Becoming a Swordmast Chapter 177 : Chapter 177

Chapter 177. Wished it would end, but(1)

Eventually, the news that even Vlad had fallen was delivered to the Imperial Palace.

And at the same time as that news was delivered, the Emperor made contact with the Penitudo Mage Tower.

He visited the Penitudo Mage Tower's branch still located in the capital.

“I-I will give you whatever you desire. Give me something that can stop the Allied Forces' advance.”

The Emperor put down his face and brought up words close to a plea.

It was inevitable.

Not only Dmitri and Vlad, but even Maxim, the last hope, had collapsed.

Now it was only a matter of time before the 3rd Corps and the Glockner unit stormed the capital.

As an emergency measure, he issued a summons order to the nobles who had been left on the 1st Corps and 2nd Corps fronts, but even if they came, the victory or defeat of the war was practically already decided.

Even the nobles were hardly obeying the Emperor's summons order.

Because they also knew that the Empire had already been defeated.

Originally, the Emperor's powerful authority came from national power.

But now that he had lost that national power, it was natural that there was no one who wanted to be loyal to the Emperor.

Rather, people like Maxim or Vlad were unusual cases.

Like this, there was no longer anywhere for the Emperor to lean on.

And this was the reason why the Emperor was currently pleading with the mage tower.

However, the mage who actually heard those words looked troubled.

It was because powerful magic artifacts like the one the Emperor demanded did not exist.

‘If such things existed, we would have taken the continent into our hands.’

Above all, he, who was merely a branch manager, had no authority to negotiate with the Emperor.

In the first place, he was only selling magic artifacts under orders from above.

Even this had been cut off for a while since the Empire no longer purchased magic artifacts.

He came out because the Emperor earnestly asked to meet, but that was all.

There was nothing he could do in the current situation.

But,

“If not that, how about the mage tower directly participating in this war? If you just drive out the Allied Forces like that, I will give you half of the Empire's territory. No, I will give you more.”

The Emperor was making an even more unreasonable request to the mage.

So the mage had no choice but to have a headache.

‘Should I first soothe him nicely and send him back, then send a report to the superiors?’

It was when the mage was thinking this and about to open his mouth.

Beolkeok!

The door to the negotiation room opened, and someone revealed their appearance.

Surprisingly, it was the Master of the Mage Tower, ‘Auguste Lavoisier’.

The mana that began to fluctuate simultaneously with his appearance proved this.

“I, I greet the Master of the Mage Tower!”

The mage, who had been dazed along with the Emperor, came to his senses first and prostrated himself.

Auguste watched that appearance quietly and then ordered.

“You may leave.”

“Pardon? Yes! Understood!”

The mage hurriedly left the negotiation room, and when his figure was completely out of sight.

Auguste cast a spell.

Then mana filled the room.

A spell that prevented anyone other than those in the room from overhearing the conversation.

He had cast ‘Veil of Silence’.

However, the Emperor, unaware that such magic had been cast, opened his mouth belatedly.

“…To think I would meet you like this. It worked out well. I had a desperate request.”

“I already heard while coming here. You want powerful magic artifacts capable of driving out the Allied Forces, or the mage tower's participation in the war?”

“Ah. If you heard everything, the conversation will be quick. Correct. I will compensate you generously, so do not worry.”

“Giving away more than half of the Empire's territory…. Certainly an attractive offer.”

“R, right?”

The Emperor briefly felt regret, wondering if he had offered too much, but tried to change his thoughts.

Because he couldn't change his words now.

What was more important was the fact that Auguste was listening to his words.

However, Auguste's following words overturned the smoothly flowing atmosphere of negotiation.

“But is there really a need for us to help the Empire?”

“What?”

“The Empire has lost almost all its power, and since the mage tower would have to shed blood to seize victory anyway, I'm asking why negotiation is necessary.”

“Th, that is….”

“And more than that, I do not like your attitude in asking. Why are you still holding your head stiffly high?”

The Emperor trembled at Auguste's words.

Because those words were detailed and correct, and at the same time, they presented tremendous humiliation to the Emperor.

But the Emperor had no other choice.

Seureuk.

The Emperor lowered his body just as the mage had done earlier and prostrated himself completely.

Then, thumping his head on the floor, kung kung, he pleaded with Auguste.

“P, please! Move the mage tower and protect the Empire! I ask you like this!”

Only then did a smile finally appear on Auguste's face, which had been expressionless throughout.

“Fine. I will grant your request.”

