The Imperial City of Silence
The family of the n.o.bles who were killed by the Salbuveir in front of the Imperial Palace"s gate were transformed into undead.
The n.o.ble families that were transformed had expressions of despair, but that did not draw a single bit of the Salbuveir"s compa.s.sion.
"Father, that should be about enough… let"s move onto the next step."
Ortho nodded to Kulm"s suggestion.
"Hmph, next move, huh… we can enter the palace anytime thanks to the information we got from Altos."
"Yes. Altonius had not escaped as of yet, but that"s only a matter of time. I think it would be amusing to get him ourselves before that."
Kulm advised Ortho. Altos was enslaved to the Salbuveir family after being transformed into the undead. Due to the compelling force, he leaked information that only the imperial family knew. There was a secret pa.s.sage leading to the Imperial Palace the imperial family prepared in case of an emergency.
"Kulm, let"s leave that for last. There"s something more amusing to do than that. And that"s breaking the mentality of those inside the palace one after another and engulfing them in despair."
Kulm nodded with a bitter smile.
"However, that will take some time."
"Well, if you enjoy the waiting time before doing things, you will clearly taste the sense of fulfillment that it brings."
"That is certainly true. It"s not only Altonius. I"m looking forward to letting the n.o.bles taste h.e.l.l as well."
"Naturally."
Ortho and Kulm laughed. The n.o.bles would be shaking with anger if they heard their conversation. The majority of the citizens have already been killed and turned into undead, and their families which were captured were cruelly turned in front of them.
They may have already seen h.e.l.l a long time ago, but for the Salbuveirs, they were only halfway there.
The final stage of retaliation as already been decided upon by the Salbuveir family.
"Well then, let"s play with those fellows for a while."
"Let"s do that. Is what I would like to say, but Emilia will do it, right?"
"Indeed."
Ortho nodded and moved with Kulm to where Emilia was.
When the two came over, it wasn"t just Emilia there, but also the retainers of the Salbuveirs.
"Father, Brother, how are the people in the palace?"
"Oh, they are surrounded by zombies. There"s no s.p.a.ce for even an ant to escape."
"Good. Besides that, using undead slaves is truly nice, isn"t it?"
"Yeah, they feel no fatigue, so they can work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They have no treacherous thoughts either. They truly are the ideal slaves."
"Yes. So, is ruining the palace still far ahead?"
Ortho nodded quietly to Emilia"s question.
"Yes, I thought of breaking their hearts completely first."
Emilia, Elsapia and even the retainers nodded in satisfaction after hearing that.
"It"s as you heard, everyone. Take it easy before that. You can go kill the slaves in the meanwhile if you are bored."
"""Understood!"""
Everybody responded to Ortho as if they were willing to do so.
—————
"Why are they not attacking?"
Altonius asked.
The n.o.bles who were listening shook their heads. The undead surrounding the palace showed no signs of attacking. Because it was already a week, it creeped out the people inside the palace.
"Are they not waiting for something?"
There was an immediate reply to prime minister Karsgol"s question.
"Lord Prime Minister, it is certain that they are waiting for something. What they are waiting for is important."
"Yes. There has to be something. You couldn"t explain this situation otherwise."
"I know that. Why don"t you lords try deducting that."
"What!!"
The prime minister reacted, no shouted at the n.o.bles in dissatisfaction. The n.o.bles got angry by the prime minister"s shouting and responded back in kind.
"Stop it!!"
The n.o.bles and the prime minister became quiet upon realizing who were they exposing themselves in front of.
(The Salbuveirs have an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Why is it that they have not attacked yet?)
Altonius pondered.
(Is there a traitor?… No, that"s not possible. The opponents are undead. They have killed most of the capital"s citizens, they have also tormented the families of the n.o.bles here… no one will think of betrayal to save their own skin after witnessing something like that.)
Altonius shuddered after remembering what happened today. The Salbuveirs slaughtered the citizens and turned them into undead without any mercy. It did not matter whether their status was low or high.
(They are encircling the palace… so their attention is naturally directed towards us…)
Altonius kept thinking until he figured something out.
"I see!! They are planning to use the secret pa.s.sage!!"
Everyone turned their gaze towards Altonius.
"It"s a diversion!! They are surrounding the palace to bring our attention to them while they slip inside using the secret pa.s.sage!!"
Everyone was taken aback by what they heard.
"However, a secret pa.s.sage is… I see. A secret pa.s.sage only the imperial family knows of?"
"Indeed. They have Altos who was turned undead with them. In case Altos can"t disobey their orders, he has likely told them about the secret pa.s.sage that is known only to our family."
"That"s…"
"… No choice. Seal… the secret pa.s.sage."
A bitter look floated on Altonius" face. The only means to escape had just disappeared.
However, the secret pa.s.sage was now only a bringer of danger. In fact, Ortho and others have already gotten the information from Altos and have dispatched undead over there. In large numbers at that!
Therefore, Altonius" order was immediately enforced and the entire secret pa.s.sage was buried.
For a week after that, the undead who were surrounding the palace didn"t launch a frontal attack.
When a week pa.s.sed, the people inside the palace guessed the reason why the Salbuveirs refrained from attacking.