Imperial Throne

Chapter 191 : An Unexpected Discovery

Chapter 191: An Unexpected Discovery

After a violent and raging downpour, there was often a stretch of rare good weather.

In Bayor Territory, clear skies had already lasted for several days.

At the end of spring, sunshine breaking through the clear sky was, for most people, the most pleasant kind of weather.

Simple joy could bring great happiness.

But not this time.

Bayor Territory was shrouded in a vast atmosphere of deathly silence and despairing pain.

「Uncle Ion.」

Aches rode atop a horse, leading several dozen riders as they returned to the War Fortress of Bayor Territory.

The fortress had yet to be fully completed, and after enduring several rounds of warfare—it had been repeatedly seized and reclaimed between the Aust Empire and Baron Wade—it had even once become a bridgehead for the Aust Empire’s invasion into the Red Eagle Territory. Only after the arrival of the Southern Army had they retaken this War Fortress and driven the imperial troops back into Count Garris’s Territory.

However, the fortress had gone through so many battles that it had now become heavily damaged; the difficulty of repairing it was no easier than rebuilding it entirely.

It had not yet been abandoned only because the underground storage zone remained intact, and since the Southern Army had successfully rooted itself in Count Garris’s Territory, they needed a secure rear base. Thus, this War Fortress naturally became a central supply hub—all materials continuously transported from Red Eagle Territory to the frontlines would go through their final round of consolidation here before being sent onward.

But before that, they still had to eliminate the “rats” currently scurrying across Bayor Territory to prevent any possible assaults on the supply line. Ion had arrived here three days ago with his men, where he met Tyrot Kasein and Wade Kasein—the two remaining leading figures of the Kasein Family. After briefly explaining to Ion the current situation of Bayor Territory and its crucial strategic importance for the coming years, they took their forces and supplies and quickly departed.

After that, Ion temporarily acted as the military executor of Bayor Territory in Wade Kasein’s stead.

A military executor, not an acting lord.

Wade was not foolish enough to grant Ion the title of acting lord, as that would mean Ion would, for a long period, possess full administrative authority over all of Bayor Territory—a potential seed of trouble that could allow Ion to one day claim the territory for himself.

But the title of military executor was different.

It sounded impressive, but in reality, every military action under that title required the lord’s approval, as the executor was merely the enforcer, not the strategist. Moreover, in noble circles, this position had one more hidden purpose:

Scapegoating.

Any failed military operation—or even one that provoked friction between soldiers and the populace—could be blamed entirely on the executor, leaving the local lord untouched.

Ion did not know these subtle secrets of noble politics.

But he had no intention of scheming anyway, for he understood better than anyone that the Red Eagle Territory had already committed nearly all of its forces to the frontlines. If those cornered remnants managed to escape into the rear, the situation would become very troublesome indeed.

Thus, almost the very next day after Tyrot and Wade’s departure, Ion began carrying out his duties as military executor. Wade’s order to him was clear—eliminate all possible threats within Bayor Territory and ensure military safety and regional stability.

「How’s the situation?」 Ion asked.

「I rode south for a full day’s journey but found no trace of the enemy. However, I did see several burned and destroyed village ruins,」 Aches replied quickly. 「The enemy likely retreated further south. Since they’re still unfamiliar with Bayor Territory, I didn’t dare to pursue recklessly and chose to return instead.」

「You did well,」 Ion said with a satisfied smile.

Aches’s growth had been steady, but since he had never truly experienced the battlefield, his understanding of its brutality was still limited. This time, Ion mainly wanted him to adapt to the atmosphere of war before exposing him to its true horrors.

Therefore, he only ordered Aches to patrol southward for no more than a day’s distance before returning to report.

What worried him most was Aches’s youthful eagerness—his desire to prove himself. Ion feared that upon discovering enemy traces, he might chase them down impulsively. For that reason, Ion had even entrusted him with the Demonic Sword and assigned Sien to guard him closely.

Fortunately, it seemed Aches had no such reckless intentions.

That was what brought Ion relief.

「Uncle, your sword.」 Aches removed the longsword from his back and offered it to Ion.

「Keep it,」 Ion shook his head. 「Right now, you need it more than I do.」

Aches was currently only a First-Tier Bloodline User, still a step away from the Second Tier. But if luck favored him, perhaps during this campaign in Bayor Territory, he might advance—and once he did, he could briefly wield the Demonic Sword’s power to reach Third-Tier strength.

Though such strength was not much in the coming battles, it would at least give him a greater chance of survival.

「Yes,」 Aches hesitated, then nodded and fastened the sword back into place.

They soon returned to the fortress.

After a simple meal, everyone except Sien went to rest.

Following Ion, Sien entered the war room, where he saw Aliman arranging small flags across a large map.

There were two colors of flags—red and blue.

They represented the enemy and allied forces respectively: red for the enemy, blue for their own.

Sien noticed that around Swan Lake on the map, there was a dense cluster of red flags—at least twenty of them.

「Enemy markers?」

Without even looking up, Aliman replied, 「Around twenty, give or take.」

Each flag represented a certain size of enemy presence.

Twenty flags meant at least four hundred troops.

