That day, the palace was rife with tension; even the uninformed felt suffocated by it. My first task as regent was simple: I only had to wait on standby next to the king. Up ahead stood the royal family’s top vassals, whose families had served for generations. They could mostly be divided into two groups: those who harbored animosity toward me and those trying to curry favor. In the end, they were both pathetic, and I was entirely uninterested. In fact, I was glad they let me know how useless they were. The remaining minority were both capable and effective. I could tell that much just from working with them briefly. The nature of my profession meant I could almost perfectly ascertain whether a person was exceptional or not. Besides, I had Kelara, who was a great judge of character. I’d never misjudge someone. I would take in any of the useful vassals and gradually eliminate those who were not. Little by little, I’d increase the number of people I could trust. That would lay the groundwork for usurping the royal family’s position. “Sir Regent, do you think today’s meeting will go well…?” Apparently Hasse wasn’t capable of subtleties. He had spent his days living as a wanderer when he should’ve been learning how to be a king, so maybe he couldn’t help it. “No one in this realm is as illustrious as you, Your Majesty. There is no need to keep your pride in check, even in the face of a powerful religious leader.” Hasse could only nod at my answer. In came the leader of Orsent Cathedral, Archbishop Cammit—the man who most influenced the capital area’s politics. He had to be past fifty, but he didn’t look that old. At the very least, he didn’t look like a genuine servant of the gods. Plenty of warriors made shows of piety in their twilight years, and that was more or less the case here. “Orsent Cathedral desires a long-lasting friendship with Your Majesty. It is not much, but there is a gift I would like to present to you.” Among the gifts the archbishop brought forth were a hawk found only in the western lands and the carved shell of a turtle that could be found only in the western sea as well as milk-white porcelain. “Ooh! These are some magnificent gifts! This is truly generous!” Hasse took them with childlike joy. I certainly wasn’t going to upset him by telling him to calm down. Best not to put a damper on things. Denying him this pleasure wouldn’t simply be a rebuke; it would make him lose face. In return, Hasse recognized Orsent Cathedral’s missionary rights as well as the right to collect a “god tax” in certain cities. Missionary rights had to be reauthorized when there was a new king, but this was only a formality. No temple waited for the king’s permission to proselytize. The god tax was collected ostensibly for the restoration and repair of the temples. Naturally, repairs probably required vast sums of money, but any leftover funds weren’t returned to the government. As a result, taxes were a big source of income for the church. Later that night, I invited Archbishop Cammit to a banquet. Laviala and Kelara were in attendance at my side; the archbishop had two of his advisers with him. The tasks before me were terribly important, as he surely realized. “I have long awaited the opportunity to meet you, young regent. No one as young as you has held this much power for a hundred years, as you know.” On the surface, the archbishop looked like a friendly old man. “That was never my intention. Assisting His Majesty in becoming king as well as aiding him during his reign, is simply the duty of a servant of the royal family.” “That is true. You have been busy managing state affairs, all while being very dutiful to His Majesty. This I cannot doubt.” “At any rate, it seems the cathedral has been successful in trading out west.” Most of those gifts of his had been obtained through trade. That is to say, on their way to the capital, those goods hadn’t made it any farther than Orsent Cathedral’s domain in Fortwest. Naturally, the archbishop had gifted them to the king as a display of Orsent Cathedral’s influence. The capital area’s wealth was even more concentrated in Fortwest than I’d expected. Oda Nobunaga mentioned a similarity to some place called “Sakai.” Did Sakai mean “border” in Oda Nobunaga’s world? True, border regions did tend to become places of trade. The region west of the capital was also where the former king was hiding. There was a risk that Orsent Cathedral was connected with his forces. “Those were offerings made by our devoted followers. We have many followers out west, you know.” It was obvious we were both choosing our words carefully. “Well, as an inexperienced young regent, I would be grateful for your continued assistance. I am still but twenty-three years old. I certainly cannot take care of this kingdom on my own.” I raised my cup, to which the archbishop raised his. “I pray that you and His Majesty may have a long, peaceful reign.” The banquet ended with us both