Ch.286Chapter 286. Back to the Central Continent (1)

* * *

After the plague had receded.

The news that reached Chel, who had somehow managed to clean up the border territory of the Aeshus army, was far from pleasant.

“The Serpina army… is marching here?”

“Yes, sir…!”

‘Damn it…!’

Chel let out a long sigh.

As if things weren’t bad enough, he had failed to capture Yurie, Anima, and Epinel who had attempted to flee across the border due to his misjudgment.

Though he had somehow managed to acquire territory, it ultimately meant he had only secured additional devastated land that had been ravaged by the plague—nothing more, nothing less.

“What will you do, sir?”

“Wait a moment. Can’t you see I’m thinking?”

At the soldier’s question, Chel openly displayed his anxiety by frantically rubbing his mouth with his hand.

‘There’s no way I can defeat Serpina in this state.’

No matter how he looked at it, he lacked confidence in his ability to maintain the current territory while handling her large forces.

His troops had been depleted in meaningless wars of attrition with the Aeshus and Kalintz armies, and what few soldiers remained had been exhausted in the process of cleaning up the Aeshus army’s border territory.

Considering that if he had had enough soldiers, he wouldn’t have let Yurie escape in the first place—he essentially had no means to repel Serpina’s large forces.

‘Damn it!’

Bang!

Chel irritably threw down the sword hanging at his waist.

Where had it all gone wrong?

Clearly, clearly there had been hope at the beginning.

Most of the talented individuals in the Brans army had followed him and become his subordinates in the Chel army, and Lynn had been pushed to the periphery, a marginal ruler who could no longer fulfill her role as sovereign. If he could just deal with Kalintz, the leadership of the Brans family would surely fall to him.

It had been right in front of him. That path had been right before his eyes.

When exactly had things gone awry? When he fought with the Aeshus army? When he beheaded Erinandorf? Or when the plague began to spread?

Perhaps… the very act of raising the flag of rebellion and establishing a new banner…?

Having thought that far, Chel shook his head vigorously.

‘Useless thoughts.’

Dwelling deeply on the past didn’t suit Chel’s temperament.

If he had time for that, he believed it was better to think about the future.

Whatever choices he had made, Chel had never once regretted them. Yes, even now he didn’t regret beheading Erinandorf. He knew better than anyone who had traversed battlefields what happens when you capture a powerful general who won’t submit and fail to dispose of them immediately.

“…Summon the commanders.”

“Pardon…?”

“I said summon the commanders! Can you not hear my words?!”

“Ah, yes sir!”

The soldier quickly relayed Chel’s order to the commanders under his command.

Before long, all the talented individuals supporting the Chel army gathered in the audience chamber.

“I assume you all know the situation. I’ve called you here to discuss what we should do going forward.”

The commanders quietly observed the situation without saying a word.

Since the state strategist who should have been the first to offer opinions in such situations had died from the plague, no one was willing to be the first to voice their thoughts.

No.

Rather than being unable to come up with ideas, the real issue was that they couldn’t bring themselves to voice the most viable option.

At that moment.

An elderly retainer who had served the Brans family for quite some time cautiously raised his hand.

“…My lord.”

“Speak.”

“To be frank, this is a battle we cannot win. It may be time to make a decision for the future.”

“A decision for the future?”

“Surrender.”

“…!!”

“Surrender and plan for the future. Though rulers of provinces are typically not spared, you were never originally the ruler of the Brans army and were once called the First Sword of Brans. I believe that even someone as vicious as Serpina would accept if you bowed your head and offered to help her. I beg you to survive, seek opportunity, and strike at Serpina’s back.”

“So you’re telling me to bow down and serve under that Serpina woman?”

“Make a wise decision, my lord. Being reckless in the face of death is not bravery.”

At the retainer’s blunt words, the atmosphere in the audience chamber instantly grew heavy.

All eyes turned to the retainer as if he had spoken words that should never have been uttered.

But everyone knew. That there was no option other than surrender.

In a situation where an enemy army—well-fed, well-trained, and several times larger than their own troops, exhausted from the plague and consecutive battles—was approaching like a tidal wave.

The trump card that could turn the tide, a magician, existed not in their country but on the opposing side, in the Serpina army.

Objectively, there was no way to defeat her no matter what they tried. If fighting would only lead to a dog’s death, surrender was clearly the only answer.

Yet the retainer had shouldered the burden of voicing what no one dared to say.

“…”

After saying nothing for a while, Chel spoke in a cold tone.

“Under normal circumstances, I would have cut off your head for expressing such a foolish opinion. But I’m not that stupid.”

“…”

“Besides, even with Lynn still around, I too have spent time as a proper ruler. The very idea that Serpina would spare me is nothing more than a gamble.”

“I understand your words, but I am convinced that Serpina will not kill you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

At Chel’s question, the elderly retainer’s eyes gleamed as he replied.

“Because you don’t particularly have ambitions to rule the continent.”

“What?”

“Wasn’t your priority to rebuild the Brans army that was collapsing under Lynn’s tyranny?”

