13 - CHAPTER XIII "Rebellion"

Helian acted immediately.

After leaving the village, the group was now running to return to the country by the shortest route, relying on Helian's and Ertina's guidance, who had a high aptitude for the forest terrain.

The covert soldiers waiting outside the village were also following the group, but even with their superior agility, they were no match for the speed of a corps leader. Although they were following the same return route, the two groups seemed to be almost divided.

Helian, who cannot move at high speed, is once again being held by Levee.

I've given up my pride long ago. We cannot afford to dwell on such trivialities. He needed to return to his country as soon as possible.

<

As soon as they told Leifa this, Helian and the others ran out of the village.

It was not quite the smooth parting they had planned, but it had to be done. It was a little too subtle to be the peaceful parting they had planned, but it was what they had to do. It can still be undone. So now it's this way. We are in a situation where we have to do everything we can to deal with our own problems.

Balan, the commander of the 2nd Corps, is asked to <

The throne is the one thing I cannot let them take.

The loss of the throne does not immediately fulfill the conditions for a successful rebellion, but it does cause various disadvantages.

First of all, many of the abilities that Helian has as king "player" will become unavailable.

For example, most of the support windows such as and will become unusable, and it will be difficult to keep in touch with the corps leaders.

Furthermore, the happiness and morale of the entire population will continuously decrease, and separately, the "ruling power" will drastically decrease. And after a rebellion occurs and a city is seized, if the rebels' [ruling power] exceeds the [ruling power] of the king [Helian], the rebels will take control of that city.

Moreover, this rebellion is not in a satellite city, but in the capital. It is the keystone of the country. When this city is conquered by the rebel forces and control of the city is taken away by meeting several conditions, it will be judged as a [successful revolution].

If that happens, it's the end.

The end of the country.

The country ruled by the human king (player) will be destroyed, and the game data of the player in question will be deleted completely.

There is no such a gentle concept as a save point in this game. Success of the revolution means complete game over.

"d*mn it, ......!"

Helian's voice trails off.

I want to scream why. I want to scream that we're talking about different things.

It's a scam that they left the second legionnaire, Balan, behind to maintain security, and now there's a rebellion!

You said that you were maintaining security. You also said that the Second and Fifth Legion leaders calmed down the uproar caused by the transfer.

And you left all the corps commanders except for Liewe and Ertina... How could this happen?

--Who betrayed us?

Balan is on our side.

If Balan is the traitor, he should just ignore the message from Helian and go for the throne. There is no need to tell him that there is a rebellion.

There is no sign of betrayal on the part of Liewe and Eltina either. If they betrayed us, they could have killed Hellian right here and now. But since they are not doing so and are trying to return to their country at full speed, I can assure you that they are on our side.

Commander of the First Legion, Lieve-Frechschilds.

Commander of the 2nd corps, Balan Seifried.

Commander of the third corps, Ertina Versandi.

The "Three Beginnings" who have been following the same path as Helian since the dawn of time.

These three are the only ones we can trust at the moment.

If ......, what about the other commanders?　

Some corps leaders have the traits of selfishness and egotism in their character. In addition, some of them have the tendency to be "chaotic".

Character traits have a detailed influence on the character's personality and behavior patterns, whereas dispositional tendencies have an influence in the form of general directions.

For example, Eltina, who has the trait Harmony, favors actions that have a positive influence, such as resolving conflicts among her subordinates. On the other hand, Chaos may take unpredictable actions without regard or disregard for the effects on others.

Furthermore, there is even one army leader who has the tendency of [Evil] in his nature. While they are prone to acquire rare unique skills, they are also prone to choose unorthodox behaviors.

...... Be careful with these guys. You never know what they are thinking.

If it is Riebe, you can manage to get him into one-on-one melee combat.

It's not like they've been in the king's inner circle for years. The most intensively trained Rieve's overall level is the highest among all his subordinates.

The commander of the Seventh Legion is the only one that even Riewe is in danger of taking on in melee combat, but it is a matter of taking him out first. Even if we can't do that, it doesn't matter if he's the only traitor. Then the problem would be if more than one corps leader betrayed us.

...... No, wait. What am I thinking?

It doesn't mean that a corps commander has betrayed us yet.

Balan just said there was a rebellion.

Maybe all the legionnaires are alive and well and the traitors are only some of the soldiers.

Please let it be so. Please. Please keep the corps commander on your side.

......!

