Side Story 48. Anemone Smiled Brightly (24)
"Your Majesty the Emperor! Please calm down!"
The young emperor of the Imperial State was frustrated and angry at the words of his subject. "Do I look like I can calm down right now? Isn’t the Minister of Defense and Information aware that the monster is just around the corner?"
"I am aware. And this is why all of the armies of the Imperial State are united…,” the Minister of Defense and Information replied.
The young emperor was beyond angry, and raged. "That! That damn unity! All this time, have they not been able to stop that monster, Doomstone, because they have not been united?”
"That-that was not my intention….”
"Then, why does the Minister of Defense and Information only talk about unity?”
"... I apologize."
The Minister of Defense and Information could no longer open his mouth. What could he do? What could he do to stop the superhuman who possessed the power equivalent to that of a nation's army all by himself?
The enemy was in small numbers and moved elusively, making it hard to even find them. As such, they had no choice but to anticipate their route and move the troops as a counter, but even that was often reversed by ambush. Over the past month or more, at the least a regiment would be annihilated, while at the most an entire command center. So it was impossible to maintain the morale of the soldiers.
When the Minister of Defense and Information was rendered speechless, an old man next to the young emperor stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, the Mercenary King is guarding right around the corner. He has a war record of killing Joshua of the Empire, who was considered a hero as a guardian of the Great Wall in the past, so please see how it plays out."
"… Since it's the words of the Left Minister, I’ll trust it." Although the young emperor expressed his assent, he couldn't hide his anxiety, he sat on the throne nibbling his lips and shaking his legs.
The old Left Minister would have normally nagged the emperor to be mindful of his dignity. However, considering the current situation, he simply bowed his head gently so as to not provoke his temper.
"I thank Your Majesty for the imperial favor..."
Boom!
Before the Left Minister could finish expressing his gratitude, a knight in the imperial guard uniform kicked open the door of the imperial palace and entered with a ragged breath.
"Insolence! Where do you think this is to act so rashly!?" the Minister of Foreign Affairs, standing next to the Minister of Defense and Information, instantly reprimanded.
The knight immediately knelt on the floor. "Gasp! Gasp! It's...!”
"Uh-huh! Since you’ve entered the imperial palace, shouldn't you state your name and affiliation?!
The continued admonishments by the Minister of Foreign Affairs drew attention to the young knight. Thanks to this, the Minister of Defense and Information, who had until then been under the spotlight, felt relieved. On the contrary, the knight who received the stinging gaze felt like death.
"I-I am Maya Dainter, a squire of the imperial guard! The-the reason I dared to urgently enter the imperial palace without prior notice is the circumstances…”
"Hmm!" Looking at the flustered squire, the Left Minister coughed dryly.
Only when the gazes dispersed was the squire able to take a breath. When his breathing seemed to have calmed down, the Left Minister asked, "What was the reason you rushed into the room in such a hurry ignoring etiquette?”
"The-there’s urgent news!" the squire replied.
"Urgent news?”
The young emperor frowned; the nuance didn’t feel good.
"The troops of the Mercenary King stationed in the canyon were wiped out!"
"What! Malecia, what happened to the Mercenary King?!" the young emperor sprang to his feet and demanded.
The squire bowed his head and answered, "According to the messenger, he should have been killed in the collapsed canyon. And- and the disaster, no, Doomstone Blade, is coming straight to the Imperial State’s capital!"
The people were in awe of Doomstone, the person who had flattened more than half of the Imperial State’s army and command in the northern part of the Imperial State. They were hailing him a catastrophe, a disaster from heaven. Upon hearing the rumor that he was from the Crow Tribe, some busybodies even dubbed him the Crow of Death that came to ruin the Imperial State.
"He-he’s coming?! Where? Where is he approximately?!” the young emperor urgently asked.
However, the squire had come to inform immediately after hearing the urgent message, so he could not have known the answer. "I-I apologize. I am not…”
"Left Minister! What about the Dragon Tribe?!" the young emperor asked even before the squire finished speaking.
"Well, the Right Minister headed directly to the Mephisto Canyon, but it's such a dangerous area that we haven't heard from him yet."
"Are there any Dragon Tribe members who came out? There must be at least one! Right now...!”
Booooom-!
Before the young emperor could complete his command to look for them, a deafening boom came from far away. Soon after, a middle-aged knight in the imperial guard uniform rushed into the imperial palace.
"Cap-captain of the imperial guard! What's going on right now...!”
"Your Majesty! Please escape! The Disaster From Heaven, no, Doomstone Blade, has invaded!" the captain shouted.
The young emperor felt his strength escape him. He felt like he was hallucinating; he could hear something from afar.
"King! -ing! -ing! Lower your pants and wait! -ait! -ait! I'll make your butt red! -ed! -ed!”
"I think I am hallucinating, Left Minister. There are vulgar words echoing in my ears." The young emperor touched his forehead with trembling hands.
"I... Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be hallucinations. Even with this old ear, I can hear the vulgar words."
The young emperor looked blue at the regretful words of the Left Minister.
-o-
"Nice shot!" I applauded as I watched Doomstone's bundle of long spears hit the outer wall of the imperial palace and destroy it.
