Damon and Shrekheimer had to walk for quite some time under the ironclad escort of the imperial guards.
Looking at the endless rows of corridors and halls, Damon frowned.
‘Filthy huge. It certainly befits the imperial palace of a superpower.’
Considering the treatment Emperor Krosen had once received from the rulers of Truvenia a humiliation,
the successive emperors of the Krosen Empire had poured enormous funds and manpower into refurbishing the imperial palace.
They made it larger and more splendid than the palace of any empire that had ever existed in Truvenia. Because of that,
Damon was now being put through this ordeal…
In any case, only after walking for a long while were Damon and Shrekheimer able to reach their destination.
It was none other than Duke Fershtein’s office. When they opened the door and entered, they saw a familiar face.
“Welcome.”
Theodor greeted Damon with impeccable courtesy. Damon, stepping into the office, looked around.
Seated at the table were Duke Fershtein, the master of the office, and Marquis Williams, commander of the Krosen Knight Order. Beside Duke Fershtein sat Krovitz,
and the face of Kasimov, vice-commander of the Krosen Knight Order, could also be seen.
The moment he confirmed this, Damon’s face turned vacant and dull. Since important figures—especially Marquis Williams—were present,
he had no choice but to pretend to be an idiot. Several other important figures were seated in the office as well. He did not know their faces, but they were surely
great nobles who led the Krosen Empire. Duke Fershtein, who had been gazing at Damon expressionlessly, soon withdrew his gaze.
However, Marquis Williams and the other dignitaries were staring intently at Damon and Shrekheimer.
As their eyes focused on him, Damon ground his teeth.
‘Damn it.’
Inside, he felt like dying, but none of that showed on the surface. Theodor gave Damon a slight signal with his eyes, then deliberately looked at Shrekheimer.
“Did His Highness the Crown Prince properly secure the secret weapons?”
As though they had arranged it in advance, Shrekheimer answered without hesitation.
“Indeed. I confirmed without a doubt that four Death Knights and two Bone Dragons were placed inside the magic vault.”
Theodor smiled faintly and nodded, then turned his head.
“I shall formally introduce him. Lord Shrekheimer was the Grand Pontiff of the Berhazel Order five hundred years ago. In order to liberate the people of Truvenia, he volunteered to become a vampire, and this time, through His Highness the Crown Prince, he obtained the magic power of darkness and acquired the body of a lich.”
Despite Theodor’s explanation, there was little reaction; it seemed they had already heard the rumors. Once the introduction ended, Shrekheimer bowed his head.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Despite his courteous greeting, the dignitaries’ response was not particularly favorable. Those who followed Duke Fershtein did not show much outwardly, but strange expressions had appeared on the faces of the others. Expressions as though they were looking at some hideous insect. Their gazes were thick with contempt. It was also a reaction Shrekheimer was extremely accustomed to.
It seemed they regarded the fact that they were sharing a room with a cursed undead as a disgrace. Sensing that, Shrekheimer could not hide his complicated feelings.
‘These people are quite different from the members of the Kasim Mercenary Corps.’
Fortunately, Shrekheimer’s true feelings did not show on the outside. After all, a lich had almost no expressions it could make. As if sensing the awkwardness, Theodor stepped in.
“Though Lord Shrekheimer is a lich, he is someone indispensable to us. During the Second Race War that took place in Truvenia five hundred years ago, Lord Shrekheimer fought the war as a member of Truvenia’s high command. If we formulate our strategy based on Lord Shrekheimer’s experience, we can fight the coming Race War from an advantageous position. Therefore, I ask that from now on, you regard this man as a comrade.”
The moment those words ended, Marquis Williams spoke bluntly.
“Then are you saying you intend to place that lich in our high command?”
A bitter expression appeared on Theodor’s face. He had expected it, but the high-ranking nobles’ feelings toward his master were far from favorable. It was precisely because he had feared something like this that he had not even revealed the fact that Shrekheimer was his master. Marquis Williams, who possessed a thoroughly single-minded nature, saw his master as nothing more than a cursed undead. As proof, his hand was now gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist tightly. He looked ready to cut him down without mercy if he showed even the slightest suspicious sign. Theodor let out a long sigh and answered.
