Volume 1 - CH 249

Chapter 0249 Against the Imperial Army

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

Wingston, the largest city in the eastern part of the Kingdom.

The city was once the capital of the Shrewsbury Dukedom, but now the main forces of the Imperial Expeditionary Force are stationed there.

There, of course, was Marquis Musel, the commander-in-chief, and his chief deputy, Viscount Kruger, Linus Warner.

“Linus, what’s the update on the rebellion of Duke Moorgrund?”

“I heard it’s being put down. The Emperor himself has gone to put down the rebellion, accompanied by the Emperor’s Magic Division led by Princess Fiona.”

“I guess that explains it. Why the Explosive Blaze Magician, who was in Count Gothar’s domain, headed for the Imperial mainland…”

“They must be trying to box in the Moorgrund Dukedom from the south.”

The expression on Marquis Musel’s face was complicated.

As an Imperial noble, the Duke of Moorgrund was his greatest rival.

It’d be good riddance if he was gone.

However, from the perspective of the Emperor, his opposition being the nobles’ forces will be significantly reduced.

It’s only natural that he couldn’t honestly rejoice.

Marquis Musel himself harbored no intention of rebelling against the Emperor.

Certainly, he’s a great noble representing the Empire, but to be honest, he is quite content with the status quo.

But he knew that his son was not.

Even more shockingly, his obsession with the throne.

That is why, when he was appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition, he asked the Emperor to allow his son Linus to accompany him on the expedition as chief deputy.

Since there’s no telling what kind of mess he’d cause if he were to leave him unattended in the Empire.

Or what kind of mess he might get caught up in.

He felt that he was by no means a fool, but he was still critically lacking in experience to survive in the court…and he knew this as his father.

“Linus, how is that transport coming along?”

“You mean the ‘black powder’. The last convoy should be crossing the imperial border right about now. All previous units are confirmed to have reached the mainland.”

“I see. Guess that means we’ve achieved the barest minimum of our objectives. That leaves King Abel…”

Marquis Musel nodded and said.

“Our army, including the rearguard from the marquisate, has a total strength of 28,000 men. The southern army led by King Abel is less than 30,000 strong, so our forces are about the same. And with the same number of forces, no opponent stands a chance against our imperial army.”

Linus stated.

That was no exaggeration.

The armies of Central Nations other than the Empire, with the exception of knight orders and magic corps, are augmented with ‘militias’, but the imperial army is different.

While noble armies like the Marquisate’s army have militia, the Imperial Army is made up entirely of professional soldiers.

Even excluding the kingsguard, there is a separate knight order. There is also a separate magic corps.

Apart from these, there is the ‘Imperial Army’, a group of professional soldiers.

This time, Marquis Musel’s command also included 15,000 members of the 8th Imperial Army.

Although this is only a small portion of the total number of the Imperial Army, which is said to be as many as 500,000 strong, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a considerable force when pitted against the Kingdom’s army.

Along with the 8th Imperial Army and Marquis Musel’s Army, the unit that has recently become the core of the expeditionary force was the ‘7th Imperial Magic Army’.

Although the Emperor’s Magic Division led by the Explosive Blaze Magician Oscar had returned to the mainland, the 7th Imperial Magic Army, with its 2,000 magicians capable of using offensive magic, is no doubt a powerful force.

The fact that the commander of this 7th Imperial Magic Army was Count Guther Ostermann, who is also a good friend of Marquis Musel, also reassured Marquis Musel.

Oscar is, no doubt, a powerful magician, and the Emperor’s Magic Division, trained by him, is also a formidable group consisting of outstanding magicians, but it is, after all, a magic unit under the direct control of the Emperor.

Officially, Marquis Musel had no authority to give orders, which certainly made things more or less difficult for him.

However, Count Ostermann of the 7th Imperial Magic Army was different.

Frankly, Marquis Musel was looking forward to the decisive battle with King Abel.

