Chapter 35 – Organising a rebel strike force

“That man said he would take revenge for the empire’s invasion of the grassland… and even said he would unite the empire”

“Bwahahahahaha! What is that!”

“A charlatan claiming to be descended from the former emperor’s bloodline…”

“Unite this land by leading the barbarians!? Haha, how amusing!”

Ignoring the men roaring with laughter, Arloston called over a nearby civil official and instructed him to bring certain documents.

“They merely managed to drive off some new imperial troops by taking advantage of the terrain a little… and now they think they can unite this empire?”

“Truly the thinking of frontier rabble…”

“To be defeated by such a blowhard… how pathetic.”

“But it is undoubtedly a clear rebellion against the empire. If left alone, it will cast a shadow on His Majesty the Emperor’s authority.”

“Indeed. We must dispatch the knight orders to punish them immediately.”

The meeting gradually turned to discussing who would march to the grassland.

Certainly, they could not leave this unchecked, as it amounted to a rebellion against the empire. In that case, they would likely have to kill almost all the plainsmen.

The civil official who had gone to fetch documents from the library returned. Arloston received them and showed them to Alfred.

“Did this man called Vilgard have an engraved mark like this on his left eye?”

“…I’m sorry, I don’t recall the specific pattern of the engraving.” 

“I see.”

The documents compiled information on where and what kinds of engravings had appeared among past imperial family members. Aeroston seemed to be trying to determine if the person in question was legitimate based on the remaining records.

Engravings appearing in the eyes were certainly small. Even if they had met face-to-face, Alfred may not have been able to make out the pattern if it wasn’t glowing… Arloston felt something odd about Alfred’s answer.

“…Wait. Was there definitely an engraving on his left eye?”

“Yes. There was certainly an engraving on his left eye.”

“………….!!”

There was still no definitive proof. However, the slight possibility had begun to emerge.

If it really was Vilgard himself and if the lord alliance found out about it, imagining the consequences became difficult. 

‘Just in case, I should consider countermeasures for even the slightest possibility…’

If he had somehow survived and escaped the capital 10 years ago, that would be a happy occurrence. 

However, they did not need an unnecessary spark to destabilise the recently unified empire. Moreover, at present it posed no real threat.

The discussion increasingly turned to who would march to the plains. Though the location was distant, the enemy was merely barbarians – an elite knight order could surely defeat them.

And Barkdine did not let this guaranteed opportunity to achieve military accomplishments slip away.

“Then my knight order shall go and suppress these rebels. Knight Captain, I leave the negotiations with territories we pass through to you.”

“Please wait. A large-scale knight expedition to that region requires considerable preparation time. There is also the issue of provisions…”

“But Dockward has vast stockpiles of supplies.”

“But those are meant to support the eastern front…”

The plains were not the empire’s only problem. There were also the lord alliance, foreign forces, bandits in the west, and more. The discussions struggled to reach a conclusion, leading to meetings dragging on day after day.

‘There are many issues that must be addressed. Perhaps having Lord Barkdine lead the nomad suppression force would at least settle this particular matter quickly.’

There were two main concerns – the person claimed to be Vilgard and the combat readiness of the nomads. However, utilising Barkdine had several advantages.  

First, it would prevent disruptive bickering in the meetings. It would allow him to achieve moderate military accomplishments and improve his mood. And it would provide a gauge of the nomads’ readiness.

Arloston commanded the entire imperial knight order, but he had clear priorities. If observation was the goal, Barkdine’s veteran knights were preferable to the newly formed ones.

“…Then let us dispatch Lord Barkdine as the overall commander to the plains.”

“Gahaha! You finally understand! Then I shall take 20,000 men!”

“!? N-No, we simply do not have enough provisions to move that large an army force over such a great distance…”

“Overcoming such logistical challenges is the knight captain’s duty, is it not?”

Certainly, sending 20,000 troops all the way to the distant plains would be an immense undertaking.

However, Barkdine’s knight order contained many old-school military nobility factions. With such a prime opportunity to achieve martial accomplishments before them, leaving anyone behind would leave lingering resentments.

