Chapter 195 – 195. Duke’s Tenth Sabotage (1)
– One –
Taking advantage of the night, dozens of figures burrow through the bushes.
They were all wearing masks and night clothes.
Shashak, shashak!
Their movements were stealthy and silent.
They were cautiously crawling forward with stiff faces.
Boo Woo. Woo woo. Woo woo woo woo.
The cry of wild birds echoes softly.
Tall.
Everyone stops moving at once.
I held my breath and looked around carefully.
Some poke their eyes out through the cracks in the bush, looking as far as possible.
Sararak.
Everyone falls to the floor.
Beat, beat, beat, beat.
The sound of footsteps grows louder.
“Damn, why do those crazy things keep crawling outside?”
“That’s right. If it wasn’t for our celestial giants, I wouldn’t have known if I had run away in my sleep.”
“That’s right. They’re really amazing. How can you see through the darkness and figure out all the movements of the evil dogs of the Empire?”
“It’s a blessing from the Goddess. We have justice, so wouldn’t the Goddess naturally be on our side?”
“That’s right. Heh heh.”
The sound of conversations that can be heard quietly fades away with the sound of footsteps receding.
Jjik.
Jjijijijik.
In the gaps in the grass, a low rat cry echoes.
Shasha shak.
Those hiding in the grass resume their advance.
Their eyes were burning with anger.
Feeding on their rage that seemed to explode, they began to head south, leaving behind the system.
– 2 –
“Hey, Echo. Make it rain broadly here at 7 o’clock.”
“Hey? The assholes are here again, Pinot?”
“Yes. Prepare a Gallo.”
Hee hee! Are you burning alive this time?!”
“No.”
The man called Gallo’s shoulders droop.
“Even when hunting the imperialists, I always burned only the things that Echo had killed, so I couldn’t taste it, but it’s like that even when I come here.”
“I’ll drop out at the right time, so you can try your hands on the next mission. Stop grumbling.”
“Okay…”
Swoop, swoosh.
The woman, Echo, stretches out her hand toward the darkness.
She doesn’t try to manifest this ability of hers, but turns her head to look at her pinot.
“But, there are his soldiers around there. I don’t have the confidence to aim closely. Is it okay if I just kill them?”
“They’re scum that don’t even know there are enemies nearby, and it should be considered an honor just to die with them.”
“Puff. I get it!”
Clouds puff up from the pot at her feet.
Clouds that have gathered together begin to spread widely toward the night sky.
The moon and stars embroidering the night sky begin to set at once.
Shoot aaaaa
Soon, localized showers pour over the fields.
Aaaaa!
Eh ah ah ah ah ah!
The cries of wild birds embroider the fields.
The grass sways and a black figure jumps out.
However, the figures could not even run for a while, and collapsed as if they were melting and melting.
“Is everyone dead, Pinot?”
“Hmm… I think there’s one left?”
“Wow. How are you alive in there?”
“It looks like it just dug into the ground.”
“Aha!”
Pair, pair, pair!
Echo claps her hands and laughs.
It seemed to her that killing her people was a joyous pastime.
“Then can I start a fire? If it’s hot, I’ll burn to death or jump out, won’t I take care of it?!”
Gallo jumps up and looks at Pinot with expectant eyes.
Pinot quietly looks into his eyes.
“… No?”
“Are you okay, asshole?”
“Uh…”
“You poor arsonist, you know how to start a fire, but you don’t know how to put it out.”
“Tch… I always hate only me…”
“Think and say, think, think.”
In Peanut’s face, Gallo crouched down with her head bowed.
Then he scorches the floor with embers and writes.
‘Pinot idiot.’
Pinot looks down at him with puzzled eyes.
Gallo was always childish when it came to arson, and his complaints were only routine.
But just because it was routine, I couldn’t get used to it.
He shakes his head, then turns his head back toward the field.
“Eco.”
“Huh.”
“It rains continuously. Concentrated only between 7 and 8 o’clock. If the ground gets wet, it will die soon.”
“Poo-Hup! He’s going to be the one who stepped into the grave with his own feet, right?”
“Okay.”
At her beckoning, the rain has subsided in some areas,
Shoot it
In the direction Pinot indicated, the rain was getting stronger.
“Turn it a little further to 8 o’clock.”
“Huh!”
Shoot aaaaa!
The raindrops sway slightly.
Within,
Aaaaa!
A desperate scream echoed across the field.
Shoot it
Tick, drop, drop.
After that, the rain stopped.
“Gallo.”
“…”
“Gallo!”
“… Why…”
“Go to work.”
