Ch.206206. War Hero

The rebel forces led by Prince Richard arrived at the Celine Plains exactly two days after the arrival of the suppression forces led by Seraphina. They spotted the lord’s castle of Celine territory in the distance with Princess Seraphina’s flag flying, but showed no signs of agitation.

This was because they had anticipated that Princess Seraphina, if she wasn’t a fool who didn’t understand the importance of Tontoro, would have stationed troops in Celine territory as her first move upon hearing news of the rebellion.

Celine territory was an excellent bridgehead for advancing toward either Tontoro or the imperial capital, making it one of the key strategic points that the rebel forces absolutely needed to capture.

Richard was satisfied that his sister had moved exactly as he had predicted. It wasn’t particularly pleasing to know that his competitor for the successor position was incompetent.

After all, it would be a blow to his pride, considering he was the one who had lost the successor position to such an incompetent opponent.

However, the Seraphina he knew was actually an opponent worthy of high praise.

Wasn’t his initial motivation for starting this rebellion partly driven by his desire to face Seraphina on the battlefield?

Being half-obsessed with war, Richard sincerely hoped that Seraphina would prove exceptional. That would make the sense of achievement all the greater when he defeated her.

“Your Highness. We have completed the deployment of our garrison.”

Marshal Fortenon approached Richard, who was staring blankly at Celine territory, and gave a slight bow. Given his position and title, he didn’t need to act so subservient, but Marshal Fortenon didn’t see it that way.

It had been 10 years since he began following Prince Richard across battlefields.

Marshal Fortenon had become completely captivated by the battlefields commanded by Prince Richard while following him. He had witnessed Prince Richard sometimes devising extraordinary strategies to outwit enemies, and other times sweeping through enemy lines with remarkable military tactics.

Marshal Fortenon, who was a general 10 years ago, had shared all those numerous battlefields with him, and now considered himself Prince Richard’s right-hand man. Even now as a marshal, his heart raced and his blood boiled whenever he stood with him in war.

That’s why he had naturally taken Prince Richard’s side when the prince declared rebellion against the empire he had so devotedly protected.

Without a moment’s hesitation.

But this wasn’t limited to Marshal Fortenon alone. All those who had joined the rebel forces following Prince Richard were people who had gone to war with him.

They were all obsessed with battlefields commanded by Prince Richard, and would go anywhere he directed without question. If Prince Richard was obsessed with war itself, they were obsessed with the battlefields he provided.

“Marshal Fortenon. We must absolutely win the first engagement at Celine Plains. For us who have started this rebellion and are already at a disadvantage in terms of justification, we must win at least the first battle.”

“I understand. I’ve made that point clear to General Dantes as well, so you can trust in that.”

“We’ve already finished analyzing Seraphina’s forces. Marshal Arthur’s appearance is also as expected. If we deploy the new model giant mechs we’ve acquired, even Arthur won’t be able to do much.”

However.

Prince Richard’s eyes began to look beyond the lord’s castle of Celine.

The giant mech knight who had shown brilliant achievements in the subjugation force assembled to capture Horizon.

Seraphina’s sword, who had practically proven the theoretical statement that an exceptional giant mech knight could change the course of a battlefield.

Prince Richard judged him to be the variable that could change this battlefield.

Gilbert Lionheart, who possessed the potential to shatter strategies and tactics.

He was convinced that stopping him would be the decisive factor in determining victory or defeat.

“Instruct General Dantes to deal with Gilbert Lionheart without fail.”

“Are you concerned about him?”

“Yes. He is the only individual who can single-handedly change the course of the battlefield.”

Marshal Fortenon found it difficult to accept Prince Richard’s confident statement. War was not fought alone, and changing the course single-handedly was only possible in novels.

Even for an outstanding giant mech knight, there were clear limitations. The primary limitation was operating a giant mech with a fixed operational time.

However, Fortenon did not voice these doubts. After all, these words came from Prince Richard, known as the Divine Strategist.

To deny his words directly would be to doubt him.

Marshal Fortenon could not deny the words of Prince Richard, whom he could dare call a god of war.

“We will wage a full-scale battle from the beginning. The time is noon two days from now. I will share the detailed operation plans tomorrow afternoon.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Marshal Fortenon bowed deeply.

***

Fresia quietly observed Ian in her artificial spirit core state.

After she returned to Ian, Prince Richard’s proposal to him was to join the rebel forces. Fortunately, it was a stroke of luck that he had postponed his answer to consult with Fresia.

