Battle for the Imperial Capital (2)
Emperor’s POV
"So, you’re saying Alicetia’s army self-destructed? Are you certain of this?"
The Chancellor nodded with delight at my words. Impossible! Why would they self-destruct? That princess I saw in Arland, choosing self-destruction? And even if they did, the damage is far too little. We lost half the soldiers sent to intercept them—yet compared to the slaughter in Arland, that almost feels light.
And yet, not only the Chancellor , but even the generals declared it a victory. Battle had begun at dawn, and by midday, the princess’s army supposedly self-destructed… I still can’t believe it.
"Your Majesty, there’s no doubt. Alicetia’s army has been annihilated. No survivors remain."
"… I see."
I slumped weakly into my throne. The strength drained out of me.
"So… we won? Then perhaps peace with Arland might be possible."
Their army must be in shambles. Reorganizing will take time. Surely they’re furious, but we’ve shown that the Granzur Empire still has the power to destroy Alicetia. Peace is not impossible.
I rose to begin preparations to open negotiations with Arland. At that very moment, a soldier burst in, stumbling.
"The princess’s banner has been sighted! Roughly 300,000 strong!"
"Absurd! How could she field such numbers? And the princess should already be dead!"
The general shouted, face red with rage.
Me? I’d like to head back to my chambers about now. I’m tired… though lately, whenever I try to sleep, I hear the evil laughter of a little girl echoing in my dreams. Hard to get any rest.
Let me just say one thing:
(She’s obviously not dead, damn it!)
But I held my tongue. I am the Emperor. I must maintain my dignity. I consider myself admirable for that much restraint. After all, scolding my subordinates now would accomplish nothing—I learned that well during that nightmarish retreat. It was utterly disgraceful. No one carried my palanquin, I had to run on my own legs. My son bravely stood as my shield. Thanks to him, I survived. Rest in peace, boy.
My father once told me never to interfere in military matters. I understand why now. I should never have followed the army to Arland. Perhaps I wronged my soldiers.
But… half our interception force is gone. Morale is in the gutter. Is this… the end of our Empire?
This is bad. Very bad. If we lose, it will mean unconditional surrender—and my death. The Chancellor could be replaced, half my children could be executed in my stead, for all I care. Isn’t there some way for me alone to survive?
I truly don’t understand. Why won’t the princess accept our negotiations? We, the glorious Granzur Empire, even offered an alliance to those barbarians who consort with filthy sub-humans!
And the Central Nations Alliance is no better. I sent personal pleas for aid time and again, yet they won’t even reply. As for our vassals, isn’t it common sense that they rush to serve as our shield? Why else do we allow them the privilege of existing as vassals?!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
The Chancellor was shouting.
"Y-yes. I hear you."
Truth is, I wasn’t listening. But dignity is everything. Now more than ever, I must project the image of a steadfast Emperor. If I stand strong, my soldiers will too.
"What shall we do?"
Hidden in his words was the suggestion of surrender. But surrender means my execution—that cannot be allowed. No, whatever the cost in lives, I must resist. I will survive. After the war, I’ll squeeze the vassal states dry to recover the costs.
"We’ll hold the castle. Send word to the Central Nations Alliance—demand reinforcements. They won’t tolerate our Empire falling into sub-human hands."
"Messenger! The princess’s army bears multiple banners! It’s clearly a coalition force!"
"Ridiculous! Our border garrisons are still in place. Reinforcements can’t have slipped through!"
The general roared. True, we’ve lost some territory, but minimum border defenses remain. If a large force had crossed, word would have reached us.
But no such reports came. Those nations who betrayed us for barbarian Arland haven’t moved from their stolen lands… except the Country of Tranquility, of course. They raid the vassal states often enough. We call them pirates.
"What banners? Whose are they?"
"……"
The messenger paled, trembling.
"Answer me!"
"Kingdom of Lizria. Trumant Commercial City. Litannin Principalities. Lukia Empire. Rune City of Arts. Tormekia Free City… all of them banners of nations and city-states long destroyed. All of them are banners of the dead."
The general turned pale. No—everyone in the hall did. All those nations were annihilated by our Empire. They don’t exist anymore. Some fell centuries ago, during the founding of Granzur.
"A… a legion of the dead?"
"Impossible! Can the princess even command the dead?! That power surpasses any magician! She’s a true… Great Mage of legends!"
