Episode 21
#21. northern spring (2)
The golden age when mankind challenged God's authority has fallen..
Through the Holy Age, the Dark Age, and the Savage Age.
A new era has begun, signaling the revival of civilization and culture..
People compared this era to the old Golden Age and called it the Silver Age..
And there was a country that pioneered this silver age.…….
It was the Lagate Empire, the largest and most powerful country in the western continent of Arcadia..
Goyt, capital of the empire.
“Failure? Are you sure??”
“Your Majesty, your Majesty.”
“The preparation must have been perfect.?”
A secret report came from the imperial palace in the center of Goit, the capital city..
“I don't understand. We have certainly captured the Knights of Frostmourne. Even the warlocks from the Devil's Den were mobilized. The barrier used was carefully designed by the Golden Magic Tower..”
“…….”
“Where is that? The Sigma Knights mobilized for the operation are the most elite of the elite, carefully trained by the Imperial Knights. What about wizards? They were the next generation of magicians who honed the essence of all kinds of combat magic at the Golden Magic Tower. But I failed?”
A middle-aged man with blond hair and red eyes.
The imperial prince, Kanbraman La Goit, tilted his head and looked at the minister in front of him..
With indifferent eyes that can't read any emotions.
“The last report I received was that the Archduke and the Frostblade were successfully trapped in the barrier. With the confident final sentence that success is only a matter of time. But it failed?”
“…….”
It was such an indifferent gaze from the crown prince, but Astra, the imperial intelligence officer and head of Sigma, who had to deal with it alone, felt her lifespan decreasing in real time..
“The reason is?”
“that is… … . There is... … . It's a bit strange…….”
“speak.”
“It is said that a golden chariot appeared in the magic world..”
“golden carriage?”
“This is a carriage said to have been made by a man named Arad of Northern Haven. It is said that he sold food and medicine while driving a golden chariot in Magyeong. Then he entered the abyss, and it seems he helped the Archduke there..”
“……Can a horse-drawn carriage move around in the dark??”
“In theory it is possible. This can be done by pulling the carriage with a special horse that can withstand monster attacks..”
“But it is very expensive and rare. As far as I know, there aren't many words like that in the empire. While driving a carriage using the precious special horse, he sells food at the horse race.?”
As Crown Prince Kanbraman said this, he thought that the name Arad, the man who built this golden chariot, sounded somehow familiar..
“The name Arad... … . Is this the same person who made Arad salt, the spice of the North??”
“That's right, Your Highness.”
The marriage talk meant to swallow up the North is fading away..
The Empire began to pressure the North with spices.
However, the North responded to the pressure with something called Arad salt that fell from the sky one day..
Because of this, spices are now rarely used in the north..
‘These days, I actually buy Arad salt from the empire and use it..’
Even the rumored Arad salt is now being sold well in the empire..
Arad salt could be made from a common weed found only in the North..
This is because the price was much cheaper than that of spices from the Eastern Continent..
‘There is one more reason to make the north a direct territory of the imperial family..’
From magic stones to spices, the complete merger of the North has now become a long-awaited project for the empire and the imperial family..
“Arad, Arad…….”
Khanbrahman pondered the name Arad..
Then, I summarized what had happened in the North until recently..
“So, one day, a man named Arad suddenly appeared in the northern part of the country, and as if it wasn't enough to create something called Arad salt, he even built a golden carriage to sell food in the magic world, and went into the abyss to save the Archduke who was trapped in the barrier.?”
He thought that the erotic novels read by noble women would be more realistic than this..
‘From Arad Salt to the Golden Carriage. Was it not a coincidence after all??’
When Khanbrahman is lost in thought.
Sigma's leader Astra cautiously opened his mouth..
“Sigma speculates that he is a secret weapon created by Lancelet..”
It seemed like he had a similar guess as the crown prince..
“Do you think that Arad is a mage secretly raised in the North??”
“yes.”
“Did Lancelet still have that much magical power??”
“There is the last remaining witch coven in the North..”
