Chapter 96

The revolutionary army's smooth advance had come to a halt.

The garrison forces that had been suppressing various regions were annihilated by a mysterious magic, and the Ice Legion launched a counter-invasion. Or, the Black Knights assassinated the command-class personnel.

All of this was the work of Ten Thousand Truths, the Ice Palace, and the Yama Black Blade.

"Hmph. I thought it would be more than this. The觉醒魔装士 of the Holy Grinia, whom I thought would be a hindrance, turned out to be nothing much."

Emperor Geass said this as if spitting out his fatigue. On his desk, piles of documents had been completed, all of them processed.

Grand Duke Noaz was also working in the same office, still sorting through documents.

"Truly... I never thought we would have to use our trump card against anyone other than the Holy Grinia."

"It is indeed not a good choice."

Grand Duke Saouz, like the emperor, had finished a section of his documents and agreed with Noaz.

Currently, the Subarokia Empire is in a state where most of the nobility have fallen. Preparations to find relatives of the deceased nobles and appoint them as new heads of the families have been completed. The chaos can be considered to have subsided for now.

"Reversal... It took a lot of time and effort to get to this point. And resources too."

Not only the time and effort, but also the financial aspect suffered greatly.

There were multiple thefts at the capital's banks, and the contents of the vaults were stolen. The skill with which the vaults were broken into and the stealth with which the contents were removed without being noticed were the work of the 'Ash Rats' and the 'Red Hares.' This was quickly discovered.

"Still, for that black cat to be in a split state. What do you think, Saouz?"

"The allies on our side are 'Balance,' 'Young Branch,' 'White Snake,' 'Phantom Book,' and 'Rampant Dragon.' While it was a relief to have the support of that notorious underground organization, it is quite unsettling. Is the 'Reaper' that terrifying?"

"If we believe their stories, it seems to be a king of the underworld."

"I had thought of Luto, the former general, as an ancient awakened magic armorer based on his skills in killing. I never imagined he was a monster. We've been outsmarted. I now understand how inaccurate information can lead to fatal consequences."

The 'King' of monsters is special.

The magic that ordinary monsters wield is similar to human magic armor, but it is somewhat fixed by the species of the monster. Therefore, dealing with them is relatively easy. However, magic is a different matter. It is a new law, and the magic armor and magic that operate within the normal laws are ineffective against it. It is a level where only an awakened magic armorer with extensive training can barely keep up.

In other words, multiple awakened magic armorers are needed to defeat a 'King' monster.

As is evident from the fact that the Subarokia Empire has not bothered to defeat the Undead King Xenon Life, there is no benefit in defeating a 'King' monster. It only increases the sacrifices. In the worst case, it risks losing the trump card, the awakened magic armorer.

If it comes to a confrontation, it is better to remain non-interfering.

If the empire is to suffer a disadvantage, then it will finally take action.

This is a foe that requires extremely cautious handling.

"As for me, I can't help but regret the matter of the former General Luto."

Noaz, who had just finished the last document, also agreed.

Despite his rough tone, he possessed the qualities and education of a grand duke. He recognized the terror of the 'King' monster and understood the importance of Luto.

"An individual who can match a nation, the Ice Palace; the invincible shield, the Golden Invincible; the genius of magic, Ten Thousand Truths; the versatile Yama Black Blade, skilled in combat, assassination, and espionage; and the secret sword saint, the world's strongest in one-on-one combat. These were the types of abilities we lacked. I really wanted that wide-area destruction ability."

Luto was also a serving general, making it easier to deploy him as a unit.

Awakened magic armorers serve as regular soldiers for a certain period before being granted a title by the emperor. Once they receive a title, they become the most important secret forces, and their nationality is even erased.

In return, their lives are secured, and they are not inconvenienced.

They continue to be hidden for the sake of the future.

"But it's a shame. The assassination of the Golden Invincible and the exposure of the Ice Palace's abilities... The power of the Ice Palace was supposed to be kept secret until the battle with the Holy Grinia..."

"There's nothing we can do, Your Majesty."

"Yes. There are many things to reflect on, but there are also many benefits."

The loss is significant, but it is also an opportunity.

All the countries that were previously vassal states now have a pretext to be fully absorbed into the Subarokia Empire. As they are no longer vassal states, they will not be exploited as before. The plan is to collect legitimate taxes according to the law.

If you thought it would be a whip, it will be a treat.

