Episode 120
* * *
“You said it was an alliance between the House of Saxony and the House of Lancaster?”
In the office of the Duke of Lancaster, the swordsman Sepilia opened her mouth to face an unexpected face right there.
“Yes.”
Dale nodded silently.
“Five hundred Night Raven Knights and six Black Magicians from the Black Tower are with us.”
He blatantly withholds information from his enemies and instead reveals it to them.
“For such a grand alliance, this is a truly small force.”
“Oh, war isn’t fought with numbers.”
The ‘Black Prince’ smiled without showing even a hint of intimidation towards the ghost sword, the first of the Seven Swords of the Continent.
“As one of the five war heroes of the Empire, Lord Sepilia the Sword bears the sword for the House of York, apart from the ‘Imperial position’.”
“… … That damn brat, he’s really good at talking.”
Only then did Sepilia’s expression change blatantly. She had a truly ‘ghostly’ expression on her face, without any trace of the courtesy or respect she had shown in front of the Heavenly Sword until just now.
“Do you think you’ll come to your senses and cry if you get spanked in front of this older sister?”
“Oh, I’m all grown up already. The time for getting spanked is long gone.”
Dale sneered as if it were someone else’s business.
The air was tense in the silence, yet the swordsman Sepilia never placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Dale of Saxony, I humbly present His Excellency the Archduke of Lancaster.”
The man standing silently before him, crushed by the weight of the Heavenly Sword.
“… … Then, let’s have the outsiders step aside for now.”
The noble sword Sepilia turns her back on Lancaster and Saxon.
With her sword called ‘Soulbringer’ and an eerie, unidentifiable ghostly aura that sways around her.
* * *
“I heard that the House of Saxony sent five hundred night knights and black magicians.”
After Sepilia left, the two rich men of Lancaster and the eldest son of Saxony were there.
Only after the enemy is gone can they talk about their alliance.
“But if the ‘eldest son of the House of Saxony’ is going in person, there’s no way he’ll stop at just that number of troops.”
“It is as His Highness said.”
“The other party will also know that fact.”
“Since I have revealed myself, it shouldn’t be difficult to predict that much.”
Dale continues speaking calmly, as if he knew this would happen.
In particular, the opponents are the York House’s maids. Without even Dale showing up, it would not be difficult to predict an ‘alliance between the two ducal houses’ based on the information that Mikhail had found the Northern Demon King’s Territory at this time. That is their wisdom.
“But making an official appearance and the black one wielding in the shadows are two separate stories.”
“What are you hiding in the shadows?”
“It’s an invisible sword.”
Dale answered coldly, and the Duke of Lancaster did not ask any further questions.
“father.”
And after a silence, Mikhail opened his mouth.
“Please, Prince Dale, accept the favor which you wish to extend to us, the Lancasters.”
“Can you trust the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxony?”
In front of Dale, Cheongeom asked back. He must have known Dale’s nickname, the notoriety and cruelty that name carried.
“At least there can be no doubt about the fear and cruelty that the ‘Black Prince’ inflicts on his enemies.”
Mikhail answered.
“Even if they are the witches of York.”
“You trust that kid so much.”
Michael Lancaster rarely trusted anyone. No, to be precise, he despised the nobles who bowed their heads and flattered the name of the ‘House of Lancaster’.
But the Saxon Dale was different. It was not just because the weight of blood flowing through their bodies was equal.
“I do not trust Confucius.”
The match that took place that day at Fight Club. Despite the overwhelming difference in skill, Dale defeated Mikhail.
“Rather, I respect you deeply.”
“… … !”
“It is a wall that I will have to overcome in the future, but at the same time, it is a strong person who aims for a higher level.”
The Duke of Lancaster wasn’t the only one surprised by the unexpected words. Even Dale held his breath at Michael’s uninhibited appearance.
“That day, I achieved my current status by defeating Prince Dale.”
Mikhail glances at the hilt of the Peacemaker sword hanging from his waist.
“Despite the obvious difference in skill, I was mind-read by a child of the same zodiac sign who claimed to be a magician, and ended up losing in front of everyone.”
Remembering the unforgettable humiliation of that day.
“The greatest genius of the Empire, the victor of the black and white revolution, the war hero of the island of Britannia.”
Mikhail turned his head towards Dale.
“The friendship with Saxony will be an irreplaceable force for us. And when it comes to showing courtesy to ‘the worthy,’ age has no meaning.”
Qualified. As he spoke, Mikhail bowed his head to Dale again.
The Duke of Lancaster remained silent, and finally opened his mouth.
“Good, young genius of Saxony.”
The young genius of Saxony.
“We, Lancaster, will join hands with you, Saxons in the north, and gladly ask for your help.”
“That’s a great decision.”
Dale smiled. The Duke of Lancaster was bowing to Saxony for help, and Dale was more than happy to oblige.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Even in the battle between the two great lords, the clash between the Seven Swords, there was no exception. Dale himself did not need to become an ‘out-of-the-ordinary strongman’ who could defeat Seven Swords.
