Chapter 69: Punishnt (2)
The royal palace of the Kingdom of Daon.
There, King Clover, who was sitting comfortably in a chair, asked Duke Zaira.
“Any word from Count Henson?”
“None so far, Your Majesty.”
“……It feels like quite so ti has passed since he departed for the North.”
“……As of today, it has been a week.”
“And still there’s no word that Ragnar has been occupied? Does that make any sense at all!”
It was already past the ti when they should have arrived and seized Ragnar Lord’s Castle.
With not a single letter arriving even after a week, King Clover’s expression twisted beyond asure.
As anxiety began to creep in, King Clover bit down hard on his lips.
Nothing was going the way he wanted.
Under normal circumstances, he would have already mobilized the royal army to punish Kyle Ragnar for freezing the royal grand hall.
But the sudden appearance of the Tyleras Empire’s First Legion had thrown all his plans into disarray.
“……What’s the situation at the border?”
“They say there’s no sign of the First Legion withdrawing. If we pull troops from the border, the First Legion won’t miss that opening.”
“Haah, so there’s no helping it.”
“By today or tomorrow at the latest, we’ll surely receive word from Count Henson.”
King Clover shook his head slowly, his face filled with unease.
‘Could it be…….’
King Clover ground his lips together.
Even when the sun rose the next day, no letter arrived from Count Henson.
Instead, urgent news ca from a neighboring territory in the North.
“Your Majesty!”
Duke Zaira rushed into the temporary grand hall in haste, his face drained pale as he ran toward King Clover.
King Clover, who had failed to sleep all night, looked down at him with shadowed eyes and let out a low murmur.
“So it failed?”
It was already well past the ti when word should have arrived from Count Henson.
He was convinced that the trump card he had prepared had ultimately ended in failure.
However, the news Duke Zaira brought delivered frustration along with fury to King Clover.
“A request for support has co in from a nearby northern territory!”
“……What kind of support request?”
“So of the northern monsters have crossed into the territory of the Kingdom of Daon! Five northern territories have been reduced to ruins, and the monsters have crossed the northern boundary line!”
It was unbelievable news.
Since Ragnar had settled in the North, not once had monsters invaded the territory of the Kingdom of Daon.
“This is absurd……!”
“It can only be seen as intentional!”
“Ha…….”
There was no doubt that Ragnar had deliberately let the monsters through.
But there was no concrete evidence, and with five northern territories already swept away, it would only appear to the public that Ragnar’s defenses had been breached.
King Clover pressed a hand against his throbbing forehead.
“……Have you sent a letter to Ragnar?”
“It seems it will take so ti before a reply arrives.”
“How many troops can we mobilize right now?”
“There are five thousand in the capital defense forces.”
With a look of disbelief, King Clover let out a hollow laugh.
Though it was a weak nation, it was still a state that bore the title of a kingdom.
And yet, the number of troops the king could mobilize was a re five thousand…….
Shaking his head from side to side, King Clover soon fixed Duke Zaira with a sharp glare.
“Duke Zaira, mobilize your private army.”
“Your Majesty, the forces of the Zaira Family are our last line of defense.”
“Didn’t I order you to move them? Are you suggesting we just stand by and watch the kingdom be ravaged by monsters?”
The Zaira Family, which possessed the largest private army after the royal family in the Kingdom of Daon.
It was also the result of forty years of Duke Zaira steadily expanding his family’s influence.
Duke Zaira lowered his head, secretly knitting his brows where King Clover could not see.
“The ten thousand troops Count Henson took with him are also part of the Zaira Family’s forces. In such a situation, if we move large-scale troops, the final bulwark may collapse.”
“Then what are you suggesting we do! That we mobilize the capital defense forces?”
“……How about leaving it alone.”
“What did you say……?”
“This happened because Ragnar failed in its defense. If the damage grows, the people will bla Ragnar. So all we need to do is move a token force for appearances’ sake.”
At Duke Zaira’s words, King Clover’s expression twisted.
Of course, he didn’t care about the safety of the kingdom’s people. All that mattered was protecting his own position.
And precisely because of that, the monsters had to be dealt with.
If he lost the trust of the people, he might not be able to maintain his position as king.
“I order you once again. Mobilize the Zaira Family’s troops.”
“……I will urgently dispatch ten thousand troops to the northern boundary line. However, I ask that the Royal Knight Order be deployed alongside them.”
“Are you trying to bargain with
right now?”
“Monsters of the North were difficult to deal with unless there was knight-level combat power. Even if the Zaira Family’s knight order was deployed, it might still be insufficient.”
At Duke Zaira’s reasonable words, King Clover nodded.
The Royal Knight Order was divided into a total of three organizations.
The First Knight Order, led by Commander Deira.
And there were also the Second and Third Knight Orders, so deploying one knight order would not cause any issues with palace defense.
“Would the Third Knight Order be enough?”
“It would be sufficient.”
“Then I will also deploy Deira, the Royal Knight Commander.”
At King Clover’s decision, Duke Zaira nodded.
Though he was his own son, Deira was the knight commander who guarded King Clover at close range.
And he was also, in both na and reality, the greatest swordsman of the Kingdom of Daon.