「What about knights?」

As Sien watched, Aliman kept placing more flags, soon exceeding thirty. He couldn’t help but exclaim, 「Surely not thirty knights?」

「I’m not certain,」 Aliman sighed helplessly. 「But we must be mentally prepared. From what I’ve seen, there are at least ten knights—mostly First and Second Tier—but there’s no guarantee there isn’t a Third-Tier among them.」

Sien knew that Aliman had been the first sent by Ion to scout around Swan Lake. Though the lake lay within Bayor Territory, it was vast enough that if one found a way across, they could possibly reach Heye Territory—currently the only escape route for stranded Aust Empire soldiers.

Everyone knew how dangerous that route was and how vicious the enemy could be. That was why Ion sent Aches south instead of north.

And likewise, because of the north’s risk, Ion entrusted the northern reconnaissance to Aliman—who, as a Third-Tier Bloodline User, could easily retreat unless surrounded.

At this point, Sien finally understood why Ion had brought him to the war room.

「Lord Ion plans to concentrate forces and clear the southern region first?」

「Yes,」 Ion nodded. 「We still haven’t fully assessed the northern Swan Lake area, but Aliman’s reconnaissance indicates around a thousand enemy soldiers there, with over ten Bloodline Knights. Though most are First and Second Tier, we must consider the possibility that several Third-Tiers remain.」

Sien glanced at the map, where red flags covered nearly the entire region around Swan Lake, his expression growing grim.

「Then why place so many flags? Wouldn’t raising the marker count to a hundred be enough?」

「That’s another issue,」 Aliman drew a small circle with his hand. 「This section has already gathered together.」

He then traced a larger circle encompassing the scattered flags. 「The rest are dispersed across various areas. No one has yet united them, but they’re close enough that it’s only a matter of time—perhaps within two or three days, no more than a week, they’ll all converge into a formidable force.」

Two or three days was a short window.

By the time they reached them, the enemy might already be united—turning their mission from extermination into a suicide charge.

「Akar will arrive soon. Though no further reinforcements should follow, our total numbers will exceed two thousand. With Akar, Aliman, and myself, as long as the enemy has fewer than six Third-Tier Bloodline Users, we can manage,」 Ion said gravely, staring at the cluster of red flags in the north. 「Which means our top priority now is to eliminate the southern forces quickly. Aches isn’t skilled at reconnaissance—did you and Roda identify the approximate size of the southern group?」

「It should be a small detachment, no more than fifty,」 Sien said after glancing at the map. 「But I can’t be certain they’re the only unit.」

「If I assign you two hundred men, can you handle them?」

After the invasion at the Fertile Plains, the regular troops of White Mountain Territory had been reduced to fewer than two thousand. Including all other forces, their total barely reached three thousand. Ion had brought fifteen hundred soldiers and four Bloodline Knights—among them Roda, Sien, and others—while Borm and Kalel remained at Westerburg, and Ion’s father stayed in White Mountain City, leaving another fifteen hundred mostly inexperienced recruits behind.

The northern remnants of the Aust Empire had far exceeded Ion’s expectations. He had to retain enough forces for defense—if the enemy’s Bloodline Users numbered over twenty, even his full strength might not suffice.

However, the enemy’s panic and disorder were precisely because Tyrot and Wade had fought them ferociously earlier, scattering their morale and forcing them into flight.

Those who fled south were like headless flies, fleeing blindly.

Those who fled north, at least, showed stronger will to survive—risking the bloody path toward Heye Territory. Currently, Heye was a grinding battlefield of interlocked fronts; the Duke of Blood faced the Lord of the Tower alone. But if the Southern Duke—the Golden Lion—entered the fray, even the Duke of Blood, who had made his enemies tremble, would have to retreat.

If they could destroy—or even kill—the Lord of the Tower before the Southern Duke’s intervention, the war’s outcome could change entirely.

Thus, the Aust Empire had no choice but to fight desperately in Heye. Even if this band of stragglers managed to cross the mountains into Heye Territory, they couldn’t be sure they would emerge within imperial-controlled land—especially now, lacking any intelligence.

It was a gamble for their lives.

But Sien understood Ion’s true intent.

Ion did not plan to confront the northern forces head-on. He wanted to let this group of imperial stragglers slip through Bayor’s border mountains into Heye Territory—avoiding a large-scale battle that might bring severe casualties.

However, that was only if they didn’t turn toward Red River Territory.

If they did, then they would have no choice but to fight to the death—in open ground.

「As long as the enemy doesn’t exceed two hundred, I guarantee the mission’s completion.」

「Let Aches gain more real experience,」 Ion said, patting Sien’s shoulder.

「Yes,」 Sien nodded.

Then, he went to rest.

According to Ion’s plan, they would depart tomorrow and aim to wipe out the enemy remnants as quickly as possible. From the burn marks left at several settlements in Bayor Territory, it was clear that many of the locals had not yet relocated to the fortress cities as the Kasein Family’s policy demanded.

That, of course, gave the imperial stragglers places to hide.

Once Sien left, Ion turned back toward the map, his expression growing heavy. 「You’re certain there’s no mistake?」

「I can’t be sure, but if I’m not mistaken———」

Aliman lifted his head, face equally grim. 「That should be Hales Atar Siger.」

Hales Atar Siger—of the Duke of the West’s Siger Family—and one of its foremost heirs.

「If he’s from the Siger Family, why would he be leading a band of imperial stragglers?」

Aliman gave a bitter smile. 「I don’t know, Lord Ion.」