Chapter 247: The Civil War in the Principality (12)

“P-Please... spare me,” Viscount Jyles begged. He was on the ground, pressing his ragged face into the dirt. He held his hands over his head as he pleaded tearfully.

Crackle... crackle...

Around them, the crumbled walls of Moon Aether smoldered, with only the half-burnt red carpet serving as a reminder of what used to be the command room.

“Are you begging for mercy during war? And from the enemy, no less? As the commander of Moon Aether, you dare utter such words before the soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect this fortress? Karyl lifted his head.

“Warriors choose honor. For those who don’t even know what that is, death might be too kind,” Lilliana responded as if on cue.

Satisfied with her words, Kary nodded and turned his gaze back to Jyles.

“Do you value your life more than your honor?”

“Eeek!”

Karyl stared down at the man trembling before him, his gaze cold and unyielding.

“Enough,” a voice interrupted. It was Fran, who had been silently observing, now stepping forward with a look of disapproval.

“The Jyles family has been loyal to the principality for generations. It wouldn’t be right to kill him.”

“It seems that remarkable talent ended with his predecessors. Quite frankly, it’s appalling that someone like him was in charge of Moon Aether’s defense,” Karyl scoffed, gesturing toward Fran as if to warn Jyles. “It seems you’ve been granted a reprieve. Thank Sir Fran for your life.”

Karyl bowed to Fran in a gesture of servitude, but that only caused Fran’s face to harden. To an outsider, it would appear as though Fran had summoned the immigrants himself.

“But in exchange, I’ll give you a task for Sir Fran.”

“Wh-What is it...?”

“Go to the White Bunker immediately and report the fall of Moon Aether. Your fate will be decided by Tuli. I doubt she’ll show the same mercy as Sir Fran, but who knows.”

Despite having just been spared, Jyles’ face grew even paler at the thought of being sent to the White Bunker.

“P-Please! If I go to White Bunker like this, I’m as good as dead. I haven’t even... I haven’t even sent the report yet! If I report the fall of Moon Aether...!”

At that moment, Karyl’s eyes gleamed.

“What? You haven’t sent the report...?” Fran asked incredulously.

“Well... You see...”

“Don’t tell me Tuli is unaware of our attack?”

Is that so?

Karyl smirked as he watched Jyles stumble over his words, his lips blue from fear.

Bam!!

“Ugh!”

Fran suddenly kicked Jyles in the ribs as hard as he could, then flipped him over like a turtle. Jyles gasped and shook violently as he lay on his back.

“What?! What did you fucking say to me?! You worthless bastard!! What?! Say it again!! You haven’t sent the report?!”

Fran’s previously composed face was now twisted in rage. His voice was filled with such fury that it seemed like he might devour Jyles at any moment.

This idiot! Is it true that Tuli doesn’t know? If a battle breaks out right in front of the White Bunker, it’s all over!

Fran grabbed Jyles by the collar, shaking him violently as he shouted, “What the hell were you thinking? The enemy was right in front of you, and you didn’t report it?!”

“W-Well... Th-That was...” Jyles was shaking all over, unable to form the words. Even so, it wasn’t hard to guess his reasoning.

So the White Bunker hasn’t been informed. That changes things

. Karyl smirked as he watched the two.

He spoke in a low voice, almost as if to himself, “Calm yourself, Sir Fran. These things tend to happen, right? If you can’t forgive him, who will?”

“What?” Fran looked at Karyl with a puzzled expression, as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Karyl walked over to Fran, leaning in close enough so that Jyles wouldn’t hear, and whispered, “I mean, both of you have ruined this country because of your ridiculous ambitions.”

“...!!”

Fran turned to look at Karyl, but Karyl moved even closer, delivering his final words in a low voice.

“You’ll have to watch closely. Even if you want to forget, I’ll keep showing you. That’s your future right there.”

Fran’s face turned ashen as the realization hit him.

“Ah...! Aaaah!!”

Fran’s scream was almost a wail. He unleashed his rage on Jyles, kicking him hard, again and again, as he lay helplessly on the ground.

“Die!! Die, you bastard!!”

“Agh...! Aaaagh!!”

Jyles, now reduced to a cowering mess, tried to shield himself with his arms, looking more like a worm than a man.

Eventually, they both lost track of time. Fran was panting heavily, his anger still simmering as he glared down at Jyles. Karyl had stood by, letting Fran take out his anger on the man.

