Chapter 270: Victory is a Side Reward (7)

Whenever the vassals of Sefira discussed strategy, there was one thing that inevitably came up.

“Once Lord Keter takes the lead and suppresses them at the outset, the second wave will sweep in...”

“If the vanguard drains the enemy’s formation with a volley, Lord Keter can finish them off...”

“We disguise soldiers of similar build as Lord Keter and position them to confuse the enemy!”

Every strategy they proposed included Keter, and this was natural. Keter’s archery was practically magic. Who else could create a massive explosion with a single arrow, or strike hundreds simultaneously?

To the vassals, Keter wasn’t just an archer—he was essentially a grand mage. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Keter alone could shift the entire tide of war.

But that was precisely what bothered Keter.

“Just as you said, Hissop, you all rely on me way too much. Even if I bust my ass alone and win, that’s not Sefira winning. I won. Isn’t that right?”

Keter’s tone had grown blunt. Since he only spoke politely when he believed someone deserved respect, this was a clear expression of disappointment. The vassals fell silent. Keter’s words were harsh, but they weren’t so foolish as to miss the meaning behind them.

Hissop, who was especially sensitive to the political climate, felt Keter’s point keenly.

“There’s already a lot of talk out there that Sefira amounts to nothing without Keter. I don’t agree with that. Even without Keter, Sefira stands strong. We are not a family that collapses without him.”

The vassals agreed with Hissop, but they couldn’t help glancing nervously at Keter. They were worried that Keter, who was a lunatic, would just step out of the Family War.

But Hissop, unfazed, continued, “Still, outsiders don’t see it that way. They praise Keter, who became the Bow of the South in just half a year, far more than they acknowledge the achievements Sefira has built up over the last ten years. Keter accomplished everything we hadn’t. He opened Sefira’s doors, thawed frozen relations with other nobles. His achievements are undeniable. But that doesn’t mean we’ve simply been sitting on our hands, does it?”

“No, sir! Our Sacred Order of Sefira mission success rate has never fallen below ninety percent in the last ten years!”

“The Order of the Stars is the same. Survival and contribution rates are all above ninety percent.”

“Our Order of the Galaxy subdued Named Monsters using archery alone without losing a single person.”

They had simply never announced it publicly, quietly fulfilling their duties, but Sefira’s knights had many remarkable achievements. The administrative leaders were the same—they, too, began sharing accomplishments they had always kept hidden.

Hissop knew all of it. He knew everyone in Sefira was working hard for the family.

“I know everything you have said is true. That is why I can be confident—because Sefira is strong. We simply haven’t shown it.”

“Indeed!”

“Sefira is strong! Even without Lord Keter in Sefira, we can win!”

At the Holy Knight commander’s spirited statement, the air suddenly chilled.

Even Panir, who was known for being fearless, immediately denied his claim. “Do not forget that it was Keter who made everything happen for Sefira. Mind your words.”

The other vassals openly criticized the commander.

“Have you been drinking? Calm yourself.”

“Are you repaying kindness with spite?”

“S–sorry. I misspoke,” the commander quickly apologized.

Keter chuckled, then continued, “As the deputy patriarch said, if the only one who makes great strides in this Family War is me, then it’s not Sefira’s victory, even if we win. It’ll only make others—myself included, look down on the family.”

“...?!”

“And let’s get one thing straight. I have no intention of sacrificing myself just to make Sefira look good. Quite the opposite.”

Bang!

Keter slammed the table, sweeping his gaze across the room.

“I can pretend to lose to deceive the enemy, sure, but I don’t lose on purpose for friends. And honestly, there’s something I want to see in this Family War,” he said, his gaze fixing onto Hissop. “Is Sefira a place worth staying in? Are the rumors that Sefira is nothing without me true? We’ll know soon enough. And if it is true...”

Slurp.

He wet his lips and spread his arms wide.

“Then won’t I have every right to become the head of Sefira myself?”

* * *

Normally, the position of the next family head was inherited by the eldest son. Regardless of talent or ability, the firstborn always became the next patriarch.

However, there could always be exceptions. While it was called succession by primogeniture, if the eldest himself declared that he would yield the position to the second-eldest, they would become the new patriarch.

In other words, if the eldest was incompetent and his younger siblings were outstanding, the next patriarch may not be the eldest. And right now in Sefira, there was no one who had accomplished as much as Keter.

