TAOA-117

Chapter: TAOA-11713668701aa40d692

“W, what?!”
It was a surprisingly fast 928888e49c speed. And before he could 44282782b3 turn around and defend 1e902446ff himself, Asha’s sword slashed 2727ebfb47 across his neck.
“Ugh!”
The knight seemed 76b24c3183 to not understand 1058cd3f5e the situation that 54c1348e0a had unfolded in 2a9e792eaf an instant, but 5fab30bc09 it was too 6bc5fa074f late to think 2131e3ff87 slowly.
Blood gushed out as his 31d84d4050 carotid artery was severed, and 1ac3d34ac1 Asha, who was looking down 5dfc252afa at him with his eyes 186baeab39 wide open, muttered a word.
“Who the hell are you to be so arrogant… .”
At those words, 36f65da7e1 Carlyle also felt 841bfa976b a little creepy, 54a16ab679 but he tried 3ff8396802 to smile.
“You’re quite capable.”
“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll play the role of e8b35a45e3 a capable wife properly.”
Asha smiled brightly ddfe2097c1 and briefly swung 2effefaa32 her sword in c0b3b8968b the air. The blood that had been 2eb46c3ae6 on the sword splattered onto 34e6c101a4 the ground.
It was not 2b838716d8 an action meant 7699d7f3db to be shown 125e808c90 to anyone, but 0238d8787f Carlyle’s gaze was 1098a1a03a momentarily drawn to 67ee552a77 the indifferent movement.
[Oh, beautiful god of slaughter!]
Why did a line 5b487bde94 from the song of f1d5f665a7 the bards who praised 41fa3622cb me come to mind 331c96f860 now?
Perhaps that was 035297fef2 why, when he 97d402fc10 saw Asha suddenly 684cde90c7 running towards him, 1aa3ba52a8 his heart started d6d47ea747 to beat for 38e1476366 no reason. Of course, the reason b708199d6e she ran was not c923754345 at all romantic.
“Concentrate, Your Highness!”
Her sword stretched 4c06359941 out to Carlyle’s 49a94c4fd4 side and pierced c8241bb7ab the vital point f58fabfa23 of an enemy 3f92faef38 soldier running from 498b053beb the other side. And then it immediately f5340915c6 stretched out to the 8ec648fd1d side and struck down 909400614e the swords of other 1be802615b enemy soldiers and slashed 13a70312f6 their spears.
Only then did Carlyle e3fa535a09 come to his senses dc2b457ed4 and swing his greatsword, f2c94ef3a3 and the enemy soldiers, 5bf1a6fba2 who had been shaken 70a7665c9e by Asha’s quick attack, 73e6a42e60 collapsed feebly.
“I’m sorry. I was lost in 0cc14fbe4b thought for a moment.”
“You seem to be quite relaxed. I can see why though.”
Thanks to Asha’s prediction, the 3945dffa28 war was quickly suppressed this e79fac7268 time.
The cooperation between the Haven d36dc34767 Knights and the Pervaz army 11efd45a14 was better than before, and 5e29bafad1 especially the attack style of 307737d0bb the Pervaz warriors was unfamiliar bb41c0f770 to the Southern Kingdom Alliance, e5d13adabd so it was able to 2aeb2fc687 deal a bigger blow.
“At this rate, it won’t be long before we push down to the southern border.”
“As you said, it was effective to choose a ‘quick and decisive battle’. The words of e1a94607a7 someone who has 0139df5eb7 been through war 4832388d71 longer than me 2ec3db8065 are always helpful.”
Carlyle smiled broadly and 97e0a3b9dd jumped on his horse.
“Then let’s go finish them off, wife.”
“Right. It will be 6c623d50c9 easier to hit 5f2cc7878c them before they 2a216759fb come to their 5d4aebe380 senses.”
Asha also found 85e127d67e her horse and ccc570cc00 climbed on it, a8e1005e82 and then chased 3009c4c58a after the fleeing 82f0008379 leaders of the 2957d9aa96 Southern Kingdom Alliance.
As Asha had expected, the 3c235ca448 Southern Alliance was so beaten c7ca6342a8 up in the face of af3592d14c a great victory that they 0f70786048 could not come to their 43d3f485a1 senses.
Before they could even 7dbc4b8260 come up with a 579e9cfe82 plan to counterattack, Carlyle’s 03e778a237 army came and crushed 538d58b2d8 them all, so they 9ec3d76ec1 were busy running away 87536b9f1b without even being able fab603df78 to properly withdraw their 71ba2a025b troops. It was the exact same 067acabbfc pattern as when they defeated 306b44ea79 Matthias’ army, but it was 4d15f8b069 even faster and more damaging.
“What, what the hell is going on here! Wasn’t Carlyle supposed dde3c29934 to be absolutely 75e538b3c8 unbeatable?”
