The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wishes to Retire

51. Roman’s Military Strength Revealed

As the Southern Kingdoms of the East Continent began liberating the small nations one by one by assaulting the Central Region, those countries bordering Roman, led by Wingzar, started to march north.

The Southern Forces, organized around King Brighton, known as the Knight King, were putting pressure on Roman by defeating the small nations with the help of Master Douglas, a legendary figure from the famous neutral nation Denver in the east.

At the moment when two renowned masters from the East Continent launched an attack against Roman, the Empire also began its assault, breaking through their ironclad defenses.

“It has officially begun, the war between Ignit and Roman!”

“Ignit has shifted from defense to offense!”

As news of Ignit’s attack spread in real-time, all eyes across the West Continent turned toward the east.

When the two empires formally declared war on each other, everyone was hooked.

As there were already signs suggesting Ignit’s superiority when the West Continent unified, coupled with the presence of the Human Alliance, it seemed inevitable that Roman would face defeat.

What they were concerned about was simply how quickly they could bring Roman down.

Contrary to this public perception, Ignit’s military leadership was piled high with worries.

“When will the demons show themselves?”

“If the border is in danger, wouldn’t that be a problem?”

“They might be intentionally leaving the border open to lure us in and then attack.”

“It might be prudent to verify how the troops to the south and east are faring. They could abandon defenses in other regions and focus solely on the Empire!”

While the Empire’s military was fiercely debating how things would unfold in the future, Roman’s military was becoming increasingly frantic.

“Damn it! Give up all other borders. Draw them in as far as possible and defend at the major fortress!”

“Yes!”

Eshtar, referred to as Roman’s greatest commander, urgently issued orders to his subordinates.

With no bandwidth to focus elsewhere, they couldn’t afford a blunder that could breach the capital in one fell swoop.

Therefore, they thought to abandon defenses against the other eastern allied forces and concentrate their efforts at two major fortresses around the capital.

The next question was what the Emperor would say.

“What has His Majesty said?”

“He hasn’t said much.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Eshtar’s face soured at the response from an officer directly under the Emperor.

Everyone on the continent already knew that Roman had teamed up with the demons. What could possibly be left to hide?

In fact, Eshtar didn’t know much either regarding the demons.

Only the Emperor and a few top figures had a solid understanding of all demon-related matters in Roman.

Since those individuals were keeping the doors shut, it only added to Eshtar’s frustration.

“At this rate, the enemy will be at the capital in less than a month.”

“……”

At Eshtar’s blunt statement, the officer, known as the Emperor’s ear, sighed.

“I know nothing either. I apologize.”

“I’m going insane.”

Seeing Eshtar chewing on a cigarette with a frustrated expression, the young officer spoke cautiously.

“His Majesty once said that he would act when the time was right.”

“Will that be after the fall of Roman?”

“Not likely.”

With a close-to-affirmative response from the officer, Eshtar sighed again.

“Understood. Thank you for sharing something that must have been hard to say.”

“I apologize for not being of more help.”

In a crisis situation for his nation.

Feeling disillusioned with himself for being of little assistance in such dire circumstances, the officer left with a wry smile.

Eshtar too smiled wryly at the departing officer.

“What in the world is His Majesty thinking…?”

As Eshtar muttered that, he gazed at the situation board.

The emperor of Roman was cunning.

If he was making such desperate moves, there must certainly be something afoot.

That was why Eshtar followed him, yet Roman’s circumstances continued to worsen.

“Still, I must continue to follow.”

Although the recent actions had been puzzling, he was still the emperor of his homeland.

He had to believe that there was a plan behind it all and put his mind to work to hold off the enemies as best as he could.

He dispatched reinforcements to the fortresses of the neighboring countries loyal to Roman, while gathering forces at the key fortress, ignoring the advancing enemies from the south.

That was when the Human Alliance burst into excitement.

Though it was all according to the opponents’ plan, they were achieving continuous victories.

“Winning streak! The unstoppable Human Alliance!”

“The South Allied Forces advancing with unmatched momentum. At this rate, they might reach Roman’s capital before Ignit Empire?”

“The Eastern Allied Forces that shattered Roman’s allies. ‘We’ll reach first!’ The Southern and Eastern Allied Forces devouring Roman’s territories in rivalry?”

As they advanced toward Roman’s capital without pause, a moment came when they simply could not continue.

“Is this… Roman after all?”

King Brighton of Wingzar, the master representing the South of the East Continent, marveled at Roman’s fortress.

From its solid walls to the multiple layers of barriers and the hundreds of magic cannons, it was clear that a wrong attack could result in disastrous loss.

The same could be said for the armies advancing from the east.

Master Douglas of Denver, a neutral nation navigating between Sandria and Roman, also had to halt his advance before Roman’s eastern fortress.

“Eshtar prepared thoroughly.”

It was evident that his close friend and Roman’s representative master, Eshtar, had chosen this place as the last bastion.

“Let’s take a break for now.”

“Yes.”

Upon Douglas’s command, troops from various nations set up temporary camps to rest before the fortress assault.