It was enough to just use the strong players outside the standard as chess pieces and move them around the chessboard.
And that debt will never be forgotten, and will shine forth in the days to come when Saxony will need it.
In the name of the Heavenly Sword, Archduke Lancaster, who stands at the top of the Seven Swords, the best sword on the continent.
* * *
Officially, the battle was a civil war between the House of Lancaster over the succession to the throne, but strictly speaking, the eldest son, Richard, was merely a puppet of his wife’s family, the Marquess of York.
A clash between two great princes who use the red and white roses and the blue and white roses as their emblems.
Wars between lords of the same rank as great feudal lords do not occur overnight. However, that does not mean that they will take a hundred or a thousand years.
The houses of the Marquess of York rallied their forces and gathered steadily, and the Duke of Lancaster was no exception.
And the ones who claim to be the standard-bearers of the House of York are the two swords of the Seven Swords of the Continent, the Holy Sword Count Brandenburg and the Demon Sword Sir Sepilia.
Moreover, since this was a fight between great nobles over a ‘justice’, the battle was usually decided through a fair fight between the large armies of both sides.
When a war is prolonged, looting, arson, and all sorts of crimes always follow, and this is directly connected to the damage to the people of the territory and the territory itself.
Therefore, it is an ‘imperial tradition’ to minimize the sacrifice of land and people by making a quick decision.
It should have been so.
However, the Marquess of York never adhered to imperial traditions.
Because behind the pure and white roses they show off on the outside, they have chosen the method of ‘wisdom without blood or tears’ symbolized by the black and blue roses.
There are no natural fortresses such as rivers or mountain ranges on the border between the Duchy of Lancaster and the Marquisate of York to block each other. That is why a guerrilla force led by two strong men outside the standard of the Seven Swords began to invade and plunder the Duchy of Lancaster.
For a noble cause to uphold the empire’s traditions, it was a truly cunning strategy.
* * *
After the war began, the assembled Lancaster army had no opportunity to move.
“The situation is not good. We have organized a mobile strike force to pursue the guerrillas in York, but they are guarded by two Seven Swords, so it will not be easy… … .”
“Those damn York bitches are hitting me in the back of the head!”
“… … .”
The heads of the Lancaster family raised their voices, and the Archduke of Lancaster, the Heavenly Sword, remained silent.
‘Strong men beyond the norm’ are those who make the literature of knights possible. However, the value of the existence of such strong men in war was not intended to write things like knightly literature.
A battle that takes place by melting the strong beyond the standard into the ‘realm of strategy and tactics’. For those who value the pride and nobility of knights, York’s guerrilla tactics of avoiding a fair fight and repeatedly looting and burning are by no means pleasant behavior. The Holy Sword and the Demon Sword were no different.
But that’s the way war is. In actual combat, even actions that ignore the nobility or pride of a knight can only be rationalized in the name of ‘strategy and tactics.’
That is the art of war, and the Marquess of York understood it.
And the ‘Black Prince’ also understood that point.
* * *
At that moment, Dale was alone in one of the rooms of the Lancaster Castle, leaving behind the meeting that was continuing unabated.
On the table was a map depicting the territory of the area. Along with pieces representing each type of unit, resembling chess pieces.
Following the report from the Lancaster leadership, he picks up a quill and marks the area of activity of the guerrilla force where the ‘Two Swords’ are active.
The fertile and rich lands of the Duchy of Lancaster were being trampled one after another. In response, there was a way to plunder the lands of the Marquess of York as a counter-fire strategy, but there was a critical problem of holding back the Archduke’s family.
It is a pretext.
Ironically, the Marquess of York had a good reason for raiding the Duchy of Lancaster.
The justification was to ‘execute the traitors of the ducal family who did not accept the eldest son Richard as the rightful successor.’
Innocent people of the land who knew nothing were being massacred on the very suspicion of treason.
It was truly absurd, but the weight of justification in this world is by no means light.
And the Marquess of York was tightroping at the very edge of that cause, making a mockery of the Lancasters.
‘As expected, this is no ordinary opponent.’
Despite this, Dale paid no attention.
As promised to the Duke of Lancaster, the time has come for him to finally wield his sword in the shadows.
“Master right now.”
In the darkness, Dale opened his mouth and the wind blew. It was a very eerie and ominous wind.
Before they knew it, there were men in black coats and bird-beak masks, led by Master Baro. They were high-ranking assassins from the ‘Shadow Court’, a knight organization trained by the Empire’s leading lords, who were in no way lacking.
The ‘shadow lord’ who reigned among them opened his mouth indifferently.
“The time has come to set out.”
Of course, winning this battle is not something that Dale and his organization alone can do. However, even though Dale claims to be an ally of Lancaster, he is not in a position to lead the entire battle.
That’s why I had to wait for the right time and get it before that time came.
Even the great Duke of Lancaster was forced to move as Dale’s chess piece.
