“Be on standby.”
“Yes, sir.”
Raymond ordered the Secret Squad to stand by and entered the conference room with the two towers.
The eyes of those who were in the meeting room first focused on the three. Among them there was the Third Prince.
He approached first, as he had done before, and didn’t pour out a hasty threat, but he scanned Raymond and the Red Tower with a faint stare.
Of course, Raymond ignored him and sat down with the two tower master, regardless of the enemy’s full gaze.
“Did your brother care about me?”
When Raymond asked, wetting his lips slightly with the drink brought by his servant, Berenus opened his mouth, trying to hide the corners of his mouth trying to twist.
“Sure, cared enough to attach a few assassins.”
“I guess that wasn’t the purpose of the escort.”
“You must be well aware of His Highness the Second.”
‘I know very well.’
Raymond affirms Berenus by nodding his head.
Even if he doesn’t remember looking at the set-up of the book, he can even guess it by looking at him.
Berenus, the master of the Red Tower, did not elaborate, but Raymond could guess what he had been through.
It was also in the book’s settings, but most of all, he can see how he feels when he looked at his expression now.
Berenus Kyle is so high that he is one of the few high-ranking wizards in the Pilias Empire.
But he didn’t notice the assassin’s surveillance?
He just knew but turned a blind eye to the Second Prince, who joined hands with the Third Prince.
“What did the surveillance assassins do?”
Raymond asked the question in a calm voice. It was difficult if surveillance is still attached.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Berenus replied.
He was not unaware of the presence of the assassins on surveillance and was not incapable of repelling them.
He was just holding it in to avoid discord between the Secondnd and Third Prince.
But now that he had decided to grab Raymond’s rope, the Fifth Prince, he doesn’t even have to look at them.
The decision was quick.
He immediately selected the best wizards and High ranking knights in the Red tower and repelled the assassins. Some of them were handled by the Master of the Red tower himself.
“The Emperor is entering!”
The door opened, and the first officer who entered shouted in a loud voice.
Everyone stood up from their seats. Soon, the old Emperor appeared escorted by the Royal Guard.
Royal guards were thoroughly wary of what had happened at the banquet because it was not unusual to repeat here. Raymond sighed inwardly as he saw it.
It was a pity that the great powers that commanded the ancient era now fell to the point where they had to worry about assassination in their own Imperial City.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
The Emperor sat down first and said. It was a solemn voice, but now the Emperor was exhausted.
He tried not to show it but some nobles might have noticed it.
“The Commander of the Northern Central Army, get up and report the situation.”
A middle-aged man in a military uniform leapt to his feet at the emperor’s command.
He have never seen him before, but he knew about him from the setting.
‘Count William Acorn.’
He was a high-ranking Knight stationed in the North border forces and he is a promising figure in the military.
Although he was not an aristocrat by heredity with a territory, he had the title of Count.
“We’ve got one legion now close to the northern border. If a border force is attacked, it will held out for four days without support.”
One legion is 6,000 men. Considering the current power of the Pilias Empire, it was a considerable number of troops.
‘But I’m not moving any further.’
The Heifel Empire is by no means a pushover. They were always looking for a chance to escape the barren land of the Far North. If there was a proper justification, there were troops and funds to go south through a dangerous obstacle called the Black Forest.
‘But the Pilias have no national power to pass through the wilderness.’
Not yet.
‘Unless I become Emperor and invoke an imperial reconstruction plan, it is difficult to confront the Heifel Empire or the League of the Three Kingdoms.’
One hope for this declining empire is the legacy of the “Imperial Reconstruction Plan” that lies dormant throughout the continent.
If he collect all the arrangements left by the first Emperor, the Pilias Empire can rise again as a powerhouse on the continent.
“Is the situation serious enough to pull out one corps of the Northern Central Army and deploy it forward?”
A nobleman asked a question carefully.
“You can tell by the absence of a High-Knight here.”
The Emperor replied.
He could see how serious the situation was just by seeing him back to the north, who has been staying in the capital longer than in his land to build his foundation recently.
“How’s the morale of the army?”