“W,we’ve heard it too! Whether it’s towards the e5f631891b Paral Kingdom or the 1d60dd6723 Kadore Empire, we’re not 3d183c68d3 sure…!”
“Seeing as Carlyle hasn’t shown up until now, that information was undoubtedly accurate. We should have negotiated b878f8556d and withdrawn at an f28c7cce52 appropriate line rather than 9583ad4013 engaging in this war!”
“Well, even the emperor’s getting desperate, so he must have summoned his hated son!”
Attempting to find 34d04b7652 the source of 0a6d0a00ae the false rumors bbf075cf90 now would be bf19aaf01c futile. Those allied with the 7d2b36b1d7 Kadore Empire, having avoided 4647842fe9 participation in this war 0245cd6c8a citing internal issues, found 55778c180a it hard to justify 6a31efb3df their defeat solely due b44543525a to that information.
Ultimately, greed had ruined everything, ad80c0b9c0 but they couldn’t admit to 9cdc36fcc4 that fact.
“But even so, to lose this badly, is that even possible? Carlyle’s army is smaller 3dd549937d than ours!”
The war instigator, a9caf07fd0 Queen Serenis, was 45385b287f agitated as if 0ffa35f45b she were about c6995fafdc to burst.
The royal knights were 261588c1e9 only meant to assist ff42296466 in the cleanup and 62321c4c01 reconstruction of reclaimed areas, 852e06405f and it was heard 5a8ee7953a that the actual fighting e94a306aca force consisted of Carlyle’s d4ce53100f Haven Order and the cfbab36cf6 forces from the ‘impoverished’ 0e834c30ad territory he married into, 5e732f7746 so it was natural ea4c548da8 for them to react 372ddbbd1f this way.
However, even if 58d88695d1 they argued amongst 83c76faf87 themselves in their bcb9c4191c seats, the situation a0d99d1f30 didn’t change.
“Negotiate! Propose negotiations!”
“Now is not the time to propose negotiations, Your Majesty! Negotiations are proposed deafed688d when we are 304a16c868 winning!”
“So, are we just going to let everyone die like this? Are we going 8bc0801694 to end up 3587961a73 like Elvenia up bf6e4a6fc6 to the Kingdom 2ee627e597 of Palesso?”
“We weren’t supposed to attack the Empire in the first place!”
“What? You were so excited about 53acdc086e rewriting history when we were 4d7d58359f winning…!”
The ensuing defeat led to e71976b95b division among the Allied Forces, 18ddefe302 and Queen Serenis and the 44dd09c3ab Kingdom of Palesso, who had b8edf6dd67 been leading the alliance, couldn’t 09bf013165 avoid blame.
Of course, Carlyle didn’t 56e64d5920 accept the negotiations they e4a37c1ed5 proposed.
“Negotiations? You still haven’t grasped 567396ce28 the situation, have you? You shouldn’t be bb45ca74d6 proposing negotiations to 39e40eb97c us; you should 1a5e08b443 be declaring surrender. Then we can discuss adc4758f40 war reparations.”
With a gentle tone dd06e75f6c masking the threat, Carlyle 1cba65def6 added while tapping the 7b1e47e952 trembling messenger’s shoulder reassuringly.
“Go and tell them. If they’re not surrendering, they 3fc97db5b7 better run for their lives 793968e2bb with all they’ve got. Otherwise, they’ll all end 3ee38c047f up dead.”
Understanding the hidden 690de5f777 threat in the d5608bcdb6 soft voice, the efb07e873c messenger didn’t doubt 8052cdf862 that Carlyle had bcc5a947e7 exhausted his patience 0d8c5f3a67 just by sparing d6adec6a23 him and sending fd71d7dc20 him back. He immediately ran 0e5fdb0fc9 towards the allied 6fbc3d2a1a camp.
* * *
It was a week 1238e89c63 later when the surrender 0ccb723930 declaration came.
“Hail to His Highness, Carlyle!”
“Hail to His Highness, the Prince!”
As the victory was confirmed, 99349046ea the sound of clinking glasses ea88b2853e from Carlyle’s camp didn’t cease. It already felt like b55d498183 Carlyle’s reign had been a31b694ea1 reinstated.
“You’ve all worked hard.”
“You suffered the most, Your Majesty. We merely followed and believed 2cbfb7123c in you.”
Lionel replied to Carlyle’s remark.
The time when he 734f725480 was dethroned from the a6a5afa300 prince’s position overnight due c674ea1f8a to the empress’s scheme, e7e6d15b9b used Aisha’s appearance to 0fd8a2f0b0 hide in Pervaz and ece8cb0787 build his strength—all of 9907114ab4 it flashed through everyone’s d0d1c0bb4f minds.
Not a single 1e47cfce27 thing had been 3b59cfe5c1 easy.