Barkdine himself, as the head of a faction, had to maintain a balance among the nobles.

‘There’s no choice… I’ll have to somehow work out an adjustment…’

As these back-and-forths continued, the meeting days dragged on further. And the situation continued evolving in the interim.  

“Th-This is terrible…! Do…Dockward Territory has been…!”

“Hmm?”

“Sorry?”

“Dockward Territory has been occupied by a man calling himself Vilgard Zeltreich…!”

“…….Ha?”

“Mn…?”

Even Arloston’s thoughts froze for a moment, unable to comprehend the meaning of the report.

“…Calm down. You mean the lord’s manor was seized by these bandits?”

In this era, it was not uncommon for powerful bandits to attack a lord’s residence. Territories without their own garrison forces were especially vulnerable.

Though Dockward was supposed to have around 10,000 troops for tasks like transporting provisions.

“N-No…! Vilgard’s forces have seized the entire territory…!”

“Wha…”

“What did you say!?”

The report continued. Vilgard led over 10,000 troops from the plains and launched a lightning invasion of Dockward Territory.  

The towns stockpiling provisions fell one by one in rapid succession, until finally the lord surrendered.

“Preposterous…Based on Alfred’s report, not that much time has passed…”

“Furthermore, Vilgard is protecting an individual named Tsukimikado Mayo! She is the last surviving member of the Amatsuki Imperial Family, she and her husband Vilgard have declared their intention to reclaim the Imperial Territories…!”

“「「…………….!!」」”

Memories of past discussions about Mayo surfaced in the minds of Arloston and Adrldon. They were being forced to pay the price at the worst possible timing for issues they had put off.

Even now, governing the former Imperial Territories was hardly going smoothly. Rebel elements frequently attacked and killed imperial troops and officials sent there.

If those rebels learned that the last surviving member of their former ruling house had taken up arms, the resistance would only intensify.

“Restrict the movement of merchants! Slow down the spread of this information!”

A man claiming to be the son of the former emperor, married to the princess of Amatsuki, had risen up leading the nomads of the plains. And now, he had seized the strategically vital Dockward Territory that the empire could not ignore.

They could not simply hand over the vast stockpiles of supplies located there. Above all, letting this situation continue risked disrupting the supply lines to the eastern front.

‘If this truly is Vilgard…! Then his next target will likely be the Lord’s Alliance…!’

Without a member of the imperial family to rally behind, the Lord’s Alliance currently lacks legitimacy for its defiance. To them, Vilgard represents an ally whose interests align.

If they marry one of the great lords’ daughters to him to establish a blood tie, it could lead to the Zeltreich Empire splitting into northern and southern rival domains.

This was an undeniably serious threat on multiple levels. Fortunately, for now he was just a rebel leading nomads. They had to crush him before his momentum spread any further.

Even if he was once someone Arloston viewed as a brother.

“So the nomad forces number over 10,000 troops!”

“Ah…no, the exact number is…not as high as 20,000.””

“We cannot afford to waste time suppressing these rebels! Assemble our forces immediately! Lord Barkdine’s 20,000 knight troops, another 20,000 from the Thunder Knight Order, plus 20,000 territorial troops from Alcarol – a total force of 60,000 to annihilate them!”

Arloston’s orders caused a stir in the meeting room. Some felt it was excessive force against mere frontier barbarians.

“The knight captain seems to place considerable weight on these rebels?”

“…Whether this Vilgard is real or not, we cannot ignore his alliance with an imperial princess. Retaking Dockward must be the top priority.”

“Hmph…very well. I shall of course be the supreme commander, correct?”

There was no more time to waste on discussions. Arloston nodded in affirmation.  

“The command of the 60,000 troops to suppress the rebels is entrusted to Lord Barkdine.”

“Gahaha…! Then I shall meet the knight captain’s expectations!”

Laughing heartily, Barkdine exited the room.

Here, Vilgard had miscalculated. He expected the empire would certainly deploy a force capable of annihilating his troops after seizing Dockward.

He was not wrong in that expectation itself. However, the number of troops was not the 30,000 he anticipated, but double that at 60,000.