Arc 4 Chapter 19 : Conspire

[Raul PoV]

You succeeded, Evans...

I succeeded...?

Who was saying that?

You won...

Ah...

I was inside one of the faculty buildings at Campus A—the place where Liana and I had come for our entrance examination. Liana was the woman I had met only a week ago.

If I remembered correctly, this was the lobby of the faculty where the results of the university entrance examination had been posted.

There were countless people gathered around, all eager to see whether they had passed.

“Evans... Are you all right?”

Hearing my name, I turned to my left.

A woman with black hair as dark as the night was looking at me with a worried expression.

It was Liana—the woman I had met a month ago.

The two of us had taken the entrance examination for one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and as fate would have it, we had applied to the same faculty. After completing the examination, we had promised to meet at Campus A and check our results together.

And now, after looking at the announcement, we had both passed.

We were officially students of this prestigious university.

“I’m fine, Liana,” I replied, trying to ease her worries. “I just froze because I couldn’t believe that I actually passed and got into such a famous university.”

Hearing my answer, Liana smiled.

She then invited me to celebrate our success somewhere.

However, when we arrived at the place she had mentioned, I was left slightly stunned.

She had brought me to an expensive restaurant!

The money I had earned from working as an electronics repairman for an entire month wouldn’t even be enough to pay for a single meal here!

“What’s wrong, Evans?” Liana asked curiously.

“N-Nothing, Liana,” I replied.

What was I supposed to do?

Was there any good excuse I could use to get out of this situation?

Honestly, I felt bad toward Liana. She had invited me here so that we could celebrate passing the examination that had haunted my thoughts for the entire past week.

But just as I was desperately thinking of a way to handle the situation, Liana suddenly turned her head away from the restaurant we were about to enter.

“Hey, Gavin, do you think there’ll be a lot of women who work as models in our department?”

“Hahaha! Kevan, forget about your dream of dating a model! All the women in your department are going to be looking at Gavin anyway! He’s not only rich, but handsome too—and he’s even a national-level basketball athlete!”

Suddenly, from somewhere to my left, I heard three young men around my age talking loudly enough that I could hear them despite standing nearly twenty meters away.

However, the one who caught my attention the most was the handsome blond man standing between his two friends.

He looked like one of those models who appeared in advertisements for famous fashion brands on television.

“Liana... Is that you?”

The handsome man's previously cool and carefree expression changed the moment he noticed the black-haired woman standing beside me.

He immediately walked toward us, completely ignoring me as though I were nothing more than an invisible NPC.

“Ugh... Gavin, what do you want?”

Liana reluctantly turned around to face him.

It seemed the two of them knew each other.

“Liana! Why didn’t you reply to my message when I asked you to come here with me to see the results!?” the handsome man demanded. “Don’t we always do this together whenever we’re about to enter a new school?”

“Sorry, Gavin. I guess I didn’t see your message at the time,” Liana replied, averting her gaze.

“What a coincidence that we’re all here! Come on, let’s celebrate our results inside the restaurant!”

Liana said nothing.

She simply stood there without responding to his invitation.

Her expression made it obvious that she was uncomfortable around him.

I had no idea what kind of relationship the two of them had, but I was starting to feel irritated seeing someone who had helped me being bothered like this.

“Come on. We barely saw each other after graduating from high school, didn’t we? I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to spend some time together.”

As the man reached toward Liana’s arm, I instinctively stopped him and grabbed his wrist.

He looked surprised.

Then he turned toward me with a hateful glare.

Apparently, this was the first time he had even noticed that I had been standing beside Liana the entire time.

“Take your hand off me, you homeless beggar,” the man said with disgust. “Someone as lowly as you has no business interfering in our affairs. Now get lost and go back to that filthy shack you call home.”

Homeless beggar?

Was he calling me that because of how cheap my clothes looked?

Besides, I lived in an apartment.

Sure, the rent was extremely cheap, and the room was small, but it was still better than living in the shack this guy was talking about.

“She doesn’t want to be with you,” I said firmly. “You should realize that and respect her personal space.”

“I warned you!”

He violently tore his wrist from my grip and immediately threw a punch toward my face.

I shifted my head to the side, avoiding the punch, and was about to retaliate with a punch of my own.

But suddenly, one of his companions shoved me from the side.

“Kevan, Russel, beat him up and teach this lowlife his place!”

The two men immediately began attacking me together.

Liana shouted, desperately trying to stop them, but Gavin grabbed hold of her to prevent her from interfering while his two friends continued beating me mercilessly.

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My body crashed onto the pavement.

The two men didn’t stop.

They continued kicking me hard as I lay helplessly on the ground.

All I could do was cover my head, trying to prevent myself from suffering any serious injuries.