showing respect for each other—at least outwardly. “There’s something unsettling about that man,” Laviala told me after the banquet was over. “He didn’t speak a word of what he really thought. He didn’t even try to threaten us, nor did he make a gesture of goodwill. It’s rare for someone to have so little to actually say.” I agreed with her. She then sighed and added, “To think we’d accomplish hardly anything.” “What do you mean, Laviala?” “Until now, your negotiations were always fruitful—in the end, you would learn the opponent’s weaknesses or bring them to our side. This time we found little more than a sense for each other.” That was where my opinion differed. “We learned we won’t get anything from them. I consider that a fruitful negotiation, honestly. It’s far better than knowing nothing.” Suppose I’ll make them reveal whether they’re friend or foe. I ordered my officers Noen Rowd and Meissel Wouge to get their men trained to be able to move out soon. I also borrowed some of the king’s most trustworthy personal troops. I could at least use them to defeat those who opposed the king. The following month, I obtained taxing rights from Hasse for a number of cities in prefectures that neighbored the capital, and I dispatched a number of people under my thumb. I deliberately stationed some of them in cities on friendly terms with Orsent Cathedral. This essentially made it look like I was ruling the cities myself, so I expected there to be backlash, but things stayed relatively quiet for the time being. Two months later, I sent troops to Sinju Prefecture, located west of Fortwest, for the stated purpose of attacking the lords harboring the king’s enemies. This would be a proper fight—proper enough that I went along myself. Entering Fortwest, we crossed the shallow but wide Sorret River. Advancing farther, we eventually came into Sinju. I ordered Noen Rowd, acting as vanguard, to refrain from capturing their castles right away. “Excuse me, sir, but…why must we attack so slowly…? Your Excellency will be rumored to be a weak commander…,” Noen—who was known for being a fierce general—asked doubtfully. “If we don’t get them to underestimate us, they might always pretend to be friendly.” “Who would pretend to be friendly…?” Noen didn’t seem to follow my logic; maybe he didn’t think there were others in the area who could be our enemy. “It’ll be obvious soon enough. If they mean to protect their claims on the cities, this is our chance.” Oddly enough, I didn’t care what they did. If nothing happened, my sphere of influence would expand without a fight, and even if they attacked, it wouldn’t be a mortal blow. And then a messenger came to my camp on horseback. By his face, I could tell right away the situation was dire. “Reporting! Orsent Cathedral has raised troops to attack Your Excellency!” My generals were shaken. We had marched too far west. With Fortwest’s Orsent Cathedral hostile, the way home would be shut off. Not me, however… “Yes, that’s great news!” I clapped my hands and yelled with delight. “How could you be happy about this?! We might be caught between two forces!” Laviala protested. To be fair, getting excited about news of rebellion probably didn’t seem to make sense. “Laviala, remember how you once said there was something unsettling about the archbishop? Long story short, you were wrong about him.” “Wh-what are you talking about? I can’t understand you if you don’t explain! And your other vassals must feel the same!” Some of the others did look dumbfounded. Of course I’d explain. I wouldn’t be able to put my generals to use if I left them in doubt. “Verbally, the archbishop was hiding his intentions. In the end, though, he did the most rational thing. Thus, it’s easy to figure out how he’s going to act now. This may seem strange to you, but this is far easier to handle than someone more mysterious.” I placed a rod on the battle map. “Tell me, why do you think Orsent Cathedral is so powerful? Surely not because they have strong faith?” I looked at Laviala, though testing your wife probably isn’t the best idea. “Umm…is it not because they have lots of money?” “More or less. Well then, as for why they have so much economic power…” I pointed one after another to the spots on the map with city names. “The cities’ merchants and artisans, as well as the city leaders themselves, have great faith in them. Naturally, this earns the cathedral plenty of money. There are a few reasons why.” I now pointed with the rod to where the names of lords were written. “There are almost no powerful lords in the capital outskirts. The land claims there have always been a tangled mess, so it’s full of petty lords, you see. They could easily lose their territory if they’re defeated politically.” “So in other words, it wouldn’t do the cities any good to seek the protection of the lords?” “Exactly.” Laviala looked a bit pleased at that. She really needed to stop being so easy to read. “So that means Orsent