Arc 4 Chapter 24 : Next Phase of War

[Prince Felix POV]

That night, following the horrific events of that afternoon, all the Imperial Candidates and high-ranking officials were walking behind Father as we made our way toward the meeting chamber.

Everyone wore grim expressions. Never before in the history of the Empire had we been humiliated like this in front of our own people.

Several possibilities were running through my mind regarding who could be responsible for the attack. However, I did not want to speak until we reached the meeting chamber.

Father's mood seemed particularly terrible tonight, and I had no desire to become the target of his anger and jeopardize my position as the strongest candidate in the upcoming selection for the next Emperor.

Once we arrived at the meeting chamber, everyone took their seats after Father sat down in the chair reserved for him.

He then drew a deep breath, as though trying to suppress the emotions that had been building inside him.

"Can anyone explain why this incident happened?" Father asked all the high-ranking officials of the Empire.

Although his voice was quiet, everyone here surely understood that behind that question lay deep regret and restrained fury over the fact that we had allowed this incident to happen.

Yet despite Father's question, not a single person dared to answer.

"All of you are the elites of this great empire! Are your noble titles and high positions completely meaningless!?" Father shouted as he glared at everyone present. "How could you allow these killers to enter without being detected at all, right in the heart of our country!?"

I was thinking the same thing. How had the perpetrators managed to prepare an operation of this scale without us knowing anything?

Had someone deliberately allowed them to enter?

Or was there someone who knew the patrol schedules of the City Guard stationed in the capital?

How had all those explosions occurred almost simultaneously?

"Lord Kastor, you are the representative of the Intelligence Departement, are you not? What is the latest report regarding Duke Alvaro—your superior—and his mission in the Slavic Tsardom?" Father asked a middle-aged man. "You must explain how it is possible that I received not a single piece of information pointing toward an attack like this!"

The man Father had addressed looked nervous. He lowered his head, though he soon tried to look Father in the eyes, since it would be considered improper to answer an Emperor without properly facing him.

"Your Majesty, we have received no news whatsoever from Duke Alvaro during his mission in the Slavic Tsardom," Lord Kastor replied. "Th-the Intelligence Departement did, in fact, detect networks belonging to Minority Race within the Empire that were suspected of having the potential to carry out acts of rebellion."

Hearing his answer, my temper flared, and I stared coldly at him.

"Why didn't you arrest them immediately if there were already indications that they were planning a rebellion!?" I demanded angrily.

The man shifted his attention toward me before answering.

"My apologies, Your Highness. If there are only indications without clear evidence, then we cannot take action against them unless the country is placed under emergency conditions such as these. If we arrested them without sufficient evidence, I fear the dissatisfaction of the Minority Race toward the government would only grow, eventually driving them to commit extreme acts like this."

His reasoning only made me more irritated.

What was the point of holding back and simply waiting for disaster to happen?

He claimed that the Minority would become dissatisfied?

They should already be grateful that they had been given the opportunity to live peacefully within this nation.

If they did not wish to be part of the Empire, then those Minority could simply leave and find another country to live in. I was certain they would suffer a far worse fate elsewhere.

Being part of this Empire was a privilege, even for those at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, because our nation was the strongest on the continent!

I wanted to say many things to this useless government official, but Father looked at me, signaling that I should not say anything further.

"Very well, Lord Kastor. Since we have declared a state of emergency, you may take action without fear of violating the law!" Father said before slamming his hand against the table. "Do whatever is necessary to restore security and stability throughout the country!"

"I will carry it out according to your wishes as quickly as possible, Your Majesty."

After finishing with the Intelligence Agency, Father turned his attention toward the Deputy Minister of Defense, Vincent de Salamanca.

"How prepared are our soldiers, Lord Vincent?" Father asked.

"Only dozens of soldiers were killed in this afternoon's incident, Your Majesty," Lord Vincent replied. "The rest remain ready for battle and are prepared to retaliate against what our enemies have done."

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"No. The 20,000 reserve troops will not be going anywhere for the time being," Father said sternly. "They must assist in hunting down the perpetrators of this incident and protect the capital in case of another sudden attack. After what happened today, we have no idea what our enemies are planning."

"Does that mean we will not send reinforcements to Marquis Fran?" Lord Vincent asked, seeking confirmation from Father.

"Exactly. For the time being, he will have to deal with the Draconian Kingdom's forces on his own. Begin conscription to form a new reserve army that can be sent to the battlefield."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

The meeting continued until midnight.

Afterward, the Empire would observe a National Day of Mourning to restore the morale of the citizens and reassure them that they should not fear another incident like the one that had occurred that afternoon.

---

[Elena POV]

Five thousand lives had vanished from the capital...

Why had they targeted civilians who had nothing to do with this war?

I was currently reading a newspaper containing information about the Blood Midday incident that had occurred yesterday.

The Empire had announced that the perpetrators behind the incident were extremist groups from the Minority residing within the Empire.

The Republic of Venetia was also suspected of having been involved in the attack, allegedly in an attempt to destabilize the security of the heart of the Imperial capital, where the government was headquartered.

Although I knew that every side in a war would seek victory by whatever means necessary, I never imagined they would go this far.

"There is no such thing as playing fair in love and war."

