Volume 5, Chapter 4 – Awakening of The Flame Emperor x Soaring of The Flame Princess, Part 1
December 26th, 1023rd year of the Empire’s calendar: The Plains of Hope in the southern part of the Central Region.
Rows of people and horses move about hurriedly. A group of soldiers, their armor creaking, their spears glittering. The sun’s light sits in the offshore sky, pouring down on the land and brightly illuminating the future of the people living on the ground.
The flag fluttering in the gentle breeze is the coat of arms of the black dragon, and fluttering next to it is a flag with a lily flower on a red background ― the flag of the fourth and sixth princes and princesses of the Great Grantz Empire.
Soldiers are running around under the great historical flag. No one was talking idly, and they were quietly working to carry out their duties.
In the orderly formation, there was one place that stood out. It was the command center where all the important people were gathered.
Inside, the air was filled with seriousness as they waited for the military council to begin. Everyone was looking at the person sitting on the seat of honor with a nervous look on their face.
The sixth princess, Celia Estrella. Standing next to her was the fourth prince, Hiro.
“Now that everyone seems to have gathered, may I ask for a report?”
Hiro threw a question. The other end of the line is the central nobility with whom they have a cooperative relationship.
“Ha!”
Perhaps it was the result of extreme nervousness, but one of them replied with a backward voice, and he stood up. He pointed to the central map with a trembling fingertip and moved his mouth to choose his words carefully.
“It seems that the rebel army, led by General Loing and assisted by “Nameless,” has stopped its march right in front of the Great Imperial Capital.”
“Have there been any demands from the rebels?”
“Nothing, sir. However, the nobles in the vicinity have received threatening letters.”
If you do not take sides, remain calm. If you are on the wrong side, we will destroy you in one fell swoop. The former general Loing’s military prowess is well known throughout the Grantz. Everyone must be terrified of him. Above all, in the central, where there are many greedy nobles, there are few who have the spirit to rebel against General Loing.
“It’s going to be difficult to attract the nobility of this area to our side.”
There are three thousand and eight hundred here. It’s like throwing a stone into a muddy stream when your opponent has 30,000. Anyone would imagine that they would be swallowed up in an instant.
“It’s a difficult situation. The nobles in the vicinity are afraid of being attacked and destroyed, but they remain holed up and show no signs of moving. If they realize that the rebel army is at a disadvantage, they will be happy to jump out, but as it stands, they will continue to stand idly by.”
Hiro let out a sigh of disappointment as he listened to the words.
“Then, do you know the movements of the nobles outside the central?”
“The other day, I received news that the second prince Selene is on his way here. The western nobility may have received the information around today, although they will not be able to do anything about it because of the security and reconstruction activities in the Felzen region.”
The central nobleman, who coughed, continued to speak.
“As for the southern nobility, we don’t have enough information to know for sure, but they don’t seem to be making any moves at all, so we think they’re planning to remain quiet.”
Rosa sent Hiro a letter yesterday saying that the remaining eastern nobles were heading towards them at full speed. But even so, they won’t be able to make it in time for Hiro and the others to clash with the rebels.
“In other words, we were able to get ahead of all the other camps.”
There was no way to miss this opportunity. He looked at Liz, and she nodded vigorously.
“We should rest here for a couple of days to prepare for the upcoming battle. During that time, I’ll send another letter to the surrounding nobles. If we appeal to their enthusiasm, some of them might move.”
Liz’s decision was not a bad one.
Aside from the 3,000 soldiers from the central nobility who cooperated with them, the 800 raven army came here from the south on a forced march. They should be fully relieved of their fatigue before going into battle. Even if it is only eight hundred, they can still have an impact on the war situation.
There is still time for them to rest since they were the first ones to arrive here.
“Still, we’d better be on our guard.”
The former general Loing would know that Hiro and the others had come to this place.
Therefore, they should be wary of night attacks. A man who has risen to the pinnacle of military service in the Grantz Empire should not be taken lightly. He will be the first to try to crush them with all his might.
“Yes. If the rebels don’t crush us, they will have their backs exposed.”
Hiro nodded his head to Liz’s words.
If they want to attack and destroy the great imperial capital, they must do everything in their power to do so. If so, they will not spread out their forces but will use all of their strength to destroy Hiro and the others.
