chapter_0180

179 – Night of the Hamtal

179 – Night of the Hamtal

Daniel’s soldiers moved with perfect discipline at his command.

A bizarre scene unfolded as soldiers carrying ropes roamed the National Assembly, but none of the assembly members could protest to Daniel Steiner.

Because, at least in this place, Daniel Steiner was as good as the Emperor.

“Damn it!”

In the tense atmosphere, one of the assembly members listed on the manifest jumped up from his seat.

“Kadem! We only followed you! We didn’t even know exactly what we were doing! If it meant participating in a rebellion, we wouldn’t have cooperated!”

As one assembly member shouted, others who had been watching Daniel and the soldiers began to rise one by one.

“That’s right! It was that pale-faced bastard who deceived us! It’s true that we agreed to his plan, blinded by our own interests without properly investigating, but we didn’t know it was related to a rebellion!”

“That’s right! Colonel Daniel Steiner! I won’t deny that I’m guilty! But I only received a small amount of money in exchange for helping with the bill vote! I had no idea what he was up to!”

“Kadem, you son of a bitch! You’re going to drag us all down to hell!”

So this is what politicians are like.

Even in this desperate situation, they were still playing politics.

Trying to get their sentences reduced by making Kadem, the leader of the Liberty Socialist Party, the culprit of everything.

It was a pathetic ploy, but it was the only thing they could do while surrounded by soldiers.

However, Kadem, who was being attacked by assembly members who had been allies until yesterday, couldn’t help but be flustered.

The embarrassment soon turned into anger.

Kadem, watching the soldiers tie up the assembly members on Duke Belvar’s list one by one, gritted his teeth and shouted.

“You’re saying you cooperated with me without knowing anything? Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that cooperating with me means opposing Colonel Daniel Steiner! There won’t be!”

Thanks to Kadem openly admitting that they had conspired together, a stir arose among the other assembly members.

Political maneuvering was nothing new, but the sight of them turning on each other and tearing each other apart while being arrested was shocking in many ways.

“Didn’t you all agree to cooperate knowing everything! Because you would be in trouble if the National Security Surveillance Bureau was created! You disgusting old men…!”

“What? Do you know who put you in the position of leader of the Liberty Socialist Party before you open your mouth?!”

“Yes! It was you assembly members! At first, I wondered why, but now I see that you set me up as a scapegoat in case everything went wrong and you needed to cut your losses! I understand now!”

Amidst the verbal bloodbath, the soldiers approached Kadem.

Kadem, who had been anxiously watching the soldiers approaching with ropes, suddenly kicked off the floor.

Pushing away the soldier who tried to grab him, Kadem hurriedly ran towards Daniel and quickly opened his mouth.

“Colonel Daniel Steiner! I can tell you everything! The fact that those nasty old men are the culprits! I was just blinded by my desire to get ahead!”

With everyone watching, Kadem knelt before Daniel.

“I won’t ask for much! Just my life…! If you spare my life, I’ll tell you everything I know! I’ll reveal how wicked those old men are!”

Daniel, who had been silently looking down at Kadem begging for his life in such a servile manner, opened his mouth.

“Do you know what’s most disgusting about your kind? It’s your audacity.”

His cold voice echoed throughout the National Assembly building.

As everyone remained silent, Daniel quietly continued.

“You people, who would have continued to gnaw away at the empire if you hadn’t been caught, only start crying and begging for your lives, claiming that you didn’t intend to do so when a knife is at your throat.”

Daniel, kneeling on one knee, stared intently at Kadem.

Both were of similar age and had fairly handsome appearances, but the difference in power was stark.

Daniel was the Emergency Security General who held the real power in the empire, while Kadem was merely an accomplice who had cooperated with Duke Belvar, who had started the rebellion.

“They say that even a cornered rat will bite a cat. It seems you don’t even have as much pride as a rat.”

Kadem’s eyes trembled slightly.

Because there was no hint of mercy in Daniel’s voice.

Daniel, watching Kadem’s complexion turn pale with despair, smiled and stood up.

“Soldiers. Remove this man from my sight.”

A few Grenadiers nodded and quickly approached, forcibly lifting Kadem up and dragging him away.

Only then did Kadem come to his senses and shout desperately, but Daniel paid no attention.

After confirming that things were somewhat settled, Daniel ordered the battalion’s officers to finish the job and left the National Assembly.

“Emergency Security General.”

“Welcome.”

Lucy and Pelf greeted Daniel outside the National Assembly.

They had surrounded the National Assembly with soldiers in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.

“Did you finish the job well?”

Daniel nodded in response to Lucy’s question and looked up at the Imperial City.

