Excalibur Chronicle of Raidorl - Chapter 212: Front and Rear Gates

“Rebellion in the royal capital…..? Count Irudo Rewir, was he a powerful man in the north of the kingdom?”

In his office in the nobleman’s mansion.

Hearing the news sent by his aide and prime minister, Sven Arbeil, Raidorl gathers his dim memory.

When a horde of undead appeared from the Kingdom of Athena, Raidorl was forced to deal with them and clean up the mess.

In the midst of all this, a message is sent from the royal capital. The Count of Rewir, who has a fiefdom in the north of the kingdom, has incited the people to rise up and is marching towards the royal capital.

“What shall we do, shall we march back to the capital?”

The one who asked was a close confidant of Raidorl’s. It was Darren Garst – a beautiful knight who is also a general.

The three men in the office were Raidorl, Darren and Saara Leifet, the Chief of the Thousand Horsemen. Justy Oigist, also the Chief of the Thousand Horsemen, is not here. He is recuperating from injuries sustained in the previous battle.

“If the royal city is conquered, we will have nowhere to return to. I think we should leave only a small number of holdouts in the west, and the main force should turn back to intercept the rebels.”

Daren’s proposal makes sense. The loss of the royal capital, which is the home of the kingdom, would result in the collapse of the Zain kingdom’s foundation.

The current regime, led by Raidorl, would collapse. In the worst case scenario, the Zain kingdom itself would be destroyed as it is.

“No……we will not return. We will stay here in the west.”

However, Raidor shakes his head at Darren’s suggestion.

Sitting in his office chair, his legs crossed, his gaze wandering thoughtfully, he spins his words.

“I don’t know about Rewir and all that, but….. even if that man were to bring down the royal city, wouldn’t all the people die out? If he wants an empty city, he can have it.”

“But then the Kingdom of Zain will be destroyed……! Your Highness is making light of the threat of national annihilation!”

The normally calm and composed Darren is unusually hoarse.

Even the war with the Empire did not endanger the royal capital. The possibility of the royal capital falling to the rebels seems to have made him uncharacteristically impatient.

“If the capital falls, the death of King Granard, which had been hidden, will be exposed. In some cases, even Your Highness may….”

“Lose my hard-earned status…..? I don’t care about that. It would be a far better outcome than having our country swallowed up by the undead.”

Raidorl assured in an indifferent tone.

It was not a temporary bullishness. He was not being stubborn on the spot, but was sincerely thinking that the 『Crisis Of National Annihilation』 was no big deal.

Although he called himself Regent, Raidorl did not attach much value to the 『Nation』.

He took the throne from Granard to get back at his brother for driving him to the frontier. He took the throne from Granard because he was disappointed with his brother, who was weak-kneed and too inadequate to be a king.

If Granard had been a king to match Raidorl’s calibre, even if he hated being driven out, he would not have thought of retaliating to the extent of taking the throne.

“If the undead from the west break through here, people all over the Kingdom of Zain will die oand wander around as undead just like them. If you consider this, there is nothing worse than losing the country to the Rewir and the like. The undead need to be destroyed. The witch Osman must be defeated. It’s not too late to return to the Royal Capital and defeat Rewir.”

Raidorl originally worked as an adventurer, fighting demons from the Demon Forest.

Whether the country is destroyed or the royal family disappears, it is much better than the people being killed by demons and undead. The people, not the country, are the ones who should be kept alive – such a way of thinking sprouted from his half life as an adventurer, defending pioneer cities.

It is inevitable that his opinion differs from that of Darren, who as a knight has given priority to [protecting the country] and [protecting the royal family] in his life.

“…………”

“So Your highness means……you are abandoning the Royal Capital?”

Saara opens her mouth in place of the silent Darren.

At the knight’s words, Raidorl shrugs and waves a letter delivered by messenger.

“That’s not very nice to say. Even Sven, the guy I left in charge in the first place, didn’t ask for help, did he?”

“Ehh?”

“This statement says, 『Don’t worry, we will deal with the rebellion here』.’ Apparently, Sven intends to quell the rebellion on his own. Apparently, Sven intends to quell the rebellion on his own. What are we supposed to do, get upset and get carried away when a kid more than five years younger than us is gritting his teeth and stepping up to the plate? It’s pathetic.”

“………….”

“We have left the Royal Capital to Sven and went with this expedition. Even Angelica is in  Royal Capital. Trust your men……trust your friends, Darren.”

“….I understand.”

Darren was silent with a difficult expression on his face, but eventually he smiled calmly with a [huff] and his shoulders slumped.

“My apologies. I have shown your highness something embarrassing.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s okay. Everyone gets upset when their den is on fire. I’ll just assume it’s just a patriotic gesture.”

“Let’s redeem our disgraceful failure with more heroic battles in the future. In the war against the Osman, we will surely achieve the credit we deserve.”

“Very well. Isn’t that a brave thing to do?”

Raidorl laughed and folded his hands on the desk.

His eyes blazed with fighting spirit and his lips lifted viciously in a smile.

“I’m getting tired of waiting around. Now that my ass is on fire, I think it’s time to fight back.”

Raidorl looks at Darren and, in turn, Saara next to him.

“Soon we will march on the Kingdom of Athena! We will defeat the undead overlord, the witch Osman, and send all the undead back to hell!”

“…………!”

Darren’s eyes widen at Raidorl’s declaration, and he nods broadly in return. Saara also silently bowed her head and agreed.

The battle against the undead caused a commotion in the western region of the kingdom.

The battle for life between the living and the dead was rolling towards its conclusion at a rapid pace.