Chapter 169: 168

Chapter 168

What kind of country is this country? (2)

((The fire dragon that appeared all of a sudden has turned the south into smoking ruins!))

My heart rattled as I heard Montpellier say this.

“Where is he now?” I asked, trying to calm my thudding heart.

((It is said that it has made its nest in the holdings that were those of the Duke of Terjuana))

It was the first time I’ve ever heard of a Terjuana family, and as far as I knew, there were no nobles of that name in the kingdom. So, I asked where it was.

((One month south of Hwangdo)))

“Hwangdo?”

((Of course, for it is the empire that the dragon has attacked… Did you think this was the kingdom’s peril?))

“What?”

((The fire dragon attacked the empire, not the Leonberg Kingdom))

“This damn thing!”

My surprise became anger, and my anger was expressed as a cuss.

“Why did you say it like it happened in our land?”

((The empire is my homeland, so I said it so without knowing …)))

Montpellier made his excuse and quickly continued talking, and I took control of my amazement and listened to his explanation.

((The fire dragon has now made nest in the southern territories of the empire …)

Dozens of castles in the empire’s south have been burned, and cities turned into naught but ashes. And within that inferno had been the legions waiting in the southern forts to board the fleet sailing to Dotrin.

It was truly a big deal, yet it was the empire’s big deal, for they had lost dozens of noble families in a single day and had suffered massive damage.

((It is said that the damage is considerable even in those provinces far removed from the fire dragon’s rampage. And among them is the province of my family))

It was also a big deal to Montpellier, for he had suffered considerable damage to his estates.

((It seems that the emperor has no intention of ending the war with Dotrin in the midst of this calamity. Troops from the northeast and southeast of the empire are marching on in unison))

“If it’s the northeast… then that’s the territories bordering our kingdom.”

And it turned out to be a big deal for the southern legion of Leonberg, for they are bound to be sensitive to the slightest changes taking place across the border.

However, just because it was a great matter for so many did not mean it affected everyone in the same way.

For the empire, it is the greatest crisis since its founding. It also an urgent situation in which Montpellier’s family has been left bereft of their estate.

And to our kingdom…

“This is an opportunity.”

It was a great opportunity for Leonberg to escape from the empire’s political pressure and domination.

* * *

Montpellier’s whining voice was no longer heard from the crystal ball. While many thoughts ran through my mind, I immediately left my seat and summoned the commanders of Winter Castle.

“How dangerous is the existence of this being named Hwaryong?”

They wanted to know if the fact that Hwaryong had settled himself in the empire was a mere rain shower or a great storm that could shake the very roots of a giant tree.

“Unless Hwaryong withdraws on its own, the empire will not be able to rebuild the cities that have been ruined.”

Wherever Hwaryong lived was his territory, and the fire dragon wasn’t one who showed mercy to those who invaded his territory.

There would be no protests against his actions and no negotiations.

Even if the legitimate, original owner of the land filed a protest, the only response would be flaming horror and fiery death.

“If this had been another time, this would have been resolved over time. But now the empire has no time to do so.”

They were in the midst of their attempted conquest of Dotrin, a war they wanted to win so that they could reinforce the propaganda of the empire’s heavenly dignity.

The first conquest had failed, and the second conquest had been virtually defeated on land. The imperial fleet, who had conducted two landings on Dotrin’s shores so far, had not made large gains due to fierce resistance from Dotrin.

And now, the imperial mainland had been violated by Hwaryong.

If time passed and the empire abandoned their plans for Dotrin to focus on Hwaryong, then the dignity and power the empire was trying to project would exist no more.

Somehow, the empire had to make a show of force, lest their neighboring countries, which they have been repressing, issue declarations of secession or war, one after the other.

However, the empire did not seem sp powerful now, not even on the Dotrin front, for the descendants of Umbert Dormund had long since been preparing for a protracted war against the empire.

And now, a terrible monster has turned countless imperial strongholds into ash. The word ‘dilemma’ was apt in describing current conditions within the empire.

