Chapter 265

Fall of the Imperial Capital
I was standing atop the capital’s walls.

“A kid…?”

“What’s a brat doing here?”

The imperial soldiers on the wall looked at me in confusion.

“My name is Alicetia von Arland. First Princess of the Kingdom of Arland, and head of the Viceroy House.”

The moment they heard my words, the imperial soldiers screamed and slashed at me.

“Caliburn!”

The holy sword in my right hand shone with golden brilliance. At the same time, I caught the descending blade with Beelzebub.

The imperial soldier’s eyes widened in shock. He had thought I couldn’t possibly block the strike given our difference in size, but I had taken the full force of his blow one-handed—and with a calm expression.

The Holy Sword Caliburn. Ranked second among all weapons bearing the title of “holy,” its ability was to use the wielder’s mana to strengthen allies. The more allies empowered, the stronger the wielder became.

But it all depended on the wielder’s mana. Which meant only those with enormous reserves could use it properly. Those with vast mana were generally mages—and mages wielded staves, not swords.

This time, I had strengthened all 300,000 troops of the coalition. At this moment, purely in terms of physical ability, I surpassed even Father.

“Ghh…”

In the clash of blades, the imperial soldier suddenly crumpled. His sword had rotted away, the blade gone. Beelzebub was an artificial demon sword that devoured every kind of energy. In a blade lock, it would drain life force right through the weapon. The soldier collapsed, his will to rise gone along with his strength.

I was currently atop a section of the wall where no C-4 had been placed. Some coalition forces had also reached the wall, but the Moai siege statues had been placed against the unrigged sections, so at least we wouldn’t get caught in the blast. The imperial soldiers were already too busy fighting off the coalition climbing up to spare any thought for the heavy-assault Golems pounding at the wall below. They had no idea what was happening under their feet.

“F-Fireball!”

“Keep casting! Pour in the mana! Call the archers!”

As I cut down the endless imperial soldiers, spells flew my way. Beelzebub absorbed them, Caliburn cut them apart. Neither sword was particularly affected by magic—and neither was I.

“Formula Release—Storm Burst!”

Wind exploded outward in a violent surge, scattering the incoming arrows and even blowing nearby imperial soldiers clean off the wall to be smashed on the ground below. None of them would survive that fall.

I closed in low to the ground, slipping past the hesitating imperials, and cut them down with Caliburn and Beelzebub. Small as I was, the lower I kept my center of gravity while running, the harder their attacks could land.

Slash, stab, blow them away with magic—I killed them one by one without thought.

“Invader!”

“Kill the barbarian!”

“Don’t falter! Surround her!”

The imperials had no retreat left. Forcing down their fear, they charged me in desperation.

“You’re the ones… you’re the ones saying that? Hmph.”

Driving Caliburn into the ground, I cast Flare Tornado. A flaming whirlwind erupted from my right hand, reducing the imperial soldiers to ash.

“You’re the ones who summoned me here. If you hadn’t set your sights on Arland, we wouldn’t have done a thing. That’s how it’s always been. Arland never once had ambitions toward your Empire.

We lost our homeland. Our pride was trampled. Driven north, we treated that harsh land as a second home and lived with all our strength. Now I’ll teach you the folly of trying to steal even that away!”

Most of Arland’s people had no desire to return to the continent’s center. Some clung to homesickness, but even they knew it was impossible. That’s why Arland had cut ties with the central lands.

No matter what the Granzur Empire did in the center, as long as it didn’t touch Arland, we did nothing.

But again and again, they raided our borders, tormenting us endlessly. Without them, Arland would never have been pushed to the brink of collapse. We could have lived so much more richly. So many parents wouldn’t have lost their children, so many children wouldn’t have lost their parents.

I’d show them just how long Arland had endured, gritting its teeth. The countless citizens and nobles who held on, pretending not to see the coming despair, as their world slowly unraveled.

I leapt once more into a group of imperials—when suddenly my body was lifted.

“Alice… what the hell are you doing…”

“Takuto. I was just getting to the good part. Let me down.”

Apparently my clone had been discovered, and Takuto had teleported right to me. Impressive, really, that he found me in the middle of this battlefield.