Under the moonlit night sky, vehicles of the military police could be seen moving back and forth with their sirens blaring.

Pelf, who had been silently watching the scene with Daniel, opened his mouth.

“Today, all the collaborators lurking in the empire will be arrested. However, I’m a little worried about the fact that some of the more perceptive ones have disappeared from their homes. Since we’ve given the list to the guards, they won’t be able to escape the Imperial City, but still.”

Daniel didn’t answer and remained silent.

‘There are some who weren’t arrested today?’

He had launched the operation unexpectedly to catch the people on Duke Belvar’s list, but the fact that some had escaped made him feel uneasy.

“…Colonel?”

When the silence grew longer, Pelf turned to look at Daniel.

And he couldn’t help but be surprised.

Because Daniel was staring at the Imperial City with eyes that showed no sign of wavering.

Despite his young age, he had a spirit that deserved the title of Iron-Blood.

‘Indeed. It seems he has another plan that I don’t know about.’

He was certain that Daniel Steiner would also catch the collaborators who had hidden themselves from the military police.

There was no particular basis for this belief.

But the numerous achievements that Daniel Steiner had made were convincing Pelf.

‘If it’s Colonel Daniel Steiner that I know…’

He was a brilliant commander who didn’t tolerate even the slightest gap in his operations.

*

Meanwhile, in the signal control room of the Abandoned Station.

“Damn it! Daniel Steiner has finally done it!”

In the signal control room of a station abandoned due to railway consolidation, nobles sitting around a table were talking, relying on a single incandescent light bulb that emitted a dim light.

One peculiar thing was that they were all wearing masks that covered their faces.

This was a kind of rule that had arisen because they had promised ‘even if one of us is caught, we will not reveal anything about the others.’

Everyone strictly adhered to that rule, so everyone here was expressing their opinions while wearing their own masks.

“Even if we have safely escaped this far, what about the others? We agreed to gather here if anything big happened, but it seems like there are some people missing.”

“They might be on their way.”

“What if they were caught? Shouldn’t we move the location?”

“Where are we supposed to move to? Daniel Steiner has the Imperial City in his grip!”

“This is the safest place in the Imperial City. The military police won’t come to such a remote Abandoned Station.”

Everyone nodded as if in agreement, but they were also breathing out sighs filled with anxiety and unease.

The decision to gather at the Abandoned Station in the event of an emergency was a good one, but they couldn’t think of any clear way to counter Daniel Steiner.

So, as everyone was racking their brains, a young man wearing a masquerade mask opened his mouth.

“Doesn’t everyone have soldiers they can mobilize? Even if we’re short on strength, we have to somehow stop Daniel Steiner, don’t we?”

“We each brought a few soldiers under the guise of escorts, but how are we supposed to fight Daniel Steiner with that?”

“Of course, we won’t be able to compete on equal terms! But if the situation calms down a bit after today’s incident, Daniel Steiner will definitely become careless. We have to take advantage of that opportunity.”

“Take advantage of that opportunity?”

As a few people became interested, the man in the masquerade mask said with emphasis.

“Select those who are skilled in stealth and order them to assassinate Daniel Steiner. If it succeeds, great, and even if it fails, it can cause confusion, so we can take advantage of that gap to escape the Imperial City.”

“It’s a gamble, but…”

“There’s no other way! If we go on like this, we’ll just die like dogs!”

Normally, they would have opposed it, saying it was a ridiculous idea, but because they were in a desperate situation, the man in the masquerade mask’s words were gaining traction.

“The problem is whether the soldiers will follow our orders…”

“There are those who have sworn allegiance to our family. Isn’t that why we only selected those with deep loyalty and brought them here in the first place?”

“That makes sense. It’s a bit unsettling to sacrifice them, but there’s no other way. If we happen to succeed in assassinating Daniel Steiner, we’ll have a chance to turn the tables, so it’s a gamble worth taking.”

Just as the nobles were having a heated discussion about assassinating Daniel Steiner.

“Well.”

A man chuckled softly.

“I don’t think that plan will work.”

The room became quiet as if water had been poured on a burning fire.

Those who turned their gaze towards the source of the voice discovered a man wearing a bear mask.

A bear mask? The nobles looked at each other, puzzled by the mask they were seeing for the first time.

Because no one had ever attended this gathering wearing a bear mask before.

Just as everyone was wondering who the bear mask was, the man slowly raised his hand.

“To be more precise, it’s bound to fail. Because…”

The man takes off his mask.

What was revealed was black skin that was unfamiliar to the nobles.

As a result, a deep silence descended.

“This place is…”

As the incandescent light bulb flickered, the man gave a faint smile.

“Your grave.”