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Dismas was standing in the tower housing Telgramm as he looked out the window with anxious eyes.
Imperial flags could be seen waving in the air between the rocky mountains outside Cabragh. In just less than a week, Juan’s imperial forces had managed to break through the West and were just around the corner of reaching Cabragh—the furthest point in the West.
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While the imperial forces must be suffering from a lot of accumulated fatigue, they would still be full of morale, since they had won consecutive battles. Furthermore, all of them also wanted revenge for Hela Henna, a well-respected noble.
It was clear that the Capital Army would recover from their fatigue and that they will also get more reinforcements as time goes by. If the Imperial Army decided to just block Cabragh as it is, the Western Army would have no choice but to surrender in less than half a year.
Of course, the blockade would not succeed.
After all, Dismas’ side had the Telgramm, the Cainheryars, and the Pope.
However, the enemy’s side had the emperor. While it was unknown whether the emperor was real or not, it was true that he had enough power to make such a claim and had even successfully convinced everyone. At the same time, the fortress would be meaningless if Nienna and the dragon joined the battle as well.
At most one or two major battles will be fought, each of whose outcomes will be very critical to each other.
At such an urgent time, Dismas, the commander in chief of the Western Army, did not even show up on the wall.
Helmut stood in front of Telgramm, looking irritated. Telegramm required two people to operate—one had to be the shooter who launched the Telgramm, and one had to be the observer, who observes the target point.
While Helmut was appointed as the shooter to handle Telgramm, Dismas was appointed as the observer. Helmut could see and hear Dismas from the end of the obliquely erected cylinder in the center of Telgramm.
On the other hand, Dismas had been engaged in a heated debate with Ivy for two days straight. They constantly held conversations and voiced their opinions at every meal and stroll.
Helmut couldn’t understand Dismas’ bizarre enthusiasm to convince Ivy. Up until now, Dismas would simply torture any discredited men and burn them if they resisted.
‘But why is he making an exception for the Saintess?’
“You look nervous.”
Helmut turned his head at the voice coming from behind him.
He could see Imil slowly approaching him.
“It’s frustrating that the Doctrinal General is only focusing on this type of doctrinal dispute when the enemy is just around the corner,” Helmut answered.
“I understand your frustration, Your Holiness. The soldiers also seemed quite puzzled. While the preparation is going well because the Order of Surtr is quite competent, it would be nice for him to show up and say something to the soldiers now.”
“What’s wrong with him? As far as I remember, Doctrinal General Dismas is not the type of a person to try and persuade or convince someone.”
“Perhaps that’s the reason why it’s taking him so long. It’s probably because he respects the Saintess, don’t you think? Unlike other humble unbelievers, the Saintess is above everyone when it comes to listening to His Majesty’s noble voice.”
Helmut felt like he wanted to cry; after all, it was him who had created such an image for the Saintess.
“Don’t tell me that there’s a chance that she’ll persuade the Doctrinal General to
”
“That’s not going to happen. I overheard their conversation once, but it’s the same story every time. They are reluctant to hear each other out and keep going nonstop like squirrels running non-stop on a wheel. Doctrinal General Dismas’ faith is quite strong. But I gotta admit that I was surprised to see the Saintess have such strong faith as well.”
Imil smiled and continued to speak.
“To be honest, I think it would be more effective to torture the Saintess rather than trying to persuade her. I bet a little pinch on her arm would change her position really quickly—even if she just tells a lie.”
“Well, we at least need that right now
” Helmut bit his lips. “It would be nice to keep that bitch away from Dismas, even if it’s just for a little while. If I could spend some time with her alone, I could put some sense into her.”
“Your Holiness.”
Imil sighed and approached Helmut.
“Even if the Doctrinal General Dismas is failing to come to his senses, at least you should remain rational—you are the Pope. Please set your priorities straight. This is not the time to cause internal strife just because of one girl. Disaster is just around the corner.”
Then he pointed outside the window.
