Vol 2 Chapter 7 (2/2)

And even as they glared at one another, Zaat called out to the soldiers holding their bayonets.

We will take the women with us. Move away the prince’s corpse. Be sure to properly dispose of it. It’s better to make it look like we have more hostages.

The soldiers stepped over Gil’s body and grabbed Ineli away from Zaat. At that time, Ineli put up a weak struggle.

“M-Me? What will happen to me? What will you do with me?”

“You? Hmm...we’ll have you act as a s.h.i.+eld against Mephius’ pursuers,” Zaat gave a smirk. “And then after that...when I’ve completed my conquest, I suppose I’ll have you put on the guillotine to represent the imperials. The people will rejoice and will surely jeer and throw stones at you as you are handed your punishment.”

“I...I don’t believe this. I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Zaat elatedly suppressed a laugh.

“Even you should be aware of the everyday troubles the people are put through. You should know of the anguish his retainers are put through, knowing the very foundation of the country might change tomorrow on the emperor’s single whim,” he said in a sing-song tune. There was no doubt Zaat Quark thought himself an envoy of justice at this time, who would be told throughout in many historic records. Why was it that those eyes that should have been unable to capture the citizen’s suffering, were now able to? He, at this point in time, held the impression that he had stood up for the people.

“Hiii!”

The soldier who gripped Ineli’s shoulder suddenly gave a jolted scream.

Someone had grabbed him from behind. As the soldier violently swung around his arm in a panic, that someone stole the bayonet from him, and following a whack on the head with the handle, kicked the soldier aside.

“It can’t be!”

Zaat stumbled backwards. Before his eyes opposite the collapsed soldier, he beheld a pale-faced apparition.

“Impossible! T-The bullet...I’m sure the bullet definitely hit you…”

Orba, while huffing for air, narrowly dodged a thrust from an incoming soldier and slashed him in the stomach. The soldier silently fell and this time, Orba was the one to step over his body.

With each step he took, pain seared throughout his upper body. The bullet had definitely hit him. That impact, even now, struck through his entire body like a heavy brick. Not paying any mind to Ineli, who was now practically crawling her way to escape, Zaat gave a loud mouthed scream.

“D-Don’t come any closer!” he shouted, as if he were possessed by a ghost.

He took aim with his gun again. Orba slapped it away with his right hand.

“What was that? What did you just say, when you used the slaves, of how they staked their lives, and then trampled all over them? As if you could even understand.”

Orba spouted hoa.r.s.ely, and chopped Zaat on the temple with his left hand.

His knees lost all power. Orba laid his unconscious body onto the floor. At that time,

“Zaat-sama!”

He saw another man at the stairs leading up from the hangar. The man’s name and face were unfamiliar to Orba, but he was an officer of the Blue Archery Division, Gary Lynwood.

It was unfortunate for them both that, at this time, Gary saw Zaat collapse as a sign of him being dead. He gave in to his anger and shot his gun. A bullet bounced off near Orba’s feet.

Orba fired back. At that time, he was a.s.saulted by a furious vertigo. His reactions were all the more slowed by his injuries.

Bang, bang, bang! Three shots were fired and his body convulsed. It wasn’t Orba’s though, but the body of Zaat, which he quickly used as a s.h.i.+eld.

“Tch.”

Orba spat out some blood and fired a shot over Zaat’s shoulders. It struck Gary in the chest and threw him against the wall where he fell down sideways, leaving a trail of blood.

Like this, the struggle where a single breath sent his whole body running in a fever came to a close.

“s.h.i.+t!”

Zaat’s body slid out of his arm. Orba himself fell on his knees and furiously arched his back. Sweat raced down his face and continued to drip onto the hangar floor.

Without a doubt, Zaat had breathed his last. Orba bit into his lips.

Now the trail leading to Oubary’s involvement is gone.

He could also try to capture Zaat’s subordinates, but the chances they knew the full contents of the plan were slim.

The ferocious emotions that held him had, after the battle concluded, been overtaken by a rush of forlorn anguish.

What was I fighting for then? To protect the prince’s status? To protect those stinkin’ Mephian n.o.bles?

As he was about to forget himself and kick at Zaat’s corpse,

“Prince Gil.”

A girl was running to him as if she were trying to fly.

Vileena knit her brows and had opened her faintly moist lips. Under the heavy winds generated across the hatch, her hair had come undone and swayed behind her. When Orba saw her, a mysterious feeling welled within him.

I see...

It came so suddenly and filled the bottomless emptiness within him, if even a little.

If there had to be one, if there had to be one reason, then my objective was...

“Are you injured? Let me see where you were shot. No, actually, don’t force yourself to do the impossible and lay down there...”

“I’m fine.”

“But…”

And it was at this time that Orba was overcome with exhaustion. He reached over the single point burning under his chest and took out a s.h.i.+ning, golden medal. The bullet was driven into the upper part of that medal. It was crumbled, but still seemed to give off heat. Vileena gasped.

