The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Chapter 113
small crack (2)
“……what?”
A noble from the Federation Empire, who was inspecting the troops, muttered something strange.
The northern front line where the war against the barbarians is taking place. The atmosphere here should always be heavy and serious, but today it was unusually chaotic.
To be exact, it was a bit odd to even call it a mess.
“The soldiers seem to be in a good mood. Is something wrong?”
The nobleman asked the knight who was assisting him, but the knight also had no way of knowing the reason.
“I don’t know.”
“Hmm… … Really?”
The nobleman tilted his head as if still puzzled by the knight’s words.
“… … Well, is something good happening?”
“Isn’t it about time for the supplies sent from the home country to arrive? Perhaps the news has spread.”
“Oh, I see.”
Now that I hear it, it makes sense.
The nobleman smiled with satisfaction at the unusual appearance of the soldiers.
“You must be tired from the prolonged war, so something like this might not be a bad thing.”
“Yes, that’s right. Even if there’s a small atmosphere like this, it will be related to the morale of the soldiers, and it will be able to lead to a better battle situation.”
“Well! That’s what soldiers of the Empire should do.”
However, there was a slight sense of discomfort in his eyes as he answered like that.
Even after seeing the nobles come to inspect the troops, the atmosphere was still chaotic.
It seemed as if that wasn’t a normal reaction.
‘… … Well, I guess so.’
The nobleman passed by the scene without noticing it.
Good is good, so as long as it helps, there is nothing wrong with it.
Besides, if everyone else was like that, it would be different, but the only thing that was messy was one unit. If it was to that extent, there would be no problem because there would be no disruption to military discipline.
‘I guess I can just report the inspection results to my superiors.’
… … But it was only after the next battle that I realized that it was a naive thought.
“The damage.”
“Ten thousand soldiers were killed or wounded.”
The nobleman looked at the man in front of him with a fearful expression.
It was an unusually large number for something that came from just one skirmish.
Even though the war has become particularly difficult in recent times, it is even more so when we think back on the events up to now.
And the questioning continued.
“I heard there was additional damage?”
“I’m sorry, but some of the war supplies were stolen by them while we were pushing back the defense line.”
“Details.”
“Yes… … Yep!”
Wrinkled face and faded hair.
But on the contrary, he has muscles that make you think he is old and a magnificent spirit that can be felt at a glance.
Duke Belial, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Federation Empire.
The nobleman was now facing an enormous anger that was evident from his eyes.
He said, bowing his head even deeper.
“We lost three days’ worth of food and all the weapons remaining in the fortress.”
“Three days’ worth of food.”
As the war dragged on, it became increasingly difficult to secure supplies locally.
In the meantime, the three-day supply of food for the seventy thousand, now sixty thousand strong army in the north, was an irreplaceable commodity.
To say that it was taken away from you… … .
“I wonder how you will shoulder this responsibility.”
“……sorry.”
“I wish this could have ended with an apology.”
“… … .”
The nobleman was now bowing his head so deeply that he was almost prostrating himself.
Duke Belial suppressed his anger at the sight. After all, it was He who would be the one to judge him, not him.
There was no point in expressing anger at someone who was going to die anyway.
“Hand over the recovered drugs.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Here it is.”
The nobleman handed the duke a carefully folded piece of paper. The duke’s face hardened as he examined its contents.
“… … There are a lot.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s too much for some to have smuggled it in secretly. This is all that has been found so far, so if the soldiers’ luggage were searched, there would be even more… … .”
“Shut up, that’s not what I meant.”
“… … Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Duke growled softly and swept the drug off the paper with his finger.
‘At least 10 grams.’
Even though drugs were banned, it wasn’t that difficult to find them on the battlefield.
Murder and slaughter. Because soldiers used them to overcome the pain of intense emotions.
Funnily enough, it was kind of like a buttress, so to speak.
The problem was that this amount was so abnormally large.
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At least from the perspective of a Duke who knew the internal circumstances of the Federal Empire, it was completely difficult to understand.
‘There is no way the 4th prince could have distributed this much.’
……okay.
The 4th Prince of the Federal Empire has been secretly distributing drugs through his soldiers.
Even if it was an inhumane method, it was effective. It forced sacrifices on soldiers for the most efficient war.
But the amount was never this large.
Even if you roughly calculate it, it’s about 30 times more. If it’s this amount, it wouldn’t be able to play a role in making war easier as intended, but would almost be addicting the soldiers.
And what it meant was one thing.
‘… …Someone else other than him is distributing the drugs.’
He briefly considered several people as suspects.
But no one really got it.
The closest thing is… … .
“Ugh, if I do this wrong I might get involved in a factional fight.”
Before we knew it, it had become something that could not be done rashly.
‘When I first heard about the soldiers’ abnormalities, I should have investigated them immediately… … .’
… … I was hit.
The peacock’s eyes glowed coldly.
“Search the soldiers’ belongings immediately and find the drugs.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And I will interrogate the soldiers, so gather together anyone who has information about the drug dealers.”
“I will obey your orders.”
The nobleman who received the order moved as quickly as possible, as if he wanted to make up for his mistake even a little.
And after a while, the soldiers entered the commander-in-chief’s barracks.
