Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 86: Age of Schemes (1)

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“We are retreating.”

Margrave Fritz von Rosenberg declared. The bone dragon reflected off his gray eyes. With only a single phrase, all 100 knights of the Scarlet Wild Boar cavalry turned around. No one questioned his decision.

His adjutant spoke up.

“Your Excellency, it is Barbatos. This is almost certainly the Crescent Alliance.”

“They brought an utterly inefficient bone monarch.”

The earl’s words flowed coldly. Although his voice was low enough to get buried under the sound of hooves clopping, it could be heard clearly by the cavalrymen whose senses were far more developed than normal humans.

“They are not aiming for efficiency, they are aiming for justification. Barbatos has gotten involved in a war that requires justification.”

“I see. Is that why it is the Crescent Alliance?”

“We must report this to His Majesty the Emperor.”

The adjutant smiled wryly.

“Will His Majesty respond properly?”

“I do not hold any expectations towards the individuals within the royal palace. However, His Imperial Highness the Crowned Prince is also there. He must take control of the militia.”

The adjutant’s eyes went wide.

“Are you saying that we should report to the Crowned Prince before His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Put a three hour gap between the reports. Three hours should be enough for His Highness the Crowned Prince to come into contact with the military.”

Margraves. A large amount of freedom is given to margrave households as compensation for protecting the border. They are able to possess more soldiers than what is normally allowed by law and are excluded from various duties. They’re practically like kings of their own territories. Naturally, the royal court of the empire believes that the margraves could start a revolt at any moment.

The reason why the margraves have never been charged for treason for the past 500 years is simple. They’ve always supported the legitimate heir. No matter how trashy the Crowned Prince’s personality turned out to be, and regardless of their incompetence, the margraves have always supported the Crowned Princes simply because they were the legitimate heirs. By maintaining this attitude constantly, the margraves have been able to take a step away from the political battles within the royal court.

“Her Highness the Third Imperial Princess will most likely lose her position after the war is over.”

“She is not the third imperial princess. Refer to her as Earl Evatriae.”

Earl Rosenberg responded sternly.

The first prince of the empire resembles his father greatly, so he is incompetent. Not only is he incompetent, but he has a rotten personality as well. There is a secret shared between only an extremely small minority of high-ranking nobles. It’s about how the first prince, along with his siblings, raped their older sister. After being raped continuously, the first imperial princess committed suicide. Although the public was told that she died from a disease.

The adjutant asked carefully.

“Your Excellency, will the Habsburg Empire be destroyed?”

“It could.”

If a man of noble birth were to overhear this conversation, he would most likely be shocked. It would make sense even if three generations of their families were condemned for the crimes of slandering the imperial family and treason. However, be it the adjutant, Earl Rosenberg, or the hundred other cavalry knights present, not a single one of them batted an eye. To them, the empire was nothing more than a tool.

“There are 2 paths. One is where the empire survives. In this situation, Earl Evatriae overtakes His Highness the Crowned Prince and seizes the throne. The empire will undoubtedly fall into disarray, but it will eventually recover. However, in this situation, the margraves will fall into ruin.”

“What is the other path?”

“The path where the empire falls.”

Earl Rosenberg maintained his cold tone.

“After His Highness the Crowned Prince inherits the throne, the internal workings of the empire will rot and eventually collapse in on itself. However, our household will be given the honor of having never betrayed the nation as we solely focused on the protection of mankind. Even if the empire falls and a new nation takes it place, our sincerity will be acknowledged.”

The future of the empire or the future of the margraves. Or perhaps, the future of mankind……. The adjutant contemplated this as he spoke.

“If Earl Evatriae is able to get a hold of power, what will Your Excellency do?”

“If we are going to be treated as treasonous households, then I would rather go down grandly.”

The earl’s gray eyes glowed dimly. 

“I will form an alliance with the other margraves and carry out an attack beyond the Black Mountains. We will be surrounded completely and annihilated. However, the names of our families will remain throughout history as the protectors of mankind. At that point, they will most likely become indebted to us. It will then no longer matter if our families collapse.”

