Vol 10 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Altina the Sword Princess Volume 10 Chapter 2

Regis and Jessica

Translator: Skythewood

Editors: Darkdhaos, Ruzenor, Seir K, CEObrainz

The noon of the 22nd, in the headquarters of the Belgarian First Army—

After the conference, only Latreille, Geris stayed behind

“Sir Regis, how are things progressing?”

“ It’s going sht now But in order to reduce risks, we are perfor minor adjustments”

“I see”

Germaine laid out a map on the table

“ Can such a thing really be done?”

“200 years ago, in a valley sie battle that used the sah what I read was a drama that adapted that battle”

“Using a dra the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers on this bet… I can’t stop worrying”

Germaine frowned

Regis scratched his head

“ We are replicating so that did happen before”

Latreille stared hard at Regis

“Can our army achieve this?”

“ Yes we can According to the surveillance of the advance party, and the work by our army of pioneers in this half month, our preparations were done adequately”

No one could tell for certain

If Regis were to list the uncertain factors, he could go on all day

But there was nothem This was the plan that had the best chance of success That hat Regis thought

Latreille smiled

“Well, ill be mocked if we say we are uneasy at this point Proceed as planned”

“I understand”

His eyes seeis’ is’ eyes

So after the Seventh Ar about Latreille was off That was because he didn’t look at anyone’s eyes at all

But right now, he was staring as if he was looking right through one’s soul

— Was I mistaken? Or did he recover?

No matter what it was, there didn’t seem to be a problem now

Latreille shi+fted his gaze back to the map and bit his lower lips

“But…”

Germaine ask:

“Is there anything wrong?”

“If this plan works… Well, the ene about it…”

“Yes”

“But then, Grebauvar city will…”

“Well…”

The two is

He already answered this question when he proposed the plan

“ It can be rebuilt, but it will take a very long time”

“And so, the frontline should be pulled back onto the fortress at the top of the is’ proposal correct?”

“That’s right”

Grebauvar city was situated to the north of the mountain, while Mauldre city was to the south On top of the mountain was an ancient mid sized fortress

It was the old front line before Grebauvar became a fort

As the cannons during the tireat in quality, they would need to revaeous high ground terrain, it would be easier to defend by basing their defenses here

Latreille shook his head

“Sir Regis, you intend to cede some of our territory away?”

“We will lose the city, but it would show the neighboring nations that the Empire is still a formidable force”

“That’s not enough”

“If we hold on to Grebauvar city, it would place a heavy burden on the garrison unit Let’s place the defensive stronghold on the top of the , then dispatch our forces to the other front lines In the long term, this would be better for the Empire”

“Langobalt Kingdom took a city from the Empire by trickery They will suffer for this”

“I-In that case… What about the Kingdoh Britannia?”

“Of course, they would need to pay for what they did too”

“ Taking on two nations at the same time is too reckless And the Empire had just lost a lot of its men”

“You are saying we don’t have enough soldiers?”

“Yes Launching an attack on Langobalt Kingdohly trained soldiers”

Geris’ position, he was overstepping his boundaries by criticizing Latreille’s long term plans

However, the subject Latreille himself permitted it, so he didn’t interrupt forcefully

Latreille laughed lightly

“I see, Sir Regis is unexpectedly pragh you are a tactician who uses unorthodox schemes”

“ Actually, fighting in an orthodox way is better Taking it a step further, not fighting a ould be the best”

“Fufu, it is true that the I by old standards”

“What do you mean?”

“Sir Regis should have noticed too After all, you sent captured rifles to Argentina”

“T-That is…”

Before this expedition, he received a letter fro injured

He suggested letting Eric become a rifleman

And not just protecting Altina with a rifle in hand

In the future, when they could raise a rifleis hoped that soe of rifles as soon as possible

— As expected, the things I sent from the capital to the Fourth Army had been inspected

Regis didn’t think they would go that far as to break the wax seal and read the letter…

Right now, Latreille’s policies were more important than the letter

This was one of the things Regis wanted to find out when he took part in the First Army’s expedition

— After Latreille becomes Emperor, what policies will he enact?

“War from noill be the era of rifles”

“ That’s true”

Regis nodded

After returning to the capital, he started laying out his intelligence network Carol who runs a bookstore and Fanrine from the southern aristocrats, people like them

They will send news if there was anything major

“ You recruited a lot of blacksht?”

“Fufu, Sir Regis doesn’t havein the capital, but your ears sure are sharp How impressive”

“Even though develop… Could it be, the key to producing theured out?’

Latreille pondered for a moment

Ger himself

Just fro

And Latreille realized that ‘Regis noticed so’

He said with an aard smile:

“Fu… Personally… I think Sir Regis possesses the talent to change the fate of the Empire”

“Eh, that’s too much…!?’

“Judging from your achievements, you are worthy of such an evaluation”

“No…”

He was about to refute it, but he remembered what Fanrine said

“No matter how unconfident you are, those who succeed would be expected to bring success the next time as well”

What he should do wasn’t to la of the next best strategy

Regis took a deep breath and asked:

“ Since I have been evaluated so highly… Can you tell me about the development of the rifles, Field Marshall Sir?”

