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Chapter 206 - Chasing Tails (7)

“I don\'t need it.”

“What? What did you just...!”

“Did you not hear me? I said I don\'t need it.”

There were only a few people from the former empire who didn’t recognize the face of the former Knight King. Therefore, Kington could easily enter through the main gates of Caliburn Fortress and meet with Iselan.

Having met with Iselan in private, Kington told him every single thing he had prepared to say, not omitting anything. However, when Kington finished talking, Iselan merely laughed and rejected his offer.

“Do you not have a conscience?” asked Iselan.

“What?”

“You didn’t give a damn about him when you were raising him, but now you show up pretending to be his father? Aren’t you ashamed of that?”

“Iselan!”

Thud!

Kington slammed the table. His face was flushed, not because of anger, but because Iselan had pointed out his shameful behavior.

Seeing him react like that, Iselan stopped laughing, and with a slightly stern expression, he said, “Don’t you raise your voice at me! You’re not the only one with a bad temper.”

“You...!”

Before Valhald gave up the position of being the first sword of the Imperial Ten Swords, Kington had still been the second sword of the empire. Thus, in terms of skills alone, it could be said that Kington was stronger than Iselan.

However, just because he was slightly more skilled didn\'t mean that he could defeat Iselan without getting hurt himself. Iselan was also a very powerful man himself, having the reputation of being the strongest within Caliburn Fortress.

Furthermore, if he got into a fight with Iselan when his original purpose of coming here was bringing back Ronan, he would just lose Ronan, along with the man who controlled Caliburn Fortress.

That would be the worst possible outcome.

‘Damn it...!’

Therefore, it was quite challenging for Kington to deal with someone like Iselan.

Kington calmed down and said, “Then where’s Ronan? Since I came all the way here, I’d like to at least see him before I leave.”

“See him? After Ronan enlisted, you never gave him any allowances, let alone come to visit him at all. So why would you want to see him now?”

“You really...!”

Iselan didn’t yield at all.

Kington tried to come up with all sorts of ridiculous excuses to see Ronan, but Iselan refused every time. He wouldn’t even let him catch a glimpse of his adopted son.

When their negotiations broke down, Kington rose from his seat, not having accomplished anything. Before going out the door, he looked back at Iselan at the door and angrily shouted, “You bastard!”

“Huh?”

“You’re acting tough because you’re in a comfortable position right now, but sooner or later, you will fall along with this shitty fortress! When that happens and you come begging at my feet, just know that I won’t show you mercy!”

“Fall, my ass. Go back and ask your emperor, Arthus, if he thinks the same as you.”

“W-what...?”

“That’s enough. If you’re done with your business here, why don’t you leave already?”

Kington hadn’t accomplished anything in the end. He had wasted all those teleportation scrolls just to have his shameful actions exposed.

As he took out his teleportation scroll, Kington couldn’t understand why Iselan was so confident. He had come here only to face a humiliating defeat.

* * *

“...So you’re saying that the fortress is out of supplies and that you want me to send you more, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But you don’t want to serve me?”

“That’s right.”

“Ha, what a bunch of bastards...!”

As promised, Henry had dropped Nichel off near the Highlander region. He had also given Nichel a teleportation scroll to use to return to the fortress and spare caller scrolls to summon him in case of anything. Afterward, Henry left with Ronan.

Nichel took a couple of deep breaths. As the commander of Caliburn Fortress, he knew that the fate of the fortress lay on his shoulders.

After taking a few deep breaths, Nichel told Arthus about the demands he had in mind, but Arthus just laughed.

Nichel remained silent, and with a steady gaze, waited for Arthus to reply.

There was a moment of silence.

Upon noticing Nichel’s steady gaze, Arthus started thinking about it, his lips curved into a bitter smile.

‘Nichel... I hadn’t been paying much attention to you because I thought you were just someone dealing with demonic beasts, but I didn’t expect you to come up with such ideas...’

Nichel had asked Arthus to provide a steady flow of supplies from the Aenia Empire in order for Caliburn Fortress to continue functioning.

