Translator: AkazaTL
Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
Chapter 141 : Conclusion
Fwaaaa-
Boom!
The pillar of fire that soared with a montum that seed to reach the heavens struck the capital's castle wall as it was.
Zzzzzz-
A violent noise, as if a tug-of-war was unfolding between the defensive magic hanging on the wall and the pillar of fire, spread in all directions.
A pillar of fla trying to pierce through and a blue veil trying to block it.
Crackle!
The one who eventually won the battle that continued for a while was the pillar of fla.
The ti of exhaustion that the defensive magic had to endure was far too long to withstand the fire magic that the 7th Circle mage Gilmore poured out with all his might.
Boooooom!
Eventually, the pillar of fla drove its flickering fangs into the castle wall.
"Block it! You must block it!"
"Damn. In the end......."
A sigh mixed with despair burst from the soldiers atop the wall.
"Waaaaa!"
While a shout of joy erupted from the mouths of the soldiers below the wall.
The wall, which had tenaciously held out for a full fifteen days, was crumbling.
Violent cheers were bound to break out.
"Cough, it is now! Advance all at once!"
Feeling the fishy taste of blood under his tongue, Gilmore encouraged the soldiers' advance.
Although he had barely won the tug-of-war with the wall, his current physical condition was very poor.
However, he could not delay the advance just because his body was unwell.
In the eyes of Gilmore, who turned his gaze toward the wall, the sight of the defense forces, most of whom had now perished, appeared.
As fifteen days passed by, the civil war beca increasingly intense.
Not even twenty percent of the defense forces guarding the wall remained.
Of course, the situation for the rebel army was not exactly good either.
Supplies were still not smooth, and thanks to that, more than sixty percent of the original military strength had ended up as guests of no return.
However, even though they were in tatters, the rebel army had seized the decisive victory.
Gilmore squeezed his fist tightly while encouraging the soldiers.
'......I did it! Finally, now that throne becos mine!'
However, Gilmore forgot the pain crushing his chest.
Finally, finally, his long-standing craving was fulfilled!
The throne, which his foolish brother and idiot nephew had occupied in succession, was finally returning to the embrace of its 'rightful' owner.
"Waaaaa!"
Looking at his subordinates leaping through the collapsed wall, Gilmore felt an indescribable, thrilling euphoria.
And at the mont that euphoria reached its peak-
"Your Excellency! It is a disaster! Veradora, the regular army of Veradora led by General Garamo is said to have crossed the border!"
-the worst bad news was delivered, throwing Gilmore's mood, which had soared as if to reach the sky, down to the ground in an instant.
***
Rumble-
"Everyone, stop!"
A middle-aged man, who was advancing vigorously while mounted on the back of a giant beast, raised his hand.
Simultaneously, the regular army of Veradora, which had been advancing with a montum like a fierce wave, stopped their steps all at once.
"General, just in case, I will send out scouts."
"Do so."
The Supre General of this expeditionary force, Garamo Pulseheim, nodded while looking at the capital of the Esper Kingdom, which could be seen far off, emitting smoke in a half-destroyed state.
It was midnight two days ago when they crossed the border of Esper.
Now that about thirty-six hours had passed since then, they had continued their advance with literally irresistible force.
The only obstacles they had encountered so far were the 'formal resistance' shown by a few small-scale fortresses near the border.
Their advance was so unstoppable that the Sword of Condemnation, which Garamo had received from Queen Sion ahead of the departure, beca overshadowed, and on the contrary, Esper was nothing but helpless.
'The one called the King is lying down with his side pierced, and the one called the highest authority of the royal family is dreaming of treason by using that gap, so the country can only end up in this state......'
Even if Esper had been in a sound state, blocking Veradora's advance would have been a burdenso task.
But at least if they had shown a systematic appearance under a unified command structure, they would not have been smashed helplessly like this.
'A foolish and young King and a greedy powerful official...... To think we suffered such great difficulties due to the despicable tricks played by such fellows......'
Garamo, who was chuckling as the thought suddenly felt absurd, soon shook his head.