Cathedral is the one with all the power in the capital’s vicinity. Fortwest Prefecture is the only land title they hold, but the surrounding prefectures are under their influence, too. Many of the cities I received taxing rights to before are in their pocket.” “You mean you were trying to provoke them?!” Laviala’s ears seemed pointier than ever. “Well, more or less. If they wanted to betray me when I was at my weakest, I might as well make them show their hand. It’s frustrating to have a big power acting so high and mighty next to the capital.” If I couldn’t at least put Orsent Cathedral under my thumb, I’d never really have control of the capital area. What good would a regent be if he didn’t even have power there? “They didn’t openly rebel right away, though. I guess it was hard to say anything when it’s not actually their land. Or perhaps they didn’t think it was a good time for war.” At the time, I couldn’t yet predict what the archbishop was going to do. So I made myself vulnerable to attack. I deliberately deployed my troops in a place where Orsent Cathedral could catch me in a pincer attack. Taking out the former king’s allies in the capital outskirts would help secure my power, and if they sat back and waited, it’d be harder for Orsent Cathedral to resist. Besides, if they continued to do nothing to protect their cities, they’d lose the trust of the others, who along with their merchants and artisans might bow to me. Orsent Cathedral had raised troops against me at the best time possible for them, so the archbishop must’ve had a decent head for military strategy. That wasn’t everything, though. Damn, that’s a hell of a gamble. It’ll be great if you win, but if you lose to the priests, all the influence and power you’ve built up to now might collapse. Your power around the capital isn’t secure yet, you know. Oda Nobunaga seemed upset with me. You’re the one who told me not to trust the priests. Even so, I didn’t think you’d go this far to provoke them. You had the time to absorb the authority of the capital a bit more. You could have at least pretended to respect them. I’m a warrior at heart, all right? To be honest, I ended up with so many troops that every victory came easily; it was boring. It’s more interesting to win fights that seem even at first glance. Any fort would fall to an encirclement ten times their number. But the quality of the commanders doesn’t matter then. I agree with you completely there. The battles I risked my life at were Okehazama and Kanegasaki and…well, others, too, but not many. I’m not worried. After all, I’m Alsrod, not Oda Nobunaga. Pfah. I don’t think you’ll listen to me anyway at this point. Just don’t get yourself killed. I don’t want your campaign to end here, you know. I mean, I don’t, either. Being regent isn’t exactly my final goal. Set a rear guard against the western lords and flee as fast as you can back to the capital. The priests wouldn’t dare burn the royal capital. “All right, Noen, take five thousand men into the enemy towns and convince them to cooperate. Kill them and raze the place if they don’t.” Hey! Why aren’t you retreating?! My official goal here is to clean up the area west of the capital. Once I defeat my enemies, I’ll make a “victorious” return to the capital. “Yes, sir! I shall be thorough!” Noen replied, brightening up. His enthusiasm had been flagging recently without any opportunities to show off. Like him, many of my men desired battle more than authority. “I’ll attack from another road. We’ll show them they’ll die if they defy me, regardless of whether the cathedral is their ally. Feel free to destroy a few cities to teach them a lesson while you’re at it. This fight will reveal who’s friend and who’s foe.” My commanders appeared heartened by my orders. Some of them were worried about what would happen if we lost, of course. But many of them looked full of excitement, like on the day before a festival. At some point along the way, Laviala had grown pretty excited herself. She already looked like she was itching to let some arrows fly. We had come this far by vanquishing the enemies in front of us, one by one. We were like a flower that could only bloom in battle. We ultimately wouldn’t have gotten anywhere if we hadn’t won our fights, no matter what schemes we hatched. “I’ll show you what I can do with the archers, Lord Alsrod! I wouldn’t want to lose my skills by staying out of battle.” “Of course. Now go get me their general’s head. But just”—I went over and hugged her, patting her lightly on the back—“make sure you come back alive. You’re a mother, you know.” At that, Laviala’s expression took on an unusual tenderness. She must’ve been thinking about her daughter, as a parent might. She always put on a brave face when she worked, but I knew she went to be with her daughter when she had the time. “A child needs both parents,” I said, “especially ours. She’ll inevitably get drawn into a power struggle.” “Yes, sir. I’ll