Arthus placed his hand on his forehead. Nichel’s demands were certainly reasonable.

If Arthus declined Nichel’s offer out of anger and gave up on keeping the Demonic Beast Forest in check, he would have to dedicate an enormous amount of resources and manpower to suppressing the demonic beasts right before the upcoming war.

‘That’d be the worst.’

Arthus was already short on resources and manpower. Since they were on the brink of war, establishing a second Caliburn Fortress to contain the demonic beasts under such circumstances would cause him massive damage.

Arthus removed his hand from his forehead and locked eyes with Nichel. The latter maintained an unwavering gaze.

Since he was none other than the commander of the Caliburn Fortress, Arthus figured that Nichel was more than capable of coming up with such a plan.

‘...Damn it.’

Arthus felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Nichel’s demands were like a bitter pill that he didn’t want to swallow, but not swallowing it would endanger the empire’s future.

Therefore, Arthus had no choice but to suck it up for now. After a long pause, he murmured, “...Alright.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“The supplies are going to be the same as they were during the Eurasian Empire, but don’t expect anything crazy because even Aenia is not so well off right now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And...”

It seemed like they had discussed everything that needed discussing, but Arthus kept talking, holding Nichel there.

“When the entire continent is under my control, swear that you will serve me, Nichel.”

Arthus was being serious. The fact that Nichel had been able to concoct such a plan under the current circumstances proves that he was a wise individual.

Nichel put on a faint smile and lied through his teeth.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Arthus watched Nichel as he walked out. The latter had given his word with a pleasant voice and a warm smile, but for some reason, Arthus couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was being mocked. Despite that, he couldn’t just use that as an excuse to berate Nichel.

At the end of the day, Nichel was just a self-interested soldier with no allegiance, much like a mercenary. He wasn’t on Arthus’ side.

After Nichel left, Arhtus sighed and thought to himself, ‘...We’re in trouble.’

His fears were transforming into reality, and Nichel’s visit was one of the more serious concerns he had.

‘I don\'t’ have much time.’

He had established the current empire by getting the nobility on his side, not through a proper conquest. Therefore, the soldiers who had been loyal to the Eurasian Empire had not fully accepted everything because they were dedicated to the old empire, not the nobles.

That was certainly a major problem.

The empire had utilized its vast numbers of imperial soldiers to tackle nuisances like the Caliburn Fortress. However, because those soldiers hadn’t fully accepted what was going on, they were gradually losing their sense of duty and responsibility.

If those soldiers were left unattended for long enough, some would give up their arms and live in hiding, but in the worst-case scenario, they would establish a new force in opposition to the empire. If that happened, it was clear that those soldiers would go after Arthus’ people, not just to survive, but also to demonstrate strength and expand their dominance.

Those soldiers were essentially on the verge of becoming warlords.

“Batz, Kinless, Rockefeller.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Prepare to depart immediately.”

“Right now?” asked Batz, the second sword of the Imperial Ten Swords.

Arthus nodded and said, “Yes, we’re leaving for the Woonyo Trench right away.”

“Alright. We’ll prepare to depart right away, Your Majesty.”

The Woonyo Trench was a special force organized to maintain peace on the continent, just like the Caliburn Fortress. It was one of the three special forces.

‘I must set an example before the others get to them first.’

It would take days for the envoys he had sent to return, so Arthus decided to do as much as he could in the meantime.

Caliburn Fortress had already cost him enough because of his mistake of making a late decision.

* * *

‘Hmm, I don’t see a single person around.’

They had been walking downhill for half a day so far, and they still hadn’t run into anyone.

Hector yawned. He was terribly bored.

‘Anyway, I bet all the things he’s wearing are quite heavy, but he seems like he’s walking around just fine.’

Hector was done thinking about the fight between him and Balak. He had tried his best to kill time by using the tricks he had learned in the Underworld to avoid boredom, but it was no longer working.

The reason was simple.