“Anyone would notice with you raising this much hell. The others are rushing here too, so you’d better brace for a lecture. Why is the supreme commander at the very front of the frontlines…?”

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

“Yeah, well, Arland isn’t Rome.”

Tch, so I couldn’t slip past this one.

“Even if you weren’t here, the victory’s already decided. If you overdo it, everyone else will collapse from stress.”

“Muu… busted.”

True, victory didn’t hinge on me being here. But the fury boiling inside me—it was unbearable. Ever since I woke up, my vision had felt like it would turn blood-red with rage.

Just then, an explosion rumbled from the imperial palace at the heart of the capital.

(My Lord. There was some old man underground, but as planned, we’ve finished digging into the city.)

A message from Mr. Coote. Which meant that blast was the light tanks beginning their assault on the palace. Not good.

“Takuto, the preparations are complete. We’re pulling back. This place is contaminated.”

“Wha—contaminated?!”

“Actually, the shells for the light tanks are packed with industrial waste. Their physical destructive power isn’t much, but right about now the palace should be in quite a state. Given the wind direction, we should withdraw.

It’ll be fine. The effects will settle in about an hour.”

Just harassment, really. That so-called “industrial waste” was a byproduct created in trace amounts during the refining of the Elixir of Life. It had the exact opposite effect. Useless, dangerous stuff. In fact, when my brother found out about it, he begged me to secretly dispose of it, since just knowing of its existence was enough to drive some people mad.

The Imperial Capital really does look like a trash can if you think about it. And if it’s a trash can, then it’s fine to dump garbage in it, right? I permit it. So, that’s what I decided to do. Not like a single tank could take down a capital anyway.

Eh, you’re worried about the tank’s safety? Don’t be. The one inside is just a clone, and Mr. Coote already sensed the magic potion and escaped through the underground, so it’s fine. Worst case, he’ll just self-destruct.

For now, I ravaged the wall tops to keep the soldiers busy so they couldn’t respond to the forces below. Since the spots with the Moai siege weapons were technically “safe zones,” I made it look like we were pushing for a breakthrough there.

And it worked. After all, even if I had pulled back, the supreme commander standing at the very frontlines was obviously suspicious.

Then came the bombardment on the imperial palace. Some units must have mistaken it for enemy infiltration into the capital, because the number of imperial soldiers on the walls noticeably dropped. Meanwhile, the tank was proving surprisingly tenacious, scattering shells filled with industrial waste all across the city as it ran. The blasts came with despairing screams echoing through the streets. Harassment is a wonderful thing. I could see the morale of the soldiers on the walls plummeting as they kept glancing nervously behind them.

Things were going great over there. Me, though? I was surrounded and getting lectured. Still, command was safely left to my clone, and I kept in contact, so no strange movements went unnoticed. The magic battleships casually erased imperial soldiers from the walls.

We were winning. Couldn’t they at least forgive me for being the first to set foot inside the capital?

“No, we won’t deny that we wanted to be the first inside the capital ourselves.”

“It’s not that we’re sulking about being outdone by Your Highness! We’re just worried about your safety!”

“… And your real feelings?”

“““““We’re jealous.”””””

The knights of Arland are muscle-brains as usual.

“Come on, Princess, you’re no different! Why do you always throw yourself into the most dangerous spots?!”

“I was pissed off, so I did it. Don’t expect me to regret it.”

Don’t you dare boss me around! Ow—don’t pull my ear, that hurts!

“First of all, how did you even figure it out? I left the main camp perfectly!”

“Oh, that? Sure, I noticed there was heavy fighting going on, but your clones were rampaging everywhere, so I didn’t pay it much mind at first. But then, I got a hunch… so I asked Rien.”

Takuto, isn’t your intuition a little too sharp?

“Rien can’t be fooled by that kind of magic!”

“Here, take this and keep quiet next time.”

I offered a whole cake.

“Then Rien will cooperate with Takuto no longer!”

Rien immediately defected to my side. Problem solved.

“Hey, you traitor?!”

Takuto grabbed Rien and shook her up and down.

“Stop, I’m getting dizzy! Besides, Rien’s contract only lasts until we find the Queen. From now on, I’ll act only according to Her Majesty’s will.

