episode_0030

“The imperial palace has been secured.”

One hour.

That was the time it took to seize this massive imperial palace.

“Fast.”

“Since 70% of the Imperial Knights, including the Imperial Guard, had joined the expeditionary force, we were able to easily secure it without significant resistance.”

70%, you say.

Though it’s phrased as 70%, it was virtually the entire force vacating the imperial palace.

Excluding knights hospitalized with injuries, old knights nearing retirement, and new recruits who had just joined the order, it literally meant scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Receiving the exact figures truly made me realize how battered the Empire had become from the prolonged war.

‘But it’s still far from over.’

Although the imperial palace has been secured, we still haven’t heard news about the most important person, the Emperor.

Even if the capital, the heart of the Empire, is successfully seized, everything will be in vain if the Emperor, who is akin to the Empire’s head, isn’t captured alive.

“What about the Emperor?”

“Fortunately, he has been successfully captured alive.”

It was good news, but Jurist Chevalier’s expression didn’t look particularly pleased.

It meant that although the Emperor was captured alive, something else had been missed.

“What happened to the members of the imperial family?”

“That is…”

He bowed his head and apologized.

“I apologize. Due to the intervention of the prophets, we failed to capture them alive.”

“Is that so?”

Up to this point, it was acceptable.

Of course, given the limited time until the succession, the Crown Prince’s standing within the Empire was significant, but the Crown Prince alone wouldn’t pose a threat to us for a while.

An unstable position like a Crown Prince who failed to become Emperor would be insufficient to consolidate power in this gradually crumbling Empire.

“…I apologize, Arbiter-nim.”

His head lowered even further.

“There won’t be a next time.”

I merely gave a light warning and decided to let the matter go. Not only could I not assign blame in the midst of a coup, but it was impossible to perfectly execute every task when staging a coup against such a vast nation.

‘Gramr’s capabilities were being used beyond their limits to seize the Empire, so all we could do was try our best to make the least critical mistakes.

“Has the city been secured?”

“Most of the city has been secured by Lord Rodrigo de Dias. Currently, the Imperial Army is holding out in the Henri D. Stund Clock Tower, where the Bell of Infinity is located, but since there’s no suitable capable individual there, the capture will be completed quickly.”

“In effect, the city has been secured.”

Tap. Tap.

He tapped the armrest of the throne, lost in thought.

‘The capital has been secured.’

I had expected much resistance, but the Empire had weakened more than anticipated and the capital was taken without significant opposition.

In a coup where time was of the essence, this was nothing short of a godsend.

“…However, there is one point of concern.”

At that moment, Chevalier cautiously voiced his thoughts.

“What is it?”

“The Emperor’s advisor.”

The prophet who is always by the Emperor’s side, serving as his advisor.

The Prophet of the Moon.

“The Prophet of the Moon is nowhere to be seen.”

This is also why the capital was secured so quickly.

If it were the Prophet of the Moon, whose foresight transcends that of ordinary prophets, he surely would have predicted the current coup.

For some reason, a few days before the coup, the Prophet of the Moon declared he was going into hiding and left somewhere.

“The Prophet of the Moon, who can predict even the future of other prophets, could not possibly have been unaware of the coup. The fact that he ‘accidentally’ disappeared a few days before the coup worries me.”

The Prophet of the Moon, Roland.

For 25 years, since Fallen, I had never once seen Roland’s face.

I had only heard stories from those around me, praising his qualities as a prophet as the greatest in history, and that he had become the Emperor’s advisor.

‘He’s a clever fellow.’

I’ve met countless great figures, but I’ve never encountered anyone whose mind was as extraordinary as Roland’s 25 years ago, let alone close to his level.

His true intentions were indecipherable, making him the biggest variable in this coup, but I don’t believe it’s a problem for us to ponder. No matter how much we, who aren’t prophets, rack our brains, we’ll only end up playing into the prophets’ hands anyway.

“The Creator will handle the Prophet of the Moon.”

From the creation of Gramr to the coup to overthrow the Empire, everything accomplished thus far, hidden from the eyes of other prophets, has been according to His will, so we merely need to move according to His will.

“However…”

“What do you think we, who are not prophets, can do?”

Chevalier said nothing at the Arbiter-nim’s words.

“All we can do is our best to fulfill the duties entrusted to us.”

Though he still couldn’t shake off his apprehension, Chevalier’s expression showed a degree of understanding. Just as he said, there was nothing they, who weren’t prophets, could do.

‘We just need to ensure the coup succeeds.’

Let’s keep it simple.

Having launched a coup against the Empire, all that remains for us is success or death.

Prophet of the Moon or whatever, no matter how much we rack our brains, we’ll still end up playing into the prophets’ hands anyway.

‘As the Arbiter-nim said, we just need to do our best to fulfill the duties entrusted to us.’

Staring at him, seated on the Golden Branch Throne, Chevalier continued his report.

“Arbiter-nim, there is one matter to report regarding the expeditionary force.”

“What is it?”

“We found traces of multiple mages using teleportation magic.”

***

Dawn broke.

The Imperial Army, having arrived in Numenlora, had completed its rendezvous with the Allied Forces, and in a few hours, they would attack the capital of the fallen Empire, where the Greedy Prince resided.

Although both the Empire and the kingdoms had declined incomparably compared to the past, the might of the armies the alliances had scraped together for the final war was by no means inferior even when compared to the past.

No, rather, when compared to before the First Great Expansion, when the full-scale decline began, the quality of the army for the siege of Numenlora was overwhelmingly superior.

Nations other than the Empire had formed armies by selecting only the best veterans who had survived the previous wars.

The Empire, with the greatest national power, had assembled an army by gathering thousands of knights and nearly a hundred thousand veteran soldiers from across the continent.

Adding to this numerous mages, siege weapons, and the Imperial Knights and Imperial Guard, in terms of quality, it could be said to be the finest in the history of wars against the Army of Death.

Besides them, there were numerous knights and mages of renowned skill.

And mercenaries or adventurers famous across the continent.

Even the Knight Order of Heroes, Shahlnu Stellarum, comprised of Aura Masters and Expert-level knights, including Orlando, one of the Three Emperors.

No matter how formidable the Calamity commanding the Army of Death, the Greedy Prince, and his two legion commanders assisting him, they would not be able to withstand such a force.

“There’s an awful lot of them, truly.”

Staring at the great city beneath the dead World Tree, Danoa clicked her tongue.

As befitting the origin point of the calamity and its last stronghold, the tall, wide city walls were densely packed with elite undead soldiers, without a single gap.

Behind them, numerous undead made from the corpses of giants were preparing to hurl stones at the Allied Forces, so there would likely be an immense number of casualties in crossing those walls.

“Even so, we must go.”

Nemo, who was beside him, wore a resolute expression.

“If it’s the souls of the dead, no matter how many there are, it’s a calamity that can turn them into corpses according to its will. If we don’t strike it down even a little faster, it will recover its strength and this time truly destroy the continent.”

“…I suppose so.”

For decades, they had been engrossed in the war against the Army of Death, and now this war was imminent.

Now, beyond the national power of the alliance, this war must be the absolute end of the conflict with the calamity.

After a long period of turmoil, shadow forces had begun to quietly grow their influence beneath the surface of the continent.

Shadow forces.

Tumors that stood in opposition to the Empire, the light and justice of the continent, and absolutely had to be eradicated from this land.

As she recalled their existence once more, Danoa’s expression began to darken.

“When this war ends, we’ll have to fight them without rest, won’t we?”

“Indeed.”

“It’s tiresome.”