[WN] Emperor's Seventh Son : 21- 1 Part 3

21-1 Part 3

Ending the Civil War with a Single Shovel

- The Truth of the Imperial Family -

Translator : PolterGlast

「You need to pin down the Empire's military power to the Imperial Capital a little longer and buy time for us. That is your role, isn't it? Prince Julius.」

It was the White Knight who had snatched the Cherubim Armors and disappeared. He emerged from a swamp that spawned from the ground and placed a blade against Julius's neck.

「Shinza...♪ This guy is strong! Can I cut him down!?」

「Wait, Julius is acting strange...!」

Thrusting the blade at him seemed to be a way to buy time. As soon as the White Knight appeared, Julius's eyes opened eerily wide.

「Ma, Mama...」

「That's right, Julius. You have to clear Mama's regrets. On the day you become Emperor, Mama will be freed from hell and can go to heaven...」

「Yeah... yeah, that's right, Mama... I have to brutally kill Ashley and Georg...」

「Wh-What the, Shinza, this guy... is creepy!?」

「Don't say it so bluntly. But this is...」

I had always thought of Julius as genuine trash. But what we were shown just now is a fragment of the truth that has continued until today. To begin with, the very fact that Julius and Yord had a connection with the Abyss was strange. When I swept my ancestor's shovel, the White Knight blocked it with his gauntlet. Julius collapsed to the ground, seemingly losing consciousness.

「I'll ask one thing, what was that just now...?」

「It's nothing other than exactly what it looked like, isn't it? See, if the royal family were sane, such a war wouldn't occur, would it? If there wasn't an actor as mad as him, the Cherubim Armors would never have been manufactured. ...Isn't that what it means?」

With all my might, I swung my weapon towards him once again. The demon-spirit silver sword he drew and my shovel clashed, exchanging about ten strikes. In that case, the Crown Prince, Julius, Yord, and perhaps even Uncle Morac—didn't they end up like that because this guy deceived them...? The White Knight. Was this guy the root of all evil...?

「Shinza, I will join the fight too!」

「I don't mind! Let's press the attack, Sigrun!」

「Fufufu... The miscalculation was your encounter with Zirant, I suppose. Having everything go exactly according to calculation is boring, but you surpassed our expectations.」

With Sigrun's absurd strength, she destroyed the White Knight's gauntlet. However, the skin of the White Knight revealed there looked dark and hard as stone.

「This guy... This guy isn't human, Shinza!?」

「That's a bit late to realize.」

「Is that so!?」

「Yeah, at least listen to the daily reports...」

Facing me and Sigrun, although a part of his armor was destroyed, he was currently completely unscathed. He is incredibly unfathomable. Even when we try to press the attack all at once, he manages to evade it at the very last moment.

「I have always, until that day when Ausar prevented Samael's resurrection in the heavens, served by the White Duke-sama's side. I wanted to see it. The sight of the heavens that the Duke-sama spoke to me about. The true form of the White Duke-sama before he was contaminated by the Abyss...」

「Sorry about that. Then shall we start your revenge here?」

「No, the Duke-sama would also have been satisfied if it was you guiding him to the end. Julius, Julius, get up and run away. Leave this place to Mama.」

「So your objective is to buy time to the bitter end, huh.」

The fainted Julius stood up. It's bad if the battle drags on any longer. It's even worse if he escapes from here.

「He's going to get away, Shinza!?」

No problem. I've already taken measures. When Julius staggered and tried to leave the spot, he suddenly fell straight into a pitfall. At the sudden development, the White Knight also lost his words, his mouth left hanging open.

「Ooh... With this, he can't escape!」

「When did you make such a thing... Fufu... Then I will ask one thing. Why do you not kill him? He should be a major criminal who sacrificed his domain's people.」

「That might be true. But I won't kill royalty. If royalty kills royalty, it might be fine now, but it will lead to irreversible consequences later. A government seized by force will be taken back by force. It's enough to just have the result of settling who is superior.」

When I answered that, a dry laugh could be heard from the bottom of the pitfall. I don't know, but I wonder if Julius has returned to his senses...