Praying, I cling desperately to the Rive.

The ride on the Rivee is, quite simply, the worst. The world spins, metaphorically speaking.

Just a few moments ago, the ground was above my vision, to my horror. The car is flipping the heavens and the earth over and over again as it speeds through the gaps between the trees. I don't know how it was behaving, but it was really speed-driven.

This was not because Rieve was ignoring the condition of the passenger (Helian), but because Helian himself had forced her to return at the fastest speed possible. With such an order, Helian had no choice but to endure the murderous shaking and wind pressure without a word.

And just as Helian's sense of time begins to go haywire, the group arrives at the main gate of the home country.

It's Liebe-Fräkiwls, the First Corps commander!　Open the gates!　Now!"

Rieve announced to the guardians of the door in a loud voice, and the gate began to open with a heavy thud. Twisting their bodies into the small opening that opened up, Levee and Ertina jumped into the capital.

Their destination is the center of the capital, the royal castle of Alkimaira.

The view drifts backward at high speed.

The view is blurred, but there is still no sign of fire.

No buildings were damaged.

No group is seen invading the king's castle.

But we cannot be too careful.

The rebels may not care about the city.

They may be heading for the castle at once.

They may have already invaded the castle.

My mind is on edge.

Instead of taking the long way to enter the castle through the gates, Levee leaps in front of the gates.

The mighty legs of Managarum, the moon wolf, push the bodies of Levee and Helian up to a height of 30 meters above the ground.

A beat, and then a floating sensation.

Then a peculiar feeling of falling, as if their internal organs were being lifted up from the bottom.

It is a sensation that gives Helian more thrills than a bad roller coaster ride, as he lands soundlessly on the east terrace of the castle.

She kicks in a window and enters the castle. He sprints down the grand corridors, trampling on the red carpet, and finally arrives at the throne room.

There was no enemy in sight.

Levee carefully lowers Helian's body.

Helian staggered back to his feet and stepped on the ground again.

"What is the situation?

As soon as the door was opened, Helian shouted.

In the throne room was a group of soldiers in full body armor, mostly half-breeds.

And there was Balan, the commander of the Second Legion.

The throne is empty.

No one is sitting.

We're safe.

We made it.

"My Lord, ......!"

Baran and the soldiers, thinking that there had been an intruder, quickly lower their weapons.

"What is the situation?　I don't suppose anyone touched the throne!"

"--Ha!　After your order, we immediately took up the guardianship of the throne and at the same time gathered an elite force. No one is allowed to touch the throne.

The other commanders of the army!

The commander of the 5th Legion is leading his own forces and some of the 6th Legion to deal with the rebels. The other legionnaires continue to act in accordance with the king's orders.

So, all the corps commanders are alive and well.

I am heartened by the fact that none of the corps commanders have betrayed us.

But what does it mean that only the 5th corps commander is dealing with the traitors?

Why are the other corps leaders not moving?

No matter how many instructions the king had given them prior to their departure, there is no need for them to follow the orders of the king in such an emergency...or perhaps not?

Is this not, by any chance, an emergency?

"How are the rebels?　Who started the rebellion?"

"They're ogres. The head of the rebels is ...... no name given. He had unusually red skin, so let's call him the Red Ogre.

"...... ogre?"

You belong to the Fifth Legion?

No, come to think of it, speaking of ogres, ...... there was a faction that invaded just the other day.

No way.

The rebellion was started by a faction of the ogre that annexed it just a few days ago?

Yes.

Who else has rebelled?

No, sir.

I was so relieved that I felt faint.

If I hadn't been so busy, I might have just fallen into a slump.

(......Oh, there he is...) (Oh, there were those who would have revolted in the chaos...)

Helian recalls that there was a fool who had recklessly attacked just before the national celebration where all the corps commanders had gathered.

He was forced to surrender (・・・・・・・・) when he returned the attack without even sending in the corps leaders, and he reluctantly annexed the Ogre faction.

It would have been possible in the game to ignore the surrender and just kill them all, but up to now, Helian has treated his surrendered enemies politely. The game's style of play, with one exception, has always been to play defensive defense.

No matter how tactless they may have been to attack us just before the national celebration, we had no choice but to annex them once they surrendered.

However, the demons have zero loyalty and happiness immediately after the annexation, and if their rebelliousness is not reduced, they may revolt on the occasion of some bad event.

