Chapter 100
“They’ve made their decision after all.”
Piaren’s lips twitched at the news that the Baroque Kingdom’s army was advancing towards the capital of the Spanian Kingdom.
“So they still had a significant number of troops left in the provinces?”
A lieutenant by Piaren’s side stepped forward and answered his question.
“There are fewer than 20,000 troops remaining outside of the capital. They’ve suffered considerable losses recently due to deployments in neighboring kingdoms.”
All the forces that were defending the capital had already been annihilated.
The Spanian Kingdom had already been thoroughly crushed under the heel of the Empire.
Piaren nodded at the lieutenant’s report.
“Execute everyone remaining in the royal palace and hang their bodies outside the castle. We need to show what happens to those who defy us.”
The plan to use the Spanian Kingdom had completely fallen apart.
In that case, the best move would be to utterly crush them and use the Spanian Kingdom as a new stronghold for their own advantage.
Piaren looked at his lieutenant and asked,
“Who’s leading the vanguard?”
“Roberta, sir.”
“Roberta—a brave commander.”
Piaren nodded.
Among those who followed him, Roberta was one of the few generals capable of both martial and strategic prowess.
With him as the commander, even the combined forces of the Baroque and Spanian Kingdoms should be manageable.
“We’ll soon witness the crushing of the two allied kingdoms beneath the Empire’s might.”
The combined armies of the Baroque and Spanian Kingdoms numbered around 30,000.
An enormous force, to be sure.
“This is interesting... A war of this scale... is a first.”
It had taken five years for Piaren to go from being knighted to becoming a commander.
And now, as an Aura Master, his eyes sparkled with interest.
“Yes, it’s been a series of far too peaceful days.”
Of course, there had been many covert skirmishes across the continent, but this was the first time a war of such scale was breaking out, with so many troops involved.
Every day had been filled with a suffocating boredom.
But now...
“The continent will be drenched in blood.”
Piaren’s lips curled into a smile as he instructed his lieutenant.
“Prepare to welcome our guests. We’ll launch the opening fireworks for this new chapter in the continent’s history right here.”
With the screams of the Baroque and Spanian forces as the symphony.
The smile on Piaren’s face deepened.
* * *
“...What is this?”
Dianal had fired a signal flare after returning from reconnaissance.
Guided by that flare, Damian led the Caion Unit to the agreed meeting point.
And there, he was met with—
“What’s going on?”
Damian looked at the young child standing beside Dianal and couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
The child was perhaps two years old at most.
Seeing Damian’s puzzled expression, Dianal spoke.
“He’s the prince of the Spanian Kingdom.”
“The prince?”
For a moment, Damian’s expression hardened.
Just that one word was enough to make it clear what kind of situation they were dealing with.
Damian asked,
“What happened to the people guarding him?”
“There was only one left when we arrived. And now...”
Dianal turned his gaze to the side.
Damian followed his gaze and looked over.
“Urgh... Ugh...!”
A man lay on a bed of cut grass, groaning in pain.
The sword wounds covering his entire body were severe enough to make anyone frown just looking at them.
Damian took a step toward him.
“You managed to hold on somehow.”
These were wounds that anyone would expect to be fatal.
Yet the man had been driven by one thing: his duty to protect the prince.
At that moment, something tugged at Damian’s pant leg.
“...?”
Damian turned to see the prince of the Spanian Kingdom looking up at him with tearful eyes.
As if to say...
‘Please... save us.’
It was almost as if rescuing the prince was a stroke of divine luck for their side.
‘The first piece of the puzzle is falling into place.’
This war...
‘We will win this.’
Damian’s cold eyes focused ahead as he looked at the Spanian prince once more, smiling warmly at him.
Then he turned to his men and said,
“Everyone, move out!”
“Yes, sir!”
With thoughts of the Imperial soldiers they would soon face, the Caion Unit began their march.
* * *
The capital of the Spanian Kingdom, Sragan.
Sragan had been turned into a sea of blood due to the Empire’s tyranny.
“Kill them all! Leave no one alive and throw their bodies outside the walls!”
“Arghhhhh!”
“P-please spare me! Spare me—!”
Thwack!
Without hesitation, the Imperial soldiers slaughtered the citizens of the kingdom, piling their bodies outside the walls as a grotesque display.
With even the royal family exterminated, there was no reason to spare the citizens.
Roberta watched the horrific scene of slaughter with an indifferent expression.
But then...
“Sir Roberta.”
“What is it?”
Roberta’s lieutenant, Zimern, approached with a troubled look.
He lowered his head and spoke.
“We’ve lost contact with the pursuit squad. It seems... they’ve lost the prince.”
“...What?”
A deep frown formed on Roberta’s face.
He had dispatched the pursuit squad with plenty of room for success; how could they have lost the prince?
Seeing Roberta’s furrowed brow, Zimern stammered, clearly unsure of what to do.
“They were supposed to report back by now, but we haven’t heard from them in two days.”
“...Did something unforeseen happen?”
Roberta took a deep breath through his nose, his lips pressed tightly together.
After a moment of contemplation, Roberta spoke to Zimern.
“We’ll wait for now, just in case. If they haven’t secured the prince, the Spanian Kingdom’s forces could still mobilize freely.”
The Imperial forces occupying Sragan totaled just over 10,000.
Given the estimated strength of the combined Baroque and Spanian forces, their numbers were likely between 20,000 and 30,000.
Although they had the advantage of defending a fortified position, they were still at a significant numerical disadvantage.
‘Of course, we have Lord Piaren... but...’
To ensure complete victory in this war, they needed to neutralize the Spanian Kingdom’s forces using the prince.
Roberta clicked his tongue in frustration.
“...Tsk!”
But then he turned to Zimern and gave another order.
“Spread a rumor that we’ve captured the prince. If we haven’t secured him, it’s likely they haven’t either.”
Roberta had full confidence in the pursuit squad he had sent.
Each one of them was a highly skilled elite.
They may have failed to bring the prince back due to an unexpected factor, but...
‘If that’s the case, then the prince must have either been killed... or they’ve fled to a place where we can’t reach them.’
Perhaps they had jumped off a cliff or been swept away by the river’s current.
In that scenario, the Spanian forces would be unable to locate the prince either.
With that in mind, spreading this false rumor would certainly throw their enemies into disarray.
“Do not inform Lord Piaren of this. He’s a perfectionist, and we mustn’t upset him before the battle.”
“Understood. I will ensure everyone keeps their mouths shut.”
Roberta nodded at his subordinate’s words and looked out at the horizon.
He could already feel the aura of the approaching battlefield.
They will be here soon.
Clenching the sword in his hand tightly, Roberta thought to himself.
‘30,000...’
He chuckled darkly.
It was indeed a large number of troops, but the sheer scale of this battle made Roberta’s heart race with excitement.
“The crows will feast well.”
The Baroque Kingdom dared to raise its sword against them.
He would deliver a crushing blow to their foolish arrogance.
“Come, worms.”
Roberta’s eyes burned with a fiery anticipation as he stared out at the battlefield.