Chapter 526
Chapter 526: Finally Moving. (1)
“Wow, you’re alive!”
A mere gangster boss had made it all the way to the capital. Considering that Austin City is quite far from the capital, it’s safe to say he was incredibly lucky.
Crank scratched his head and chuckled again.
“Yeah, yeah. Just happened to….”
His back was drenched in cold sweat. He had a dreadful history with Claude.
Crank had tried to frame Claude for fraud and even thought about severing his wrist, keeping him under surveillance all the while.
The one who used to be the prey was now returning as an immensely powerful figure. Claude could end his life with just a flick of a finger.
‘No way! How have I survived until now! I can’t die feeling this wronged!’
As expected, Claude grinned maliciously and asked, “Do you know what our first order of business is after we take over?”
“Ah, I know.”
Stabilization wasn’t just about distributing food. Ghislaine placed great importance on public order.
Therefore, every time they captured a new territory, didn’t they demolish every crime organization in sight?
This had already begun in the Seiron Kingdom. Anyone who had done any wrong was swiftly captured.
Gathering new intel from the people and combining it with information from the kingdom, they executed death sentences on the most vicious offenders.
Crank, having lost his power, had been keeping a low profile, cleverly dodging the executioner’s blade. But now, with Claude showing up, there was no way to escape.
“P-please spare me!”
He prostrated himself. Crank knew all too well how the king and nobles had been wiped out at Claude’s hands.
Claude had also been notoriously petty back at the academy. He wouldn’t let someone like Crank, who had harbored grudges in the past, get away.
Indeed, Claude was relishing his pettiness.
“No way. I can’t overlook this. To be honest, I was quite hurt back then.”
“Uuaaah! Please, spare me!”
“Nope. Our policy is to create a place where ‘there are no criminals.’”
“I’ve washed my hands of crime now!”
“But you’ve committed so many sins before that. Hey, take this guy away.”
The soldiers immediately grabbed Crank. As he was being dragged away, something suddenly struck him and he shouted.
“Anna! I know where Anna went!”
“What?”
Claude whipped around. He knew the whereabouts of Anna, the one they had searched for tirelessly!
“Are you serious? If you’re lying, you’ll die twice over.”
“Y-yes! Please spare me!”
“Where did she go?”
Attempting to negotiate, Crank quickly abandoned that thought. If he poked this petty man wrongly, it would ultimately bring worse trouble down on him. It’s better to comply.
He spoke truthfully with the knowledge he had.
“She headed to the Byron Kingdom.”
“What? Is that true?”
“I-I think so. I caught a glimpse of her when the refugee march split. It’s true!”
“Hmmm….”
Claude looked at Crank with suspicion. He wasn’t naïve enough to take a criminal’s word at face value.
However, Crank made a sincere expression of grievance.
“It’s true. I’m neither mistaken nor lying.”
“Explain in detail.”
“So, what happened was….”
Cracks had emerged, and the refugee lines were stretching everywhere. It was not uncommon for refugees from different regions to stumble upon each other.
Conversely, there were groups that diverged in opinion and aimed for different destinations.
The group Anna was with had decided to head for the neighboring kingdom, while Crank’s group stubbornly made their way up to the capital, believing their homes were still better.
After listening to the explanation, Claude nodded.
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
He understood that there were some refugees heading to other kingdoms. If Anna wasn’t in the Seiron Kingdom, she could have gone to another kingdom.
Even if it was just a guess, it was better than thinking she was dead.
Rubbing his hands together, Crank said, “Now that you’re in such a high position, you’ll be able to find her quickly. Since you’ve avenged your enemies, you could even get married…”
Pfft!
Claude slapped the back of Crank’s head as he said, “That’s not it, you know? I’m just worried because she’s the daughter of my teacher!”
If he said it was for revenge, that would please Claude. But no matter what, he couldn’t erase the fact that a mistake he made led to his teacher’s demise.
He and Anna had already resolved to go their separate ways. If the world hadn’t become so chaotic, he would have just forgotten her after parting.
However, with monsters and socialites rampant, he wanted to confirm that she was safe and sound.
He only wanted to help Anna due to his guilt over the past. Claude genuinely thought that way.
Crank nodded repeatedly while rubbing his hands together.
“Of course, of course. I know the Governor is gracious and generous. Uh, well… I did share her last whereabouts, so you’ll spare me, right?”
