Chapter 14

Heryan took immediate action.

The group, having left the village, was now running at full speed to return to the country, relying on Heryan’s <Map> and the guidance of Eltina, who had a high aptitude for the terrain of the forest, to take the shortest route.

The covert soldiers who had been waiting outside the village were also trailing the group, but even with their agility, they could not match the speed of a Legion Commander. The two groups were almost completely separated, despite following the same return route.

Heryan, who could not move at high speed, was once again being carried by Reeve.

Pride was long gone. There was no time to dwell on such trivial matters. It was necessary to return to the country as quickly as possible.

"A request for assistance from a Magic Item has come in. I need to meet up with my comrades. Please allow me to leave immediately."

After quickly informing Reifa of this, Heryan and the others rushed out of the village.

It was a far cry from the peaceful farewell they had planned, but there was no other choice. Even if they were suspected, it could still be remedied. The current priority was to deal with the situation in their own country, where they were in a dire situation that required their full effort.

To the Second Legion Commander, Balan, Heryan had only given the order: "Defend the throne. Do not let anyone touch it until I return."

The throne must not be taken.

While the loss of the throne does not immediately mean the success of the rebellion, it would trigger various disadvantages.

First, many of the abilities Heryan possessed as king would become unusable.

For example, most of the support virtual windows like <Map> and <Communication> would become unusable, making it difficult to communicate with the Legion Commanders.

Furthermore, the overall [Happiness] and [Morale] of the citizens would continuously decrease, and [Control] would drastically decline. If the [Control] of the rebels exceeded that of the king after a city was seized, the control of that city would be taken by the rebels.

Moreover, this rebellion was not in a satellite city but in the capital, the heart of the country. If the capital were to be seized by the rebels and certain conditions were met, it would be judged as a [Revolution Success].

If that were to happen, it would be the end.

The end of the country.

For a country ruled by a human king, it would mean [Extinction], and the game data of the corresponding player would be completely deleted.

This game had no concept of save points. A successful revolution meant a complete game over.

"Damn it...!"

Heryan squeezed out a voice.

He wanted to shout, "Why?" He wanted to scream, "This is not what was agreed upon."

He had prioritized maintaining order by leaving the Second Legion Commander behind, yet a rebellion had occurred. It was a fraud. They had said the order was maintained. They had said the unrest caused by the transfer had been calmed by the efforts of the Second and Fifth Legion Commanders. And yet, with all the Legion Commanders except Reeve and Eltina left behind, how could this happen?

—Who betrayed us?

Balan was an ally.

If Balan were a traitor, he would simply ignore Heryan’s message and go for the throne. There would be no need to report the rebellion.

Reeve and Eltina showed no signs of betrayal. If they were to betray, they could have killed Heryan right here. But they were trying to return to the country as quickly as possible, so they were undoubtedly allies.

Reeve Flegius, the First Legion Commander.

Balan Zayvrit, the Second Legion Commander.

Eltina Versandi, the Third Legion Commander.

The "Three Beginnings" who had walked the same path as Heryan since the early days.

Currently, these three were the only ones he could trust with certainty.

...Then, what about the other Legion Commanders?

Among the Legion Commanders, there were those with character traits like [Selfish] and [Egoist], and some had a tendency towards [Chaos].

Character traits influenced the personality and behavior patterns of the characters in detail, while tendencies affected the overall direction.

For example, Eltina, who had the tendency [Harmony], preferred actions that resolved conflicts among her subordinates. On the other hand, [Chaos] could lead to unpredictable actions, disregarding or ignoring the impact on others.

Furthermore, one of the Legion Commanders had the tendency [Evil]. While they had a tendency to acquire rare, unique abilities, they also had a tendency to choose ruthless actions.

...These are the ones to watch. It’s hard to tell what they are thinking.

If it were Reeve, a one-on-one melee battle could be managed.

It wasn’t for nothing that he had been a trusted aide to the king for years. Reeve, who had been the most intensively trained, boasted the highest overall level among all subordinates.

The Seventh Legion Commander alone was dangerous even in a melee battle with Reeve, but if the main body could be taken out first, it would be manageable. If only one of them were a traitor, it would be manageable. The problem would be if multiple Legion Commanders had betrayed.

...No, wait. What am I thinking...

The Legion Commanders may not have betrayed yet.

Balan only said, "A rebellion has occurred."

