Chapter 345
Chapter 345
Iron Emperor — Chapter 345
"First, based on the spies who have been active throughout the war and the intelligence gathered so far, we had concluded that while the power of this nation called Gauri is unexpectedly great, its troop strength clearly does not exceed the level we anticipated. In fact, judging by the enemy numbers we actually fought during the expedition, they appeared slightly lower than that estimate."
"Hmm."
At Marquis Luchia's words, the emperor's expression grew more cautious. The Luchia he knew was cool and rational in his judgment, unlike the now-dead Marquis Perblin.
Which meant he was fundamentally different from men like the Public Marquis, who believed faith alone could resolve everything. And this was the same Marquis Luchia who now said the enemy's numbers had not been inflated—that they had been fewer than expected.
"Fewer troops than expected, and yet for the first time in a hundred years you used an Emergency Teleport Scroll to return?"
Setting aside the rarity of a long-distance Emergency Teleport Scroll powered by the combined mana of 6th-Circle Archwizards, no Holy Empire supreme commander had used one to escape in over a hundred years. This was the first.
Of course, there had been cases where a surprise ambush prevented the scroll from being used at all. The Public Marquis's case was another matter entirely...
"Half of our intelligence about the enemy was wrong."
"Did you not say yourself just moments ago that the intelligence matched—?"
"My wound was not inflicted by an ambush. It came from a head-on confrontation."
"......."
"You cannot mean—!"
At Marquis Luchia's rigid posture, the nobles stared in shock, unable to continue. Even Emperor Millior stopped short with his eyes wide. Then Luchia deepened their astonishment with his next words.
"When I faced the enemy commander who wounded me, he had been fighting without rest for over a day and had even been struck by magic in that condition. On top of that, he had already suffered penetrating wounds from spears and swords."
He spoke as if it were nothing, but Marquis Luchia's voice was faintly trembling. Even speaking the words aloud was a humiliation to his own ears.
"The fact that I took this much damage defeating such a man..."
Duke Schung's voice shook as if he could not believe it. But his words were cut short by Marquis Luchia before he could finish.
"I lost."
"......."
Thud.
A single word.
At Marquis Luchia's single self-deprecating word, the emperor dropped weakly into his chair. Even Marquis Luchia must have found this admission unbearable; after speaking, he could not lift his head.
"It is indeed unexpected."
The emperor, having already regained his composure, recovered an expression of interest. This was no ordinary empire. The Holy Empire was a great empire that possessed half of the Ten Masters of the Continent.
Well—nine masters of the continent, to be precise...
"Would that not mean there is a possibility of at least two master-level warriors in Gauri?"
Duke Schung cautiously addressed the emperor with a worried tone. By "two" he was including the one who had defeated the Public Marquis.
It could be a single individual, of course. But given the distance and timing, it would have been difficult for one man to travel back and forth.
"It is highly probable that the man who put me in this state is either dead or crippled."
Marquis Luchia's voice grew even quieter. Sensing something strange, the emperor seized on the remark and pressed him with a question.
"Did you do that to him?"
"......."
He had clearly said he lost the duel. That meant Marquis Luchia would not have been the one to do it.
Still, the emperor urged him to tell the truth.
"Earl Pelloman struck him from behind with a surprise attack."
"How could that be... Earl Pelloman..."
The knights, men who had risen through the ranks as warriors, opened their eyes wide in disbelief. Pelloman had been the most rigidly principled among all the knights.
So rigidly principled, in fact, that he had been subtly ostracized for it.
But no one refuted Marquis Luchia's words. There was no reason for him to blacken his own name by lying.
"Your conclusion?"
At the emperor's direct question, Marquis Luchia raised his head and began to answer.
"The numbers were roughly accurate, but there is no need to revise the existing intelligence regarding the decisive matter of troop quality. And from what I witnessed, every single soldier was unthinkably tenacious."
"Hmm."
"It was as if I were witnessing the legendary war against the Demon Tribe."
"......."
It was a reaction no one would have expected from a man known for his icy demeanor and refusal to acknowledge anyone. Whatever had happened, Marquis Luchia's behavior made no sense unless this expedition had dealt him an enormous shock.
Emperor Millior, who had been regarding Marquis Luchia for a moment, let out a short laugh, waved one hand dismissively, and spoke.
"I will take it under advisement. It seems the shock of battle was considerable. Go and rest."
At the emperor's dismissal, Marquis Luchia seemed about to say more, then bit his lip, turned, and walked out of the great hall.
"Everyone withdraw. The rest will be dealt with in due course. Duke Schung, remain."
Emperor Millior dismissed everyone except Duke Schung. Once all had departed the hall, Duke Schung carefully posed a question.
"Command me, Your Majesty."
"What do you think, Schung?"
As if he had anticipated the question, Duke Schung answered at once.
"There is no need to reconsider, just as Marquis Luchia said."
"Tch. A single thorn in the sole of the foot, and everyone panics..."
Emperor Millior clicked his tongue at Duke Schung's answer. But that was all. Schung already knew the answer the emperor would give.