“That is not the case. Lord Shrekheimer has already become a member of the Kasim Mercenary Corps. He will merely stay at court and help us establish strategy, so you need not worry.”
A look of relief passed over the dignitaries’ faces. It was clear that they were easing their hearts at the fact that they would not have to become comrades with some cursed undead. Watching the situation unfold, Damon was furious.
‘Damn it… Even knowing why Grand Pontiff Shrekheimer became an undead, they’re still like this…’
Theodor looked around at the dignitaries and called their attention.
“Then we shall begin the meeting. Your Highness the Crown Prince, would you please take your seat?”
With a vacant expression, Damon trudged over and sat down. The way he kept acting distracted made him look exactly like an idiot. It was the moment when the acting skills he had painstakingly honed finally shone. Shrekheimer, who had no need to sit, took his place beside Damon.
Theodor’s clear voice rang through the office.
“Then we shall begin the meeting from this moment.”
At last, under Theodor’s supervision, the meeting began. The attending dignitaries presented the opinions they held one by one, and counterarguments were raised in succession. The first topic was the matter of the coronation. It seemed opinions had already been exchanged on that matter once before. A middle-aged noble with a splendid mustache confidently laid out his words.
“Our Krosen Empire is the foremost great power of Arcadia. Therefore, the coronation of His Highness Crown Prince Dviers must be held with such thorough preparation and such grandeur that no kingdom could ever imitate it.”
At his words, several nobles nodded in agreement. However, not everyone did.
“That cannot be. We are now preparing for an enormous war. With a war upon which the fate of all Arcadia depends right before our eyes, wasting time on empty formalities would be deplorable.”
“It is not empty formality, but a matter of displaying the dignity of His Majesty the Emperor of the Krosen Empire to all under heaven.”
While the argument continued, Damon kept pretending to be distracted. Something was boiling up inside him, but he had no choice but to suppress it.
‘Damn it. Why do I have to attend such a pathetic meeting?’
In the meeting now taking place, he and Shrekheimer were complete outsiders. Since most of the nobles believed him to be an idiot, the best course was to sit quietly. But from his point of view, the matters being discussed in this meeting were nothing but utterly unnecessary things.
As a martial artist who valued efficiency above all else—and one who had once been an expert of the unorthodox faction—watching them argue back and forth over ceremonial procedures could only feel profoundly frustrating. Fortunately, perhaps having noticed his feelings, Theodor offered a clear solution to the debate.
“It would be better to put that matter to a majority vote at the Council of Nobles. Here, we shall discuss matters concerning the war against Truvenia.”
Theodor paused briefly and glanced at Fershtein.
“His Grace Duke Fershtein, who has opposed the war until now, has declared that he will participate. Therefore, in this place, we shall discuss the declaration of war against Truvenia and the recruitment of the punitive army.”
As though this had been agreed upon beforehand, Duke Fershtein opened his mouth the moment Theodor finished speaking.
“As you all know, I have vehemently opposed war with Truvenia until now. My reasons were that countless soldiers would lose their lives because of that war, and that the livelihood of the people would be driven into extreme hardship by the prosecution of the war. Dragons are a race as wise and thoughtful as the long years they have lived. I believed that deliberately waging war against such powerful beings was utterly unnecessary for humanity, and might instead bring about our destruction.”
Having finished speaking, the duke slowly looked over the faces of the dignitaries.
“However, my thinking was wrong. Here, in this place, I make it clear that my thinking was mistaken.”
At those words, the dignitaries were greatly startled. Duke Fershtein, whose pride was as great as the power he possessed, had openly admitted a mistake before so many people without hesitation… As the dignitaries murmured in surprise, the duke’s voice rang clearly in their ears.
“Until now, we had not considered the dragons’ true designs at all. Their purpose was to wipe out every last human living in Arcadia, just as they did in Truvenia. Foolishly, it was only after experiencing the tragedy in the central plaza that I came to understand the dragons’ true intentions.”
