Ch.129Red Moon (3)

*Flap-*

A solitary gaze watched the flag fluttering in the wind.

A young man with mixed emotions, sighing under the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

After running his fingers through his dyed black hair, he eventually turned his gaze toward the hill in the distance.

Total war, 5,000 knights excluding regular soldiers.

The sight of knights equipped with anti-extinction weapons created by Count Kasim and Gerard, all lined up in gleaming white armor.

Kaisel frowned slightly at the overwhelming aura emanating from them.

A question arose in his mind. Could he successfully lead this operation?

When he first received the battle axe, he had been overflowing with confidence, but how many battles had he personally commanded to victory? Just one.

And even that battle would have ended in total annihilation without Evan Fried’s reinforcements.

He kept thinking. Calculating the worst-case scenario, they would have to face the ancient dragon Mavet.

Could they really do that with just 5,000 knights?

“What are you pondering so deeply?”

Hearing the voice from behind, Kaisel slowly turned his head.

The young knight he had seen in his childhood was now becoming an old knight with gradually whitening hair.

Though becoming a Master had extended his lifespan, hadn’t he mentioned wanting to rest now?

Kaisel disliked empty positions. He wished Theorad would remain in the knighthood even when the day came for him to become Emperor, but would he accept?

After briefly contemplating this, he smiled bitterly and turned his gaze back to the flag.

The wind blew. In the gradually darkening sky, both sun and moon hung together,

leaving only a sky turning increasingly gray in the divided heavens.

“Just feeling a bit nervous, I suppose.”

“That’s only natural. How many times have you led large-scale forces? Your Highness is not a god.”

“…Well, sometimes I used to think I was a genius. Feeling this way now makes me feel somewhat empty.”

He had thought he had talent. He was extraordinary. He excelled in every field and succeeded at everything.

Despite the high expectations placed on him as the Empire’s only legitimate heir, he had fulfilled everything without burden.

No one doubted him. But now, he doubted himself.

Was he truly suited for the position of Crown Prince?

Was he really fit to ascend to the throne of Emperor, responsible for governing hundreds of millions of people?

When he encountered the dragon, Kaisel couldn’t even dare to think of confronting it.

Despite knowing that Evan had slain the dragon he had seen,

all he could think about was how to survive.

How could anyone even conceive of standing against such a being?

In that life-or-death situation, how could anyone fight and successfully slay such a creature alone?

As time passed, Kaisel realized he wasn’t extraordinary.

He simply had certain skills better than others, and his achievements were only possible because of the exceptional support he received as Crown Prince.

He realized he wasn’t that extraordinary after all. He had been lucky. Recognizing this made him feel drained.

“If you realize that everything you’ve achieved wasn’t by your own power, but because of the help you received… what do you think that feels like?”

“I wonder.”

“It’s disheartening. I feel completely powerless. Even if I find confidence for a moment while bearing this heavy responsibility, with time I question whether I’m truly qualified. What do you think? In your eyes, am I… a qualified person?”

“Nobody knows that. Qualification isn’t something you ask others about. Don’t you know best yourself? About whether you’re qualified or not.”

After clearing his throat, Theorad stood beside Kaisel, looked at the flag, and spoke again.

“I know what’s been troubling you lately. You think you’re just an ordinary person, don’t you? Not extraordinary, just lucky. You deny everything you’ve achieved by attributing it to luck. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“Your Highness is the Crown Prince. Only one person in this entire empire can hold that position. How can that alone not be extraordinary? You’re already sufficiently extraordinary. If one of the empire’s three Sword Masters considers himself ordinary, wouldn’t that make many people feel deprived?”

“…I’m not as strong as Evan.”

Kaisel slowly opened his mouth.

His self-deprecating voice mixed with the blowing wind, eventually shattering into the air with a white breath.

He wasn’t strong enough. Not strong enough to crush every enemy with his power alone.

If he had been that strong, he would have cut down the dragon he saw during the Hatan subjugation and overcome the crisis.

He wouldn’t have tried to sacrifice Theorad… instead, he would have charged toward the tower.

But he couldn’t do that. Yet Evan did, and from that incident, Kaisel realized his own powerlessness.

“I’m not proficient in everything like my father either.”

Though he knew what farmers and fishermen in the countryside did for a living,

he had never tried to understand how they lived. What was the “livelihood of the people”?

His father’s study was always filled with books on the subject, but Kaisel had never even opened them.

He focused on wielding his sword and meeting women. Could such a person truly be called a Crown Prince?

“Am I truly suited to be Crown Prince?”

At Kaisel’s words, Theorad chuckled briefly and roughly slapped Kaisel’s back.

“Ugh!”

“You speak well. At least you know you’re inadequate, and that’s fortunate, isn’t it?”

“…That’s what I’m saying. Can I do this? If an enemy I can’t face appears again, like last time—”

“The fact that you know this makes you extraordinary.”

Theorad smiled slightly. Not many people knew their own shortcomings.

Even fewer if they were a nation’s Crown Prince. Knowing one’s deficiencies meant they could be corrected,

and because they could be corrected, one could become a better person. Wasn’t self-reflection alone extraordinary enough?

“Your Highness is not alone. No one asks you to do everything by yourself. When His Majesty gave you the battle axe, did he ask you to slay Mavet alone?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“He simply ordered you to lead the army and subjugate the extinction. Your Highness just needs to use us. If you have a strategy, follow it. If His Majesty wishes to be the hammer himself, the knights will be the anvil. Why feel burdened? Rather, feeling burdened is better. It means you don’t take the knights’ lives lightly.”

