The Sowing Clan
"What do you think?"
General Regnos Burling shared information from the scouts with the officers and sought their opinion.
The information from scouts indicated that the Imperial Capital was peaceful, without any abnormalities. On the other hand, they already had information that the city has fallen into enemy"s hands.
"It"s definitely the enemy"s plot."
"Agreed, two extremes of information coming in at the same time is definitely done to confuse us."
"Mm…"
General Burling heard out the officers" thoughts and nodded to himself. He has a steady mind and always closely investigates the circ.u.mstances before coming up with a plan.
He was a reliable leader with no fancy tactics, but he had overwhelming support from the soldiers under him. Fancy tactics are often frustrating for those who actually have to carry out them. As a result, the true feelings of the soldiers who followed him were to be spared from the high mortality rate.
"General Burling, we should storm the capital and rescue His Majesty!"
The eldest son of Marquis Husbeis, Rement, let out a bloodthirsty remark. Those who agreed and disagreed were split in half.
(This greenhorn said something unnecessary.)
General Burling had the urge to shout at Rement in his heart. The army that gathered from each territory to save the capital after receiving the sudden report "Capital in danger", totaled at over 200,000 men.
Although there were troops of 200,000 men, the situation was disastrous. Unsurprisingly, the militaries of each territory weren"t uniform, so there was no unified chain of command.
Also, those who rescue the capital will certainly receive unfathomable rewards for their achievement, so there was not a single shred of cooperation to achieve their goal. Rather, the groups saw each other as opponents who wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h their achievements.
Rement"s remark did nothing more than fan the conflict.
The reason General Burling was, more or less, in position to lead the disorderly military force was because of his rich experience and the Emperor"s trust.
However, the troops of each territory weren"t his subordinates. The commanders of the territories" armies will clearly refuse orders they don"t like.
"Husbeis-dono, moving the troops without knowing the situation is dangerous."
"General Burling, I don"t believe this to be true, but are you scared?"
Rement"s face warped as he mocked Burling.
"Husbeis-dono… I hope you do understand just how abnormal this situation is, do you?"
"Wha…"
Rement overreacted to General Burling"s unimpressed words. Rement has never been spoken to in such a tone since he was born.
"A request for help from the Imperial Capital has reached each territory at about the same time, and as we rushed over, the scouts reported that everything was normal. Information that the capital is in the hands of the enemy and that everything is normal has mixed up… how do you think that is possible?"
"… What do you mean?"
"First, if the capital really has fallen into the enemy"s hands, who is the enemy? Where are they?"
General Burling"s words brought silence.
"Even if they are hidden within the capital, it"s impossible to not know the enemy"s whereabouts by now. Besides…"
General Burling stopped his words and caught the attention of the commanders of each territory before speaking.
"Depending on the location of our territories, there should be troops that reached the Imperial Capital earlier than us, so how come we are the first?"
Everyone"s face stiffened after hearing General Burling"s explanation. They, who were thinking only of achievements didn"t even realize that other troops should have arrived before them.
"… I"d like to hear your opinion, General Burling. The troops that arrived first… no, where do you think the troops that arrived before us have gone?"
A man in his mid-forties asked Burling. Burling knew that this man had a t.i.tle of Viscount.
This man was Hans Edgar Margorg, father of Linea whom Altos fell in love with.
He was a man who moved up in politics thanks to Linea and Altos" love affair. At that time, he had to make various preparations in secret in order to get rid of the Salbuveir family"s daughter.
"In the worst case, they have been defeated by the enemy. No, should I say annihilated?… That would explain why we can"t obtain any information from inside."
"However, is it possible to say that they were annihilated even though there are no traces of battle?"
A bitter expression flowed on General Burling"s face after hearing Viscount Margorg"s question. Because even Burling himself found it impossible for an army to disappear without a trace.
(Just what is going on here?)
General Burling"s silence made the officers of the army feel agonizing uneasiness.
—————
"Kulm, how is it going?"
"We are good to go anytime."
When Ortho asked his son, Kulm replied with a grin.
"Burling, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I will show you h.e.l.l. Kulm, drag Burling before me. Doesn"t matter whether alive or dead."
"Yes. The victory has already been decided. Their 200,000 reinforcements will be destroyed as the battle starts."
Ortho nodded with satisfaction. The Salbuveirs will never forgive Burling and his subordinates who invaded their fief. Even though it was the will of the higher-ups, he showed the citizens of Salbuveir fief h.e.l.l.
Children were killed in front of the parents, their daughters violated. The bellies of pregnant women were ripped open, and the fetuses mercilessly murdered. When a woman who"s wedding ring was about to be stolen swallowed it, her stomach was cut open only for the ring to be stolen from her for good.
The corpses of the Salbuveir citizens who were insulted and murdered were abandoned as they were.
They have already started the revenge, but that will never erase the hatred they feel towards the Empire.
"Well then, Father, I will be going. I will let those fiends experience h.e.l.l."
Kulm said these words and turned on his heels. Ortho who saw him off also turned back. There was no shred of mercy present on his face.