“Fine, show him that”

Latreille instructed

It was rare seeing Ger immediately Is this really okay? His confused face see just that

But the loyal adjutant wouldn’t go against his master’s wishes

He took out a wooden crate from the depths of the headquarters' tent and put it on the table

“Have a look”

“ Is this a rifle?”

“Yes, this is a prototype that had just been sent here There are several candidates, but I think this is the best one”

“ I will take a look”

Regis opened the crate

A rifle was inside

At a glance, it wasn’t too different froh Britannian rifles

But the design seemed sleeker, and there seemed to be some differences in its mechanism

“This is the Belgarian Empire made Fusil 851 rifle”

Even the name had been decided

“ Can I hold it?”

“Of course”

Holding it in his hands, Regis found the rifle to be a little lighter Then he pulled the lever and opened the cartridge chaht seal

Rubber was a valuable commodity that could only be obtained from the south

It was possible for Belgaria, but High Britannia didn’t have the e quantities of rubber

“ I see”

“This isn’t much of a difference The ammunition is this”

Placed on the table appeared to be a bullet wrapped by paper

“Paper cartridge? Not e?”

“Yes, I understand it would be difficult to mass produce that ie, it can be ht away”

“ I see”

“It is h Britannia made rifles One of its flaws is it has more consuin mass production very soon”

“We are going to mass produce this already?”

“We have to ines and cannons are ongoing at full speed But it would take e here”

“ How long would it be before our weapons can h Britannia?”

“In half a year or so, ill catch up… And of course, we are aier weapons”

Regis was surprised

Belgaria had the potential to beco the records

The last Emperor wasn’t concerned with politics and military affairs, and didn’t use his powers effectively

And Latreille will rouse the sluiant nation

The power of the Eination

— Mass producing new rifles in half a year, with the production of cannons and steaoal!

“ But, if that is the case, shouldn't we… consolidate our front lines and focus on our internal affairs? The e”

“No, that’s wrong”

“ Is that so?”

“Right now, only the Belgaria Eh Britannia possess such rifles But ten years down the road, the neighboring nations would be able to produce such rifles After all, these technologies will spread”

“That’s true”

No y would spread Even in a skirmish, no matter win or lose, the enemy would be able to capture one or two rifles

They , but could still make a similar replica They will then use their creativity to research the parts that are inadequate, andbetter

Latreille held the Fusil 851 rifle in his hands

“I plan to use this to conquer all the neighboring nations within two years”

“What…!?”

Regis was dumbfounded

Latreille’s expression was serious Germaine seemed to concur too

Regis explored all the possibilities in his mind

— This is reckless

Latreille was unmoved

“Sir Regis doesn’t see we can’t win?”

“ It is regrettable, but things will probably turn out the sah Britannian did Rifles and cannons are very reliant on supply They can’t bring a huge quantity of ammunition to a shootout, and once their stocks run dry, they won’t be able to fight In the end, we can’t escape the fate of our supply tea the battle”

“The eneis d’Auric”

“ Fighting onthe supply lines won’t be attacked would be too optimistic”

“I won’t launch attacks that are ically I don’t think we can achieve victory with rifles alone”

“ Why are you so adamant on invasion to such an extent?”

How unfathomable

The fact that the Belgarian Ee deterrent to the neighboring nations

But just like the retreat of the High Britannia Army, asn’t so simple that it could be ith rifles alone

Latreille sighed He gazed into the distance— As if he was looking at a place far away

“This is to allow the Belgarian Elory and prosperity of the E but an illusion We are falling behind in the arht at the capital’s doorsteps… This nation is too se as the La Dame Blanche”

His aht In order to accooal, countless wars awaited him

“ So we have to subjugate the neighboring countries?”

“If there is only one E would be destroyed by war anymore”

“ There are many nations that fell because of internal strife”

“All revolutions that succeed are basically linked to an external nation”

“ Plagues and famine could be the reason too”

“If the country expanded, even if there is a catastrophe, they can receive aid fro such a policy”

“ If the nation was too big, central governance would be iiven too much power, the super nation would split into several countries in the end”

What he mentioned were the basic concepts of political economics

And of course, Latreille had thought about theis asked these questions just to play the part of an audience

“A territory that reached a certain size would be designated as a ‘state’ Governors would be assigned to govern the states, but they would not be given military power”

“Eh?”

“In order to govern a large nation, it is necessary to have a national arht be the commander of the Fourth Army, but she isn’t the landlord of the area around Beilschht?”

“Yes”

“All military units will follow the same system, and the nobility army would be abolished Even if a landlord has the intent to revolt, he won’t be able to do anything without an army As for the army, the conments”

“! Abolish the nobility army!”

“Yes, the assignment of the staff officers will be decided solely by the Ministry of Military Affairs The opinions of the commanders will be respected of course… But they won’t be allowed to freely hire or dismiss anyone And the personnel would not be allowed to stay in the sa”

If the staff officers were fresh faces, it would be hard for them to scheme any conspiracy

Even if they were prepared to revolt, the plans would be for naught if the coe rue the personnel

If the assignments of personnel were frequent, the chance of thetoo close to the landlord would be low

But of course, the new co a hold of their subordinates…

“ It won’t be a problem if an opposition that could match us doesn’t exist, is that what you mean?”