A cynical smile appeared on his lips.

“You only have one life. It would be best for a household to come to an end brilliantly.”

* * *

A young, blonde man who used to be the commander of the red fortress entered a stable. All of the stables on the outskirts of the city were shabby, so they appeared unused. This was a cover. The stable was a hideout where the members of a certain group would share intel in secret.

The young man pulled out a crystal ball that was hidden in a corner of the stable. Once he recited a spell, the crystal ball lit up. Shortly after, blue light emanated from the crystal ball. The light created a thin curtain and a single woman was then projected on the ball.

The young man spoke to the ball.

“Sister, Rosenberg has returned.”

“Right now?”

“Uh, if you add the time it took for me to get here, it has been roughly 20 minutes since his return.”

The woman snorted.

“Her Highness the Imperial Princess hasn’t been informed at all. I guess Rosenberg has resolved himself to serve that ruffian. As expected of a relic from the past.”

“Uh, well…… he didn’t seem like that bad of a person.”

The woman glared at the young man. The young man showed a troubled smile. 

“Well, what should I do now?”

“Haah……. Her Highness the Imperial Princess wants you to move together with the cavalry.”

“D-Don’t tell me she’s ordering me to fight against the Crescent Alliance?”

The young man spoke in a pleading tone as if he were asking to be spared. The woman let out a sigh.

“What do you expect to do with only 100 cavalrymen? The Crescent Alliance is going to cross the red fortress and tear apart the northern region of the continent. There will naturally be refugees. Rally those refugees and create a volunteer army. You must now act as the leader of this army. We’ll prepare you the necessary funding within a week.”

“Wait, Sister. It’s not like anyone can just become the leader of an army, you know?”

The young man looked desperate.

“I need a certain amount of fame if I want to lead the common people. I have less fame than some random street harlot. Furthermore, I’m also a defeated general. A general who lost the red fortress.”

“It’s simple if you just pretend to be someone else.”

The woman smiled widely.

“You said that excluding you and the cavalrymen, all of the soldiers that were defending the fortresses were wiped out. If so, then it shouldn’t be difficult to pretend to be someone else. Use the name of one of the reasonably famous commanding officers who were a part of that defending force. The only commander who managed to lead his troops and survive the red fortress. You just have to push this sort of image forward.”

“…….”

The young man pressed his hand against his chin as he pondered.

“……I see. I could do that. Mm, I could just explain to the remaining cavalrymen that I have no other choice but to borrow the name of one of the deceased in order to gather volunteer troops. It shouldn’t be hard to persuade them if I say that this is for the sake of avenging our allies.”

“All right. Is there a name that sticks out to you?”

“Kurz.”

The young man grinned.

“I’ll go with Kurz Schleiermacher.”

“The deputy commander of the red fortress? Well, that sounds appropriate. I’ll include the identification papers with the funding. Although the name is a bit too cute for your personality.”

“How rude. What’s wrong with my personality……?”

The two talking individuals were the imperial princess’ shadows.

They’ve devoted everything they have to the existence of the empire and the imperial princess’ supremacy. The two of them had neither a name or an identity. They became merchants, alchemists, and assassins whenever it was necessary.

“Don’t pretend to be innocent, it’s gross. You were going to get rid of him at some point anyway, weren’t you?”

“Well, obviously…… but it still felt like a waste.”

The man let out a sigh.

“He was a good person, but he had no interest in Her Highness the Imperial Princess. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no other choice but to eliminate those who refuse to swear their loyalty to the true ruler of the empire.”

He muttered.

“Fortunately, the Crescent Alliance moved at an appropriate time, so the defending troops were wiped out without me having to do anything. Mm, if I played my cards wrong, then Kurz Schleiermacher might have stayed at the rear and survived, but after I told them that the enemy might be the vanguard of the Crescent Alliance……. Well, they all declared that they were going to stay and fight as if it were the most natural conclusion.”

