Ch.316316. Sirah Relocation War (10)

A cold blade moves toward the neck of a living human—one whose throat had just convulsed like a malfunctioning elevator due to tension.

The officers were witnessing, for the second time already, the commander attempting to execute a soldier on the spot.

‘I must stop this…!’

It was no joke the first time he drew his sword, and now, having seized even greater power, he would not hesitate to keep his blade drawn a second time.

Though they could no longer stop the commander’s push for the relocation to Sirah on their own, they couldn’t afford to lose Kelnur, their only remaining counterforce.

“Please lower your sword, Commander. If you cut down my son like this, I won’t stand idle.”

Junon narrowed his eyes.

“Son?”

“Yes. Recognizing Kelnur’s abilities, I adopted him. Wouldn’t such a capable person, who was once Tembris’s scribe, serve his role well in the Duchy’s army?”

“Pfft. Son, you say? Kuk-kuk-kuk!”

Junon turned his head away and laughed for a while before continuing the conversation.

“Ah, I apologize. That was the funniest thing I’ve heard recently—I simply couldn’t contain myself.”

Yet his arrogant attitude remained unchanged.

No, if anything, he wore a vulgar smile as if mocking the officers. How could they not step forward against this?

“Look here, Commander! Are you mocking the fact that I adopted a former Tembris scribe because I recognized his abilities?”

“If not that, are you laughing at Count Belmekhov’s words? Either way, show some restraint!”

“Count Belmekhov is the leader of our faction. If you’re ridiculing him, we won’t stand for it!”

So tone it down and move on. Unless you want to make complete enemies of us and fight.

The officers were revealing such intentions to Junon while voicing their objections.

But Junon didn’t stop.

“Tembris’s scribe? What does that matter?”

“What…?”

“Didn’t I tell you directly not long ago? That I’ve been quite patient. Whether it’s an officer or Tembris’s scribe, anyone who treats military law this lightly deserves to have their head cut off in one stroke, don’t they?”

“…!”

“With people disrupting military order like this, it seems some among you have been dabbling in drugs. Isn’t that right, Count Belmekhov?”

Count Belmekhov couldn’t bring himself to continue the conversation.

The other officers were equally at a loss for words.

This conversation was merely a trap set by Junon.

‘Of all times, why now…!’

The officer faction led by Count Belmekhov had previously been implicated in an unsavory incident.

Drug use during wartime—an offense that could justifiably be punished under strict military law. Due to a drug scandal that erupted within such a large group, not just one person, the leader of that faction had his qualifications called into question.

But questioning qualifications—this was something they had brought up first in the council chamber.

In other words, they had walked into their own trap.

People who couldn’t even catch drug users within their own ranks were now disrupting military order and confronting the commander, and once again, due to Kelnur’s slip of the tongue, they found themselves in the same situation as before.

Junon was now throwing back their own words: who was questioning whose qualifications?

“I don’t know what happened, but it seems my son hasn’t yet adapted to military life. I hope you’ll be generous enough to overlook this matter.”

Though reluctant to admit it, Count Belmekhov had been struck precisely at his weak point. He had no choice but to bow his head.

‘I suppose this is as far as it goes for now.’

Though he had pushed to the limit, Junon knew he couldn’t take it further here.

‘Truthfully, it wouldn’t be strange to cut down Kelnur right here. But…’

Senia had clearly told Tembris, “Leave the officers’ punishment to us.”

It could be that she still felt guilty, or perhaps they were now willing to shoulder the burden themselves. But those reasons alone didn’t explain why Kelnur was standing before him now.

Yes. It probably meant they wanted to handle the punishment of all officers, including Kelnur, themselves.

If that was the case, rather than making an example of him here, Junon needed to let Kelnur go.

“If you don’t want to see such a spectacle again, you’d better be careful next time. There won’t be a second chance.”

“Kuk…!”

Though Kelnur still refused to retract his bared teeth, Junon didn’t press further.

‘Yes. It would be a waste to cut off your head right now. Even if I made an example of you by removing your head, death alone would be too light a punishment, wouldn’t it?’

Even if he were to behead him here, even if he were to make an example of him to the officers.

The process of punishing Kelnur wouldn’t be satisfying enough.

Not for himself. Not for them.

“Hey! Hurry up!”

“…I apologize, Commander. Please forgive me.”

After the surrounding officers repeatedly cautioned him, Kelnur reluctantly bowed his head to Junon.

“But, Commander.”

However, being the embodiment of an inferiority complex, he wasn’t about to let the situation pass so easily.

“How will you explain Lady Erika’s disappearance, which happened because of you?”

Those officers. And Kelnur.

They were determined to see this through to the end.

And Junon.

‘Yes. That’s right, come at me. Isn’t that the only way to cut off the rotten branches decisively?’

He was already standing above them.

***

As the situation took an unfavorable turn, Count Belmekhov signaled with his hand to end this conversation as quickly as possible.

The count, who led the faction opposing the relocation, acknowledged Kelnur’s mistake and tried to move past his blunder.

But they hadn’t come here to engage in such trivial talk in the first place.

“How will you explain Lady Erika’s disappearance, which happened because of you?”

Yes. Their intended topic had been decided from the beginning.

They had been waiting for precisely this moment.

“Others might not know, but I know for certain. You were the last person to speak with the lady. And she’s been missing ever since.”