Into my mind came the image of the emperor, he who had so arrogantly looked down upon me from his throne. And when I thought that the emperor, who always pretended to be so proud, was now having a migraine, I could not keep myself from laughing.

“And that’s not all,” I chuckled when I thought about what would happen to the empire in the future.

Even if the projected dignity of the empire would be tarnished and its neighboring nations no longer paid heed to threats that are not backed up by power, there would still be a more visible, visceral peril awaiting the empire: All the horrors, many types of beings, that would arise and be led by the energy of the fire dragon.

Just as countless monsters and divergent species had come to live in the north where Gwangryong had once established itself, so too all manner of things would soon flock into imperial territory.

The only difference was that Gwangryong had tried to control his followers so that he could create his own kingdom. Hwaryong wouldn’t care about his minions at all: Whether they bowed down in worship or charged out in hordes to attack humans, the fire dragon would remain indifferent.

The commanders of Winter Castle had all bowed their heads as they listened to the changes that the appearance of Hwaryong would bring about. They now raised their heads as one, and as I met their gazes, I saw what theories were racing through their minds.

“Ah, you guys thought so as well,” I said, and added, “Hwaryong’s territory and all the adjacent provinces will become as winter.”

They would not be facing cold winds that can freeze a man down to his very soul, but an infernal thing that burns all before it, as if a great fire would be raging across the land.

And all that would be left, after those living became dead, would be small heaps of ash, for even their very souls would be scorched from them.

Countless deaths and great chaos would descend upon the empire – and that’s what I’ve been wishing for all this time.

“I will head to the capital.”

The commanders had become relaxed since the end of the war. As they heard these words, it seemed as if their energy flared up, as if swords had been unsheathed within their hearts.

* * *

There was a lot to do before I headed to the capital. My main priority was to fill the void in management that was created by my prolonged absence while I was in Dotrin.

Ranger Jordan guided me in place of Vincent, who was busy with the duties of a count.

“That is the white night tower.”

I turned, and following Jordan’s pointing finger, I saw a spire towering high in the distance. It was a structure of great beauty, for it had been built under the touch of the dwarves.

Due to the treaty with the empire, the tower could only be built up to the third floor, so its shape seemed like that of a tower that has only been constructed to half its length.

But the Dwarves were beings of sublime craft, so the appearance of the tower was in no way ugly.

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Thanks to such factors, the tower looked like an ancient building of proud heritage, and I admired it greatly.

But what I wanted to see wasn’t just a beautiful building.

I went inside straight away, accepting the greetings of the guards and the rangers who watched over the tower.

The interior was as majestic as the interior, a work of art, yet not a space cluttered with too many statues and decorations.

“You are here,” said the High Lich from where she stood in the middle of the room. Ophelia, the white night mage, still covered her ghastly, skeletal appearance with the illusion of flesh.

“Jordan, you wait here,” ordered I.

“Okay,” came his answer after a while.

I left Jordan behind and followed Ophelia up into the tower.

The first floor, where Ophelia had greeted me, had been an empty space. It was from the second floor on that the building showed evidence of it being a true tower.

All kinds of bizarre laboratories and equipment were scattered about, as well as books written by Ophelia’s hand. And there were twenty or so wizards wrestling with tomes and equipment both.

I had seen the wizards from a distance in the last battle, and they had been reciting arcane words, their eyes clear, or making gestures of unknown meaning.

It was all very bizarre to me. Many of them had sulky expressions and pale skin. I saw one sobbing and another groping in his mouth with his hand. Many of them looked like the dead.

“Their talent is less than that of the wizards of old, but their enthusiasm is far greater.”

It was as Ophelia said, for I saw that the wizards lacked proper sleep, so hard did they work. Some of them were dozing off, their heads snapping up as they woke and screamed at something, and then going to sleep once more. The faces of those who did not sleep were fatigued.

One of those tired wizards was a man that I knew.

“Taylor?”

It was indeed Taylor, second son of Baron Tailheim, and the first opponent I had faced in my duels years ago.

“Ah, your Highness remembers the name of a lowly guy like me,” said Taylor as he accepted my greeting with a thrilled face.

“Why are you here?”

