I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution

Chapter 208: Abyssal Holy War - Strait Breakthrough (3)

Episode 208. The Abyssal Holy War - Strait Breakthrough (3)

Lumiere, the capital of Francia.

I dismounted from my horse and looked at the grand cathedral, befitting of the capital.

Ever since the Saintess 400 years ago wielded Divine Power to protect her motherland, Francia had always been a nation that devoutly served God.

Though over the long years that faith faded and grew corrupt, giving rise to men like Le Jidor who dismissed the church itself as an outdated legacy of a bygone era, many believers still remained in Francia.

And today, countless people had gathered at the Lumiere cathedral, more than ever before, offering desperate prayers.

This was because the Revolutionary Kingdom of Francia had officially declared war on Abyss Corporation.

People praying before God to protect their husbands in this war, to watch over their sons from the demons.

As I passed them and entered the cathedral, Archbishop Johann greeted me with a silent nod.

I gave him a silent nod in return and walked inside as he gestured, where I saw the Queen kneeling before the altar in prayer.For some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

In that shabby church in Barua, a city filled with the roar of cannons, I had been the one sitting while Eris had come to find me.

In my previous life, I had never even met Eris.

And yet, I had this vague thought that Eris would have been just like that on the morning of her end...

I remained silent, waiting quietly for Eris to finish her prayers.

Presently, Eris slowly rose from her spot, turned to me, and smiled, her purple eyes curving.

“Marquis Lafayette.”

“Your Majesty.”

Eris slowly approached me and said.

“The time has come.”

“It has, Your Majesty.”

Hearing my words, Eris tilted her head slightly and smiled.

“As always, I want to say that I’ll go with you, but…”

“This time, please refrain.”

As expected, Eris wanted to participate in the landing operation.

But this war was different from the ones before.

The wars Eris had joined until now, however dangerous, at least had an escape route.

At the very least, in a war between human nations, even if Eris were captured as a prisoner of war in the worst-case scenario, no country would dare harm a respected Queen and Saintess.

But this time, we had to fight the demons, an enemy more powerful than any before, and not only would the demons have no respect for a Saintess, but there would be no escape route after landing.

With Eris having already become the spiritual pillar for the entire nation, the National Assembly vehemently opposed her taking such a risk, and even the Paladin Order and the Pope of the Holy Theocracy were aghast, insisting it was absolutely forbidden.

Even the Saintess from 400 years ago was ultimately captured by demons at the end of the war, and no one knows what became of her. They can only vaguely surmise that it couldn't have been a pleasant fate.

From the Holy Theocracy's position, they couldn't let Eris—who they had officially recognized, who performed miracles, and who had become a symbol attracting believers—walk into a place of certain death.

“...Yes. I’ve heard the reasons why not to the point of exhaustion, and I said I wouldn’t throw a tantrum anymore.”

Eris replied as such, then added with a wry smile.

“But still, the feeling of being given special treatment while others face the same dangers isn’t very pleasant.”

“The blessing Your Majesty bestows upon us will be a great help in itself.”

Even if she couldn't cross the sea to participate in the battle directly, Eris would surely follow us to the staging ground to protect her people.

“Yes, yes. I’ll cast it with all my strength, the most powerful one I can.”

Replying with a wry smile, Eris fell silent for a moment before looking at me and asking.

“Marquis Lafayette.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Eris asked with a gentle smile.

“Do you give thanks to God now?”

“...”

At the question from the Saintess, whose very existence was proof of faith, I turned my gaze to the statue of God where Eris had been praying just moments ago.

I had doubted.

I saw a Republic filled with endless blood and chaos.

The Holy Theocracy, which should have been God's most devout apostles, instigated the events that led to Eris being framed as a witch and executed.

I saw a demon, a succubus, use Divine Power on par with Eris.

Even I, who had likely regressed through Divine Power, ended up driving countless enemies—humans who ultimately served the same God—to their deaths to protect my own people.

“I still can’t be certain.”

And yet.

Eris, who said her Divine Power grew stronger the more she used it while with me, has transformed from a young wanderer who struggled to save even a few dozen people into a symbol of hope and faith who can save countless, standing right before my eyes.

I, too, have grown astonishingly strong, whether through the grace of Divine Power or something else.

At least before my regression, I never possessed this level of strength, and above all, I directly felt the miracle of Divine Power that saved me by somehow neutralizing a demon's poison that should have been fatal with a mere touch.