The rebelliousness of the ogre faction had not decreased at all because of the failure to hold the national celebration, although it was planned to reduce the rebelliousness by the effect of the event of the national celebration.

Then came the unprecedented bad event of the transfer of the entire capital city. The groundwork for their rebellion had been laid.

But Helian was relieved.

You could say that he was relieved from the bottom of his heart.

Because there would be no problem if the rebels were only the Ogre faction.

To be frank, there is no need for the Commander-in-Chief himself to go out there.

I was told that the Commander of the 5th Legion was personally taking care of the situation, but even so, he was more than adequately overstrength.

It is no wonder that the other corps commanders are doing their jobs without regard to the rebellion.

The difference in strength was so obvious that there was no reason for them to lose.

If the Ogre had the intelligence to gauge the difference in strength between the two sides, they would not have revolted.

(I guess there was no need to rush back. ...... I'm so tired...)

We should have at least found out who started the rebellion beforehand.

Helian was so concerned about getting back to his country that he had given Balan only the bare minimum of orders and had done little to check on the situation. All the virtual windows that would have interfered with his movement on the road were closed, and he could not see the chat rooms.

But in all likelihood, I should have asked for more details about the situation. It was a story of how I was out of my mind. The ugliness of it all makes me want to hold my head in my hands.

"Sir?"

No, it's nothing. I'm just a little tired.

My legs are shaking, perhaps because I have been released from the tension, and I remember the fatigue as if it were a new experience.

Don't call me poor, I was just holding on to it.

After all, I had been swung around by the acrobatic behavior while going faster than any two-wheeled motorbike. The burden was two more than Hellián had imagined.

It was a struggle just to stay as close as possible to Lieve's body and to keep from being swept off.

"Hmm?　Rieve, perhaps it is my imagination, but you seem to be in a good mood."

"...... What are you talking about, Balan. I understand that the rebels are insignificant fry, but we are still in the midst of a rebellion. It is a delusion that you would be in such a good mood under such circumstances. What do you see in this situation?"

With a clear face, Rieve utters these words.

The color in his eyes is cool-headedness itself, but behind the king's calm and collected aide's back, a fluffy silver tail is waving in the air.

<

...... is fine.

Helian did not know why he was in a good mood, but he knew it was not an emergency and he did not blame Levee for not being nervous.

He was too tired to consider such things as trivial.

"What is the status of the suppression of the rebels ......? The Sixth Legion is on the move, right?　I'll go over here and suck up the information."

He displayed a tactical window and called up a .

From the aerial projection of the royal castle, he taps the unit mark of the Sixth Legion's subordinate stationed in the castle's private room.

There, you will find a vampire who has the skill to build his own information network using bats.

He has been entrusted with the role of collecting information from the demons belonging to the Sixth Legion by utilizing his skills. He should have almost real-time information on the status of the suppression of the rebels.

Since he is not within 50 meters from the player ...... within the proximity range, he cannot automatically .

However, he is within a certain range ......1 kilometers away, so it is possible to manually.

"Function Window": Open.

Ability On: Information Sharing: Direct Connection (Direct Access).

Target Input: Direct Select."

The function window was opened, and Helian requested him to share information, and within a few seconds, the and the power map were updated.

I want to see the real-time transition, so I will stay "connected (accessed)".

"Have most of the rebels been eliminated ......?

In a corner of the , a mark was flashing, meaning that a battle was in progress.

In that area, the red light dots, which meant enemies, were surrounded by green light dots, which meant friends, and their number was gradually decreasing.

It would not be more than five minutes before the red dots (Enemy) were completely gone.

"Are you going to the site?"

Balan asks a question.

It is not a crazy story that the king himself is going to take them down. I'm talking about after the extermination.

When the rebels are exterminated, the king praises those who raised their heads on the spot, which has the effect of restoring the security situation.

Rebellions themselves are extremely rare, and even when they do occur, Helian is not always near the scene, but his style of play is to do what he can, and he goes there as much as possible to hold <> events.

If he did not do so this time, his men might look at him strangely. We have no choice but to go. There should be nothing to worry about after the suppression of the rebels.

"......Yes, that's right. We will go to the site after the suppression is complete. Balan will continue to guard the throne until I declare the suppression successful. Liewe and Ertina will continue to guard me.

""""Ha!"""

A little over three minutes later, the red light spot disappeared from the . The rebels have been successfully subdued.

Helian, his body exhausted, sets out for the scene.

Unaware of the tragedy that awaited him.