“Well, aren't they in decline and just farming? Surely you're not saying that our golden magic tower is being overtaken by less than a handful of northern witches??”
“…….”
The conversation did not come up with a clear answer and ended up being a long series of conjectures and conjectures..
“It's frustrating.”
Crown Prince Khanbrahman furrowed his brows..
I thought things would work out well, but then it turned out this way..
* * *
The North is located at the edge of the empire. The only border bordered by the Empire was the Empire, and the North Sea was blocked by icebergs all year round, making it impossible to launch even small ships..
The northern part, bordering the Magyeong and the Far North and the Manus Mountains, was truly a land of barbarism and extreme cold..
Powerful monsters and barbarians appear frequently, but the northern region is rich in magic stones, so top-quality magic stones are often found..
There were even quite a few dungeons from the ancient Golden Age buried in the Demonic Land..
However, the north was a curse to the empire. Until now.
It was certainly true that precious resources were produced, and it was also true that an ancient dungeon from the Golden Age was buried in the Demon World..
Because of that, it was not profitable to station a huge number of troops and relocate the people..
Also, where are the indigenous people of the North usually so fierce? It wasn't easy to rule them.
So, about 200 years ago, the empire gave the title of Grand Duke of the North to Rune Lancelet, the legendary northern sword master who led the northern indigenous people at the time, and established an archduchy..
The Grand Duke of the North was tasked with managing the entire North and all Northerners..
-If you fierce people hunt down the monsters there and mine the magic stones, I will buy them for you at a low price..
- Adventurers from our empire will come and go freely in the Demon World. Do not block their passage. You northerners should act as porters alongside the imperial adventurers.!
It's like I just drank sweet water..
The relationship between the Empire and the North has recently changed 180 degrees due to the magic engineering that was launched in the Golden Magic Tower..
Although it was still classified and not known to the world, the high-ranking members of the imperial family had a hunch..
Sooner or later, there will come a time when magic stones will be used enormously regardless of their grade..
‘We need to hurry up and completely make the North ours.…….’
Therefore, the core leadership of the empire instinctively realized that they had to completely annex the north at any cost..
‘Maybe Arina's marriage partner should have been Julian instead of me??’
Crown Prince Kanbraman belatedly thought of other royal family members other than his father or himself, such as the Crown Prince, but quickly shook his head..
‘No, no. That guy is so weak that he will be caught by his wife. In that situation, what if they had a son? In the future, the northerners might try to target the empire and the imperial family through that child..’
Because I couldn’t believe it at all..
‘In the first place, I wouldn't even try it because of the unpleasant superstitions floating around in the House of Prince Lancelet..’
Also, the feeling of discomfort that always plagued my mind while talking about marriage with North Korea also played a role..
Although he himself did not care about such jinxes, he was not a weak-hearted son or other untrustworthy royal family members. If you force it, it may backfire..
‘In any case, due to this failed assassination, the marriage talks with the North have now completely disappeared... … ah! Was it already over when Grand Duke Baikal of the North died??’
The crown prince, the next emperor of the empire, has also always been concerned about the north these days..
“Your Majesty, one corps in the North is currently away due to subdue monsters. Now is your chance. I will raise an army and advance north. I think 3 corps will be enough..”
At that time, a minister suddenly spoke to the worried prince..
“Prime Minister, the military power of the North is much stronger than you think. They are not the kind of people to take lightly just because one corps is missing..”
“Even so, the Empire is far ahead in numbers..”
“Our empire has many enemies. Aren't the Mongar Orcs running wild in the Eastern Fall, where the Great Wall is located? What about kingdom union??”
“But that doesn't mean we should give up on the North. As with the magic stone, and with this Arad salt, the thousand-year empire can be completed only when the North is conquered..”
“I know, Prime Minister Carasso. More than anyone else. but!”
The Empire's Chancellor Carasso and Sigma's Astra held their breath and listened to the Crown Prince..