“…Tch…”
Gallo trudges out.
He moves towards the place where the rain of death fell.
Tonight too the fields will bloom with the flowers of death made of fire.
– 3 –
“… Contact has been completely cut off.”
“Is it…”
“It’s a nasty thing… I don’t know what kind of trouble Your Highness is going through…”
Upon hearing McKellen’s report, the faces of the Marquis of Caymus and Viscount Uwevol were stained with sorrow.
“Before the Imperial Army arrives, even if the Islands Defense Forces step forward, things will be wiped out soon…!”
Sigh.
And soon their faces are stained with anger.
“I wondered why the self-proclaimed rebels had besieged the islands, and it became clear that their goal was to delay the rescue party from reaching Your Highness.”
“Besides, the participants who have turned under the command of Regal must be among them.
The two nodded at Viscount Uweboll’s guess.
McKellen cautiously opens his mouth.
“Presumably, the participants will slip through the rebels’ gap before the Island Defense Forces are dispatched or the Imperial forces arrive.”
“That’s right. Even as a Regal, it’s going to be an extremely limited high-quality manpower, so I won’t lose it in vain. Even if the number of participants is too large to handle, I don’t know.”
“That’s right.”
There is silence for a moment.
Viscount Uweboll looks back at the Marquis of Caymus.
“Your Excellency, Marquis.”
“Speak.”
“What happened to the dispatch of the National Guard?
“…It can’t be, can it?”
“As expected, is the resistance of the aristocrats strong?”
Ha…
The Marquis of Caymus sighs and wraps his head around him.
Let’s sweep it with his palm,
Whoops, whoops.
His exposed face was stained with anger.
“Even the dispatchers cannot take them out.”
“… It’s obvious that Regal is using the aristocrats to prevent them from allowing troops to go out, so what’s the justification?”
Hehe. They say that the rebels may have flown into the system. They are talking stupid bullshit. Even if they explain that they can crack down on the inside of the system even if only half, no, only 30% of the troops are dispatched, given the pretext of security inside the system, I can’t believe it. They’re just insisting that they can’t do it. Without any countermeasures, they’re just acting like that, so can there be any progress in the story?”
All of them had the same expression.
Their anger stemmed from worrying about Canin.
“Is this the retaliation for our alliance with the saintess’ party…”
“It may not stop with the assassination of our people and the kidnapping of Your Highness.”
“That’s right… Neither the work, nor the retaliation, will ever be done poorly.”
“In the worst case, harming the Highness is,”
“It can’t be.”
The Marquis of Caymus interrupts McKellen’s sinister speculation.
But he didn’t respond emotionally.
“What is the reason for His Majesty to be cautious about dispatching troops now?”
“Isn’t it because there is still room for conversation?”
“That’s right. It’s because there is no evidence that Your Highness has suffered any harm. If Your Highness has passed away, he will order an immediate dispatch to restore the prestige of the empire. Even if it’s crushed.”
“And whoever kills Her Highness, they will have no choice but to be relentlessly pursued by the imperial army, special forces, and the court. Everyone behind them. If the point of the sword is directed at Regal, he will have no choice but to endure considerable damage. Rebel Thinking that the plan for this war, which was put forward in the name of the war, may go awry, I will not hastily kill Your Highness. If that happens, the imperial family will turn their swords to the central part of the island, not the northern part.”
“Also, whether or not we know the information about the rebels that Regal was training near the northern unexplored lands, Regal will not be able to be sure. Considering the possibility that we already know the relationship between Regal and the rebels, Regal will refrain from making an extreme choice that could lead to being accused of being the leader of the treason.”
“After the justification is taken away, Regal will have to deal with both the noble faction and the imperial faction alone. Except for some loyalists, there will be almost no noble faction to join him in a losing battle for the cause.”
“So he will send his highness back. Just…”
The faces of all three are stained with melancholy.
They seemed to have a hard time getting the words out of their mouths.
“I don’t know if he’ll come back intact, is that what you mean, Your Excellency?”
“… That’s right…”
To McKellen’s words, the Marquis of Caymus answered with difficulty.
He licked his lips, brooding over the melancholy.
“If I had hastened to connect the private communication network with them, I could have asked for help at this time…”
“Yes. As long as they can rescue Her Highness from the outside in place of us who are stranded inside the system, they will be willing to pay any price…”
The Marquis and the Viscount bow their heads gloomily.
McKellen shakes his head.
“It was inevitable, Your Excellency.”
“Well… Unless we were directly operating the private communications network, all our conversations would have reached Regal’s ears.”
