[readlightnovel.me]
“…… What is the size of the vanguard of the emperor's army?”
“One thousand knights, one hundred mages and five dragons, the commander is Kevin Perral of the Dragon King Knights. Notable Knights include Scott Harlow of the Central Knights, Marvin Pan, and Gloria Cenderer of the White lance Knights. The commander of the mages is Loya Lilista, and most of them are made up of the Lilista Magic Corp.”
“Fifty lion-class cannons, three red dragon-class cannons, and a number of barrier amplification artifacts have been confirmed as war artifacts.”
Even if it was that much, there were many countries in the world that could be conquered by that much army. Excluding the giant forces, it is impossible to handle this much with the strength of a single nation or clan.
Besides, the lists recited by commanders are only the vanguard. The size of the main force that arrive later was incomparable.
“The size of the main army has not yet been determined, but it is estimated to be at least ten times larger.”
The atmosphere in the conference room became heavy. Those who guessed Ron's condition renewed their resolve once more, and those who did not continued to think of the white stone.
“Three hours, it’s faster than expected. Even the Emperor knows that Lord Ron is in no condition to fight. That's why they are rushing like this. The main unit will probably arrive within a couple of hours after the vanguard.”
It was as Shuras said.
Crack-! Suddenly, Shuras split the long table of the conference room in half and walked between everyone to stand in front of Dante.
Then he got down on one knee and lowered himself.
“I, Shuras Helter, the patriarch of the Helter clan. I and the knights of Helter, under my command, will share the fate of Hairan.”
As Shuras swore, the other knights fell to their knees as well.
“Sellington Street will fight alongside Hairan, too!”
“Lofermoga would have been destroyed once without Hairan. It's weak, but it will help.”
“Traga, I will stand by Hairan.”
“Ackle Street…….”
Thirty representatives of each clan in the conference room swore to Dante and Hairan. Then there were seven people left. They were the ones who were most shaken by the news that Ron had lost consciousness.
Dante reciprocated by placing his sword on the shoulders of those who had paid his oath, then looked at them quietly.
“Kingzelga, Felicigar, Metinga, Baizeringa, Panega, Mitroga, Ginionga.”
“Little patriarch, we….”
“You have betrayed your trust of Hairan. You forgot that my clan, my grandfathers and ancestors fought for your well-being.”
At Dante's words, the representatives of the seven clans couldn't raise their heads. The knights who were still crouching were ready to cut their throats at any moment if Dante gave an order.
“But I don't want to think that you abandoned the faith in Hairan simply out of fear for your life and the survival of your clan. I will assume that you chose to keep loyalty to the Empire rather than loyalty to Hairan. So before you leave, there will be work for you to do for the Empire.”
"We will…… do it."
“Help evacuate the people of Sword emperor Castle. If you don't even do that, then you didn't choose loyalty, so I have no reason to keep you alive.”
The seven knights who did not swear bowed their heads and left the meeting room.
“Sir Golo.”
“Yes, little patriarch!”
“Evacuate all non-combatant vassals and subjects. If the seven clans do not assist in the process, you can cut their throat immediately.”
“I will, my lord.”
“Also, all ordinary soldiers must be evacuated.”
The ordinary soldier's role in battle is the same as equipment operation and supply, and vigilance and follow-up control. If ordinary soldiers are absent, the lower knights would have to operate equipment such as cannons themselves, so there would be some power loss, but Dante didn't want to make them take too harsh responsibility.
If the war is lost, they will have their whole family killed just for standing on the walls.
After the evacuation only remaining personal in the castle were 3,000 lower-class knights, 1,000 upper-class knights, and 50 commander-class knights, including Dante.
They could handle as much as the vanguard army, but it was far from enough to deal with the entire empire.
Dante and his commanders climbed the walls. Restoration has been ongoing since the last terrorist attack, but sword emperor castle has yet to regain its original appearance. Cracks were left everywhere on the walls, and there are many empty places.
It's not a fight for castle protection anyway. All the ordinary soldiers were sent out, and more than half of the war equipment was damaged during the terror, so they couldn't last long in the castle.