“…… As I said before, the Empire has many enemies. Both inside and outside. If we lose many soldiers and knights in the process of annexing the North... … . We will lose more territory and people than the North. Worst case scenario, the empire could collapse.”
“If you don't have enough soldiers and knights, you can hire a large number of mercenaries..”
In response to the objections of his subjects, Canbrahman shook his head and continued speaking..
“Think of the Northern mercenaries operating in the Empire. How do you think the countless Northern mercenaries in the Empire will react when we announce an all-out war with the North??”
“In addition to northern mercenaries, the empire also has many other excellent mercenaries. To conquer the North, use other mercenaries instead of Northern mercenaries.…….”
“Carpe is called the mercenary king, and she's also from the North.?”
“…….”
“So all-out war is the last resort. If you try everything you can and it doesn't work... … . The means to be used then.”
“His Majesty's generosity, which includes even the lowest soldiers and the people, is the prosperity of the empire..”
“For a thousand-year empire! Glory be to the golden throne!”
At the prince's words, Astra and Karaso exclaimed while acting as if they had realized.
‘Your Majesty is on guard against raising an army..’
‘I'm afraid you're too suspicious..’
‘If I were to lead the army myself, the imperial palace would be there, but if I was in the imperial palace, there would be no trustworthy commander-in-chief to entrust the army to..’
‘The Archduke Doom and the Empress of Havana, whom you trust, are busy right now..’
‘Prince Rickard is unable to leave the palace because he has to protect the palace..’
On the inside, I couldn't sympathize with what the crown prince said just now, but on the outside, I had to praise the next supreme ruler of the empire..
“So what did Lancelet say? They must be convinced that it was us who set that trap..”
“It's surprisingly quiet. As if nothing happened.”
“okay?”
‘Does the North also not want an all-out war??’
The crown prince thought to himself after hearing about the situation in the North..
‘When the North was in an uproar, they tried to take time by appeasing their anger by sending Astra's head..’
Kanbraman nodded and continued to ask questions..
“The Northern Grand Duke?”
“I heard from an informant in the high castle that a golden carriage entered the high castle the day before yesterday..”
“The Archduke must be in that carriage. There is no news regarding the Archduke's physical condition.?”
“It certainly appears that his physical condition is not normal. They say he hasn't come out of his room for two days..”
“For more information?”
“that is… … . As soon as the golden chariot entered the high castle, a large-scale purge began. Many of our informants had to commit suicide overnight..”
“Tsk…….”
The Archduke was bitter at the loss of the informants he had worked so hard to plant in the high castle..
“It is unlikely that the Archduke was seriously injured.?”
The Empire, which was unable to report that Doyle had stabbed Arina with a sword in her abdomen, carefully predicted her injuries..
“I also included this in the scenario..”
“I hope it's a fatal wound..”
The Crown Prince recalled Arina Rune Renslet, who visited the Islands about five years ago..
At the time, Arina was just a noblewoman who came to Seoul from a northern village..
Nevertheless, Kanbraman felt it right away. I'm not an ordinary person.
“Just before your Majesty lay down on your sick bed, you disposed of the former Northern Grand Duke. Then he passed the next ball to me. I must deal with this great Duke. Take her as a fourth wife or kill her.”
The crown prince turned his head to the center of the imperial palace, the Sun Palace..
“How is your Majesty's condition these days??”
He asked, thinking of his father, His Majesty, who would be lying in the Sun Palace..
Apparently, I went to visit the hospital this morning as well. I know the emperor's condition better than anyone else..
Nevertheless, Khanbrahman asked his subjects.
This is probably because they want to receive confirmation from the mouth of a third party..
“You are in critical condition. The Royal Highness and the High Priest said it would be early summer at most.…….”
“It's a tragedy of empire.”
The Crown Prince lamented after hearing the Prime Minister's words..
However, Prime Minister Carasso and Sigma's leader Astra clearly saw it..
The crown prince's eyes are bent as he laments..
The small wrinkles on the crown prince's face, evidence of his long time as second-in-command, looked darker today..
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