The Emperor raised his head and looked up at Auguste.

“Is, is that really true?”

“It is true. I will take the mage tower and participate in the war. Also, we possess magic artifacts that can not only drive out the Allied Forces but trample them.”

“Ohhh!”

The Emperor spat out an exclamation in satisfaction.

At the same time, he unknowingly raised his body,

Seogeok!

A magic blade flew in and cut the Emperor's neck in an instant.

Considering the Emperor was a knight who had reached the 7-star stage, it was a very futile death.

Auguste continued speaking while looking at the Emperor's head rolling on the floor with eyes wide open.

“Ah. Do not feel resentful. I said I would participate in the war, I never said I would spare your life.”

“…….”

“Your wish will definitely come true. Even if the method is a little different from your thoughts.”

Like that, Auguste withdrew the sound-blocking magic and left the negotiation room.

In the negotiation room, the person who once stood at the pinnacle of power had become a corpse and was cooling down coldly.

***

The 3rd Corps, which succeeded in dealing with Vlad, took time to settle Vinchih for a while.

Because Alexis, who used a sword blast to break the castle gate, needed fifteen days of recuperation time.

In the meantime, Roden monitored the 3rd Corps so they wouldn't recklessly loot Vinchih.

The Main Battalion and the New Recruit Unit were worry-free in this aspect, but the circumstances of other units were different.

Of course, Tobias and Adriel also did not particularly prefer looting.

But there was a part they permitted to a certain extent for the soldiers' stress relief.

However, Roden, who had extraordinary feelings for Vinchih, worked hard to make even this impossible.

Fortunately, Roden had suitable bait to realize this.

It was the training method improved even more than last time.

He didn't even just transmit it.

“If you diligently learn this, you will not stay at 1-star but rise to the stage of 2-stars, 3-stars, and finally 4-stars. If you become a 4-star knight like that, you will meet the minimum conditions to obtain the status of a noble anywhere.”

He added this story so that the Vanguard Battalion and Transport Battalion could immerse themselves only in training without taking interest in looting.

It didn't even end here.

“Even if you do not reach the stage of 4-stars, do not worry. If you come find me after the war ends, I will treat you accordingly.”

He also did the work to secure military power in advance.

As a result, Vinchih could be quietly subjugated to the Allied Forces without a single looting incident.

And one day, someone familiar came to find Roden and convey gratitude.

It was when Roden was patrolling downtown Vinchih with the Special Task Force Company.

“Caravan Leader! It's me! It's Hansen!”

“…Hansen? You didn't evacuate and remained in Vinchih?”

“My everything is here, so how could I leave? I thought I would die here even if I die.”

“Anyway, you are still the same. Even back then, you said you would remain in Vinchih until the end.”

Roden had intended to take Hansen as well when withdrawing the Special Task Force Company.

Because he thought Hansen would suffer hardships for the reason of cooperating with spies if he remained in Vinchih.

If he was an ordinary employee, it might be different.

Since Hansen's position within the Billem Caravan was quite high, he couldn't help but worry.

But Hansen decided to remain in Vinchih in the end.

After that, news was cut off so he worried, but it was glad to see his face again like this.

The Special Task Force Company also seemed glad to see Hansen, as their faces were very bright.

Like that, Roden took Hansen and moved to another place to hear the news during that time.

“…Eventually, you suffered hardships.”

“Yes. But because I didn't hand over important information like Abtal, I could endure. Also, the piece of wood you passed to me through someone was a great help, Caravan Leader.”

Roden had engraved healing magic on the piece of wood.

Because he worried Hansen's body might be damaged by torture.

“That is a relief. So what happened to Abtal?”

“He died. It was unavoidable.”

“…I see.”

“Still, except for Abtal, all caravan employees survived. It is thanks to the fact that so many people were involved and the war was in full swing that the Empire couldn't use all its hands.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Above all, isn't Vinchih safe even after being conquered like this thanks to you, Caravan Leader. The reason I came to see you today was to offer my gratitude for this.”

Afterward, Roden conversed with Hansen for a few more hours.

Then he left Hansen to mingle with the Special Task Force Company and quietly returned to his room.

Like that, Roden thought inside the room.

‘Eventually, there is no other way but to end the war even a little faster. To stop the current tragedy.’

The fortunate point was the fact that the next target was the capital.

***

Like that, fifteen days later.

Finally, the 3rd Corps advanced toward the capital.

And there, they faced an unexpected situation.

That was the appearance of mages who had seized control of the capital.