Chapter 236 : Chapter 236
Chapter 236
“We must declare an alliance.”
I said.
Not one of the Elders of the Dawn Brotherhood objected. The situation was too urgent for pointless political squabbles.
“Let's call it the Western Alliance.”
“Hard to call that a plausible name.”
“Did you think of a better one?”
“No, I just wanted to find fault for no reason.”
“……”
At Grand Duke Pret's words, I glared. He must have felt quite a sense of closeness now, as he laughed heartily. He looked around at the other Elders as if he were my spokesperson.
“Everyone, how about the Western Alliance?”
“What's wrong with it?”
“The name isn't what's important.”
“In a situation like this, let's not add pointless talk. Let's go with the Western Alliance.”
The Seventeen Elders finally numbered seventeen.
Until now, there had been vacancies, so the seventeen seats were never all filled, even at the Regular Meetings.
However, the invasion by Cordis had made those who were absent attend, and I, Obro, and Aida filled the empty seats.
They were now exactly seventeen.
“Who will be the leader?”
“Let's reveal the existence of the Dawn Brotherhood.”
I said.
I looked back on the time before my Regression and spoke only of the most effective strategies. With the experience of Regression added to me, a natural strategist, the meeting never got stuck.
“The Seventeen Elders, every one of them is a name that earns the trust of the Western people. If we reveal that these names have gathered in one place, that they were allies from the start, the trust in the alliance will be solidified.”
“That is right, Shion.”
Hika Hireium nodded. He was the head of the Seventeen Elders.
Despite having lived for an unfathomable amount of time (perhaps over several hundred years), he had the appearance of a child. His agreement meant the agreement of the entire West.
“Still, as we are putting forth the new name of an alliance, we need someone to represent it. Who would be suitable?”
“Who else could it be? It's already decided.”
Without hesitation, I gestured to the man sitting across from me. The man, who had been holding a liquor bottle to his lips even during the Elders' meeting, flinched at the sudden gazes fixed on him.
“Obro Denoebang, the returned White Lord! Only he is worthy of becoming the Commander of the alliance.”
“This is also right.”
Such undeserved words…. Obro Denoebang scratched his head awkwardly.
The scars from the nightmarish eight years had not yet vanished from Obro's heart.
He would flinch unwittingly whenever he suddenly received attention.
He had lost the hero's confidence he once possessed, but a humanity that captured people's hearts had settled in him.
Obro Denoebang was the White Lord.
Even 11 years ago, he was already a hero representing the West, and he had overcome long suffering to return before the people under the name of hero once again.
The story of his life was worthy of fervor. His sword skill was beyond question. I was convinced that a leader had to be such a man.
“Then what do you intend to do, Shion?”
“Make me his adjutant, or Vice-Commander.”
“It shall be so.”
I smiled.
Longing welled up, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
The Vice-Commander of the Western Alliance, Shion of Merion.
It was the name I had been called to the point of exhaustion before my Regression.
I had finally returned.
To the time when I was called a hero.
But I could not rejoice.
It was war now.
I had to stop Cordis from trampling the West, and I had to destroy the Empire in the end.
“Shion, we will send our best talents to serve as your staff officers. We already trust you, but this means we intend to trust you even more.”
“You don't have to trust me.”
My eyes sank into a deep blue.
I was wrapped tightly in bandages, and beneath them was blackened, dying skin and a body that was turning into a dragon.
“Whether you all trust me or not, I will just do what I have to do.”
“I suppose so. That's the kind of man you are.”
Hika Hireium smiled.
The other Elders were the same.
“Then let's continue our talk of war.”
The one who spoke was Grand Duke Pret, the head of West-Erta.
Being close to the Empire, Erta was feeling a greater sense of crisis than anyone else.
“According to intelligence, the retreated Imperial army has rejoined its main force but shows no sign of advancing. The consumption of military provisions must be considerable, but it seems they don't dare attempt to break through the Waist Gate.”
“They took a harsh blow from the three of us, so they couldn't move recklessly. I intended this situation.”
