Ch.724Return Journey

The journey back was incredibly peaceful. To the point where the memories of the hellish Eastern War felt as hazy as childhood nightmares.

“Monsters spotted at two o’clock! Estimated to be medium-sized hybrids!”

“Report properly! What exactly did you see?”

“I don’t know, sir! It’s a monster I’ve never seen before!”

…So, it was mostly peaceful, is what I’m saying.

Bandits who used to pop up at every turn wouldn’t dare attack an army unless they were completely insane, but monsters—most of them lacking even the intelligence of common thieves—were a different story. During a full day’s march, they’d jump out at us like some daily event.

“They’re coming from the left side too!”

This time it’s a buy-one-get-one-free deal. How generous.

“Leonore, Nigel, Jahan. Go kill them.”

From inside the carriage that had become Ludwig’s relic, I exhaled cigarette smoke toward the window while giving the three a brief order.

There was no need for me to step in personally. Just from the aura I could tell these monsters were something any Knight of Master rank could handle with ease.

Actually, it was more beneficial for me not to get involved.

If I killed them myself, the Karma from two monsters would simply vanish. Better to give the three a chance to accumulate Karma instead.

“Got it.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“As you command.”

Leonore, who had been outside the carriage complaining about feeling stuffy, rode toward the left flank, while Nigel and Jahan, who had been inside, flung open the carriage door and leapt out.

It didn’t take long for the aggressively charging monsters to be reduced to pieces of meat.

—-

After several days of marching, we finally crossed the border and returned to Imperial territory.

The border fortress had been extensively reinforced by Ludwig in preparation for the final battle against the Ka’har.

Since the battlefield had shifted to Dane, it had been largely neglected, with only minimal forces stationed there as a precaution.

“Sister Haschal! I’ve been waiting for you!”

Lena had remained there as well. Just as I expected. Apparently, she had been eagerly waiting for my return while taking charge of treating the troops stationed at the fortress.

“Yes, yes. Big sister is here.”

I patted the head of Lena, who had come running and embraced me.

“Everything okay while I was gone? You seem to have grown taller.”

“I’m in my growth phase!”

Lena answered while keeping her head slightly raised, still hugging me tightly.

They say children grow at an astonishing rate, and it’s certainly true. She’d grown over 10cm in just a month.

Just a few months ago, Lena’s head had only reached my waist, but now it was buried against my chest.

She was nuzzling her face against my chest like some cat, apparently overjoyed at seeing me, and each time she did, my bandaged chest was pressed down, causing it to slightly bulge out from the sides of my top.

…It must be suffocating and smell of sweat, yet she keeps nuzzling.

“Alright, Lena. I know you’re happy to see me, but let’s separate for now. Big sister has work to do.”

I gently pushed Lena’s shoulders to detach her. I understood she was happy and excited to see me after so long, but this wasn’t the time to indulge her affection.

As the temporary commander-in-chief of the Eastern Defense Force, my priority was to issue various orders to the soldiers who had reached the border fortress after a long march.

Lena seemed to understand my position and released the embrace without protest, stepping back half a step. Though she did look a bit disappointed.

“I heard about what happened in Dane. Are you okay? You’re not badly injured anywhere, are you?”

“I’m fine. Look, I’m perfectly fine. No need to worry.”

I smiled, spreading both arms out to the sides.

[Fine, my ass. You’re nothing but lies.]

Hersella scoffed.

The truth was I had been severely injured. I’d lost an entire arm.

To conceal this major injury, I had carved a temporary wooden prosthetic, covered it with Frosting, and wrapped threads of Murder Karma around it to make it move like a puppet.

It was fortunate I had equipped Frosting before arriving at the border fortress. Otherwise, I would have had no way to hide the severe injury to my left arm.

—-

After entering the border fortress and resting for about half a day, I reorganized the remaining troops who had completed their Eastern defense duties into three groups.

Those returning to the capital, those heading to Landenburg territory, and those remaining here.