“Why didn’t you come and tell me directly?”
Claude had been searching through the kingdom for days, looking for Anna. If people had seen her but didn’t know who she was, they surely couldn’t provide accurate information.
But Crank, who knew her, could have done just that.
Then, with wide eyes, Crank replied, “If I showed up, I would either be killed outright or at least sentenced to hard labor. You almost did that just now. So I’ve been keeping a low profile.”
“You bastard… you know me too well.”
“Hehe, but we used to gamble together in Austin City.”
“Yeah, since you provided information, I’ll spare you.”
“Yay! Thank you! Long live Your Excellency! Long live!”
Crank beamed and prostrated himself on the ground. Then Claude placed his arm around him and said, “You’re enlisting.”
“Huh?”
“You’re joining the Seiron Reconstruction Army. Got it?”
“……”
“If you don’t want to, you can die.”
Claude was increasingly resembling Ghislaine with each passing day.
“I-I’ll enlist….”
Crank accepted with tears in his eyes. It was better than being caught and killed.
Watching Crank leave with his head bowed, Claude fell into thought.
“The Byron Kingdom… that’s good.”
Ghislaine was planning to venture to the Byron Kingdom next after Seiron. Claude would also soon be heading there.
Finding Anna in the Byron Kingdom would be even more difficult. It was a larger kingdom, and there was also the presence of the Salvation Society.
Anna might have died there or even left for another country.
Still, until he definitively knew her whereabouts, Claude would continue searching for Anna.
*
The Byron Kingdom was already overrun by the Salvation Society and the Rift in more than half.
The petty Byron Kingdom only being half-dominated was thanks to the civil war in the Ruthania Kingdom.
With some priests in the Byron Kingdom withdrawing to the Ruthania side, they managed to hold on.
Part of the reason why the Rift wasn’t controlled was that nobles who had joined hands with the Salvation Society had to avoid the Rift’s domain.
“Damn it! This is different from when we prepared! You said we could control it!”
Bang!
In the Byron Kingdom, the leader of the rebels, Marquis Brodes, slammed his desk in frustration.
He was on the verge of losing his mind. If they fought against the Rift’s domain, their forces would be depleted, and they had no choice but to avoid it. In the meantime, the kingdom army had solidified their defensive lines.
They needed to stop the Rift’s expansion as well, but unlike those who only needed to defend, they had to avoid the Rift while launching attacks on the kingdom army, which posed a problem.
They weren’t just frustrated for that reason alone.
“When the hell will the superhumans be sent back?”
The rebels were currently held up by the kingdom army, which was putting up fierce resistance.
Originally, their forces were slightly inferior to the kingdom army. But with the help of the Salvation Society’s superhumans, they could push on without losing momentum.
Then, a civil war broke out in Ruthania, and most of the superhumans from the Byron Kingdom were conscripted. Without the superhumans, advancing was no longer feasible.
“Quick, get in touch again! Even one person should be sent!”
Just as he was hastily urging his aides, the shocking news came in.
“Th-the priests have all disappeared!”
“What?”
“The priests of the Salvation Society have all vanished! They seem to have fled!”
“T-this is….”
Marquis Brodes’ face turned pale.
Even if they weren’t superhumans, the general priests of the Salvation Society had been a great asset. They acted as mages and took care of communication with the Salvation Society.
To think all of them disappeared in just a day. At this rate, they would have to face both the Rift and the kingdom army at the same time.
“Those bastards fled because it was disadvantageous to them!”
Marquis Brodes felt betrayal. They’d long been flattering him, claiming they could seize the kingdom, and now they chose to run at such a crucial moment!
Then even more shocking news arrived.
“They say the civil war in Ruthania has ended! The Duke Delphine Faction and the Salvation Society have been defeated!”
“The Duke of Penris has led out an army of 100,000!”
“The frontline is being pushed back by the Duke of Penris’ vanguard of 20,000! We need to find a way now!”
Marquis Brodes trembled. With no superhumans and all the priests having fled, how could an army of 100,000 be heading their way?
Even if they combined every force on the frontline, it would barely reach 100,000. They didn’t have a single superhuman on their side.
They were currently struggling to fight evenly with the kingdom army, and now facing an additional force of 100,000 would be impossible to win.
Marquis Brodes spoke urgently.
