Chapter 217: Amaranth (17)

Austin and the numerous commanders visited Roan’s tent to give reports, then solidly froze like stone statues.

Shocked looks were overflowing on their faces.

The place their gazes headed towards was the top of Roan’s desk.

No, to be exact, it was the incredible number of plates that were piled on top of the desk.

‘F, food dishes?’

The gazes once again turned towards Roan beyond the dishes.

Even now, Roan was holding a palm-sized bread in his mouth.

‘The sir who said even commanders must eat the same as ordinary soldiers……’

‘Even though he used to eat much less than ordinary soldiers……’

That Roan was now making a work of three, four meals, no, at least four days’ worth of rations in one sitting.

“My lord. Are you alright?”

Austin asked with a careful expression and voice.

Only then Roan awkwardly smiled and stood up from his seat.

“I trained a bit hard and ended up hungry, you see.”

It was true to a degree.

Roan, in order to solve the hunger of Travias Spear who awoke from a deep sleep, had to bleed almost enough blood for his world to spin.

The good thing was that his body’s health itself was greatly invigorated the moment he grasp the Travias Spear.

The problem was just one, an intense hunger that abruptly came.

With no choice, he could only do an incredible overeating unlike usual.

“Is it because of the report?”

Roan, with a composed voice as if nothing was wrong, asked.

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

Austin got hold of himself a moment behind and extended the files he had prepared.

It was a report that inspected the Infec region and its surrounding regions.

Roan looked at the files thicker than he had thought and creased his forehead.

The feeling that something was unusual was strongly felt.

Sure enough.

“My lord should know if you read the report, but……”

Austin and the numerous commanders exhaled long sighs with troubled expressions.

“The situation is horrendous.”

Austin’s situation explanation continued for a while.

Roan, simultaneously while listening to the story, personally and meticulously read the files.

In the report, the horrible and grueling works Simon Rinse and the hexers whom followed him were recorded in detail.

“In the Infec Region as of course and in the many villages of the adjutant regions, presence couldn’t be felt, my lord.”

Simon and the hexers had captured the good and innocent citizens of the kingdom and had made them into hex dolls while alive.

Because the hexers did not particularly paid mind to blocking intelligence, they could directly come in contact with the foreboding rumors.

Roan clenched his teeth.

Bright red rage filled up to his throat.

However, he effortfully controlled his heart and exhaled a long sigh.

“Announce the report’s story to the entire kingdom.”

A simple order.

But it wasn’t an order that could be easily answered to and execute.

“Eh?”

The commanders including Austin asked back with shocked expressions.

“Then the entire kingdom will fall into chaos, my lord.”

Already, it was a situation where the kingdom’s foundation was being greatly shaken from the throne succession war.

If Simon’s atrocious acts were to be revealed at such situation, the Rinse Kingdom that was barely standing could instantly collapse.

Furthermore.

“The adjutant kingdoms could dispatch armies with this event as an excuse, my lord.”

As always, the existences called hexers were horrible group of evil to the rulers that absolutely had to be subjugated and executed.

To the many empires and kingdoms that watchfully were aiming for the Rinse Kingdom, a front would become created for them to ally up and attack the Rinse Kingdom.

Roan slowly nodded his head.

He could understand well of Austin and the numerous commanders’ worry.

‘But even so, we cannot hide such an important truth.’

The kingdom’s citizens too had the right to know.

Few amongst them should still be trusting, following, and supporting Simon.

The people who would raise their hands and cheer if Simon’s army visited.

‘And they will be captured just like that and become hex dolls……’

A state where they weren’t aware even when a knife is placed beneath their chins.

At the very least, he wished to prevent such situation.

Roan’s contemplation continued on deeply.

At that moment.

“From the look of it, it seems that we won’t have to contemplate seriously about foreign nations’ invasions, my lord.”

Together with a quietly sunken voice, Chris entered into the tent.

An expression as stiffly solidified as his voice.

With a short sigh, he reported the story he had just heard.

“The Estia Imperial Army from the North, and the Diez Kingdom Army from the South have invaded.”

Boom.

Instantly, everyone goggled their eyes as if having received a great shock.

Chris bitterly smiled.

“It’s troublesome if you are already so shocked, sirs.”

From his pocket, he took out a small note.

“The one that is leading the Estia Imperial Army is Duke Edwin Voisa’s son Mills Voisa. The one who has extended his hand to the Diez Kingdom Army is Prince Kallum.”

Bdoom.

A great shock once again struck.

