Weekly chapters (1/2)
Enough with explanation, let"s start the plot.
Our MC will entering the capital soon! Incoming more politics and deceits.
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki
The Messenger from the Capital.
[Ruler of the great Holy Arcadia Empire of the Arcadia continent, His Majesty Emperor Sephiros von Arkadia has decreed!]
As the envoy shouted, Edgar and Ares swiftly got down on their knee.
[…..one month from now, His Majesty Emperor will set out to conquer Grants Princ.i.p.ality. Schwarzer Territory is to send their soldiers to aid the effort!!]
Just like that, the envoy read the imperial decree with a very formal tone and Edgar responded to it.
[Minister, Edgar Schwarzer will devote his life for the Emperor]
And thus the imperial decree-reading ceremony was completed.
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After the imperial decree reading, at the simple banquet that was held for the Imperial envoy…
[His Majesty has requested me to tell this directly…]
He spoke with some difficulty.
[In this campaign this time, not only Grants Princ.i.p.ality, but His Majesty also wants to create a foothold in the Eastern area. Unification of the continent is what His Majesty originally wished for after all. For that reason, His Majesty wants the younger generations to experience the conquest. Therefore, His Majesty asked you to send young lord Ares-dono to the capital to partic.i.p.ate in the campaign.]
After saying so, the envoy sipped his wine.
[I"ve heard of Ares-dono deeds from the people along the way here. Therefore I know how important Ares-dono"s presence in the territory. That"s why it"s difficult for me to convey this..]
[Your Highness, please rest a.s.sured.]
Edgar replied in a low voice.
[There are four great clans in the Arkadia Empire and the Archdukes have our pride as the closest allies to His Majesty. It"s our duty to abide to His Majesty"s order. Thus it"s also Ares" duty to do so too.]
The Imperial envoy showed a relieved look when he heard that reply.
[Ahhh…..that relieved me. For some reason His Majesty put extra attention to Ares-dono. Is the young lord is an acquaintance to His Majesty? In any case, if this request didn"t go through, I risk losing my head here.]
The envoy smiled while saying so. For this person, the Emperor is like a presence who stands proudly above the clouds. He won"t be able to live comfortably should he fail.
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After the banquet concluded and the envoy returned to his room, Edgar and Ares sat on one of the table facing each other. Each one holding a gla.s.s of wine in their hand.
[About this campaign, what do you think about it?]
Ares directly replied upon Edgar"s question.
[A human"s lifespan is limited. Even His majesty can"t resist the flow of time. I think he did this out of consideration of his own lifespan.]
After saying so, Ares sighed.
[Perhaps, after creating a foothold in the east, he"ll start moving towards unifying the continent. We"ll have to make preparations as well.]
[You mean, there will be more wars in the future?]
[No, I don"t think the next war will come suddenly. After we attacked the east, I don"t think Thracia in the west and the Sindora in the south will remain silent. After conquering Grants, there will be a stalemate for a few years.]
Edgar threw another question.
[How should Schwarzer Territory proceed in the future?]
[We must tread cautiously.]
Ares replied with a serious look.
[We, the Archduke Schwarzer clan, hold some amount of power in the capital. But there are three other great clans. Not only are there four competing factions, there are also the six dukes. We"ll need to firmly observe them since we don"t belong to any faction as in the past. I wonder if it"s okay for me to show my abilities while staying in the capital.]
Ares gave Edgar a firm look then added..
[His Majesty Sephiros has been highly suspicious of his va.s.sals recently. He didn"t seem to care about the factional struggle. But should you lean toward a faction and show your thirst for power then, of course, He would doubt you. What we need to do is to show our allegiance and our lack of ambition to seize power to His Majesty through our actions.]
[Fumu. So that the Schwarzer clan can survive?]
[The purging will surely come in the future. We must strike hard in order to survive when the time comes. And…..]
[And?]
[As I mentioned earlier, a human"s lifespan is limited. The same applies to His Majesty. We must also prepare for the worst case scenario. His Majesty has 8 children, 3 sons and 5 daughters. We must have a firm grasp over who will take the reins in the future. And in order to find out about that, I"ll have to go to the capital.]
Ares put his gla.s.s down, and got up.
[Instead of using territory military force, I"ll bring my private force the 『Broken Legion』…..among them I"ll also include some 『Black Legion』. His Majesty required us to bring forth 3000 soldiers, but let"s bring 5000.]
He then finally added.
[The Imperial Capital is a dumpster where all the rotten people flock. But the most important thing is His Majesty"s view about us. Sometimes, even I couldn"t read what he"s thinking. We must improve our relations with His Majesty even a little. While I"m staying at the capital, I want esteemed Father to continue developing Schwarzer Territory.]
Edgar stared at his son with a glare.
He wondered if there is another son as reliable as this one. No matter how rotten the capital is, his son won"t be swayed.
All other great clans saw a decline due to the power struggle; the same case with the dukes. Meanwhile Ares appealed to treat the citizens with a better life than those at the capital and retreated from the capital to make efforts in developing the territory instead. Now the territory has seen a lot of improvement than any other places in the empire, giving them the momentum to approach the capital.
On the other hand, the other clans who were involved in the power struggle failed to manage their territory, causing a sizeable amount of death.
It"s not an exaggeration to say that their clan became developed to such degree was all thanks to Ares.
If it"s this son of his, Arkadia Empire…..no, even the whole continent might get swallowed by him.
That random thought had turned into conviction.
Sigurd, Shion, George…..many others have come to follow him. All of them can be considered a Hero of their own.
Rouen and others too. They are all fascinated by Ares.
More people will surely ally themselves to him from now on.
That kid has that kind of charm in him.
And the Thunder Emperor Sephiros. He can be considered a Hero too. Perhaps that"s why His Majesty shown some interest in his son.
The continent"s unification will surely require his son"s power. Until then His Majesty might not harm Ares…
Perhaps this campaign to the east will become a turn in the history. And for the sake of his son…..he"ll need to put forth a firm foundation by further developing his territory.
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Sacred Arkadia History year 348
『Thunder Emperor』Sephiros von Arkadia began his campaign to the eastern area of the continent, gathering the power of four great clans in the process.
And in this year was the first time Ares appeared at the forefront stage of history.
This year was the beginning of the rise of the King of Heroes Ares.