Ch.310310. Sirah Migration War (4)

Just moments ago, two major disturbances had occurred.

First was the commander’s nearly unreasonable operation to relocate the capital to Sirah. Second was the threat he made by pointing his blade at an officer who opposed him.

Both were equally shocking, but now a third disturbance was unfolding.

“Hahaha!! So that’s it. Yes… that’s what you meant!!”

After Junon approached and whispered something, Dusen suddenly burst into loud laughter. This was the third disturbance.

The officers’ minds were filled with various thoughts.

Why is Dusen suddenly laughing? Did the commander say something so absurd that it provoked incredulous laughter? Or perhaps he found it ridiculous that this young commander threatened an officer with a sword?

The officers didn’t particularly care why Dusen had suddenly laughed.

They hoped he would rectify this unfortunate situation. As the former captain of the Imperial Guard, they expected him to stand against this inexperienced young commander.

“What are you all doing? Why aren’t you returning to your positions?”

However, Dusen turned around with a grin and, to their dismay, directed those words at the officers themselves.

“Lord Dusen. Do you have no thoughts about the current situation?”

The officer who had just had a blade at his throat responded indignantly.

“What situation are you referring to?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! How can this wet-behind-the-ears boy act like a grand duke and try to move the capital?! Moreover, he pointed his sword at me. This youngster who hasn’t even set foot on a proper battlefield dared to point his sword at me!”

Other watching officers nodded in agreement. Some even openly expressed their satisfaction at this confrontation.

By now, no further explanation was needed.

Dusen must understand. That this black-haired boy named Junon was acting like a tyrant.

All that remained was for him to turn around and stop the young commander’s tyranny.

Though retired, how many people in the empire wouldn’t know Dusen, the former captain of the Imperial Guard? Only those with similar recognition like Tembris or Arkab, or survivors of the Mirum Decisive Battle who came from the Artena Empire, would be on the same level.

Thus, Dusen was the officers’ greatest pillar of support. His words would carry enough influence to break the young commander’s stubbornness.

If Junon refused to accept his opinion and persisted, then they could question the commander’s qualifications.

Whether he accepted it or not.

The outcome they desired would come once Dusen spoke to Junon.

But.

“Isn’t it the commander’s order? Are you, the leadership of the Imperial Army, saying you won’t obey orders?”

Contrary to expectations, Dusen was speaking not to Junon, but seemingly in defense of him against the officers.

No, that wasn’t all.

By specifically mentioning the commander’s orders and questioning their obedience… it seemed he was dismissing their concerns.

Could it be that Dusen was supporting this tyrannical commander?

‘That’s impossible!’

What could this inexperienced boy know about the battlefield?

This shouldn’t happen, and if it did, the entire Imperial Army would be dragged into it. If he received Dusen’s support, the neutral officers might tilt their heads in confusion and side with the commander.

“You all know well what happens to those who disobey a commander’s orders, don’t you? Especially in wartime.”

Nothing is more dangerous than allies causing confusion, so immediate execution wouldn’t be unusual.

He added that this was the authority vested in the commander.

“Dusen… do you really…”

“I simply don’t think this spirited young man has made the wrong decision.”

The situation they had desperately hoped would not occur had finally happened.

The heart of the man with the significant influence of being the former captain of the Imperial Guard had completely turned in the opposite direction.

***

Though the officers gathered to voice their complaints, their dispersal came soon after.

They had played their trump card with the magical communication device, saying they couldn’t be dragged around anymore, but it wasn’t enough, and they had to rely on the power of the commander’s position.

Nevertheless, the conflict remained unresolved.

The officers still expressed their unwillingness to give up Lebrant as the capital, showing even greater antipathy.

Therefore, the fact that they dispersed and the matter was temporarily settled was thanks to the intervention of one person.

The former captain of the Imperial Guard, Dusen.

It was because one person’s appropriate intervention had created a situation of tense opposition.

“…”

“What are you doing there?”

Just earlier, Dusen had dispersed the group of officers and expressed his desire for a longer conversation, saying he had more to discuss.

Junon welcomed this. The fact that Captain Dusen wanted to continue the conversation meant he had properly taken the bait.

But now, despite wanting to talk, he wasn’t coming in, which was puzzling.

After briefly scanning the interior of the commander’s office, Dusen asked Junon in a solemn voice.

“May I ask how long you’ve had that armband?”

“Hmm. I know Professor Muniher gave it to me much earlier, but due to circumstances, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when I received it.”

“No, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking how long you’ve been acting as commander.”

“Then two days… no, to be precise, it would be three days.”

“Three days.”

After mentioning the date, Dusen immediately let out a deep sigh.

…A sigh? No matter his position as commander, having such a prominent figure frown and sigh in displeasure wasn’t a good sign.

‘Perhaps I should have ventilated the room more.’

He didn’t think there was anything particularly offensive, but Lenias had prepared a hearty breakfast, so perhaps some food smells lingered here and there.

“Oh my. I’ve been standing too long. I’m sorry for making you stand as well.”

“If it bothers you, I can move elsewhere.”

“Hmm? No, let’s just stay here. If we move and word gets back to them, it’ll only cause you more trouble.”

That’s true, but the fact that he’s not moving suggests that fortunately, the smell isn’t too bothersome.

What Dusen would be curious about was predictable. Junon slowly straightened his back, preparing to unfold a map.

“No, no need to unfold it.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t need to convince me. And what I want to ask isn’t about that anyway.”

This was unexpected. Given the enticing bait he had thrown, Junon thought he would immediately ask about it.

“After all, this is the commander position that Lord Zelbarten sacrificed himself to pass on. I don’t think he made the wrong choice.”

However.

“But I’d like to know what meaning that action holds.”

Why did Professor Muniher try to buy time by sealing Feltiburugos together with Professor Jake?