Fresia, who had already decided to go to Gilbert, was concerned that if Ian joined the rebel forces, the process of returning would become complicated.

Fresia expressed her opinion that it would be better not to join the rebellion, and Ian agreed with her view. Of course, since this wasn’t a decision that could be made by Ian’s personal will alone, the family’s will was reflected, and fortunately, the Rainbarrel family also decided not to join the rebellion.

That didn’t mean they were siding with Seraphina’s forces. The Rainbarrel family declared their intention to maintain neutrality, and several other neutral nobles also endorsed this stance and declared neutrality.

However, Ian, whose ambition was higher than most, was dissatisfied with this fact. Although it was a civil war, a rebellion had broken out, and the prestige gained from suppressing it couldn’t be ignored.

Especially after hearing that Gilbert had committed himself to Seraphina’s suppression forces, Ian could no longer remain idle. His heart couldn’t bear to watch Gilbert, whom he considered his greatest rival in life, being the only one active on the battlefield.

“I need to make a decision. I’ll go under Princess Seraphina by myself if I have to.”

[Ian. Directly opposing your family’s will might not be a good idea.]

“You’re asking me to just watch while that Gilbert guy gets all the glory? I can’t do that!”

When Ian growled, Fresia didn’t try to stop him anymore.

She had known from before that the word “patience” didn’t suit Ian. He found it extremely difficult to wait steadily for something.

Still, he usually listened well to Fresia’s words. Her words were always reasonable, and Ian knew that listening to her was the right judgment.

But there were times when he wouldn’t listen even to Fresia. This was one of those moments, when his deep-rooted inferiority complex toward Gilbert erupted.

When Ian reached this state, he wouldn’t heed anything Fresia said. Rather, as if rebelling against having held back for so long, he would go even further astray.

Initially, Fresia had tried to soothe such behavior from Ian, but now she didn’t want to go through that trouble.

[So, you’re going to side with Princess Seraphina?]

“Yes. Chaotic times always create heroes.”

His intention to rise by achieving merits in the civil war was obvious without even trying to see it. Fresia, who was once a princess herself, didn’t approve of Ian only thinking about becoming a war hero in a civil war.

War always inflicts great wounds, whether you win or lose. And those who bear those wounds are mostly the citizens who desire peace.

The reason Froisen put all her efforts into creating giant mechs was not only because it stimulated her intellectual curiosity, but also because she hoped giant mechs would create a deterrent to war.

In fact, in modern times, giant mechs had become an excellent deterrent to war. Operating a giant mech alone consumed astronomical amounts of money, and the devastated land after giant mech battles also had to be considered.

Naturally, this led to a development toward minimizing war, and giant mechs became an excellent deterrent to war, just as she had initially designed.

Of course, war couldn’t be completely eliminated. Even the brilliant Fresia didn’t have the arrogance to think that war itself could be completely eradicated.

The deterrent effect of giant mechs was ultimately a phenomenon created by intertwined interests.

A temporary phenomenon occurring because not waging war was more profitable than waging it.

If there were benefits that could overwhelmingly compensate for the losses of war, it would be something people could readily accept. Prince Richard’s rebellion was similar to this.

Although she hadn’t fully grasped Seraphina’s nature, it was clear that from Princess Seraphina’s perspective, a successor with as much recognition and following as Prince Richard would be irritating.

Even if she didn’t physically eliminate him, it was a foregone conclusion that she would cut off those who acted as his limbs and confine him to a separate palace.

After all, for a strong imperial authority, the division of power had to be prevented.

But you, Ian.

For this reason, Fresia couldn’t view Ian favorably, as he saw war only as a tool for advancement.

Then suddenly, she imagined what that stoic man would have said.

What would Gilbert, who was like a soldier drawn to perfection, have said?

‘War is best avoided.’

He would have said such things with piercing eyes. In fact, during the few days she spent with Gilbert, he often said such things.

Even though it wasn’t a war, he said they should quickly end the subjugation because the citizens would be anxious.

Fresia still remembered Gilbert’s resolute gaze that remained vivid in her mind.

With that, she shed the last of her lingering attachment to Ian.

[I’ll respect your choice.]

“That’s my Fresia. You understand my heart, don’t you?”

Ian, who had been fuming just moments ago, smiled brightly.

Fresia didn’t bother to respond to that.

Because he was no longer important to her now.

***

Two days after the rebel forces led by Prince Richard set up camp at Celine Plains.

At noon, when the sun was directly overhead, Prince Richard led his giant mechs onto Celine Plains.

It was the moment the curtain rose on the opening act of the war at Celine Plains.