Perhaps all the Legion Commanders are still alive, and only some of the soldiers are the traitors.

Please, let that be the case. I beg you. The Legion Commanders must be allies.

“Guh...!”

While praying, he clung to Reeve desperately.

Running at full speed, the ride with Reeve was, to put it bluntly, the worst. The world literally spun.

Just a moment ago, the ground was terrifyingly in his line of sight. Multiple times, the world was inverted as they sped through the gaps between trees. It was impossible to tell how he was moving, but it was a sprint that prioritized speed above all else.

This was not because Reeve was ignoring the state of the passenger, but because Heryan himself had forced her to return as quickly as possible. Having given the order, Heryan had no choice but to endure the murderous shaking and wind pressure in silence.

When Heryan’s sense of time began to distort, the group finally reached the main gate of their country.

"It’s the First Legion Commander, Reeve Flegius! Open the gate! Immediately!"

Reeve shouted to the gatekeepers, and after a moment, the heavy gate began to open. Twisting their bodies to fit through the narrow opening, Reeve and Eltina rushed into the capital.

Their destination was the center of the capital, the royal castle of Alkymira.

The scenery streamed past at high speed.

The vision was blurry, but there were no signs of fire.

No buildings were damaged.

No groups were advancing towards the king’s residence.

But they couldn’t let their guard down.

The rebels might not care about the city.

They might be heading straight for the castle.

They might have already infiltrated the castle.

Anxiety gnawed at him.

Without the leisure of entering the castle through the gate, Reeve leaped in front of the gate.

The powerful leg strength of the Moon Wolf propelled Reeve and Heryan’s bodies up to a height of thirty meters above the ground.

A moment of floating sensation.

Then the unique feeling of falling, as if the internal organs were being lifted from the bottom.

A far more thrilling sensation than a mediocre roller coaster, Reeve landed silently on the east terrace of the castle.

Kicking through the window to enter the castle, they ran down the grand corridor, stepping on the red carpet, and finally reached the throne room.

There were no enemies in sight.

Reeve gently set Heryan down.

Heryan, stumbling, once again set foot on the ground of his residence.

"What’s the situation!?"

As soon as the door opened, Heryan shouted.

In the throne room were a group of soldiers in full armor, mostly half-beasts, and the Second Legion Commander, Balan.

The throne was empty.

No one was sitting on it.

It was safe.

They had made it in time.

"Y-Your Majesty...!?"

Balan and the soldiers, who had initially raised their weapons, thinking they were intruders, lowered them.

"What’s the situation? No one has touched the throne, right!?"

"Ha! After receiving your orders, I immediately took charge of guarding the throne and gathered an elite force. No one has touched the throne."

"What about the other Legion Commanders?"

"The Fifth Legion Commander has taken independent action, leading his own forces and part of the Sixth Legion to deal with the rebels. The other Legion Commanders are continuing to follow the king’s orders."

So all the Legion Commanders are still alive.

The fact that none of the Legion Commanders had betrayed brought a sigh of relief.

But what does it mean that only the Fifth Legion Commander is dealing with the rebels?

Why aren’t the other Legion Commanders moving?

Even if the king had given them orders before leaving, there was no need to follow them so rigidly in such an emergency—no, perhaps it’s different?

Is this not an emergency?

"What’s the situation with the rebels? Who led the rebellion?"

"Ogres. The leader... doesn’t have a particular name. He had unusually red skin, so we could call him the Red Ogre."

"...Ogres?"

From the Fifth Legion?

No, come to think of it, Ogres... a group had attacked recently.

Could it be?

"Is the rebellion led by the Ogres we annexed recently?"

"Yes."

"Are there any other rebels?"

"No."

Relief washed over him.

If no one was around, he might have collapsed right there.

(...Ah, right. There were those who might take advantage of the chaos to rebel.)

Heryan recalled the foolish group that had attacked just before the national founding celebration, when all the Legion Commanders were to gather.

They had been defeated and forced to surrender, and Heryan had reluctantly annexed the Ogre group.

It was possible to kill them all in the game, but Heryan had always treated surrendered enemies with respect. As a playstyle, he had adhered to a defensive strategy, with one exception. Since they had surrendered, there was no choice but to annex them.

However, immediately after annexation, the loyalty and happiness of the monsters were at zero, and if not reduced, they could take advantage of a bad event to rebel.

He had planned to reduce their rebelliousness with the effects of the national founding celebration, but since the celebration could not be held, the rebelliousness of the Ogres had not decreased at all.