「You are more suited to be Emperor than Georg, Ashley. If you were Emperor, then even I would be convinced... But you have no intention of succeeding the throne, right?」

「I hate desk work. More importantly, I ask for your surrender. We will defeat this guy.」

Once again, I pointed my blade at the White Knight. It's about time to bring down the curtain. To end this civil war and rush to Zirant's side, I won't let him buy any more time.

「Here we go, Okama Knight!」

「Don't say something that kills the tension...」

But explaining is troublesome. Sigrun and I signaled each other and charged at the mastermind behind the series of incidents. Even if his white armor was eroded by black and he was turning into a bizarre monster, we didn't care and slammed our blade and shovel into him.

「So it didn't buy much time, huh... As expected of the alter ego of the man who defeated Samael... Oh well, we will be waiting over there. I'll get that obstinate dragon out of the way over here.」

I definitely pierced him, and Sigrun should have cut his torso in two with a single strike. But he crumbled like mud and melted away as if seeping into the ground. No, is this... mud? Don't tell me that what we were fighting was a mud doll...?

「By the way, Ashley.」

「What is it?」

「If you don't get me out of here, I can't declare surrender. Haa... It's as if I'm having a bad dream...」

Julius said that and sighed, but I couldn't even tell from what point he had been sane, or how much of the current him was normal. But perhaps, with this, he has returned to his senses. Julius swiftly gathered the officers, soldiers, and messengers, and sent word of his surrender to the commanders of the entire army. With this, as the Southern Army came under our command, the defeat of the Northern Army led by Uncle Morac and the others was also confirmed.

After that, I regrouped with Georg-aniue, and after seeing the Northern Army's surrender and disarmament through, I decided to leave the rest to Aniue and depart from the battlefield.

「I should go too after all. I'm uneasy leaving you in Sigrun's hands.」

「Wahaha, leave it to this chest of mine!」

「I'm uneasy...」

「Aniue is the victor. The victor cannot leave the battlefield, can he.」

「Understood, go... But make sure you come back here. Bringing Zirant-sama with you.」

「Yeah, leave that side to me. However, with this, Aniue is the new Emperor. As I thought, Aniue is the one most suited.」

When I voiced my joy like that, Aniue only furrowed his brows with a tired expression. But surely, a person who doesn't want to become a ruler is more suited to be an Emperor. Aniue has popularity and the trust of the people. I have no intention of sullying Father's honor, but Father lacked that. Father was the one who tried to protect the country by bearing all the misfortune by himself. Aniue has seen Father's failure from up close. If we leave it to Aniue, this country is fine now.

「Long live Emperor Georg! Long live Georg-aniue!」

「Wha...!?」

Turning my back on the festive uproar I had instigated, I pulled along Sigrun, who wanted to join the fuss, and aimed for the fateful land of Elkia. Zirant is waiting. I wanted to hurry above all else, so I picked up Sigrun, and upon descending into the underground tunnel, I put Sigrun on a prepared cart and dashed through the underground world all the way to the far north, Elkia.

「Wahaha, an elopement of love!?」

「No, from here on is the true final decisive battle.」

Please stay alive, Zirant.

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[WN] Jitsuwa 3-Domedatta : Chapter 408

Chapter 408

(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)

Southern Front ㉔ - The Last Ambush

Translator : PolterGlast

The military force led by the First Prince, which barely escaped from Big Bridge, had finally retreated to a point just short of Ende. However, unlike their outward journey, their march was a hollow one. A routed army always produces dropouts, and the army that initially had about eight thousand men remaining had seen dropouts increase before they knew it, and had now fallen to the point where they were barely maintaining five thousand men.