“Then can we just keep blocking the Waist Gate like this? If the three of you are there, won't they be unable to advance?”
“No. We cannot do that.”
I shook my head.
I motioned with my chin toward one of the seventeen seats, toward the Widow Queen Aida.
She was not real but a pile of dirt. It was a clone Aida had left behind to receive reports on the meeting.
“I have already sent the Widow Queen back to Schmeizen. If the Empire notices this, they will try to break through the Waist Gate again.”
“…Why did you send her back?”
“Because another main force of the Empire is heading for Schmeizen.”
I held out several sheets of paper.
They were written in a complex cipher, but there was no one among the Elders who could not read it.
They all hardened their expressions.
The King of Maesh carefully opened his mouth and recited the contents.
“The 2nd seat of the Ten Great Generals of the Empire… Two-Flame Grand General Sen Hostanio is leading 3 legions and approaching Throat Gate….”
Every single word struck violently.
Who was Sen Hostanio?
The one and only rival to the Grand General Deballo Debius, the second-in-command of the Imperial military command, a monster among monsters who sat in the position of a Great General of the Empire despite having no aptitude for Ancient Weapons!
Such a figure was leading 3 legions toward Throat Gate.
If they crossed Throat Gate, which was north of the Waist Gate, they would be right in Schmeizen.
The reason for sending the Widow Queen Aida back in a hurry was understandable.
“……Is this information reliable?”
“It's information we have no choice but to believe. Still, I understand not wanting to believe it.”
“…I'd like to ask the source of this information, Shion.”
“Daltur Denoebang.”
I stated the name of the Juet Acrobat Troupe's leader without hesitation.
She was the head of the group of intelligence agents that the Dawn Brotherhood had infiltrated into the Empire. Obro Denoebang let out a groan.
It was his sister's name, which he had not heard in a long time.
“…Then we must believe it.”
The King of Maesh wiped his face. Daltur Denoebang was an agent from his country, Maesh.
He already knew well what an outstanding spy she was.
“Let's summarize. The Widow Queen has left for Schmeizen. The Imperial army is still frightened, but when they come to their senses, they will advance on the Waist Gate again.”
“And we cannot stop them.”
“Should we let them advance?”
“Yes.”
I said.
“Compared to the Imperial army, our troops are too crude. They won't be able to function properly at all until they feel a sense of crisis. Therefore, we cannot take the offensive. We are forced to take a defensive stance.”
“…You'll create a front line at the exit of the Waist Gate?”
“Inevitably.”
I continued speaking.
“Before the Widow Queen left, I asked her to build a fortress wall at the gate's exit. No matter how outstanding the Cordis Imperial army is, they cannot break through it easily.”
I had mobilized Meh al-Hmed, the Head of the Technical Department of the Bururade Canal Company, and the first-class architects he knew to design the fortress and the Widow Queen Aida, who commanded the earth at her will, constructed the fortress according to that design.
It was a major construction. It required so much power that when Aida left for Schmeizen, she was in a state of near-total exhaustion.
“……The war has only just begun, and it's already overwhelming.”
“Isn't war always like that?”
I, Shion Pollinglight, ruminated on the past.
Days repeated where I was overwhelmed but had no choice but to carry on.
Before my Regression, I had fought a war like that for 7 years.
It was more than enough time for a person to become inhuman.
“Still, we have hope.”
I felt the expectations pouring in.
The high-and-mighty of the West hung on my every word, entrusting their hearts to me.
It was impossible for it not to be heavy, but it wasn't unbearable.
Because I had always lived under that weight.
“Cordis has no justification for this war. The reason for this war is just one thing: Emperor Ferbias's greed! It is an expression of his impatience to prove that he is greater than the Great Emperor Continua.”
I shivered with rage anew.
I couldn't believe he had started a war for such a pathetic reason.
If I hadn't known what kind of person he was, I would have dismissed it as nonsense.
But unfortunately, I was Ferbias's half-brother.
Knowing exactly what kind of man Ferbias Caseptus was made my hatred all the more piercing.
