Chapter 238: The Emperor’s Choice (1)

“Duke Sebastian, an Imperial edict to return has been issued from the capital.”

“In a situation like this?”

“It said to withdraw the troops as quickly as possible, sir.”

“Ugh…”

Duke Sebastian tightly closed his eyes before spitting on the ground.

‘How could this happen…’

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. When he had heard about the rebellion in the Empire, his heart had also sunk. But even so, that didn’t mean they could withdraw from the frontlines right now.

The Republican Army led by Siegfried was persistently clinging onto the Imperial Army and the Lester Kingdom was also placing troops on the border and openly looking for opportunities. Did the Emperor think that the enemies would let them go just because they were withdrawing the troops?

During a war, the greatest damage occurs during a retreat. The situation on the frontline was so bad that Duke Sebastian had to worry about something like that. That was why Duke Sebastian had hoped that the Empire would solve the problems within the country on their own, but in the end, the Emperor was ordering him to return.

Unfortunately, although the Emperor had tried to deal with the problem internally, the situation had only become worse. The only thing he could put his faith in now was the expeditionary army that Duke Sebastian was leading. The Emperor knew very well that it would result in relinquishing all the Republican territories gained in this war, but that was the only thing he could do…

“It can’t be helped. We return to the Imperial capital.”

“Yes, sir!”

Having given out the order, Duke Sebastian let out a deep sigh.

‘Would we be able to safely retreat…’

***

“Your Excellency, the Empire is withdrawing from the frontlines and retreating, sir.”

Siegfried smiled as he received the messenger’s report. 

“So far, everything is going as planned.”

Then, he immediately called for a meeting. The first thing he said was…

“We will be carrying a full-scale attack.”

At that, the officers attending the meeting spoke up with confident looks on their faces. 

“We’re finally counterattacking, sir.”

“As you said, the time has finally come, Your Excellency.”

“Since the Imperial Army dared to invade the Republic, I’ll make sure they pay with their blood, sir.”

The Republican officers had been very patient and endured a lot. In the early days of this war, they had retreated and given up more than half of the Republic’s land due to Antras’ strategy, and in the recent battle, General Barron, a symbol of the Republic, had been killed. Every time a difficult situation occurred, Siegfried had reassured his officers - Just trust me and follow me… If you do that, then someday, we’ll have the chance to win.

Now, his promise was finally being kept.

“How far should we pursue them, sir?”

“Your Excellency, now’s the chance to take back all the land we had before the war.”

At his officers’ comments, Siegfried stood up and spoke.

“We have lost a lot in this war.”

“......”

“For the sake of victory, we destroyed and burnt down our country. Many of our Republican citizens have gone hungry. You have also seen it. You’ve seen the dedication of the mothers who can’t even feed their own children a single potato, and yet, they still offered up their last handful of provisions to the soldiers of the Republic… You’ve seen the children who took out their potatoes from their pockets and offered it up to the soldiers, merely asking them to avenge their fathers…”

“Keugh…”

“Those sons of bitches…”

Tears of bitterness flowed from the officers’ eyes. 

Everything that Siegfried was saying right now had truly happened. No. To be more accurate, it was a moving story that Siegfried had made up and spread throughout the Republic. They were all examples of dramatic made-up stories that were deliberately created to emotionally stimulate the Republicans while avoiding dissension. Of course, it was a scam, but as long as it wasn’t discovered, its effect was outstanding.

Siegfried himself spoke with tears in his eyes as if he were furious.

“The Empire will have to pay with their blood. We chase after them to the Imperial capital. We will finally cut off the Emperor’s head!”

“Yes, Fuhrer!”

Shouting loudly, the officers of the Republic sprang out of their seats. And so, that was how the Republic’s full-scale attack and the carnage that would go down in history started.

***

“That bastard Siegfried pulled a stunt behind our backs.”

Milton had previously been observing the situation from afar and had only grasped the situation after the Republic’s full-scale offensive began.  

Starting with the question of why the Empire hadn’t come forward with a peace treaty to all the other questions were now answered.

Now Milton was back at the crossroads of choice.

“What should I do…”

Milton had just one concern: should he join or should he stop here? He had to choose between the two choices.

Currently, the Republic was unilaterally defeating the Empire that was in full retreat. They had already taken back all the territories they had lost at the beginning of the war, but seeing how they weren’t stopping, it was clear what the Republicans intended.

‘I guess they’ll only be appeased after the Empire takes down their flag. I really can’t understand what crazy ambitious people do.’

Milton was annoyed.

Apparently, Siegfried was trying to end the Empire. Given the current situation in the Empire and the power that Siegfried held, it seemed possible.

In that case, then right now, Milton had to figure out what the future held for him in this situation.

“With Siegfried’s skills, he’ll most likely destroy the Empire and incorporate more than half their territory into the Republic.”

It would most likely be impossible for Siegfried to monopolize something as large as the Empire by himself. The lords who allied together will most likely declare themselves an independent country and the vassal countries who fell for Siegfried’s plans will take their fair share. 

But even if the Republic only took half, no, one-third the Empire’s territory, it would greatly benefit them. With his skills, Siegfried would quickly use that territory to bring back wealth and power to the Republic.

‘And he’ll try to fight with me again with a great deal of military power. Ah, damn it…’

Just thinking about it raised Milton’s blood pressure.

It probably wouldn’t take long. The Republic was already laying the groundwork, so it wouldn’t take long for them to revitalize itself.