“Yes. If that had happened, apart from putting them in danger, Your Highness could have faced a more dangerous situation.”
Hehe… I don’t know the situation Your Highness is in, so how can I predict a more dangerous or less dangerous situation. I just hope so…”
When they’re so self-deprecating,
Srrrr
Suddenly the door to the conference room opened.
“Someone?”
“Clarence Dillon is coming, sir.”
“Oh, Mrs. Dylan! How did you get here?”
Clarence came to their conference room.
Her face was haggard.
“Come on, sit here.”
At the Marquis of Caymouth’s proposal, Clarence shakes her head and reveals her refusal.
Then, grit your teeth and bow your head toward them.
“I don’t know what kind of situation Your Highness is facing, but I dare to be in a position to rest in peace.”
“However, if your wife isn’t feeling well, we won’t be able to provide you with proper help when she needs your help. It looks like you haven’t slept properly for several days, so I’m afraid that it will cause a big problem.”
“… I beg you to rebuke the stubbornness of a woman who can only do this because of her foolishness and incompetence…”
“Ma’am…”
They look at Clarence with her pitiful eyes.
They must be just as frustrated with the current situation as she is.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Unfortunately, yes…”
“Is it all I have to do to wait for Your Highness’s return?”
“That’s right…”
“I’m about to collapse…”
Clarence closes and opens her eyes.
Her raised eyes were full of firm determination.
“Why don’t you ask my father for help and dispatch soldiers to where Your Highness is supposed to be?”
“… How many troops can Chunjang dispatch?”
The Marquis of Caymus questions her.
However, there was a distinct hint of negativity in his tone about her opinion.
“If you mobilize all the soldiers under your command and ask for help from your people around you, you will be able to dispatch up to 500 people.”
“… How is the quality of the forces possessed by the Viscount Dylan family?”
“Comparable to the elite of the Imperial Army.”
“Hmm…”
They couldn’t easily draw conclusions.
“How do you plan to contact Chunjang?”
“Since the entire island is surrounded by rebels, shouldn’t we use communication magic tools?”
“However, since the courtiers recruited by the Regal side reside at the Central Communications Exchange, there is a high risk that communications using the general network will be intercepted by the Regal side. For that reason, we also dispatch enlisted soldiers of our aristocrats stationed outside. We are refraining from communication to do so.”
“Is that so…”
Upon hearing McKellen’s answer, Clarence’s face turns to despair.
“For a moment.”
Viscount Uwe Bol interrupts their conversation by raising his hand.
“McKellen. Can you bring me a map of the islands?”
“I understand, Your Excellency.”
Squeak, squeak.
Flutter.
Viscount Uweboll unfolds the map given to him by McKellen on the table.
“Does McKellen know where the communications base stations are located in the Islands and how many there are in all?”
“As far as I know, there are three in total. One at the imperial palace, one near the east and west gates of the island, these places,”
Tuck, Tuck, Tuck.
McKellen puts his finger on the map.
“I know they are deployed here.”
“I see. Then, the area near the north or south gate must be relatively close to the point where communication is connected to the base station outside the islands.”
“Yes, ah…!”
Strangeness flashes in everyone’s eyes.
“As Regal wouldn’t have been able to take full control of the courtyard, it’s highly likely that the agents he recruited were first placed there to intercept the communications from the Central Communications Exchange to the base station on the island. Isn’t that right?”
“I have heard and seen it.”
“And if the Regal side had completely intercepted the communications, the last time I went to the north, the retaliation would have started shortly after leaving the islands. The Marquis had tried to communicate with me several times before that. But , Didn’t the retaliation against us begin after a while?”
“That’s right. There must be a hole in their wiretapping, for sure.”
“Besides, it won’t be easy to get the wiretapping information out of Regal, in a situation where the Central Intelligence Agency and the task force are highly poisoned like now.”
“Then…”
There is anticipation in everyone’s eyes.
Viscount Uweboll nodded.
“If you go out to the north gate and try to secretly communicate, unless you are in the main battlefield, the south gate, and if you send communications through an external base station, the chances of being discovered by the Regal will be much lower.”
They had no choice but to pin their hopes on the uncertain, but for now this was for the best.
If their plan succeeds, they will be able to rescue Canin as soon as possible, before it is further damaged.
“Then, I myself-“
“No, Mrs. Do not leave the palace. Just maintain your daily life while preserving his body.”
“Then…”
“McKellen. Go out to the north gate with Gaeko, no, Kininvie. Get away just a little bit, so as not to provoke the rebels.”
“Okay. In that case, ma’am. Please give me an identification number where I can be reached.”
“All right!”