“Are you certain that the Explosive Blaze Magician is absent?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We have confirmed that Baron Oscar Ruska and the Emperor’s Magic Division have returned to the mainland and are taking part in the subjugation of the Duke of Moorgrund.”

“Too bad…”

The last words were muttered by the water-attribute magician guarding Abel, and those who heard them decided to pretend they didn’t.

It’s best not to get involved.

The former crown prince’s office in the royal castle.

Abel did not want to stay in the King’s office chamber because of King Raymond’s suicide and the fact that Abel’s father, King Stafford IV, is still alive.

In the crown prince’s office, the leaders of the Southern army were now gathered to discuss their marching plans.

Reports from Phelps and Marquis Heinlein had given them an almost accurate picture of the Imperial Army’s position in Wingston and the Kingdom.

Marquis Heinlein now also holds the position of Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom.

He was forced into this position by his predecessor, Marquis Elliot Austin of Wingston, who had been placed under house arrest in the royal capital after his defeat at Desborough Plains and the subsequent twists and turns that ensued.

Elliot himself had expressed his willingness to lead the Knights of his domain in the battle against the Imperial Army, but he directly told Abel when he entered the royal capital that he could not endure the duties of the minister of war and wanted to hand over the position to Marquis Heinlein.

Marquis Heinlein was absolutely mortified when he heard this.

It would seem that certain difficulties come with holding a high position….

“Although the Explosive Blaze Magician is out of the picture, the 7th Imperial Magical Army, two thousand strong, is quite an issue.”

“Magic bombardment from two thousand people…is overpowering. They will interfere with each other, so they won’t fly as fast as they should, still, two thousand of them is no joke.”

Marquis Heinlein pointed out, and his advisor Arthur nodded and said so.

“I guess even Ryo would have a hard time intercepting 2,000 offensive magic…no, not quite. If it’s an arrow type, one of them will split into five, so 10,000 artillery bombardments…”

“It’s indeed quite…impossible to fire a precision bombing at tens of thousands of fast-moving targets…”

Ryo answered while nodding his head ever so slightly…but then stopped all of a sudden.

“Wait? Perhaps…there might be a water-attribute magic that is just right for it.”

“There is?”

Abel was the one who unexpectedly chimed in when Ryo reiterated his statement.

“I’ve never tried it, so I can’t be sure…. I’ll give it a try later.”

Ryo started mumbling to himself as he said this.

The elderly magician duo, Ilarion and his advisor Arthur, were watching him inquisitively.

And there’s Rin, who seemed to be staring at the two of them and Ryo with horror.

Phelps on the other hand was looking at them with amusement.

Abel gave up altogether in the end and quit the staring contest….

“The enemy’s main forces this time are the 8th Imperial Army and the 7th Imperial Magic Army. So it’s safe to say that their tactical deployment will be the Imperial Army’s signature move.”

“A simultaneous artillery bombardment by the magic army to tear the battle line to shreds, followed by an assault from the main force in a wedge formation, right?”

Abel answered Marquis Heinlein’s words with a nod.

Ryo was surprised to see Abel answer smoothly.

Abel glared at Ryo and said with a dissatisfied look.

“Ryo, right now, you just thought, how could Abel of all people know such a thing, didn’t you? ”

“H-How could I possibly think of such a profane thing…I was just wondering if there was such a thing among the homework the crown prince gave you.”

“Hell no. There was no such thing among the homework brother gave to me.”

“Then how could you of all people have known something like that, Abel? ”

“See, I knew it!”

“Dammit! He actually set me up…”

The adults, including Marquis Heinlein, Ilarion, and advisor Arthur, watched their conversation with smiles on their faces.

Normally, they should have chastised Ryo for his disrespect….

But since they know.

That a king is essentially a lonely person.

That was why it was a great pleasure to have someone with whom he could communicate, even if only a little bit.

For Abel, Ryo was one of the few such beings, and he also possessed unparalleled abilities as an individual…they understood that it was miraculous that a being who possessed both of these qualities was close to Abel, and that he was able to communicate with him.

Since that was the case, then a little bit of disrespect was not a huge issue.