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37 – Lion Hunting (1)

37 – Lion Hunting (1)

The day after speaking with Ricain, I made a decision.

I still dislike the idea of someone dying because of me.

However, I realized that there are many people who have high expectations of me.

As a beloved lord, I could not ignore their hopes.

While repaying their expectations, I would become a cherished ally and survive by any means necessary.

That is the path I have chosen.

As a start, I resolved to strike against the mad lion of the neighboring territory, Hadem.

Gathering everyone, I made an official announcement.

“I will strike Hadem of the Lion Territory.”

Everyone present, except for Ricain, was taken aback by my words.

They seemed surprised that I, who had only given defensive orders until now, was issuing an aggressive command for the first time.

“The people of our empire in the Lion Territory are suffering and dying.”

And in the end, I tried to maintain good relations until the very last moment.

But it was none other than Hadem himself who kicked all of that aside and turned his own subjects into hell.

“If this continues to be observed, it will tarnish the name of our ancestors who dedicated themselves to establishing the empire.”

From the perspective of the lord and the territory, the subjects of the Lion Territory are outsiders.

But we are all human and belong to the same nation within the framework of the empire.

So I had ample reason to save them.

“Therefore, as the head of the Crones Family and as a noble responsible for the happiness of the people of the empire, I will condemn the murderer Hadem, who massacres the free people.”

With that, my words came to an end.

Upon hearing my words, Azel’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he said,

“Finally, we can carry out a righteous mission!”

“Yes, Azel, it is time to perform a righteous mission.”

This must have been the news Azel, who had expressed a desire to participate in a righteous mission every day, wanted to hear the most.

Conversely, Noah approached calmly and said,

“You’ve finally made up your mind, my lord.”

Noah seemed to have sensed my true feelings for some time now.

But he remained silent, patiently waiting for me to speak.

This is just my guess, but it was probably Noah who sent Ricain to me.

“I’m sorry it took so long, Noah.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It was a difficult issue.”

Noah appeared to be the only one who understood how politically tangled this issue was, along with Hart.

And as if to affirm my choice, Noah looked softly into my eyes and said,

“What I can say for sure is that whatever choice you make, I will follow your decision.”

At Noah’s words, Sharen and Lana, who were beside me, nodded in agreement.

Thus, under my command, we began the plan for the “Lion Hunt.”

To condemn Hadem, there were several issues that needed to be resolved.

The first was the issue of justification.

While Hadem was indeed in the wrong, he had not yet committed acts severe enough for a neighboring lord to split his head open.

It should have appeared natural that I would deal with Hadem since it was clear to anyone that he was in the wrong.

The second was the tactical issue.

Hadem is no fool.

Knowing that he would find it difficult to win against Sharen if she unleashed large-scale magic or against Jarha, who fought on equal footing with him, he would absolutely avoid fighting.

However, if they fought without either of them, even with the secret weapon Azel, significant damage could occur.

I needed a tactic that could subdue Hadem with minimal damage in a situation where he was willing to fight.

The last was the diplomatic issue.

Simply dealing with Hadem for the sake of justice could turn the Prince Faction, the largest power in the empire, into enemies in an instant.

In the worst-case scenario, I could find myself at the top of the Prince Faction’s list of targets for elimination, without support from other factions like the Princess Faction.

I needed a way to deal with Hadem while not alienating the prince.

Resolving these three issues while condemning Hadem was my most important goal, and for this, our territory’s top brains—Hart, Noah, and Ricain—worked hard.

What was I doing?

Lana, Azel, and I were cheering from the back, supporting them so they could fully focus on solving the problems.

It wasn’t easy, but with everyone’s efforts, I found a solution and sent messengers in all directions to prepare for the day of the decisive battle.

And two weeks later, all preparations were complete, and the day of the decisive battle arrived.

For Hadem, that day was a pleasantly good day after a long time.

The number of runaways had decreased to 10% of what it had been before, and agricultural production had returned to previous levels.

As he enjoyed the clear sky, pleased that his training methods had worked, he took a drink when suddenly the door burst open, bringing bad news.

“Y-Your Lordship! There’s a crisis!”

“What is it!?”

The loud news was very stressful for Hadem, who had been enjoying the blue sky after a long time.

“Th-thousands of free people and slaves have escaped all at once!!”

“What! A thousand have escaped!?”

Hadem was incredulous at the news that over a thousand people had fled at once.

A thousand isn’t even the name of someone’s pet; how could they escape all at once?

Hadem found it utterly incomprehensible.

“Are the soldiers blind? How could they let a thousand people escape at once!?”