The room fell silent in an instant.
“The dragons never had peaceful coexistence in mind from the beginning. From what I have learned, the Red Dragon Verkis, who intruded into Felzentin, was a dragon who served as a commander directing the strategy of the dragon and orc allied forces during the Second Race War. Despicably, he tried to use me to bring about the division of the Krosen Empire. If his scheme had succeeded, the Krosen Knight Order and the Duke Knights would have slaughtered each other to the last, and the great Krosen Empire would have been forced to fight a bitter civil war. It is truly fortunate for us that the matter ended in failure.”
When Duke Fershtein paused for a moment, Theodor seized the opportunity and stepped in.
“That is correct. Though the scheme failed, the dragons will certainly attempt to plot against Arcadia with second and third plans. In the worst case, we may even suffer a preemptive attack first. They have millions of extremely warlike and brutal orc warriors.”
As though he did not like the direction things were taking, Marquis Williams spoke up.
“There is no need to worry about the likes of orc rabble at all. Those primitive wretches cannot possibly be a match for well-trained Arcadian soldiers. Since they do not even possess proper siege equipment, the orcs will not be able to capture even a single castle properly.”
At that moment, a tearingly low voice rang through the office. It was Shrekheimer’s voice.
“That is not so. During the Second Race War, numerous castles of Truvenia fell to the orc army. No matter how sturdy a castle is, it cannot stop the advance of an orc army. For that reason, toward the end of the war, it was common to deliberately abandon castles and conduct mountain warfare instead.”
Sparks seemed to fly from Marquis Williams’s eyes. He was already displeased with the lich, and he could not help but resent him for butting in so brazenly. He glared at Shrekheimer as though he would devour him and shouted.
“Where do you get off spouting such nonsense? Since ancient times, a castle has been the greatest defensive wall mankind has created. Abandoning such a defensive wall and instead conducting mountain warfare, which favors the orcs, is, in a word, an insane strategy. It was because Truvenia adopted such strategies that it was destroyed.”
However, Shrekheimer did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
“In the early stages of the war, Truvenia’s commanders thought the same. But before dragons, defensive battles using castles did not work at all. Consider this: a Meteor Swarm cast by a dragon falling upon a castle where countless soldiers are gathered.”
Marquis Williams’s complexion suddenly stiffened. Had he not personally witnessed the power of the Meteor Swarm that had rained down upon the central plaza only recently? Just imagining it made his body tremble.
Shrekheimer continued calmly.
“Even castle walls protected by magic could not withstand Meteor Swarm. The castle was completely destroyed, and the majority of the soldiers stationed inside were massacred. The survivors were wounded and lost all will to fight. Immediately afterward, the orc army’s all-out assault began. There was no way to stop that enormous army. And because of the pursuit by the Wolf Riders, even retreat was not feasible. That is precisely why the Truvenian army had to abandon castles and wage mountain warfare.”
Shrekheimer’s words flowed on without pause.
“The same was true of battles on the plains. As you all know, the greatest strength of a human army lies in dense formations based on the roles of each branch. But in battle, the Truvenian soldiers could not rashly form dense ranks. That was because there was a high possibility that they would be annihilated all at once by the dragons’ attack magic.”
The words that burst from Marquis Williams next were, in a sense, close to a scream.
“S-such a thing… Then why did you not deal with the dragons first? In such a situation, no matter what sacrifice was required, the dragons should have been eliminated first. Only then could you even begin to consider the possibility of victory.”
“Our commanders, of course, thought the same. But there was no method. Think about it. By what means could we eliminate dragons positioned safely in the rear and guarded by an enormous army of orcs? Moreover, when the situation turns unfavorable, they flee without the slightest hesitation. Whether by using magic or by taking flight, they are equally impossible to catch.”
Marquis Williams forgot his words. The same was true of the dignitaries. Fundamentally, they had thought the likes of orcs could not become a true enemy. But hearing about the battles of that time, they realized they were by no means an easy foe.