Jyles, still curled up on the ground, didn’t move. It wasn’t clear whether he was still alive.

Clink... Clink.

Fran pulled out a vial from his pocket, popping some pills into his mouth and crunching them between his teeth before giving Jyles one last kick.

“Cough!” Jyles choked and flipped over, lying motionless on the ground.

Hmm, seems like he’s taking those pills more frequently,

Karyl observed. He had noticed this habit of Fran’s ever since they had arrived in Cove.

“So, are we heading to the White Bunker now?” Fran sighed. “If they know nothing of what happened here, this would be the perfect time to strike.”

“No, we’re not going there.”

“Why not?”

“For your sake.”

“...What?” Fran looked at Karyl in disbelief.

Karyl, leaning against a half-collapsed window frame, explained, “No matter how late the report, by the time we reach the White Bunker, they’ll be prepared.”

“...”

“Every stronghold in the principality is designed to send a warning to the White Bunker if it’s under attack. It’s a system that the magitech engineer, Wingel Hart, spent five years developing. I assume there’s no point in asking if you knew about that, right?”

At that, Fran’s face stiffened. The system Karyl spoke of had only been completed a few months ago and wasn’t widely known yet.

“H-How did you know...?” Fran stammered, visibly shocked.

Thud—!

Then, Karyl suddenly sprang from against the wall and slammed his fist in Fran’s side.

“What the hell, are you serious? If you knew about this, why didn’t you say something sooner? What would’ve happened if we had gone ahead and attacked the White Bunker?”

“Urgh...”

Now in the same position as Jyles earlier, Fran clutched his side and groaned in pain.

“I heard rumors about it, so I decided to look into it, and it turned out to be true. If the White Bunker is fully prepared, charging in would’ve meant walking straight into a trap. You need to get your head in the game.”

Although Karyl claimed he had merely fished for information, there had been no such rumors. Rather, he knew everything about the principality’s warning system from his past life.

Thanks to Wingel Hart’s invention, the fortresses of the principality had been quite effective against the Tarak during the Oracle war. If Fran had been in his right mind, he might have picked up on Karyl’s lie, but he was unable to think clearly in his current state.

“Ugh...”

“Hm? We need to win this war, don’t we? Anyone can see we’re on the same side, right, Fran?”

“...You bastard.”

“What?”

“...”

Fran clutched his aching side, glaring at Karyl. But he quickly lowered his head when Karyl clenched his fist again.

Damn it... If I could just get out of here...!!

Fran was screaming internally, and he was growing increasingly more desperate that he wouldn’t be able to escape from the monster before him.

“Lilliana, take good care of Fran. He’s an important guest of ours.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lilliana nodded and proceeded to tie Fran’s wrists with a rope. She then slung him over her shoulder. The rope was a special one that absorbed mana, so as soon as Fran was bound, he felt his strength being drained.

“...”

Fran’s expression hardened, but not in the same way as before.

***

“Just as you commanded, the rope was tied loosely,” Hashir whispered as Lilliana and Fran disappeared from view. “Do you really think he’ll try to escape?” he asked curiously.

“Of course.” Karyl smirked. “He’s been waiting for an opportunity. He’s not in a position to tell if it’s a trap or not.”

Hashir had noticed it too. Fran’s expression had briefly stiffened when he was being led away. He had clearly tried to hide it but failed.

“Will he head to the White Bunker?” Hashir asked.

Karyl shook his head.

“Regardless of the deal with the Wooden Cloud, if he reports that Moon Aether has fallen, Fran won’t be able to save his neck,” Karyl explained, recalling Jyles, who had fainted in his own mess. “If he takes Jyles with him, maybe, but escaping with him in tow? Not a chance.”

“Then why let him go? Wouldn’t it be better to keep him as a hostage? Didn’t you plan to make Fran the victor of the principality?” Hashir’s voice was filled with confusion.

Karyl gave a faint smile. “What are you talking about?”

"What?” Hashir tilted his head, puzzled.

“I said I’d grant Fran victory, but I never said I’d make him the ruler of the principality.”

Hashir’s confusion deepened.

“What do you mean?”

“He won’t go to the White Bunker. He’ll go where I want him to go. Right now, there’s only one person Fran can turn to.”

That person was none other than Anthem Howard.

Once the threat from the Silverwing Fleet had subsided, Karyl wasted no time dismantling the magic artillery from the Iron Fleet stationed in Cove, using it to reinforce the frontline at the Binfredo River.