“I can feel Your Holiness has become quite skilled in handling Telgramm and is now much more accurate. As long as you can handle Telgramm with accuracy, the fake emperor will be of no match against us. Without the fake emperor, their traitorous party is like a group of ants in front of Your Holiness.”
Helmut did not answer. He wondered whether the empire would really come into his hands again even if the fake emperor were to disappear. There were many things that Helmut did not know about—such as the truth behind the appearance of Telgramm or the Cainheryars created by Dismas.
Helmut couldn’t figure out how many more secrets there were, and it occurred to him that maybe he had been nothing more than a puppet for the last few decades.
“Your Holiness,” Imil put a hand on Helmut’s shoulder and whispered. “Fulfill His Majesty’s will. That is the right thing to do.”
Helmut nodded as Imil’s hand patted him on the shoulder.
***
Cabragh was a fortress built to fight against the giants beyond the western border.
The fortress built around the Giant’s Backbone mountain range was particularly tall and hard toward the west, but relatively gentle and shallow toward the east. Even so, it was still bizarrely tall. The reputation of the fortress city that was challenged by numerous giants, but never collapsed even once was quite famous within the empire.
“But for some reason, now it seems like it has become a fortress that belongs to the Giants,” Pavan answered joyfully.
Huge Giant slaves stood there with iron armor and iron shields in both of their hands. The huge Giants that were standing up tall made the wall look at least several tens of meters higher than it actually was. The number of Giant slaves surrounding Cabragh seemed to be several times as many as the number of Giant slaves that were seen at the Loen Basin.
Juan frowned upon thinking that there must be more of them lurking behind the wall.
“I heard that Giants value their honor more than anything. I bet it must be hard for them to stand being ridiculed like that,” Juan said.
“I heard that they use magic through the use of medicine or nerve manipulation on the Giants. Apparently some of them come back to their senses, but it’s very rare. Oh, yes
 we might be able to turn them to our side if Your Majesty knows how to make them come back to their senses,” Pavan answered.
Pavan’s idea was not a bad one, but unfortunately Juan didn’t know how to release the Giants from the spell. The Emperor’s voice wouldn’t work on the Giants, since they were of a heterogeneous race.
“I don’t know how to make them come back to their senses, but I can grant them freedom.”
“I’m not sure if we would have the time to do so, but
”
In other words, Pavan was stating that they had to kill all of the Giant slaves. He let out a sigh and scratched his head.
“Giant slaves are not a big problem for skilled knights, but they are definitely problematic to the ordinary soldiers. There are fewer than ten knights who are skilled enough to deal with the Giant slaves. To be honest, even if the Cainheryars make an appearance, they will not be the ones killing the highest number of our soldiers—it will be the Giants.”
“There’s Cainheryars and then there’s also Telgramm. I have no idea how the hell Helmut is able to handle Telgramm like that. It’s going to be a tough battle. Pavan, use any and all means to break into Cabragh as quickly as possible—even if that means making a few sacrifices. No matter how strong Telgramm is, it will be hard for them to use it when their allies are on the battlefield as well.”
“I’m not sure if the Pope has enough common sense to consider his allies, but I guess that’s the only way.”
“And Lenly.”
Lenly, who had been listening to Juan and Pavan’s conversation in silence, quickly raised his head.
“The moment you have been waiting for all along has finally come. We must have a siege to finish the Cainheryars as soon as possible. We cannot afford to waste time on a blockade. I’d like you to be in charge of a special attack,” Juan ordered.
“But I must stand by Your Majesty’s side as a member of the Imperial Guards
”
“I will already be in Cabragh by the time the siege begins. Wouldn’t that be enough? Pick out the soldiers you need and begin the operation from within. But keep in mind that your mission is to infiltrate, and not to rescue.”
Lenly’s expression hardened again.
But Juan clicked his tongue and added some more words.
“So I would like you to secure an ‘important person’ from within in advance, before everything turns into chaos. I’ll leave it up to you to decide who’s the important person.”
Lenly’s face brightened up. Others would consider this a suicide mission, but it didn’t seem to matter much to Lenly.
