Volume 1 - CH 253

Chapter 0253 Abel vs Rupert

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

Ryo and Oscar, things were beginning to progress in a way that had nothing to do with the two of them.

“Abe…Your Majesty, a force of 50,000 men has appeared in the enemy’s rear.”

Ilarion, who unintentionally almost called him like he used to, reported.

The occurrence of a situation that made even Ilarion anxious.

Once again, <Teleportation>

“Call in all the troops. The enemy has made a new move!”

In response to Abel’s order, Ilarion called for all the troops to assemble via <Amplification>.

The Southern Army, which had been watching the battle between Ryo and Oscar, almost like an unconcerned third-party, regained their wits at the sound of the message.

However, the 50,000-strong reinforcements who had been teleported remained motionless, and only two mounted figures advanced from there.

“Is that, no way…”

Even Abel couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw one of the two figures.

“Yeah, it’s the Emperor.”

Ilarion beside him nodded and said.

It was Rupert VI, Emperor of the Debuhi Empire in the flesh.

“I suppose I’ll have to go.”

Abel said and stepped forward.

“Then, I will accompany you. And, Rihya, please tend to Ryo.”

Ilarion followed Abel, and Rihya followed suit to tend to Ryo.

“Fiona, heal Oscar.”

“Rihya, I leave Ryo to you.”

Rupert and Abel turned to face each other after giving their instructions.

“I am Rupert VI, Emperor of the Debuhi Empire. Pleased to meet you, King Abel. Oh, and congratulations on your accession to the throne.”

“Thank you for your cordial greeting. I am King Abel I of the Kingdom of Knightley. I’d also like to thank you for all your troubles, Emperor Rupert.”

They greeted each other.

“Well, I don’t recall ever helping you though.”

“But you did help Raymond in his rebellion, isn’t that right?”

“No, no, I helped Raymond because I believed that he was the rightful heir to the throne, but it turned out to be a grave misunderstanding on my part.”

Rupert said, in a manner that couldn’t be any more shameless.

“I suppose it is safe to say that since you just congratulated me on my accession to the throne, there will be no more such problems in the future?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Abel received his assurance.

Rupert gave his word, understanding the implications.

That was the moment when the Empire officially recognized Abel as King of the Kingdom of Knightley.

“Now then, Your Majesty Abel. I recognize your accession to the throne, but before your accession, an agreement was reached between the Kingdom and the Empire.”

“An agreement?”

“Yes. The agreement cedes control of the eastern region of the Kingdom and a portion of the northern region to the Empire.”

“Bullshit.”

Abel dismissed Rupert’s words.

No matter how stupid Raymond was, he would never cede territory to the Empire…because he knew that once taken, there was no getting it back.

If it was with the Union, now that’s a different story….

You don’t give up control of land, even temporarily, to an exceedingly enormous opponent … the same logic goes for countries and individuals.

“What do you mean bullshit…. We did not send our troops out for charity either. If you don’t hand them over, it’s just going to spell unnecessary trouble.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Not at all, just a friendly advice. But you know, some commanders in our army are quite violent…and with 50,000 men, well, you never know what will happen.”

That was what negotiation was all about.

At the end of the day, “settlement through negotiation” has to be based on ‘force’.

Within the country, settling disputes through trials, settlements, and other forms of negotiations are ‘discussions’ that are only possible because of the power of the judiciary.

In discussions between countries, there is no such judicial power.

The force that each country has, centered on its military power, becomes important.

On Earth, economic power backed by military power became that ‘force’ but in the end, territorial disputes could never be resolved.

There is no other solution than to demand cessions backed by force…or to buy them off with money.

And in this situation, Abel had no intention of offering money.

“Ilarion, make the call.”

“Yes sir.”

Abel said to Ilarion, who was standing right behind him, and Ilarion made a call with magic similar to <Amplification>.

“Do you really think that the Kingdom has the strength to stand up to 50,000 of my imperial troops?”

“I think you’ll have to see it for yourself.”

“Whoa!”

As soon as Abel finished his statement, startled voices began to rise from the rear of the Kingdom’s army.

The reason for this was immediately apparent.

There appeared a huge ship floating in the air.

“It is the Golden Hind, the pride of our nation.”

“An aerial battleship…”

Even Emperor Rupert did not see that coming.

It was a very sophisticated and beautiful ship, streamlined…like a trimaran, floating in the sky.

“That is… an amazing piece of work you’ve made.”

Count Hans Kirchhoff, who was standing right behind Rupert, said.

Rupert said nothing, but was inwardly beginning to become quite alarmed.

No doubt, the Empire also has a flying ship, called an aerial battleship.

But it’s a legacy from ancient times, and even if they were to build another one now, they would not be able to do so.

There are technical problems, sure, but more than that, there is the problem of the ‘magic stone’ that powers it.