Of course, Hissop had achievements as well, especially in politics and social affairs. But those things were neither flashy nor recorded. Meanwhile, Keter’s feats were engraved into the eyes and ears of countless people, and it was also recorded clearly.

Despite that, no one in Sefira wanted Keter to become the head because he was insane—a mad dog. No matter how exceptional one’s achievements or skills, if they lacked the character to be respected, they could not become the patriarch.

And yet, the fact that Keter openly declared he would take the position wasn’t something they could laugh off as a mere joke.

If Keter seriously wants to become patriarch... there’s no telling what he might do.

Sefira had already gone through internal strife once due to conflict between Besil and the elders. That situation at least held room for misunderstanding and was eventually resolved, but Keter becoming head would not fall under a mere misunderstanding; it was practically a declaration of war.

“Keter. Do you truly wish to become the family head?” Reganon asked solemnly.

“I’ve grown attached to Sefira over these six months. And let's be honest—if someone incompetent, not Hissop in particular, becomes the patriarch, I’ll suffer for it too. I don’t want that. If that’s the case, I would rather shape Sefira my way,” Keter answered without hesitation.

“You already bring great benefits to Sefira. Besil and Hissop have granted every request you’ve made.”

“It’s not like I asked for the impossible. I asked because it was possible, and they accepted because it was reasonable. Anyone listening would think Hissop had to sacrifice everything for me.”

“So what you’re saying is... if you become patriarch, you want to run things differently?” Reganon narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, absolutely. First thing I’ll do is cut everyone’s salary in half. Then switch the system to merit-based pay. ‘He who does not work, neither shall he eat.’ One of my favorite sayings. And vassals won’t get special treatment.”

“Ahem!”

“H-half the salary? That’s excessive!”

The room erupted in choked coughs. Even though Sefira’s knights were frugal, that didn’t mean they lived like ascetics.

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, isn’t that right?”

In other words, Keter was telling anyone who wanted to leave to screw themselves. Mercy was not part of Keter’s vocabulary.

Hissop was also shocked, but he didn’t let it show.

“Keter, to summarize: are you saying you intend to operate independently in this Family War?”

“Since we’re on the subject, I’d like you to grant me full independent operational authority.”

“And if I refuse?”

Hissop tried asserting his authority, but Keter just shrugged.

“Then I’ll just act on my own anyway.”

His attitude made it clear he meant it.

“...I’ll give you operational authority. But swear one thing: do not treat our soldiers as expendable.”

“What, do I look like someone who uses my own men as bait? I’m not that kind of trash.”

“Swear it. Swear you’ll value the soldiers as if they were your own limbs.”

“My limbs? I’d toss them pretty easily.”

Hissop sighed. “...Then swear you’ll treat them as your own life.”

“That’s doable. Fine, I swear. I’ll cherish the soldiers like my own life.”

“Remember, this is not a request from your brother but an order from your patriarch. Break it and you’ll face military punishment.”

“Of course.”

The discussion had concluded, but the vassals were uneasy. They trusted that Keter would fight hard in the Family War, but Keter had just declared he would compete against Sefira itself in a sense.

Keter sat down. At that moment, Daat rose.

The vassals had already heard so many shocking things from Keter that they felt nothing Daat said could possibly surprise them anymore. However, Daat shattered their expectations.

“As Sefira’s strategist, I’ll state this plainly: Sefira only needs to defend in this Family War. If Big Brother Keter acts alone, we will win.”

“...?!”

“What, how dare you!”

The room exploded in outrage at Daat’s provocation.

* * *

Although the vassals jumped to their feet in outrage, none of them actually spoke. They only exchanged uneasy glances.

If it’s Keter... maybe he really could do it.

No, that might actually be a better strategy...

Daat switched seats, moving to the opposite side of Keter.

“But as Big Brother Keter said, the one who needs to win this Family War is Sefira, not Keter as an individual. My strategy isn’t for Keter’s sake—it’s for Sefira’s.”

The vassals couldn’t understand what he meant. They all knew Daat was intelligent, but war was an entirely different discipline, yet he spoke with the confidence of someone who thought his plan was the best. Everyone found it hard to believe.

But Daat, accustomed to such looks, chose to show rather than tell.

“First of all, the enemy will pour all of their top forces into stopping Big Brother Keter. Every Grandmaster will be drawn to him. From here on, for clarity, I’ll drop the titles and just use names.”

