarity. He raised the sword to his chest and, in a resolute voice, began to swear his oath to Alsein.
"I, Helios Baikal, stake the honor of a knight upon this oath: until the last drop of my blood stains the ground, I shall not permit a single step of the vile spawn of the Holy Empire upon this land."
"I entrust this to you."
Soothing the ache in his chest at the oath of the aged knight who had steeled himself for death, Alsein could only utter those words of entrustment.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
What shattered the somber atmosphere was the voice of a wizard dashing into the great hall. Given the circumstances, there was no decorum, no protocol, but Alsein was just as desperate.
"What is it?!"
"From Gauri..."
The wizard's face was brimming with tears. It was far from an expression of sorrow. Though they had not yet won the war, the wizard's face was as bright as the Twin Moons in the night sky.
"Speak quickly."
"Forty thousand troops of Gauri's advance force have already crossed the border and are advancing!"
"What?!"
Alsein shot up from his throne.
The news that they had already crossed the border and were advancing meant that they had begun their march regardless of the declaration of war.
"It is said they did not report this sooner because they moved secretly along the mountain range to avoid provoking the Holy Empire prematurely. And it is said that His Majesty the Yeolje of Gauri himself has departed leading twenty-five thousand follow-on troops for our relief."
"Ha, haha, ahahaha!"
The moment the wizard's report ended, Alsein clenched both fists and descended from the throne into the great hall, bursting into uproarious laughter. More than the fact that forty thousand troops were coming, what elated him even more was that Go Jin-cheon had never, from the very start, even entertained the thought of abandoning Roselin, no matter how vast the enemy was.
It meant he had not hesitated in the slightest.
"Your Majesty!"
Another wizard came running. His face, too, was bright.
"Word has arrived that in the Kingdom of Marlon, ten thousand elite troops led by Duke Ken have begun their movement by sea! He conveyed his regret that he could not send a larger force for our relief because of possible provocations by the Federal Empire."
"God has not abandoned us!"
"There is more good news!"
"Speak quickly, quickly!"
As glad tidings poured in like water bursting through a blocked dam, strength surged into Alsein's voice.
"The forces of the Kingdom of Haian right now..."
The wizard's final report at last brought tears of joy streaming from Alsein's eyes.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
"What's that?"
The disciplined sound of marching feet reached the ears of the sentries.
It was clearly the sound of a considerable number of feet, so curious faces poked out one after another to look. But on those faces, there was no sign of fear at the footsteps of an unidentified group.
Only curiosity.
"Unit, form ranks!"
Thud, thud!
When the forceful voice rang out again, the sound of footsteps halted simultaneously.
"What's this? Looks like Haian soldiers?"
The garrison troops of the Holy Empire's leased territory, who had suffered once before during King Bera Han's massive purge, watched with puzzled eyes.
"This isn't another raid like last time, is it?"
"Nah, when Duke Schung visited last year, didn't he even receive an apology from the King of Haian?"
The soldiers were indeed troops of the Holy Empire.
The Holy Empire's leased territory had been violated once before, during Duke Perisman's flight. But back then, the guard force had been practically nonexistent, because no one had expected Haian to act with such audacity.
At that time, three lower-ranked wizards had been killed during the incursion, but the royal household had promptly provided compensation, so the matter had been settled relatively quietly. In return, of course, they had been forced to accept a Holy Empire garrison.
Because the Maritime and Federal Empires exerted influence in Haian equal to that of the Holy Empire, the Holy Empire could apply no further pressure. Instead, it had stationed five thousand troops there to watch the Kingdom of Haian.
Clop, clop, clop.
As the sound of hoofbeats drew near, a soldier assigned to the main gate ambled outside. The torch-bearing soldier came to stand before a mounted knight of the Kingdom of Haian.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
"I am Marquess Gaun of the Kingdom of Haian."
"What business brings you here?"
"As of this moment..."
To the soldier's question, Marquess Gaun gave a slow reply.
"The Kingdom of Haian reclaims your nation's leased territory — that of the Holy Empire."
"What?"
The torch-bearing soldier's face filled with bewilderment. The soldiers who had poked their heads out beyond the palisade were likewise thrown into confusion, having apparently heard Marquess Gaun's words.
"By now, a declaration of war should have reached your nation."
"Guh-huhk!"
At the knight's icy voice, the soldier dropped the torch and began backpedaling. Despite his reaction, the knight sitting haughtily upon his horse continued speaking his piece.
"Effective this very hour, the Kingdom of Haian declares the Holy Empire its enemy!"
At the knight's declaration, the soldiers inside the palisade began scrambling in every direction. They snatched up the weapons they had each left discarded wherever, and rushed to wake their sleeping comrades.
"Alert command inside, quickly!"
"Ring the alarm bell!"
There was a watchtower, but because no one had been standing guard in it, the bell remained silent even in this situation. Watching the scene, Marquess Gaun drew his sword.
