Chapter 183 : The Trap Closing In
Chapter 183: The Trap Closing In
New Level was plotting against Haken Territory, while the remnants of the Empire were gathering around Saint.
Even now, I still couldn't grasp the full picture New Level was trying to paint.
But one thing was certain.
If the Imperial remnants attacked Saint while Haken was in chaos, there was a high chance Saint would fall into the Empire's hands.
“Heh~ They're incredibly underhanded.”
“What is?”
“Saint. It's a neutral city, right? A place nobody can easily lay a hand on.”
“That's right. It has the Grand Temple, after all. Everyone has to be careful.”
“But if the Imperial bastards occupy it, wouldn't everyone be able to take it back without hesitation?”
“…So that's how it works?”
Since I couldn't make heads or tails of it myself, I asked Leon, and that was the answer he gave me.
He said New Level was probably after Saint.
Now that I thought about it, it made perfect sense.
Saint, as a neutral city, was untouchable.
But if the Imperial bastards occupied it, it would become the perfect prey.
If they launched a surprise attack and recaptured Saint immediately after the Empire seized it, even the other Great Lords would have a hard time objecting.
“And besides, if the Imperial bastards are the ones making the first move, they're also the perfect scapegoat.”
“A scapegoat?”
“They assassinate the Lord of Haken, pin the blame on the Imperial bastards, and seize Saint. Then they immediately occupy Haken as well...”
“And quietly spread rumors that Gios Haken was collaborating with the Imperial bastards.”
“They would've avenged the Lord of Haken by defeating the Imperial bastards. Even if they occupied Haken afterward, the residents might not resist all that much.”
“And once they occupy Saint, they can also make use of the High Priest's authority.”
“From the High Priest's perspective, New Level would be their savior, wouldn't they?”
The Grand Temple was like the homeland of every Priest.
Most Priests obeyed the Grand Temple's commands.
The donations collected by the Priests dispatched to each territory were also the Temple's greatest source of income.
In a world like this, controlling the Priests meant possessing tremendous authority.
The fact that most humans on the Levela Peninsula believed in the Order of Mercy was also an important point.
The same was true in Haken.
If the Temple openly supported New Level, it would greatly reduce the residents' resistance.
Especially if the next Lord already carried an enormous stain on his reputation.
Whether it was Saint or Haken, if either fell into New Level's hands, I could tell it would become an extremely troublesome situation.
“So they intend to plunge Haken into chaos while taking both Haken and Saint. Even if their plans in Haken fail, they're determined to secure Saint.”
As I pieced together the clues, the outline gradually became clearer.
Of course, there were still many things I didn't know.
But I was fairly certain the overall picture was correct.
If things continued this way, New Level would at least take Saint.
And more importantly than Saint itself, they would also gain control of the Grand Temple and the High Priest.
Perhaps another Great Lord wouldn't dare.
But New Level?
They seemed perfectly capable of threatening all the Priests by holding the High Priest's life hostage.
It was an extremely unpleasant prospect.
“Then we'll have to stop it. Starting with what we can.”
-What do you intend to do, Master?
“What else? Stop what we can, and give up what we can't.”
From my perspective, protecting the Lord of Haken came first.
Saint inevitably had to take a lower priority.
With Haken lying to its southeast and Rubina to its east, Saint was already an awkward place to manage as long as Haken remained intact.
Saint's greatest value was that it was a perfectly neutral territory.
If it stopped being neutral, Haken would have no reason to simply sit back and watch.
Of course, if they took the High Priest hostage, even Haken would find it difficult to act.
“At least now I know what I need to do.”
-Master really does have a talent for making other people's lives miserable.
“…That's not true.”
What was this rabbit talking about now?
As someone who always lived by the principles of diligence, sincerity, and peace, I absolutely couldn't accept such an accusation.
After all, I'd been the one taking beatings this entire time.
The matter with my former wife.
The Imperial bastards.
Everything.
This was the first time I'd ever tried to strike back.
And this was the response I got?
-And yet you've already driven the Imperial bastards out of the Levelium Region, haven't you?
“They attacked first.”
-Have you already forgotten how the lioness looted Hawrun Castle? The Imperial bastards suffered greatly because of that.
“Did I do that? Leisha did.”
Anyway, I was nothing more than an innocent victim.
So revenge naturally belonged to me.
Now that I roughly understood how things were unfolding...
It was finally time to make my move.
As soon as Irene declared she would be joining, preparations for the subjugation force accelerated dramatically.
With Haken and New Level jointly demanding a swift formation of the expedition, Vines had no choice but to follow.
The heated debates over troop composition were resolved quickly, and the Masters of every faction began moving without delay.
Coincidentally, Jupiterio of Thunder had resumed its activity.
There was no longer any room to postpone the operation.
‘At this point, I'm starting to think someone manipulated Jupiterio's movements as well.’
-Is that so?
‘Otherwise, there's no way it'd resume its activity at such perfect timing. Even the timing of when it stopped moving was suspiciously convenient.’
-I see...
If that was true, then New Level was also controlling Jupiterio's movements.
After all, this entire subjugation operation was New Level's trap.
Even if it ranked at the bottom among Out-of-Rank Monsters as merely a Calamity-Class Monster...
An Out-of-Rank Monster was still an Out-of-Rank Monster.
This situation made me realize once again just how much preparation New Level had invested in this trap.
Without a doubt, this operation had been in preparation for a very long time.
‘Maybe they were even planning to drive Jupiterio into another Great Lord's territory.’
Using monsters to attack fellow humans was something only a madman would do.
But if it was New Level...
They were more than capable of it.
“Huh, you're sending Celine this time?”
“The Crimson Comet is deploying, so Sir Celine is going too.”