The woman gave the man an unamused look.

“In the end, you killed them all with a single assumption. Seriously, your wickedness knows no bounds.”

“Uhm, I’m not the one who killed them. They resolved themselves for death. Please don’t push my image in a weird direction…….”

The woman shook her head. From her perspective, the young man seemed fine on the outside, but his insides were rotten. Nevertheless, his skills were undeniable. As long as he was genuinely loyal to Her Highness the Imperial Princess, his ability and fealty were enough to overlook his crooked personality.

“In any case, good work. You just have to work a little bit more. Also, don’t forget to report to us what Rosenberg does.”

“The margrave’s army is going to be unable to avoid a battle with the Crescent Alliance and Her Highness the Imperial Princess is going to come in, after having obtained military control, and handle the situation in one fell swoop……. As expected, Her Highness is talented as usual. A villainous hero in a warlike era is a phrase meant specifically for Her Highness the Imperial Princess.”

“Of course. Good luck out there. Don’t get stabbed in the back somewhere.”

Right as the woman was about to disappear from the crystal ball, the young man quickly stopped her.

“Ah, Sister. Wait. There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about Her Highness the Imperial Princess. How did she find out about the Crescent Alliance’s invasion so early?”

The young man furrowed his brows.

“It’s weird. She found out way too fast. Even if us Shadows are capable, we don’t have a spy in the Demon Lord army.”

“Kurz.”

“Yes?”

The woman smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll get hurt.”

The light from the crystal ball vanished. The stable became dark.

The young man let out a long sigh.

* * *

The 6th legion of the Crescent Alliance has captured the path through the Black Mountains. ⎯⎯This news quickly spread throughout the other Demon Lord armies.

More than half of their troops haven’t even been dispatched yet, and yet, the fact that the 6th legion had already created a path to the continent wasn’t exactly welcome news to the other prideful Demon Lords. Even the Demon Lords who had been dawdling all this time quickly prepared their armies.

The 2nd and 3rd legion didn’t care who went first as they held their departure ceremonies. The 4th legion’s task was only to support from behind, so they remained silent. The 5th legion consisted of only 2 Demon Lords, so there was no need for a rowdy departure ceremony as they departed quietly. Excluding the 7th legion which consists solely of Baal and his forces, there was only 1 legion left.

The Mountain Faction legion led by Paimon.

She was staring closely at a map. The 2nd highest Demon Lord under her at Rank 12, Sitri, was prattling on beside her.

“Ah, big sis. The others are really starting to annoy me. They keep going on about how the Mountain Faction is slow because we only have high numbers, and they keep asking if we still have any pride left. I seriously want to stab them in the ass.”

Sitri was renowned for having bizarre carnal desires. For starters, she has both male and female genitals. She was originally born with only the female bits, but after going through a complex surgery, she ended up with male genitals as well. Nothing up to this point is overly weird. There are a lot of cases throughout the demon world where people would intentionally become hermaphrodites like Sitri. The issue was the fact that she didn’t distinguish between goblins, orcs, and other races as she indulged in her lust. Even the demons who are normally broadminded when it comes to pleasure loathed this.

There were many women and men among demonkind who enjoyed being on the receiving end from monsters; however, there was only an extremely small minority of people who enjoyed putting the monsters on the receiving end. In regard to this, Sitri declared that ‘It is only natural or, if anything, you are obligated to give after having received’ and heavily criticized the social conditions of the current demon world. Of course, Sitri’s criticism only managed to bewilder people and nothing more.

“Sis! Are you listening to me?”

“Of course. Why would I ignore you, Sitri?”

Sitri pouted.

“I don’t get what’s on your mind sometimes. What could you possibly gain by secretly telling the humans that the Crescent Alliance has formed?”

“Something to gain, is it?”

Paimon smiled brightly.

“There is a lot. There is a lot to gain.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. This week felt like a blur. Head empty, no thoughts. Not much to say in this chapter, so I’ll see you guys in the next one.