I am the Monarch Chapter 199

T/n: Sorry, only two chapters today. I had a rather important paper due tonight, and that took up my time. Also, Sai101 was busy today so Fujimaru helped out with proofreading. Next update will probably be Sunday this week with more chapters.

"Have you heard the rumor?"
"What rumor?"
"What do you mean what rumor. The rumor about Sir Count Lancephil."
"Ah…… I heard it, I heard it of course."

Few soldiers gathered and chatted in quiet voices.
On their chests, a blue longsword symbolizing the Second Prince Tommy Rinse was etched.
The soldier who first spoke up, with a slightly nervous look, added on.

"Sir Count Lancephil repelled the Byron Kingdom Army and the Istel Kingdom Army and……"

When his words reached about that point.

"Nah, it isn't that Sir Count Lancephil repelled them. From what I heard, the Pershion Kingdom invaded the two kingdoms……"

Thin-eyed soldier cut in with a sharp voice.
Instantly, numerous soldiers squinted their eyes.

"The two kingdoms weren't even a match for Sir Count Lancephil even before the Pershion Kingdom attacked, you know?"
"Right. They probably haven't even won once, no?"
"It was Sir Count Lancephil's complete victory."

The voices turned higher.
Although all the soldiers were following Tommy, they too were Rinse Kingdom's citizens.
Roan, who achieved complete victories against the two kingdoms, Byron and Istel, whenever the kingdom was in difficulty, was their pride and treasure.

"I, I got it. I just meant that the rumors are like that."

The thin-eyed soldier shrunk back his head and formed an awkward smile.
The soldier who spoke up first glared his eyes once, then continued his words.

"Anyway, it looks like Sir Count Lancephil is going to enter the throne succession war full on after defeating the two kingdom's armies. I heard the rumors that he already has completely subdued the surrounding regions around Lancephil County."

Another soldier nodded his head and echoed.

"And those subduing weren't simple subjugation either. They say that the number of places he subdued with force is a small minority. It seems that the countryside nobles who followed Prince Tommy and Prince Kallum raced to surrender the moment the news Sir Count Lancephil has entered the war was passed. He has subdued the kingdom's northern region without even fighting."
"Thanks to that, they say the supporting factions in the North that were barely continuing their existences all got wiped out."
"Now the north of the capital, Miller, has truly became Prince Simon's territory."

One soldier bitterly smiled and sighed.
At that moment, the thin-eyed soldier who got a round of curses once again spoke in a gruff voice.

"Tch. We don't know that. Whether it's Prince Simon's territory or Sir Count Lancephil's territory……"
"What?"

The other soldiers creased their foreheads once more and glared at the thin-eyed soldier.

"Wha, what…… no I'm just……"

When he awkwardly smiled and tried to lay out excuses.

"No. Those words do have a point."

The soldier who spoke up the story about Roan shrugged his shoulders.
Soon following, other soldiers echoed.

"Right. And since the topic came up, isn't Sir Count Lancephil much better than Prince Simon from our position?"
"Right. They do say that Prince Simon executed all surrendered soldiers before……"
"If Prince Simon climbs to the throne like this……"

The soldiers wordlessly unfolded their world of imagination in their heads.

"Uuuuh."

River of blood, mountain of corpses.
A horrible end as plain as day.
Goosebumps peaked all over their bodies.
And what was even worse was..

'That it doesn't feel like it'll get quite better even if we serve Prince Tommy like this.'

That was also the same in Kallum's case.
Regardless of whoever amongst the three princes became the king, the Rinse Kingdom would meet an era of schism and strife.
A sigh flowed out.
It wasn't just one or two people.

"Huu…… just how did the kingdom become like this……"

All the soldiers dropped their heads and spat out long sighs.

"Anyhow, since Sir Count Lancephil has completely subdued the kingdom's northern region, he should soon come to Eastbury Region here."

The place closest to the North with the capital, Miller, as the center was the very Eastbury Region here.
Because it was also a strategic point of its own, it was also a place that Simon sent the Relt Legion, Tommy the Uppe Legion, and were intensely waging a battle.
The Uppe Legion's soldiers nodded with dark light on their faces.
The time to face the Crimson Ghost and the Crimson Legion had drawn right in front of their noses.
Suddenly.

"There's no need to have such worried already."

Together with a crude voice, an explosive and muscular man appeared.

"Ah, squad commander."
"Please sit here, sir."

The soldiers stood up and lowered their heads as they moved to the sides.
The muscular man called the squad commander took place between the soldiers and burst out a bizarre laughter.

"Kukuk. It'll take at least ten days if he were to lead a large-scale legion and climb south to here from the kingdom's North. There's no need to worry already."

It was the truth.
Although he would arrive in only two to three days or so if he only led the cavalry and climbed south, he couldn't do something so reckless with a great war before him.
If he were to set a complete legion including infantry and supply troops and climb south, it took at least six days regardless of however fast he was.
Even then, it was about that much when he would do an incredibly strained march.
The squad commander eccentrically smiled and clapped his hands.

"So all of you rest well and save up on your strength instead. Because a big battle will happen ten days from now."