Regardless of the victory or defeat of this war, today is the end of sword emperor castle.
Dante climbed the rampart just to capture this sight with his eyes one last time.
-I know what you mean. Then, what if the imperial family chooses Zipfel and decides to end Hairan with us?
-You stop that on your own.
-I'm not the patriarch of Zipfel, but the next patriarch. I don't have that much authority.
-I’m just kidding, Runcandel will join Hairan at that time.
Dante suddenly remembered the conversation of his friends as he watched the tents set up under the walls being pulled down and people evacuating at the command of the commanders.
When he and Jin asked Veradin to urge Zipfel to press Hairan even more. The three assumed the possibility of an all-out war of this kind to some degree. However, it was completely unexpected that Ron lost consciousness and the emperor to reveal Hairan’s secret to the whole world.
Who would have imagined that Ron would be unable to fight.
Ron's injuries during the terrorist attack were never this severe. It was a normal injury that should be cured within a week at the shortest and a month at the longest. Dante didn't know why Ron's injury had gotten so bad.
'Since my grandfather hasn't woken up, I don't think we'll be able to win this war even if you come, Jin.'
Dante thought that getting Jin's help would be to drown his friend in a pit. Jin is not yet the patriarch of Runcandel. And, when evaluated objectively, Hairan without Ron is not worth acquiring even when Runcandel fight against the Empire.
Dante received a pen and paper from the commander standing next to him. He wanted to send a letter to Jin telling him not to come to support.
“Send this to Tikan immediately.”
The commander received the letter and went down the wall. If Jin came, then Dante would have a high chance of surviving. As Jin said in his conversation with Veradin, even if he can't lead the whole of Runcandel, he will definitely bring enough troops to save Dante.
But Dante was convinced that he would rather die fighting together than choose to escape from here and survive alone. Thousands of martial artists risked their lives for Hairan and rebelled. It was never possible for him to prioritize his survival as the deficit of the sword emperor castle.
According to the orders of Dante and his commanders, knights began to be deployed throughout the castle. The eyes of the knights were heavily stained with the resolution of a desperate fight.
All that was left was to wait for the enemies to come.
* * *
“A white stone? Are you saying that he want to get rid of the sword emperor castle with this justification?”
Rosa looked at the report and twitched her eyebrows.
“There is no information has been obtained about the white stone. It is possible that it is just a lie for a justification.”
“It could be true. But it doesn't matter. The reason why the emperor is moving like this must be because he is sure that he can defeat Ron's sword emperor castle.”
“After the Sword emperor castle terrorist attack, Ron Hairan almost stopped his foreign activities. And he hasn't been active at all for the last 15 days.”
“It could be that he can't fight, as I predicted before…… it is almost certain after seeing that the emperor raised an army but Ron didn’t responded.”
“There is no full-fledged movement yet, but Zipfel may be looking after the emperor.”
“If the white stone is worth as much as the emperor said, they will surely be.”
“Should I prepare the knights?”
Rosa thought for a moment about her youngest son, instead of answering the scribe’s words.
“What about 12th flagbearer?”
“It is certain that he is inside Tikan, but the detailed internal situation is unknown due to the order of the patriarch.”
“That child will definitely go to sword emperor castle. I think the fourth flagbearer’s sudden request for vacation has something to do with it.”
“To lead the knights of Runcandel and go to the Sword Emperor Castle without permission from the acting patriarch...….”
“You're saying something new. When did the youngest act with that kind of self-consciousness? Besides, even if the youngest does not have the knights of the clan, he has a solid force of his own.”
The scribe bowed his head.
'I don't know exactly what kind of white stone Hairan is holding, but there's nothing wrong with having it, seeing as the emperor is so anxious about it.'
However, it was burdensome to step forward without any information or justification. If the white stone had no particular value, Runcandel would have been involved in the civil war of the Empire without any profit.
“First, let's see how the youngest handles things. However, if we detect a situation in which Zipfel or Kinzelo are actively stepping out, we make sure to move accordingly. Keep an eye on their movements. Also, make a statement that Runcandel has nothing to do with the civil war in Hairan.”
