novelnext Chapter 193 : Rout (3)
Chapter 193 : Rout (3)
Dale Wedmeyer.A man who had spent many years serving as one of the pro-Bernhardt faction's key figures.
At the same time, he had also worked as a spy within the Platinum Dawn Society, influencing events throughout the Empire.
Only now had he abandoned his former allegiance and joined our side, believing that Edel's faction and mine stood a better chance of victory.
But that didn't justify everything he had done in the past.
Edel understood that better than anyone.
She grabbed Dale by the collar and demanded,
“So the Platinum Dawn Society was researching Beastification as well?”
Apparently having no intention of making excuses, Dale continued with a guilty expression.
“...I merely handed over a portion of Bernhardt's research materials. At the time, I intended to side with the Dawn Society. I only participated directly in producing the Beastification Drug a handful of times, but I continued supervising the project until recently.”
“How does the Dawn Society intend to use that drug?”
“There are members of the Dawn Society within the Imperial Army as well. I believe the plan was to transform them into Beasts using this drug and create chaos from within the military...”
Michel, looking utterly incredulous, asked from beside us,
“...A perfectly normal human can turn into a Beast from a single dose? Is that even possible?”
“I can't say for certain. The last time I personally participated in manufacturing it was over three years ago. I have no idea how many times the formula has changed since then.”
Edel questioned him again.
“...How many of these drugs have been completed?”
“The last time I checked... there were around six hundred.”
“......”
Edel seemed at a loss for words as she loosened her grip on his collar.
Silence filled the room once more.
I stroked my chin as I thought things over.
Considering the Imperial Army's total strength of 250,000 soldiers, six hundred people alone wouldn't be enough to throw the entire military into chaos.
Of course, most of the army was stationed in the major Beast Habitat Zones, while the capital's defense had been entrusted to the twenty-thousand-strong Defense Force.
Perhaps their goal was merely to delay the main force from reinforcing the capital.
The Defense Force itself was also focused on eliminating Beasts within the Empire and guarding the borders, so it wouldn't be able to rush to the Imperial Palace immediately.
The Imperial Palace possessed the strongest defensive system in the Empire.
Once seized, even a massive Imperial Army wouldn't be able to break in right away.
If the Gate outbreak was truly imminent, then occupying the Imperial Palace and holding it through a siege would at least make some sense.
'...Even so, something's wrong.'
The Apocalypse was drawing near, but it hadn't truly begun yet.
Once Apocalypse Mode started, at least fifty Gates would appear around the Empire.
Everything was progressing rapidly, but for the disaster to begin only one month after the first omen...
No matter how I looked at it, that didn't make sense.
There had always been at least three omens before the catastrophe arrived.
That was the fundamental rule of Apocalypse Mode as I knew it.
Or...
Had another faction joined them?
Was that where all their confidence came from?
It could still be a bluff...
But...
“...Wait.”
A possibility suddenly crossed my mind.
Turning toward Maximilian and Michel, I asked,
“Is there any chance Bernhardt's manpower and supplies have already fallen into their hands?”
The two exchanged glances.
Unlike Michel, who looked utterly confused, Maximilian lowered his head as though he had nothing to say.
“I never imagined things would end up like this...”
After a moment, he raised his head and nodded firmly.
“By now, all of the supplies have probably been transported throughout the capital.”
“What do you mean?”
“For someone like her, manipulating a Master Code Holder and activating the Code's mind control ability is far too easy.”
Maximilian sighed, covering his eyes.
Michel glared sharply at her former servant.
“...So she approached Edgar Bernhardt.”
“......Yes. I was there myself.”
The expression on his face as he looked at Michel was one of utter misery.
“Ordinarily, once Lady Michel inherited the family headship, neither the servants nor the employees would have obeyed any order to move the supplies...”
“But the Chairwoman had already prepared for even that.”
“She knew this would happen.”
“......”
“I never imagined you would personally come all the way to the Dawn Society's headquarters...”
“And to be honest... I valued my own life.”
“A part of me even thought the Empire might be better off collapsing.”
“If it wasn't for you, my lady... I had absolutely no reason to throw my life away.”
But now...
Everything had changed.
“If you intend to risk your life to protect the Empire as it exists today... then I will do the same.”
Whether it was an excuse, a confession, or a declaration of resolve...
No one could tell.
Maximilian simply looked at us with determined eyes and declared,
“My revenge against the Bernhardts is over.”
“I'll do everything I can to ensure the citizens are never deceived by false propaganda again.”
.
.
.
“So... to summarize.”
The meeting continued until dawn.
“First, these are the enemy's core forces.”
First, the Platinum Dawn Society's own personnel.
“Including its subordinate organizations—the Resistance, Greenwhistle, the Secret Guardians, the Sanctuary of Sacred Words, the Red Fang Marauders, and the members of Ain Kabbalah... approximately two thousand people.”
“And don't forget that more than half of those are Resistance members, while Ain Kabbalah itself isn't expected to contribute much combat strength.”
Second, the civilian Volunteer Army led by Greenwhistle and the Resistance.
“Accounting for additional mobilization... roughly seven thousand.”
“Fortunately, there's still a possibility they can be persuaded to disband. Even the Chairwoman can't possibly control that many people through the Code.”
Third, the Bernhardt Mercenary Corps and outside forces hidden within the Imperial Army.
“They couldn't possibly mobilize every mercenary... but they probably managed to gather around two hundred.”
“And since we were told there are fewer than a thousand infiltrators inside the Imperial Army... that brings their total strength to roughly ten thousand.”
