Chapter 262: The Tin Knight and The Banquet of Madness (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 262: The Tin Knight and The Banquet of Madness (2)
The plan of the radicals within the Lennart family was as follows.
Plan A.
Gather signatures from within the family to pressure the Duke and extract ‘appropriate concessions’ from the imperial family.
How? By threatening to declare independence if they didn’t concede.
To put it nicely, it was blackmail; to put it crudely, a tantrum. Still, it was a reasonably effective strategy—provided they had the Duke's cooperation.
But the Duke refused their proposal to the very end, forcing the radicals to move on to their next plan.
Namely, Plan B.
Use the Duke's name to mobilize pro-Lennart forces scattered across the Empire, turning them into allies. Then, storm the Imperial Palace, secure the imperial family, and, in the name of the royals, create a list of 'traitors' to their liking and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Frankly, it was a far from thorough plan.
It was a hastily concocted scheme, born from the fact that their kinsmen were being thoroughly crushed by the Tin Knight’s party from the very start. They feared that if things continued as they were, they would lose all influence over the so-called Imperial direct corps.
As the Duke had said, the creation of a direct corps was unlikely to bring down the Lennart Ducal House overnight, but it would certainly spell the end for the radicals.
Werner von Lennart, whom they had recruited as their trump card, remained lukewarm. Within the ducal family, not a few sympathized with the Duke's conciliatory theory or took a neutral stance.
Thus, the radicals arrived at a counter-intuitive idea.
Their calculation was that the Lennart family’s current lukewarm attitude was, to put it bluntly, because they were ‘still too comfortable.’ If they were crushed so miserably that they lost that luxury, at least the neutrals would feel a sense of crisis and side with the radicals.
It’s always harder to carry a team than to troll, and just as the radicals intended, the cornered ducal family saw a rise in extremist voices.
Those who had already lent a hand in betraying the Duke had no choice but to stick with the radicals to the end, like it or not. As for those who had moved troops under the impression they were following the Duke’s orders, now that they were part of a rebellion, no one would listen to their claims of ignorance. They had no choice but to bite the bullet and join the cause.
Had the Tin Knight known the details, he would have marveled at how these bastards used a joint guarantee system to exploit everyone around them to the very marrow. But coups themselves often proceeded in such a reckless, all-or-nothing fashion.
After all, the ones who commit crazy acts are either already crazy or have been backed into a corner.
Moreover, this kind of hastily planned coup had its own advantages.
One, since it was launched in a rush without meticulous, calm preparations, there was less risk of information leaking.
Two, it was easy to catch rational, logical people off guard.
To put it another way…
“Hmm, it seems those people are about to flip the whole board.”
It meant that those who harbored a bit of madness themselves could also recognize the signs.
The party of madness, who would undoubtedly rank at the very top of any continent-wide 'ranking of madmen,' perfectly met this condition.
Of course, Sophia hadn't grasped the radicals' detailed plan; her contribution was limited to the conjecture that ‘since the recruitment test is a bust anyway, they might just give up early and try to overturn everything with force.’ But that alone was enough.
Right after the third test ended.
“Hey, what happens if the test itself just fizzles out? Specifically, something like this.”
“Surely they wouldn't do something like that? Why would they gamble on getting 0 or 200 when they could just sit still and keep 70 in their hands?”
“The Tower of Control already set a precedent. They say birds of a feather flock together, so what's to say those guys won't do the same?”
“That's rather weak for a basis.”
“…And that tin can says that since we're involved, it's better to operate on the premise that something will inevitably blow up rather than things going smoothly.”
“…”
Algind couldn't refute Dorothea's strangely resigned words.
From her perspective, having researched the party's journey so far, it was an assertion overflowing with reliability—in a negative sense.
As a result of that conversation…
“Hurry! Speed is of the essence!”
“Find the Empress and the Crown Prince! Don't let a single rat escape!”
“This way! There's a shadow over here—huh?”
“…At this point, I'm beginning to suspect their very existence brings disaster.”
What greeted the band of radicals—who had intended to raid key locations like the 'Hydrangea Palace,' famous as the Empress's residence, to secure important figures—was not a group of poor, panicked victims. Instead, they found Algind Goodwitch, who looked like she had a great deal to say, flanked by fully armed court mages and the Empress’s personal forces.
The Council of Elders, fearing their opponents would notice something if they delayed, had launched a swift attack with a small force, but this time, that very move backfired.
No matter how valiant they were, it wasn't enough to overturn a situation where they had lost the element of surprise and were numerically inferior.
*
Around the same time.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ assesses that plans are, as expected, meant to be thrown away!]
At your declaration, Dorothea let out a deep sigh.
“Hah, if it was going to turn out like this anyway, we should have just charged in from the start.”
As if to console Dorothea, Sophia said, “Well, what we've done so far wasn't meaningless, so don't be too discouraged. The fact that they made such a reckless move is proof that we were effectively cornering them.”
“I suppose that's true, but.”
Twisting a lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder, Dorothea's gaze flickered toward Adel.
You, too, turned your eyes to your pupil.
“…”
Adel had been silent the whole time, her expression looking quite complicated.