From what Milton could gather, the Republicans were giving the citizens two options as they were invading the Empire — death or slavery. Even though the Republic didn’t recognize the status system, they were still enslaving the people of the Empire. Of course, if anyone refused, they died. Regardless of age or gender, they were all treated the same.

And so, devastating massacres were happening in some parts of the Empire. There were even rumors that in regions where the rebellion was particularly fierce, all the residents of the territory were locked up in buildings and burnt alive. 

It was obvious what all this meant. Unlike past conquests, like the Strabus Kingdom or the Valence Kingdom, Siegfried had no intention of taking in the Imperial people. He wasn’t willing to even spend time converting people into Republicans.

He could always move people of the Republic into lands where the Imperial citizens were all killed. As for the people who surrendered, they became slaves and were exploited as a labor force. That way, there was no need to spend any time integrating the Empire’s citizens into the Republic. 

Siegfried was sucking up all the benefits possible from the Empire as quickly as possible. Although the justification given was that it was merely revenge for all the hardships and troubles that the Republicans suffered, it was obvious what Siegfried was truly thinking.

“It’s completely and thoroughly effective… He’s so heartless that even if I poked him with a needle, I wouldn’t even get a drop of blood.”

Did Milton really have to meet such a guy on the battlefield again? When he thought about that, Milton not only became annoyed, but he became despondent. 

In the end, Milton came to the conclusion that he couldn’t just sit on his hands. He couldn’t just watch Siegfried fattening up the Republic by invading the Empire. He’d much rather step onto the battlefield and eat away at the Empire as much as the Republic was doing.

“I have to take control of the continent so much that Siegfried won’t even think about it.”[1]

Fortunately, the Lester Kingdom was more powerful than ever before. Unlike the defeated Empire or the Republic which had exhausted its nation power through scorched earth tactics, the Lester Kingdom had maintained its strength so that it was not much weaker than before the outbreak of the war.

Now determined, Milton immediately called for Count Sabian.

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“Have the entire army get ready to mobilize. We’re moving.”

“Where are we heading, Your Grace?”

Even though he had a rough guess, Count Sabian still asked with a thumping heart.

Milton responded, “We’re bringing down the Empire and holding supremacy of the continent. We will become a strong kingdom that no one will dare underestimate us.”

Count Sabian spoke with a deep bow.

“I will carry out your will, Your Grace.”

As he watched Count Sabian leave, Milton thought to himself.

‘With this, I will end this turbulent era.’

***

The Lester Kingdom attacked the Empire. This was a decisive blow to the Empire. 

Due to the Republic’s heavy attacks while they had been retreating, there were only 100,000 men in the expeditionary force that was led by Duke Sebastian, and even they weren’t in good condition. Even after adding the troops that the capital had managed to gather, there were only 200,000 Imperial soldiers. 

Usually, that would be enough. However, in the current situation, 200,000 was too little. Siegfried led a total of 150,000 Republican soldiers down south while the Lester Kingdom brought 200,000 troops. And there were over 200,000 soldiers from the Empire’s vassal countries. 

Not only was the Empire outnumbered, but the most decisive thing was that currently, the Empire didn’t have the supplies to maintain 200,000 men. Having managed to reach the Imperial capital, Duke Sebastian was devastated when the Empire’s situation was far worse than his expectations. The Empire’s supply situation was so bad that the 100,000 troops that Duke Sebastian had managed to save and bring with him were barely able to drink the weak and watery broth. 

The Empire’s capital had always been full of supplies that came from all over the country, but shortages had quickly emerged when the vassal countries began to rampage across the Empire. Because the capital had a large population. when the transportation of goods was stopped, the stockpile of supplies they had quickly ran out. Now, supplying the troops wasn't the problem. The capital’s citizens were collapsing from hunger. 

Duke Sebastian had already thought the Empire was running out of luck, but even if it was a sinking ship, he couldn’t jump off it. After all, he was the guardian of the Empire... 

***

Duke Sebastian led his men again. Marquis Baker Gotham and Duke Dominic Florian also led their armies to fight the enemy. But no matter how courageous the men led by Masters may be, it was meaningless if they didn’t have supplies. 

“The Empire isn’t finished yet! All men will follow me!”

Duke Florian was the first to clash with the Republican.

In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the Empire was destroyed to this extent because he had killed Antras. He told himself that he had killed Antras for the Empire, but deep down, he knew it was his selfishness. 

Conflict, anguish, guilt, anxiety...

For Duke Florian, the only way he could escape this burdensome reality was a victory. As long as he won the war and the Empire regained its glory again, then what he did wouldn’t have been a mistake. Forcing himself, Duke Florian fought madly, yet bravely. 

But no matter how bravely he fought, the odds were against him. Without having to send out Siegfried or Jake, all the Republicans had to do was delay him. They knew that the Empire’s supply situation was as bad as it could get, that was why they were avoiding ending the battle.

When they dragged things out just a bit, Duke Florian’s army began to self-destruct. Soldiers who couldn’t withstand the hunger began to desert and the number of troops decreased noticeably. On top of that, the soldiers were so exhausted by the Republic’s ambushes that they failed to even respond and were trampled. 

In the end, the army that Duke Florian led couldn’t be the Empire’s[2] spearhead and instead, collapsed from hunger. 

1. The raws didn’t say what “it” was, but I’m thinking it’s attacking the Lester Kingdom.

2. The raw said Republic, but I think that’s a mistake since we’re talking about Duke Florian