The magic stone for the Imperial aerial battleship is something that can never be obtained again…so it’s impossible to build a second ship.

But the Kingdom’s ship before them was built in the modern age…which means that it’s able to fly in the sky with materials available today.

It would be strange not to be alarmed by that.

But….

“I admit that I’m a little surprised, but whether it’s a match for our army of 50,000…”

“Sir Rupert, look over there, the top of that mountain.”

Abel then pointed to a mountain a short distance away from the battlefield.

Then he nodded to Ilarion.

Twenty seconds later, a green light flashed from the Golden Hind, and the peak of the mountain he pointed to “popped”.

“…”

This left even Rupert speechless, this time around.

He knew what the green light was, as a matter of fact.

It was ‘Vaedra’.

After all, it was Rupert who had the former Minister of Home Affairs Harold Lawrence interfere with the project, knowing that it would pose a threat once it was completed.

It was totally unexpected that it had been completed and even loaded onto an aerial battleship.

Seeing the look on his face, Abel cheered in his mind.

Rupert knew about Vaedra.

As well as its destructive power.

Since that’s the case, the negotiations were going to be quite favorable.

“Now then, Sir Rupert. The Kingdom wants only one thing. And that is for the entire Imperial army to return to Imperial territory.”

Thus ended the war between the Kingdom and the Empire.

A formal treaty would be signed at a later date.

“Looks like the Imperial Army will finally retreat.”

Hugh McGrath, who had joined them, said in a state of exhaustion.

“The Empire got quite the deal, wouldn’t you say. During this war, they crushed the Duke of Moorgrund, and who knows, maybe Marquis Musel will also be taken down. I heard that the ‘black powder’ stored in the eastern part of the Kingdom has been brought into Imperial territory.”

“So they had no intention of bringing the eastern and northern parts of the Kingdom under their control from the beginning. Otherwise, they would not have transported it to Imperial territory.”

Abel sighed as Phelps explained.

Moreover, the fact that they were able to learn about the Kingdom’s new secret weapons, the Golden Hind and Vaedra, would be an achievement for the Empire in this war.

Although for the Kingdom, these two will continue to be effective as a deterrent in the future, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

It would show that the Kingdom has enough newly acquired might to compensate for the fall in the Kingdom’s national power that resulted from this war.

Showing military deterrence to avoid a major war.

It may seem contradictory, but it is also the truth of history, as it has been for thousands of years, in all parts of the world, in all ages and cultures.

“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm?”

Emperor Rupert VI tilted his head as he looked at Princess Fiona and Oscar kneeling before him.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I couldn’t defeat that water-attribute magician.”

It was Oscar who said that. (ED: Is it me or my image of this is a man with no arms kneeling before the Emperor. I can understand healing to stop his bleeding .. but it was said only very few are capable of restoring limbs .. The Empire is big though so maybe they have a dedicated one on standby for Oscar since he’s important.)

His body seemed to erupt with anger.

“Don’t worry about it. What’s more important is that you two are all right. The Empire gained a lot in this war. We lost the 8th Army, but it was more than worth it…wait, the 20th Army was also annihilated. We’ll have to negotiate after the war to get back those of the 20th Army who remain captured. I ordered them to suppress and keep those pesky elves from coming out to the front lines, but…engaging with them was a big mistake.”

And after saying that, Rupert frowned for the first time.

The annihilation of the 20th Army in the Elven ‘Western Forest’ was more damaging than expected.

However, a significant number of them were said to have been kept alive and captured. As long as they’re alive, they could do something about it.

They would have to give an arm and a leg to get them back though, but as the saying goes, capable individuals are indispensable….

“Oh well. Anyway, Oscar, I heard that you made the northern nobles betray the Kingdom in the last battle and conquered several cities, including Wingston. Well done.”

“It is a great honor to receive your compliments.”

Rupert praised him, and Oscar bowed his head even more.

“You should be pleased to know that you’ll be going up in ranks once we return to the Imperial capital.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll be going up two ranks. I’ll make you a Count in one go.”

Rupert said, and then he excused them.

The only person standing by his side was his right-hand man Count Hans Kirchhoff.

“Sir Oscar sure didn’t disappoint, and delivered as planned.”

“Yeah. It was worth keeping Fiona by his side and sending only him to the battlefield.”

Rupert smirked faintly.

“Once he becomes a Count, it won’t be a problem being the husband of a duchess.”

“Husband to Princess Fiona, I suppose?”

“It goes without saying. If I try to hook him up with anyone else, Fiona will burn me alive.”

Rupert laughed louder than before.

“There aren’t that many nobles left in the country anyway. And there is no real need to use her for a political marriage. Then, why not just welcome Oscar as a son-in-law? With such an extraordinary magician’s blood close to the Imperial family, who knows, it may be in the direct lineage in a few generations?”