“Don’t sugarcoat it, I just—”

“Everyone has their role. If you want to slay Mavet yourself, that’s more suitable for Evan. If you want to care for all people and govern the nation, that’s something His Majesty still does a bit better. Your Highness is only twenty years old, and haven’t you yet to see much more? You don’t need to belittle yourself so much. You’re doing well enough.”

Doing well enough, huh? Kaisel stared at Theorad.

What was the first thing he had said when they met?

He remembered that the first words this man had spoken to him, who had only heard praise all his life, were quite harsh curses.

A knight who threw a scabbard at him, calling him a good-for-nothing brat. He had almost had him killed by telling his father, but looking back now, he himself had been close to human trash back then.

“…This is the first time. That you’ve praised me.”

“Is that so?”

“I knew you were stingy with compliments, but hearing it now… it’s not bad.”

Kaisel smiled slightly and lowered his gaze, then raised his head at the sound coming from far away.

Not from one direction, but from many directions simultaneously, sounds of approaching forces.

He frowned at the dark-looking group, but then raised an eyebrow in curiosity when he confirmed they were carrying the Empire’s flag.

“Could it be… reinforcements?”

“It seems they’ve fully secured the cooperation of the other races.”

A race that was short but stocky for their height, wielding axes and hammers.

A race beloved by the earth, who became fiercer and more valiant warriors than anyone else when not working as blacksmiths.

Count Kasim, sitting on horseback with his long beard flowing, roared roughly.

“Ahoy!”

“Brother, that’s what pirates say. Don’t we have our own way?”

“Beer! Sausage! Hammer! Soldering!”

“All the joys of us dwarves!”

At Gerard’s words, Count Kasim laughed and raised his half-finished beer mug above his head.

Despite the white foam splashing onto their heads, the dwarves were all busy laughing at the sight.

A military with a free-spirited atmosphere, but knowing their strength, Kaisel could wear a somewhat relieved expression.

The dwarves’ participation was a great help. Perhaps 500 dwarves were more powerful than 1,000 human knights,

and moreover, the forces joining this time weren’t just dwarves.

“Anu Belore Delera. I am Anis, elder of the Northern Elves.”

“I am Chris Osvaldin, knight of Yuris. The elven joint forces of 1,500 will join the imperial army.”

The morale of the knighthood greatly increased with the joining of the pointy-eared elves, known to humans as the race of beauty.

The reason they gathered was only one: to help the Empire completely drive out the force known as extinction from the continent.

Once they were at odds, but now they no longer fought each other as enemies.

Kaisel stared at Chris, who bowed his head, and smiled awkwardly.

“You must have had a hard time, leading the elves can’t be an easy task.”

“No harder than with dwarves. Surprisingly, they didn’t ignore my words, so it was relatively comfortable.”

“But… didn’t you say you retired? What about Evan?”

“He’ll probably arrive soon, won’t he? I left before Evan, so I’m not sure when he’ll arrive.”

In fact, wasn’t Evan Fried the core person of this imperial army?

After nodding briefly, Kaisel, along with Theorad and Chris, frowned slightly at the military force visible in the distance, despite the elves and dwarves having joined.

“For the Red Fang tribe!”

“Yeehaw!”

Fresh blood still stained the fangs protruding from their mouths.

The troll race, granted the name Red Fang by the Great Khan because they never stopped fighting until death.

Standing at the forefront was a troll much larger than humans,

and beside him was a knight everyone knew well.

“Evan Fried!”

“What now?”

The troll at the front opened his mouth to Evan, beating his blue-skinned chest.

Though saliva sprayed from his open mouth, Evan merely smiled slightly and shrugged at the long-unseen acquaintance.

“My father’s spirit whispered your name. Are you the strongest among humans?”

“…Probably?”

“Good! When this war ends, come to Mount Verdeng where our tribe lives. I’ll challenge you to a duel! Fighting dragons is fun!”

A duel was fine, but… well, Evan had long decided to think positively about this matter.

He couldn’t have imagined that killing Zhanzir, who had been tainted by black magic, would come back like this.

Who would have thought the connection to Mount Verdeng would continue so positively?

Evan smiled briefly and waved the Yuris flag toward the Crown Prince visible in the distance.

“I never thought I’d form an alliance with trolls in my life.”

“…The north is always a place where things beyond imagination happen.”

Chris continued, trying hard to suppress his laughter. Who would have thought they’d bring trolls to join?

Though he had heard it might happen, even Chris was left speechless, his mouth agape, at the sight of Evan actually bringing trolls.

“Your Highness, didn’t I tell you? You are not alone. Now you just need to do what you do best. As someone who will soon become Emperor, it wouldn’t be bad to practice with this opportunity.”

“Leading an army allied with other races is something even my father hasn’t done… well, fine. What else is there to do but try?”

The fear that had been in a corner of his heart had long disappeared.

What he had been given was a combined force with an additional 3,000 troops from other races,

and what remained was to lead them to crush the extinction.

What did it matter if he wasn’t extraordinary? He was the one and only Crown Prince of the Empire… he was Kaisel.

Kaisel had only one thing to say as the allied forces, each waving their own flags, finally began marching toward Terazein.

December 30th, the day before the new year.

Strangely, it was a night when the full moon shone red.