Imperial Throne

Chapter 188 : Shuvaric Antares

Chapter 188: Shuvaric Antares

「Father.」

A middle-aged man hurried into a bright study.

「The conscription order signed by the Duke has arrived.」

「Sigh.」 The middle-aged man standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window let out a quiet sigh. 「Visen had a good granddaughter… deep enough in scheming, and ruthless enough. How did we fail to see it before?」

Glet Antares glanced at the white hairs at his father’s temples, his lips pressed tightly together.

Ever since a great battle with Marquis Visen years ago, his father had suffered a serious injury. Yet the most troublesome part was that the 【Storm Demon Serpent】’s cold frost aura had also invaded his father’s body. It was not as severe as Marquis Visen’s case, but still…

The 【Storm Demon Serpent】 was a Sixth-Tier Bloodline, but it carried a power comparable to a Seventh-Tier. Those struck by this ability would have a lingering frost aura inside their bodies. It was almost impossible to eradicate, and the most terrifying part was that it would keep growing with time until, eventually, the victim froze into unmelting solid ice.

In those days, only the Bourbon Family’s bloodline could suppress this frost aura within the Tyrella Kingdom. But after the Bourbon Family’s fall, there was no longer any bloodline that could restrain it.

This was also why, during the war in the Southern Region, the Tyrella Kingdom had insisted on killing that Pirate King—because after the fall of the Bourbon Family, he had been the last person alive who carried the 【Storm Demon Serpent】 bloodline. As for his descendants, none of them had ever reached the Sixth-Tier. One reason was that 【Storm Demon Serpents】 were extremely rare, impossible to know where to hunt. Another reason was that after the Pirate King’s death, all his children had been killed as well.

After all, there were only seven positions for the Seven Kings of the Seas. When one died, ambitious men naturally vied for the throne.

And the first and greatest obstacle for such ambitious men had been the Pirate King’s children. So the Tyrella Kingdom did not even need to act—there were plenty who ensured the Pirate King’s bloodline ended completely.

「Father, are you all right?」

「Quite fine.」 Count Shuvaric smiled lightly, knowing what his son wanted to ask. 「At that time, Visen was already cornered, trying to drag me into death with him. How could I ever give him that chance? My injury wasn’t too severe—only the frost aura left in my body is difficult to expel. I can finally understand what kind of pain Visen Kasein endured all those years.」

「Father, I’ve already sent people to search for Flame Orbs.」

「Heh.」 Count Shuvaric shook his head. 「If they were so easy to find, Visen wouldn’t have spent more than twenty years searching in vain. The last Flame Orb, most likely, was collected into the royal treasury.」

「But aside from Flame Orbs, there must be other ways.」

「There are. But meaningless.」 Count Shuvaric shook his head again. 「The quickest way would be to borrow Gondas’s『Great Furnace』and stay inside it for ten or twenty years. That would purge the cold aura from my body. But if I spent so many years there, how many would I have left after coming back? Not to mention, the Gondas brutes wouldn’t even agree to let me stay that long.」

Back then, Visen Kasein had accumulated even more frost aura inside him. Fortunately, his bloodline was unique enough to shield his organs and suppress the aura, or else he wouldn’t have lived as long as he did—he would have turned into an ice sculpture years earlier. That was why he had never considered going to the Gondas Family’s「Great Furnace」to melt away the frost.

And relations between the Antares Family and the Gondas Family were far from friendly. Even if Count Shuvaric had swallowed his pride to beg them, they would never agree.

This belonged to factional conflict.

「We could appeal to the Royal Family—」

「Enough.」 Count Shuvaric’s voice was soft, but his tone carried undeniable authority and anger. 「Whose vassals are we?」

Glet froze for a moment before replying reluctantly, 「The Robert Ducal Family.」

「And the Robert Family swore fealty to whom?」

「The Nibel Royal Family.」

「Then tell me again—who sits on the golden throne in the capital now?」

「The Karla Royal Family.」

「Then remember this. Even if it were still the Nibel Royal Family, we would never have the qualification to beg for that Flame Orb.」 Count Shuvaric’s voice turned icy, laden with discontent. 「You disappoint me greatly, Glet. You’re not even as capable as Visen’s granddaughter. That little girl even used her own grandfather’s corpse as part of her scheme, creating a trap that we stepped right into. Do you realize how much she calculated?」

Glet remained silent.

