Weekly chapters (2/2)
Quite a long chapter.
Enjoy~
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki
Chapter 75 – Plotting
Due to Darius" ambush, Arcadia army temporarily gave up the siege of Heinzand retreated.
The Arcadia army, said to be undefeated, actually retreated. Of course, the Heinz palace was overjoyed with the news.
[As long as Darius-sama is with us, we will never lose!]
[Arcadia army is nothing compared to the demons!]
Cheers boomed within the palace. However, as he listened silently to those many joyful cheerings, Darius had a solemn look on his face.
Noticing this, Dirk called him out.
[Oya, Boss. Why do you seem to be in a bad mood?]
[No idea…]
Darius replied while looking outside the palace. He didn"t say anything else afterwards.
Darius had been thinking since then.
About the first meeting with the two warriors that he could fight seriously.
[We"ll surely meet again soon… can I win when that time comes…? Even so, it"s exciting.]
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On the other hand, the Arcadia army was demoralized.
The encampment was filled with arguing voices.
[Letting that b.a.s.t.a.r.d near His Majesty, it"s your fault!]
[What did you say? You didn"t do anything at all as well!]
They blamed each other, unwilling to take responsibility. It"s only natural. They all did escape before the enemy.
Overseeing the conflict between the aristocrats, Ares merely smiled… as though he already expected this to happen.
And at that moment, Ares noticed that someone was staring at him.
The gaze belonged to the Rozenheim"s little lord Scion.
Scion quietly looked away when he realized that he"s been found.
[His Majesty, the Emperor, has arrived!]
The chamberlain announced the emperor"s arrival loudly. The aristocrats hurriedly returned to their place and bowed until the emperor finally reached his chair.
Of course, that also included Ares and Scion.
After taking a glance at the surroundings, Emperor Sephiros spoke.
[This time around, this Emperor has bothered everyone. This is our responsibility. Please forgive us.]
[There is no need to say so, milord.]
The first Princess Silvia was the first to respond, followed by the other aristocrats.
These people were relieved because n.o.body had to take responsibility.
[However… We noticed that many present today are cowardly and disloyal people. They"ll show themselves eventually. So be prepared.]
Sephiros" cold words caused their faces to turn blue.
[However, depending on their future merits, they might just be pardoned]
[ [ [ [ Yes, Your Majesty! ] ] ] ]
Everyone here knew. Standing there was their very Arcadia Empire"s『Thunder Emperor』Sephiros Arcadia. He could"ve killed them all right here right now. They certainly can"t miss the chance.
[Now, it"s thanks to the great achievement of the Royal Guards and several others that We managed to retreat safely. They will be given rewards in due time. But first of all, We"ll begin with the great achievement of Ares Schwarzer for his success in holding and repelling Darius Grants back.]
Everyone on the spot immediately turned towards Ares.
Many people witnessed Darius battle against Sigurd and later Ares, which ended up with the former retreating.
[This achievement will surely be rewarded properly. Any objections?]
No one showed any sign of objection. No, n.o.body dared to but…
[This servant has a request to Your Majesty.]
Someone actually spoke up. It was the Rozenheim"s little lord Scion.
[Very well. Speak.]
[Milord! As of now, the number of achievements Ares-dono had procured, while we are thankful for that, has surpa.s.sed anyone in this camp.]
Saying so, Scion turned to Ares.
[And everyone witnessed how Ares-dono repelled Darius. Probably, other than Ares-dono, n.o.body else is capable of defeating that beast.]
What is he planning now… all aristocrats thought the same thing. Ares also glared back to Scion, waiting for his next words.
Scion took a deep breath and resumed.
[I saw that Darius isn"t someone who will wait for the opportunity to pa.s.s him by. If we strike out now, he"ll surely come out of the palace.]
After saying so, Scion turned once more to Sephiros.
[Therefore, we should let Ares-dono to handle that beast. Meanwhile, we"ll use our entire army to attack Heinz which has been spread out too thin.]
[Oh, that"s a good idea!]
[I cannot think of a better way!]
The other aristocrats also showed their agreement.
Facing Darius is equivalent to suicide for any of them. n.o.body wants to do it…that was the truth.
Ares didn"t seem to be against that idea as well. If by chance, he managed to defeat Darius… then the emperor"s att.i.tude may ease up as well.
Furthermore…. the implications are clear. The greatest achievement doesn"t come from defeating Darius, but from conquering Heinz itself. To the one who killed Sovereign Gail Grants.
Sephiros had been giving it some consideration himself. He finally raised his hand gently, signaling a hal to the noise the aristocrats made. They obediently fell silent, awaiting his next words.
[The Rozenheim little lord"s suggestion, We can understand. Does Schwarzer little lord have any objection?]
[I don"t.]
Ares replied shortly.
[In that case, Schwarzer"s little lord Ares, hear your order. Defeat Darius and open the way to victory. How many soldiers do you need?]
[We"ll need to discuss that further.]
When Sephiros asked about how many soldiers Ares would need, Scion once again spoke up.
Everyone"s eyes turned to Scion once more.
[Ares-dono is a great general who managed to conquer 3 countries in less than a week. I hear that he also brought his own soldiers with him. Heinz is famous for being impregnable.]
He then continued.
[We cannot afford to reduce our own troops to topple it. I believe that the soldiers that Ares-dono had brought with him is enou…]
[Impossible!]
Silvia who had remained silent all this time finally spoke loudly.
[It"s the same opponent that defeated both my brother and Archduke Saxon as well as repelling back the 300,000 strong Arcadia army. Do you have any idea how much soldiers needed to put down that kind of enemy!?]