Then came the unprecedented large-scale bad event of the entire capital being transferred. The conditions for them to rebel were fully in place.

But Heryan was relieved.

He could say he was relieved from the bottom of his heart.

Because if the rebels were only the Ogres, there was no problem.

Frankly, it wasn’t even necessary for the Legion Commanders to go out themselves.

The Fifth Legion Commander was already dealing with it, and it was more than enough.

It was natural that the other Legion Commanders were continuing their respective tasks, ignoring the rebellion.

The power difference was so clear that there was no chance of losing.

If the Ogres had the intelligence to measure the power difference, they wouldn’t have rebelled in the first place.

(There was no need to rush back... I feel so drained.)

At least, he should have confirmed who the rebels were beforehand.

In his haste to return to the country, Heryan had only given Balan the minimum orders and had not confirmed the situation. During the journey, he had closed all the virtual windows that would interfere with movement and could not even see the chat.

But he should have asked for more detailed information. It was a matter of how calm he was. The absurdity of the situation made him want to hold his head.

"Your Majesty?"

"No, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit tired."

Perhaps released from the tension, his legs trembled, remembering the fatigue.

Don’t say he was weak just for clinging on.

After all, he had been moving at a speed much faster than any ordinary two-wheeled vehicle, and had been tossed around by acrobatic movements. The burden was two levels higher than Heryan had imagined.

He had been struggling just to cling to Reeve’s body and not be thrown off.

"Hm? Reeve, are you in a good mood or something, Balan?"

"...What are you talking about, Balan? I understand that the rebels are insignificant, but a rebellion is still ongoing. It’s unlike you to say I’m in a good mood in such a situation. What exactly are you seeing?"

Reeve said this with a composed face.

Her eyes were cold, but behind her, her fluffy silver tail was wagging furiously.

If asked, "What are you seeing?" the answer would be, "That tail." But Reeve seemed unaware. Balan had a slightly troubled look.

...Well, it’s fine.

Heryan didn’t know why she was in a good mood, but since it wasn’t an emergency, he didn’t mind that Reeve wasn’t tense.

The fatigue was so intense that such things seemed trivial.

"What’s the status of the suppression of the rebels... No, it’s fine. The Sixth Legion’s forces are out there. I’ll get the information here."

He displayed the tactical virtual window and called up the <Map>.

He tapped the unit mark of a subordinate of the Sixth Legion, who was stationed in a dedicated room in the castle, on the aerial map of the castle.

This subordinate was a Vampire who had the skill to build a unique information network using bats.

He was responsible for aggregating information from the various monsters of the Sixth Legion. He should have real-time information on the suppression of the rebels.

Since he was not within the close range (50 meters from the king), he could not automatically <Share Information>. But since he was within a certain range (1 kilometer), it was possible to manually <Share Information>.

"Ability virtual window: Unlock.

Ability activation: Information sharing: Direct connection.

Target input: Direct selection."

By opening the ability virtual window and requesting information sharing from Heryan’s side, the information on the <Map> and the power balance was updated in a few seconds. To see the real-time progression, he maintained the "connection" state.

"The rebels... are almost all eliminated."

A mark indicating a battle was blinking in a corner of the <Map>.

In that area, the red dots representing the enemies were gradually decreasing, surrounded by the green dots representing the allies.

It would take no more than five minutes for the red dots to completely disappear.

"Are you going to the site?"

Balan asked.

It was not a crazy idea for the king to go to the site to defeat the rebels. It was about what to do after the suppression.

When the rebels were suppressed, the king could raise the head of the one who had taken the lead in the suppression to restore the order of the city.

Rebellions were extremely rare, and the king was not always near the site when they occurred. But Heryan, who had a playstyle of doing what he could, had always tried to go to the site to hold the "Reward for Suppressing the Rebellion" event.

If he didn’t do it this time, his subordinates might look at him strangely. He had no choice but to go. The site, after the suppression of the rebels, should not be something to worry about.

"...Yes. When the suppression is complete, I will go to the site. Balan, continue to guard the throne until I declare the success of the suppression. Reeve and Eltina, continue to guard me."

"Ha!"

A few minutes later, the red dots on the <Map> disappeared. The suppression of the rebels was successful.

Heryan, despite his fatigue, forced his body to move towards the site.

Unaware of the tragedy that awaited him.