“…”

At those words, Chel was left speechless.

If anything—the retainer’s words were somewhat accurate.

It was true that he had quickly raised his forces after seeing Lynn, who had been making the worst choices for some time, and his younger brother Kalintz, who had occupied Anel Castle and betrayed them while Lynn was away, considering that the Brans army would be ruined if things continued as they were.

He had never considered things like ‘I will unify this continent’ or ‘As a ruler, I will create such-and-such a world.’

All he had in mind was the restoration of the Brans army’s glory. That was it.

Although he had acknowledged it once, wasn’t it because he judged that the Brans army couldn’t be revived under the current Lynn or his younger brother Kalintz that he had taken over the position of ruler?

“Serpina is as shrewd as she is vicious. Moreover, you are upright in character and not the type to irresponsibly spout opinions you don’t truly hold, pretending to be a snake. So, she should be able to easily discern that you have no grand ambitions.”

“…You really have no filter today, do you?”

“I’m likely to lose my head anyway, and whether I die now or get captured and killed by Serpina, it’s all the same, isn’t it? With few days left to live, speaking my mind is the duty of a loyal retainer.”

Hearing those words, Chel laughed loudly enough to shake the audience chamber.

Then, with blue eyes burning like azure flames, he revealed his plan to everyone.

“Tell the lords of each territory. As soon as they confirm this letter, they are to gather all the supplies and troops they can and move to Alcanwood Castle.”

“…!!”

At the order to move to Alcanwood Castle, all the retainers present looked at Chel with surprised expressions.

“Our forces are already insufficient. As long as we’re divided, we can never face Serpina’s army, even if we were to rise from the dead. All we can do is unite. We will make our final stand at Alcanwood Castle.”

“This battle will likely cost many of you your lives. But from my perspective, I have no need for generals who won’t properly participate in battle just because they value their lives.”

“By now, you understand what I’m saying, right?”

“D-does that mean…”

Chel nodded at the question from a relatively young retainer standing next to the elderly one.

“If you value your life, resign from our army right now. I won’t stop you.”

For a moment, no one spoke.

“…It seems there are no such people here.”

“We will fight with our lord until the end.”

“The pride of the Brans army, we have never forgotten it.”

All the retainers nodded and added their own words.

After all, they were the elites of the Brans army.

And their opponent was none other than the villainess Serpina. Though they rationally acknowledged that surrender was reasonable, their hearts couldn’t accept it.

“Do you feel the same way?”

At Chel’s words, the elderly retainer who had first voiced his opinion bowed his head and replied.

“If my lord has decided to fight, I will do so as well.”

“According to your own words, that’s not a rational choice, is it?”

“The relationship between lord and retainer cannot be explained by rationality alone.”

At those words, Chel smiled with satisfaction.

Though the chances of repelling her were slim, he wouldn’t just give in without a fight.

If he could somehow hinder Serpina…

Chel clenched his fist, reaffirming his resolve.

‘…By whatever means necessary, I’ll make her regret ever crossing Chel Brans.’

* * *

As the occupation forces from Einhart Castle passed by Kelstein Castle.

“Are you sending only 10,000 soldiers?”

“That’s right.”

Irene, riding alongside Serpina, asked her with a puzzled expression.

“But wouldn’t that be insufficient to capture Zog Castle?”

“No. If Chel is someone worth facing me, this number should be enough to capture Zog Castle.”

“…Pardon? I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand what you mean…”

At Irene’s words, Serpina gave a faint smile.

Then—turning her head toward me on the opposite side, she said:

“Swen. Could you explain in my stead?”

“It means that if they’ve gathered their forces in one place, it’s not at Zog Castle, which is at the frontline.”

“Gathered their forces…?”

“Given our army’s invasion, their options are extremely limited. The best move would be to gather all their troops in a distant location for a final stand. Even then, their chances would be slim, but from their perspective, they have no choice but to make this decision. If I were in their position—”

“Alcanwood.”

“—I would gather at Alcanwood Castle, I think…”

Startled by Serpina’s sudden voice, I stopped mid-sentence and looked at her.

“Why so surprised, Swen?”

“…It’s nothing.”

It struck me anew that Serpina was truly an exceptional individual.

So much so that it was hard to believe she couldn’t become the unifying ruler.

“Anyway, if they’ve withdrawn their forces as we think, it wouldn’t matter even if we sent just a thousand men. The castle would be empty anyway.”

“I see… So that’s why you added ‘if he’s someone worth facing’ to your statement.”

“Yes. If troops are still stationed there and our forces struggle, that’s not necessarily bad for us. In fact, it’s better. We can defeat them one by one.”

As she said, sending ten thousand soldiers was also a way to test what kind of person Chel Brans was.

And soon after, the test results came in.

—In a direction that was, just a little, unexpected.

“…Is that true?”

“Yes! As you said, Zog Castle was empty, but…”

The messenger spoke to the surprised Serpina in an incredulous tone.

“As if there had been a fire… all the buildings in the territory had been burned down and turned into a wasteland…!”