Volume 4, Chapter 4 – Wrath of The God of War, Part 2
Hiro’s response was unexpected, and Hunthaven was surprised and widened his eyes.
“W-what do you mean by that?”
“I’m asking if you’re going to hold me hostage over something like that.”
“…G-General Exe. What should we do?”
After some hesitation, Hunthaven called for help from Exe next to him. Hiro sighed deeply, as if in disgust, and pointed his index finger at Hunthaven.
“Hunthaven-dono, I’m negotiating with you.”
“B-but…”
This was yet another picture of a vulnerable young man. He was always looking at other people’s faces and could not make any decisions for himself. It’s no wonder some factions support him.
Not only is he easy to manipulate, but someone could even run the country from behind the scenes.
Then, who is giving orders to Hunthaven now…? That is the first person he is asking for opinions from, and it is someone who has a certain position in the country.
For this moment, there is only one person. It was General Exe who stood next to Hunthaven, holding his forehead and shaking his head.
“You are free to try to capture me, but before you do, there is something I want you to read.”
Hiro dug into his pocket and pulled out a letter. He threw it horizontally with great dexterity, and it flew to Exe’s feet.
“…..”
Exe looked at Hiro as if to say, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I want you to read the letter first.”
Exe curved his mouth and looked down at the letter suspiciously. He picked up the letter and handed it to Hunthaven in an annoyed manner.
“You may read it first, Hunthaven-sama.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
Having received permission, Hunthaven began to read the letter quietly.
“Wa…”
His eyes widened, and he looked at Hiro with a surprised expression.
“What is it?”
“G-General Exe, please look at this.”
“…..Huh, what’s this?”
After receiving the letter from Hunthaven, Exe, whose eyes were moving quickly, snorted.
“So let’s start negotiating. It would be nice if we could come to a mutual compromise.”
Then Hiro smiles fiercely and raises one hand, like a fierce beast revealing its true nature. Then, out of nothingness, the “Heavenly Emperor” appeared, emitting a dazzling light. In addition, the air around it burst into a rushing sound, and a storm blew.
Many cracks were created in the void, and the hem of the “Black Princess Camellia” began to dance joyously.
“What I’m asking for is what’s written on the paper. I don’t think that’s a bad deal, right?”
The soldiers around were taken aback by the sudden change in the young man. No, everyone was staring at Hiro in a daze, as if he had been transformed into a fox.
“General Exe! What the hell is this?”
Hunthaven was frightened by the wind that was blowing inside the fort. The soldiers were calling for instructions, but their voices were not heard. Turmoil spread like a ripple from the uproarious enemy soldiers.
The soldiers who had been holding their bows above Hiro’s head disappeared behind the wall as if they were afraid of slipping off the breastworks.
“Hyii, hyiii, what the hell is that guy?”
Seeing the fantastic scenery and the overwhelming supremacy, a large amount of sweat gushed out from Hunthaven’s forehead. And Exe, who is standing next to him, seems to have regained his composure and is glaring at Hiro with a trembling hand on the hilt of his sword.
“We have more numbers! Don’t panic! There are more than 10,000 troops waiting outside. What do you to fear from just one person!”
Exe blasted at the soldiers. Hunthaven was frozen in place.
Hiro walked up to the frightened man and dropped some words directly on his face.
“I want to hear it from you, Hunthaven-dono. Do you accept or reject this negotiation?”
“A-all right! Yes! I accept it, so please stop your strange tricks!”
He was desperate. It makes him think that no matter what he does, it will be useless. That is how powerful Hiro was.
“So, I guess we’re done negotiating?”
He bent down on the spot and put his hand on Hunthaven’s head.
“Y-yes… but there is one thing I need to check…?”
“What is it?”
“If you don’t apologize and compensate us for burning down the villages near the border, we won’t be able to convince the people and the soldiers.”
Even if his head is chopped off, he tells him in a trembling voice that he can’t give up this one thing. It was only natural. Hiro showed his understanding, then put his hand into Hunthaven’s side and lifted his obese body lightly to stand up.
“But unfortunately, I don’t remember burning down the village.”
“…Eh, t-that’s, huh?”
His eyes swam with incomprehension, and Hunthaven looked to Exe for help.
“There is no way. We have testimonies from villagers and soldiers! They say that you ruthlessly burned their villages to the ground!”
The furious Exe turned to Hiro with eyes that looked as if they were about to curse him to death. But Hiro, looking back at him with a calm face, waved one hand in disgust.