At those words, one of the soldiers cautiously asked.

"The opponent is the Crimson Legion said to be the kingdom's strongest. Could we be a match to them?"
"He's right."
"Our Uppe Legion is made up of fief regiments……"

It was a united legion made up of numerous nobles' fief regiments.
The squad commander, at the soldiers' moaning sounds, snickered out a laugh and pointed towards the outside of the camp.

"We began camp maintenance work starting today. And we decided to make pitfalls on the outside of the camp. If we were to do wage a grand battle, a frontal fight with strength against strength, the possibility of us losing will be high. But if we face them after placing pitfalls beforehand and thicken our camp's defense, even the Lancephil Fief Regiment won't be able to do anything."
"Ah! So we're doing a type of a castle defense battle?"
"Right. That's exactly it. We'll just plant ourselves tight in our camp and hold onto their ankles."

The squad commander loudly laughed and nodded his head.
A castle defense battle waged in a field battle.
It was the strategy decided through the commanders' meeting.
The Uppe Legion's commanders didn't show useless pride or ambition.
They had meekly recognized Roan and the Lancephil Fief Regiment's might and had decided to stick themselves inside the camp and fight.

"So don't worry too much."

The squad commander, standing up from his seat, looked towards the north.
Confidence overflowed on his face.

"Because even the Lancephil Fief Regiment, that Crimson Legion won't be able to conquer our camp."

At those words, many soldiers clenched their teeth and nodded their heads.
Confidences filled up from places deep within their hearts.

'Right. If we prepare and ready from far before, even the Crimson Legion won't be able to do anything.'
'They're fighting on top of our palms. There's nothing to be afraid of.'
'Since we'll place pitfalls and even thicken our camp's defenses further.'

Their eyes flashed and shone with light.
However, such confidences of Uppe Legion's soldiers were crumbled to dust in merely two days.

"Wha, what's that?"
"Tha, that's……"

The Uppe Legion's soldiers stood on the camp's watchtowers and stared towards the north.
All of their expressions were half-dazed.
Especially the soldiers who were setting up the traps outside the camp, seeing the white fume that fully filled the northern sky, froze like stone statues.

"I, isn't that the Lancephil Fief Regiment?"

One amongst the soldiers pointed at the a highly soaring flag.
A flag that, together with a flower petal, two sets of spears and a shield were drawn.
It was definitely the old Baron Tale House's crest and the current Count Lancephil House's crest.

Dudududududu!

Soon, the sound of horse hooves shaking the ground hit their ears.
The dust cloud scattered and hundreds, thousands of cavalries showed up behind the highly soaring flag.

"Eh, eh, eh, eh!"
"Ho, how is the Lancephil Fief Regiment already?!"

Eyes widely opening as if they couldn't believe.
Suddenly.

Drrrrr!

Together with a monstrous sound and parting the dust clouds, no, raising the dust clouds, more than tens of giant-sized carriages appeared.

"Wha, what is that now?"
"There's a carriage as big as that?"
"Rather than that, look at the horses pulling the carriages!"

The Uppe Legion's soldiers, with their mouths wide open, scowl at the carriages.
Shockingly, only two ordinary horses were all that were pulling the giant carriages.

Clank! Clank!

The metal armor the warhorses wore clashed against each other and produced metallic sounds.

"S, shouldn't we be running away?"
"Uuuh. To think it's the Crimson Ghost and the Crimson Legion!"

Few soldiers threw down their spades and pickaxes and falteringly moved back.
At that moment, the commander rank soldiers pulled out the swords at their waists and shouted.

"Do not retreat! Look closely at the Lancephil Fief Regiment! They have only brought cavalry and have urgently rushed south! They don't have any infantry at all!"

At those words, the soldiers stood their places and thinly opened their eyes.
It was the truth.
The Lancephil Fief Regiment was made up of only cavalry and giant carriages of unknown identity.

'Right. He did say that it'll take at least ten days to get to this region.'
'The fact that even the cavalry arrived in just two days means that they are as tired as they could be!'
'They too aren't of perfect condition!'

However strong the Lancephil Fief Regiment was said to be, there was something called affinity between the troops.
Although the cavalry had good mobility and destructiveness, the attack patterns were much too limited.
There were no distinct tactics besides piercing through or charging, and if they were accidentally trapped in a pitfall region, a problem where their room for movement narrowing broke out.
Furthermore, it couldn't use any strength at all when alone in a fight with halberd infantry or archer class of soldiers.

"Aren't they looking down at us too much?"
"If they're all cavalry, we can simply send out long spear troops and take down their mobility."

Uppe Legion's soldiers sneered and shone a viper-like light from their eyes.
Perhaps having heard the soldiers' such story, the Lancephil Fief Regiment's cavalry and carriages slowly reduced their speeds, then soon completely came to a stop.

Neeigh!

Rough cries of the horses hit the ears.

Gulp.

The Uppe Legion's soldiers, unknowingly with dazed expressions, watched that grand and incredible sight.
Simultaneously, the Uppe Legion's main army charged from the camp's rear to intercept.
Literally an explosive situation.

