Chapter 65. Berenburg (3)

“Olif, is there a command meeting going on now?”

“Yes, I believe so. Are you going as well, Commander?”

“It has come to that.”

I was heading to the command tent.

Thankfully, Olif dropped what he was doing and was following me as an escort.

There was a specific reason for moving so hastily.

It was because our psychopath Emperor, Luky Karlos, loved the Empire so dearly.

To the extent that he would willingly sacrifice hundreds of innocent children, not to mention his vassals, including the secret knight order.

Kkumteuli showed a subtle interest.

‘Have you noticed?’

“What?”

‘What is happening in the Imperial Capital.’

“Yes.”

One of the problems that gave the Emperor the biggest headache every playthrough was the Ratmen.

Those Ratmen had begun their activities in the Imperial Capital.

The disaster that made the Emperor use hundreds of children as live bait.

In a sense, a disaster greater than Marquis Ricardo before our eyes had befallen the Empire.

“Commander, is it because of that incident?”

The quick-witted Olif also asked in a whisper.

He too knew about the Ratmen, having grown up in a noble family during his childhood.

He was also the one who, along with me, had uncovered the early signs of the Ratmen in this war.

“The Duntown Fortress we went to…”

“That’s right.”

During the time we were leading the Count’s army with Melburn Maenenwood and disrupting the rear of the Anti-Imperial Faction.

We had discovered a peculiar fortress.

The fortress named ‘Duntown’ was one of the two fortresses that did not respond to the Count’s army’s offer of surrender or their warning shots.

After sending a reconnaissance team, the fortress was found to be empty.

And Olif and I discovered the entrance to a Ratman burrow in the basement.

A similar phenomenon was happening in the Imperial Capital.

It wasn't that it had become empty like Duntown Fortress.

But the number of missing people was increasing.

Mainly among the poor.

The nobles of the Imperial Capital, as well as most of the residents, were probably unaware.

However, the Emperor’s secret knight order had deep roots in the shadows, and the news had reached this far because they had anonymously included the matter in their regular report.

Come to think of it, old man Brol.

He had quite a talent.

Originally, no one except the Emperor, prince-elector level nobles, or their close knights had access to the regular reports.

I heard he got it from one of Viscount Pewin’s close knights….

How did he dig up the information without any alcohol?

He probably wasn’t even aware that he had dug it up.

Anyway.

“This way.”

Olif led the way.

The sound of a noisy argument grew closer.

Soon, a conference tent the size of three tents combined came into view.

After getting our identities checked by the guard, we went inside.

“Let’s starve them out!”

“Starve them? What about the citizens?”

“They’re all in the same city. They’re all traitors and their sympathizers! They all deserve to die and become fertilizer.”

“Can’t we consecrate the mortars like we did in Wolfskrig? The technology the Emperor developed with the church.”

“Are you suggesting we massacre the people of the Empire with divine power now? Luark will be furious!”

“What? Then why did you even participate in the civil war…”

“Calm down, Count. That technology is specialized against the undead. It’s not easy to even hit the city walls with mortars.”

“I’m telling you, they’re all traitors…!”

It was loud.

So loud it made my ears ring.

Thanks to the [Sensitive Ears] trait, the fact that I could clearly hear the sound of saliva flying and burps being swallowed in the middle of their speech further tested my patience.

It wasn't my place to interfere anyway.

This conference hall was the exclusive domain of the nobles.

Knowing that, I hadn't come even when the Archduke invited me to participate in the meeting.

“Everyone, stop! Is there any other answer besides starving them out?”

Of course, I knew more than ten ways to conquer that castle.

I wouldn't deny that the best among them was the ‘starving them out’ opinion that was currently leading the meeting.

“You’re telling them to starve to death! Don’t you feel sorry for the subjects of the Empire trapped in the city?”

“Ha! Are only the people inside that city subjects of the Empire, and not the soldiers who have walked this long road with us!”

“How can you twist my words like that? You, who brought so few private soldiers…!”

In the first place, Berenburg was one of the most extremely difficult cities to conquer.

This city, built on the coast, was equipped with numerous defensive facilities.

A well-trained standing army.

A large artillery force.

An outer wall built with a double wall structure.

A complex city layout and an inner castle and lord's castle.

And although no one here knew it, Marquis Ricardo had installed a dome-shaped defensive shield that covered the top of the inner castle wall with a relic he had excavated over a decade ago.

On top of that, the Marquis was said to have retreated to the city with a considerable number of troops intact.

It was also possible to receive unlimited supplies and reinforcements through the sea, based on their powerful navy.

“Heh heh… by the way, is there a way to starve them out? No matter how much we surround them, the sea route is open. It’s not like we have naval power right now.”

“We can deploy Hellfire rockets and mortars on the coast. Due to the structure of the pier, we can sink all large ships that try to enter or leave.”

If the Hellfire rocket, which had a far superior range to existing gunpowder weapons, had not been developed, even ‘starving them out’ would have been impossible.

‘The Archduke… is over there.’

Behind the shouting commanders.

I approached Archduke Gabir through the crowd of escort knights.

I had no intention of getting involved in this mess.

The Emperor wasn't here anyway.

Even Archduke Gabir, who was attending in place of the Emperor, was only listening to the shouts of the nobles with a frown.

Whatever opinions were exchanged here, the final decision rested with the Emperor.

I had a plan.

A reckless one, but one that could end this war.

If so, there was only one person I needed to talk to here.

“Your Grace.”

“Oh. Commander Ash.”

