Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 108
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Game Opportunity Becomes Reality Episode 108
27. Civil War or Farce? (5)
-Click!
I cast the Spatial Movement Interference Magic that had been temporarily deactivated, preventing people from fleeing.
Thanks to that, the nobles of the Second Prince's faction gathered at Marquis Hamington's Heaven-Piercing Fortress, which served as both flagship and command center, were thrown into such confusion that they missed their chance to escape.
I looked at Marquis Hamington, whose arm was around my shoulder, and gave a deep smile.
"I had thought about using the chaos to deal with Marquis of Ereiven, Marquis Caskbell, and Count Brooks, but I didn't expect it to end this easily."
Suppressing the Second Prince's faction's rebellion and disposing of our enemies as well.
Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?
[Abnormality detected aboard the vessel.]
[Recommend executing the intruder response manual.]
A chaotic situation.
Even with the Heaven-Piercing Fortress's alarm blaring loudly, the nobles couldn't adapt to the sudden change and looked utterly bewildered.
"Why, Marquis of Ereiven?"
"Even Marquis Caskbell and Count Brooks…"
For those people,
-BOOOOM!
"Agh!"
I blew away the control tower with magic, both to drown out the grating alarm of the Heaven-Piercing Fortress and to forcibly snap them back to reality.
"W-what do you think you're doing!?"
"Marquis Lawrence, explain yourself!"
Could there be a better situation than this?
Communications were dead, teleportation was blocked, and the navigation system was destroyed.
And the Aura Masters of the Prius Republic, who were originally meant to be deployed only after the Second Prince's strike force and Marquis Hamington's main army joined up at the capital, could now be used right away.
Thanks to the King's arrangements, everything fell into place easily.
"What am I doing? I'm detaining traitors to the nation."
Under normal circumstances, if I and Marquis Trenton's faction who didn't trust each other had tried to betray here, we would have been subdued in no time.
But with communications dead, making support impossible to hope for, and three Aura Masters joining my side, the situation had changed completely.
Like this, we alone were able to subdue the core figures of the Second Prince's faction.
[Oh, no!]
[Your Highness!]
And just in time, very good news arrived.
The Second Prince, cornered by the King's arrangements, met a truly pathetic death nowhere to be seen was the imposing air he had tried to maintain as a big shot.
And it was at the hands of Arcia, the very person he trusted.
Dying at the hands of the woman he loved wouldn't that be the most unfortunate death?
Of course, that doesn't mean I feel even a shred of sympathy for him.
'Black Eagle, help Arcia.'
At the Royal Palace, Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis, enraged by the betrayal, attacked Arcia, sparking a Second Round.
This time, the King's arrangement only watched and didn't help, so I sent Black Eagle to ensure Arcia's safety.
With Black Eagle's support, Arcia would never lose to them.
It would be best if she subdued them both, but even if not, stalling for time would be more than enough.
Arcia was specialized in defense, so she was second to none when it came to stalling, so there was no need to worry.
'In other words, once this Heaven-Piercing Fortress is dealt with, the war is over, isn't it?'
With an immensely satisfied expression, I stepped up onto the table in the center of the situation room and spoke.
"Marquis Trenton, with communications down, we can no longer wait for the Crown Prince's orders. Let us detain these people ourselves."
"W-what!?"
At my words, the nobles of the Second Prince's faction swallowed air in shock.
In other words, I was an agent following the Crown Prince's orders and Marquis Trenton was included among those agents too.
"Hey! You traitor!"
Your situational awareness is far too slow.
If people like these had seized power under Prince Luke, Rhinehearts would have ended up just like the Prius Republic.
"You knew full well how Prince Luke thought of Arcia and how he thought of me and yet you thought I would meekly lower my head?"
"Attack! Cut down these traitors!"
The thoroughly enraged Marquis Hamington shouted.
The guards who had been frozen at that sight, along with nobles confident in their skills, rushed in from all directions.
-SWISH!
"Ghk!"