And Rien can’t go against the Queen anyway. She is our one true Queen. You’re just the contractor, Takuto. So from now on, I won’t tell you which one is the real body.”

“……”

Takuto fell silent, subjecting Rien to the punishment of “up-and-down restraint.” But Rien was already on my side. The descendants of spirits couldn’t go against their queen. Or rather, as long as it didn’t harm them directly, they had no motivation to resist. It seemed like the same applied to elves too. I’d better be careful.

“Don’t think standing there smugly makes this okay. If anything were to happen to Your Highness, the people of Arland would rise up in revenge. Please, understand your position better!”

“That’s impossible. I’m of Arland’s royal blood. It’s in me.”

At that, everyone except Takuto and the otherworlders grimaced. It seemed my royal blood ran strong.

The royal house of Arland had always led the nobles and soldiers from the front. In some sense, the kingdom’s biggest muscle-heads. Maybe I was one too… No, no. My arms are all soft and squishy. Definitely not a muscle-brain. It’s just… before I know it, I’m always at the frontlines.

“… We’ll just never take our eyes off Your Highness again.”

“Don’t stare at me so much, it’s embarrassing.”

And makes it harder to play tricks.

Anyway, playtime was over. The timing was right. The tank had apparently been destroyed, and the potion’s effects should be gone by now.

I pulled a switch with an antenna from my treasury.

“Explosions are so refreshing.”

I pressed the button, and over 300 charges of C-4 detonated. The walls began to collapse as if it were only natural.

“The path is open. All forces, attack!”

The giant Moai siege statues were nothing but decoys. The real plan was to shatter the walls and flood the capital. Ah—there go the white flags again.

“Do we accept their surrender?”

“……”

I made a sour face. Honestly, I wanted to kill them all. I couldn’t forgive them.

“If it’s an overwhelming victory we needed, haven’t we already achieved that?”

Takuto crouched down, staring straight into my face.

“I know you can’t hold back your anger. You’ve always been like this, and it hasn’t changed.

But somewhere, it has to end. Otherwise, you’ll keep making the same mistake.”

Ugh. He said it. And he was right. Even now, this was basically me venting.

The anger won’t fade. Even if I slaughtered every last person in the capital, it still wouldn’t fade. I’d just lose control.

“… Fine. Accept the surrender of the garrison. Send their commanders to the palace and order the Emperor to accept unconditional surrender.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Some of the knights rushed off. In this state, there was no fight left in them. By the way, I wondered—just who did Mr. Coote meet down in the underground?

Well, whatever. Maybe there really were people living down there.

That day, the Empire finally bent the knee and accepted unconditional surrender.

“Raise the flags!”

Since dusk was near, I chose to spend the night outside the capital. I didn’t enter. Ambushes were always a risk, though outside was safer. No ambush came.

The next day, the allied nations raised their flags and marched through the open gates, not the shattered walls.

The citizens of the capital were stunned at the sight of our army. Most of it was made up of Golems. Screams followed.

And after the Golems came the high-class monsters—the Woofers Squad. All of them in their true forms, except Mr. Coote, who preferred to stay dog-sized. Still, he carried the most dignity.

Then Helios marched behind, and citizens collapsed left and right. Ancient dragons are scary, it seems. Cowards. A true Arlandian would’ve drawn their weapon.

And after that, the allied flags. Flags of nations long since destroyed. Before long, the citizens were whispering of a ghost army. Serves them right—if they’d properly purified things, it wouldn’t have come to this.

Overhead, the magic battleships loomed, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. One wrong move, and the capital would be indiscriminately bombarded. No one dared try.

At last, the weary imperial soldiers opened the gates of the palace. None wore armor or carried weapons. At least they respected the disarmament.

The coalition’s role was done. I led the knights, monsters, and otherworlders into the palace.

“His Imperial Majesty awaits you inside.”

The place was the audience hall. A hall of dazzling splendor, proof of the empire’s prosperity. Every pillar bore intricate carvings, and the floor was draped in plush carpets. Honestly, they seemed plenty rich without invading Arland.

But one thing sent my blood boiling.

The Emperor sat brazenly on his throne.

My head went blank, and before I knew it, my knee had smashed into his face.

“You bastard—what makes you think you deserve to sit there all high and mighty?”

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