Even though it was an enemy country, it was still one of the castles of the same nation from when the Holy Kingdom collapsed and split. The sight of a 500-year-old symbol of the capital being destroyed was something that was difficult to experience in a short life. Some might feel terrible, but for some reason, I even felt a sense of joy.
"Should I just break the outer wall? Or shall I break down the entire castle?” Doomstone queried.
I deliberated a bit before saying, "Only the outer wall. Just break it down enough so it can still be repaired."
Factoring in the achievements that Glont ahjussi had to make later, it was better for Enharayton to be in a good condition and as intact as possible. According to the rumors, we were not enemy troops but closer to a disaster from heaven, so that's good.
Glont ahjussi must not be deified as something beyond a hero. God cannot be under the emperor, so if he were deified, the emperor would have no choice but to kill him. So, Doomstone needed to be thoroughly deified so that that wouldn’t happen.
"Now, shout out your intentions,” I requested.
Doomstone nodded and warned, "Cover your ears as much as possible."
I wrapped the Dragon Tribe's cloak around my face to protect my ears. After confirming that I had covered my ears, he took a deep breath in and bellowed.
"King!! Lower your pants and wait!! I'll spank your butt red!!”
Wow, Doomstone’s voice made my whole body ring as if the sound waves created by his voice were perceived as attacks, but the Dragon Tribe’s cloak, which covered my ears, shined brightly and absorbed the shock. If it hadn’t, I might have almost died from the sound.
Wheat Crepe No. 1 fainted from the shockwaves. It isn’t dead, right?
"Khmm! Hmm! Hmm! It's the first time I've shouted out loud with martial arts in my voice like this. If used well, it might even become a useful technique."
"Develop your techniques later. They’re coming out in such a hurry to welcome us that they don’t even have shoes on."
Even at a glance, it was a large army with over 50,000 troops. It seemed to be more than five corps. It surprised me that there were still that many troops after getting rid of so many troops at the canyon earlier.
"You can't use the hit and run guerilla tactics that you’ve been using this time. Can you do it!?" I asked playfully, imitating an instructor talking to a trainee.
Doomstone smiled in the same spirit and answered, albeit imitating a trainee, "I'm confident!"
Satisfied with the roaring answer, I smiled and shouted, "Good! Go! Doomstone!”
No matter how much Doomstone and the Dragon Tribe’s cloak protected me, it was still too much to jump in the midst of over 50,000 troops. Moreover, Doomstone said that it would be simple to sense my presence if he expanded his sensory aura to the maximum, so he would come back if something were to happen to me. In addition, among the things we had gathered, besides the Dragon Tribe’s cloak, I had a transparency magic tool and also a powerful magic tool used to protect VIPs.
"I'll be back!"
As Doomstone raced, he sprang high and flew all the way to the outer wall of the palace seen in the distance. Moreover, seeing that he went in without hesitation, he must have decided that it would be okay to leave me here.
Shall I slowly brew some tea? It'd be too much to expect him to be back before the tea gets cold, right?
-o-
The Imperial State Capital Defense Force panicked as they saw Doomstone dropping from the sky. In their eyes, the place where he leapt from was too far away, so it seemed like he was descending from heaven rather than jumping.
"Hahahaha! How fun! It's my first time dealing with a large army head-on like this!" Doomstone laughed cheerfully.
He had fought the corps-level enemies many times. However, according to Anemone's objective, the empire moved for the purpose of oppression, and in order to cause the most damage possible to the Imperial State, Doomstone ambushed and infiltrated, deploying guerrilla warfare. Therefore, he had never used his full power.
"There are quite a few interesting ones mixed in." Doomstone flashed a really genuine, happy smile.
Just as there were people in the empire who were evaluated as comparable to the battle race, there were equivalently strong ones in the Imperial State. At the center of 50,000 troops, four strong people stood out amid the 3,000 knights on horseback.
Buddy of the Holy Land exhibited a powerful performance with less than 50 Consecrated Paladins. Then, just how thrilling would 3,000 knights and 50,000 troops led by strong people similar to Buddy be?
Doomstone sincerely thanked Anemone. If he hadn't met her, he wouldn't have been able to feel this way.
"Huhu… I'm coming."
He propelled his martial arts to the limit throughout his body. If he could, he wanted to use the Dance of the Fireflies, a secret technique that was also known as the Final Enlightenment. But he could not handle the aftereffects yet. For now, he was satisfied with just covering his entire body with mana because he had someone to protect. With his entire body covered in blue mana, he rushed towards the great army.
"To the entire army! Attack the villain who insulted His Majesty and devastated the country!"
The person who appeared to be the commander-in-chief shouted at the same time as the sound of drums announced the battle. The archers in the rear shot a shower of arrows at Doomstone.
Doomstone swung his arm widely at the arrows flying toward him.
"Argh!"
"Arghhh!"
In the mana hurricane emitted from Doomstone's arm, arrows, as well as the frontline soldiers, flew away like leaves. He jumped high once again and quickly stomped on the ground using martial arts.
"Enlightenment! Increasing Weight!"
The solid land began to fluctuate significantly from the spot he had landed. The well-paved brick roads turned into strong waves and spread in all directions. Brick-mixed dirt waves hit the soldiers and buried them in the ground while soldiers at a distance also lost balance and swayed. Knights on horseback also tumbled off their horses.
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