“Prince?” Vileena asked dubiously.

“Why is the prince carrying this?”

Orba was momentarily at a loss for words. Only the sound of Ineli wailing resounded within the hangar.

Afterwards, Orba strapped himself onto an airs.h.i.+p piloted by a soldier. Ineli got on Vileena’s s.h.i.+p. Both s.h.i.+ps flew off from the flags.h.i.+p.

Below them, the fight continued to unfold. There, Orba announced from above of Zaat’s death and Ineli’s rescue. The movements of Zaat’s soldiers quickly grew less coordinated. Victory was already more or less decided in the arena. They knew their final acts of resistance to be vain and were nothing more than a pointless struggle.

The flags.h.i.+p captured by Zaat’s soldiers had also been seized by the garrisons reformed fleet.

Like this, the final day of the founding festival had pa.s.sed and the series of revolts were brought to an end.

And Orba was—

—well, he was remembering the excruciating pain he suffered throughout his whole body, particularly on his right shoulder.

Although the medal had stopped the bullet, the impact had likely fractured his collarbone. Nonetheless, he could not afford to rest his body just yet. There was still the portion of cleaning up.

Orba saw to Vileena and the others being dropped off at a safe place and had his s.h.i.+p head towards the arena once more.

Part 3

Even though it was before noon, the corridors of the Main Palace were sombre.

Clouds had overcast it.

Orba, accompanied by s.h.i.+que and Gowen, strut down the hall.

Not even seven days had pa.s.sed since the festival’s final day. Orba wore a cast around his arm, but walked with his chest held high.

The maids and chamberlains he pa.s.sed by stopped their feet and sent a bow his way. Those eyes held a respect never seen until now towards the prince who stemmed the tide of Zaat Quark’s rebellion.

Fame of how continuing on after his first campaign, he had exposed his hidden wits, spread within the country. But claims labelling him as an eccentric also surfaced.

This had come from Gil’s choice of action immediately after he rescued Ineli from Zaat’s s.h.i.+p.

He came back to the arena and announced to the slaves there that he would ‘have them work under him’.

They may have been roused by and used by Zaat, but it was hard to imagine anything except capital punishment against the slaves who plotted a rebellion. That would be to become slaves in the battlefield, or so Gil said:

“One to two hundred of our own troops revolted against Mephius. With a firm leash, they will surely become heroes that bring about victory for Mephius.”

“What do you think, Colyne?”

The emperor asked his retainer, unable to hide his surprise at how his son managed to put a stop to the chain of disturbances.

It was the same for Colyne Isphan. However, he was a natural at reading his lord’s intentions, and this time as well, he replied in courtesy.

“......The prince has ability. I believe it is best to leave things to him.”

With that single conversation, emperor Guhl Mephius resolved his mind. As Gil’s reward, he would acknowledge the claim.

However, it was only this time that Guhl made a show of generosity as emperor. Since what happened with Zaat, the emperor began to act more and more self-righteous. As if he had forgotten Kaiser’s opposition towards the relocation of the Dragon Shrine, he now raised the issue of the establishment of the shrine, and in little to no time at all, began its construction. As the emperor’s advisors, it was decided the group of elders would dwell within the shrine, and the emperor, instead making use of Zaat’s rebellion, had strengthened his political powers.

That makes me the one who helped him accomplish that, Orba thought.

Besides the stopping of Zaat’s rebellion, Orba fought a battle where he got little of what he wanted. Even then, the small satisfying portion he had been granted was the plummeting of Oubary Bilan’s a.s.sessment. Knowing of the plan, Oubary likely disappeared off the face of the rebellion and planned to a.s.sist the winning side, whether it be the emperor or Zaat, playing the role of a patriotic hero. However, based on the results, he was criticized for having ‘left behind the emperor and be the only one to flee ahead of them’.

A faint smile creviced across...o...b..’s mouth, when opposite his way came along Noue Salzantes. Noue greeted him with a smile. He remained in Solon even after the festival had ended in order to continue discussion of the transfer of Apta territory, but that too would see its end today.

“Lord Noue.”

Orba nonchalantly called this man, who was about to pa.s.s by without incident, to a stop.

“Yes?” he turned around.

“It’s great above all that the princess is safe.”

“Pardon?”

Noue momentarily drew a blank. Then affirming with a nod, “Yes, it is.”

“There certainly was a fear of danger befalling the princess in that disturbance. Your highness the crown prince’s heroic efforts have also rescued us Garberan retainers—”

“Next time,” Orba pointed at his own head, “they might aim for me.”

And he continued to walk along accompanied by s.h.i.+que and Gowen without turning back.