[That"s why, we can only rely on Ares-dono…]
[Cut the nonsense! You have no idea how the war actually goes! Moreover, Ares-dono brought no more than 5000 troops with him]
The two started to argue, but Ares himself actually raised his hand, taking everyone"s attention to him.
[…. I can be careless about that.]
That words from Ares diffused the situation.
[I"m grateful that Her Highness Silvia spoke up for me. I thank you. However, as a measure, I have to agree with Scion-dono"s suggestion. It"s the best path we can take. I"ll be Lord Darius" opponent.]
Ares then resumed after a brief pause.
[It"s undeniable that we"ll need all of our forces to topple Heinz. First, I will provoke Lord Darius to come out and fight me. The whole army can make use of the opening to conquer Heinz in the meantime. It may prove to be difficult to defeat Lord Darius…but it"s true that we won"t be able to conquer Heinz otherwise.]
Silence spread throughout the audience.
After narrowing his eyes for a short while, Sephiros finally announce his order.
[Very well. Here is My order: Schwarzer little lord Ares and his troops are to hold back Darius Grants.]
[Please wait!]
It was Silvia who interrupted Sephiros.
[Last time, Darius managed to repel the 300,000 strong Arcadian force. Ares-dono this time will only lead 5000 strong troops with him. I can only think of this as equivalent to suicide. At the very least, please add my troops to his…]
[Ares-dono had conquered 3 countries with the same amount of troops. Shouldn"t he be able to do so again?]
Hearing Silvia"s plea, Scion laid down his argument.
[Rozenheim"s little lord! Do you realize that it"s the same as you are sending Ares-dono to his death!?]
With the two started arguing again, the army leader as well as the head of the Imperial Knight, Randolph, finally raised his voice.
[I must agree with Scion-dono. As Scion-dono said, judging from Darius" character, he"ll surely come out to fight. However, he should also know better than to leave the palace empty. He won"t bring too many army with him this time, am I correct?]
Everyone stayed silent, listening to the words of the man who controls the entire military power of the Arcadia empire.
[Lord Randolph"s statement is exactly what I meant. Your Majesty, command us]
Sephiros took that cue and announced his command.
Adopting Scion"s suggestion, only Ares and his private army will head out to Heinz. The entire main force will march back to Heinz a few days later to conquer it.
With the decision made… the war council was adjourned, and all those present returned to their own camp.
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When Scion returned to his camp, he called for a man.
A man whose face was covered in mask and dressed in gray robe appeared before him.
[O Gala, everything went according to your plan.]
[….thank you very much. With this, my hatred to that vessel of the『War G.o.d』will finally be appeased…]
That man called Gala let out a creepy laugh.
[That man will only have his own troops. Even I do not have any idea why he did not show any objection… however, his actions still fit within my plan. After this, if everything went as planned, then all is fine. Without that man, milord will be able to reign over Arcadia…]
Scion looked at the laughing Gala with a cold gaze.
He picked up this man a few years ago, mostly because they have mutual interests.
Scion was [to reign over Arcadia Empire]
While Gala was [to bring chaos into Arcadia Empire]
Scion did not understand one bit of what in the world the man is thinking or why he refused to show his face in public. However, thanks to Gala"s help, Scion was able to become the head of the largest political faction in the empire. And he"s still gaining even more power up to this day.
This time, Gala insisted in removing Ares Schwarzer from the map.
Gala referred to him as a vessel of the『War G.o.d』and showed clear hatred to the young man.
Gala"s proposed plans may also lead to the decline of Arcadia Empire. Of course, Scion thought that it"s no good. However… with Ares having gained too much recognition that he might overshadow Scion in the future, he had no choice but to follow Gala"s suggestion this time.
[I have to do it anyways… especially in regard to『that』, we must proceed with utmost care…]
Scion whispered to himself as he looked at the small box that Gala has handed out to him..
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Meanwhile, Ares was being lectured by Silvia.
[Why did you not say any objection to His Majesty!? What are you thinking!? Are you seeking for death!?]
Silvia shook Ares body violently with her two hands out of annoyance…
[Well…can you calm down and listen to me?]
[How can I be calm?! Who will back Cornelia and Zerias if you are gone…]
[Now now… please listen to me.]
Ares spoke gently as he peeled away Silvia"s hands.
[First of all, I must make this clear. His Majesty won"t change his decision now.]
[Guh…]
Silvia couldn"t refute that. Ares was right. Sephiros never took his words back.
[Scion is undoubtedly planning something. Lord Randolph also acted suspicious, seeing how he had always remained silent up until then. I suppose he also wanted a bite out of me.]
[That man should"ve been in my brother"s camp… I see, he"s changing his mind after my brother"s previous failure]
Silvia was. .h.i.t by a realization.
[But if you know that, why did you still go along with them? You shouldn"t have given way so easily?]
Ares responded with a smile.
[Didn"t I told Your Highness already back at Redgear?]
Ares stuck out his tongue mischievously.
[I want to rack up great merits and achievements that no one else could hope to compare. I"m just that greedy.]
[But you already…]
[No, it"s not enough yet. In this war, conquering Grants is the greatest goal. The one who managed to capture Heinz will get the greatest of merits. If I make such an achievement in this war, don"t you think it"ll be a great backing for Cornelia and Zerias?]
Ares continued to speak after laughing heartilly.
[If one wants to gamble… and it"s best to go all in. When this battle is over…let"s see what kind of face Scion and those aristocrats will make.]
The next day, Ares marched along with his 5,000 strong Black Legion.
On the other hand, hearing the news, Darius also set out with 15,000 elite Grants soldiers.
The battle that invoked so many speculations is about to begin.