Suddenly, I heard someone say those words.

I turned to the side and saw a man in his fifties approaching me.

"Uncle Raymond," I called out to him.

"Are you reading the news about the incident, Princess Elena?" Uncle Raymond asked.

"Yes, Uncle. To be honest, I am quite shocked by what happened," I replied.

"War is a conflict that determines the fate of a nation, Your Highness," Uncle Raymond said. "No matter how dirty the methods become, every side will want its own nation to emerge victorious from a war."

Although I understood what Uncle Raymond was saying, I still could not accept the fact that thousands of civilians and children had simply lost their lives.

As soldiers, we had already accepted the possibility that we might die on the battlefield if it meant protecting the people we loved back home.

But civilians should never have to experience the horror and despair of the wars we fought.

"Think about it after the war is over, Your Highness. Come, we should hurry to the City Hall. Marshal Salazar will be giving a briefing," Uncle Raymond said, inviting me to follow him.

I nodded and began walking toward the main tent with him.

Previously, we had conquered the Fortress City of Regium after fighting the Republic of Venetia's forces, who had attempted to defend the city.

After clearing the area of the bodies of the fallen soldiers, we were finally preparing to move again and rapidly conquer the rest of the region.

When we arrived at City Hall, the two of us immediately headed toward the meeting room.

Many military officials and nobles were already there, waiting to attend the briefing.

While we waited for the briefing to begin, Uncle Raymond and I discussed the previous battle.

He told me that he had encountered a woman capable of using techniques belonging to her predecessor, Liana de Grantz—the First Female Grand Espada and the strongest Grand Espada in the history of the Empire.

While we were talking, the meeting-room doors suddenly opened.

Marshal Salazar entered, followed by his adjutant.

"Very well. Without wasting any more time, let us begin today's briefing," Marshal Salazar announced.

The Marshal's adjutant then brought a wheeled board into the room. A map had already been attached to it so that we could see the current positions of our forces.

At present, we were in the Fortress City of Regium.

To the northeast was a fairly large forest, and beyond it lay the Great City of Tusculum—the primary target of our offensive operation in this region.

"Gentlemen, the first stage of our offensive operation has been successfully completed with the conquest of Fortress City Regium," Marshal Salazar said. "However, there are still several steps remaining before we can fully control this territory."

Marshal Salazar then stood beside the board and looked at everyone in the room.

"For the next stage of the offensive, we will divide our forces into two groups."

Marshal Salazar pointed toward Ebro Village with a stick.

"Approximately 20,000 troops under the command of Marquis Diego will attack Ebro Village and turn it into an operational base from which we can intercept the Republic of Greco's forces when they arrive. The remaining 70,000 troops will pass through the Tuscan Forest and advance toward the city of Tusculum."

Marshal Salazar also explained that the remaining 5,000 troops would stay behind to await the arrival of the 20,000 Reserve troops currently guarding Regium after the main force departed.

Once those 20,000 Reserve troops arrived, the total number of Imperial forces operating within the Republic of Venetia would reach 120,000.

"Tomorrow morning, we will begin moving out, and we are expected to reach Tusculum within four days," Marshal Salazar announced. "Are there any questions?"

Hearing the Marshal's words, one of the Cabalerons raised his hand.

"Marshal, what if the Republic of Venetia's 50,000 troops also move toward Ebro Village? Wouldn't that put our 20,000 troops there in danger of being surrounded?"

Indeed, what if the Republic of Venetia discovered our movements and decided to destroy the force attacking Ebro Village first?

However, if they did that, they would not have enough forces left to stop our attack on Tusculum, would they?

On the other hand, if the Republic of Venetia's 50,000 troops were allowed to join the 30,000 troops from the Republic of Greco, then our 70,000-strong main force attacking Tusculum could also be placed in danger if those 80,000 enemy troops decided to return to the city we were attacking.

"If that happens, our 70,000 troops will follow the 50,000 Venetian troops toward Ebro Village," Marshal Salazar answered. "That will give us 90,000 troops against their 80,000. I am confident that we will have the advantage fighting either in open terrain or in a village that does not even have walls."

He was right.

Previously, we had struggled considerably to conquer Fortress City Regium because the city's walls had hindered our offensive.

If the enemy decided to make Ebro Village the battlefield, all we would have to do was continuously bombard them with magical projectiles and gradually reduce their numbers.

Even in open terrain, we would have the advantage because we possessed far more Knights and Mages than they did.

After no one had any further questions regarding the offensive operation, Marshal Salazar ended today's briefing.

If our plan proceeded smoothly, then we would undoubtedly have an advantage in this conflict when peace negotiations began.

I had also heard that the eastern territories of the Empire were currently being attacked by 40,000 troops from the Draconian Kingdom.

If I remembered correctly, the unit he commanded was stationed there, wasn't it?

I wonder what he was doing right now.

Considering that Father had canceled the deployment of reinforcements to the region where he was stationed, it seemed that the fighting there was even worse than what we were experiencing here.

However, when it came to that man, he must have already devised something that would allow our outnumbered forces there to confront the Draconian Kingdom's 40,000 troops.

Yes...

No matter what happened, Raul would always find a way to turn the situation around.