“The wounded from Landenburg forces will remain here. They will defend the fortress after completing their treatment.”

First, I selected only the Landenburg forces from among those who had been carried in supply wagons due to injuries and left them as the garrison for the fortress.

It wasn’t a large number.

As long as Knut didn’t break his promise to me, Dane would soon become a vassal state of the Empire. Therefore, there was no need to station many troops at the border fortress.

“Troops who can move will return to Landenburg to guard the Wall. Also inform those who remained there of Ludwig’s death and the fact that I have succeeded his position.”

With Ludwig’s death, I now had to govern Landenburg.

Of course, since I neither had the administrative ability nor the time for such matters, I intended to be the lord in name only.

The actual governance would be handled by the proxy authority and administrators that Ludwig had prepared in advance for after his death.

I would stay in the capital, enjoying the profits they diligently generated, and only fly over to resolve critical issues when absolutely necessary.

It was quite ironic when you thought about it.

The combined territories I had acquired exceeded even the Duchy of Wien, yet the owner of these vast lands had no interest in managing them.

To nobles who would commit murder and wage war just to gain a small plot of land, this would seem like a terrible waste.

…But what can I do when I’m busy enough with swordplay? Besides, wouldn’t it be a national loss if I were wielding a pen instead of a sword?

Moreover, from the perspective of the territory’s residents, being governed by administrative experts would be far happier than being ruled by someone who only knew how to raise armies and wage war.

So, for these reasons, I had entrusted all territorial management to proxies, and I planned to continue living that way.

If the proxy abused my authority and mismanaged the territory, I would have no choice but to intervene directly, but how could people personally selected by Leopold and Ludwig be such moral trash?

They would have surely chosen sufficiently competent and diligent individuals who weren’t foolish enough to deceive or betray me.

While I may lack talent in territorial management, I am unrivaled in my ability to destroy those who mismanage territories.

Isn’t that right? How many rulers—not just ordinary lords but the cream of the crop—have I destroyed?

Empress Isabella, who held and wielded the Empire in her grasp.

Rurik, the Wolf King of Baryachrus.

Danon I, the King of Panam Kingdom… was it the first? Anyway, that old man.

Ragnar of Dane, the shortest-reigning king whose reign didn’t even last a day.

And Orhan, who unified the entire Great Plains and ascended as Khagan, was also slaughtered by my hand.

Except for Himmel which has no king, Alvheim which worships the World Tree, and the Dragonic Kingdom with which I have little connection, I’ve replaced the leader of every country at least once. At this point, couldn’t I be called a specialist in regicide?

—-

After entrusting the command of the Landenburg forces to Joshua and Heinrich and sending them off, I led the remaining Imperial troops back toward the capital.

It wasn’t a triumphant return.

The great army that had once numbered 30,000 troops across two corps had been reduced to just under 10,000, and about half of them were groaning from various injuries.

The long line of transport wagons carrying those who couldn’t walk looked less like a military march and more like an evacuation of the sick.

After marching in such a state for about ten days, we finally returned to Extrashafel.

“…Is this really the capital, Extrashafel?”

“Heavenly God Elpinel…!”

The Imperial troops, who had finally returned after a terrible war and a long journey, sat down in shock and lamentation at the miserable state of the capital, without even having time to celebrate their survival.

“This is worse than I expected…”

Even I, who had been informed of the situation, couldn’t help but say such words, so how must it have appeared to others?

Isabella’s final legacy, the dragon Nidhogg, had left wounds that were all too visible.

Collapsed walls. Earth melted and solidified. Broken spires and cracked, sunken ground. It looked like the aftermath of a bombing.

…What kind of messenger described this as merely “half-destroyed”? Was he not human but some kind of artificial intelligence?

Imagine if exactly half of a person’s body was burned and melted. Would that be considered “half-dead”? Could you say the other half was still alive?

What I saw before me was exactly in such a state.

While the scale of destruction did cover about half the city as the messenger had reported, seeing it in person made it clear this wasn’t just “half-destroyed”—the city was practically finished.