I approached, braving the glares of a few nobles who were eyeing an opportunity near the Archduke.

My escort knights tried to stop me when I tried to whisper, but the Archduke waved them back.

I delivered it briefly.

A plan that exploited Berenburg’s weakness.

“…Is that really true?”

The Archduke’s eyes gleamed with a different light.

I nodded.

***

The next day.

The Archduke summoned me.

“I have delivered the plan you mentioned to His Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

“He was very pleased.”

Of course.

When it came to tactics and strategy, he liked curveballs as much as I did.

A plan that used the Pegasus Knights and Hellfire rockets as a diversion.

Of course, it also meant that it was a dangerous plan.

Especially since I had to jump in myself.

“Infiltration through the sewer system. It was mentioned in the meeting. But it hit one problem.”

“What was it?”

“Who would go.”

The Archduke smiled bitterly.

“Are you really planning to go yourself?”

“Yes.”

I answered immediately.

I had thought about it seriously.

There was only one conclusion.

We had to enter the inner castle through the sewers and strike the lord’s castle directly.

The number of missing people in the Imperial Capital was increasing.

The Emperor would surely know what this phenomenon was.

The Ratmen had begun their activities.

The demons of the underground were after the Empire.

The longer the civil war dragged on, the greater the threat they would become.

If we gave them an opening here, the Ratmen would expand their numbers exponentially.

In the end, a disgusting wave of rat-people that would make Marquis Ricardo’s rebellion look like child’s play would engulf the Empire.

The Emperor loved the Empire and humanity.

He would end the civil war even if it meant grinding down his own troops, and focus on preparing for the coming threat of the Ratmen.

In that process, along with the Imperial army, my mercenary band, my members, would also be mercilessly killed.

I could not stand by and watch that happen.

“I’ll say this just in case you don’t know. As you saw yesterday, the Pro-Imperial Faction nobles are not just playing it safe. They are all greedy for military merit. Very much so.”

“It seemed that way.”

“Then there is a reason why no one wanted to go.”

The Archduke stroked his beard.

The fact that it was well-groomed even in the middle of a battlefield showed how meticulous he was about his self-management.

“The sewer system is no different from a maze. A very old and… a maze with terrible rumors.”

I knew.

After discussing a few more things, such as rewards, personnel to be dispatched, and detailed plans, I left the tent.

On my way out, I personally requested and took a small box of sugar.

After arriving at my personal tent, I took a pinch and put it into the subspace, then asked.

‘Sugar! Sweeties!’

“Kkumteuli.”

‘Hmm? Master, what is it?’

“Marquis Ricardo. What is the ability of that statue he has?”

The slurping statue scratched the regular octahedron with a tentacle as if troubled.

‘I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you. It violates the rules.’

“Then I’ll change the question. The plan I mentioned. If the Emperor went himself, could he return alive?”

‘Well, I’m not sure.’

He dodged the question again, but it was a sufficient answer.

From what I had experienced so far, this divine being served by the Theocracy knew almost all the scenarios, events, abilities, and lore of Warlord Conquest.

That meant he also knew the Emperor’s abilities.

Yet, the fact that he posed a question meant that the success rate of this mission was that slim.

Well, it didn't matter.

When had I ever undertaken only battles with a high success rate?

I believed that breaking through slim odds was what constituted skill and experience.

Finally, I asked one more thing.

“If I go?”

‘Hmm…….’

As if stroking a chin, the statue’s tentacle caressed the bottom of the regular octahedron.

‘I hear they sell cotton candy made from melted sugar in the Imperial Capital.’

“?”

‘I want to eat that. I’ll be looking forward to it.’

He had bet on me.

That afternoon, I summoned the centurions.

***

I selected the elite.

Due to the nature of the operation, it was impossible for all 1,200 members to participate.

The sewer system we intended to enter was much larger and wider than a typical sewer, but it was just as complex and easy to get lost in.

Thus, I selected 60 elites from the entire mercenary band.

From the 2nd Company, Karen and all the ranger scouts.

From the 3rd Company, eight halberdiers and eight greatsword soldiers.

Finally, from the 4th Company, which could be called the main force of this operation, Olif, sixteen knights, and eleven light cavalrymen.

A special forces team of 60 members was formed.

“I wish you good luck. May Luark shine a light on your path.”

After bidding farewell to the Archduke, we departed.

In the middle of the night, we slipped out from the rear of the camp and headed for the coast.

Berenburg was a large city with a population of nearly one hundred thousand.

The underground sewer system was intricately twisted and entangled, extending even outside the city.

Swoooosh-

We found a cave adjacent to the coast.

A stream of water flowed from inside the cave to the sea.

A faint stench that even the salty smell of the sea could not completely cover pricked my nose.

I looked up at the sky.

The moon was slowly moving away from its zenith.

It was the promised time.

Shoooooo-

I could hear the sound of Hellfire rockets flying in the distance.

I looked back at the unit members and said.

“Tonight, we end the civil war.”

Their faces were not clearly visible in the darkness.

But I could read their tense breaths.

“I’ll entrust my back to you.”

[[Lord’s Unyielding Mind] is being deployed.]

Their breathing calmed a little.

I took the lead and entered the cave.

The plan was simple.

The sewage flowing from here was connected to the inside of the city.

We would follow the sewer to enter the inner castle and eliminate Marquis Ricardo, who would be holed up in the lord’s castle.

There would be many obstacles along the way, but it didn't matter.

‘Just leave it to me. I’ll change you flawlessly.’

My face was no longer just one.

It was time for my second identity to shine.