“Where did you get this drug? You’d better tell me honestly.”
“I, I bought it from a guy called the supply officer.”
“I also asked the supplier if he would sell it to me for less than the market price… … .”
“I, I received it through a close soldier. But I also heard that soldier say he got it from the supply officer.”
The soldiers who were dragged into the duke’s palace spit out all the information they knew.
And in conclusion, the only information that came out was that it was obtained from the supply officer.
Naturally, the duke’s expression became distorted.
“Obviously, other than the supply office, who would be able to procure items for the exhibition? I’m asking for more certain information.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I had my face covered, so until then… … .”
“Me, me too… … .”
“… … Tsk.”
It’s an obvious trap.
There were more than one or two ‘supply officers’ as they called them.
Moreover, since some of them would be distributing drugs under the orders of the Fourth Prince, large-scale tracking would be impossible.
If in the process, the facts about drugs and the background are revealed.
‘… … The morale of the soldiers plummets.’
The peacock’s expression deepened further.
If it is made public incorrectly, it will be difficult to avoid national criticism.
Whether it was the 4th Prince who first carried out this, or someone else who later supplied additional drugs and watched the situation unfold.
‘But it is impossible to leave it like this.’
If large quantities of drugs continue to be released like they are now, the soldiers’ condition will worsen day by day.
It was literally a mess.
‘We need to cover up the incident for now, but we need to strengthen crackdowns to prevent further drug sales.’
… … and even murder and destruction.
Yeah, that was for the best.
The problem is that the amount already released is over 10 grams per pack.
Considering that one dose of the drug is 0.03 grams, it is already too late to crack down on it now.
“……Shit.”
There was no way to stop the attack, which had a complete understanding of the internal situation.
“Get out of here. I’ll let you off the drug possession charge just this once.”
“Go, thank you!”
A soft, ringing anger.
The Duke sent his soldiers away and became lost in thought.
Considering how many insiders there are who could do something like this.
* * *
“The northern front of the Federal Empire is collapsing rapidly.”
“I see.”
I smiled faintly as I heard the news from George.
I couldn’t help but laugh. The way he was now, having fallen for that trick, was just as funny.
‘Well, that’s why I had a really hard time before returning.’
I closed my eyes for a moment and recalled the events before my return.
The Federal Empire’s army, addicted to drugs like inhaling stimulants, was extremely difficult to deal with.
It was absolutely horrifying when they discovered that it was their ’emperor’ who was supplying the drugs directly.
In the end, this incident was an attack targeting that fact.
‘If we had been wary of drugs and banned them from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened.’
Because we knew that drugs were being secretly released, we were slow to respond.
That carelessness is what created this division.
Moreover, the strange political conflicts occurring at this time will have further clouded their judgment.
In that moment, my closed eyes opened coldly.
‘And it is your fault, Fourth Prince.’
A pride that does not hesitate to make enemies without looking around for one’s own gain, and a cruel personality that even uses one’s own soldiers.
Although it made things easier, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted.
“What happened to the people in the underworld who distributed drugs?”
“They say he already got out of there.”
“I see.”
“They say that since there were so many, the profits were also good… … Well, I guess the first goal of creating chaos has been achieved.”
“It was just as planned.”
George, who would normally have expressed his disapproval by saying that he was showing off, nodded slightly.
It was only natural that I had the opportunity to confirm up close that everything was as planned.
‘Of course, that would only be the first goal.’
The work of creating cracks from within was just beginning.
The first plan he proposed.
If it is successfully completed, the chaos and rift in the Federal Empire will rapidly increase in size.
“Now all that’s left is to wait for a response from them.”
“It probably won’t take long.”
As he spoke, George’s eyes opened leisurely.
But I had no intention of wasting even that time.
Chook-!
A map of the North spread out on the desk in an instant. I said, running my finger along the border of the Federal Empire.
“Now the barbarians’ gaze will be turned even further toward the Federal Empire.”
“That’s also true, since there’s finally a hole in the front line… … it’s a chance to occupy all of that vast granary that doesn’t exist anywhere else. It’s likely that they’ll even drag away all the remaining warriors from the barbarian lands.”
“That’s correct.”
Finally, the northern gateway of the Federal Empire that had been blocking them has collapsed.
It is only natural that the troops of those who have become lax in the protracted war will once again flash their axes.
The war with the Federal Empire was fought over food in the first place.
“… … Then, does that mean the North is empty now?”
It was literally an empty land with not a single soldier left.
I smiled, the corners of my lips twisting. Then George smiled back and said,
“Are you going to move soon?”
“Because I’ve waited until now to make it happen.”
A previous expedition to the northern outback.
As a result, unlike before the return, we succeeded in reducing the potential power of the dwarves by rescuing them.
But it was a shame to end it like that.
It was adequate as a weeding out, but I didn’t gain anything that could really be called a ‘major’.
But now, after so long of preparation, it was different.
“The time has finally come.”
It’s been a year since I went through something called regression.
It’s not perfect yet, but it’s pretty much ready.
The minimum conditions for advancement have been met.
Now is the time to reveal Esteban’s power and make real moves.
The time has come to prove to the entire continent that we are no longer a weak nation that bows its head to other nations.
“Go ahead and do as planned, but call them first.”