“Moreover, it's right after the conquest of Horm. Voices of discontent have begun to rise within the Empire. A war with nothing to gain cannot be continued indefinitely.”
I bared my fangs as I finished speaking.
“If we endure, and endure again… then our victory will come.”
***
“Hmm. Twenty days have passed in a flash.”
Secundus Debius said.
“Have Legion Commander Nana and her soldiers adjusted well?”
“…Yes, General.”
“And you've brought news from Grand General Sen Hostanio?”
Kateka Keshulei nodded at Secundus Debius's question.
They were half-brothers, as well as general and adjutant.
“…According to the urgent report, they are failing to cross Throat Gate. The ground is shaking uncontrollably, making it impossible for people to pass….”
“What about the soldiers made of dirt?”
“…Yes, it also said that Earth Soldiers appeared in various places, causing considerable losses to their forces.”
“It's certain the Widow Queen is over there, then.”
Secundus scratched his short hair.
“In that case, it means the time has come to break through the Waist Gate again. Isn't that right, Cheshih?”
“I was already preparing the soldiers.”
The dark-skinned strategist bowed his head.
“However, it would be wise to wait five more days, Grand General Secundus.”
“Hmm. Why is that?”
“Considering the distance, the Widow Queen had already returned to Schmeizen before Grand General Sen Hostanio even arrived at Throat Gate. This means they saw right through our movements.”
Cheshih's raptor-like eyes flashed.
“I've felt this for a while, but there is an exceptionally skilled strategist in the West. No, rather than a strategist, he's like a diviner, making me wonder at times if he already knows the future.”
“……H-hmm.”
Secundus stroked his chin.
“Then we'll have to wait five more days.”
“In return, the General's soldiers will display even greater valor.”
“I understand. You may leave, Cheshih.”
Instead of answering, Cheshih bowed deeply. He hated the Empire, but he never told a lie to Secundus.
His strategies were always a great help to Secundus.
“Still, it's boring to wait. Isn't it, Kateka?”
“…That's right, brother….”
There were three people in the barracks.
Secundus, Kateka, and Nana.
“According to Cheshih, there's a skilled strategist on the other side. He says it's like he knows the future. Could he be this Shion of Merion, Legion Commander Nana?”
“I am certain, General.”
“Tell me about Shion of Merion again. What kind of man is he?”
“He is…”
Nana Nereyades's lips twitched.
“…He has a tongue that despicably scratches at one's insides, and by the time you get angry at that tongue, you're already playing right into his hands. His appearance is devastatingly beautiful, but there is a secret beneath it.”
“A secret…”
“I don't know what kind of secret it is, but it's a terrible secret. Yes, the man called Shion of Merion is, for that reason… a very… frightening man.”
“……”
Secundus muttered.
“A long time ago, I knew a similar fellow.”
“…It's the same for me, brother….”
“You read the minds of the soldiers who participated in the battle, Kateka. Did you see the face of the man called Shion?”
“…I saw it clearly… He had blond hair, and blue eyes, and….”
Kateka Keshulei said.
“…Just as he was 7 years ago, he was beautiful.”
“Shion. Even the name is similar. I wonder how he hasn't been found out until now.”
“…Because no one thought he was alive.”
“Hmm. Neither did we.”
Nana expressed her confusion.
“…You two, what are you talking about?”
“You'll find out soon enough, Legion Commander Nana.”
Secundus shot up from his seat.
“More importantly, waiting five days is boring, so I'm going for a night outing.”
“…Suddenly, Grand General? Where are you planning to go?”
“I thought I'd cross the mountains.”
“……Pardon?”
Nana let out a sound of bewilderment.
The only mountains nearby were the great mountain range. And beyond the mountains was….
“…You're going to the West, into the enemy camp?”
“Hmm. That's right. It seems a face I've missed is over there.”
Nana was aghast, her face turning white.
“That's absurd! You are the commander of this large army, yet you're going alone into the enemy camp…!?”
“I guess going alone won't do, after all.”
Secundus laughed heartily.
“But Kateka has too much to do, so I can't take him.”
“……”
“So, will you come with me, Legion Commander Nana?”