novelraw Chapter 105
Chapter 105
Chapter 105
Turning back time briefly—just before Iron attended the Lords’ Council.
Leisha, Limond, Rudick, and the warriors of Johnson Territory arrived at Hawrun Territory to evacuate the residents.
The first thing Leisha felt upon arriving in Hawrun Territory was that the defenses were far more lax than expected.
“The Empire bastards have occupied three territories at once. Most of their forces moved there. Some are still confronting the remaining two territories, so this place is relatively quiet.”
“Is that so?”
“And was it yesterday? The remaining knights all went down south.”
“The reason?”
“That part, I’m not quite sure…”
They had received the situation through a contact who was in touch with the Fox Tribe.
With most of the forces withdrawn, it was a perfect moment to carry out the operation.
“It seems we can get out more easily than expected. You’ve informed the evacuees, right?”
“Yes, we prepared everything just as Lady Yuria instructed.”
“Good.”
Contrary to Iron’s concerns, the situation here was excellent.
All that was left was to take the selected settlers and leave.
The defenses were suspiciously lax, but whatever the Empire’s circumstances were didn’t really matter.
If the local contact hadn’t passed on new information, the operation would have simply gone as planned.
“But…”
“What is it?”
“New intel just came in. I haven’t yet reported it to Lady Yuria.”
“Speak.”
“Albert McBane is being held in the underground prison.”
“Albert McBane? That man…”
Albert McBane—the Master of the Level Merchant Group and Yuria’s elder brother—was said to be imprisoned underground.
“The brother of the fox woman, huh.”
“Shouldn’t we rescue him?”
“Do we need to?”
“He’s still her blood relative. Whether she kills him or not is her decision.”
“That so?”
As soon as they heard Albert was imprisoned, Rudick stepped up.
He insisted they should rescue him.
Rudick’s logic was simple.
Good relationship or not, family was still family—better to rescue him first and think later.
Of course, his motivation wasn’t purely to help Yuria.
‘Still blood, isn’t it? Leaving him behind would feel wrong. My achievement will become my lord’s achievement, won’t it? A chance to earn points with Lady Yuria.’
Rumors had already spread across the territory that the lord’s wife had returned.
Naturally, those rumors referred to Yuria.
Judging by the atmosphere, the Fox Tribe seemed to be spreading them intentionally. At this point, they were making their move.
Rudick figured that, one way or another, Yuria would end up taking one of the seats as Iron’s wives.
And Rudick couldn’t be happier about it.
“Indeed… earning the fox woman’s favor wouldn’t be a bad thing. Leisha, let’s do it.”
Limond also agreed.
The Fox Tribe was now part of their family anyway.
There was no harm in forming a good relationship with Yuria, their chieftain.
Besides, both Yuria and Leisha might end up serving the same man.
Through this, Leisha could perhaps gain a more favorable position than Yuria.
After all, they would be rescuing her family.
When someone was saved and indebted, they naturally became more cautious in their behavior.
‘Better this way than beating her to discipline her. Leisha might actually beat her. No, she definitely would.’
Limond truly believed it.
If things went wrong, Leisha really would beat Yuria up.
Before that happened, he wanted Yuria to bow her head willingly.
“What do you think, Leon?”
“Hmm… if possible, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He’s probably the one who knows the Empire bastards best. The Lord would definitely appreciate it.”
“The Bear would?”
After confirming even with Leon, Leisha decided—they would rescue Albert.
Leon’s words that Iron would be pleased were the decisive factor.
After all, this operation was originally under Iron’s orders.
Smart as Leon was, he wouldn’t say something wrong. That meant rescuing Albert would surely please Iron.
“Then maybe he’ll grill us some meat again.”
Meat was delicious anytime, but the tastiest of all was the kind grilled by Iron himself.
After the last battle, the meat they’d shared had been incredibly good.
Thinking they might get to enjoy that again made her mouth water already.
“Alright, move out.”
Occupying the underground prison turned out to be quite simple.
Hidden deep within the castle, the prison was so poorly guarded that it was clear no one had anticipated an attack. The number of soldiers was also very few.
No, in fact, the number of remaining troops in this castle wasn’t large to begin with.
It seemed the intel about most of them having withdrawn was accurate.
“But who are these people?”
“They’re knights.”
The first thing Leisha’s group saw in the underground prison was a large number of men in shackles.
About fifty in total.
They were huddled together, half out of their minds.
“Wait, why are knights locked up here? These iron bars wouldn’t normally hold them…”
“See the shackles on their wrists?”
“Yes.”
“Those are aura-suppressing restraints. Nasty things.”
“There’s such a thing?”
“The Empire’s been using them for a long time. You didn’t know?”
“Ah, I think I’ve heard of it. Figures—it’s the Empire. All the disgusting things in this world come from them.”
The shackles restricted the use of aura by knights.
For those above a certain level, they were useless—but for most knights, they rendered them powerless.
All the knights imprisoned here were wearing those shackles, forced to stay quietly behind bars.
“Who are you?”
A voice came from inside.
The knights, who had assumed their visitors were from the Empire, looked up and asked after spotting Leisha at the front.
Because the one leading wasn’t a pig beastman who’d once worked with the Empire—but a lion beastwoman.
“Then who are you?”
“Me? I’m Albio Hawrun.”
“Albio Hawrun?”
Leisha cocked her head, and the knight beside her offered further explanation.
“He is Sir Albio Hawrun, the youngest son of Lord Hawrun and the commander of the Hawrun Knight Order.”
“Ah, the lord’s youngest son.”