That way, if Jin's actions ended in bad results, it could naturally take the position that it was not the judgment of the entire Runcandel. On the contrary, if it ended with good results, the ability and tenacity of Runcandel’s 12th flagbearer were only highlighted once more.
“Yes, Acting patriarch.”
* * *
The emperor's vanguard army arrived at the plains of sword emperor castle.
Dante stood in the middle of the wall at the gate and watched them.
Five dragons, a thousand knights, a hundred mages, fifty-three cannons and barrier equipment pointed to the main gate of the sword emperor castle. The back gate and the side gate seemed to be surrounded by the main unit anyway, so there was no need to pay attention.
“I am Kevin Perral, Vanguard Commander of the Civil War Suppression Army under His Majesty Amir Vermont! Emperor of the Great Empire! Ron Hairan, the lord of the Sword Emperor castle, come out quickly and receive and obey His Majesty's edict!”
Kevin Perral shouted as he looked down at Sword emperor castle while riding on the red dragon.
Dante and the commanders did not answer him. Kevin was arrogant and raised his voice even more. He had listened to the Emperor beforehand, but he had just seen with his own eyes that Ron couldn't fight.
“Is Ron Hairan absent? If so, little patriarch, Dante Hairan, receive and obey His Majesty's edict. This is an ultimatum...…!”
to be!
He tried to shout that, but suddenly Kevin felt a cool sensation of something like wind entering the middle of his chest.
"Uh……?”
There is a hole in his chest. Kevin was completely unaware of that moment, but it happened right after something flashed on the walls of the sword emperor castle.
The light came from Dante’s sword. The sword that had pierced Kevin's chest had already gone back into the scabbard, and only a few people were aware of its speed.
Eventually, as Kevin began to fall off the dragon's back, Dante said:
“There is no person in the empire who dares to look down on the Sword emperor castle. Even if it is the emperor. So, if anyone wants to know the emperor's will, defeat me and talk.”
[readlightnovel.me]
“…… What is the size of the vanguard of the emperor's army?”
“One thousand knights, one hundred mages and five dragons, the commander is Kevin Perral of the Dragon King Knights. Notable Knights include Scott Harlow of the Central Knights, Marvin Pan, and Gloria Cenderer of the White lance Knights. The commander of the mages is Loya Lilista, and most of them are made up of the Lilista Magic Corp.”
“Fifty lion-class cannons, three red dragon-class cannons, and a number of barrier amplification artifacts have been confirmed as war artifacts.”
Even if it was that much, there were many countries in the world that could be conquered by that much army. Excluding the giant forces, it is impossible to handle this much with the strength of a single nation or clan.
Besides, the lists recited by commanders are only the vanguard. The size of the main force that arrive later was incomparable.
“The size of the main army has not yet been determined, but it is estimated to be at least ten times larger.”
The atmosphere in the conference room became heavy. Those who guessed Ron's condition renewed their resolve once more, and those who did not continued to think of the white stone.
“Three hours, it’s faster than expected. Even the Emperor knows that Lord Ron is in no condition to fight. That's why they are rushing like this. The main unit will probably arrive within a couple of hours after the vanguard.”
It was as Shuras said.
Crack-! Suddenly, Shuras split the long table of the conference room in half and walked between everyone to stand in front of Dante.
Then he got down on one knee and lowered himself.
“I, Shuras Helter, the patriarch of the Helter clan. I and the knights of Helter, under my command, will share the fate of Hairan.”
As Shuras swore, the other knights fell to their knees as well.
“Sellington Street will fight alongside Hairan, too!”
“Lofermoga would have been destroyed once without Hairan. It's weak, but it will help.”
“Traga, I will stand by Hairan.”
“Ackle Street…….”
Thirty representatives of each clan in the conference room swore to Dante and Hairan. Then there were seven people left. They were the ones who were most shaken by the news that Ron had lost consciousness.
Dante reciprocated by placing his sword on the shoulders of those who had paid his oath, then looked at them quietly.