“Did you really see the village burning?”
“W-what? In fact, the report shows black smoke coming from――!?”
He paused in his speech, and from the look in his eyes, he seemed to have noticed.
“Yes, I’m sure everyone has seen nothing but black smoke.”
“E-eh?”
Hunthaven didn’t seem to understand and looked at Hiro and General Exe alternately, revealing his confusion. So, Hiro decided to give him an explanation.
“It’s simple, Hunthaven-dono. It’s just a distraction.”
“Eh?”
“We didn’t burn down the village; we burned down something else. By now, the captured villagers should have been released and returned to their normal lives.”
It is against his principles to harm innocent people. Therefore, it was not his intention to burn the village from the beginning.
So, he worked hard to remove all the people from the area and made it look as if he had burned the village. Then, when those who escaped from the village told the neighboring villages about the cruelty of the Raven Army, and when the defeated soldiers fled to the city, the fear spread.
“Once I’ve come this far, I don’t care if people find out I’m lying. It was all about drawing out Hunthaven-dono and the others, you know.”
“…..The whole thing was a disguise to lure us into this situation.”
Exe’s body trembled with anger as he realized that he had been tricked from the start. Hiro smiled and put his index finger on his mouth as if to caress his emotions.
“That’s right, all to get you guys to the negotiating table.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Exe flashed the tip of his sword with an outpouring of murderous intent. He ran to Hiro in a straight line while shouting with enthusiasm.
But it is too slow.
It was an incredibly slow movement.
“Gah, gah!”
Hiro knocked the sword out of Exe’s hand and knocked him down.
“Now, what can you do?”
While holding down the resisting Exe, Hiro looked at the situation around him.
The soldiers were holding back and looking at each other as if they were asking Hunthaven to make a decision. However, there was no way he could make a normal decision when he was so panicked.
Or so he thought.
“P-please wait. Your Highness Hiro, please forgive General Exe for his outrage.”
With both knees trembling and his throat quivering with tears, Hunthaven bowed to Hiro. Not only Hiro but also Exe rolled his eyes in surprise at this.
“…..Hunthaven-sama.”
“He is my loyal vassal. If you are going to take his life――.”
Hunthaven raises one hand and points it at Hiro.
“T-this means that negotiations have broken down…”
The archers’ arrows all aimed at Hiro at once.
“But… what about you, General Exe?”
“Ugh…”
When the tip of the Heavenly Emperor’s sword was pressed against his throat, Exe’s face twisted in frustration.
“If Hunthaven-sama has made his decision… I will only follow his decision.”
Hiro loosened up and moved away from Exe, and put his hands on his hips, and bent his back to the back.
“I’m glad it didn’t turn into a bloody affair. After all, negotiations should be resolved peacefully.”
He cleared his throat and nodded wordlessly.
“Also, I’d like to ask you about the sixth princess who your brother captured. If you know anything about her, please tell me.”
“I-I don’t know all the details. I’ve only received one letter from him saying that he was happy to have captured the sixth princess, but he hasn’t mentioned her in any of his subsequent letters.”
“…Are you sure?”
“Puppchen-sama has always had a tendency to monopolize new toys when he gets them.”
Exe replied on behalf of the cowardly lord while holding his sore neck.
“He was especially strict with his brother, Hunthaven-sama. He wouldn’t let his brother touch her, not even with his fingers. I mean, it’s possible that he’s that obsessed with her.”
“Hmm… So?”
“He’ll keep playing until he gets bored, just until it breaks. If you want to rescue the sixth princess, you’ll have to hurry. Puppchen-sama is missing something important as a human being.”
“…I see.”
Hiro tried to remain calm as much as possible, but impatience and tension were swirling inside him.
“So he’s still in the Felzen region?”
“N-no, my brother wrote a letter saying that he was coming back here to intercept Your Highness Hiro Schwartz.”
Then there is a possibility that Liz will be brought to the Grand Duchy of Dral. If so, he should wait for Puppchen and take her back.
“How many troops does he have at his command?”
“H-he used to have over thirty thousand, but the battle with the Third Prince Blutar reduced that number, and now he has about twenty thousand.”
“You want to be the next Archduke, don’t you, Hunthaven-dono?”
“Y-yes… That’s what I was hoping for…”
“Then I need your help with something.”
I will not accept your refusal. The smile on his face said it all.
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