We also analyzed our own available forces.
First, the Imperial Special Task Force, one of the Imperial Household's直属 units.
“We'll have to negotiate with the Special Task Force Commander, but we need to secure at least half of their available manpower.”
“That would give us around fifteen hundred troops.”
Second, the Imperial Defense Force, the largest subordinate force within the Imperial Army.
“If the Defense Force actively participates, suppressing them won't be much of a problem.”
“There's a fierce struggle over interests within the Defense Force as well... Unless we promise benefits comparable to those of the regular army, we'll be lucky to mobilize twenty percent.”
“Even that would still be around four thousand soldiers, so it's hardly a small number.”
Third, the Imperial Guard, one of the Imperial Household's直属 units and the sharpest blade wielded by the Emperor.
“If we can persuade Abel somehow, we might be able to make it happen.”
“If we gain control of the Imperial Guard, we can activate the Imperial Palace's internal defense systems as well. That alone would ruin most of the enemy's plans.”
“So everything depends on whether we can persuade Abel Ribenia.”
Finally...
Fourth, the core of the Ribenia Empire's military power—
The Imperial Army itself.
With a total strength of two hundred fifty thousand soldiers, even mobilizing just five percent would completely overturn the balance of power.
“But bringing the regular army into this is an enormous gamble...”
“That's true.”
Given the Empire's governmental structure, the Emperor could order the military to intervene at any time.
Since the Emperor was effectively absent, approval from a majority of the Imperial Family would be enough to mobilize the regular army.
Whether it was Abel or Rachel, neither of them would tolerate a group that denied the Imperial Family's legitimacy and sought to destroy them.
As for the gentle Princess Alix...
She would most likely follow the majority opinion of the other three.
The problem was that, even considering all of that, mobilizing the regular army still wasn't necessarily the wisest decision.
Over a century ago, when the Imperial Household's authority had been at its peak, it wasn't uncommon to see soldiers patrolling the streets.
But as the Beast threat intensified, the military's role gradually changed.
Exterminating Beasts became its primary duty.
The regular army slowly moved from the cities to the outskirts...
Then eventually to the borders and the Transboundary Regions.
Throughout that process, the Imperial Council's influence expanded, and the citizens gained far greater freedoms.
More than fifty years had already passed since then.
If the regular army once again began intervening directly in domestic affairs...
People feared the freedoms they had earned would disappear just as they had in the past.
...That belief had already taken root among the citizens.
Furthermore, the Defense Force had originally been separated from the regular army specifically to handle internal matters.
For that reason alone, mobilizing the regular army had to be considered with extreme caution.
“Well... this is ultimately a decision for Princess Edel as a member of the Imperial Family.”
“We'll abide by whatever decision you make.”
“......”
Edel slowly looked around at everyone present before taking a deep breath.
Then she reached her decision.
“The Special Task Force.”
“The Defense Force.”
“And the Imperial Guard.”
“Our war against the Dawn Society will be fought using only those three forces.”
“But before that...”
“We'll settle matters within the Imperial Palace first.”
“We're going to remove Abel Ribenia and Rachel Ribenia from power.”
It was finally time to begin preparing for a new Empire.
Everyone dispersed to carry out their respective assignments.
After parting ways with the Karbenna members who had accompanied them to the outskirts of the capital, Edel entered the Imperial Palace alone.
It was just after eight in the morning.
She hadn't slept since the previous day, spending every moment organizing her thoughts during the journey.
Yet despite the exhaustion, her mind had never been clearer.
The moment she arrived at her residence, she took Lea with her and headed straight toward the Grand Palace.
Before delivering her ultimatum...
There was one final negotiation she wanted to attempt.
Exploiting someone's weakness and crushing them was easy.
But creating troublesome enemies in the process was something she'd rather avoid.
The more widespread the Beast outbreak became, the less social status mattered.
The ones who would lead that era would not be royalty...
Nor nobles...
Nor clergy...
But the truly capable.
Those who could slaughter Beasts more effectively would rise to the top.
And they had to.
Otherwise...
Everyone would perish together.
Across more than a hundred regressions, she herself hadn't died to Beasts very often.
But every single time, the psychological impact had been devastating.
Just when she'd believed she'd finally overcome every hardship and reached the ending where the nation was saved...
A horrifying catastrophe would descend.
'This time... no matter what...'
Just as she was about to enter the Grand Palace's banquet hall—
The two soldiers standing guard suddenly crossed their spears, blocking the entrance.
“What is this?”
“Our apologies, Your Highness, but His Majesty the Emperor has ordered that no one be allowed into the banquet hall.”
“......What?”
The moment the word Emperor left the soldiers' mouths, Edel's eyes widened.
A terrible premonition flashed through her mind.
Her body moved before she could think.
Using Wind Magic, she blasted both soldiers aside before forcefully throwing open the doors.
BOOM—!
“What... is this?”
The scene inside was utterly bizarre.
Abel Ribenia sat alone upon the throne, noisily chewing on a piece of meat.
Nearby stood trembling maids and attendants.
Behind him, the Commander of the Imperial Guard stood at ease.
“I told them not to let anyone in.”
“But you really never listen, do you, Edel?”
“You... What have you done?”
“You?”
Abel spat the half-chewed meat onto the table before abruptly rising to his feet and drawing the sword at his waist.
“You certainly have no respect for the Twentieth Emperor of the Ribenia Empire.”
A wicked smile unlike anything Edel had ever seen spread across his lips.