"Agh!"
But none of them could get within five meters of me before their heads were cleaved off.
"An Aura Master?"
"Did you not see in the chaos? All three of them are Aura Masters."
When I shrugged and said it mockingly, the faces of Marquis Hamington and the nobles of the Second Prince's faction flushed as if they were about to burst.
But why is that Marquis Trenton just standing there?
"Do you think you'll get away unscathed like this? When His Highness returns with the guerrilla unit, your head will be on the chopping block!"
Ah, I see.
The reason Marquis Trenton is testing the waters is because of the Second Prince.
Since the Second Prince has the King in his grasp as planned, if all the troops reach the capital like this, things are bound to get dangerous.
So I delivered good news to Marquis Trenton, who was only glancing around with a confused expression, and bad news to the nobles of the Second Prince's faction.
"For your information, Prince Luke is dead."
A short statement.
But at that single word, the movements of the Second Prince's faction nobles and knights stopped in their tracks as if struck by a spell.
"Nonsense!"
"All the guerrilla members deployed are dead, and only Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis survived and are currently fighting Arcia."
"Surely you don't mean Count Klein betrayed His Highness from behind?"
Too annoyed to explain, I simply nodded.
"Th-That can't be… His Highness is dead?"
"Don't say such ill-omened things! You believe that bastard's words!?"
They want to believe it isn't true, but the situation unfolding right now is hardly reassuring.
They couldn't simply dismiss my words.
Thanks to that, they were arguing among themselves over the truth, shouting and fighting it was utter chaos.
Just then, two Vanguards seized the opening and launched a surprise attack.
-BOOM!
"So stop your desperate struggles and stand still. Before I kill every last one of you."
Would I, who can go toe-to-toe with an Aura Master, ever fall to some half-baked Vanguard?
I easily dodged the surprise attacks and sent those Vanguards' heads flying.
Marquis Hamington, who was close enough to be splattered with the Vanguards' blood, swallowed dry air and collapsed to the spot.
Once the mood was set, only then did Marquis Trenton and his faction step forward, watching my expression and offering to help.
* * *
Arcia's figure, blocking the fierce combined assault of Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis with such ease, drew admiration even from an observer's standpoint.
"Eek!"
"Th-That eagle, what in the world!"
Moreover, thanks to Black Eagle's body slams and occasional magic use, they were by no means at an advantage despite the 2:1 odds.
Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis tried desperately to break through.
But Arcia allowed not a single opening.
[Arcia.]
Just then.
Black Eagle spoke toward Arcia.
As Margrave Ignis, startled by that, missed his attack timing, Arcia seized the opportunity like a ghost and swung the Holy Sword to press both of them.
"Kugh!"
An energy discharge more powerful than any Force equipment.
Marquis Vincent and Margrave Ignis were sent flying helplessly, and with a brief moment of respite, Arcia answered Black Eagle's call.
"Yes, please speak."
[Can you fight alone for a moment? I need to speak with His Majesty.]
"I think it'll be fine."
With Arcia's permission, Black Eagle flew gracefully toward the King, who was personally tending to the Second Prince's corpse in the corner.
However, the black knight blocked the way, preventing any closer approach.
[Your Majesty, this is Adrian Lawrence, Marquis Lawrence.]
Adrian spoke through Black Eagle as a medium.
The black knight responded on behalf of the King.
"How surprising. I thought it was a sacred beast, but it's a Chimera?"
[Think of it as something like a familiar.]
"Communication gets through even amidst the jamming? Impressive."
[So the jamming was indeed spread by you, Black Knight.]
However strange it looked to be conversing with a bird, no matter how massive, the black knight felt deep interest in Adrian.
At first, he thought the brat had merely become a Grand Mage, but seeing Arcia's combat prowess, it felt like he possessed far more than expected.
"I roughly understand the situation. That you and Count Klein were not of the Second Prince's faction, but planted agents of the Crown Prince's faction."
[Then conversation will be easy.]
