Chapter 729 - Before and After 2 (2/2)

The nobles who feared him never dared to even confront him, and they would succumb to his unjust orders too.

But what if such a tyrant died?

Above all, there was no successor in the palace.

All of those who held the emperor’s blood, his family, had died a few years back.

‘If we don’t find His Majesty right away, it will be dangerous for not just the Empire, but for us, who always supported him!’

When Marquis Maghreb was thinking about the future, Count Jemo, the commander of the Northern army, opened his mouth.

“It is important to find His Majesty, but it is equally important to put this war situation under control.”

“The war situation…”

“Didn’t you hear? The invaders, the self-proclaimed Continental Alliance, drove their Gigants!”

Maybe he was annoyed since Count Jemo’s voice only turned higher.

“We need to decide right away whether to stop them or to abandon the capital and retreat! If their reinforcements come in from other places, we will end up being surrounded and isolated in there.”

Nemesis wasn’t a great city for military.

First of all, the population was large when compared to its supplies and food, and the walls were long with numerous streets. There were many places in the city that had to be protected.

Nevertheless, due to Emperor Rudolf’s order, all the Imperial forces were gathered in such a city.

Marquis Maghreb frowned at the words of Count Jemo.

“How long do you think we can stay in the capital?”

Abandoning the capital was like giving up on the search for their emperor.

Therefore, Marquis Maghreb decided to choose war than to retreat.

However, the circumstances were tough.

At the Marquis’s question, Count Sochi, the commander of the Eastern Army, said, “I think… about five days.”

“Just five days? That can’t be? How is that even possible…?”

“Have you forgotten? Most of the troops and the supplies stored were in the Imperial Palace and the depots close to the palace. But it is all blown away now.”

“Kuek, that fire pillar…!”

Military supplies and other needed supplies were always placed in the safest of places, and in Nemesis, the Imperial Palace was such a place.

But the place that was supposed to be the safest turned into ashes.

“Honestly, we have five days. That is the longest possible time. As of now, with the current mess and confusion, three days is a lot.”

“F*ck!”

The sudden Imperial Palace explosion distorted the thoughts and plans of the commanders.

There were people saying that they would evacuate, and mercenaries who were plundering the shops near the city, and the emperor who was supposed to deal with the situation was missing in action…

The morale of the soldiers weren’t great enough for them to stand in war.

As the commanders were sighing loudly, a messenger rushed into the room to give them a new report.

“Sire, it is urgent! The enemy troops on the southern hillside, outside the capital, are charging in!”

“What?!”

The commanders who were below Maghreb in rank were shocked.

The enemy had arrived already.

They thought that they would at least build up a camp and the attack would be a day after.

It looked like the enemy had noticed the internal conflicts in the city and entered.

“Kuek! Move all the Gigants and cannons to the wall right away! The gates should never be opened!”

“Yes, Sire!”

However, even before Maghreb’s orders were properly delivered to each unit, the 1st squad of the Continental Alliance flocked to the gates.

“Get out of the way! The gates will be opened by Count Philip!”

At the command of Marquis Rogers, Philip, who was the vanguard of the troops, broke open the gates with Gigantic Aura.

Slash! Crack!

When the gates broke down, around 10 Gigants of the central army, which were ordered by Maghreb, were ready for battle.

However, they didn’t seem to stop the Sword Master Philip, who was using a Hero class Gigant, Orion.

Even other Gigants of the Baroque turned into scrap.

“The southern gate is open!”

“The enemies are flowing in!”

The situation was turning entirely horrible, and reports were being delivered to the chief commander.

Many soldiers were abandoning their weapons and surrendering to the Continental Alliance, and the knights along with riders, who knew that they couldn’t win, ran away from the capital.

It was bound to happen as the morale of the Imperial troops was running down.

In such a situation, Maghreb and the other military leaders and nobles were forced to abandon the capital.

“Shit, abandon the capital and retreat!”

“All forces retreat! Retreat!”

At the order of Marquis Maghreb, the Imperial forces escaped from Nemesis.

“Your Majesty, it is being said that the enemy is abandoning the capital and running toward east.”

At the report from Chief Commander, Marquis Rogers, Luke couldn’t help but frown.

He had expected them to act in such a way, but it felt like the Imperial troops were backing down too fast.

” Your Majesty, give me an order! I will go after them and smash them down.”

Since they arrived at Nemesis, Count Philip didn’t have many battles, so he begged for going into battle.

However, Luke stopped him.

“If you have that much energy, go and stop the fire and enlist the people of Nemesis.”

“But…”

“It is fine. The chances of us finding out the escaped men is negligible in the mess.”

The Baroque Imperial army had already lost its center.

Considering that Rudolf was taken down, there would be no one who could support or help them.

This was why Luke decided to do what was best and save the people of Nemesis rather than pursuing the remnants of the Imperial army.