More precisely, it plainly showed an emotion somewhere between wanting to laugh and wanting to be angry.
You approached your pupil and patted her on the head.
Having recently awakened your sense of taste, you felt a renewed sense of disappointment at being unable to feel the texture of what seemed like soft hair, but that wasn't important right now.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if you are disappointed!]
At your words, Adel hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Throughout the test, even while clashing with the Lion Duke's bloodline, she hadn't been able to hide a sense of futility.
As her enemies continued to perform below her expectations, separate from her joy at how easy her revenge was becoming, she seemed to be seething with anger at the thought that her precious people had fallen to such pathetic foes.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ advises that rather than focusing on the enemy's pathetic state, it is better to turn your eyes to your own growth!]
“Growth, you say?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that you have this luxury now because you countered them relatively early, before they could properly execute their plans!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that if their plan had succeeded, with the imperial family captured and forged orders spreading through the Empire, it would have been the Tower of Control season 2!]
A chaotic battlefield where numerous forces would be entangled in a rampage, the entire Empire in upheaval and flames.
That wasn't a simple hypothetical, but one of the realistic futures that could very well have happened.
At that time, you would have had no time to feel this sense of futility; you would have had to fight a desperate guerrilla war, just as you did against the Tower of Control.
If you had been cutting a bloody swath through the Lion Duke's bloodline and the imperial army as they charged at you from all directions with bloodshot eyes, it's unlikely they would have seemed so laughable.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that if you had gone to the Magic State after dealing with the ducal family in the Empire, you could have used this incident as a lesson and suppressed the situation with Orin before it even escalated!]
If that had happened, the Magic State incident would have been resolved with incomparable speed.
The formidable Mombi wouldn't have awakened, Orin would have remained an ally, and the three magic towers would have ganged up to beat down Control. It was inevitable.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that because you gained experience at the Tower of Control, a special route to quickly suppress this incident has opened up, and that this is a time to rejoice in your own growth!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses a firm belief that after all the chaos in the Magic State, it would be too frustrating if a similar development were to unfold here!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that since you've done this once in the Magic State, you can do it much more perfectly this time!]
At your string of messages, a smile finally returned to your pupil's lips.
It was closer to a bitter smile than a bright, radiant one, but a smile was a smile.
“Yes, you're right. In the Magic State, we only reached a solution after suffering great losses, so we have to do better than that this time.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that's the spirit!]
Seeing Adel regain her motivation, Dorothea shrugged.
“Anyway, are the preparations complete? Then let's begin.”
When Dorothea, wearing the Gloves of Haider, waved her right hand, a giant golem horse, a carriage, and a large pile of skulls appeared out of thin air.
As Dorothea struck the ground with her staff and chanted an incantation, the pile of skulls transformed into something like armor, covering the surface of the golem horse and carriage.
The carriage's appearance was already far from ordinary due to the modifications made in the Magic State, but now, clad in bone armor, it certainly didn't look like something a hero of justice would ride in.
No, with an aura of what could be black poison mist or fog leaking from it, frankly, everyone would nod in agreement if you called it the carriage of some grim reaper.
Dorothea nodded.
“Hmm. Not bad.”
You couldn't help but look at your precious contractor with deep concern.
Ever since she became famous for using necromancy on a massive scale in the Magic State, it was as if she had let go of a few things; you were terrified by how she was growing increasingly indifferent to the opinions of others.
Dorothea needed to hold the position of common sense and reason so that you could go around causing trouble to your heart's content, didn't she?
You resolved to poke and prod her a few times about her attire and reputation after this was all over to get her back to normal, and with that, you climbed onto the driver's seat.
Dorothea and Sophia went inside, while Adelaide took her position behind a cannon mounted on the carriage roof, which resembled a machine gun nest.
Despite all the poison and ominous mana emanating from the carriage's surface, Adelaide seemed perfectly fine, perhaps because Sophia was continuously sending up holy power from inside.
Confirming that everyone was ready, you sent a signal to the golem horse.
-■■■■■■!
The golem horse was already threatening due to its large size, but perhaps due to a special effect of its magic armor, its cry was as eerie as a shriek from the underworld—truly a masterpiece.
The carriage sped forward.
The closer you got to the enemy's stronghold, the more foes tried to block your path, but their attempts were futile.
KABOOM!
KABOOOM!
KABOOOOM!
Because Adelaide, who had donned her mask again at some point, was shooting down every meddler she saw with the cannon on the carriage.
Perhaps because it didn't use gunpowder, its rate of fire was truly terrifying.
Dorothea’s special skeleton bombs were somewhat lacking in power as a simple physical attack, but their property of spewing poison and ominous mana around the point of impact more than made up for the lack of physical force.
Among them were some who set up obstacles to stop the carriage, but you paid them no mind and rammed straight through.
Ramming through carriages that blocked the road.
Ramming through hastily made wooden fences.
Avoiding people. But if they had golden hair, you just rammed them.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it's a good day for some lion roadkill!]
A frenzied melee was more comfortable than a fair and dignified fight—and that was true for you and your companions as well.