After offering his respects to King Clover, Duke Zaira turned his body with a solemn expression.
‘Kyle Ragnar, so he excelled not only in martial might but also in strategy. I must never let my guard down.’
The entrance to the North.
Kyle led a massive army of twenty thousand as he entered Rak Territory.
Aaron moved in close beside Kyle.
“Great General, news has arrived from Yahan Kazar.”
“Report.”
“It says that five northern territories that rejected Ragnar’s proposal have been swept away, and the monsters have now crossed the northern boundary line and entered the Interior Lands.”
“He works fast.”
“The number deployed for driving the monsters was close to five thousand.”
“And the number of monsters that entered the Interior Lands?”
“It is estimated to be around three thousand. The territories stationed along the northern boundary line will never be able to stop them.”
About five thousand were deployed to drive the monsters.
And behind them, there were also the moving forces of the Ork and Dwarf allied troops.
To carry out this plan, Kyle had投入 nearly ten thousand personnel in total.
“If even the additional monsters being driven are added, the royal family won’t be able to avoid a hard fight. They’re not ordinary monsters.”
Though they were creatures Ragnar dealt with easily, they were on an entirely different level compared to the monsters of the Interior Lands.
Unless it was knight-level combat power or a well-trained elite army, one could not recklessly confront the monsters of the North.
“I share the sa thoughts as my lord.”
“What kind of choice do you think King Clover or Duke Zaira will make?”
“If they’re fools who can’t see front from back, they’ll send troops just for show. If they use their heads, they’ll provide proper support.”
“Then it’s likely the latter.”
Right now, King Clover—no, the Daon royal family—was facing a major crisis.
Their relationship with Ragnar had soured, and on top of that, legions of the Tyleras Empire had appeared at the border, posing a threat.
With public sentint steadily worsening, they could not afford to ignore the monsters flowing in from the North.
If it were King Clover, he would certainly send proper forces, even if only to protect his own position.
Nodding, Aaron glanced back at the Monster Mountain Range behind them.
“My lord, will you start the civil war imdiately like this?”
“I’m considering it. Whether to sweep everything away, or to preserve as much of the kingdom’s strength as possible and change the dynasty.”
If a civil war were started imdiately, the Kingdom of Daon would inevitably suffer trendous damage.
And the North would also have to bear losses.
With its relatively small population, even a single soldier was a precious human resource in the North.
“No matter what move is shown, King Clover or Duke Zaira will never give up their positions.”
“That ans in the end, the only thod is to push all the way to the royal capital by force……”
“There’s no way my lord doesn’t already know that there are two choices, so I won’t explain further.”
One way was to accept the losses, start a civil war, and seize the royal capital by force.
Another thod was to take ti, further expand the North’s power, and then start the civil war.
“We’re not the ones pressed for ti. The royal family is.”
“I think the sa. As long as ti is on the North’s side, there’s no need to move hastily.”
They had intended to cut off food supplies by blocking rchant traffic flowing into the North, but thanks to support from the continental battlefield, that issue had already been resolved.
Moreover, if an environnt for farming was established using the Everlasting Fla, self-sufficiency would also be possible.
Thus, moving with temporal leeway was far more advantageous than acting rashly.
“Furthermore, if the Dwarf and Ork Tribes take responsibility and resu the iron mines, Ragnar’s growth will rise beyond imagination.”
“And if weapons and armor made by the Dwarves are distributed to the soldiers, there would be nothing more to ask for.”
Viscount Rak, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between Kyle and Aaron, tilted his head.
He couldn’t understand why so many troops were being deployed when there was no intention of starting a civil war imdiately.
Seeing Viscount Rak’s puzzled expression, Aaron ford a faint smile.
“Viscount, do you not understand?”
“……To be honest, I don’t understand, Strategist.”
“What do you think is needed for a carefully crafted plan to succeed?”
“Well…… there are many elents required to execute such a plan, aren’t there? For example, mobility, or capable individuals who can take responsibility for carrying out the mission.”
At Viscount Rak’s opinion, Aaron nodded.
“For a stratagem to succeed, the actions must also be carried out with devotion. Even if it’s troubleso, if there is more to gain, there are tis when one must accept that burden.”
“You an to stir things up, endure the trouble, and then clean up afterward, thereby making the lords along the northern boundary realize sothing?”
“There’s one more thing besides that.”
“And what is that?”
“Right now is the perfect opportunity to thoroughly make the royal family swallow a bitter pill. They’ve gone through the trouble of deciding to deploy troops—what do you think their position becos if Ragnar steps in and handles the monsters?”
Since Ragnar always maintained a standing army, there was no particular loss even if the troops moved.
At worst, the greatest loss was rely food supplies.
With all troops already equipped with weapons and armor, moving the army did not cost that much money.
But the royal family’s standing army was different.
To move a standing army that had not even been issued armor and weapons, they would have to purchase massive quantities of armor and weapons for them to wear.
On top of that, moving from the royal capital to the northern border also consud a great deal of ti.
“The royal family will suffer enormous losses. Of course, it doesn’t matter even if those troops end up stationed along the northern boundary line.”
When Viscount Rak exclaid in admiration at his words, Aaron broke into a grin.
“The justification is on our side.”
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