「Damn it! Why. I was winning as I should have. If only that kind of interference hadn't occurred...」

Up until now he had been desperate to flee, but there were several points that Glorious could not accept. There were three factors for the defeat, but originally, those were attacks that the Third Prince's army could never pull off.

·         The fierce arrow attack resembling spears that struck the magic soldiers; that was similar to what mowed down the ballista groups when he himself was capturing the fortress of the Demon Territory called Aegis.

·         Although they were burned away by Harry's quick thinking, those terrifying annihilation weapons were what the brat he loathed more than enough had used against him in the past, and those weapons were the catalyst for the defeat.

·         The verbal attack using a Sound Mage; this was the same. The First Prince had a humiliating memory of receiving a similar threat before. To begin with, he had never heard of there being Mages in the Imperial Army!

Originally these were all impossible assumptions, but if a certain thing was factored in, everything would add up. Of course, that was the intervention of the Demon Territory Dukedom!

「In the end... it was that brat! To go out of his way to do something so uncalled for!」

When he realized that, his eyes burned with anger and hatred. It was none other than the man who had humiliated him in the past, the army of that brat who assumed the title of Archduke of the Demon Territory Dukedom, that had been assisting.

「I will burn it to the ground! His territory, and those who live there! He can go ahead and claim supremacy in the south dealing with barbarians at best.」

For him now, the battle in the south no longer mattered. Burning himself in the hellfire of hatred, rallying troops in various parts of the Empire, heading north, and turning the country of that detestable brat into a burnt field. On his horse routing towards Ende, he was thinking only of that. It was at that time.

「Denka, a report from the advance scout! It seems an Eral Knight Kingdom Army of over seven thousand cavalry is deployed on the highway leading to Ende from here!」

「W-What! Does that mean they have crushed the fox's army they were facing and have begun to move? Tch, it won't do any good even if they move now!」

Although he tried to spit it out while saying so, Glorious's expression was bright. He had heard that the Eral Knight Kingdom Army was ten thousand cavalry in total. At this point, that reinforcement was significant. Because whether they advanced south or north, they could become a major fighting force. There was one thing to be assumed. That they had finally gotten off their heavy rears, defeated the eight thousand men led by Count Astray deployed on the west side of Ende, and begun to move in order to support them.

「I will give them a place to work. Kick their rears by telling them, 『Show work appropriate for the price paid』, and have them make up for being late!」

Glorious answered magnanimously and sent a messenger running. Yes, this time, through Harry, he had paid a massive sum of three hundred thousand Imperial Gold Coins to the Eral Knight Kingdom. If so, they had an obligation to do work commensurate with the reward. However, as they advanced a while, the situation suddenly changed. A messenger with a changed complexion came running from the north direction.

「Enemy attack! The cavalry deployed to the north assaulted our vanguard, and our retreat path is blocked. Furthermore, the enemy army is spreading both wings and advancing rapidly as if to envelop us!」

「Ridiculous! Whose military force is it? Send a messenger to the watchdogs (Eral Knight Kingdom Army) and tell them to strike them down immediately!」

「N-No! The ones who attacked are that Eral Knight Kingdom Army!」

「W-Why! Harry! What is the meaning of this! Are you telling me they have shameteressly betrayed us!」

The one who had paid a large price to the Eral Knight Kingdom to bring them to their side was Duke Harry, but he had already passed away. Therefore, there was no one who could answer Glorious's question.

「The vanguard was caught off guard and is in a state of rout. We will also encounter the enemy shortly!」

Indeed, the vanguard was only one thousand cavalry. If it was seven thousand against one thousand, the outcome would be decided in an instant.