"Take the head of the man responsible for intelligence and seat someone competent in his place."
"As you command."
"The thorn is a bit large. It chafes."
At times he displayed flashes of seeming madness, but that did not signify foolishness.
He too had thought carefully about Gauri, which was why he had poured massive resources into entrusting Marquis Luchia with a force far larger than what would normally be committed against a mere kingdom.
The emperor knew well that Marquis Luchia was no fool. And despite that, the fact that he had failed meant something was clearly amiss.
Moreover, Schung, who had personally met Go Jin-cheon, had smelled the dangerous scent of a sovereign ruler on him, which compelled him to pay even closer attention to Marquis Luchia's words.
"Then I shall withdraw."
Duke Schung bent his waist once more in salute and turned to leave the great hall, but the emperor's question reached him from behind.
"Do you know of the ancient war against the Demon Tribe?"
"Is that not the tale of the Empire's Age of Myths?"
Duke Schung, who had stopped walking, answered the emperor's question as if it were an obvious one.
The emperor laughed shortly and retorted.
"Indeed. It is, for all intents and purposes, the shared founding myth of our empire and the other two empires. The great legend of driving out the demon tribe and liberating humanity."
"It is so."
With an expression that said he could not comprehend why the emperor was stating facts even children knew, Schung nevertheless quietly concurred.
Then a quiet question reached Duke Schung.
"Have you heard of the Season of Depravity?"
"That, I am not well..."
At the unfamiliar reference, Schung cocked his head with a truly baffled expression. Millior showed a deep smile at the sight and dismissed him with a nod.
"Heh. Go now, Schung. No doubt you will be busy moving if you are to lop off a head and set someone else to the task."
"Then I shall take my leave at once."
Watching Duke Schung disappear with hurried steps, Emperor Millior sank into thought, his eyes grown cold and somber.
* * *
Go Jin-cheon and the leaders of the allied nations were busily exchanging words as they gazed at the maps spread before them.
The reason was that the Empire Coalition had hurried to take the field as soon as they learned Gauri had succeeded in its defensive stand. Of course, they had sent an envoy to the allied encampment here, conveying words of appreciation for their efforts along with urging an advance north into the Holy Empire.
Naturally, the allies expressed reluctance at the envoy's words.
They cited the enormous personnel and matériel required merely to recover from the devastation the Holy Empire invasion had inflicted across their lands.
At that, the envoys said nothing further and quietly withdrew.
To the Empire Coalition, the Four-Nation Alliance was nearly irrelevant. Once the imperial war ended, they would clearly try to exert strong influence over the Four-Nation Alliance by whatever means they could.
"It is said that the fleet assembled at the Maritime Empire will set sail before long. It is not certain, but based on troop numbers alone, it is said to be close to two hundred fifty thousand pure combat troops."
"Whoa."
"Hmm."
Everyone stirred at the number: two hundred fifty thousand.
"If you include supply personnel and pure support troops, I expect the total will reach three hundred fifty thousand."
"Even for a naval operation, the support and supply personnel seem a bit low relative to the combat troops."
When Jin-cheon voiced his doubt, Duke Baikal, who had been providing the explanation, respectfully answered.
"That is true, but it arises from the particular character of the Maritime Empire."
"Hmm."
As Duke Baikal was calmly explaining, a composed voice interjected.
"Just think of Gerard. That will suffice."
"......Mm. I see."
Yeon Hwi-garam's concise explanation gave Jin-cheon the answer at once. Ships devoted to plunder did not operate by separating combat troops from support troops.
The sailors were the fighting men, and the fighting men were the rowers.
"I shall continue."
"Do so."
Duke Baikal's explanation came to an end only a while later.
In the end, from the Empire Coalition's perspective, the present moment—when Gauri had just shattered the Holy Empire's forces—was the optimal time.
If by any chance Gauri had failed to stop the Holy Empire's army, the coalition's plan had clearly been to send troops not against the Holy Empire but toward Gauri, all in the name of continental peace. But when Gauri had unexpectedly shattered them in a short time, the coalition's choice had become simple.
The Holy Empire, for its part, still could not entirely relax its vigilance against the Four-Nation Alliance, and that naturally meant the dispersion of its forces was unavoidable.
This was something Emperor Millior had worried about to some extent.
His masterstroke to avoid this situation and instead seize control of the Four-Nation Alliance had been the Gauri Expeditionary Force. And it had been smashed to pieces in spectacular fashion.
"The Daedaero, Dae Mu-deok of the home country, has sent word that after a long pursuit, they have seized the Holy Empire's landing point and captured some of the ships remaining there as well as the support troops."
"Oh, what joyous news!"
A headless force was no longer a threat.
And their commander had not died in battle—he had simply fled alone, abandoning tens of thousands of troops behind him.
Strictly speaking, Marquis Luchia had not fled of his own accord; the nobles who saw his wounds had hurriedly pulled him out. But to the soldiers, even that would sound like an excuse. They would believe they had been abandoned, and once that belief spread, morale could only collapse.