make sure she and Seraphina’s boy are both raised well.” “I want you to have more children, too.” “Lord Alsrod, you don’t have to say such things here!” she protested, blushing. Laughter arose from the commanders behind. Sorry, Laviala. Crude jokes are an old trick for raising spirits on the battlefield. You’ll have to forgive me. “Now that you mention it, I have a request for you as well, Lord Alsrod.” It was just like my milk sister to come back with a retort like that. Her role as my sister had faded as I’d grown up and become more powerful, but that side of her still made an appearance every now and then. “Please set aside more time to be with your child. I know you’re extremely busy, but please. Lately she’ll ask me, ‘Where’s Papa?’ from time to time.” “Ah… You’re going to bring that up now…” I wasn’t totally unaware, but I just couldn’t help prioritizing work. “If we mess up here, you could all end up with nowhere to turn. I was just doing my duty as regent…” “If a child is only raised by their mother, they won’t listen to their father at all when they’re older. Don’t blame me when that happens.” There was more loud laughter; now I was the victim, too. “All right, I’ll think about it when this war is over.” “Please do. Don’t break your promise, all right?” “A regent never goes back on his word. They’ll have to inherit my legacy someday, after all.” Once I beat the cathedral, things should be a little easier. We’d probably have peace for about three years, I guessed. We’d have trouble it didn’t last that long, as I wanted to subjugate the east side of the realm before my kids were much older, regardless of what happened to the former king’s forces. Who could say what would happen? “All right, everyone coming with me, give me your best. We’re moving out!” Amid everyone’s cheers, we put our backs to the cathedral and set out west. Of course I hadn’t been neglecting to gather intelligence on Orsent Cathedral. I got frequent reports from the rappas as we were on the move. As I’d expected, those at the cathedral were criticizing my misrule and planning a pincer attack with the lords I was invading. Hasse was in the capital, but of course they couldn’t really turn on him, as I was the one they wanted to overthrow. If rebel forces occupied the capital for too long, the residents would definitely begin to complain, as was the historical inevitability. They’d have no choice but to subjugate the capital by force, oppressing the people’s freedom. When that went too far, the people would get anxious to have the rebels put down. Making enemies of the locals would dramatically turn the tide of war against them. The archbishop—Cammit, or whatever his name was—definitely knew that much. So he was only thinking of defeating me. Still, they likely didn’t expect to get rid of me with this one war. If they could get good peace terms, then they won, and their allied cities would be happy. The archbishop probably wasn’t hoping to rule over everything. He just wanted some power and nice benefits to go along with it. I wasn’t going to do things so peacefully. By assailing the rebellious cathedral’s cities, I’d give them no choice but to fight. In an all-out battle, I know I can win. You absolute fool. I’ll say it again. You’re even more foolish than me when I was young. Oda Nobunaga continued to gripe on and on as we marched. And since he spoke inside my head, it was especially annoying. You had your own trouble with religious groups, right? Unlike local lords, these people operate on vastly different logic. They’re bizarrely unified and wealthy. You hardly have to explain that to me! The Ikkou-shuu were a much bigger thorn in my side than Takeda; they even killed my younger brother. They come at you with a united front. Lords don’t have the power to make their subjects go to battle so willingly. They don’t fear death, you see. They’re insane. War is a struggle between those who fear death, but these people break that law. The man really did understand the situation. My enemy was strong, and that was why I was going to strike first. In our path stood a town not quite big enough to call a city, encircled by a water moat. It was in defense mode with its wooden bridges all raised, but the moat itself was narrow. It was practically a ditch. “Right, who’s going in first? They’re hell-bent on resisting, so you needn’t show any mercy.” “Leave this to me!” It was Dorbeau, captain of the Black Dogs, who gave the swift response. He was a werewolf man with countless scars on his face. He had originally been a hoodlum from Brantaar Prefecture, where he became the leader of a local mercenary band. Those mercenaries started serving me and became an official part of my army, then I added more men to their group and made them into the Black Dogs. All of this led them to be a relatively independent part of my guard troops. Of course, there shouldn’t be much reason for them to leave me. “In return, I would