Rages arose at the fact that the ones who plunged the Rinse Kingdom into danger were the Rinse Kingdom’s royalty and noble.

In contrast, Roan was almost strangely calm.

‘It is as expected.’

The one who had ordered the monitoring mission near the borders to Agens was in fact Roan.

Because, although it was a twisted future, it was also possible that a situation similar to or same as the past life could unfold.

‘Even back in the last life when the Mad Monarch threw the entire kingdom into chaos, Kallum who was the king at the time requested reinforcement from Diez Kingdom.’

Although Kallum’s position and situation had changed, him holding hands with the Diez Kingdom was ultimately the same.

Only.

‘The future related with Mills Voisa has been pulled forwards much more than I thought.’

In the case of Mills Voisa and his father Duke Edwin Voisa, they surrendered to Kallum the moment the Second Prince Tommy Rinse had died and showed outstanding achievements.

And although they maintained the house’s success in their own way and protected their power, Mills suddenly surrendered into the Estia Empire and fell into a traitor house.

‘Mills’s surrender, who had at the time learned even the Flamdor Mana Technique, brought an amazing shock to the Rinse Kingdom’s citizens.’

A bitter smile hanged from the old memory.

Roan deeply breathed in and looked at the numerous commanders including Austin and Chris.

“Add the details of Chris’s report just now to Simon and the hexers’ atrocity and widely spread it to the entire kingdom.”

“Yes. Understood, my lord.”

Either way with Estia Empire and the Diez Empire having invaded, there was no need to watch foreign kingdom’s gazes.

‘Rather, I will earn a definite pretext once these rumors are spread.’

The kingdom’s hero who fight against sinister hexers and invading armies.

Roan’s eyes twinkled and shone with light.

At that moment, Austin asked in a cautious voice.

“But what should we do about the Estia Imperial Army in the North and the Diez Kingdom Army in the South, my lord?”

“Hmm.”

Groans leaked out from everywhere.

A situation where the Lancephil Fief Regiment’s feet are trapped from facing Simon.

Furthermore, the faction that must be suppressed the foremost when looking at the priority list were also Simon and the hexers.

The Mad Monarch Simon was already making even ordinary citizens into hex dolls.

‘If the time passed even more, they will mercilessly slaughter every living organism.’

An event he already experienced in the last life.

He couldn’t let that horrifying event arise once again.

In the end, a situation where Roan couldn’t face the Estia Imperial Army and the Diez Kingdom Army until he subjugate Simon.

Roan too fell into deep contemplation.

At that moment, fief administrator Swift, who was still staying in the camp, spoke up with a careful voice.

“My lord, although we can’t completely stop the Estia Imperial Army and the Diez Kingdom Army, we can slow down their march by at least a little bit.”

At those words, one strand of hope brushed past Roan’s expression.

“What is that method?”

Swift’s answer was simple.

“Black Rinse. No……”

A smile hanged on his mouth.

“It’s using the Black Amaranth.”

*****

Bdoom! Boom! Boom!

Noisy sounds that hit the ears.

Each time, the castle wall they stood on sharply shook its body.

“Co, commander! The castle gate will soon be penetrated at this rate!”

“We, we can’t defend the wall like…… kuuk.”

Sentry troop’s desperate voices pierced through the roar and entered his ears.

Vail, the guard captain of the small but strong fort Brimton Castle’s tightly clenched his teeth.

‘Brimton here is one of the kingdom’s South’s forts. If this place is pierced, even the capital, Miller, becomes endangered!’

It was a castle they had to protect in any way.

His gaze headed towards below the castle wall.

Green flags and armors that couldn’t easily be seen in the Rinse Kingdom spread like a flood.

‘Prince Kallum! Was the throne so tempting! For you to pull in a foreign power into the throne succession war!’

Embitter and furious emotions kept boiling.

The green legion below the castle wall were the Diez Kingdom Army’s soldier that allied with the Third Prince Kallum Rinse.

If possible, he wished to disregard his life and resist to the bitter end.

‘Since my lord has trust and entrusted me……’

He wished to answer Roan’s expectation.

But.

‘If we resist any more than this here, even innocent citizens of the castle will take losses.’

Furthermore.

‘That isn’t the result my lord wishes.’

Thanks to that, the contemplation wasn’t long.

Exhaling a long sigh, Vail shouted with a twisted face.

“Hang the white flag! We are surrendering!”

A conditional surrender.

The condition was, of course, the safety of the Brimton Castle’s citizens.

“Kuuk. Captain!”

“Kuuuuk.”

The members of the guard troop that fiercely resisted to the end cried unrestrainedly.