A mage so mighty as to rival a nation—that’s what the ancient Great Mages were said to be. No one had borne that title in centuries.
We had thought Princess Alicetia a sorceress, perhaps a mage. But if she already holds the power of a Great Mage… there is no victory.
I resolved to flee.
"Hurry! This escape tunnel will be discovered soon!"
With only a few retainers and one of my concubines, I fled into the secret underground passage. The Empire may fall, but as long as I live, its restoration remains possible. I will take refuge with a vassal state, rally their strength with the Alliance’s, and one day destroy that demon princess.
Her capture no longer matters. Impossible, in any case. Even if we somehow did capture her, she’d only bring calamity.
"Your Majesty…"
My concubine looked uneasy. I left the Empress behind—too difficult to deal with—but this one is my favorite. Princess, you may have her life, and my son’s as well. Just don’t notice me right now.
We pressed on, guided only by a spirit's light.
"Mm!"
Without warning, the wall collapsed.
"Nooo!"
No shockwave, no tremor—just sudden collapse. From the breach emerged the snarling face of a beast I’d never seen before.
Killing intent flooded the tunnel. A moment ago it looked almost cheerful, but now it scowled with irritation at being disturbed.
I abandoned my retainers and concubine and ran back the way we came. The beast didn’t give chase—perhaps the passage was too narrow for its massive body. Soon, my retainers stumbled back as well, shaken but alive. Don’t glare at me. The Empire exists only so long as I live!
"Seal the passage! There’s a monster in the tunnels!"
We cannot escape. I understand now. That beast—it’s the same one that led the horde in Arland, that slaughtered our soldiers mercilessly.
"They’re tunneling beneath us!"
Why hadn’t I realized? And yet… my contracted earth spirit said nothing.
"What’s the meaning of this?!"
—Sorry. I can’t help you anymore.—
"What?! You chose me as your contractor!"
—The Queen has decreed this country’s destruction. We follow her will now. The contract still binds us, but we won’t aid you of our own will.—
Queen? Who?! I am the Emperor! How dare some queen overstep her place!
What should I do? How do I survive this? … Only one way: negotiation.
Take everything else, but spare me. A humiliation, yes, but as long as I live, there will be a future. One day, revenge.
So I steeled myself, settled heavily into the throne, and waited for the princess to come.
Alicetia’s POV
The coalition army under my command was trampling the remnants of the imperial forces still left outside the capital.
The Empire’s army had let down their guard, convinced my forces had self-destructed. The moment they caught sight of my Viceroy Standard, their morale shattered completely. Right then, the coalition army of summoned heroic spirits came crashing down on them.
There’s nothing more fragile than an army whose morale has collapsed. They couldn’t mount any organized resistance. Fleeing straight to the capital without even forming a rear guard, the imperial soldiers were nothing to worry about. We simply crushed the stragglers who couldn’t escape fast enough.
In the end, we annihilated half of the imperial forces that had been left outside. Our losses were minimal… well, the heroic spirits were riddled with arrows, but since they were already dead, it wasn’t exactly fatal. They could move just fine.
The capital shut its gates completely, preparing for a siege. From atop the walls, they loosed arrows like rain. I had no interest in taking needless losses, so I ordered the coalition to pull back. After that rampage, our formations were a complete mess—pressing forward now would only increase casualties. What we needed was overwhelming victory. Showing even a hint of “hard-fought” was unacceptable.
“Looks like we’ll need siege weapons.”
Takuto muttered, staring at the imperial forces behind the walls.
“If you mean cannons, they got blown to bits in the self-destruction.”
I hadn’t considered them important, so they were included in the magical self-destruct. No spares. They’d only been brought out to make the Empire think that was our maximum output.
Though, come to think of it, at some point a trebuchet had ended up in my Treasury. Probably one of my clones had made it for fun.
“So what now? Want me to go?”
“No way, Takuto. You’re not going anywhere near the frontlines—it’s dangerous.”
He’s not allowed to do risky things.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this figured out.”
Without chanting, I fired off an Ice Javelin. A five-meter-long spear of ice shot toward the wall, but instead of piercing, it shattered on impact.
“As you can see, the walls are built with magic-resistant stone.”
“That’s a hassle.”
“But what about physical resistance? … Golem Legion, advance.”