“Gavin! Please, stop! I’ll do whatever you want, so please stop this madness!”

No, Liana...

Don’t beg him.

Don’t humiliate yourself just to save me...

“Tch. Kevan, Russel, leave that beggar,” Gavin ordered.

He then turned toward Liana.

“All right, Liana. Let’s find somewhere else, far away from that loser.”

My entire body ached.

All I could hear were their footsteps slowly fading into the distance, leaving me alone on the street.

My consciousness gradually began to slip away.

As I closed my eyes, I suddenly heard countless screams and explosions coming from somewhere nearby.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw the face of a red-haired woman shouting something at me.

“Captain! Captain!”

Ugh...

What happened?

My entire body hurt terribly, and I couldn’t move my right arm at all.

“Captain! How are you feeling?” the red-haired woman asked.

“Scarlett... is that you? What happened?”

“After you defeated the enemy commander, their main army pushed our forces back through sheer numerical superiority. They’re currently advancing toward this area,” Scarlett replied.

Ah...

That’s right.

I was in the middle of a battle.

Did I lose consciousness after defeating Adrien in our previous fight?

“Captain Raul, we need to move if we don’t want to be surrounded by the main army of the Kingdom of Draconia,” Scarlett said.

“What about the food storage facilities?” I asked.

“Another unit has already burned them so the enemy won’t be able to take them,” she replied. “Stand up. I’ll help you get out of this area.”

I nodded.

Scarlett then supported me as we made our way out of the city.

After this battle, we would proceed with our next plan—conducting operations within the territory of the Republic of Venetia to cut off the logistical supplies they were sending to the forces stationed in this region.

[Alesio PoV]

The battle was over.

The remnants of the Imperial forces defending the city had been driven back by the main army of the Kingdom of Draconia.

However, we had failed to accomplish one of our objectives: securing the city's food storage facilities, which had been burned down by the retreating Imperial forces.

As I walked through the city, I saw countless corpses belonging to soldiers from both sides scattered across the streets.

When I finally reached the area where the storage facilities were located, I saw the corpse of someone I had come to know not long ago.

Although I had already heard about his death from the soldiers who had fought in this area, I still couldn’t believe that Lord Adrien had also fallen victim to the ghost I encountered in the cornfield the previous night.

In this battle, our side had suffered nearly 3,000 casualties.

We estimated that the enemy had suffered around 1,000 to 1,500 casualties.

Considering that we were the ones who had launched the attack on the city, those numbers could still be considered favorable.

Our next target was Cataluna Fortress City, the center of the Margraviate of Cataluna.

If we could conquer that city, then the main army of the Kingdom of Draconia would undoubtedly succeed in taking control of the entire region in the near future.

After that, we would continue our advance deeper into the territory of the Aragon Empire.

[Tyra PoV]

The war between the Empire and the three nations surrounding the Gulf of Cosentia had been raging for nearly two months.

The conflict had begun as a struggle for influence between the Republic of Venetia and the Aragon Empire over the western continent.

The great nations never changed.

All they cared about was glory, power, and even more power.

They never thought about the sacrifices their own people had to make to satisfy their greedy ambitions.

Why couldn’t we simply live peacefully in this world?

Why couldn’t we help one another and resolve our problems without bloodshed?

After every member of the Tyal Tribe had been arrested by the Empire on charges of treason against the government, they were all sent to concentration camps to serve the punishment imposed upon them for their supposed crimes.

Children, women, and the elderly who had done nothing wrong had died when Imperial forces attacked our tribe during the operation to capture the rebels.

And now, my homeland—the place where I had been born and raised—was gone.

The government had destroyed it and converted the land into mining and agricultural areas to strengthen its economy.

After everything that happened, I swore that I would take revenge against the greedy people of the Empire...

The people behind the attack on the Tyal Tribe—the attack that had caused countless innocent children, women, and elderly people to meet their deaths in such tragic ways.

I would never forget it.

“Hey, Judas. What do you think my father wants to discuss in tonight’s emergency meeting?”

At present, I was escorting Prince Felix—the man responsible for the attack on the Tyal Tribe, the homeland where I had been born and raised.

To be honest, I wanted nothing more than to kill this despicable man as soon as possible.

But that man had given me an order to restrain myself.

He said that the group we had built still needed me to remain as the Prince’s bodyguard so I could monitor the Empire’s movements.

“Perhaps something has happened in this war, Your Highness,” I replied.

“This war is an opportunity for us to silence those lowly Non-Sorcerers!” the Prince declared, his voice filled with hatred. “I’ll make every one of them understand their place in this world and turn the Venetian people into our slaves—the people of Aragon.”

His way of thinking hadn’t changed at all over the past six years.