“Kingzelga, Felicigar, Metinga, Baizeringa, Panega, Mitroga, Ginionga.”
“Little patriarch, we….”
“You have betrayed your trust of Hairan. You forgot that my clan, my grandfathers and ancestors fought for your well-being.”
At Dante's words, the representatives of the seven clans couldn't raise their heads. The knights who were still crouching were ready to cut their throats at any moment if Dante gave an order.
“But I don't want to think that you abandoned the faith in Hairan simply out of fear for your life and the survival of your clan. I will assume that you chose to keep loyalty to the Empire rather than loyalty to Hairan. So before you leave, there will be work for you to do for the Empire.”
"We will…… do it."
“Help evacuate the people of Sword emperor Castle. If you don't even do that, then you didn't choose loyalty, so I have no reason to keep you alive.”
The seven knights who did not swear bowed their heads and left the meeting room.
“Sir Golo.”
“Yes, little patriarch!”
“Evacuate all non-combatant vassals and subjects. If the seven clans do not assist in the process, you can cut their throat immediately.”
“I will, my lord.”
“Also, all ordinary soldiers must be evacuated.”
The ordinary soldier's role in battle is the same as equipment operation and supply, and vigilance and follow-up control. If ordinary soldiers are absent, the lower knights would have to operate equipment such as cannons themselves, so there would be some power loss, but Dante didn't want to make them take too harsh responsibility.
If the war is lost, they will have their whole family killed just for standing on the walls.
After the evacuation only remaining personal in the castle were 3,000 lower-class knights, 1,000 upper-class knights, and 50 commander-class knights, including Dante.
They could handle as much as the vanguard army, but it was far from enough to deal with the entire empire.
Dante and his commanders climbed the walls. Restoration has been ongoing since the last terrorist attack, but sword emperor castle has yet to regain its original appearance. Cracks were left everywhere on the walls, and there are many empty places.
It's not a fight for castle protection anyway. All the ordinary soldiers were sent out, and more than half of the war equipment was damaged during the terror, so they couldn't last long in the castle.
Regardless of the victory or defeat of this war, today is the end of sword emperor castle.
Dante climbed the rampart just to capture this sight with his eyes one last time.
-I know what you mean. Then, what if the imperial family chooses Zipfel and decides to end Hairan with us?
-You stop that on your own.
-I'm not the patriarch of Zipfel, but the next patriarch. I don't have that much authority.
-I’m just kidding, Runcandel will join Hairan at that time.
Dante suddenly remembered the conversation of his friends as he watched the tents set up under the walls being pulled down and people evacuating at the command of the commanders.
When he and Jin asked Veradin to urge Zipfel to press Hairan even more. The three assumed the possibility of an all-out war of this kind to some degree. However, it was completely unexpected that Ron lost consciousness and the emperor to reveal Hairan’s secret to the whole world.
Who would have imagined that Ron would be unable to fight.
Ron's injuries during the terrorist attack were never this severe. It was a normal injury that should be cured within a week at the shortest and a month at the longest. Dante didn't know why Ron's injury had gotten so bad.
'Since my grandfather hasn't woken up, I don't think we'll be able to win this war even if you come, Jin.'
Dante thought that getting Jin's help would be to drown his friend in a pit. Jin is not yet the patriarch of Runcandel. And, when evaluated objectively, Hairan without Ron is not worth acquiring even when Runcandel fight against the Empire.
Dante received a pen and paper from the commander standing next to him. He wanted to send a letter to Jin telling him not to come to support.
“Send this to Tikan immediately.”
The commander received the letter and went down the wall. If Jin came, then Dante would have a high chance of surviving. As Jin said in his conversation with Veradin, even if he can't lead the whole of Runcandel, he will definitely bring enough troops to save Dante.
But Dante was convinced that he would rather die fighting together than choose to escape from here and survive alone. Thousands of martial artists risked their lives for Hairan and rebelled. It was never possible for him to prioritize his survival as the deficit of the sword emperor castle.