After being resurrected back into this world, he had experienced far more enjoyable things than those tricks he had come up with. Thus, the tricks that were useful in the Underworld weren’t very helpful here.

“Khaaa!”

Just then, someone’s voice could be heard. It was the first voice they heard in half a day.

Hector looked in the direction the voice had come from.

‘Bandits?’

He spotted a group of bandits terrorizing civilians. There were about thirty bandits, all heavily armed. They looked like...

‘Huh? It’s the imperial army?’

Those men were the soldiers from the imperial army of the fallen Eurasia Empire. They were threatening a refugee with their well-sharpened spearheads.

‘Well, now that the empire has fallen, the soldiers without a leader will obviously go rogue.’

Hector didn’t necessarily think negatively of the soldiers who had turned into bandits or warlords.

News of the empire’s demise had already spread like wildfire across the continent. Moreover, Arthus had not taken control of the entire continent. Thus, the warlords that had emerged from this entire process were like pus on wounds.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

‘Huh?’

Hector looked away from the warlords, shifting his gaze to Balak, who charged like a rhino toward the commotion.

Whoosh! Crack!

Balak charged straight ahead, decimating everything in his path, including trees and rocks.

When he finally got close enough to the warlords, Balak threw his weapon to those swinging their spears.

Gush!

The Black Punisher hit one of the warlords, crushing his head into a pulp, gore splattering everywhere.

The woman stopped screaming.

At the horrific sight, the rest of the warlords fell silent.

“Nobody moves!”

Balak’s cloak was tattered, and parts of his armor were damaged due to the magic bombardment, but that wasn’t a problem. The ferocious energy radiating from his helmet was more than enough to make up for all of that.

The refugees and the warlords all looked at Balak.

Grasp!

As Balak raised his right hand, the Black Punisher that had crushed the warlord’s head returned.

Balak looked at the attire of the warlords and realized that they were from the Eurasia Empire. He then looked at the civilians. Even at first glance, it was obvious that they were helpless refugees who had fled out of fear of war.

Humbri, the leader of the warlords and a former lieutenant, dismounted his horse and spoke to Balak.

“...Who are you?”

“My name is Balak. I’m a knight of the Aenia Empire.”

“Aenia Empire...!”

They had heard that a new empire had been established, but Humbri and his subordinates hadn’t been able to accept that, so they had become warlords.

“You,” said Balak.

“Y-yes!”

Humbri was a soldier, so he didn’t act recklessly like an actual dimwit bandit. He had seen many strong people in the past, so he could usually gauge how strong his opponent was without having to fight them directly.

‘We wouldn’t stand a chance even if we all fought against him.’

That was Humbri’s assessment of the situation. In addition, the guy whose skull had been blown off by Balak was among the three strongest guys in Humbri’s group. Therefore, given that he didn’t have an extra life, Humbri didn’t intend to do anything reckless.

“I’ll give you two options, and depending on what you choose, I’ll decide what to do with you,” said Balak.

Gulp.

Humbri swallowed nervously

Balak continued, “You, become my subordinate.”

“...What?’

“You’ve had enough of playing bandit. Become my subordinate and dedicate your life to the empire, becoming a proud soldier once again.”

“...”

It was quite the unexpected offer. However, Balak was being serious. He was well aware they were running around and pretending to be bandits because they no longer had a leader to serve.

In the end, Humbri had no choice but to accept Balak’s offer.

“...Alright.”

“Your name is?”

“Humbri.”

“Humbri, I’ll remember your face and name. Move these people to a safe area, and then go to the palace in the Highlander region and find me.”

As Balak’s order fell in place, Humbri obediently complied.

At that moment, Humbri discarded his bandit disguise and became a new imperial soldier, ordering his subordinates to follow the instructions.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

Balak stopped Humbri as he was walking away and asked, “What’s the closest city from here?”

“...If you go that way, you’ll reach Enkelmann.”

“Alright.”

After showing him the way, the new soldiers saluted Balak as he continued his journey.

Watching all of this, Hector thought, ‘What a maniac...’

Balak was indeed a man of unwavering belief.