Noue stared at his back incredulously. Those words seemed to hint that the princess had not been ‘caught up in the disturbance’, but that the enemy surely aimed for her life. And to purposely convey that to Noue…

His aim was clear.

Noue’s smiling facade, which usually never came off, crumbled.

Gil Mephius.

Without realizing it, he wiped the sweat off his brows. Of course, he held both anger and surprise at how Gil trampled over his plans. However, it was at this moment that he experienced a s.h.i.+ver in its truest sense.

What an unfathomable man. Like this, it would’ve been better if I had only observed him.

As of this moment, Noue Salzantes was unable to see through Gil. While it was a fact that Gil had brought about Ryucown’s death, when Noue caught a glimpse of him, he had concluded that he wasn’t much of a threat and neglected to collect his ‘fragments’.

My eyes have become clouded. The only one to fear in Mephius is that man alone.

With a flick of his hair, Noue turned around once more.

Interesting. Who would have thought in the barbaric country that is Mephius, there existed a man the same type as me. How fearsome, and yet interesting.

Wasn’t the last time he held these feelings when he came across Ryucown’s bedazzling future? As he thought this, a chuckle continued to escape his pallid face.

“Quickly now, princess. Please make haste. Lord Noue is departing.”

“Wait. Just a little longer.”

Vileena was, at this time, shut away in her room sitting in front of a most unusual desk. She was writing up letters to be delivered to the people of her hometown. She would entrust them to Noue, who was returning to his own country.

She had been at this every night recently. But she was a woman of poor penmans.h.i.+p and to make matters worse…

“Now, now, you’re acting as if you’ve been separated from Garbera for tens of years. You keep writing more and more!”

It was as Theresia remarked. What she was trying to write was no insignificant quant.i.ty. She could not be satisfied with what she had.

Because she was the Vileena with the bad habit of crumbling away any writing slips whenever she wrote letters, the room would easily become a mess of sc.r.a.pped paper in a moment of undue vigilance. Naturally, it fell on Theresia to gather them.

“How about you dedicate some of that pa.s.sion to writing a love letter to the prince?”

Naturally, Vileena chose to disregard this and continued to obsess over how she wanted to tell her beloved grandfather of this, and how she wanted to write to him about that.

Speaking of the prince...

Her pen suddenly stopped.

It was about the medal. Afterwards, when she questioned Prince Gil about it,

“I...borrowed it from Orba.”

He answered, somewhat stumbling.

“It...looked like a nice charm. So I borrowed it while I brought Zaat’s rebellion to a stop. It’s become like this...but don’t worry, I’ll fix it somehow. It should be fine. Probably.”

Vileena was now surely writing down her impression of Prince Gil.

He’s somewhat like a child.

She jotted down. Continuing on,

But he’s not someone I can let my guard down around.

Between me and the prince, who will control Mephius? He will make a fine compet.i.tor.

Vileena smiled as she finished writing.

“So you’ve come.”

“I have, father.”

Orba joined his feet in salute, and behind him, Gowen and s.h.i.+que made a bow and took their leave.

The emperor had personally summoned him.

He was in one of the four towers surrounding the Main Palace. From the top floor, the emperor surveyed over the gardens and dragon huts within the palace. Two medium-sized Gor dragons engaged against one another as part of the training drills and in a separate location, a dragon rider mounted on the small-sized Tengo dragon ran around in laps.

Orba had some ideas why the emperor had summoned him. And Fedom also wasn’t without his complaints.

“Really…...the nerve of you!”

Fedom Aulin was at his wit’s end. The prince’s rise to fame made good progress for Fedom, but he could not forgive him for not allowing him to partake in it.

“It would’ve done you no harm to put in a single good word for me. Everything could’ve gone better. The worst was how you made those slaves work under you on your own accord. His majesty, Guhl, may have welcomed it with open arms, but he will surely scold you after. You’d better not talk out of your place! Wait, and only wait until his majesty’s anger subsides.”

But even Orba didn’t dare plan to defy the emperor here. He stared at the emperor’s back, waiting for scoldings to be hurled his way. Some time pa.s.sed.

In this way, he saw no change in what could only be seen as an old man’s back. He was of course, swordless and carried no gun, but Orba still held qualms of how his life might be taken now.

“Do you know of Ax Bazgan?”

Having been asked so suddenly, Orba could only reply with a “Yes.”

To the west of Mephius was a nation consisting of several spread out fortresses. It once served under the imperial court but was split off following insurrection after insurrection, and presently competed with Mephius for power. Belonging to that nation, was Mephius’ longtime enemy, Ax Bazgan.

The Bazgan House hailed from a family line serving Mephius, but roughly two hundred years ago they had arbitrarily cut down the Zerdians spread across the western lands by their own sword in their bid for dominion. Orba had yet to hear of what happened after, but that aside, they had since then held an antagonistic relation with the Imperial Dynasty of Mephius.