「There are few in the Southern Region capable of outmaneuvering me. Whether that girl truly has ability or it was mere coincidence, this round—she won. Understand?」 Count Shuvaric shook his head. 「We are already great nobles. We cannot be sore losers. To lose face would make us the laughingstock of the Southern Region. The Kasein Family are shameless because they lack heritage, history, honor. Are we too to become upstart nobles without foundation?」

「I was wrong, Father.」 Glet lowered his head.

He truly could not understand his father’s way of doing things.

What was the point of clinging to so-called ancient noble honor?

Those outdated, decayed ideals should have been discarded long ago.

「No, you don’t understand.」 Count Shuvaric shook his head slightly, but he did not continue. 「Now tell me, how great are our losses?」

「The Eastern Mountain Territory—we’ll likely need to appoint a new lord there.」 Glet sighed helplessly. 「According to our advisors’ assessment, if we are to support the Eastern Mountain Territory again, it will cost nearly a quarter of our current reserves. But if we sell it off instead, we could gain a year’s revenue for the family. Since the conscription order has arrived, even if I do support a new Baron of Eastern Mountain, the only loss is that one year’s revenue from selling it.」

「And the Spring Breeze Territory and Western Wind Territory?」

「Western Wind didn’t lose much, only about five hundred soldiers, including some serfs. We only need minor appeasement and aid.」

「Spring Breeze is more troublesome.」

At this, Glet fell silent.

The pause made Count Shuvaric raise his brow. He looked at his eldest son and said coldly, 「How troublesome? Will it affect our plans?」

「The Shadow Project has officially failed. ‘Wild Wolf’ Adema is dead. All the wolf soldiers have been annihilated. Now the wolf settlements in Spring Breeze Territory have become a burden.」

「That idiot Harris!」 The previously calm Count Shuvaric suddenly slammed the table in fury. 「Twenty years! It took twenty years to cultivate someone like Adema who could follow the ‘Wolf King’ path—and now he’s dead? How am I supposed to explain this to the Duke?! What the hell was Harris doing?!」

「He is awaiting your summons.」

「Tell him to get lost!」 Count Shuvaric roared. 「He still has the face to appear before me? Let him crawl to the Duke instead and explain his own stupidity, wasting twenty years of our time!」

「Father.」 Glet hesitated, then said, 「This can’t entirely be blamed on Baron Harris. None of us expected this outcome—」

「So the blame is mine?」

Glet froze.

「No, Father—」

「Do you think I’m just venting my anger?」 Count Shuvaric said coldly. 「The orders I gave were to invade the White Mountain Territory, and if the chance arose, to destroy the Bole Family and the Soderbell Family. Did I ever give more specific tactical commands?」

「No.」

「Since I gave no tactical interference, then all specific battle strategies were their own. So why did Western Wind lose only five hundred men—including serfs—while Harris lost his entire army? Have you considered why?」

「I—」

「The answer is simple.」 Count Shuvaric’s voice grew heavy. 「Overconfidence and rash advance. And why? Tell me.」

「Greed.」

「Correct.」 Count Shuvaric nodded coldly. 「Greed, and failure to take White Mountain seriously. That land, nearly destroyed years ago, has risen rapidly in only a few years. Even if the three lords of the Fertile Plains fattened them deliberately, why did they never consider that it was only after failing at every scheme that they were forced to allow White Mountain to grow?」

「When Wester managed White Mountain, it had fewer than five hundred soldiers, including serfs, and only three First-Tier Bloodline Knights. But after his daughter Lily inherited, White Mountain now has nearly three thousand regular soldiers, at least seven First- and Second-Tier Bloodline Knights, and one Third-Tier.」

「Do they not realize what this means?」

Glet’s face paled.

「We mock the Kasein Family for their chaotic rule, for their shamelessness, for their untrustworthy vassals. But that is because we are a Count’s family, facing a Marquis’s family.」

「And what about Spring Breeze, Western Wind, and Eastern Mountain?」

「They are only Barons. Their enemy is White Mountain.」

Count Shuvaric’s voice grew darker as he explained White Mountain’s terrifying rise, Glet finally sweating coldly as realization dawned…

[Translation continues with all preserved symbols, dialogue, and formatting…]