"So why do you seek His Majesty?"
[I ask that you settle this situation before a war breaks out. After all, the Second Prince is already dead.]
"Isn't it too soon to end the succession struggle just because Prince Luke is dead? The Second Prince's faction's strength remains intact. They can simply rally behind another royal in place of Prince Luke."
His tone was as if nothing that happened to the kingdom mattered, so long as the King himself was safe.
For a moment, the Black Eagle seemed lost for words, but soon let out a hollow laugh.
[That is not a line a subject of this kingdom should utter. Well, it doesn't matter. Because such a thing will not come to pass.]
"What?"
[We have detained 72 key nobles, including Marquis Hamington, who leads the rebel army. Dragging this out any longer will only deepen the chaos.]
Caught off guard, the black knight fell silent as if struck dumb.
At that, the King, who had remained quiet, draped his coat over the Second Prince's corpse before rising from his seat.
"Are the nobles of the Second Prince's faction unharmed?"
[Some were dealt with during the suppression. If Your Majesty so orders, I will have all the rebel leaders executed on the spot.]
By all rights, the Justification for the throne rests with the Crown Prince, the traditional heir.
That was why Adrian had no hesitation in calling the Second Prince's faction rebels.
At Adrian's proposal, Kalitz van Rhinehearts, King of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts, answered with a weary expression.
"If you dispose of them like that, the war cannot be ended early. The heirs of each domain will inherit their parents' will and cry for resistance to the death."
[I agree. Which is why it would be better to use them rather than kill them.]
No matter how much of a figurehead he seemed, he was a man who had sat on the throne for decades.
He could easily understand what Adrian wanted.
"You're telling me to induce their surrender?"
[Correct.]
There was nothing complicated about it.
With the Second Prince dead and the leaders of his faction subdued, the King's intervention would settle things quickly.
With no Justification and no leaders, what could the Second Prince's faction possibly do?
The fight was already over.
The King nodded readily.
"Very well."
[A wise decision. First, would you mind helping subdue those two over there?]
* * *
'By the time I came to my senses, everything was already over.'
Such was the thought that came to the Crown Prince once the communication jamming spell covering the capital region was lifted and he began assessing the situation to restore order.
"Well, I'll be."
He hadn't seized victory in the struggle for the throne he had been handed it.
And it was all thanks to Adrian.
"Must I attribute this to Marquis Lawrence's wit?"
At the question from Count Acres, an Aura Master and one of the few people who knew Adrian was a spy planted by the Crown Prince, Crown Prince Michael walking with him through the Royal Palace shrugged.
"This too was within his predictions. Even I did not expect His Majesty's hidden card to be this formidable."
"Isn't that overpraising him?"
"Some time ago, Marquis Lawrence asked me a question. What would happen if the Second Prince, rather than subduing His Majesty the King, ended up being subdued himself."
"Hah, something like that happened?"
"Yes. A clear sign he had this situation in mind all along. I can't win against him. He is truly remarkable."
The way he swiftly grasped the sudden shift in circumstances, and even drew in three Aura Masters from the Prius Republic who were hidden in the Royal Palace during the communication jamming it all felt as if everything had been prepared in advance.
Thanks to that, Adrian's presence in the Crown Prince's eyes could only grow larger.
"Huh? Wait a moment. This whole affair is being concluded as a rebellion, right?"
"Naturally."
"And His Majesty's arrangement continues to remain hidden?"
"Yes."
"Then wouldn't Marquis Lawrence and Count Klein take all the credit for suppressing the rebellion?"
"What credit is there to monopolize? They truly did end the war early."
"If House Aenerheim Ducal, who backed the wrong side, falls from power, that vacancy will be…."
"Wouldn't it fall to Marquis Lawrence?"
"He's only held his Title for half a year now."
"What does that matter? It's a question of ability, not tenure."
The marquisate that had been so shocking to bestow.
And yet, in less than half a year, the dukedom was already being mentioned.
For a young man of just twenty years old.