'No. If I think about it, they were not such helpless fellows from the beginning. At least the sches they carried out against the World Tree were persistent and crafty.'
The current Esper looking so pathetic was just a story of hindsight.
'Yes. There was just 'soone' who made them look pathetic enough to be despised.'
The image of the black-haired human youth he t fleetingly before ca to Garamo's mind.
"The Grand Duke of Zodiac said so. That if we give him ti, he would minimize the damage we would suffer when we conquer Esper. How is it? General, it is quite an interesting thing to say, right?"
When he first heard this from Queen Sion, Garamo did not believe those words.
He looked fairly capable, but was it not a task far too burdenso for a re noble of a small nation to produce?
Yet, the Grand Duke had perfectly put his words into execution.
And in a state that far exceeded the expectations of Sion and Garamo.
"General, the scouts have returned. It appears the Esper Kingdom has suffered enormous damage from the civil war over the past fifteen days and has lost the capacity to resist. The rebel forces stationed near the wall have already expressed their intention to surrender, and it seems the capital defense forces also have no will to resist."
"The King and Queen Dowager of Esper?"
"It is judged that they are observing this situation from inside the castle."
"The whereabouts of Gilmore and Kunde, the leaders of the treason?"
"It appears they have fled. If you give the order, I will organize a pursuit team right away."
"There is no need for that. Send an envoy into the castle to deliver the requirents."
"What shall we do if they do not respond to the negotiations?"
"What else? We must make them realize that this was the last rcy shown to them."
Garamo's unusually sharp fangs emitted a vivid light.
"Tell the entire army to prepare for camp. Tell them to take special care so that no damage is done to the people."
"General, if you are going to camp anyway, would it not be better to advance into the castle rather than building a camp outside the walls? I consider that to be more advantageous for pressuring and monitoring the leadership of the enemy nation as well......"
"No, passing through the walls of a surrendered enemy nation is the greatest glory for warriors who have gone out to the battlefield. We cannot commit the shaless act of monopolizing this glory, can we?"
"Ah! I will do so. General!"
The adjutant, who understood his words, left the spot imdiately.
And Garamo waited for the friend of Veradora to arrive with both eyes closed.
***
Glug glug!
Creak-
At the sa ti the wine bottle showed its bottom.
The door of the secret base opened.
"I believe it is the first ti we et in person. Duke McBride."
The middle-aged man, who had been tilting his wine glass with a bitter expression, raised his head with a hollow face and looked at the man who opened the door of the secret base and entered.
"You are a truly diligent fellow. There was no need for you to co all the way here yourself......"
"That is true. But still, I thought it would be polite to at least see your face once."
I, Hein Reichart, gave a thin smile as I stepped toward Gilmore McBride.
It was two days ago when Gilmore, having heard that Veradora's regular army had crossed the border, slipped away.
During the ti of two days, Gilmore took all asures he could, such as requesting support from the nobles who did not mobilize troops for the civil war.
However, the situation was that the capital's Royal Guard and Gilmore's army had already exhausted all their forces while carving out their own flesh.
There was no one brave enough to risk death to block Veradora.
"If you were going to co, why did you not co a little earlier? Then we could have at least had a drink together......"
As a result, Gilmore had ended up in a situation where he was holed up in the underground base, waiting for the final mont to co.
"Though I wonder what aning my praise as a re loser would have for the Grand Duke, it was truly a magnificent skill. Since things have turned out like this, let ask just one thing. Since when did you prepare for this operation?"
"......About three months?"
"Three months? Did you just say three months? Kuhahaha! You are saying that the great plan I prepared for over a dozen years turned into bubbles because of a re three-month plan?"
Gilmore burst into laughter in spite of himself.
The defeat was bitter, but for there to be such a difference in caliber.
He would rather give up his lingering regrets.
"Well, I could not drink the wine, but still, I am very glad that a person like you ca in person. Yes, long words will not be necessary, right? Will you do it yourself? Or shall I make it so it is not a hassle for you?"
Gilmore was an ambitious man, but he was not a pathetic person.