The Soldier Golems opened fire as they marched forward, lumbering heavy-assault Golems following behind.
Soldier Golems had armor tough enough to withstand ordinary arrows. The heavy-assault ones were even sturdier. Some bolts from emplaced ballistae pierced the Soldiers, but the heavies shrugged them off.
Soon all fire concentrated on the heavy-assault types. Clearly, the defenders recognized the danger. But to attack from the walls, they had to lean out—making them easy prey. The Soldier Golems focused their gunfire on the mages.
Reaching the base of the wall, the heavies could no longer be hit by archers. Stones and boiling oil rained down, but a heavy Golem fired its built-in pile bunker into the wall.
“That’s all?”
The wall didn’t crumble. But the explosive-driven spike sank deep into the masonry.
“Physical resistance is just ordinary stone, huh? Then let’s blow it up.”
I issued the next order.
The Soldier Golems pulled out clay-like material from their pouches and began kneading it. They stuffed the prepared explosives into the holes opened by the pile bunkers, pressing in black charges. The heavies continued making holes at regular intervals.
“… What are they doing?”
“Oh, just planting some alchemically-made C-4.”
Arms folded, I watched the work. After a while, a sudden feeling made me glance behind.
I saw it—a massive beam of light sweeping across the top of the walls from above our army. The supposedly magic-resistant stone crumbled like nothing before its overwhelming force.
“Enemy attack! An unknown airship!”
“Wait, isn’t that… the Princess’s flag!?”
Knights shouted and pointed. I used farsight magic.
“Hmm… yep, that’s my flag. But I’ve never seen that ship before.”
“And the magic coming from it—it’s insane.”
“Definitely has a magic furnace. But its output doesn’t match mine.”
A mysterious vessel flying my banner. It wasn’t attacking us—only slaughtering the imperial troops on the walls.
(The main protagonists always arrive late.)
A telepathic message reached me—it had gotten close enough. As I thought, it was one of my clones.
(Where’d you even get that thing?)
(Pretty sweet, huh? Found a magic battleship! We’re hauling this back for analysis. It’s packed with incredible artifacts!)
So my clones had gone and picked up a magic battleship. Victory was certain. Time for a bath.
“… Don’t you dare tempt fate like that!”
Takuto grabbed my arm as I headed for the Treasury. In that instant, Alicia struck his wrist with a knife-hand.
“Ahem. Kindly don’t lay hands on the Princess. Or I’ll kill you.”
“You’re way too uptight, Alicia.”
“I am not. Now, Princess, what’s with that unidentified vessel?”
She fixed me with a stern look.
“Mm, seems my clones found a magic battleship.”
“““““Haah!?”””””
Yeah, shocking, right? It’s the discovery of the century. I’ll reward that clone later with one of Takuto’s puddings. Just one.
Before long, a white flag fluttered atop the walls.
“… Kill them.”
Irritated, I ordered the Soldier Golems to gun down the soldier waving the flag.
“Do they really think surrender will save them? Have they forgotten what they’ve done? I’m seriously angry now.”
The imperial banner flying over their capital offended me. Surrender? Not a chance.
They would show the world their disgrace. Only then could they even begin to pay for what they’d done. Even then, it wouldn’t be enough. At best, it might bring a bitter laugh to the fallen soldiers watching from beyond.
“Golem Create: Grand Siege Moai.”
I cast a spell. The ground rose, forming a colossal Moai statue, as tall as the capital’s walls. Its back extended into a long staircase.
Thud, thud—the giant Moai walked forward, shaking the earth, and pressed its face against the wall.
“Time for a lesson. Storm them.”
At the signal, the coalition charged up the Moai. No need to smash the gates—we could just walk right in.
At the same time, I cast Switcheroo, swapping places with a nearby clone, then short-range teleported to the Moai’s head.
From my treasury I drew the holy sword Caliburn in my right hand, and the magic-staff-blade Beelzebub in my left.
“This step may be small, but it will change history. From here, the world itself will change. I’ll make sure of it.”
We would take the Imperial Capital. Arland could do it. Bringing down the greatest nation on the continent—the impact would be immeasurable.
And I would be the first to set foot inside. It had to be me.
I would never forgive the Empire. Arland was mine—ours—our world. And I would crush any invader utterly, with my own hands. With the flames of rage burning in my heart, I stepped into the capital.
What do you think about this chapter?