like it if you let us loot whatever we can, though. We’ve had to be civil for so long.” He had more the face of a villain than that of a proper soldier. Maybe that was only natural, given his origins. “Indeed. You’ve done well to hold back for so long. Feel free to go wild.” I wanted to see for once what these guys were capable of. “Thank you kindly. My men will be pleased.” “Don’t you bastards go sullying the dignity of us guardsmen!” Leon Milcolaia, the elven captain of the White Eagles, furrowed his brow. Their personalities seemed hopelessly incompatible. Leon probably got along better with the Red Bears’ Orcus Bright, even. Orcus was audacious, but at least his humanity was still intact. “I serve only His Excellency, not you. Besides, battle often calls for a lack of dignity.” “You bastard! We were here before you lot ever joined!” Leon did aim for more graceful battles, but he could get pretty worked up himself. “Let it go, Leon. I meant for each group of guardsmen to have different personalities. The White Eagles have situations they shine in, and ones they don’t. That’s all.” “Understood… I was out of line…” Leon relented. “All right then, Black Dogs, give ’em hell.” Dorbeau promptly transformed into a wolf, as did his men. Some of them had fought alongside Dorbeau for a long time. “Grrr…ruff!” Dorbeau let out a growl. The wolf sounds were his way of communicating with the others, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying. The wolves poked around the water moat, jumped where the inner trench seemed shallowest, and clambered up. By the time the enemy tried to attack them with spears, the wolves were already inside. Some of them even cleared the moat with a single leap. I heard several screams right away. People with no hesitation to fight were powerful. “Seems like a massacre. Everyone outside will wait in front of the bridges. Actually, that may not be necessary.” Once the Black Dogs were in, the moat instead blocked people’s escape, dooming them to a pitiable fate. Flames were rising from the town before long. “They really are a rough crowd, aren’t they?” Laviala also had a hard time being happy about our comrades’ domination. “That means they’re either done looting, or there’s nothing worth taking. Then they’ll burn it all to the ground. Everywhere they attack turns black, which is why I called them the Black Dogs.” “I wouldn’t want to be on their bad side.” “It’s important to have people like that as allies. Hurting your opponent is part of war.” Midbattle, armed residents who realized they were out of options crossed the trench and tried to jump out into the moat. The town must’ve been an absolute bloodbath. Of course, I had no intention of letting them escape. “Fire!” Laviala ordered the archers. Flying almost completely straight, the arrows pierced foe after foe. Raising the bridges and waiting for us had made their intention to resist unmistakable. If we’d bypassed them, they would’ve attacked us from behind. “Laviala, show them no mercy. I always make an example out of the first battle. There’s nothing to feel guilty about.” “Don’t worry, I’m prepared for that. Besides, I’ve already killed many, so my conscience was never clear!” Laviala answered bravely, and she loosed more arrows. With the inside and outside attacks, the battle came to an end in just about an hour. According to Dorbeau, the small town had had very little to loot, though. Taking people as loot was a thing, but since we didn’t have the time to drag around prisoners, he said they’d killed everyone they found. “I’m glad it ended so quickly. A long battle is more trouble than it’s worth.” “Speed has always been my strong suit, just like you. Loot all you can and kill them, or kill them first and then loot—one of the two. Taking time to find the right approach will get you killed.” “If you were a mercenary, you sure must’ve been a sticky-fingered one.” There were virtually no survivors. My troops had surrounded the moat, so they’d had nowhere to escape. Apparently the town had been called Messe, but today that name had disappeared from the map. I ordered the rappas to spread news of what had happened to the other enemy cities. They were gonna have to pull their hair out over whether to side with the cathedral or with me. Though neither the cities nor the lords would be able to abandon the cathedral so quickly. Still, once I burned another two or so places, others would start to surrender. “All right, let’s keep moving. We’re just going to take everything by force and make them think there’s no time to put up a defense. We’re going to settle this, without even falling behind Noen’s party!” After giving out what rewards I had to, I wasted no time setting my troops marching. Most of the cities and castles ahead of us intended to resist. I’d take them down one by one, link up with Noen, and complete my subjugation of the region. I have no idea why you take such gambles. If you have trouble subjugating