「Tch, it can't be helped. Entire army prepare for battle, call the Iron Cavalry in the rearguard and strike down the cowards!」

「It's no good, we won't make it in time! About one thousand cavalry each are attacking from the left and right!」

「No way... that's too fast!」

The movements of the Eral Knight Kingdom Army, whose entire army consisted only of cavalry, were fast. This was because, superior in numbers, they had laid in ambush one thousand cavalry on the left and right of the highway beforehand. Furthermore, from the front, the seven thousand cavalry that broke through the vanguard were heading this way, raising clouds of dust. Between the five thousand men led by the First Prince, who were a defeated force, and the seven thousand cavalry who had preserved their fighting strength until now, it wouldn't even be a proper fight. Moreover, preparing for pursuit from Big Bridge, the First Prince's Army had placed their strongest Iron Cavalry of two thousand at the very rear, dispersing their army into a vanguard of one thousand centered on infantry, a main force of two thousand, and a rearguard of two thousand. With this, there was absolutely no way it would even become a fight. The enemy cavalry squeezed the encirclement as if they were conducting a hunt, cornering the First Prince and his men.

「Denka! At this rate we will be completely surrounded! We will carve open a path of retreat, so please detour to the rear and pull back to the Imperial Capital!」

The ones who stepped forward to advise this were the Iron Cavalry of the Royal Guard Army who had rushed from the very rear to protect the main force. Thanks to that, right now, while receiving the enemy army's attacks from three sides, the main force was somehow enduring it.

「Kuh... Then the main force of two thousand shall hold back the enemy forces in the front, left, and right as they are! I will secure a retreat path to the south together with two thousand Iron Cavalry!」

「Denka, if you do that, the main force of two thousand will be completely annihilated!」

「What of it? As long as I am alive, I can rally soldiers from across the entire Empire. Between the life of myself, the Next Emperor, and two thousand soldiers, it should be obvious which to prioritize. Break through the encirclement immediately!」

「Ha...」

Glorious fled, protected by two thousand Iron Cavalry. Leaving behind the two thousand soldiers fighting on the front lines... After a short period of battle following that, the army led by the First Prince completely collapsed. This was because, other than the two thousand cavalry of the Royal Guard Army that opened the retreat path, upon learning that their commander-in-chief had fled, they uniformly lost their will to fight and willingly surrendered to the enemy army. And... a harsh fate awaited those who proceeded down the retreat path that the Eral Knight Kingdom had deliberately left open. Yes, the Knight Kingdom Army had fought with the intention of luring them there from the very beginning.

「They're coming from the left and right!」

「Fuh, block them!」

While the Iron Cavalry desperately held off the rapidly pursuing enemy forces rushing in from the left and right by acting as a defensive wall, military forces of the Knight Kingdom also rushed in one after another from the rear, making the difference in fighting strength overwhelming.

「New hands from the rear as well! At this rate!」

「What are the two thousand we left behind doing! Can't they even stall them!」

Ultimately, even here, Glorious abandoned the allied Iron Cavalry who were desperately trying to defend, and slipped through the encirclement with a small entourage to escape. However... There, the last ambush that the Knight Kingdom had laid beforehand, a military force of a whole thousand cavalry, rushed towards Glorious. And then, completely surrounded without any means to resist, he was dragged down from his beloved horse by the enemy soldiers...

※

Two days had passed since the battle at Big Bridge Fort ended. By this time, post-war processing had also settled down, and on the lands south and north of the fort—which were formerly paddy fields—reclaimed by the enemy army, tents doubling as temporary prisoner-of-war camps were lined up; furthermore, the tents of the returning Imperial Soldiers spread out to cover the outside of those and prevent any avenues of escape. Right now, the uninjured prisoners, or those whose wounds had healed, were being mobilized daily for the clearing work on the west and east sides. The Demon Territory Knights were taking turns handling patrol duties centered on the south side, and other than that, they were spending peaceful days with nothing in particular to do. It was at such a time... It seemed some sort of urgent report had come in, and the leadership of the Third Prince began to move hurriedly. To confirm the situation, I headed to the main camp where the Third Prince and Sieghart were stationed.