“But then, why don’t we cooperate with the Golden Lion Knights who are guarding the Great Imperial Capital? While we are fighting, the Golden Lion Knights can get behind the rebels.”
Liz asked a perfectly natural question.
Hiro tried to answer, but before he could, Aura stood up from her seat.
“…It’s dangerous.”
“Why?”
Aura began to explain, moving the pieces on the desk as Liz tilted her head curiously.
“I’m sure that’s what General Loing is after.”
If the rebels start fighting with Hiro and the others, their backs will be turned to the great imperial capital. It will look so attractive that they will want to bite it.
If that were their goal, to get the Golden Lion Knights out of the Great Imperial Capital, it would be a disaster beyond belief.
“If it were me, I would organize a separate force. I would pass through the outraged Golden Lion Knights and attack the open Imperial Capital.”
Then massacre the people, set fire to the buildings, demolish the imperial palace, and steal all the treasures.
Once the center of the Grantz Empire is paralyzed, the plot will be completed as other countries will come to attack and collapse. Therefore, they had no choice but to take a siege. That is the best course of action.
“Ugh, then it seems dangerous to expect the Golden Lion Knights to fight.”
“…Yeah. It’s best not to include them in the war effort.”
In other words…
(In this battle, the Golden Lion Knights can’t move until the winner is decided.)
On the contrary, as long as they don’t go along with General Loing’s plan, the Grantz Imperial Capital will not be engulfed in war. If the emperor were strong, he would make a move, but if he knew that the noble lords would rush to support him, he would not make such a strong move.
(It’s too reckless, even after thinking about it again.)
If the city is besieged, the armies of the five major noble houses, excluding the Krone family, will rush to reinforce them in the meantime. In addition, even though the Great Imperial Capital has not been exposed to warfare for many years, its walls are always maintained, and it is renowned for its high fortification.
(The rebels are already at a loss. Even though they can see they are losing…)
Anyway, if they fight, they might be able to see what the other side is thinking. Hiro had no choice but to change his mind. First of all, he should think about how to fight with three thousand eight hundred.
“Well, let’s talk about the future.”
Hiro muttered and walked over to the desk, and the people sitting in the chairs stood up at once.
“First of all, where is the place where former General Loing will set up his main camp?”
Hiro shot a sharp glance at the central nobleman. He cleared his throat and moved his piece.
“He has encamped two cells (six kilometers) away from the great imperial capital.”
There’s nothing around there. There seems to be no place to hide.
It’s not the best place for a surprise attack, but even if there were a place to hide, the rain the other day would have made it impossible to approach quietly with the sound of mud rushing past.
So how do they defeat 30,000 people? They would need an ingenious plan.
“Has anyone come up with a better plan?”
Hiro looked at the people around the desk in turn.
“Hey, Hiro, do we really need to win?”
That was enough for Hiro to understand what Liz meant. It was not that he had not expected it, but he had dismissed it as a fool’s errand. However, if he denied her at this point, she would have shriveled up. She was finally gaining enough confidence to express her own opinions.
Hiro felt pleased with Liz’s growth and decided to wait in silence for her to continue.
“There are only thirty thousand of them, aren’t there? There won’t be any other reinforcements, will there?”
“Well, yes. Depending on the future situation of the war, there may be some people who will side with the rebels, but as of now, they only have thirty thousand people to fight with.”
“But we’re only three thousand eight hundred now, but if we join up with the other noble lords, that number will grow rapidly, right?”
“Yes. I think it will be more than 20,000 at least.”
“If that’s the case, I don’t think we need to take them seriously. I think we should just skirmish to avoid losing, keep in touch with the other nobles, and finally surround and eradicate them…”
Hiro smiled and replied to Liz, who was looking up at him to see how things were going.
“It’s not a bad idea. I think it’s a good move.”
“Really?”
It’s not a bad idea. Determined to explain without hurting her feelings, Hiro began to speak in a calm tone.
“But Liz’s plan would work if the Grantz Empire was monolithic.”
It’s really not that bad. If it were possible, he wanted to show her the light of day, but the situation would not allow it.
“If this battle had simply been between the rebels and the Grantz Empire, there would have been no problem.”
This is where the issue of the right of succession to the throne comes into play.
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