“But I know what must be done.”

If there is some mission for me, who once vanished meaninglessly on the guillotine, to be standing here now leading people.

A bloody revolution in its most extreme form, incited by the demons' intervention.

And as if that weren't enough, all the schemes they concocted to further plunge the continent into chaos.

If this path, stained with so much sacrifice and blood, was all for this final destination.

If it was to save the continent that would have been toyed with by the demons' schemes and ultimately ruined in the future where I was executed, and to obtain a better future.

If that is my mission.

Then—

“So, whether this is what God wished for, or if not, whatever it is that wished for this path.”

Because this path ultimately overlaps with the one I so desperately wished for in my final moments.

“I intend to walk it gladly.”

Eris stood still for a while, looking at me, then turned to the statue, clasped her hands, and briefly muttered something—

“Yes, then. This time, for sure.”

She smiled and extended her hand to me.

“Let us pray that we can end this war safely, and that we can all give our sincere thanks to God with peace of mind.”

I smiled back lightly, taking her hand to escort her as I replied.

“I too hope for that, Your Majesty.”

*

While the mobilization order for the Revolutionary Army was issued in the capital, Lumiere, and the army was being organized, I took only my staff officers and moved ahead to Brest.

The army's mobilization and the planning of the landing are important, but Desaix is more than capable of handling that.

The truly important thing was, in the end, the most crucial problem.

How to break through that strait, and where to land.

And because one of the people who would decide that was someone I had to protect above all others.

“The Francia Navy’s strength is three 86-gun ships-of-the-line and eleven 74-gun ships-of-the-line. Among them, the flagship ‘Libre’ is equipped with a Holland-made mana engineering engine and can serve as an asymmetrical asset.”

Christine gave the briefing, and Admiral Lee immediately followed.

“The Hyunmu Fleet’s strength is five 80-gun ironclads, five 86-gun ships-of-the-line, eight 74-gun ships-of-the-line, and thirteen 62-gun ships-of-the-line. Among our support vessels, we also possess six rocket ships capable of inflicting substantial damage on enemy capital ships.”

As expected of the Eastern Empire. Even if it was just the remnants of the Cheongryong Fleet, the Eastern Empire's power was truly on another level.

To be honest, I had my doubts since the Tsar and the elves were so unreliable, but at least their navy is the real deal. And the skill of Admiral Lee and Admiral Lindsay, who brought such a large fleet here relatively intact, is unquestionable.

“What is an ‘ironclad’?”

When Admiral Andreas Svensson, who was to command the Northern Allied Kingdom's fleet, asked, Admiral Lee replied quite politely.

“It is a ship-of-the-line whose hull has been reinforced with iron plates to withstand cannonballs. The number of cannons is reduced due to surface area issues, but in a fleet battle, you can expect performance exceeding that of a standard ship-of-the-line.”

Our engineers were full of praise when they saw it.

I just thought, isn't it just slapping on some iron plates? But they said that to do it while maintaining cruising range and carrying many cannons requires exceptionally superior hull design ability, or something like that.

“I see. ...The Northern Allied Kingdom has one 74-gun ship-of-the-line and three 62-gun ships-of-the-line.”

As he spoke, Admiral Svensson's expression soured, as if he thought his own contribution was insignificant.

Well, it’s not like we called on the Northern Allied Kingdom expecting great naval power anyway. They just need to work hard on transportation missions.

Besides, the other allied nations couldn't send a single ship-of-the-line.

And finally...

“The Iberian Brotherhood has three 74-gun ships-of-the-line!”

Kroxx, the massive orc who was the sole outlier in this conference room, shouted with pride.

Coincidentally, Kroxx, having been born and raised in Port Harbor, was the only one who had seen and heard anything about sailing, even if just over someone's shoulder. The king's other confidants were mostly raised inland, so King Kroxx himself had to step up as admiral.

And an unconcealable satisfaction was etched on Kroxx’s face.

Right. You must be proud, brother.

The people who didn't even have a decent ship during the Iberian Unification War now possessed three proper capital-class ships-of-the-line, thanks to technical support from Francia...

Even the Holy Theocracy, which had no ships-of-the-line, was so shocked that the infidel barbarians possessed them that they were not only pressuring us but also hastily constructing their own.

It’s all good, but I just wish he’d put on some clothes.

Every time Kroxx moves or breathes, his bursting muscles dance, and it’s incredibly burdensome...