According to the orders of Dante and his commanders, knights began to be deployed throughout the castle. The eyes of the knights were heavily stained with the resolution of a desperate fight.
All that was left was to wait for the enemies to come.
* * *
“A white stone? Are you saying that he want to get rid of the sword emperor castle with this justification?”
Rosa looked at the report and twitched her eyebrows.
“There is no information has been obtained about the white stone. It is possible that it is just a lie for a justification.”
“It could be true. But it doesn't matter. The reason why the emperor is moving like this must be because he is sure that he can defeat Ron's sword emperor castle.”
“After the Sword emperor castle terrorist attack, Ron Hairan almost stopped his foreign activities. And he hasn't been active at all for the last 15 days.”
“It could be that he can't fight, as I predicted before…… it is almost certain after seeing that the emperor raised an army but Ron didn’t responded.”
“There is no full-fledged movement yet, but Zipfel may be looking after the emperor.”
“If the white stone is worth as much as the emperor said, they will surely be.”
“Should I prepare the knights?”
Rosa thought for a moment about her youngest son, instead of answering the scribe’s words.
“What about 12th flagbearer?”
“It is certain that he is inside Tikan, but the detailed internal situation is unknown due to the order of the patriarch.”
“That child will definitely go to sword emperor castle. I think the fourth flagbearer’s sudden request for vacation has something to do with it.”
“To lead the knights of Runcandel and go to the Sword Emperor Castle without permission from the acting patriarch...….”
“You're saying something new. When did the youngest act with that kind of self-consciousness? Besides, even if the youngest does not have the knights of the clan, he has a solid force of his own.”
The scribe bowed his head.
'I don't know exactly what kind of white stone Hairan is holding, but there's nothing wrong with having it, seeing as the emperor is so anxious about it.'
However, it was burdensome to step forward without any information or justification. If the white stone had no particular value, Runcandel would have been involved in the civil war of the Empire without any profit.
“First, let's see how the youngest handles things. However, if we detect a situation in which Zipfel or Kinzelo are actively stepping out, we make sure to move accordingly. Keep an eye on their movements. Also, make a statement that Runcandel has nothing to do with the civil war in Hairan.”
That way, if Jin's actions ended in bad results, it could naturally take the position that it was not the judgment of the entire Runcandel. On the contrary, if it ended with good results, the ability and tenacity of Runcandel’s 12th flagbearer were only highlighted once more.
“Yes, Acting patriarch.”
* * *
The emperor's vanguard army arrived at the plains of sword emperor castle.
Dante stood in the middle of the wall at the gate and watched them.
Five dragons, a thousand knights, a hundred mages, fifty-three cannons and barrier equipment pointed to the main gate of the sword emperor castle. The back gate and the side gate seemed to be surrounded by the main unit anyway, so there was no need to pay attention.
“I am Kevin Perral, Vanguard Commander of the Civil War Suppression Army under His Majesty Amir Vermont! Emperor of the Great Empire! Ron Hairan, the lord of the Sword Emperor castle, come out quickly and receive and obey His Majesty's edict!”
Kevin Perral shouted as he looked down at Sword emperor castle while riding on the red dragon.
Dante and the commanders did not answer him. Kevin was arrogant and raised his voice even more. He had listened to the Emperor beforehand, but he had just seen with his own eyes that Ron couldn't fight.
“Is Ron Hairan absent? If so, little patriarch, Dante Hairan, receive and obey His Majesty's edict. This is an ultimatum...…!”
to be!
He tried to shout that, but suddenly Kevin felt a cool sensation of something like wind entering the middle of his chest.
"Uh……?”
There is a hole in his chest. Kevin was completely unaware of that moment, but it happened right after something flashed on the walls of the sword emperor castle.
The light came from Dante’s sword. The sword that had pierced Kevin's chest had already gone back into the scabbard, and only a few people were aware of its speed.
Eventually, as Kevin began to fall off the dragon's back, Dante said:
“There is no person in the empire who dares to look down on the Sword emperor castle. Even if it is the emperor. So, if anyone wants to know the emperor's will, defeat me and talk.”