This will change the people's feelings from resentment towards the empire to gratitude, making the rule perfect. After all, the people are indifferent to who rules as long as their lives are prosperous. The rebellion will be used as a reason to eliminate all the royal families of the vassal states, erasing the banner of rebellion.

While bad things have piled up, not everything is bad.

The ability to make these adjustments is due to the excellence of the emperor and the grand dukes. The system of selecting the most excellent person from the four grand ducal families as the emperor has worked, preventing the empire from becoming a corrupt imperial state. They have always worked for the prosperity of the Subarokia Empire, not for themselves or the people.

This accumulation has led to the reversal.

"There's no point in hiding the awakened magic armorers anymore. Withdraw the army and leave it to the awakened magic armorers. Since we've shown them, we might as well show them a perfect victory."

"The Holy Grinia will likely refrain from deploying their awakened magic armorers. We've definitely won."

"Assign the harassment to the 'Rampant Dragon' instead of Ten Thousand Truths or the Yama Black Blade. Noaz, I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me."

"Also, according to the information from Ten Thousand Truths, it seems a new undead 'King' has been born in the Holy Grinia. A monster named Sherry who uses blood magic. Think of a way to use this. I'll leave it to Saouz."

"I'll summarize it by tomorrow."

Then, as if remembering something about Ten Thousand Truths, Saouz explained a major problem that had hit the capital to the emperor.

"Also, Your Majesty, it seems the moving corpse incident is coming to an end. The leaders of the Black Cat and Ten Thousand Truths have cooperated. It has been determined that the incident was caused by a special bacterium."

"Bacteria? Was it a disease?"

"It is a disease, but one that has been mutated by magic."

"So it was man-made?"

"That's right."

If it can be triggered artificially, it is likely that it will not end until the culprit is found. The fear of a bio-terror attack that could happen at any time would be stressful for Geass.

However, there was an unexpected piece of good news.

"The leaders of the Black Cat are handling the bacteria. 'Young Branch' and 'Phantom Book' are working on countermeasures. I don't want to rely on the underground organization, but Ten Thousand Truths is also busy."

"That's old news."

The state, as an organization, should not rely on underground organizations as much as possible.

If illegal methods are used continuously, the people will begin to believe that they are correct. This will lead to social disorder and the collapse of the state. Therefore, the use of underground organizations should only be for critical moments.

However, Geass no longer cared.

By contracting with several magic armorer guilds operating in the empire, it appears that he has officially requested the services of civilian organizations. The underground organizations are simply mixed in. It's a setup that reveals dust when shaken, but it is not obvious at first glance.

With most of the nobility dead, there is no one who can thoroughly investigate Geass's actions.

With the setup in place, he was confident it would not be discovered.

"This is a battle we should not have lost due to a slow initial response, but we are finally counterattacking."

Geass spoke without hiding his expression of relief.

◆◆◆

It was clear from the map that the revolutionary army was gradually being suppressed and was on the verge of being driven out of the border. Shu and Iris were creating a map based on information from 'Hawk Eye' and devising a strategy.

"The awakened magic armorers are stronger than we imagined."

"Yes, especially the Ice Palace, which is said to be the oldest magic armorer serving the empire. She is likened to a queen, and her magic armor creates a nation. The ice kingdom, which is produced from her unlimited and vast magical power, is impregnable."

"Can't a nation be erased with a forbidden spell?"

"While your point is valid, Iris, even if we erase it with a forbidden spell, it will be redeployed. The only way is to kill the Ice Palace."

Moreover, the awakened magic armorers are not just the Ice Palace.

There is also the Yama Black Blade, who manipulates demon-like Black Knights, and Ten Thousand Truths, who can activate forbidden and divine spells alone. These three are the awakened magic armorers that 'Hawk Eye' has investigated.

"Also, there is another awakened magic armorer, likely a skilled swordsman."

"Likely?"

"Yes. This is based on multiple pieces of information. And this is the only awakened magic armorer who has not shown any activity. We have managed to gather some information on the others as they have shown some movement."

"In any case, we cannot advance the revolutionary army without killing the three awakened magic armorers first."

"Yes, that's where the new request comes in."

'Hawk Eye' shows a piece of paper.

It is a request from the revolutionary army.

"As stated here, a thousand gold coins for killing one awakened magic armorer. If all three are killed, an additional two thousand gold coins will be paid."

"So a total of five thousand gold coins."

For an ordinary person, it is a fortune that would last a lifetime.