"Alright. Let's try it."
"We'll show you that it's not even enough with merely the cavalry."

The Uppe Legion's soldiers pulled out their own weapons and gritted their teeth.
When they got the thoughts that they were looked down on and that it was doable, the morale that had hit the ground slowly climbed up.

"Everyone grab your weapons."
"Let's fight do or die."

Sounds of resolving hearts poured out.
At that moment.

Boom!

Together with an explosive sound, the giant carriage's left and right sides fully opened up.
No, as if they were ripped away, the top section split and fully unfolded towards each side's ground.
An event that simultaneously happened from tens of carriages.
It was a shape that seemed like they made a slope from the ground to the carriage's inside with strong planks.

"Wha, what the?"
"Did the carriages break apart?"

The Uppe Legion's soldiers blankly stood and merely blinked their eyes.
At that moment, soldiers stepped on the carriages' walls that opened up to the sides and poured out.
They were crimson ghosts that all equipped from head to toe with red like one.
They, without a single tired look, came out of the carriages and set formation.
It was a moment that a lame legion with only cavalry was reborn into a powerful legion that had set all types of troops.

"Huhgh."

At the thick presence and pressure, the Uppe Legion's soldiers emptily swallowed.
In front of their eyes were all colored with a red light.
Meanwhile, the crimson soldiers perfectly formed an oblong formation and then pulled out their weapons.
A feeling like a riptide-like charge would begin at any moment.

"Uuuuh."

The Uppe Legion's soldiers trembled with completely unstrung expressions.
A situation where their minds were petrified by fear.
Suddenly, the crimson soldiers in the middle moved back to the sides.
Simultaneously, a young man riding a slick and muscular warhorse appeared.
A crimson helmet, a crimson armor, a crimson cloak.
Deep eyes on a manly looking face.
He was the very owner of the Crimson Legion and the Rinse Kingdom's hero, Roan Lancephil the Crimson Ghost.

'The magic carriages are usefully being applied.'

Roan, after quelling the Rinse Kingdom's northern regions, began to climb south with the Lancephil Fief Regiment.
Literally a blitzkrieg, a situation where a single second was urgent.
But even so, it wasn't a situation where he could do a straining march just because numerous situations were urgent either.
If not careful, they could also have taken the enemy force's attack the moment they arrive at the battlefield and receive a great damage.
At that moment, the thing that floated up in his head were the very magic carriages, the center of the Lancephil County's transportation network.
On top of the twenty or so magic carriages that were already in use, Roan pulled out all the magic carriages he had saved for military purpose and boarded the infantry.
Not only that, the ration and goods supplying that was indispensably needed in battles and wars too were proceeded together through the magic carriages.
Thanks to that, Roan was able to make a speed similar to a cavalry troop marching alone even while climbing south together with a large-scale legion.
That was the very reason that Roan and the Crimson Legion were able to quickly arrive at the Eastbury Region unlike the predictions of Uppe Legion's soldiers.
Roan quietly stared at the Uppe Legion's stiffly frozen soldiers.
A soft light in his eyes and faintly floated smile.
It was a look that truly calmed people.
However, the might and presence that burst out from his entire body naturally made people lower their heads.

"I am Rinse Kingdom's Count and the owner of the Lancephil Fief of Northeast, Roan Lancephil."

A powerful voice rode the wind and stir the battlefield.

Gulp.

The Uppe Legion's soldiers all dryly gulped with tense expressions.
Roan quietly looked at them and added on.

"Those who surrender, I will respectfully receive as my soldiers. But those who oppose……"

A resolute tone and expression.
There was not a single hint of trembling in his eyes.

"I will not forgive."

The instant his words finished.

Chang! Klang klang! Chachang!

The Uppe Legion's soldiers threw down the weapons they held.
They quickly kneeled and lied down on the ground.

"We surrender!"
"W, we have no desire to fight Sir Count Lancephil!"

In the first place, the Uppe Legion's soldiers had absolutely no thought of fighting outside the camp even if they set the traps and thicken the camp's defense.
In such situation, being carried away by an ill-advised bravery was no different than extending out their necks longly and begging to quickly cut them down.
Roan stared at the soldiers who prostrated on the ground and climbed down from his warhorse.
He moved his steps alone towards the soldiers.
The commanders including Austin and the Taemusas tried to follow up, but Roan faintly smiled and waved his hand.
Roan gently held the shoulders of the Uppe Legion's soldier that was furthest at the front.

"Stand up."

He raised up the soldier.
At those words, even the other soldiers stood up one by one from their spots.
Roan looked straight into their eyes and spoke in a bold and daring voice.

"I am not trying to do the war."

The soldiers leaned their ears towards Roan's words.

"I plan to end the war."

Although it was a sound like playful words, the soldiers felt their hearts race.
Roan faintly smiled and nodded his head.

"Let us save the kingdom and its citizens together with me."

The instant his words finished, the soldiers kneeled down on one knees and saluted.

"Yes sir!"

Deafening voices shook the world.
Like that, Roan's suppression of the Rinse Kingdom began.

< Sudden Change (5) > End.

Translator : CSV
Proofreader: Fujimaru

Chapter end