Chapter 213 : To the Usurpers (3)
Chapter 213: To the Usurpers (3)
While the Imperial Special Operations Force and the Imperial Defense Force were steadily being dispatched to their respective battlefields,
Edel Ribenia completely reconfigured the Imperial Palace's barrier system before contacting the Duel side once again.
“I assume the Mallet side has already shared the situation with you, so I'll get straight to the point. How many Headquarters mages are currently available for deployment?”
As Edel continued the discussion through the Tebrel Orb, those behind her watched with varying expressions.
Princess Rachel Ribenia looked extremely wary, while the key figures—including Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Georg—wore anxious expressions. Even Edel's personal maids, her most reliable allies, shared the same concern.
It was only natural.
The very first thing Edel had done after confirming the enemy's impending offensive was to completely deactivate the Imperial Palace's existing barriers.
“Twenty-four hours. Twelve people. I'll keep that in mind for now. I'll contact you again later.”
With that, the communication with Duel Headquarters ended.
Rachel immediately crossed her arms and began grumbling.
“So even at the fastest, it'll still take well over a day? Isn't that basically telling us to handle everything ourselves? How annoying.”
“We should be grateful if they can join us even then. This war isn't going to end in just a day or two.”
“If we'd only mobilized ten percent of the regular army, this would've already been over.”
“Do you really think it's that simple, Sister?”
“It is that simple. As long as you stop opposing the deployment of the regular army.”
Rachel glared sharply at her as she spoke.
Edel answered just as firmly.
“We can't use the regular army for internal defense right now.”
“...Right now?”
“Yes. When the time comes, we'll deploy the regular army.”
“And when exactly is that?”
“When this war ceases to be merely a coup.”
“......”
While Rachel fell silent, Georg spoke instead.
“Princess Edel, may I ask why you deactivated the barriers?”
“The Imperial Palace is an absolute fortress. If we truly decide to stop an invasion, there are dozens of barriers here that even an SS-Rank Beast couldn't easily penetrate.”
“Then all the more reason...”
“The enemy's plan is to turn the Imperial Palace into their own fortress once the regular army intervenes.”
“...Then all we need to do is stop them. The forces within the Imperial Palace, myself included, are more than enough. We are not so weak that a mere band of ruffians could seize control of the barriers.”
“I'm not questioning your abilities...”
However, Edel's resolve was firmer than anyone else's.
“He gained power that far surpasses the limits of an ordinary human through a contract with the Beasts. His combat ability exceeds even that of the Empire's three Executors—the strongest elite force in the Empire. Even you or Rugier wouldn't be able to stop him.”
“......Can such a being... truly exist?”
“A nightmare born from the Empire's long-standing sins.”
“......”
“So first, confirm all combat personnel within the Imperial Household and complete the anti-Beast battle formations. Then thoroughly reinforce the defenses so none of the supplies inside fall into enemy hands.”
“...Understood.”
Faced with such absolute confidence in both her conclusions and her orders, Georg offered no further objections.
As he had always said, decisions belonged to the Imperial Family, not to a servant like himself.
Continuing to walk briskly, Edel spoke to Rachel as well.
“Sister, mobilize the noble houses under your command and help defend the capital. Please.”
Though she phrased it as a request, it was essentially an order.
Rachel let out a scoff.
“Hah, why should I? Defending the capital has always been the Special Task Force's and Carvena's responsibility. At the broadest level, it's the Defense Force's job.”
“It'll take quite a while before our members arrive, and even afterward we'll still need more people capable of fighting the Platinum Dawn Society.”
“That's why I told you! Let's use the regular army! Why should we be the ones providing people to fight those Platinum Dawn bastards in the first place—!”
At that instant, Edel shot forward like an arrow.
KWAAAAANG!
“Kyaaah!”
Rachel let out an involuntary cry as both of her shoulders were suddenly seized and she was slammed violently against the wall.
The whole thing happened so suddenly that even the nearby maids could only stare in shock, unable to intervene.
“Hey! Have you lost your mind?!”
“Would you please come to your senses already?”
“W-What?”
“Father is dead. Our brother and sister are gone. The only direct descendants left are the two of us, and the Empire is in utter chaos. Even now, Imperial citizens are dying because of their schemes, and you're willing to let them die just to protect your worthless pride? Is that truly the choice a Princess of the glorious Empire should make?!”
“......”
“If you understand, then go ask for help immediately! The fate of the Empire depends on this!”
What Rachel felt wasn't merely determination or hostility.
It was killing intent.
She understood that this was no longer the time to argue, and she had no choice but to back down.
Once everyone dispersed to carry out their respective duties, Edel swallowed a sigh and headed toward the entrance of the Imperial Palace.
Lea, who had been following closely behind, asked cautiously,
“Um... when should I deliver the Artifacts, Master?”
“The Carvena personnel will be joining us soon. Give them to Miss Fransia, Professor Rubia, Professor Frederick, and Chairwoman Michel. As for the bracelet and the spear, keep using them for now and hand them over to Eugene later.”
“Yes!”
Staring at the distant Erosion Pillar, Edel murmured,
“...After starting a war on this scale, you'll come to declare war sooner or later, won't you, Charlotte?”