Ax Bazgan had invaded Mephius territory three times and each time, Mephius had driven him back, but Ax was a keen and opportunistic man and three times, Mephius failed to take his head.

Twelve years ago, Guhl Mephius dispatched an army to the west after his head. However, Ax readily abandoned his own fortress and with the help of a relative, safely escaped to a different city-state. The army occupied the fortress, but the small city-state which should have been in civil war on end was strangely cooperative with the enemy outsiders and launched an attack simultaneously alongside three forces.

Amongst them was, of course, Ax, and he soon re-established the terrain as his own after the Mephius army retreated without breaking a sweat. After that, Mephius began its ten year war with Garbera and the western fortresses sparked hostility between them once more.

That Ax Bazgan’s movements had lately been suspicious.

Apta fortress was in the southwestern portion of Mephius. The fortress where his only brother, Roan, had been drafted and Oubary had taken command of would soon be returned back to Mephius. They had received news that Ax was preparing to mount an attack aiming for that chance.

“Rumours of Zaat’s rebellion have spread to the surrounding countries. At any rate, the number of countries that have sent envoys number many. It is impossible to stem the flow of information. Ax aside, it would not be strange for someone to attack Mephius on seeing its political unrest.”

“No, it wouldn’t, father.”

“There may be those spurred on by Zaat and willing to defy me again. I cannot allot a sizable army for Apta. That, Gil, is where you shall go.”

“............”

Orba had no words to express himself. His forces comprised of the sixty-three members of the Imperial Guard and the two hundred and six slaves from the rebellion that now worked under him. There, Oubary’s Black Armoured Division and Odyne’s Golden Axe Division would each loan out fifty soldiers to a.s.sist in safeguarding Apta.

“One month shall suffice,” Guhl said, his back still turned the other way. “Stall Ax’s troops at Apta for that time. Once the month is up, I will send reinforcements if there are no movements from Ende or the anti-imperial factions. The dawn of that day shall celebrate your marriage and official appointment as charge of Apta.”

Orba was silent as he bowed down his head.

Is he testing his own son?

Although no sound escaped him, tens of thousands of words floated across his mind.

Of the troops given to the prince, three fifths had only recently rose against the country in revolt and it was questionable whether or not he could control them. If Ax really attacked, it was questionable that he could even last three days, let alone a month.

It was a poor play on behalf of the emperor. If things went badly, he would lose the territory finally returned to him and possibly even his successor.

However, Orba also made no oversight in his ama.s.sing of information. The possibility that war might break out between Ende and Garbera had become the talk of the statesmen. The emperor could only be thinking of using the excuse of Ax’s attack from the west as an excuse not to send reinforcements to maintain their relation with Ende.

So he plans to hold out as long as possible to see which side is stronger?

Guhl was cautious. If he simply sided with Garbera, there was a possibility Ende’s ally from the east, Arion, would come out. Until now, Arion had expended the majority of its forces towards its eastern expedition, and having mostly accomplished this feat, it would likely set its eye on the centre of the continent. Furthermore, knowing of Mephius’ political turmoil at this time, the powerful Arion might well aim the brunt of its force at the Solon capital.

But if Mephius allies with Ende, what will happen to Vileena? How will this affect Gil Mephius’ standing?

And while this wasn’t yet confirmed, one other subject had become the topic of gossip within the palace.

A team of Imperial Court doctors had been seen frequenting the women’s chambers. Rumours spread that this might signify Melissa conceiving a child.

And without taking notice of the emotions running through Orba’s mind, the emperor spoke further.

“I’m afraid the princess will have to wait longer. You should also take Princess Vileena with you. Apta will eventually be your own castle. The princess should also get used to living there.”

“We shall celebrate your marriage after a month,” Guhl mumbled on.

While he held his head in a bow, he felt a rage simmer through his chest. Flowing within the flood running through his body, the most primitive of instincts—his desire to do battle—had been lit.

I get it now. The threat isn’t only limited to Ax and the sword-slaves.

A battle with a slim chance of victory.

More specifically, even more battles.

What Orba could expect was, in the end, a continuing battle.

In that case—

“I understand, father.”

Orba joined his feet in salute.

I’ll do it.

Compared to when he swore his revenge, Orba now had standing; even if that standing meant his life would constantly be aimed for.

Compared to when he swore his revenge, Orba now had his own troops; even if the flames of turmoil still stirred within those troops.

Compared to when he swore his revenge—.

I’ll do it. I’ll set foot back here, to Solon, in triumph.

The Apta that was near his hometown would make it easy to get information on his brother and mother. However, whether Orba was aware of it or not at the time, the times he clashed swords with Ryucown and Zaat had changed his views towards battle.

The harder the battles and the bigger his enemies were, the more Orba’s feelings lit up like a flame to match them.

Orba’s pair of eyes and entire body now radiated the ferocity of a tiger.

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