Lindsay was even so startled when she first saw Kroxx that she apparently tried to use magic.

“There are variations in ship class, but in total we have 52 ships-of-the-line. We will need to be extremely careful to avoid any problems during the operation. To reduce confusion within the fleet, all support vessels, excluding the Hyunmu Fleet's rocket ships, will be deployed only for enemy fleet detection and reconnaissance.”

“A sound judgment.”

Hearing Christine, Admiral Lee readily replied. It was probably an unavoidable measure, as a single misstep could lead to the ships' paths becoming entangled.

After giving Admiral Lee a slight nod, Christine took out a new map and spread it on the conference table.

“According to reports from the reconnaissance fleet, it has been confirmed that the fleet of the Wrath company has also gathered in the southern and central parts of the island. It’s not exact, but the estimated size of the enemy fleet is over 50 ship-of-the-line class vessels.”

“Ahem...”

We’ve essentially scraped together the navies of the entire continent, and yet we have no numerical superiority.

Abyss Corporation, as expected...

“Sons of bitches.”

All eyes snapped towards her.

Admiral Lindsay, receiving their gazes, took a swig of vodka and added another word.

“Let’s smash all those sons of bitches!”

“...”

Admiral Lindsay was, in many ways, an unconventional elf.

From openly chugging vodka during work hours and even during strategy meetings, to her daily routine of wandering around grabbing anyone she could find and urging them to drink with her, claiming she had nothing to do since Admiral Lee handled all the work.

How many humans could refuse a drink when offered by a beautiful, blonde-haired, green-eyed elf they’ve never seen before?

By creating countless victims with her endless offers of vodka, Lindsay rapidly learned the common language of the Central Continent in just a month.

The problem was that she learned it strangely, focusing on the rough words characteristic of sailors...

“Haaah...”

Oh, that's the first time I've ever seen Admiral Lee sigh.

When Admiral Lee said something to her in their language, Lindsay replied with a wide grin.

I don't know what was said, but seeing her satisfied and drinking vodka, I guess I can ignore it.

She’s an uncontrollable elf in many ways, but she seems to listen to Admiral Lee well enough, and it's a relief that Admiral Lee is a relatively sensible person.

When things seemed to have settled down a bit, Christine cleared her throat and spoke again.

“This is something Admiral Lee and I discussed in advance while reviewing reconnaissance and maps, but since we have new arrivals, I will explain it again. The strait between Francia and Abyss Corporation is narrow. Therefore, if we can maintain naval supremacy for just one day, we can buy enough time for the landing.”

If preparations are sufficient, the time required for landing after securing naval supremacy is only about six hours. Even accounting generously for supply transportation and the confusion that will arise from the haste, a day is more than enough.

“Therefore, we will advance into the strait and induce a decisive fleet battle. Since their top priority is to block the landing, they will surely respond. The best outcome is victory, but even if we cannot win, if we can at least force a mutual attrition, our allied fleet, with its many support vessels, can seize naval supremacy, even if only temporarily.”

And that is why, even a draw in the naval battle puts us at an advantage.

The demons are certainly powerful, but their population size is smaller than humans'. They may compensate for that with Drones, but seeing the number of Drones currently launching an offensive on the Eastern Empire, their remaining forces in their homeland can’t be overflowing.

If we can just manage to land and hold out until we build the gate, we have a chance of winning.

“Ummm...”

Admiral Svensson groaned, his brow furrowed.

From the Northern Allied Kingdom's perspective, they would naturally want to preserve their few ships-of-the-line as much as possible.

“Uhahaha, I like it! It’s fiery!”

On the other hand, Lindsay, having heard from Kroxx and Admiral Lee, looked quite satisfied.

Honestly, the very idea of facing Abyss Corporation’s navy and expecting minimal damage to our warships is absurd, isn't it?

In the end, even Admiral Svensson reluctantly nodded.

“I agree on the necessity of a decisive fleet battle. But isn't the strategy the most important part? Our fleet size isn't inferior to Abyss Corporation's, but we're still an allied fleet, and our experience is likely lacking compared to theirs.”

Oh, so while the Northern Allied Kingdom's army may be flawed, their navy is actually somewhat decent.

Hearing Admiral Svensson's words, Christine nodded and shifted her gaze to Admiral Lee.

“I agree with Admiral Svensson’s opinion. Therefore...”

Admiral Lee drew a long line across the map with a quill pen and replied.

“We will fight as befits the weaker side.”