Moreover, Anthem had assembled the nearby alchemists, as per Karyl’s instructions, to coat spears with the substance used for dragon hunting and then provided them to his soldiers. He had been pushing the front lines northward ever since.

“By now, Anthem should be nearing the middle of the Binfredo River. He won’t slow down, so Fran should come across him within two days.”

Fran, while not a Sword Master, was still a high-level expert. If he ran at full speed, he could meet Anthem before his mana was depleted.

“The reason I let him go is that, by the time he reaches Anthem’s forces, the first Wyvern Squadron from the White Bunker will have joined the front lines.”

Karyl had interrogated Jyles during his time at Moon Aether, and without much coercion, Jyles had divulged a lot of information. The most critical piece was that the first Wyvern Squadron from the White Bunker was headed for the front at the Binfredo River.

Because of that, the White Bunker couldn’t afford to divert any more forces, which was why Jyles had tried to deal with the invading immigrants on his own and gain glory.

Ironically, both Karyl and Fran had different thoughts regarding the information Jyles had revealed.

If it’s the 1st Wyvern Squadron, Tuli’s strongest force... not even that bastard Karyl could take them down easily. If I could join them and take him down... There’s a chance.

Spurred by Jyles’ words, Fran had taken advantage of the gap created by Karyl.

Karyl, on the other hand, saw things differently.

“Why is the Wyvern Squadron joining the front lines such an important issue? If the enemy grows stronger, it will only make it harder to advance and capture the White Bunker, won’t it?” Hashir asked.

“Hashir, you think I consider toppling the White Bunker a difficult task?” Karyl asked, his tone light yet imposing.

Hashir quickly bowed his head.

“I apologize.”

He realized he had asked a foolish question.

“I intend to become a hero of the principality,” Karyl continued, shrugging casually. “But I don’t plan to be just another war hero who supported Fran Lurein and led him to victory.”

His eyes gleamed with ambition.

“The civil war between Fran and Tuli must’ve become even fiercer than before. From the fall of Moon Aether to the battles at Frau Hat, Yoman, and Cove, everything was meant to spur them to fight, to give a justification they couldn’t ignore. From now on, their clash will only become more ferocious.”

Hashir remained silent, sensing the gravity of Karyl’s words.

“Fran claimed this war was rigged. But what if, when he arrives at the middle of the river, Fran’s forces annihilate the 1st Wyvern Squadron?”

Karyl’s words sent chills down Hashir's spine.

“The war would spiral out of control,” he went on, a wicked smile forming on his lips.

“Could that be... why you ordered the Moon Aether soldiers’ armor to be collected?” Hashir asked, feeling a creeping realization.

“Exactly. The reason we attacked here wasn’t just because it’s the White Bunker’s backdoor. We’ll wear the principality’s armor, and Tuli will mistake us for Fran’s forces. This will force them into a full-scale war, not just a staged battle,” Karyl explained.

“Tuli has only deployed small golems to the front line, keeping her true power, the Meister unit, stationed at the White Bunker. But if she loses the Wyvern Squadron, she’ll have no choice but to send them out.”

The Meister unit, another pride of the principality that had laid its foundations, was overseen by the genius engineer Wingel Hart. Unlike other golems, this unit boasted the large-scale golem known as Revol, a magitech weapon recreated by Wingel Hart based on the design of Enderoth of Muir, the masterpiece of the Dwarf Kingdom’s royal family and the most advanced golem in history.

This was what Karyl had been waiting for: the Meister unit leaving the White Bunker and entering the battlefield.

The sheer size and power of Revol, often referred to as a walking fortress, were immense, but ironically, Tuli was hesitant to deploy it due to the destruction it would leave in its wake.

“When Revol is fully neutralized, that will mark the true end of the civil war in the principality.”

Fierce determination glinted in Karyl’s eyes.

“My goal is to force Tuli to use Revol. Once it’s deployed, the damage will be catastrophic, so severe that it will take years for the principality to recover.”

Karyl’s voice grew cold. “That will be the moment we’ll reveal ourselves. We will emerge as the heroes who save the people of the principality from a war fueled by nothing more than lust for power.”

“There is no way you’re...” Hashir felt a shiver down his spine.

With a slight nod, Karyl smirked at him.

“I have no intention of dragging out this war. On the battlefield where Tuli and Fran finally clash, I will be the one to capture both and emerge as the new hero.”