them, the cathedral’s followers will come after you. Judging by the distance, if you’re not mostly done in two days, it’ll be too late. If I have two days, I can make it work. They were all weaklings anyway, and I’d be attacked if I went back to the royal palace. I didn’t want to ever be on the defensive, as that would only embolden enemy forces. About five thousand jargs away from the first town I destroyed, I captured a petty lord’s castle in one brute-force attack. I put Leon in front for that battle. After killing the lord’s clan, I hurried onward. The next city didn’t take up arms and let me through. Things were going well enough. I could do this. What awaited me next was a fortress held by the allied forces of two powerful local clans, the Salkais and the Friffaeds. It was Salkai Castle, home of Keenda Salkai. Their troops numbered about fifteen hundred. The fort was fairly large and constructed out of wood and stone. I figured my fate would depend on whether I could capture it. Of course, I intended to do exactly that, and with ease. I’d show them the power of the Oda Nobunaga profession. “It will be difficult to take this by force,” Kelara, who was with me in this campaign, said without fearing my reaction. I much preferred that to someone who’d agree to attack only because I wanted to. “Behind it is a sheer cliff, so we can only attack from the front. Judging from the fort’s size, it’s sensible to think a fast capture would be tough under arrow fire.” “Kelara, if I were sensible, I wouldn’t have attacked this far in the first place.” “I know. I am in your service, after all.” Kelara put a hand to her chest and nodded. “So I think you will need to do something extraordinary. If that isn’t possible, it’s best to withdraw.” “There’s no law that says a regent can’t do something extraordinary, after all.” I slowly brought my horse back to my soldiers. “Listen up, everyone. I’m going to take down this fort in one hour, starting now. I’m going to show them exactly who leads this realm!” I wasn’t just trying to motivate my men. I was trying to inspire myself. “I’m not serving myself here. This is a fight for the kingdom! These insolent fools will get the beating of their lives for allying with the former king and the cathedral!” Leading troops in war, you had to keep your composure, and at the same time whip your men into a fervor. Otherwise they’d never be strong soldiers. “Let me hear who’s ready to put their lives on the line!” A tremendous cheer rose from them, like the wildest pack of wolves I’d ever heard. Special ability Conqueror’s Presence activated. Takes effect when recognized as a conqueror by many at once. All abilities are tripled. Additionally, all who lay eyes on you experience either awe or fear. Special ability Conqueror’s Guidance activated. Allies’ trust and focus will double. Additionally, their offensive and defensive abilities improve by thirty percent. Now as long as I didn’t fail to lead my men, I could win. “Right, then. Let’s come up with a plan. Generals, gather round.” I spoke briefly about strategy in a village mansion where we were temporarily encamped. “Laviala, you’re an Archer, right?” “Yes! If I’m with you I can’t miss a single target!” “How many in your regiment are Archers?” “We have more since coming to the capital—at least thirty.” That would be plenty. “Got it. Kill the enemy archers firing at us. It’s hard to shoot up from below, but with your skill you can do it. Make every shot count.” “Understood.” The smile disappeared from Laviala’s face. It wasn’t out of pessimism, though—I could tell a cold flame was burning in her heart. “Meanwhile I’ll dive in myself and break into the fort. Miss too many shots, and I’ll be dead. My life is in your hands.” Laviala sighed. “I wish you’d be a bit safer, but that’s how you are.” Next to her, Kelara was listening silently. “Kelara, take a regiment around to the back of the fort. It may be on a cliff, but the enemy has to have an escape route. Some will try to flee when we attack from the front.” “I take it you want them all killed?” “I do. Then the battle will end in our total victory.” Well, time to begin. Oda Nobunaga, let me show you how I seize power. Leading my crack troops, I stood at the foot of the hill that led to the fort. The gates were at the top, past a long series of hairpin turns. All the turns were there to make it easy to shoot attackers with arrows. However, if they could shoot us, logically the reverse was also true. I vividly remembered the time I went to Fort Nagraad on my brother’s orders. At the time it was our fort that was about to fall, so I’d had no choice but to risk my life driving the enemy back by myself. I had so many allies now compared with then. The difficulty had lowered substantially. “All right, let’s go! Show them how terrifying your regent is!” I galloped my horse up the hill. “It is I, Alsrod Nayvil, regent of the Kingdom of Therwil! I’ve come to slay all