Come.
I'm not taking a single step back.
Whether it was thanks to the request from the Defense Force officer...
Or because their internal system was simply well organized.
Either way, fortunately, less than two hours after the standoff began, I was able to meet the commander of the Imperial Defense Force's 17th Battalion.
“...Colonel Eugene Carter.”
“Thank you for joining us, Battalion Commander.”
“No, we should be thanking you. Thanks to your swift assessment of the situation and your precise instructions, we were able to deploy our soldiers immediately. You have my gratitude.”
“Well... let's stop complimenting each other there.”
“...Very well. How should we deal with that pillar?”
The thing had already fully bloomed and begun absorbing mana.
The orthodox strategy was to concentrate our firepower at a single point, forcing the barrier to increase its density there.
Then we would break through the section of the barrier farthest from that concentrated point.
“Gather everyone with exceptional individual firepower on my side. Have every artilleryman focus solely on bombarding the front barrier. Also, move any Artifacts that can't be carried personally as far away from this area as possible.”
“Understood.”
“Alright...
Let's finish this within ten minutes.”
.
.
.
Boom!
KWAAANG!
Boom!
BOOOM!
Following my instructions, two hundred of the roughly two hundred sixty soldiers simultaneously began firing mana-compressed artillery shells.
Most used Artifacts designed for Magic Cannons, while some battle mages launched basic offensive spells such as Missile Magic, Arrow Magic, Spear Magic, and Needle Magic.
As the attacks accumulated, the barrier's mana visibly concentrated toward the front.
I raised the back of my hand toward the soldiers behind me and shouted,
“Wait just a little longer. When I give the signal, break through at a single point.”
“Yes, sir!”
No matter how high its rank was, it remained nothing more than an immobile Demonic Tree.
Unlike higher-ranking Beasts that could retreat whenever the battle turned against them.
Even if it understood the situation perfectly, retreat wasn't an option available to it.
Ordinarily, it would've produced large numbers of Beasts to protect itself.
But I'd already slaughtered every single one of them.
Which meant the now-isolated Scatter had no choice but to pour its own mana into restoring its barrier.
“Now! Everything you've got!”
“WAAAAAAAH!!”
Naturally, the battle swung decisively in our favor.
The front barrier before the fountain had become overloaded with mana.
As a result, the rear barrier had suffered a massive drop in both durability and barrier strength.
We shattered that single weak point in one strike using breakthrough techniques, including Lukezax's slash.
CRAAASH!
Passing through the completely shattered section of the barrier, I cleaved the core at its center cleanly in two.
At the same time, I pierced the regeneration organs surrounding the core with the Dark Spear, disabling them before immediately casting Fire Magic.
Fwoosh!
BOOM!
KWAAAAANG!
Using the flames as the signal, every soldier immediately unleashed a second bombardment.
With even its barrier completely gone, there was no way the Scatter could survive.
Less than fifteen minutes after we began the concentrated assault...
The raid was over.
.
.
.
While my subordinates completely erased every trace of the Scatter,
I shared several additional pieces of information with the commander of the 17th Battalion.
“Gate Beasts... you say?”
“I can't predict the exact timing myself, but they will definitely appear before this is over. The only thing we can do is prepare in advance.”
“So you're saying we should immediately recall the Defense Force soldiers who were deployed on the main fronts?”
“Yes.”
The battalion commander stroked his chin with a troubled expression.
“Given the situation here, I'll certainly pass the message along... but I can't guarantee Headquarters will agree.”
“You'll have to convince them.”
“......”
“It'll be far more effective if the recommendation comes from you rather than simply repeating my words. People naturally trust their own.”
“...But are you really saying that all those Beasts are going to invade the center of the Empire? That's simply...”
“Even so, we have to make it happen. Both this Erosion Pillar and the Gate Beasts that will appear this time are only the beginning.”
“......This... is only the beginning?”
“So make your decision quickly. Because the war against the Beasts that's about to unfold won't end with merely determining the Empire's fate.”
And so,
after sharing everything I knew, along with the Imperial Defense Force's current situation,
I headed straight for the capital.
— How much time do you think remains?
'Probably a day.
Or maybe even less.'
— Hmm... Then you could've simply told them that.
'If I told Headquarters that nearly a hundred thousand Beasts would suddenly appear in the capital within a single day, who would actually believe me? They'd all dismiss it as complete nonsense.'
— ...Can the Empire as it stands now stop them?
'It has to.
Otherwise, everyone dies.'
I'd already confirmed the capabilities of our main fighting forces.
As long as they were given the right positions and a reason to fight, every one of them would fulfill their role.
The problem was everyone else.
The soldiers who had fought Beasts before—but only that much.
And the civilians who had never fought them at all.
Only when every one of them could fulfill their own role would we finally reach the starting line.
To make that happen, a total war system had to be enforced.
And for that to happen,
Edel had to ascend the throne as the new Emperor.
“...Seriously, they always strike at the perfect moment.”
I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on the reins.
Passing through the train station that had long since ceased operations, I rode onto the main road.
On what should have been a peaceful weekend afternoon,
the chilling atmosphere of war filled the air.