The disappearance of Erika Sherpen, Tembris’s buffer and healing artist.

This news was a major setback.

“Do you know what the primary reason is that the Duchy’s army hasn’t lost morale?”

There was no need to spell it out.

It was Tembris.

Each member of Tembris was a sturdy pillar, spreading such tremendous influence that even soldiers who had fallen into despair could hope to face any demonic beast with them present.

Yet Kelnur was saying that one of them had disappeared.

The timing? After a conversation with Commander Junon.

Each individual spread enormous influence, and one of the few such figures had vanished?

It was naturally a major blow to the Duchy’s army.

“I don’t know what conversation you had with the lady. But in this wartime situation, when every single person matters, do you know the result of whatever you said that made this key figure lose her will to fight and disappear?! It’s not just this unit. Look behind you!”

While Count Belmekhov had pointed to the empty spaces in the unit they led, Kelnur pointed directly at the outposts.

In the direction Kelnur indicated were the empty spaces left by soldiers who had stolen supplies and food before deserting.

“Upon investigation, they were already anxious and nervous soldiers. But they were soldiers who recovered through one person’s power, picked up their weapons and magical armor again, and faced the demonic beasts. They were soldiers who believed they could fight because that person was there!”

In other words, one setback creates a chain reaction of further setbacks.

When Erika vanished following her conversation with Junon, the already restless soldiers began to waver, and upon realizing Erika had disappeared, they chose to desert.

As if they were certain they couldn’t win this battle.

“Look! All of these people! All of those who reluctantly followed your orders on the battlefield! They fought because they had Erika Sherpen as a great pillar of support. Your selfish words caused 40% of the Duchy’s army to desert! But here, the commander crossed the line.”

Kelnur passionately presented documents he had prepared to the commander.

“With this force, is it even possible to carry out the operation you’ve planned? Not content with causing 40% to desert, now you want to drive the remaining 60% to their deaths?!”

‘That’s right!’

‘Push harder right here!’

The officers swallowed such thoughts, relieving the frustration that had been building up.

“So step down now. Not you, who incompetently only puts others at the forefront, but these people could minimize casualties even with the remaining Duchy forces!”

Though Lady Erika’s case would need separate punishment, step down for the sake of the Duchy, for your Lebrant Academy classmates and juniors and seniors.

Kelnur shouted with raised voice.

But Junon didn’t draw his sword like before.

It meant the hit was effective.

With this reaction, the officers were convinced.

‘With this, the commander can no longer proceed with his operation!’

Of their victory.

The snowball the commander had started had finally returned to the entire Duchy army.

With 40% of the soldiers gone while facing battle, what more needed to be said? It was obvious that the reckless operation could never be carried out.

Now, they awaited the commander’s next words.

‘With those numbers, you absolutely cannot continue your operation!’

‘Well, how will you respond now?’

‘Kuk-kuk. Give up, youngster! Hurry and say you’ll surrender!’

In truth, they had merely moved the soldiers to another location. After the commander stepped down, they planned to recommend Count Belmekhov as the new commander without fail.

Although some officers involved with drugs had been caught and their faction had shrunk considerably, Belmekhov’s faction was still the largest.

So if only Junon would step down.

If only they could pull that green youngster from the commander’s position.

They could march across the Duchy as honorable battlefield heroes after defeating two named demonic beasts with the great general Count Belmekhov at the helm.

While the officers were indulging in such happy fantasies.

“Are you finished?”

“…What?”

Junon, who had remained silent until Kelnur finished his tirade, responded indifferently.

Could it be that he had some other move planned this time as well?

“Well, it’s true that Tembris has great influence. Without them, the Duchy’s army would have collapsed long ago. Your point isn’t entirely wrong.”

As expected!

Despite his words, it seemed he had no other options.

But then.

“But do you know something? The remaining 60% of the Duchy’s army, excluding your units, don’t even know Erika is missing, and they’re standing by at their posts.”

“Of course they don’t know what happened…!”

“Well said. Yes. They don’t know what happened. They’re only thinking about the upcoming battle. Everyone except you all.”

“…!”

“Do you understand what I’m saying now?

They had only expected that with 40% of the Duchy’s forces deserted, he would have to abandon this absurd tactic because he couldn’t properly execute the operation.

But what was with that impossibly confident attitude?

It was so overwhelmingly confident that the watching officers shrank back uneasily.

‘Could it be… is it possible?’

‘Even without the soldiers we had?’

It was as if he could prove himself even if they were excluded from this battle.

Was it just his attitude? Or was it bluster to escape the immediate crisis?

One might think so.

But.

“Since you can’t move with soldiers who have lost their will to fight, you’d better watch carefully from where you are. What’s about to happen.”

Junon answered the officers directly.

‘I’ll prove it to you directly, as you once said.’

***

It was predictable.

Count Belmekhov’s faction has been trying to undermine my position, both then and now.

The only difference is that they’ve acquired a new card: Kelnur.

But their card is dull, a rusted blade.

“My position is in the rear. Does our commander have something for me to do?”

I handed a document to the female knight who had been waiting and nodded affirmatively.

“That’s right.”

“It’s about the officers, isn’t it? Perfect.”

Look. Just by how she immediately grasped my intentions, Senia was the sharpest and most keen card I possessed.