Chapter 50: Past Secret Talk in the Royal Capital

(TN:  Prince Carl is the second prince of the Harlasia kingdom who got into an uprising prepared by first prince Ludwig and former minister of war duke of Dalbaren; at the time, Carl was fighting in the frontline against the invaders, so he wasn’t at the capital city of Harlasia throughout the ordeal.)

When Orvo and his companions arrived at the Empire, the capital city of the Harlasia Kingdom was under siege. The besieging force was an army led by the second prince, Carl, along with the private troops of the nobles and temples under his command.

Upon hearing about the coup that had occurred in the capital, Prince Carl entrusted command to his deputy and returned to his homeland with a few trusted companions, including his close friend Wilibald, who served as his adjutant. He directly traveled to the territories of the nobles and major temples across the country, who were unlikely to have participated in the coup, and requested that they gather in the capital to fight against the coup forces.

Leaving their horses with the nobles and temples who had agreed to their request, the group borrowed new horses and swiftly traveled to other locations. This repeated journey became known as “Carl’s Lightning March,” as they raced across the country at an astonishing speed. With Prince Carl personally sending out rallying calls, most of those who received his requests marched towards the capital to support him.

Finally, after requesting reinforcements from his grandfather, Duke Sewell, who was a powerful noble and also his blood relative ruling the south, Prince Carl returned to the rendezvous point near the capital before anyone else. There, he skillfully organized the troops that had arrived from various places with his exceptional leadership.

Prince Carl decided to besiege the royal capital to engage in a war of attrition, so as not to involve the civilians as much as possible. Fortunately, most of the people in the capital did not recognize the rule of the coup forces, and both troops and supplies were reaching Prince Carl from various locations.

“It’s amazing how easily they were lured in just by hinting that they might be involved in national politics. Nobles are truly stubborn, not just inside their territories but also inside the capital,” Wilibald said.

“It’s only natural, isn’t it? We needed numbers to surround the capital because it’s so vast. In that regard, the cooperation of the temples has been helpful,” replied Prince Carl.

“Let’s not forget that it’s not for our sake, but for the sake of the believers in crisis,” reminded his close friend, Wilibald.

Prince Carl and Wilibald, who were leading the troops, were staying at a castle on the outskirts of the capital, which served as their headquarters. Fully armed, the two of them remained calm, as they had just returned from fighting alongside the invading army. The war against the invaders had further matured these talented young leaders.

While sitting deeply in his chair and reading the report from his spy, Prince Carl chuckled and responded with a smile, “I know, right? It’s funny how things turned out for the better in a twisted way.” 

To this remark, Wilibald jokingly replied: “You allow such independent action despite knowing that the private armies of the nobles are no match for the armored soldiers… My, my, Your Highness, you have become a good person in a bad way.”

“Hey, hey. That’s not something a co-conspirator should say,” Prince Carl retorted.

In fact, the allied forces of the nobles had once attacked the royal capital and suffered major defeat. The command of that attack was not led by Prince Carl but by ambitious nobles. They had boasted that they would drive out the coup forces on their own, but Prince Carl had stopped their sortie.

There were two reasons for this decision. First, the premise of this battle was a prolonged siege. By surrounding the royal capital, which lacked internal production capabilities, the food supply would quickly run out. If that happened, the morale would inevitably decline, and if they were to forcibly requisition from the people, the citizens of the royal capital would become allies of Prince Carl’s forces.

Although enemy reinforcements might arrive, all the highways leading to the capital city have already been blocked off. Furthermore, Duke Sewell, who was known as the strongest in the kingdom, commanded a formidable heavy cavalry waiting in anticipation. Even if the enemy reinforcements arrived, they would likely be crushed before reaching the capital city.

The second reason was that they were not opponents that could be easily defeated. According to intelligence gathered from infiltrators who had managed to enter the capital city, some of the coup forces were equipped with the same armored suits used by the invading army. 

It was evident that Prince Carl had chosen to besiege rather than launch a reckless attack after learning this information.

It was undoubtedly frustrating for them to see the weapons they had fought and bled for being used against them, but Prince Carl and his forces on the frontlines knew the strength of these armored suits best. Even though their numbers were small, it was inevitable that they would be overwhelmed by such formidable firepower. Exercising caution in the face of such a threat was a prudent decision.

However, despite Prince Carl’s efforts to stop them, some of the nobles went ahead and attacked the capital city on their own, likely trying to gain a superior position over other nobles by achieving military exploits. Ignoring Prince Carl’s orders, they thought they could get away with it once they achieved victory. They had such naive thoughts.

As a result, they suffered a painful counterattack from the metal fragments and flaming blasts launched from the outer walls surrounding the capital city. Some of the noble commanders who had been too reckless were killed, while the rest crawled back to the castle in a sorry state.

“Half of those stubborn fools who wouldn’t listen are dead, and the other half had their soldiers taken away as punishment for their reckless actions. The remaining ones are either cautious, obedient, or lack the courage to join in the reckless actions… In any case, it’s good that we were able to quickly unify the chain of command,” 

“There’s nothing as terrifying as power struggles among allies,” 

“That’s right. It’s one of the things I learned from being part of the coalition army. No matter what kind of group it is, it needs to have an acting leader,” Prince Carl grinned.