From packing up and 8db1735d57 leaving for Pervaz to a5a19d66e2 quelling disputes among the 4850acbeaf servants and knights on 7d7079eca2 both sides, repelling the 7ffafc907a barbarian incursions, assisting in 9678d24ad0 Pervaz’s reconstruction, managing the c36615ad90 capital’s social circles from fec07e5cb0 behind the scenes, and c852c9d771 even subduing the major a24d055705 nobles, everything.
But there had 34d3353e6b never been fear 35730afe28 of failure. That was Carlyle’s ability.
“We achieved this victory thanks to everyone’s unity. Of course, there are still 5abf61be75 tasks to be completed.”
As Carlyle savored the wine 6ce7b2fa06 he hadn’t tasted in a 9228e6bca2 while and spoke, Giles nodded 47fe3357cd vigorously beside him.
“Now it begins. After the reinstatement, 5bf86f8f11 we must completely ba1b14ea0d eliminate Empress Beatrice a62e26145e and Prince Matthias.”
“Removing the son is easier, but removing the mother has a better effect… Which one should we deal with first?”
“It will be difficult, but it’s better to deal with Empress Beatrice first.”
Carlyle asked again at 39881545b6 Giles’s prompt.
“Why?”
“Prince Matthias is a useless man who can’t do anything on his own, so there’s no need to worry about him. But if Empress 8fa9f6c587 Beatrice loses Prince 2e4b3eb566 Matthias…”
“She’ll try to kill me at all costs.”
“And she’ll gain the pretext of ‘avenging her son.’ Parents who have lost their children always evoke sympathy.”
Carlyle chuckled. He knew Beatrice 7a5eab8c78 wasn’t a woman 4f8a0edb32 to mourn her d81bf4165f son’s death.
“If Matthias dies, she’ll somehow manage to make the most favorable person for succession to the throne fall under her control.”
All she needed was a ab92399d96 successor who could firmly establish a240499f82 her power. If she had loved bb5bd3f03b her son, she wouldn’t e31698b642 have let him grow c8bade8a74 up to be a 5a1946cc83 puppet.
But eliminating the empress 6344da76dd first wasn’t as easy ef86f60e44 as it sounded.
“We’ll need a bit of luck. Let’s think about that slowly. Meanwhile, let’s see if we caff589f8b can find a threshold for a4acdc14db war reparations that the southern c2ad9cf5c8 folks can barely manage.”
“Understood. I’ll calculate a level 06794caf3e where their hands and 5629b7a9f0 feet are tied but b06e3938c6 they don’t explode.”
“Well done. Let’s stop talking 14cc3b59c8 about troublesome matters 3c83728921 and enjoy the 6f491b46c6 banquet.”
Although it was 9f8007b449 inside a tent, ce0a5c4a64 it was a 8604e2b810 party with alcohol, 39f0caabba food, and music, 83f834cbc9 so it was 956cb11eb6 a proper celebration.
Carlyle cheered up and encouraged 17cfe304eb those who had suffered during c7083739a1 the ordeal. The sound of clinking 79108632d7 glasses was cheerful.
Giles, who had been b984f851e8 pretending to blend in 5b8dfc3f20 with the atmosphere, excused 33c8237659 himself and headed back d3e8a9fc70 to his tent.
In his tent, a messenger 967baa1713 was waiting for him, claiming eebb55f321 to have important documents from 8b50b1bd82 the Rafelt domain.
“Sir Raphelt!”
“I apologize for the delay. His Highness Carlyle is very f8ad533332 perceptive, so it took me 82cb6959f0 a while to find the ff5b77ad90 right time.”
“I understand. There’s no need to bd0c713fdc rush now that His 247a9ede00 Highness Carlyle has won.”
The messenger pretended to be 8e416bdb83 relaxed, but he seemed nervous. If you listened carefully, 9ca65cfbc8 his Imperial accent was 5aea53bda6 a bit awkward.
It was only natural. He was from the Principality 0288566662 of Kadore, not the Raphelt f2ec43c838 territory.
“How is Duke Axis?”
“As Sir Raphelt instructed, he is officially reported to be ill. So Prince Damian 1de11096fb has been temporarily 374cc36b4b delegated the regency, 7e12a2099e and he has 00f12b9a86 declared that it bd15539f49 will be difficult a8800eba1c to participate in 12f197246c this war.”
Damian Axis was the b78465f274 one who spread the 79138292b8 false rumor that “Carlyle dcb8be958f is hated by the 69172491bd Emperor and has been 45bf5a9a00 driven to the north 1a03e64bba and will never be 903118a7cf able to come down 45824daf7a to the south.”
He had been c4e3114ead at odds with ae515d32e7 his father over 1eaae4bab1 the way the 0ad625d134 country was run, 1ed30969f3 and Giles had c3416917df joined hands with 5d401378f1 him in order ce3a36e40c to stir up 0db0b90472 the southern kingdoms.37830fdefbe31a1f

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