*

As the Eastern Allied Forces halted their advance before Roman’s fortress, the Imperial Army was busy assaulting the Giant’s Fortress beyond their ironclad defenses.

“Seems we’ve seen enough… what do you think?”

At Duke Devir’s inquiry, the Sun Blade users and the masters from the former Southern Kingdom nodded in agreement.

Four masters.

In contrast stood the twin master brothers, Ivan, who had troubled the West Continent, and the one and only Roman mage, Balkan.

Despite Roman deploying most of its forces to defend this fortress, they were still one man short.

With a possibility that hidden forces could still be lurking, they commenced a reconnaissance mission but found nothing in return.

With no additional intel, they decided to press forward with a full-scale assault.

“……they are coming.”

“Yeah.”

The Ivan brothers gazed with resolve as the mighty army of Ignit approached.

With the elite Ignit troops mounting a full assault, even the Giant’s Fortress would be hard-pressed to hold for days.

Understanding this, the Ivan brothers gritted their teeth.

Then, the mage Balkan ascended the walls, raising his staff.

At that moment, the four masters of Ignit unleashed their auras as they began their assault on the fortress.

“Let’s crush the fortress in one fell swoop and advance to the capital!”

At Duke Devir’s shout, Ignit’s army roared and charged.

In response, the Roman side attempted to boost morale, but upon witnessing Devir’s charge, their spirits swiftly dampened.

Despite deploying all available master-class power from Roman to counter the Sun Blade and the Southern masters, they had to respond with their knight order due to the absence of a match against Devir.

Had only Duke Devir been present, Roman could have managed a counter.

But fending off the incoming Ignit knights was another thing entirely.

In an instant, the city gate was half-breached, and Ignit’s forces concentrated in the center, leading to a fierce skirmish around the gate.

As they fought to breach it, Devir poured all his power into his sword.

His dazzling thrusts, akin to flashes of light, sent immense aura radiating from his blade.

“It’s… breaking through!”

Just as the spear forged from the combined mana of the knight order was on the verge of shattering Devir’s blade, a black spear fell from the sky.

Boom!

“This power is…”

Detecting the dark magic that had blocked his attack, Duke Devir revealed his intent to kill.

“A dark mage?”

The leader of Dark Mages, who had inflicted devastation on the West Continent before, appeared in the skies.

Duke Devir then summoned all his aura.

If facing a dark mage of mage-class caliber, he needed to go all out from the get-go.

‘Even so, the odds are still in our favor. Simply capturing a dark mage gives us the upper hand.’

Although Ignit’s overall military strength was superior, they had the Pope from the Holy Nation and the northern Marquis Sicario joining their ranks. Not to mention Glen, newly appointed commander of the Second Knight Order, also joining in, giving them time on their side.

Having thought that through, Glen focused on restraining the dark mage as he swung his sword.

As Devir unleashed thousands of black spears with a single strike, fierce combat ensued. The Ivan brothers and mage Balkan faced off against Ignit’s masters.

While they engaged in intense combat, Ignit’s airships and knights began steadily entering the Giant’s Fortress.

That was when the hidden dark mages finally revealed themselves.

“They’re finally crawling out.”

The Southern Commander of Ignit smiled as he saw it.

Although the demons had yet to show up, they had sufficient troops soon to arrive.

“Deploy all remaining forces.”

“Yes!”

With the command from Lokan Versailles, all remaining troops began to deploy.

Amid a fierce battle against the troops newly sent from the Empire surrounding the broken city gate and the dark mages, a hasty report reached the Southern Commander’s ears.

“Reinforcements are being attacked by an unknown group!”

“What?”

The Southern Commander cocked his head in confusion.

“If Roman had such forces… it would have been better to concentrate here!”

There was something odd about Eshtar’s decision as a renowned commander of Roman.

An inadequate force would be decimated in an instant by the Pope and the mightiest sword of the West.

How could the top-class commander, who was renowned throughout Ignit, make such a poor decision?

This situation felt strange.

Just as doubts began to surface, a report from the crows directly under Marquis Sicario arrived.

“Our reinforcements are bogged down due to engagements with an unknown army! They won’t arrive today!”

“What? That doesn’t make sense!”

“Reports indicate that there are two master-level beings among the unknown forces.”

The crow’s report made Lokan’s eyes widen.

“Demons?”

“No, it appears that the master-level beings are those that His Majesty referred to as ‘Mines.’”

“Mines…”

As Lokan frowned at this information, another urgent report came in.

“Lord Glen’s troops are also under attack.”

“What? Are they facing Mines too?”

“No, this time it’s the Demon Legion. Those who identify themselves as the Demon Legion Commander are currently battling Lord Glen!”

With the subsequent report, Lokan’s expression hardened.

‘Were they aiming for this all along!’

Thinking so, Lokan Versailles gazed at the Giant’s Fortress with a trembling expression.

What he had anticipated as an overwhelming victory was now taking a turn for the bizarre.

‘If there’s something still hidden here… it might turn into a tough fight.’

With that thought, Lokan clenched his fists tightly.