Among the people surrounding him, there were those who called him a coward and whispered behind his back. But now, after witnessing the terror of the armored soldiers, their voices quickly quieted down. The results proved that Prince Carl’s judgment was correct, and despite their inner feelings, they began to follow his orders.

Although Prince Carl initially lost the first battle, the ones who were hindering the strategy were the ones lost in the process. With the unified command structure, the army became a cohesive unit, and it could be said that they had actually become stronger.

On the other hand, the coup forces had successfully repelled the attack, but the siege continued, and they had already depleted their supply of metal fragments. Unlike the invading army, who seemed to have an endless supply of metal fragments of the same size for some unknown reason, the coup forces had to rely on craftsmen to produce them, and their supply couldn’t keep up. Although it was a small difference, it had resulted in bleeding on their side.

Currently, they were continuing the siege while keeping a close eye on the situation in the capital through their well-placed spies. According to the information gathered, the coup forces had significantly weakened compared to their initial state. The cause of this was the annihilation of the “Marius Holy Knights.”

“Never imagined that half of the coup’s forces would be wiped out in a single day. If that scorpion guy were still alive, I would have wanted to take care of him as a hero of the nation in the royal family,” Prince Carl lamented.

Losing the formidable force of the “Marius Holy Knights” dealt a significant blow to the coup forces, delaying their takeover of the capital longer than expected. Their relationship with the temple forces was especially in shambles. It was natural, considering they had claimed religious reform as their justification and had even killed several temple officials.

If the “Marius Holy Knights” were still around, they could have pitted the temples against each other, which would make it difficult for the coup forces to be targeted directly. However, at present, the temple forces were singularly focused on countering the coup forces. As the temples openly displayed their dislike for the coup forces, their followers also turned against them. Such a situation made it immensely difficult to govern effectively.

Therefore, the Duke of Dalbaren felt the need to persuade the temple forces in order to effectively quell the unrest in the surrounding regions, and thanks to the time that was bought, Prince Carl was able to organize an army. The current situation had arisen due to the insidious influence of the Hades Scorpion, and Prince Carl felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards the scorpion for its role in shaping the present circumstances. Words alone were inadequate to express the depth of his appreciation.

“I’m afraid it’s impossible. I doubt we can communicate with it, and moreover, it seemed to have suffered severe injuries. The scorpion is likely lying dead somewhere as we speak. Besides, by fighting against the Holy Knights it has likely grew quite hostile against humans, so even if it were alive, it would be impossible to help it.”

“That’s quite unfortunate… Oh, looks like someone’s here. Come in.”

As Prince Carl was genuinely disappointed, the door to their room was knocked lightly. Upon being prompted to enter, one of the spies who had infiltrated the royal capital stepped in.

After giving a brief bow, the spy handed over two booklets containing the gathered information. As Prince Carl read through the first booklet, he widened his eyes slightly and let out a relieved sigh.

“Will, take a look at this.”

“This is…! Ah, thank goodness…!”

After reading the booklet handed to him, Willibald sat down and shed tears of joy. The booklet contained information that his parents, the Prime Minister and his wife, were indeed captive but alive, and his sister Adelheid was being sheltered by the temple of the ‘Goddess of Protection’.

He had already resigned himself to the idea that his family was likely lost, so knowing they were alive brought him immense relief. However, now was not the time to cry tears of joy. He wiped his tears and straightened his expression as he stood up.

“Phew… I apologize for showing such an unsightly appearance.”

“It’s only natural to care about your family. And with this second booklet… we can finally take action.”

The second booklet contained a promise of support from those inside the royal capital. It included the private soldiers of almost all the churches that worshiped the God of War, as well as some knowledgeable civilians, such as hunters, in matters of battle.

Their plan, devised by Prince Carl, was for the insurgents to rise up inside the royal capital when the full-scale attack from the outside began and open the city gates while causing distractions on the outer walls. Then, elite forces would pour in and liberate the royal capital in one swift move. The reason they continued the siege was to secure the cooperation and promises of support from these individuals.

“Since preparations are in order, let’s begin the attack on the royal capital. Notify all troops and commence the attack from the early hours of tomorrow. Provide a slightly more luxurious meal to boost morale. We will proceed according to the prearranged plans, but let’s gather the key personnel and share information, just in case.”

“Understood. I will gather them for a military council.”

“Very well, I leave it to you.”

With a respectful bow, Wilibald and the spy exited the room. Prince Carl had no intention of forgiving the fools who had thrown the country into chaos. As he was left alone in the room, he wore a ferocious smile, pondering how to hold every single one of them accountable.

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(TN: In this chapter and the preceding ones, you may have noticed the use of the words ‘temple’ and ‘church’. In chapter 32 the negotiations of the gods, we learn that the word temple mean the residence or the function building of the gods.)