「Ah, Archduke-heika, you came at just the right moment. I was just about to send a messenger...」

「Which means... something happened?」

「Yes, a report came in from the patrol unit that a military force of the Eral Knight Kingdom is heading this way.」

Hm? Even so, despite the flurry of activity, Sieghart is strangely calm and composed? It doesn't seem like dispatch orders have been issued to the soldiers either...

「Then let us also immediately arrange for a defensive battle...」

「Ah, it is fine. Because I sent a messenger earlier. I intended to convey as much to Archduke-heika so that you wouldn't be surprised.」

Hm? What does that mean? An enemy army of ten thousand cavalry... right?

「As soon as they arrive, I intend to begin the audience with the prisoner the Knight Kingdom has brought along, so I would be delighted if you could participate in that as well. It's not... something that feels very good, though.」

Prisoner? The Eral Knight Kingdom is bringing them? What does that mean? Who is he referring to? No, at this time, I could not understand the intentions of the smiling Sieghart at all.

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[WN] The Evil Imperial Princess : 7

07

Arthur and Louise did not look alike, but their bright and innocent nature felt exactly the same. To Candice, whose temper was on edge, Louise was nothing but a hindrance. Candice, who had been confident as an Imperial Princess until now, found Louise's existence offensive. What she disliked even more was that she had taken control of those around her, starting with her beloved father.

When she was twelve, Candice's mother passed away from illness. Ever since she was born, Candice had lived in the White Palace, and because she was separated from her mother, unlike her other siblings, she had never experienced parental love and was starved for affection. After her mother died, she became obsessed with her father, making it her emotional support to be acknowledged by him. Then, a shocking event occurred that shook Candice's position. Even though Candice and the others who lived in the same palace had never even shared a meal together, Louise was permitted to be by their father's side as if it were a matter of course. Candice's pride was deeply wounded, and she gradually came to view Louise with hostility, strongly desiring to eliminate her. And so, Candice exhausted every means to drive Louise out of the palace, but everything ended in failure. Before she knew it, weren't her older brothers Maxence and Luca moving to protect Louise? And finally, when Candice laid her hands on Louise, she ended up killing Arthur, who had shielded Louise. To Candice, the harmless Arthur was the same as an insect. He was an existence with no value whatsoever. At the same time, she remembered these words from her father.

『I shall have the strongest inherit my position.』

Candice's bright red lips drew a large arc. She convinced herself, as if rationalizing it, that if she eliminated her older brothers, he would surely look at her this time. She came to firmly believe that if she did so, he would distance himself from Louise and look only at Candice, the successor. In the meantime, being compared to Louise who was kind to everyone, Candice's place to belong was gradually disappearing. No one would look at Candice...... Driven into a corner, Candice resorted to a heinous act. However, she understood now. Even doing such a thing wouldn't make her happy; there was no way it could.

（……Just what have I done, I wonder.）

Candice was staring at the pure white ceiling. The back of her head throbbed with pain, but Candice remembered the words Louise had spoken into her ear.

（I must have been set up by Louise.）

Now that she had calmed down, she was able to think that way. Louise had used Candice to eliminate the other siblings, and then obtained everything.

（I was supposed to have been beheaded by Otou-sama, so why......）

Candice unconsciously touched her neck. Then, she got out of bed and checked her body while pressing her aching head.

（Just as I thought...... I am in the form of a child.）

Perhaps due to confusion, she could not move for a while. Her head was overflowing with questions of why? and how come? A reality she simply could not accept. Feeling as though she were in a nightmare, Candice closed her eyes. Was the figure she had just seen in the mirror around five or six years old? And she still retained the memories of having grown up. Called the Evil Imperial Princess, she was ultimately thrown into a dungeon and killed by the hands of the father she had wanted love from. Candice remained dumbfounded.

（What is the meaning of this...... It would have been better if they had just let me die like that.）

Unloved by anyone and merely used, Candice's heart remained hollow. It was as if she were inside a dark dungeon. The verbal abuse and mockery still lingered in Candice's ears.

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