Then Juan turned his gaze toward Sina. Sina, who held no specific position in the Imperial Army, had remained silent throughout the meeting.
“Sina, you stay out of this battle.”
“What?”
Everyone looked at Juan with surprised eyes. Although Sina did not have an official position in the Imperial Army, her exquisite fighting capabilities and performance was so famous within the Imperial Army that there were soldiers saluting her when she wasn’t even officially their superior.
However, Juan continued to speak in a calm manner.
“You’re basically a civilian since you don’t have a position in the Imperial Army. I’ve made an exception and considered you an observer until now, but not anymore. You will not be participating in this battle.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve been
”
“If not, then make up your mind. You’re the Captain of the Order of the Blue Rose. All knight orders belong to the Imperial Army, and the Imperial Army is loyal to the ruler of the empire. And I am the ruler of the empire. Sina, can you be loyal to me?”
Sina flinched. Although she was the Captain of the Order of the Blue Rose, she had not yet pledged her allegiance to Juan. Her ambiguous position as Juan's trusted comrade who is not loyal to him had already been maintained for a long time now.
Even Sina couldn’t tell how that had been possible until now. Yet the reason was quite simple—it was because Juan wanted Sina to maintain such a position. He wanted her to be the watchman rather than a subordinate.
If Juan had told her to be loyal to him, Sina would have pledged her allegiance to him a long time ago.
“I am
”
“My friend,” Juan cut Sina off and said in a firm voice. “This was what forced me to make a decision more than ever. All of my colleagues, subordinates, enemies, and family are all trying to fulfill their will through me. Yes—the emperor is always forced. And that’s why, more than ever, I need a friend to watch over me.”
Sina couldn’t open her mouth at Juan’s pleading words for a long time.
***
A flag with a hand-holding hammer flapped over the walls of Cabragh.
The western soldiers lined up atop the wall and silently looked at the Imperial flags glittering over the ridge with anxious eyes.
The Capital Army was on standby beyond the hills and rocky mountains; they were wary of Telgramm. This was the same force that went to support Barth Baltic when he issued an order to convene not long ago. Back then, they surrendered without shedding a single drop of blood, but they were attacking the West as soon as the emperor returned.
‘Is the man sitting on the throne the real emperor?’
Most of the soldiers had similar thoughts. They had already heard of the new emperor’s achievements and power. It was known that he used Sutra and was able to magically raise the walls of Torra. But even if he was the real emperor, they couldn’t understand why he drove the Pope and themselves—those who supported him most passionately—into a corner. They had no doubt that they, the Westerners, had always been the most loyal to the emperor all this time.
Then there was only one more question left for them to ask.
‘If the man who appeared is the real emperor, then who is the emperor that we served all this time?’
Then one of the soldiers suddenly began to tremble. His faint groan and anxiety quickly began to spread to the other soldiers as well.
At that moment, a thick and huge hand was placed on that soldier’s hand. The soldier flinched and turned around.
A huge man in red armor was quietly looking over the wall. With his hand placed over the soldier’s hand, Dismas opened his mouth.
“His Majesty simply wants faith.”
The soldier breathed heavily, but soon calmed down and looked ahead. There was no need to think about unnecessary things—His Majesty just wanted simple faith, and it was their duty to understand His Majesty’s will and carry it out. Otherwise, all their lives that they had spent believing the emperor would be denied completely.
As soon as Dismas appeared, the agitation and anxiety that had spread amongst the soldiers disappeared in an instant. After all, Dismas, the emperor’s own son, was on their side. Instead of pondering any further, the soldiers decided to believe in him.
Imil, who was looking ahead while standing on the wall, felt the change in the soldiers’ morale. He smiled bitterly and approached Dismas.
“As expected. Our soldiers’ anxiety reduced as soon as the Doctrinal General showed up.”
“I apologize for leaving everything to my subordinates until now.”
Dismas looked visibly tired, but it didn’t seem to be physical exhaustion.
Imil decided to test the waters.
“So? How did the debate go? Was it meaningful?”
“Not really.”
Dismas’ face was absolutely expressionless.