Hot tears flowed rolled down the cheeks and flowed.

Vail, forcefully holding back tears, shouted in a rigorous voice.

“Don’t cry! We haven’t lost, nor given up!”

He opened his chest with a daring spirit.

“Our mission isn’t to protect the Brimton Castle, but the Brimton Castle’s citizens.”

The tip of his voice sharply shook.

“This is the only way to protect the citizens.”

The tears he held back burst out.

Instead of sounds of shouts and metal, only sounds of tears were full on the castle where a fierce battle unfolded until just before.

Vvuuuuu!

Together with the sound of horn and through the widely open castle gate, Kallum Rinse and Lukan Diez showed themselves.

Truly imposing and arrogant sights.

The faces of Kallum’s soldiers and the Diez Kingdom Army’s soldiers who followed too couldn’t be any more arrogant.

At that moment, Kallum and Lukan, who were moving at the head, pulled their reins and softly stopped.

Haughty and cold gazes felled towards the ground.

At the end of the gaze.

Vail was there.

“The retainer Vail of the Rinse Kingdom’s Count Roan Lancephil greets Prince Kallum Rinse.”

Vail had already led the commanders of the guard troop down and were kneeling on one knees.

Kallum, while riding on top of a warhorse, glared at the members of the Brimton Castle Guard Troop.

“To dare point swords at the Rinse Royalty. You are no different than rebels.”

Sound of shout noisily rang.

Brimton Castle’s citizens who swarmed out around the broad street dryly swallowed with completely nervous expressions.

Vail quietly raised his head and looked straight at Kallum.

A defeated commander, but his looks were that of bold and daring whose spirit at least hadn’t been broken.

With a clear and powerful voice, he asked back.

“Then is Prince Kallum who is pointing his sword towards his majesty Simon Rinse who has climbed to the king’s throne also a rebel, your highness?”

“Wha, what! I am merely warring with the throne succession on the line! It is a just act!”

Kallum flustered and shouted.

Vail faintly smiled and lowered his head.

“We too have merely entered the throne succession war, your highness.”

Short and heavy answer.

“You, you……”

Kallum couldn’t continue his words and gritted his teeth with an expression full of anger.

At that moment, Lukan, who was watching from the side, brightly smiled and waved his hand.

“Prince Kallum. Please go back about now and do take a rest. I’ll take care of it from now on.”

A polite yet somewhat arrogant speech.

Kallum let out a cough.

“Hm. Hm. I understand. Let’s do so.”

Although it wasn’t agreeable, he couldn’t refuse even so.

‘Since we agreed to hand over up to the Brimton Castle here to the Diez Kingdom……’

Now the owner of this castle wasn’t the Rinse Kingdom but the Diez Kingdom, and currently had become not Kallum but Lukan.

But Vail, the guard troop, and the Brimton Castle’s citizens, who couldn’t possibly know of such truth, merely tilted their heads at Kallum and Lukan’s strange conversation.

Meanwhile, Kallum’s adjutants and including Kallum slightly spurred their horses and headed towards the castle’s center.

“Where are you going Prince……”

When Vail spoke up with a confused expression, Lukan abruptly raised his right hand with a crazed laughter.

“Hahahahaha!”

At the incredibly loud laughter, the citizens who swarmed up to the grand street creased their foreheads.

Lukan, not minding that, shouted aloud towards his soldiers.

“The battle has ended! Now is time to start the celebration!”

The faces of the soldiers wearing green armors brightly flushed.

Completely excited looks were overflowing.

And at that moment, Lukan gave an appalling order.

“Enjoy!”

As soon as his words ended, the Diez Kingdom Army’s soldiers let out shouts.

“Waaaaah!”

Scattering to both sides of the street, they pounced without minding old or young women as they pleased.

“Kkyaah!”

“Wha, what are you doing!”

“Let me go!”

In an instant, the Brimton Castle was fully filled with sharp screams of women.

“Wha, what is this……”

Vail and the guard troop dropped their mouths open at the horrendous scene that spread before their eyes.

Meanwhile, the violence of the Diez Kingdom Army became worse.

The soldiers, breaking and destroying the citizens’ houses, pillaged the citizen’s wealth as they please.

In that process, innocent and ordinary citizens lost their lives.

“You, you, you sons of bitches!!!”

In the end, Vail shouted again and stood up.

The guard troop’s members also the same.

With redly bloodshot eyes, they glared at Lukan and the Diez Kingdom Army.

“You sons of bitches! Stop right now! They’re ordinary citizens with no crime!”