who oppose me!” I could faintly see the enemy’s countenances falling at my words. Obviously they hadn’t realized I’d come personally. Believing you’re safe is like being on a sinking ship—what military tactics book said that again? If the enemy believed being in a fort would allow them to hold out for a while, then I’d gladly shatter that illusion. Their archers brought their bows to bear. Do it, Laviala. Do it for me. An archer who was about to fire was shot in the face by a long arrow. He fell backward slowly. The soldiers beside him went stiff. “This is the power of His Excellency’s archers! Who wants to be next?” “Well done, Laviala!” More arrows followed. Our attack left us fairly open, so some men were shot off their horses; far more of the enemy were getting hit, however. “Get more archers!” “This tower doesn’t have enough archers!” Panicked voices rang out from the fort. If they didn’t have archers, we could easily make our way to the gates. As they fumbled around, the first of our men reached the gates, and the magic users launched fireballs to burn the way open. Next to them, men set up stepladders to get inside. At the moment, my profession’s special abilities were dramatically strengthening my men. I figured if just fifteen of them got inside, our victory would be sealed. As I defended myself and waited, the gates opened from the inside. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my men or if my enemies were coming to kill me, but either way, it was definitely a great opportunity. It was my troops who’d opened it. “Your Excellency! Please come in!” “We’re ready for you!” “Of course!” I said. “I’m not a politician but a warrior; see for yourselves! Everyone push forward! Destroy everything you can!” An avalanche of soldiers spilled in after me. You did it. Lucky bastard. I guess you could say that’s part of what makes a conqueror. I wasn’t exactly leaving this up to luck, Oda Nobunaga. I’m just trying to take the best approach. Besides, you didn’t have professions like ours in your world. With a good understanding of my own abilities and my allies’ morale, I could make anything work. The battle itself was over at this point. The castle really was going to fall within an hour. Now it was just a question of how much I could show off. The soldiers with the three-jarg spears brought them down all at once upon the enemy. Their bones broke with a crack, and I saw them fall over. Their helmets had huge dents in them. A spear that long was also incredibly heavy. Whipping it at someone was enough to destroy their helmet. They were even long enough to strike an enemy while out of reach of their attacks. “All right, I have to get in on this, too.” I drew my broadsword (and it was indeed very broad). “Whooaa! Now, that there’s an old sword!” yelled Orcus in his booming voice. Apparently he’d been fighting nearby. I’d selected the most personally accomplished soldiers for the Red Bears, which distinguished them from my other guard troops. “This weapon was passed down from regent to regent. It’s called the Stroke of Justice.” And indeed, the wielder’s enemies would fall to prove his justice. “Huh. I’m surprised it was still there after the regent has changed so many times.” As he spoke, Orcus swung his three-jarg spear, sending an enemy flying. They even flew three jargs through the air and landed next to their friends. “Orcus, you’re pretty sharp. You’re right; I couldn’t believe it myself at first. I thought it’d be long since lost if it had even existed. But I looked into it and figured out what happened.” I gave the old sword a light swing. I was getting used to it faster than I’d expected. “Most regents don’t really go out on the front line, right? The peacetime regents especially may not have even had any battlefield experience. As a result, it was still left in storage from another regent in the capital.” “So you’re saying that sword is seeing battle for the first time?” “No, it has some tiny nicks in the blade. It must’ve seen some use back in ancient times. I guess it’ll get to taste its first blood in a while!” I ran toward the central part of the fort. “Orcus! Come with me! It’s time for their last rites!” “Salkai and Friffaed are the lords of this place, right? Surely a regent of all people doesn’t need to kill such petty lords?” Orcus ran without losing his breath. The fort interior was mostly flat ground, making it easy to run. “That’s one way to think about it. But if the regent himself kills the ruler of the fort, it’ll definitely raise morale, right? I want to raise it as high as I can to take on the cathedral.” This was the preliminary skirmish leading to that. “Yessir. Well then, I’ll focus on helping ya!” Holding my sword with both hands, I flung myself against a soldier trying to block the way, sending him flying. From behind, Orcus stabbed him in the neck with his spear. “Yeah, it’d be nice if it had a bit longer reach, but it’s not that bad.” First evading