Chapter 306
Chapter 306
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 306
The eyes that had widened at Jin-cheon's firm tone turned sheepish as everyone straightened their postures. In truth, regardless of how closely they shared a cause, the behavior they had just displayed bordered on gross insubordination.
Watching their reaction, Jin-cheon raised the teacup before him, moistened his lips, and spoke again.
"One who would call himself a king of any nation must never speak empty words."
"We will take it to heart."
As Alsein bowed his head and answered, the others also lowered their heads out of a sense of shame. Having observed their entire display, one corner of Jin-cheon's mouth quirked up slightly.
"I will say it once more. As agreed with the envoys, once the supplies they sent arrive, we will begin the offensive against the Holy Empire."
"Understood."
"We shall do so."
At Jin-cheon's statement confirming the plan once more, everyone answered with voices that held a sense of inevitability. Then Jin-cheon's voice reached their ears again.
"That is, if the supplies arrive. Kekeke."
"......?"
"What?"
Bewildered expressions filled the room at the sudden remark. Whether they were confused or not, Jin-cheon turned to Yeon Hwi-garam, who was seated to the side, and spoke.
"Hwi."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Tell Gerard to prepare for business."
"Yes."
The exchange between sovereign and retainer only served to further confound everyone present.
* * *
"Play, play, play while you're young~, when you grow o~ld you won't be able to play anymore~."
As Phillian Gerard hummed the tune Eulji Uru had taught him long ago, trying to fall asleep in his swaying hammock, the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.
"We’ve received word from the homeland."
It was Jang Bogo's robust voice, tinged with anticipation. Gerard raised himself from the hammock and posed a question.
"What is it?"
"They said to put the treasure hunt on hold for now and prepare for business. They say it's a huge score this time."
"A huge score?"
As Gerard asked again, Jang Bogo replied with a sinister grin.
"They say we'll be replacing all our weapons with brand new ones this time. Heh heh heh."
"Just who is that old man planning to swindle this time...?"
Gerard murmured thoughtfully.
* * *
"Pirates?!"
Alsein's astonished shout shook the room.
"How could it be...?"
"The Free Knight, Sir Phillian Gerard, was a pirate?"
"So the massive fraud Gerard of Lightning pulled in the Federal Empire was also...."
It was an utter shock.
The fact that Gauri was cultivating a massive naval force was completely unexpected.
Of course, Alsein and Duke Baikal had anticipated it to some extent while staying in Gauri, but they could never have imagined a force on the scale Go Jin-cheon was now revealing. Hadn't they practically dominated the central seas? Excluding the national support of a power like the Maritime Empire, this was practically the strongest force any single faction could muster. Although the number of personnel directly called the Gauri Navy was minimal, nearly all of the pirates had been unified under Gerard's command.
And one of the most critical points was Gerard's presence itself.
Gerard of Lightning was a name that had constantly been on people's lips. Already famous as a Free Knight, he had become legendary several years prior for absconding with an entire warship of the Federal Empire before vanishing.
At the time, some argued he had been utterly destroyed by a Sea Dragon, while others believed he had been wiped out by a storm. No one could have predicted that he had become a pirate.
"They are, officially, pirates."
A bizarre smile spread across Go Jin-cheon's lips.
"Then the condition 'if the supplies arrive'...?"
As Marquess Gaun of the Haian Kingdom threw out an unfinished question toward Jin-cheon, Yeon Hwi-garam, seated beside Jin-cheon, answered with a smile.
The full story began to unravel, one piece after another.
"Then, when you were discussing the method of delivery with the envoys, you said that receiving the goods in installments would attract the Holy Empire's attention and be counterproductive, so you resolved to receive it all at once. Was that all for this purpose?"
Following Marquess Gaun, Duke Ken of the Malin Kingdom burst out with a voice of shock, and this time Eulji Uru chimed in to back it up.
"Well, life is all about that one big shot."
"But won't it be a problem?"
At Duke Baikal's careful question, Hwi-garam answered with a nonchalant expression.
"It will simply be a case of pirates raiding the goods. And we will simply be taking delivery of supplies used by pirates from anonymous smugglers. Afterward, if those pirates were to dedicate their forces to Gauri, there would be no issue. As long as this fact does not get out."
At Hwi-garam's shameless answer, Alsein shook his head as if he could no longer keep up, muttering to himself.
"This is outright fraud."
As if taking offense to the remark, the others stared at him. Amidst that, Jin-cheon spoke.
"It's a foul if you get caught. If you don't, it's skill."
"Hng."
Alsein surrendered to the utterly brazen answer. In any case, wasn't this the only way to secure the real benefits while keeping up appearances? Without such a backup plan, they would have been forced to fight an even more grueling war. At the same time, however, the leaders of the three kingdoms besides the Gauri figures were all silently vowing never to cross Go Jin-cheon.
"But I am curious as to how you came up with this idea."
As Marquess Gaun sent a gaze full of interest, the eyes of the others, including Alsein, changed. It was a look akin to that of disciples waiting for a lesson.
"In truth, this plan began with His Majesty's deep contemplation."
As Hwi-garam's lips parted, the details of the unprecedented supply theft plan began to unfold. The initial idea for this plan had come from Jin-cheon's mind, and the detailed planning was Hwi-garam's handiwork.
Of course, Jin-cheon hadn't been thinking on such a sophisticated level at first; his initial thought had simply been whether they could rob the supply lines. Then word arrived that envoys from the empires would be visiting, and he reasoned that, formally, they would try to curry favor in some form.
