Chapter 121 : Chapter 121

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 121. Upheaval (6)

“They said the Iron Legion had planted the Iron Kingdom’s banner in the Six Free Cities.”

Ian Cherville heard the report of victory while seated on the Iron Throne. The occupation campaign the Iron Legion had waged was closer to a one-sided massacre than a war. Without the House of Rhapsody and the Legion of Freedom, the six Free Cities were nothing more than city-states. A city-state steeped in long peace could not possibly defeat the Iron Legion, which had fought countless wars.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

“Future generations will remember Your Majesty. This achievement will be long recorded in history…….”

“We won’t need to worry about resources anymore. No more bowing our heads in diplomacy—now we can finally step out proudly!”

Countless ministers praised Ian Cherville. They spoke of how glorious the victory was, how valuable the spoils the Iron Kingdom had reaped were, and shared hopeful words about the future.

Watching the ministers smile with satisfaction, Ian Cherville spoke coldly.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Eh? Of course—”

“Don’t be satisfied.”

The ministers, who had been smiling at one another, stiffened the moment Ian Cherville’s words fell. The atmosphere chilled; their smiles vanished. The loud voices quieted. In the silence Ian Cherville spoke in a dry voice.

“This is not the end — this is only the beginning.”

How narrow their vision was. Ian Cherville genuinely pitied them.

The ministers did not know the real reason he had made the six Free Cities his first target.

Abundant resources? Trade routes? Diplomatic gain? Those could not be the reasons for this war. Ian Cherville’s goal was to reach the top of the world. To achieve that, he had to wage a war not for profit but for war itself. A war to draw everyone in until they charged forward to their utter ruin.

A war to end everything. Ian Cherville wanted an age of chaos.

He wanted the Age of War to begin again.

“Contact the Grand General.”

The occupation of the Six Free Cities was the first button of chaos.

The Six Free Cities had enjoyed peace longer than any other states. The world had called them lands of peace, earthly paradises, the safest places.

Thus the Free Cities were the places that traded with the most nations across the continent, where all seven races lived together, and the places visited by the most travelers.

They had countless connections. Truly, countless.

“Kill every captive who is not a resident of the Free Cities. No exceptions. Whether a traveler, a student who came to learn, or a beloved artist — all of them.”

There was no place better for spreading chaos across the continent.

“Make everyone tied to them burn with rage.”

***

With Tom’s help I barely returned to the manor. Even after coming back, I did not shake off the daze. It felt as if my soul and the sword’s soul had been mixed half and half.

“You needed time. You faced a soul too great for who you were. If you had been an ordinary swordsman, your soul would have been split apart.”

Audrey said part of the reason I came back to reality while I was absorbing the sword’s memories was her interference, but she said the fundamental reason was that the soul contained in 「Flight」 was overwhelmingly powerful. Even in my haze I could understand her. I had seen only fragments, but the legend wrapped inside 「Flight」 had been excessively intense.

“If the Heart of Steel had not protected you, you would have died.”

Audrey warned me strongly. She also explained that the power of steel I used was a form of spiritual ability, and that absorbing another soul in the spiritual world was extremely dangerous.

While she explained with terms I could not fully grasp, my master just stood silently.

“Be careful. Truly.”

Audrey left after one last short warning.

While I regained my mind, it had been Audrey and Hailyn who stabilized the fief. They soothed the residents’ unrest, steadied public sentiment, and performed several duties as acting lieges.

Sancho took care of small tasks.

Seol Yoon nursed beside me.

Tom helped Sancho to stabilize the domain.

The many people who came to see me relayed the rapidly unfolding events.

“They said the Legion of Freedom has been disbanded. It was punishment for abandoning its duty and even breaking the law. The hired mercenaries and the Wavecatchers scattered, and those affiliated with the House of Rhapsody were branded for punishment and escorted to the Winter Fortress.”

All the news they brought was hard to believe.

“They said the Six Free Cities have been occupied. It was the fastest conquest among recent wars. The Free Cities lost their freedom, and governors dispatched from the Iron Kingdom, not the House of Rhapsody, will rule them. In the Sky Empire there’s debate among the Five Great Houses whether to continue including the House of Rhapsody or to exclude it. Everyone says the House of Rhapsody failed its duties; they left their post and even led away precious troops. If the House of Rhapsody hadn’t done those things, the Free Cities wouldn’t have fallen so easily.”

A nation had vanished. One of the Five Great Houses faced extinction.

“The whole Iron Kingdom is buzzing that the king has changed — the heir of Steel. They said the Iron Prince ascended and then occupied the Free Cities that had enjoyed eternal peace. They said he brought lands flowing with milk and honey to the Iron Kingdom. It’s laughable. They praised a madman who had slaughtered all his siblings and even killed his father?”

The Iron Kingdom’s king had changed. The previous king had died — at his son’s hands. But no one faulted the new king’s atrocity. They only spoke of the achievements of the new king, over and over.