my foes’ spear attacks, I closed the distance and then swung my sword. Once I did, they had no way to block it, so they collapsed on the spot. Even if they didn’t die, I had probably used enough force to break some bones. I swung my sword upward and yelled. “Listen well, enemies of His Majesty the king! I am the regent, Alsrod Nayvil! I’m going to slice off your heads and present them to the king! Come over here if you have the guts to fight!” The defenders’ jaws seemed to drop. They probably still couldn’t believe there was a regent this brash. “This is an old sword passed down by the regents. But they were all so spineless it never got used. As long as there are rebels preventing peace in the realm, I’ll keep on swinging it!” My men cheered. I didn’t say that to rile up the enemy. It was to motivate my men. A few of my foes did have some backbone—there was one unit that came my way, yelling, “Off with the regent’s head!” I glanced at Orcus, as a signal to charge forward together. “If I die, I want it to be in battle, y’know. That’s why I gotta come to places like this. Thank ye for all the good business!” “After we get back alive, learn about tea ceremony from Yanhaan sometime.” “Oh, no, that sorta thing ain’t for me…” He genuinely looked disgusted. “Aaaaahhhhhh! Orcus Bright, captain of the Red Bears—that’s who I am!” Orcus went forward, forcefully swinging his three-jarg spear. A packed group of enemies who had been coming to attack were scattered. I then hit them with the Stroke of Justice. At some point, the members of the Red Bears had congregated near me. “Protect the regent!” “Protect the captain!” They went and pushed the enemy back. I’d miscalculated. These guys’ morale had been high to begin with. In fact, they were enjoying putting their lives on the line as much as I was. Along the way, people shouted that a Friffaed clansman had been killed. “Hey! Make sure you leave General Keenda Salkai alive! He’s mine!” As I warned them, we were capturing more and more of the fort. The tallish part with a short ladder was the highest part of the fort, apparently serving as the keep. The commanding general was probably there. The concentration of enemies more or less gave it away. Our men swarmed it. The enemy’s overall morale wasn’t that good, so some of them seemed to be trying to flee out back, but the place holding the commanding general seemed to be the exception. They were fighting back well enough there—not that they had the skill, though. A steady stream of screams was going out. As I was in the melee with the Red Bears, a middle-aged man with obviously high-quality armor appeared. “You’re Keenda Salkai, commander of Salkai Castle, yes?” The man looked hopeless. The disbelief of having been invaded so quickly was written on his face. “I see you are. It may be rather late for me to say this, but I still shall: If I could only fight sensible fights, I’d never have become regent at this age.” “I’ll take you to hell with me, Your Excellency!” Eyes wide, Keenda Salkai let out a sort of shriek as he came at me with his sword. I slammed my sword against it as hard as I could. My enemy’s blade flew into the air. As it did, I swung my weapon and took off Keenda Salkai’s head. “I’ve slain the traitor! This fort has now fallen!” A roar of delight went out everywhere. Enemy forces would lose their will to fight now. I would be impressed if they could keep going. Enemy soldiers were fleeing from the back, the opposite of the side we’d attacked from. Apparently there really was an escape route. Of course, Kelara’s forces were there waiting for them. My generals gathered to me. Laviala came back as well, with sweat trickling down her forehead. “Well done, Lord Alsrod! Word of your might will get back to the capital, too! I’m sure everyone realizes how strong their regent is now!” “You seem to think we’re finished, but it’s not over yet. I still have a job for the archers in particular.” Just because the enemy had lost its will to fight didn’t mean we weren’t going to finish the battle. “Deploy your archers on the other side of the fort. Kill any who try to come back when they find Kelara blocking their escape. You’ll be up high this time, so you should have a good shot.” “You are merciless, Lord Alsrod. I’ll make ready immediately.” “I have to discourage them from opposing me, after all. I don’t want to do any more assaults after this.” The soldiers who tried to flee were killed by arrows from Kelara and tumbled down the sloped escape route. The path was so narrow that not many could go back, and the ones who tried were killed by Laviala’s archers. “Right, we don’t have much time to dally. We need to meet up with Noen’s men.” I set my troops to marching once again. It’d be tough, but this was the outward journey. The journey home would be more exhausting. I wanted to make sure everyone here could return home to the capital—but, well, who could say how that would go?
Chapter 29
36 min read