“I somehow learned that I was talented at magic,” Taylor answered as he scratched his shoulders.

But my question had not been about talent.

“You were a knight.”

He might have been low-level, but Taylor had still been an apprentice knight who had accepted a mana ring into his body. I knew that knights who gathered mana into their bodies could not learn the magical arts, except for a special few.

In the past, this had been the reigning orthodoxy.

But now was not the past, for knights gathered mana in rings and not hearts, and these rings of theirs were very similar to the circle of a wizard.

As I realized this, I looked at Ophelia.

“It’s hard to do anything if they have three or more, but if they have one or two, they can change their traits enough to try their hand at arcane craft.”

Ophelia added that in only two years, the trainees of the tower had managed to exert magical power that could be employed in battle.

A hypothesis entered my mind, but before I could voice it, it was refuted by Ophelia.

“You cannot use a sword and magic at the same time. Also, the limit for a wizard who has already started to walk upon the path of the ring is four circles.”

I had already been thinking of a unit of magical swordsmen who wielded both blade and circles, but my hopes had been dashed. If this was possible, the world would already have been overflowing with wizard knights.

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Swallowing my disappointment, I started ascending the stairs, then Taylor’s voice caught my attention.

“See you next time,” said he, and as I turned around, Taylor and the other wizards were looking at me with determined faces.

“I will stand behind your Highness like a proud wizard.”

Each of the wizards spoke up, then.

“There will be no magic greater than ours.”

“Next time, I will create a true magical flame.”

I could see their resolve upon their flushed faces and in their exhausted eyes, a testament to all their faithful and hard work. I could give no answer, faced with such determination, for I had not expected it.

When these people had first visited Winter Castle, I had seen them as lowly specimens with faded souls, and I had forgotten about them. They were nothing but hostages to me, tasty baits tied to a line so that I could assure the future of Winter Castle.

And now, such people were saying with clear eyes that they would aid in bringing about a better future for Leonberg. I felt strange, and then something hot soared through my heart.

Okay… what kind of country is this country?

There were countless Masters and mages in this kingdom; there were knights like lions and wizards like dragons.

A country protected by lions who feared not death: This was such a country.

In a small kingdom that stood upon a barren land, more heroes and Muhunshis were being born than anywhere else.

We now faced the empire which had tried to break the ambitions of Leonberg once and for all. We had to fight back against this empire. And Leonberg was a country that could do it; that is why the empire had worked so hard for many years to destroy the nobles and royalty of this kingdom.

Eventually, the royal family had lost their strength, and the nobles had fallen into corruption or cowardice.

However, in the midst of such ruin, the embers of hope had still remained, burning upon this barren earth.

It may have been frozen in the cold winds and blizzards, and the reality the kingdom bared to the outside might have looked terrible and weak.

Yet, the embers had constantly smoldered, and now they had begun to blaze once more.

The north was the beginning, for I was tending the flames that have just started to burn.

I jutted out my chin and ascended the tower in silence, and Ophelia was silent as well; she merely acted as my guide through the tower.

After touring the tower, we finally reached the underground dungeon that had been created so as to be hidden from the eyes of the empire – an underground crypt that was still bare and desolate.

“In half a year at the latest, half of the trainees will be here, and they will learn the magic of the old kingdom.”

Ophelia’s tone seemed to implore me to wait half a year, but I did not have that much time.

When I returned after my inspection of the tower, fresh news was awaiting me.

“The imperial army that has invaded the southern part of Dotrin has been defeated!”

It was reported that only a handful of survivors managed to reach their fleet and flee.

This was the moment when I learned that the second attempted conquest of Dotrin has turned into a complete failure.

“It is being said that the King of Dotrin and the Knights of the Sky have set out to attack the empire’s mainland!”

It was also the moment when the Sky Knights had sensed an opportunity and so launched their counter-assault.

I gathered the commanders of Winter Castle and declared, “I am heading to the capital.”

Those who already knew I was going to the capital wore fresh faces. However, their carefree expressions did not exist for long.

“All of the knights except the Black Lancers go south with me.”

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These commanders weren’t stupid enough not to know what I meant.

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