It had been a long ti since he had already prepared himself for failure.
He showed a smile while taking out a sharp dagger.
"......."
"I understand. I will do it myself. Heh."
Whether he took my silence as the latter aning, Gilmore raised the dagger and aid it at his Adam's apple.
"Then, stay well. Grand Duke. It was an honor to be able to et you in person!"
However,
Clang!
Before it could even touch Gilmore's neck, the blade of the dagger broke helplessly.
"Grand Duke! What kind of rude behavior is this!"
The complexion of Gilmore, who had been resigned ever since eting , began to flush red for the first ti.
He thought of it as a serious insult to his final honor.
"You insult my final honor...... Ugh!"
But unfortunately, Gilmore's protest could not continue for long.
Because I, with a movent as nimble as the wind, muffled his mouth and restrained both his hands.
"Ugh! Mmmph!"
"I am sorry, Duke. I am afraid I cannot send you off comfortably. Because there are quite a lot of people among my friends who want to et you."
Looking down at Gilmore, who was wriggling with bloodshot eyes, I showed a cold smile.
"If one has committed a sin, is it not also an honorable thing to pay the fitting price for that sin? Just wait a few days. Once you et my friends soon."
Even if it were Sion, who had an exceptionally gentle disposition, she would not show a rciful appearance even to the culprit who polluted the World Tree.
I continued speaking while tying the knot of the gag that muffled Gilmore's mouth.
"The conclusion of the matter will be settled over there."
"Mmmph!"
Just in case, I checked the state of the knots of the gag and the hands once more.
Because it would be troubleso if Gilmore attempted suicide while being transported.
"Escort the Duke."
As soon as my words ended, the Haken mbers put Gilmore, who was tied tightly so that he could not attempt anything like suicide, into a sack.
"What shall we do with this one?"
"Take him out."
Another sack that the mbers had brought while carrying it on their shoulders.
When the opening was opened, another 'culprit' revealed his appearance from within.
"Urgh!"
"It is the first ti we et like this, right? Us."
Kunde, who was struggling while shaking his disheveled hair.
Unlike Gilmore, who was waiting for the approaching death here, he had attempted to flee after packing his valuables.
"Thank you. Because you are a person who left records so ticulously, it was not difficult to find this place or grasp the escape route."
Of course, the escape had turned into naught due to Haken's quick response.
The confidential docunts secured from the Mahatdur territory flickered in my hand.
In those docunts, the locations of secret bases, including this one, were recorded in detail.
"Mmmmmph!"
With bloodshot eyes, Kunde bit the gag violently enough that blood leaked from his gums.
However, all that resistance was only miserably in vain.
Grin.
The mont he saw my smile, Kunde could know.
Until now, he had tried to inflict harm on Zodiac and using quite a lot of thods.
But all those attempts turned into naught.
Eventually, he played with it in the palm of my hand.
He thought of himself as the 'perpetrator', and he truly wanted to cause a lot of damage.
But now that everything is over.
His position was nothing but a 'victim' who had lost everything.
"What can you do? That is just how things go in the world."
My words, as if looking clearly into his inner thoughts.
Kunde felt a violent rage as if his hair was about to stand on end.
"Mmmph!"
However, the gag that muffled his mouth without a gap did not even allow the freedom to leave a single word of a will.
"Do it."
"I understand. Captain."
"......!"
Squelch.
Thud.
Ending with a short word, Kunde's head was separated from his torso with both eyes wide open.
Stepping on Kunde's head, which was rolling on the floor like a crushed pumpkin, I fell into thought for a mont.
'Since I have Gilmore, I do not need this fellow up to that point.'
With this, the battle surrounding the Esper Kingdom had reached a conclusion for now.
I said while fastening the edge of my cloak, which had a particularly vivid blue light.
"Everyone must have brought the formal uniforms I told you to prepare, right?"
"We have prepared them. Captain, shall I tell them to change?"
Whether he was happy that an occasion to wear the formal uniform had arisen, Pierce asked with a grinning expression.
"Change. Because we must have proper etiquette to pass through the triumphal arch."
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