“Why would someone so important be imprisoned here?”
“That’s because of the Empire bastards...”
This Hawrun Territory had been the first to be occupied by the Empire bastards.
It had fallen in an instant, betrayed by Albert McBane, and the lord’s household had been the first to be taken captive.
Most of the knights who had been protecting the lord were either dead or captured, and among the prisoners was Albio Hawrun as well.
Because it had been taken first and so swiftly, there was the odd situation of relatively few casualties.
“Then why didn’t they kill him?”
“For public sentiment, I reckon.”
“Public sentiment?”
“The Empire bastards took this place first. There were battles everywhere— they probably didn’t want to worry about the rear right away.”
“So they left the lord alive?”
“This Sir Albio is the son the lord treasures most. If they hold him hostage, they can use the lord.”
“Oh, I see.”
Hearing the knight’s explanation, Leisha roughly understood the situation.
The problem was what to do about it.
“Can’t we just free him?”
“If we did, wouldn’t that interfere with our operation? Even if I were the lord, I’d hate people taking my residents away.”
“I think so too, Leisha. He could interfere with our plan.”
The sudden variable made it hard for Leisha to decide.
She chose to consult the expert(?) who had come along for exactly this sort of thing.
Wasn’t Leon the one who originally came for these purposes?
Leisha called for Leon at once.
“Wow, this is… not really a decision I can make.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Ask the territory. Sir Irene has a mana communicator linked to the lord, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, the communicator. Limond, get the communicator.”
“Huh? I don’t have one.”
“You don’t? Rudick, you have one?”
“No. I thought Lady Leisha would’ve brought it, of course.”
They asked each other for a communicator, but none of them had brought one.
If Iron had known, he would have gone off shouting about these idiots and confiscated the horned rabbit.
“Then let’s at least hear them out.”
Leon, who had been watching the three’s unfunny comedy, sighed and took charge of sorting things out.
He felt that merely standing by would achieve nothing.
“Hear them out?”
“As long as we accomplish our goal, it wouldn’t matter if we freed those people. Negotiate.”
“Smart kid. Good idea.”
“You’re right, Leon. Then move out.”
“Me?”
“Would you rather Leisha or I do it? Rudick’s not great at this sort of thing.”
“Ha, fine.”
In the end Leon sat at the negotiating table himself.
They couldn’t trust those three with the task, so there was no other option.
And Leon produced a much better outcome than expected.
“Relocation?”
“The Empire’s forces are too strong. They’ve already taken three more territories, right? Even if we retake this territory briefly, it’ll be taken back.”
“That probably is true.”
“In that case, leaving the territory is the best course. Didn’t Johnson Territory say they’d take in evacuees?”
“That’s true, but—”
“Johnson will clash with the Empire someday too. They’re trying to build strength somehow. That’s why they’re taking evacuees.”
“Not wrong.”
“Then take us in. We’re people who’d grind our teeth at the Empire.”
When the Empire invaded territories, many people resisted.
Most ended up losing their lives.
They were made an example of for refusing to follow.
The lord’s family fared no differently.
Among the lord’s household, only the lord himself and Albio Hawrun survived.
True to form, the Empire showed no restraint, and once the Levelium region was fully subdued, those two would likely lose their lives too.
‘Is this okay?’
Leon, who felt things were getting too big, paused to consider.
If it were Iron, how would he handle this?
The answer was simple.
‘Eat it first, worry later.’
If it had been Iron, he’d have taken the opportunity to take what he could.
Whether Rabbit Tribe, Black Lion, or Fox Tribe, Iron simply took what he could.
If things went south, they could just shove people off to another territory later.
“All right.”
Leon nodded, and the joint operation between Johnson Territory and Hawrun Territory picked up speed.
“First, storm the manor, rescue the lord, then escape.”
“We can handle the Empire soldiers guarding the castle. We brought troops.”
“That’s good news. I hope word of this doesn’t spread to other territories…”
“Where is the mana communicator managed from?”
“Normally the government’s communications office handles it, but right now I don’t know where that is.”
“Maybe the captain has it?”
“The knights seem to be using the knight order’s barracks.”
“Then we should storm that first. We can leave the fleeing Empire soldiers to the Rabbit Tribe.”
Leisha had easily snapped the shackles that had been binding the knights.
With their strength restored, Albio and Hawrun’s knights took the manor, and Johnson Territory’s warriors handled the knight order.
The Rabbit Tribe guarded the outside and dealt with forces trying to flee to other territories.
The most important thing was keeping this situation from being known to other territories.
They had to remove the bastards as quietly as possible to buy time to relocate the residents.
“Why was this so easy?”
They were able to capture Hawrun Castle far more simply than expected.
By taking three territories at once, most of the garrison had left Hawrun Castle.
And their recent great victory had left the mood lax.
Moreover, the ruler of this region, Octosia, and her elite knights had already gone to Saint.
With the Black Lion tribe warriors and most Johnson knights participating, the operation to retake Hawrun Territory succeeded perhaps inevitably.
“All right, everyone, evacuate!!”
Having retaken the territory, Albio gathered the residents who followed him and decided to head for Johnson.
And the next day.
—Boom!!!!
The walls of Hawrun Territory’s castle, now empty of residents, emitted a violent explosion and collapsed.
The interior of the castle was an inferno.
“I’d rather burn it myself than hand it to the Empire bastards!!”
Gaorel Hawrun, who had lost every family member to the Empire except his youngest son, met his glorious end by setting his territory ablaze himself.
He himself pulled the final trigger that announced the territory’s end.