"If the empires are not fools, a certain level of material support is a given. In that case, if we accept those supplies and fight with all our might, at best we'd just be breaking even."
"Hmm."
Since this was a concern shared by all, they listened intently to Hwi-garam's story while nodding their heads.
"At that time, His Majesty stated, 'Taking what they give us and fighting desperately is worse than breaking our backs to cook a feast for someone else's dogs.'"
"Ah, what an aphorism!"
Eulji Uru's enthusiastic interjection fueled the flow of the story.
"And then he said this: 'But to freeload off them is no different from banditry. What matters is keeping my word while still reaping the benefits. For instance, it would be ideal if the supplies we agreed to receive were to, say, get lost in transit.'"
"Ha, haha."
Awkward laughter filled the room.
In short, squeezing out as much as possible while getting away with it cleanly had been Jin-cheon's top priority. It was then that Hwi-garam's "wisdom" had shone the brightest. Given the nature of the war, the supply route was clearly by sea. With the Maritime Empire's declaration of participation, the Holy Empire's navies were beginning to concentrate their forces. This would make maritime supply transport even more prevalent. This explanation of the situation had everyone nodding along.
"Of course, the pirates are running wild, but since they don't operate along the route through the central seas, there would be nothing to worry about. Because up until now, the pirates have only been active in the Central Seas. Unless, of course, someone were to tip them off. As long as someone doesn't tip them off."
When Hwi-garam emphatically bit out the words "someone doesn't tip them off," the smile on his face was as clear as always, but those watching him felt chills run down their spines and had the same thought.
'This man... is just as dangerous as His Majesty.'
Whether he knew their thoughts or not, Jin-cheon stepped in and spoke.
"War is, in any case, a struggle for justification. If there is no justification, nations will fabricate one to go to war."
Everyone nodded at Jin-cheon's words.
"The method I have chosen might seem petty. But what they desire from us is an equally petty act, is it not?"
"It is."
Swayed by Jin-cheon's words, Alsein clenched his fist tightly and cried out.
"Call it what you want, it's all the same—in war, the end justifies the means."
Uru, receiving Alsein's concurrence, professed the firm conviction he had built up over countless battles. It meant that no one ever entered a war intending to lose. At that moment, Gye Ung-sam, who had been sitting idly, threw in a remark.
"Well, anyway, we did say 'when we receive the supplies,' so technically, we didn't lie, right?"
"......."
"......."
Ung-sam's perfectly nonchalant statement was accepted by no one. Feeling tortured by their glares after having bothered to speak up for the first time in a while, Ung-sam lamented to himself.
'Why is it always me...?'
Ung-sam felt utterly wronged.
* * *
"Pack the goods carefully so they don't get damaged, I said!"
"Yes, we got it!"
Men carefully wrapped the armaments. The bustling movement was reminiscent of a busy marketplace.
However, the sun-tanned, trained muscles visible beneath their casual clothing made it clear they were anything but ordinary merchants. Moreover, their rough and savage looks made them even more incompatible with the image of traders.
"Hmm, I have a feeling this is going to be the last big score."
Gerard watched the sturdy pirates bustling about, regret and anticipation for the future mingling on his face.
[You say 'the last'?]
The source of the voice that rang in Gerard's head was none other than his eternal partner, the merman Pale. Seeming accustomed to it by now, Gerard shrugged as he replied.
"I mean, after this, it looks like there won't be any more need for piracy."
[Does that mean you'll be leaving here, too?]
"What are you talking about, I haven't even met all your sisters yet!"
As Gerard swung around and yelled, Pale let out a small sigh.
[It seems you haven't learned the meaning of the word 'surrender' even after being rejected eighty-six times.]
"I'm better off not knowing such a word."
[Maybe your learning capabilities are just lacking....]
"Shut up!"
Seeing the white puffs of air steaming from Gerard's mouth as he fumed, Pale did not continue the conversation. He merely shook his head from side to side.
"Commander-in-Chief!"
As Gerard ran on, he heard someone calling to him from behind.
"Is that the Fleet Commander?"
When Gerard looked toward the voice, he saw the graying figure of Jang Bogo.
"So you were here."
"You see me and you still have to ask?"
At Gerard's curt reply, Bogo glanced meaningfully at Pale standing behind him and prepared a tease.
"Did you get rejected for the eighty-seventh time?"
"You damn bastard, I said it's only the eighty-sixth time!"
"Pfft."
Gerard cried out, almost screaming.
"Just tell me what you came for."
As Gerard calmed his anger and asked again, Jang Bogo wiped the smile off his face and began his report.
"It's nothing major. We received word from the units stationed on the main island and the surrounding isles. Aside from the arms and armor needed for the immediate business ahead, all the expendable weaponry we'd been steadily producing to bring to the homeland has been fully packed and prepared."
"Mm, oh, right! What about the thing I ordered last time?"
Gerard, who had been nodding along, seemed to recall something and threw out another question.
"Are you referring to the improvement of the Yudonno?"
"That and the modification of the Turtle Dragon."
"Hmm, for the Turtle Ships, the reinforcement has been completed to a certain extent. However, the miniaturization and increased penetration power for the Yudonno are still in progress...."
"That damn Turtle Ship... I told you we should change it to Turtle Dragon!"
"Didn't His Majesty himself say he liked the name?"
"Urgh."
Go Jin-cheon's name worked like a panacea. The moment it was mentioned, Gerard immediately backed down. Having endured Jin-cheon's monthly visits—'proof' in the form of beatings disguised as sparring that he still had far to go—right up until the war, Gerard still found him terrifying.