“That’s because… Lord Bara himself led them in their escape. Some soldiers even joined them.”

“What! Bara!?”

Hadem felt his blood pressure rising at the thought that his son, Bara, had led the free people and slaves to escape.

He had always wished for a son who would take initiative, but for his first action to be an escape… Hadem’s anger surged beyond his blood pressure.

“Those bastards… summon the knights! We’ll pursue them immediately!”

“Yes!!”

No matter how much he was his son, this was not something to let slide easily.

Hadem immediately summoned the knights and began to pursue the fleeing group.

Meanwhile, the group of runaways led by Bara was desperately racing toward the Crones territory.

“Run! Just a little further and we’ll reach Crones! Don’t stop running!!”

For this day, Bara had secretly gathered over a thousand runaways, all strong young men in their twenties and thirties.

Thanks to that, they were able to flee toward the Crones territory at an astonishing speed, but they still couldn’t outrun the knights on horseback.

“Hadem is coming!!! Hadem is chasing us!!!”

“Already!?”

Bara looked back.

A tremendous cloud of dust was rising on the horizon.

That dust was created by the over a thousand knights of the Lion Family and the furious Hadem.

“Chase them!! Don’t let those vermin reach Crones!!”

Hadem was riding at the front, wielding his axe with all his might.

Seeing the pursuers closing in at a very fast speed, Bara, leading the runaways, shouted,

“Run! Run with all your might! We’re almost at Crones!! Everyone, run!!”

The runaways had been running since morning and were already at their physical limits.

What flashed through their minds, as they felt they were about to die, was the image of the land manager Boro, who had died at Hadem’s hands.

If they were going to die here or be captured, they chose to die with their hearts bursting.

“Uwaaaaaaa!!!!!”

As the group of runaways, thinking they were almost caught, began to run with all their might, Hadem was taken aback.

At this rate, they would barely reach the Crones territory.

Hadem ultimately gave the order.

“Fire! Shoot your arrows!!”

Thinking that if he couldn’t catch them, he wouldn’t let them reach Crones either, Hadem issued the command to fire.

Hundreds of arrows were shot at the runaways, and just as they were about to rain down on them, a blade of salvation flew in.

“Where to!!”

Swoosh—

A green moonlight blade, imbued with the moonlight, flew toward the rain of arrows and exploded, scattering them all away.

Hadem’s last resort was thus rendered futile, and the runaways safely arrived at the Crones territory.

In the Crones territory, Calix and the Krone Knights awaited them, and Bara shouted to Calix.

“I am Bara Lion of the Lion Family! We, the 1021, request asylum in the Crones territory!”

“We will accept you! Welcome to the Crones territory, Bara Lion and the brave runaways!!”

“Uwaaaaaaa!!!!”

The conversation between the two, shouted with such vigor that even Hadem, some distance away, could hear, filled him with the greatest rage of his life.

He crossed the boundary of the Crones territory without a care, axe in hand, heading toward Calix.

“Calix… Bara… you rotten bastards…”

Hadem wanted nothing more than to swing his axe and strike down those two brats right away.

With his murderous intent completely unmasked, he approached Calix.

Ignoring any sense of decorum, Hadem shouted at Calix, filled with rage.

“Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs! Calix!!”

“This is not meddling in other people’s affairs, Lord Hadem.”

Hadem could advance no further. Azel and Ricain had blocked the path between him and Calix.

Clenching his axe so tightly it was about to bend, Hadem suppressed his anger and said,

“I’ll be direct. Hand over Bara and the ones who escaped. Then, I will let this matter go.”

“What if we don’t hand them over?”

Calix spoke to Hadem in a tone that had never been heard before, brash and insolent.

Hadem’s anger surged even more at the thought that Calix, who had always shown him respect until now, was being so brazen.

“You’ve gotten cocky just because you’ve succeeded a few times, you worthless fool who can’t even block a single blow from my axe!!”

“Anyone who gets hit by an axe dies. What’s important for a lord is not that.”

Calix, like a mirror to Hadem, spoke without adhering to the old laws.

Hadem found Calix’s tone to be just like his own reflection, which only irritated him further.

But there was an even bigger blow left.

“I will also be direct. Stop tormenting the subjects and manage the territory properly from now on.”

“What?”

Hadem thought he had misheard Calix’s words.

Could this brat really cross the line this far?

But Calix’s words did not stop.

“Are your ears not working? I’ll say it again. Stop bullying the weak and do your politics properly, you damn ‘bald lion’ bastard.”

“Y-You!!!”

At that moment, Hadem’s rage exceeded its threshold.