“You remember the last scene at the gate of the estate, Prince Arhan. The duel between two Swordmasters. The duel, which was like myth or legend, ended more one-sidedly than people expected. Hugo Rhapsody did not resist White’s blade. He surrendered willingly in exchange for not harming his children and not punishing them for their crimes. Hugo Rhapsody, an outrageous man, had been — in the end — a father.”

“…….”

“Hugo Rhapsody gave up his right arm and left with his two sons without receiving treatment. The northern duke no longer pursued him. A Swordmaster’s right arm was more than enough ransom for the Watchers. Their whereabouts were still unknown.”

A Swordmaster had willingly given up his right arm. He had offered a limb, something akin to a swordsman’s life, as a price. One could say the great Idler’s momentum had been broken.

The major events passed like that.

The Watchers of the White Family and the Iron Legion took the disbanded troops of the House of Rhapsody and departed. The dragon that had flaunted its presence did nothing. It merely watched what happened and then disappeared together with the Iron Legion. Like the wind.

The unwanted visitors who had come to the Karavan domain seemed to withdraw.

Audrey and Hailyn calmed the domain’s people so they no longer trembled with fear, and began actively engaging neighboring villages and absorbing other settlements.

The fact that a great house’s legion and the Iron Legion had visited was now a selling point, not a liability.

Audrey and Hailyn used the fact that despite those events our domain remained intact to coax nearby villages.

The uneducated peasants were easily swayed by the words of mages.

Thus the Karavan domain slowly began to take on the shape of a town. Still, an inexplicable unease would not leave me. That uneasy feeling that had never been wrong.

“My Lord, you said the Iron Prince would stir a vortex last time.”

“Yes.”

“It seems the vortex is still blowing.”

By the time my body had nearly healed, Tom confirmed that my unease was not false.

“They said the Iron Legion executed all the Free Cities’ prisoners. Not only executed them, they impaled their heads on banners and lined them up along the shore like ornaments. This is unprecedented. It’s dishonorable, un-noble, and violates even solemn law. To kill prisoners with no will to fight so horribly.”

Tom spoke with a trembling voice.

“This is incomparable to what came before, Lord. The Free Cities traded with the whole continent and were like earthly paradises. Among the executed prisoners were young elves, high-ranking demons enjoying a holiday, Dwarf artisans who came for technical exchange, and beastkin laborers hired cheaply. Also, most of the gold coins circulating in the Free Cities had been lent and invested by the Red Bank of the Black Archipelago. What I’ve told you is only a part. At a broader level it entangles the Sky Empire and even the Great Land.”

“…….”

“If this conflict overheats now…… I even think the Era of War might truly return.”

Nothing could escape the vortex Ian Cherville had created. His claim to draw the entire continent and the seven races in was true. I was honestly a little afraid that this was only the beginning.

***

While the continent convulsed under Ian Cherville’s actions, the Karavan domain — a poor, insignificant corner of the Iron Kingdom — remained quiet.

This land was far too shabby to be swept away by the rough vortex. But.

“Lord, Arhan Karavan.”

Even if this place was a shabby land, I was no longer a shabby swordsman.

“The fighter who made a name in the 「Arena」, the swordsman who knew romance and who had won an honorable duel against Sir Meken — who, in his Sword Walker days, reached the rank of Sword Runner — and the formidable man who recently cost Sir Edan Rhapsody one of his eyes.”

Yes. What I had accomplished. I was now fairly famous.

“The Iron Kingdom of Cherville is preparing for an important war now. We need as many blades as possible. We especially desperately need someone of your skill.”

A named blade in the Iron Kingdom could not remain free. A nation built to collapse without war.

A country that fought constant wars. In this insane country always at war, swordsmen were always conscription targets. At this moment, conscription had started again in the Iron Kingdom of Cherville. And this time, I was among those targeted. To summarize:

“Answer the nation’s call, people of the Iron Kingdom.”

The army called me.

“Child of descendants.”

A call no man of the Iron Kingdom could avoid. The duty of national defense.

However,

“As you said.”

Could I have not thought this through?

“That habit of doubting everything often helps. Not letting small bonds slip away either.”

The vortex the Iron Prince had stirred was dragging the world into chaos. As Tom had said, the winds of the Age of War were returning, and the seven races and many nations were already entangled in his scheme. A single blade from a shabby inland lord who had just begun to make a name for himself could not stop it.

There was an old saying.

“I am not subject to conscription.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is a law in the Iron Kingdom: a man over fifteen cannot refuse conscription. He must answer the call of the nation — it is the duty of Iron Kingdom citizens. But aren’t there exceptions?”

If you could not avoid it, enjoy it.

“……Lord Karavan, do you claim you fall under an exception?”

No one could stop it. No one could escape the vortex. If I was going to be swept away anyway, I would rather ride it.

“Yes.”

A reversal in an unfavorable situation? I had already done that once.

“Do you want to prove it here?”

Why not. Let’s try once more.