“That’s correct”

Abolish the nobility ar control of thethe sole ar a job, not soovernance authority

Regis felt a chill on his back

He had read similar ideas in books However, he had never seen a specific set of plans that coether

Hoould the intellectuals evaluate this idea? They would definitely write about it on plenty of books

How exhilarating

— Completely new

Latreille saw a completely new form a nation could take

Regis thought about it

“ NoAll this was built on the precondition that all the neighboring nations were subjugated”

“We have to win We need to If not, the Belgarian Empire would one day enter the ranks of perished nations”

“ Isn’t there a way for us to deepen our relationshi+ps with our neighboring countries?”

“Even Argentina was is is really a pacifist”

“ I don’t deny that We h war, but we can’t extinguish the seeds of fire Many people will die, and their grudge would be left behind”

“This policy is in place in order to seal that away”

“ Using the nobility army to invade other nations, then abolish the nobility army after it is done Will the nobles follow such a policy?”

“If they resist, there would be no choice but to make use of the Imperial First Army”

“Then it would evolve into a large scale civil war And with the nobility arrand nobles as their opponent, the First Arht not prevail After all, all armies would possess rifles by that point”

“Even if that happens, I still plan to win of course”

“ Just how ht?”

“I will fight with anyone who stands in the way of my dream And defeat them all If not, I won’t be able to build a utopia that would be evergreen and flourishi+ng even after a thousand years”

Fiery fla in Latreille’s eyes

As expected of Altina’s brother — Regis thought

A powerful aura

If not for his experience frois probably would have knelt down and swore fealty That was how great a presence he had

But Regis swore an oath

— He will act solely for the sake of Altina And make preemptive moves, even if he himself lacked confidence, he would still act

There was no tiy to deal with the proble this one issue, he wouldn’t be able to change the situation if he didn’t act

Even though Latreille was thinking of creating a revolutionary kind of governance, Hegemonism was still at its core

Its path differs cooal Altina wanted to achieve, even is If it was in the past, he would be satisfied with learning this and back down

But he moved forward instead

“ Was His Majesty an obstacle to Prince Latreille’s dream too?”

Germaine opened his eyes wide

“What did you say!?”

Latreille’s face re a mask

“”

But, that hy Regis could see the truth

If Latreille was not involved with the Ely, no ist

Latreille squeezed out a stiff voice:

“ For the good of the many, if I could save the lives of athe sword even if I have to do it again… Tradition, power, obsession with purity… How s? What can they give to the people? We can’t stopforward for the sake of our drea the blood that had been spilled Sir Regis, do think very, very carefully… where exactly should you be standing”

You will die if you get in my way — Is that what he means?

He was bold enough to is, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill his own sister Altina

He understood another thing

Latreille was confident that he had the courts in his palms

That’s why he could openly ad under Altina that he coicide

Without evidence, it doesn’t matter who juht

Regis lowered his gaze

“ My anize y on the siege”

Latreille nodded

“Yes, as Sir Regis pointed out, I may have been a little hasty Let’s talk about this after the dust has settled for the matter of Grebauvar city”

“ My deepest thanks”

Regis saluted and left the headquarters tent

———————————————————————

The sunlight was glaring

He felt as if he just escaped a giant nest of snakes

Phew~ deep breaths

The sentries saluted in a panic

There see in their mouth

— Snacks?

Two ladies were standing before them

“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Regis”

One of them was Fanrine

Her long black hair reached to her waist, and she earing a black one piece dress With a large ribbon above the hips

Even though she was a lady from the southern noble house Tiraso Laverde, she was tasked by the Ministry of Military Affairs as an escort officer to Regis’ side, and even followed him on this expedition

Even though she would converse like an adult sometimes, she was a cheerful woman who always showed a warm smile

And the other person—

Light colored hair, pale skin and slender limbs made others feel that she was a noble lady

She was a woman with clear eyes and chime like voice

Her name was Jess

“ Thank you for your hard work… Master Auric”

“Ahh, thank you”

She was a is

Dispatched by the Ministry of Military Affairs

Why had the Ministry done that?

Regis didn’t know the actual reason, was it because of Altina, or was there another ulterior motive?

Jess came with the letters of recoerac and his grandson — The third prince Bastian

She spoke fluent Belgarian, had perfect etiquette in the way she … She had no flaws as a talent

Even Fanrine ary of her in the beginning felt con

Although Regis wasn’t good at dealing omen older than him…

He asked Fanrine:

“So, why did you come here?”

“Ufufu… Because I baked sois and everyone else”

She reached for the basket she was carrying

She pulled back the white cloth, revealing cookies that were out of place in this battlefield

The fragrance spread out

It smelled delicious

This was actually made with a temporary built stove in an army base

“A… Ah, but…”

If the inflexible staff officers from the First Ar ‘you think you are here for a picnic?’