He still looked down on other race and believed his own people were superior to everyone else.

I was sickened by his attitude.

After walking through the palace lobby for some time, we finally arrived at the meeting chamber inside the Imperial Palace.

Two other princes and Princess Annabella were already present.

All of the current candidates for the Imperial throne had arrived, with the sole exception of Princess Elena, who was currently stationed at the front lines.

Several Imperial military officials were also present, making it clear that Emperor Philip intended to discuss the ongoing war during this emergency meeting.

Not long after we entered the chamber, Emperor Philip finally arrived.

Everyone began to stand to greet him, but the Emperor stopped them, telling them not to bother with formalities.

“I’ll get straight to the point and tell you all some bad news I’ve received from the Margraviate of Cataluna,” the Emperor announced as he looked at everyone present. “The Kingdom of Draconia is currently attacking the territory of the Margraviate of Cataluna with a total force of 40,000 soldiers.”

The moment they heard the news, everyone in the room looked shocked, as though they could hardly believe it.

“Your Majesty, how could they have crossed the Montana Mountains without suffering heavy casualties? Wasn’t 40,000 the total number of troops they had several days before the war began?” Prince Terantio asked in confusion.

“They found a relatively safe route through the mountains,” the Emperor replied. “We’ll discuss that matter in greater detail after the war. What we need to discuss now is our next move, now that 40,000 enemy soldiers are attacking and devastating the northeastern territory of our empire.”

So the spy’s information had been correct.

They had found a way to launch a backstab against the Empire.

Hearing the Emperor’s question, a representative from the Ministry of Defense spoke.

“Your Majesty, we can currently mobilize only around 20,000 soldiers to reinforce the defenses in the Margraviate of Cataluna. We estimate that these reinforcements will arrive in the region within one month.”

This had also been predicted by the spy I had met before.

It seemed they had already anticipated the moves the Aragon Empire would make during this war.

“One month?” Prince Felix exclaimed. “By the time the reinforcements arrive, the Margraviate of Cataluna will already have fallen into enemy hands. Can only 20,000 soldiers really defeat their 40,000?”

“However, Your Highness, it would take approximately two months to carry out conscription and increase the size of our current forces,” the representative from the Ministry of Defense explained. “To be honest, those 20,000 soldiers were originally intended to reinforce our main army currently fighting in the territory of the Republic of Venetia in case something happened.”

Conscription was a measure taken by the government to impose mandatory military service on its citizens during wartime.

Unlike regular soldiers, conscripts were of considerably lower quality because they received only a short period of training.

“The situation in the Margraviate of Cataluna is an emergency,” Emperor Philip declared. “Immediately send the 20,000 reinforcement troops to deal with the threat in the eastern territories of our nation.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“Additionally, begin conscription immediately. Offer a wage of one Gulden per month to anyone willing to serve as an additional force for our nation.”

“We will carry out your orders, Your Majesty.”

After that, they decided who would lead the 20,000 reinforcement troops being sent to the Margraviate of Cataluna and discussed strategies for defeating the main army of the Kingdom of Draconia stationed there.

The meeting finally ended when midnight arrived.

After escorting Prince Felix back to his residence, I did not immediately return to my own home in the Imperial Capital.

After making sure no one was following me, I headed toward an old shack on the outskirts of the capital.

This was the place where I often met that spy to prepare for a large-scale rebellion against the Empire.

-Tok! Tok! Tok!

I knocked on the door of the old shack.

“What do you want?”

A man’s voice came from behind the door.

“I came to sell some mackerel. Are you interested in buying?” I asked.

This was a secret code we had agreed upon when the spy first approached me several months ago.

“How many are you selling?” the man asked.

“Seven.”

After answering several questions from the man, the door of the shack finally opened, revealing a man in his forties dressed entirely in white.

“Come in. We’ll discuss this inside.”

I nodded and entered the shack.

The man closed the door behind me before turning around and staring at me seriously.

“So, what is it you wanted to tell me this time?” he asked.

“What you predicted turned out to be correct,” I told him. “The Empire is going to mobilize 20,000 reinforcement troops to the Margraviate of Cataluna.”

Upon hearing the information I had delivered, the man smiled as he idly stroked his peculiar mustache.

“In that case, can we begin supplying your group with weapons, as we agreed?”

“Of course,” I replied. “Those 20,000 reinforcement troops won’t be going anywhere near here.”

I paused for a moment before continuing.

“Because my group is going to launch a rebellion that will terrorize the people living around the Imperial Capital.”

That was right.

For months, the Intelligence Unit of the Republic of Venetia had been gathering people who despised the Empire and preparing them for a rebellion—including members of minority races who had suffered discrimination throughout their lives in this nation.

We would repay them for the injustice they had inflicted upon us.