“Gather all the troops and block the road! They’ll have to avoid the Rift’s domain too, so we just need to block that! In the meantime, contact the Salvation Society in the other kingdom…”
“No, it’s useless.”
At the aide’s words, Marquis Brodes furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean, it’s useless? What does that even mean?”
“Th-the Duke of Penris…”
“What about the Duke of Penris?”
“He’s coming this way, pushing straight to the Rift. He’s suffering very little damage.”
“…….”
Marquis Brodes felt dizzy. Is that even possible? Could a human army be that strong?
If such an army existed, why had humanity been suffering at the hands of the Rift until now?
There was only one answer. That army had transcended human capabilities.
“It’s no wonder the Ruthania Kingdom was the first to be sorted out.”
From what Marquis Brodes knew, all the high priests of nearby kingdoms had gone to the Ruthania Kingdom.
But now, they were claiming victory against those priests and were providing support to other kingdoms!
“Let’s run! Hurry up and prepare! We need to flee!”
Marquis Brodes made a judicious decision. The problem was that he also wanted to take everything with him while escaping.
If he had just brought his close associates, he could have easily fled. After all, he could join the Salvation Society wherever they were.
But he began moving with troops and supplies in tow. He wanted to exert power even after going to another kingdom.
“Time should be sufficient.”
Since it was a distance, he naturally thought so. He had no idea of the Duke of Penris’ speed.
Doodoodoodoodoodoo!
Until the moment he noticed the 20,000 cavalry trailing behind them.
“Wh-what the hell is that! How is that even possible?”
Marquis Brodes felt as though he were possessed. Before the messenger even arrived, the Duke of Penris’s mobile army had already appeared.
Boom!
“Uwaaaargh!”
There was no proclamation of war or conversation. They came charging in and just plowed through.
No matter how they tried to resist, it was in vain. The difference in combat power was too vast.
Marquis Brodes lost his wits as he watched his army being annihilated.
People often referred to the Salvation Society as devils.
But that was because they hadn’t seen the army of the Duke of Penris.
This army was the true army of demons.
Boom! Boom! Booooom!
The one at the forefront, with glowing red eyes, sent soldiers flying. No one could stop him.
Those beside him were the same. They sliced through soldiers like chopping wood as they advanced.
Unbeknownst to him, Marquis Brodes had wet himself. That demon, grinning savagely, had already come to stand before him.
“Y-you’re the Duke of Penris?”
“Indeed.”
“I-I surrender…”
“No need.”
Slick!
Ghislaine said briefly and then decapitated Marquis Brodes.
Thus ended the rebel faction of the Byron Kingdom. While a few remnants remained, Claude was leading an army to clean up behind them.
The role of Ghislaine and the 20,000 mobile army was to target key regions first.
He thought it would be an easy victory, and it indeed was; however, Ghislaine’s brow furrowed in doubt.
‘Where are the priests?’
Except for one or two occasions at the start of their entry into the Byron Kingdom, they hadn’t seen any priests of the Salvation Society so far. It meant they all fled.
The high priests in neighboring kingdoms must have participated in the civil war in Ruthania, so it made sense they weren’t around.
However, it was certainly odd that the regular priests were also missing.
‘Looks like they’re gathering their forces.’
To avoid being individually picked off, they were definitely gathering somewhere.
If those cockroaches were to gather, they would gain an astounding strength. Thus, the other kingdoms needed to boost their preparedness quickly.
It might be a bit laborious, but the Northern Army of Ruthania had to move even more busily.
As Ghislaine clicked her tongue while preparing for the next battle, a welcome piece of news arrived.
“The civil war in the Turian Kingdom has ended! They’ve contacted us wanting to join the Allied Forces!”
It was the second kingdom, following Ruthania, to wrap up its civil war.
Those who heard the news all widened their eyes in surprise.
Turian was a place that had been struggling to fend off crazy monsters before the Rift opened and the Salvation Society ran rampant. They hadn’t even been able to join the Allied Forces.
To think a kingdom like that could wrap up its civil war so quickly was an unbelievable achievement.
Yet Ghislaine was not surprised by the news. He knew that among the Seven Greats of the continent, one resided in the Turian Kingdom.
Ghislaine smiled joyfully.
‘So he has finally moved.’
The man who had been called the greatest sword in the continent in his past life.
He felt a swell of anticipation at the thought that he would meet him again soon.