Dusen was demanding a clear answer about this instead.

“That would be more of a speculation than an answer.”

“That’s fine. If it gives me even a grain of understanding, it’s enough.”

Though it was a rather troublesome question that might involve subjective views, Junon plainly shared his organized thoughts.

“I believe Professor Muniher acted because he knew the empire could never face two named magical beasts simultaneously. At the same time, he ordered a retreat, meaning to abandon Lebrant.”

“And your reason for this speculation?”

“I thought we might be able to handle one beast. I took a chance on that possibility. That’s why the two professors went to the extreme of sealing Feltiburugos, forcing it into a rest period.”

“Rest period…? Then when you said you’d eliminate Ashpern…”

“It means I’ll eliminate Ashpern before Feltiburugos awakens from its rest period. While I can’t prove this part, it’s certain that Feltiburugos will awaken.”

“…Then it all fits together. To buy as much time as possible, and to find the optimal conditions to face Ashpern alone, you moved the capital to Sirah.”

Except for the unexplained rest period of Feltiburugos, everything else seemed to make sense to him.

Dusen sighed in a low voice. Laying it all out like this, wasn’t the empire in a desperate situation?

The fact that the two professors faced Ashpern’s power of oblivion knowingly meant that even in their minds, there was no visible way to overcome this crisis.

Having to defeat Ashpern who controls magical beasts under a time constraint. And then having to subjugate Feltiburugos, which continues to expand the land of corruption while spewing malice.

The extreme conditions made his head spin.

Dusen didn’t continue his questioning and instead revealed his honest feelings.

“Among the current Imperial Army, there are few who can maintain the command structure. Moreover, having lived dependent on Lebrant, they lack the flexibility to escape from crisis.”

Every word was true. That’s why in the past, Junon had to drastically narrow his tactical options, and even then, he was pushed to the brink, compromising again and again to make the best move.

“Two named magical beasts. It’s an unprecedented event. I’ve never seen worse conditions. Perhaps… it feels equivalent to the conditions of the Mirum Decisive Battle.”

The Mirum Decisive Battle. Junon only knew it as a great crisis faced by the Artena Empire.

Junon has no experience of it. But Dusen, the captain of the Imperial Guard who survived it, says:

It’s not much different from then, a situation where the fate of a nation hangs in the balance.

“I cannot do it. Perhaps Lord Zelbarten and Lord Kalau couldn’t either. That’s why they sought possibilities. So I ask you, can you affirm that you can defeat those creatures?”

And he asks.

Can you save this country?

To this, Junon answers decisively.

“Yes.”

He can do it.

“Huh huh. Is that so?”

Dusen, who had been demanding confirmation from Junon with a stern expression, relaxed his face and extended his hand with a grin.

He was offering a handshake.

“Then feel free to use me as you wish. I’ll help you realize everything you want.”

To clarify.

This wasn’t an ordinary handshake.

It was an expression of trust, believing that his determination to save the empire wasn’t just empty words.

As they shook hands, Dusen asked what he should do first, saying he was at his service.

Junon’s answer to that question was to hand over an object.

“First, could you help win over those who are neutral?”

“This is… the communication device you showed earlier?”

“Yes. If you, Lord Dusen, take charge of it directly, no one will dare to object.”

“I see. You want me to spread the fact that the communication device works in Sirah. Then what’s next?”

“As I mentioned in front of everyone, we’ll prioritize digging a canal at the Ripol River. For now, my abilities have been initially proven.”

“Heh heh. Indeed.”

Such a meticulous plan. It’s as if he knew who would appear here, what they would do, and how to persuade them, planning everything in advance.

Though outwardly he’s just a young man not yet twenty, what’s inside his head far surpasses most strategists and ministers.

‘Lord Zelbarten. So this is the potential you saw.’

It was a great prejudice that the commander recognized by that stubborn man was just a twenty-year-old youth.

It was also a prejudice that no more talents would emerge from the Lebrant Academy, where the educational direction had gone completely astray.

But after meeting Junon, he could assert:

The former commander had simply found the right person for the job.

***

Rumors about Junon were spreading, and not in a good way.

Securing the commander’s position meant gaining power, and some even implied he would wield that power and become a tyrant.

But after Dusen took Junon’s side, the situation began to change gradually.

The turning point came after Dusen revealed that the magical communication device worked perfectly well in Sirah.

Since they could request reinforcements from the empire, Junon had effectively demonstrated why the capital needed to be moved to Sirah.

And.

In one place, there was someone who couldn’t accept this fact.

“Damn it…! What’s going on?!”

Moving the capital to Sirah? Abandoning Lebrant as the capital and moving to the backwater of Sirah?

“This doesn’t make sense. After all the rumors I’ve spread…!”

Rumors tend to be exaggerated or misinterpreted as they pass from person to person.

Moreover, the worse the rumor, the faster it spreads.

So the rumor that Junon had solely taken information from two major subjugation battles should have inevitably tarnished his image to rock bottom.

Yet, why was that man still carrying out operations smoothly from the commander’s position?

Kelnur tightly gripped the documents in his hand in frustration.

‘Something’s wrong. Something’s seriously wrong. I didn’t want to use this until the very end, but…!’

He had no choice but to use it.

Even with the risks.

Kelnur, who had been hiding since his escape, rushed to where the officers were gathered.

“Stop! Who do you think you are, trying to enter here?”

“This is the headquarters of the Imperial Army. Not only civilians but even other soldiers can’t enter freely.”

“Wait, this face… I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

“From Tembris…?”

The guards nodded, remembering there was such a person.

Kelnur seized this opportunity and shouted.

“I am Kelnur, the scribe of Tembris. I have something crucial to convey to the officers!”

While rumors may be false, making them true isn’t that difficult.