“Hmph. Then I'll go as well. I can't help worrying.”
“You're not even a Master. Stay home and guard the territory.”
When Rudick heard that Celine would be heading south, he naturally voiced his objections.
I simply ignored him.
He wasn't even a Master, so I told him to stay home and guard the territory.
Even though I said that...
The truth was I'd feel much more at ease if he stayed behind.
Limond, Leon, Butler Harold, and Sir Dominic would also remain in the territory.
But the first two were Beastmen.
The latter two were simply too old.
Winter wasn't even over yet.
Someone like Rudick needed to remain behind.
“If any new information comes in, contact me immediately.”
“I will. But are you sure it's alright if I don't come? If you're going to be operating outdoors, having Shamanism support would be a huge advantage.”
“That's true. Which is why I'm planning to rely on Elline this time.”
“Ah... Really? Well... if it's a puppy, then that's fine. Understood.”
Yuria would remain behind in the territory and continue monitoring the rapidly changing situation in the south.
In her place, I included Elline in this expedition.
The goal was to make efficient use of her surprisingly versatile Shamanism.
From the look of things, this mission would mostly involve ambushes and camping outdoors.
We needed to prepare everything we could.
Since the force was primarily composed of the Dog Tribe, Elline's presence would be an enormous help.
“I'm counting on you.”
“Yes, my Lord. I'll remain on standby and await your orders.”
This operation mobilized over a thousand Dog Tribe warriors.
Around three hundred of them would be stationed near Saint.
Alongside them would be the Rabbit Tribe Rangers, whose role was to create unexpected variables.
Their objective was simple.
To make life miserable for the Imperial bastards...
Or New Level.
Our tactics would change depending on the situation.
But that remained our highest priority.
The force near Saint would be commanded by Baurok, the Dog Tribe Chieftain and a Great Warrior-class fighter.
Since we had no idea how many Masters the Empire would deploy there, we also needed at least one Great Warrior on our side.
If necessary, they would retreat immediately.
So I wasn't expecting heavy casualties.
Given how chaotic things were about to become, I believed even three hundred warriors could exert tremendous influence.
-What sort of chaos?
‘The forces already stationed inside Saint will make the first move. They'll make it easier for the Imperial bastards to capture Saint.’
Even now, troops from the Great Territories remained stationed in Saint.
That had been decided during the Lord's Council to stop the Imperial Army's advance into Levelium.
Even after driving the Imperial Army away, that system remained in place.
From the perspective of the Great Territories, there was no reason to withdraw those troops.
Every Great Territory wanted influence over the neutral city of Saint.
If my guess was correct, New Level's forces would launch surprise attacks against the other two garrisons, drive them out, and then hand Saint over to the Imperial bastards.
Once the Empire occupied Saint...
New Level would simply recapture it.
And Saint would become New Level's territory.
‘Recapturing Saint at the perfect opportunity is New Level's plan. But the Imperial bastards have something entirely different in mind.’
-I see. So they're merely using each other.
‘Octosia already got stabbed in the back once. She won't let it happen again. The Imperial bastards will definitely make the first move this time. I don't know exactly what they'll do, but we can simply watch what happens in Saint and decide our next move.’
But that scenario only benefited New Level.
Octosia wouldn't see things that way.
Ultimately, this would become a contest over who stabbed whom in the back first.
Personally...
I thought Octosia would move before New Level.
After suffering such a devastating betrayal once already, she'd undoubtedly want revenge.
Besides, New Level had to divide its attention with Haken.
Octosia, on the other hand, could devote herself entirely to Saint.
Naturally, her movements would be much quicker.
“If anything unusual happens, contact me immediately through the Shamanic Message.”
We had brought a large supply of Shamanic Messages in preparation for the Mana Communicators becoming useless.
They operated on completely different principles.
They were practically cheat codes that allowed messages to be delivered under any circumstances.
The Dog Tribe was already extremely familiar with using Shamanic Messages, so they'd prove invaluable during this operation.
“Alright. Let's head south again.”
Watching my Rabbit Tribe friends immediately start digging into the ground the moment camp was established...
I resumed my journey south.
Our next destination was the Haken region.
We were heading there to station our remaining forces.
By the time we arrived near Haken, a message came from Haken.
As soon as Irene reached Haken, the subjugation of Jupiterio would begin.
Jupiterio had conveniently arrived near Haken's territory, making the timing ideal.
“Haken says Apophis, Sir Durek, and Iron Wall, Sir Berix, will be joining.”
“Really? Sir Berix is the defense-specialized Master, isn't he?”
“Yes. It seems Sir Berix will handle defense while Sir Durek focuses on offense.”
The Masters joining Haken's subjugation force had now been confirmed.
Sir Durek.
And Sir Berix.
Known by the title "Iron Wall," Sir Berix was, just as his nickname suggested, a Master specializing in defense.
He would probably be the one tanking Jupiterio on the front line.
Masters capable of blocking the attacks of a Calamity-Class Monster were exceedingly rare.
Sir Berix was one of the few who could.
“Then who'll remain in the territory...?”
“Stormbringer, Sir Jenixson. He...”
“A Lightning-Attribute Master. Fighting Jupiterio would be difficult for him.”
The Master remaining behind in Haken Territory would be Stormbringer, Sir Jenixson.
Since he wielded Lightning-Attribute Aura, he was at a disadvantage against Jupiterio of Thunder, which possessed the same attribute.
Just like how Irene had struggled immensely while fighting the Variant Crocodile.
‘Since Jupiterio is the target of this subjugation, Durek's participation was inevitable.’
Just how many pieces had been woven into this plan?
The more I looked at it...
The more impressed I became with how perfectly New Level had arranged the board.