“With the Heifel Ranger units attacking our patrols several times a day, the damage is accumulating and morale is falling significantly.”
“The Black Mountains?”
“It’s the same. I think the Fresyria kingdom hired high-quality mercenaries and sent them to the border.”
The Emperor agonized over the Marquis Acorn’s report.
Sending the Princes to the border would restore the morale of the border forces, but it was not easy to send his sons to places where they might have their limbs cut off.
“Your Majesty, it’s not too late! Send the Imperial family to the border with Heifel Empire and the Kingdom of Fresyria!”
Someone said. He turned my head in the direction where he heard the voice.
Raymond don’t remember the name, but he could clearly recall that he was an aristocrat who stood by the Third Prince at the banquet.
“I agree! If you go to the border, you will not provoke the Heifel Empire or the Kingdom of Fresyria!”
What the hell? This time the nobleman on the part of the Second Prince raised his voice.
“Who do you think should go then?”
The Emperor asked the nobles. The aristocratic forces of the Second and Third princes gathered together, making it difficult to ignore them.
“Your Majesty, I recommend Brother Seraque to the Heifel Empire and Raymond to the borders of the Kingdom of Fresyriayria.”
Aloken, the Third Prince who had remained silent, said as he stepped forward.
The belligerent First Prince nodded with no sign of displeasure, and Rayman stared at the Third Prince with a complex look.
‘The nobles will stand by me. Come on. Come on.’
Aloken was preparing to laugh at Raymond, expecting him to be vicious, but Raymond’s innermost thoughts differed.
What the hell is this?
There was now a justification to leave Palace for a while.
Furthermore, the Black Mountains where the Soul Sword is asleep……. This is the icing on the cake.
‘There’s no one to help you.’
Looking at Raymond, who was silent, the third prince, Aloken, gave a mean smile.
Inside, he hoped Raymond would beg for help. He showed an ugly figure and hoped the nobles would turn their backs on him.
“I’ll do as you wish, Aloken. I will go to the border with the Kingdom of Fresyria.”
However, it was different from what was expected.Raymond rose from his chair without any hesitation and expressed his intention to go to the border, and his courageous appearance sent the military aristocrats full of goodwill.
The past in which he was a scumbag, didn’t matter anymore.
Now the Fifth Prince said he would go to the border, a battlefield for the Empire.
It was enough for the military personnel to like him.
“Ho?”
Seraque, the First Prince who had been silent all along, also expressed curiosity about Raymond’s declaration.
“Raymond, are you saying you’re going?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll let the Kingdom of FresyriaSyria realize that the Pilias Empire is still alive.”
“I’ll give you the Imperial Army, but it won’t be much.”
Withing the Pilias Empire, the situation in the center was not good.
Local troops are maintained by lords, but the number of imperial and central troops has decreased significantly compared to the past.
Even if Raymond went to a dangerous border, only about 100 Imperial soldiers could be assigned.
“Your Majesty, the great wizards and High-Ranking knights of the Red Tower will also accompany him on this border.”
“Aren’t you the Master of the Red Tower?”
The Emperor looked surprised.
It was not strange to be surprised that the Master of the Red Tower, who was a man of the Third Prince until yesterday, was standing by Raymond’s side.
“The Master of the Red Tower is with His Majesty the Fifth?”
“What the hell is going on here?”
The aristocracy had a similar reaction to the Emperor. Only a few of the people who first saw the Red Tower, was standing by the side of the Fifth Prince, remained calm.
“The Emperor, the Blue Tower, will also accompany His Majesty the Fifth. Please don’t worry too much.”
Not only was the Blue tower master lightly spoke in favor of the Fifth Prince, but he also took a step forward and promised assistance.
“Hey, this isn’t it…….”
It was Aloken, the Third Prince.
Raymond and his forces’ reaction was not what they expected.
Although the blue and red towers promised assistance and a hundred imperial troops joined them, the borders and the black mountains were never easy places.
“He finally can’t make sense of himself.”
The Emperor responded positively to the promise of assistance between the Red tower and the Blue tower.
The boundaries of the Fifth Prince were almost decided. It was something to rejoice in, but Aloken’s expression was callous.
