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The Accresia Empire’s foreign policy is simple.
The Bellato Federation and the Korra Holy Nation are a love-hate relationship for the Empire. They are rivals, but sometimes they are also allies. This is because they share common roots as Earthlings. Even in hostile situations, they did not completely block civilian-level exchanges.
However, the alien races have been consistently treated with utter contempt and rejection. Aliens do not have equal rights with humans in the empire. Most are slaves and illegal immigrants. Only a few aliens who are occasionally recognized as useful are given permission to reside.
‘Anyway, it’s hard to see aliens in the empire.’
That doesn’t mean we’re hiding anything about alien races.
In particular, the Royal Guard and the military even went so far as to intensively teach certain alien races.
‘Fredo, Saura, Crawler… … and Equusian.’
It’s the name of an alien race I know well. They had one thing in common. They were so warlike and had excellent fighting skills that they were called a combat race.
These are the races that are likely to be enemies of the Empire. I encountered one of them today.
Wow!
The Equusian in front of me was observing me with his spear sharply extended. There were four fingers holding the spear, and his eyes were shining ominously beyond his mask. The stripes on his body were orange as he was discharging the heat that was building up inside his body.
‘Mercenary race, Equusians.’
People called them Equsians. Equsian mercenaries were renowned for their integrity.
In fact, their faith was proven before my eyes. No matter how remote the Akbaran area may be, they were working in the Empire to protect their employers. They were people who would work in an Empire where xenophobia was rampant as long as they received money.
‘This guy is a warrior of considerable skill even among the Equusians.’
I had a feeling that my opponent was formidable. The energy shield that blocked the shock bullets was no ordinary thing. The fighting power would be as great as the level of the equipment.
Aliens are active in the Empire? That alone proves their capabilities.
Kiiing.
I dropped the crucifix loosely and scraped the floor with the tip of my sword.
‘Fighting non-human beings.’
Here I will learn something again.
Survive and grow, or fall.
That’s what a warrior is, after all. The strong are born from the death of others.
Creak.
Equusian moved first. His arms were long enough that his fingers reached down to his knees. He was also two heads taller than me.
‘A long-range spear weapon.’
I’m the one who has to dig in. If I stay away, I’ll just be held back and then stabbed.
‘Go inside while avoiding the bastard’s attacks.’
Parallel thinking, divided into combat and tactics, quickly developed a plan.
Kiit!
I moved, staring at the spear poking me in the eye. The bastard’s spear passed by, scraping past my shoulder.
Whoosh!
I continued to advance, closing the distance. Now I was within the reach of my sword.
Swinging his sword diagonally, he knocks away the spear and cuts the bastard’s torso.
It is the orthodox way. The orthodox way is always the most effective, and that is why it is called the orthodox way.
… … And those who are experienced always have a way of setting traps that undermine the rules.
Tsk!
I extended my front paw to apply the brakes. I dug in and took a step back.
Equusian swung his left hand in the direction my head would normally be. A blade the size of his forearm was now protruding from the gauntlet wrapped around his left arm.
‘A surprise attack with a hidden weapon.’
It means that he is a seasoned warrior.
If I had just continued forward, I would have been stabbed by the blade or would have been vulnerable in blocking it. Then I would have been on the defensive.
‘But I expected it and avoided it. It’s my turn.’
I am the one continuing the offensive. Equusian’s movements were falling apart. He stared at me with wide eyes.
Whoosh!
My blade sliced through the bastard’s left arm, cutting through the thick bone and muscle cleanly.
Equusian didn’t scream. He didn’t hesitate in pain. He just stared at me coldly and continued his next move.
He was a great warrior, to the point of embarrassment. If he had been shaken by the pain and shock of losing his arm, I would have continued the offensive.
He lost his arm in a fight with me, but he didn’t panic. So this time, it was my turn to defend. I swung my sword long enough to cut off his arm.
My head and left shoulder were exposed, defenseless.
‘With bare hands?’
Equusian, judging that it would be difficult to pull back the spear and extend it, boldly put down his weapon. He tried to grab my head with his remaining right hand. His grip was large enough to hold my head with one hand.
He must be doing that because he’s confident he can blow my head off with one hand.
Kiit!
I didn’t stop swinging the sword. I just stuck the tip of the sword into the ground and used centrifugal force.
My Crucis is a high-pressure, heavy weapon. It is hard and heavy. Thanks to the tip of the sword stuck in the ground, my body was lifted up as if I was supporting a pole.
Whirl!
I let go of the hilt of my sword and floated up. In an instant, I was above Equusian’s head.
Equusian was standing with his back exposed, his right arm swinging, his nape clearly visible.
I quickly pulled out my dagger, Graken Boot. This is the symbolic sword of the Equsian race.
… … I never thought that the first casualty of my Graken Boot would be an Equusian. Even with my dry sensibilities, it is a sad and pitiful thing to think about.
Phew!
I held down Equusian’s back and drove the dagger deep into the back of his head. The blade severing his central nervous system and digging into his brain.
Kick!
I twisted the blade and tore out his brain.
-If we all fail, we don’t have to pay the fee.
The mechanical sound of the translator crackled and spread. His last words were addressed not to me but to his employer, Bao Zakanaan.
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I stood up and pulled out my Graken Boots. When I wiped the blood off them, the white blades still gleamed as if they were new.