"Warning complete."
As he muttered in a voice too low for anyone else to hear, Viscount Shu'an Wi's voice burst out from behind him.
"Charge forward!"
"Waaaaah!"
Emperor Millior set down the magical missives from the Kingdom of Haian and the Kingdom of Marlon that lay before him, a cold smile on his lips.
"I had thought one or two might fall away."
"My apologies. My judgment was short-sighted."
Duke Schung was bowing his head low before Millior, at a complete loss.
He had judged that at the very least, the Kingdom of Marlon would fall away, but he had not expected even Marlon to come out like this.
"Expressing regret over the Holy Empire's decision to declare war upon the Kingdom of Roselin, and acting in accordance with the sworn blood alliance... That is from the Kingdom of Marlon."
Flutter.
The paper dropped from Millior's hand, fluttering to settle upon the floor. He then picked up the remaining sheet, held it up, and looked at Schung.
"This one has an even more amusing message written on it."
The tense Duke Schung stared at the magical missive wavering in Millior's hand.
"Any act of aggression against our blood-bound ally, the Kingdom of Roselin, shall be regarded as an act of aggression against the Kingdom of Haian. Therefore, your nation's leased territory is hereby reclaimed as of this hour, and we shall fight alongside Roselin."
"Mm."
Duke Schung spoke in astonishment. Haian's actions had changed so drastically that he was at a loss for words.
Flutter.
"Interesting."
The Kingdom of Haian's declaration of war drifted slowly down to the floor. Seeing it, Millior glanced sideways at the single remaining sheet left on the side table and spoke.
"Schung, this one is my favorite."
Rustle.
Millior glanced at the remaining sheet, then let it fall from his hand as well.
Flutter.
"I refuse. Go Jin-cheon, Yeolje of Great Gauri."
"..."
Duke Schung stared in disbelief at Gauri's missive lying on the floor. Then he heard Millior chuckle.
"Pfft. To be honest, the missives from Marlon and Haian were so long that I roughly summarized them myself, but the missive from this fellow Jin-cheon has a self-introduction longer than the actual message."
"Huh."
Even Duke Schung, who had kept nothing but his head bowed, was so dumbfounded that he picked up the magical missive from Gauri and flipped it over and back, checking whether there might be any other words written on it.
But despite his efforts, it really said exactly what Millior had spoken aloud.
[I refuse. Go Jin-cheon, Yeolje of Great Gauri]
"..."
Just as Millior's cold laughter was echoing, word reached the Holy Empire's capital that the leased territory at the Haian Royal Palace had been annihilated. Naturally, the same news reached the Roselin royal palace as well.
Gauri.
Because of this name — Gauri — that had appeared one day without warning, the continent that had been turning upon the axis of the Three Great Empires began to tremble.
The declarations of war against the Holy Empire by Gauri, Marlon, and the Kingdom of Haian spread swiftly to the Federal Empire and the Maritime Empire. And the remaining duchies were all appalled by their decision.
The swiftest to act was the Federal Empire, with a statement of support. They deemed that alone to be sufficient.
From their standpoint, they would hope that this early public statement, combined with even the slightest damage to the Holy Empire, would serve their ends. Already, from the Holy Empire's perspective, great damage had been done to their prestige. But the advance of the Holy Empire itself continued at a pace that was neither hurried nor slow.
"What of the enemy's movements?"
At Duke Baikal's question, Marquis Bels spread out the operational map and began pointing with his finger.
"The garrison of the Theodore Plains has already been withdrawn, as defense there strains our forces. Reports indicate that the Holy Empire, seemingly unconcerned with this sector, is maintaining its host of one hundred fifty thousand and is passing beneath Mount Trupal."
"They're taking their leisure, I see."
Whether it was a sneer at the Roselin army for failing to attack even though the enemy had entered their borders, Duke Baikal furrowed his brow at the enemy's leisurely movements.
"It's advantageous for us, but why do they show such composure?"
"Because they are the Holy Empire."
"Mmm."
At Verus's words, Baikal let out a groan.
That single phrase weighed heavily upon him. Even considering troop strength alone, Duke Baikal's forces to stop them, including the Eastern Army, amounted to only fifty thousand.
To reinforce, there were twenty-five thousand troops from Gauri's main camp, ten thousand from Marlon, and twenty thousand troops currently en route from the Kingdom of Haian. Gauri's advance force was assigned to support the defense of the fortress, so it was correct to exclude them from the current field calculation.
When all arrived and combined, they would form a grand army of one hundred and five thousand. The reason the Holy Empire advanced so leisurely despite knowing this was probably due to their surplus of troops, or because of the one hundred fifty thousand troops they had concealed at sea.
"They may be advancing at leisure, but if we continue to withdraw like this, it will be a problem. We will cede all the terrain favorable to us. It may even be that they are drawing us in precisely to turn that against us."
"We must clash with the enemy forces at least once, then."