However, the gold coins themselves have no meaning. The Subarokia Empire, where gold coins are used, is scheduled to be destroyed, so the gold coins will eventually become unusable. Shu wanted not the gold coins but the gold used to make them.

Gold can be exchanged for money anywhere, so it will be useful even after the Subarokia Empire falls.

Given that paper money is commonly used in the Holy Grinia and surrounding countries, it is likely that paper money will be the main currency after the Subarokia Empire is gone. If he stockpiles gold now, he can live without working in a world dominated by the Demon God cult.

"However, Mr. Reaper, there is one problem."

"Problem?"

"The Ice Palace is one thing, but we can't locate Ten Thousand Truths and the Yama Black Blade. It's a problem."

"That's troublesome."

Even if he were to assassinate them, he couldn't do it without knowing their location.

So far, Shu has relied on others for information on assassination targets. Therefore, he cannot be said to have high information-gathering skills. It is impossible to easily find the location of an awakened magic armorer, who is a secret target.

"...There's no choice. Let's start by killing the Ice Palace."

"But what will you do after that, Shu?"

"The only option is to lure them. Have 'Hawk Eye' relay the message."

"I see. It is efficient. Once the Ice Palace is killed, everything will be fine, right?"

"Exactly."

While Shu and 'Hawk Eye' seem to understand each other, Iris doesn't seem to understand what's going on. She pouted in frustration.

"Ugh! You and 'Hawk Eye' are always plotting evil things together!"

Recently, Iris has had almost nothing to do.

She can be told what Shu is doing, but she is not allowed to be involved. For Iris, this is a source of dissatisfaction.

"I've been working hard on reducing the size of the forbidden spell! I want a job too!"

"I see... Then, help me."

At these words, Iris's face lit up with a genuine smile.

◆◆◆

It was clear from the map that the revolutionary army was gradually being suppressed and was on the verge of being driven out of the border. Shu and Iris were creating a map based on information from 'Hawk Eye' and devising a strategy.

"The awakened magic armorers are stronger than we imagined."

"Yes, especially the Ice Palace, which is said to be the oldest magic armorer serving the empire. She is likened to a queen, and her magic armor creates a nation. The ice kingdom, which is produced from her unlimited and vast magical power, is impregnable."

"Can't a nation be erased with a forbidden spell?"

"While your point is valid, Iris, even if we erase it with a forbidden spell, it will be redeployed. The only way is to kill the Ice Palace."

Moreover, the awakened magic armorers are not just the Ice Palace.

There is also the Yama Black Blade, who manipulates demon-like Black Knights, and Ten Thousand Truths, who can activate forbidden and divine spells alone. These three are the awakened magic armorers that 'Hawk Eye' has investigated.

"Also, there is another awakened magic armorer, likely a skilled swordsman."

"Likely?"

"Yes. This is based on multiple pieces of information. And this is the only awakened magic armorer who has not shown any activity. We have managed to gather some information on the others as they have shown some movement."

"In any case, we cannot advance the revolutionary army without killing the three awakened magic armorers first."

"Yes, that's where the new request comes in."

'Hawk Eye' shows a piece of paper.

It is a request from the revolutionary army.

"As stated here, a thousand gold coins for killing one awakened magic armorer. If all three are killed, an additional two thousand gold coins will be paid."

"So a total of five thousand gold coins."

For an ordinary person, it is a fortune that would last a lifetime.

However, the gold coins themselves have no meaning. The Subarokia Empire, where gold coins are used, is scheduled to be destroyed, so the gold coins will eventually become unusable. Shu wanted not the gold coins but the gold used to make them.

Gold can be exchanged for money anywhere, so it will be useful even after the Subarokia Empire falls.

Given that paper money is commonly used in the Holy Grinia and surrounding countries, it is likely that paper money will be the main currency after the Subarokia Empire is gone. If he stockpiles gold now, he can live without working in a world dominated by the Demon God cult.

"However, Mr. Reaper, there is one problem."

"Problem?"

"The Ice Palace is one thing, but we can't locate Ten Thousand Truths and the Yama Black Blade. It's a problem."

"That's troublesome."

Even if he were to assassinate them, he couldn't do it without knowing their location.

So far, Shu has relied on others for information on assassination targets. Therefore, he cannot be said to have high information-gathering skills. It is impossible to easily find the location of an awakened magic armorer, who is a secret target.

"...There's no choice. Let's start by killing the Ice Palace."

"But what will you do after that