The dead Equusian was motionless.
Even though we had been fiercely threatening each other’s lives just now, I didn’t hate this guy. He was just faithfully fulfilling his contract.
Equusian would not have hated or detested me either. Probably not until the very end.
‘Is this a mercenary race… … .’
If all Equusian mercenaries were like this, then even if their relationship was based on money, they were trustworthy.
I spread my concentrated senses and concentration widely. As my dulled hearing opened, the noise outside became clearly audible.
‘Iskan is still fighting.’
It even seemed like there were two Equusians attached to him. The sound of the weapons clashing was like that. I’ve dealt with mine, so I should go help him.
But… …I had something to take care of right now.
“Bao Zakanaan.”
I looked down at him. Bao Zakanaan sighed as if he had given up on everything.
“Yes, take me. Let’s negotiate among the nobles.”
It seems Bao Zakannan still thinks there’s room for a deal. Well, if I were a normal member of House Custoria, I’d take him in and interrogate him properly.
But I am the Emperor’s watchman. I know the great currents and plans.
To protect House Custoria here… …we must kill Bao Zakanaan.
“The assassination of Nicholas was ordered from the upper echelons of the Empire, right? That’s why you contacted Nemesis and requested the assassination. This must be the truth buried beneath this complicated story.”
Bao Zakanaan opened his eyes wider than when he had been caught in his ugly state. His pupils also grew so large that they seemed to eat up the whites of his eyes.
“That… … .”
This level of answer and response was enough to figure out the truth.
Phew!
I raised my Equusian spear and stabbed him in the head. The blade dug into his forehead and protruded out through his nape.
Bao Zakanaan is dead.
I don’t want the Custoria family to fall. I don’t want even Jupe and Eva, who hate me, to die. I especially don’t want Heilas and Giselle to die.
‘The Empire deliberately created chaos by killing Nikolaos Custoria. They probably expected Heilas to do something like this.’
The hazy anxiety finally revealed itself clearly. I didn’t want to see it either. I wanted to deny it every time I saw it vaguely.
I quietly bit my lower lip.
‘The Empire seeks to destroy House Custoria.’
To do that, they needed a pretext. Those standing at the top want House Custoria to turn against the Empire.
It’s dangerous, dangerous. For me and for Heilas.
And then I had an intuition. I realized in my bones why Aquis Victima was the condition of the Watcher. Because I didn’t want to know all these relationships, but I knew.
I came to realize the mission that the Imperial Family and Kinuan had given me. I knew what they wanted without them saying it directly.
If I were to be recognized as a formal watcher like Kinuan… … .
‘We must help bring down House Custoria from within.’
What a damned, difficult ordeal and test.
Yeah, it just, it sucks.
* * *
To be blunt, the fighting power of the Equsians we faced was far below the average of the Royal Guard.
I don’t know how strong they are within the Equusians, but they are not inferior. However, we are one of the most elite fighting forces in the Empire.
Of course… …Iskan, who was a member of the highest unit in the Royal Guard, easily dealt with two Equusians by himself.
“Did the target die during the battle? Can’t help it. They were quite troublesome.”
Iskan looked at Bao Zakanaan’s body and said:
“I had already been interrogated before, so I got the general information I needed.”
“Hmm, what a blessing in disguise.”
Iskan didn’t seem particularly sorry. He was doing this mission out of loyalty to Heilas. Whether it went well or not didn’t matter to him.
“I didn’t know that Equusian would be my escort. I only heard about it in class.”
I said, changing the subject. It’s not strange for me, a cadet, to find aliens fascinating.
“Equusians have great endurance and patience, making them suitable for long-term escorts with lots of waiting. Bao Zakannan used Equusians as his personal bodyguards because he was usually a bit of a troublemaker. He probably has an Equusian caller on his molar. The aliens’ communication technology is a proprietary standard, so even the Empire has a hard time blocking it.”
Iskan spoke as if giving advice to a senior guard.
As Bao Zakannan said, sometimes alien races that had no vested interests in the Empire were more trustworthy. So some of the Imperial nobility would often involve alien races in covert affairs.
I organized the information I had gathered from Bao Zakanaan and reported it to Iskan.
“This business was a money line connected to Nemesis, and because of that, they were coerced into cooperating with Nemesis?”
“According to him, it was because he was threatened… … From what I can see, he occasionally handed over information from Nemesis to satisfy his own desires and desires, but he didn’t hand over important secrets. If he had, he wouldn’t have survived until now.”
It was a report mixed with lies and truth. I squinted my eyes occasionally and hid my deep feelings, only occasionally expressing my disgust for this business and Bao Zakanaan.
Of course, this is a terrible place. I honestly thought so.
“You go to the communications area and call the security guards. I’ll clean up this place. There’s probably more inside.”
“We’ve killed a lot of nobles here. Is it okay if we call in the security guard?”
“If we want to keep this secret, I have to kill all the surviving victims with my own hands. I don’t want to do that. Do you understand? And the Empire won’t pursue us for killing these trash. Each family will try to keep the matter quiet, even if it’s out of shame.”
I held back a faint smile.
Good deeds and kindness can easily seem weak. However, Iskan’s good deeds did not seem weak. This was because he had the status and achievements he had built up behind him.
Iskan is a good person. Perhaps, such a person is rare even within the Royal Guard.