“Hold on. No matter how strong Lord Keter is, Bydent alone has two Grandmasters. And since the second prince is supporting them, at least two more Grandmasters will join, which makes four in total. And you think all four will focus on Lord Keter? That makes no sense,” said one of the vassals.

“Four Grandmasters? No. I’m expecting up to six,” Daat refuted.

“That is excessive, both from Bydent’s perspective and Keter’s.”

“That’s because you’re thinking of war rationally. Every war in history began with emotion and ended with reason.”

“History is the past. If you take it as absolute...”

“I understand. History is only a reference. But I do have grounds for this.”

“You have grounds?”

Everyone wondered what on earth Daat meant. He laced his fingers with a serious expression.

“Bydent’s current patriarch, Jordic... is terrified of Keter.”

“...?!”

“Based on that alone, Bydent will commit their highest-tier forces to Keter. I’m confident in this, and my strategy is built around it. Therefore, what Sefira must do is simple: while Bydent ignores Sefira’s troops and throws everything at Keter, we crush their main army quickly, then rescue Keter, who will appear to be struggling against Bydent’s elites. That is the ideal scenario.”

If Sefira were to look like they were rescuing Keter from a difficult battle—if everything unfolded as Daat described, Sefira would claim the greatest credit, both politically and militaristically while still winning the war.

But in war, the most dangerous mistake was assuming a strategy was going to work exactly as intended. One misstep could cost everything.

Daat found this mildly annoying.

If this were Liqueur, no one would dare question my strategy... but outside, everyone doubts everything. Well... I suppose that’s normal.

If this were Liqueur, Daat would have mercilessly discarded any ally who doubted him. But with Sefira, he could not.

These are people Big Brother cherishes... and I don’t dislike them either.

Thus, Daat had prepared a second plan.

“If things don’t unfold as I described and Bydent focuses all top forces on Sefira instead, or splits them evenly, I have another strategy ready, so there’s no need to worry. That strategy is...”

Meanwhile, as Daat passionately briefed Sefira’s vassals on his plans, Bydent’s family was also holding their own strategy meeting.

* * *

“Patriarch, I am here to report that Prince Rakan has agreed to send one squad from the Grand Corps.”

The Grand Corps was a military squad consisting of seven Master-class fighters per squad, and their captain was a Grandmaster-level warrior.

And that wasn’t all.

“Additionally, the Luban Marquisate has dispatched Sir Tesla, captain of the Order of the Storm, and the Garcia Marquisate has announced that Sir Rajis, the Sword Dragon, will also join the battle.”

Luban and Garcia, the Masters of Swords in the south, were also sending Grandmasters to aid Bydent.

“Excellent. All Grandmasters will be assigned to Keter in this Family War, so set them aside for that purpose. And...”

Just as Daat had predicted in the worst-case scenario, Bydent mobilized six Grandmasters, all designated specifically to deal with Keter.

And still, that wasn’t all.

Jordic, patriarch of the Bydent family, felt that this wasn’t enough. Even with six Grandmasters, he could not confidently imagine victory over Keter. In fact, he feared Keter even more than Daat had anticipated.

“We will call him.”

“My lord? Surely you don’t mean

that person

? That’s impossible! We already have more than enough power to face Sefira. Have you forgotten? We are only allowed to summon him when the Bydent family is on the brink of destruction!”

The butler, who was part of the strategy meeting, urgently tried to stop Jordic. The others looked confused, not knowing what they were talking about.

“Just who is this person you speak of? I’d at least like to know the name before I join you in being shocked.”

The butler glanced at Jordic anxiously. Jordic nodded; there was no point in hiding it after saying this much.

“He is... the one the world calls Ghost-Face Slayer.”

The vassals gasped. It was a name no citizen of the Lillian Kingdom could be unfamiliar with.

“That man is a deranged murderer who slaughtered thousands for no reason! And I heard he died fighting the Royal Order of the Dragon... Even if he were alive, why would we summon such a monster?!”

The butler let out a heavy sigh. With a nickname like Ghost Face Slayer, it was clear the man had no honorable reputation. But Jordic’s resolve remained firm for one reason.

“The Ghost Face Slayer may be a mad butcher... but he is also a seven-star Prime. He will be useful in eliminating Keter.”

Jordic had concluded that defeating Keter required not a six-star Grandmaster, but a seven-star Prime, even if that meant covering the Bydent name in irreversible infamy.