At those words, Lukan snorted out a laugh.

“What a funny bastard. Whether they have offense or not, that isn’t important.”

Sharp gaze swept Vail’s body.

“Listen well.”

A cold voice.

“Winner monopolizes all. That is our Diez Kingdom’s method.”

An arrogant smile blossomed on his mouth.

Vail couldn’t endure any further.

“Die!”

Pulling out the sword at his waist, he rushed towards Lukan.

‘Even if I die at my time, I will absolutely die after cutting you bastard’s throat!’

Flame arose in Vail’s eyes.

His sword slashed Lukan’s throat in an instant.

No, he thought he had slashed.

But the reality was.

“Eh?!”

Vail widely goggled his eyes while looking at his right arm that cleanly cut off below the elbow.

His gaze naturally headed towards Lukan.

A sight where Lukan who was originally empty-handed was already holding a sword.

He smiled even brighter and spoke in a small voice as if to whisper.

“You’ll think well of instead having died early.”

A mocking light in the eyes.

Lukan’s sword cut through the air.

“Uh.”

Vail felt his neck turning cold then warm.

At the same time as that, the world tilted diagonally and his sight turned dark.

Through the edge of his ears, Lukan’s voice was very faintly heard.

“Since our party is now starting.”

That was the end.

Vail couldn’t hear, see, nor speak any more.

Death.

His head and body separated and fell onto the ground.

Lukan sinisterly smiled and looked around.

Hell.

Wherever his gaze touched, a hell spread out.

No, to be exact, a world that was hell only to the Brimton Castle’s citizens spread out.

Pulling his reins, Lukan spurred his horse.

“Should I also enjoy a round?”

His red lips wetted with lust shined.

After that day, rumors no one wished to believe began to spread in the Rinse Kingdom.

Rumors that began to each spread from the North, South, and West.

< Estia Imperial Army has invaded! >

< Diez Kingdom Army has invaded! >

< His majesty the king Simon Rinse has allied with hexers! >

The rumors were greatly detailed.

Furthermore, official announcements were put up by Roan Lancephil’s name.

< The Estia Imperial Army Mills Voisa is leading is violating the kingdom’s North! >

< Kallum Rinse has allied with Lukan Diez and are blazing the kingdom’s South to ground! >

< Simon Rinse is kidnapping the citizens together with the hexers and are making them into hex dolls! >

The entire Rinse Kingdom boiled with the three rumors.

“They say the citizens living in the North have been robbed of all their food and wealth by the Estia Imperial Army!”

“That’s at least better! The Southern citizens have not only lost all their wealth to the Diez Kingdom Army sons of bitches, but the women were raped and men had their limbs cut off!”

“What about the West’s citizens. They say his majesty the king, no, Simon Rinse and the hexers actually attacked more than tens of villages and castles and turned more than thousands of citizens into marionette dolls.”

They were unbelievable rumors, no, news.

The rage of the Rinse Kingdom’s citizens reached their peak.

In the middle of that, one hero’s actions softly cooled their rage.

< Count Roan Lancephil and the Lancephil Fief Regiment are winning victory after victory against Mad Monarch Simon and the hexers! >

< The Black Amaranth members who received Count Roan Lancephil’s order are raiding and assaulting the rears of North’s Estia Imperial Army and the South’s Diez Kingdom Army and are hindering their ration supplying. >

< The Lancephil County has opened its food and wealth and are caring for the citizens who have fallen into plight. >

When the entire kingdom was chaotic, only Roan and the Lancephil County was fighting for the kingdom’s citizens.

“There’s only Sir Count Roan Lancephil!”

“Yeah! At this rate, I wish Sir Count Lancephil would wipe off all those shitty things!”

“We can trust and follow however much if it’s Sir Count Lancephil!”

Voices looking up to and revering Roan turned louder in the cities.

In the middle of that, a group of six young men and women crossed the Rinse Kingdom and headed towards the West’s Infec Region.

Their destination was Roan Lancephil’s camp.

Their identities?

They were the surviving members of the 12 Hatchlings that was merely few months ago were nominated as young nobles and talents who would lead the Rinse Kingdom.

The one who was leading them was still Baron Sith Wiggins.

Sith looked at the western sky glowing with the setting sun and flashed his eyes.

‘Absolutely……’

Eyes filled with resolve.

‘I must meet Sir Count Roan Lancephil.’

With his right hand, he covered his left chest.

Inside his palm, a hard object was felt.

The object that he must deliver to Roan.

That was in Sith’s chest pocket right now.

< Amaranth (17) > End.