Before sending an assassin to kill him, he wanted to dampen the spirits of the Fifth Prince, because it didn’t work out as he wanted.
In this case, even if the assassination succeeds and the Fifth Prince, Raymond, loses his life, the imperial family and the nobles will remember the positive aspects of him first.
The Third Prince, Aloken, wanted more than just Raymond’s death. He wanted him to be destroyed. He thought it was revenge for taking away the Red tower that supported him.
“Now that we have done this, we have no choice but to kill as painfully as possible. Deneb will send us a very capable assasin.”
He was already thrilled to imagine Raymond suffering.
Deneb shook his head with a short sigh as he watched Aloken shivering with a grim smile.
Unlike his intelligent past, he not only been losing it rapidly in recent years, but it has also develop that jealousy and envy escalating into extreme evil.
“Your Majesty, with the excellent wizards and knights of the Red Tower and the Blue Tower, he will be able to return safely from the border! Please relax and send your Imperial Highnesses to the border to increase the morale of the army!”
It was the aristocrat on the side of the Second Prince who broke his brief silence and raised his voice.
He stepped forward, shrewdly organizing his thoughts while the Third Prince trembled alone. It was wedged to send the Fifthth prince to the border as planned by the Second Prince and the greedy Third Prince.
“Your Majesty, you don’t have to worry! For generations, the Empire has sent the Imperial family to the front line whenever there is a national crisis.”
Another nobleman said. He is an aristocrat on the side of the Third Prince. He even mentioned the imperial tradition.
In fact, the Pilias Empire is famous for having imperial family member on the front line with the army whenever there is a national crisis since ancient times.
Thanks to these, the military’s loyalty to the House of Pilias was deep.
Those who brought victory have the highest chances to be the next in line.
This means that even the youngest son can be regarded as a Crown Prince if he is good.
“They are really desperate to send me to the border.”
Raymond shook his head with an indisputably short sigh.
Given that he even mentioned the tradition of the Pilias Empire, it seems they wanted him to be send to the border.
‘If you come out cheap like this, I have an idea.’
He got up from the chair, looking coldly.
The eyes of the nobles were focused. With everyone paying attention, Raymond opened his mouth with a calm look.
“Your Majesty, with your permission, I will bring you the vanguard of the Kingdom of Fresyria.”
The brief remark caused a stir in the meeting room.
“You’re going to get the vanguard?”
“I thought he’d changed a little, but he’v e lost his mind worst than a jerk.”
“You’re right! I don’t think he’s thinking about anything else…….”
There were people talking.
“The Fifth Prince! Do you know what it means to bring out the vanguard of the Kingdom of Fresyria?”
There wasn’t an aristocrat who asked questions outright.
“Of course I know.”
They couldn’t have known. In the first place, he knew what it meant when he said he would bring the vanguard.
If the imperial family was considered sacred in the Pilias Empire, there was a vanguard in the Kingdom of Fresyria.
“Do you mean you know……?”
“Isn’t it a symbol of the assault of the Lieutenant General who has defended the Kingdom of Fresyria for generations.
“Do you know any other meanings?”
The old nobleman kept asking. Raymond opened his mouth, nodding his head with a calm face.
“I know that the first king of the Kingdom of Fresyria gave each of the 21 lieutenants one by one.”
“So you also know that 21 of them have never been taken away by an enemy in the whole history, right?”
“Of course I know.”
“You know that the moment you take it away, there can be a war, right?”
The old nobleman finished talking and pulled up the corners of his mouth.
Now that he see it, he is an aristocrat on the side of the Third Prince. It was a sharp question, but Raymond was relaxed.
“The enemy has already done nothing short of defeating the ‘vanguard’ of the Empire, but how can they only look at other countries!”
As both eyes shone sharply and raised their voices, all the military aristocrats who had been silent jumped out of their seats.
“Your Majesty the Fifth is right!”
“We can’t be fooled!”
“It’s time for them to pay back!”
“Long live the Pilias! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Fifth Prince!”
They chanted the Emperor and the Fifth Prince, crying out for blood revenge.
People in the military with belligerent tendencies were like that.