I Became the First Prince: Legend of Sword's Song
chapter-174

Chapter 174

The Lazy Wolf, The Sheep Waiting for Time (1)

The kingdom of Leonberg was once called the lion of the north; that naming of it became obsolete. They became a mere keeper of the north, and the old saying of the lion-like knights, who resisted the empire, existed no more.

The current Leonberg was merely a small country on the margins of the kingdom. Such a small country suddenly declared its succession from the empire and a return to its glorious past. And this occurred in a time when the Wyvern Knights of Dotrin were turning the eastern part of the empire into a barren, death-filled field.

Some said Leonberg’s declaration was timely and made use of the confusing currents of the time, while others said that it was the raging of a goby, the angry response of a small sucker-fish.

The Kingdom of the Dead, which had fought so fiercely for nearly two-hundred years against a mighty empire, was no longer in the common memory of the people.

However, not everyone had forgotten the name of the old kingdom.

And one such man now found himself in the castle of an imperial noble, its halls blood-filled and scattered with the ravaged corpses of the vanquished.

“The Leonberg Kingdom has declared independence!” a Wyvern Knight gave him the full report after having flown in from the mainland. The king of Dotrin sat in the ruin of the castle as he ate raisins; he now jumped from his seat.

‘Gulp~’ he swallowed the raisins he had been chewing on and cried out, “The time has finally come!”

The king, small of stature, looked like a giant as he said this.

“But I am concerned that they are in too much of a hurry,” the young Wyvern Knight expressed his concern about Leonberg’s impatience, saying that they should rather have focused on an internal political cleanup but instead have done so much more.

However, the king had a different idea.

“Jin Katrin, Jin Katrin! What did I emphasize to you?”

“After the heart of a nation is broken, even if they gather a hundred thousand soldiers, they cannot fight the empire,” came Jin’s reply, and he added, “The same holds true for Leonberg.”

The king laughed generously and explained it to the young Wyvern Knight.

“They have been subordinates of the empire for a hundred years. Defeats and ill-events have overflown in their country through all that time, but now the Leonberger royal family have wiped out the cause of that atmosphere and established their independent kingdom in one fell swoop.”

“But will they have the capability to withstand the empire if they don’t really have the troops to fight the war?”

“If we prepare for ten years, could our might equal the empire’s? If you prepare for a hundred years, can you overcome the empire? We of Dotrin fight like this because the empire and its troops are boiling in dragonfire.”

The young Wyvern Knight could not give an answer to the king’s questions.

“Obviously, wars are not won by the heart. Compared to strategies and tactics woven and employed with cold reason, the passion and resolve of knights does not exceed twenty percent of what is needed to win a war,” the king said, tightening his grip on his lance, “But sometimes, that twenty percent dominates the remaining eighty percent.”

The Wyvern Knight was still unconvinced. However, the king never unduly pushed or urged a promising knight.

“There is no need to try to understand now. You will see it countless times during this war, and you will come to know whether you hate it or not,” the king said, and his expression changed as he looked back at the Wyvern Knights who were sitting around and taking a break.

“I ask you men: Are Dotrin’s knights unscrupulous fellows who pretend not to see the difficulties of their friends?”

“We are not like that!” the knights who had been watching the king from the beginning shouted with a bite to their voices.

“If so, do you remember the knight of another country who came to Dotrin in good faith and bled with us rather than leaving us alone in our fight?”

“Adrian Leonberger!”

“And does Adrian Leonberger deserve to be called Dotrin’s friend?”

“He is a great friend – a trusted comrade!”

‘Dwak!’ the king of Dotrin stamped his lance on the floor. The marble was smashed at once and debris scattered in all directions.

“If you truly think so, then what will you do now! Are you truly shameless people with only words but no action!”

The Wyvern Knights stood from their seats at once and began shouting with passion.

“Never!”

“Then what do you need to do now?” the king urged.

“To fight for Dotrin’s comrade! To reward his friendship!”

The king did not yell any more as he heard the Wyvern Knights’ answer.

“Ready your lances. Tighten the reigns on your wyverns.”

The Wyvern Knights thumped their lances on the ground in response.

“We head north!”

Upon the king’s declaration, the knights once more thumped their lances.

“For Dotrin’s allies!”

“A boon to the friendship of the young lion!”

Looking at the Wyvern Knights, the king cried, “The break is over! We head out right now!”

And a hundred wyverns flew.

* * *

“We had to merge them with the empire completely! If that was the case, we wouldn’t even be talking about it. They wouldn’t be independent, as they are now.”

“Come on, you know how stupid that sounds? In the past wise men gathered to discuss it, and they left Leonberg as they were, for they were merciful! If we tried to merge them with force, the northerners, born with the temperament of honey badgers, would often have risen up and caused rebellions.”

Talks of this topic never ceased in the halls of the imperial palace, where noble people gently discussed the future of Leonberg.

“You can march upon those cats who call themselves lions and press them back, repulse them, and defeat them directly! Our empire has the power!”

“If only that was the case! The hardships they faced with the monsters attacking them time after time has made them hard, I tell you!”

The fuss has arisen from the sudden declaration of independence by the Leonberg Kingdom.

“So what the hell should we do?!”

“Other than saying there is no point, you mean?!”

“So you’re going to leave those blasphemers who rebelled against the empire alone!”

“When did I say that! I just told you to be cautious because there is little benefit to be had by diverting our military!”

“And what about the plains on our eastern border which Dotrin is violating? And the mainland has been ruined by a monster we never even heard of! The entire world is laughing at our empire! If we leave the Kingdom of Leonberg like this, no one will bow down before the empire’s dignity anymore!”

“Ah! So what if we send an army and it fails? What are you going to do then? How do you know then that the entire continent will not rise against us if we suffer defeat!”

One one side of the argument were those who said the situation would spin out of control if the punishment of Leonberg ended in failure, this after the three invasions of Dotrin had also failed.

However, the vast majority of nobles were already angered by the rebellion of the small country, and so they advocated the sending of a large army of troops to behead the cheeky Leonberg Kingdom.

And at that time, the emperor’s messenger arrived in the hall.

“His Majesty says: ‘I cannot suffer the blasphemers. I will deploy all the troops in the northern territory and punish them!’”

And the intense debate ended with that message. Even the prudentialists, who had shouted at various nobles to show caution, did not express any disagreement. Dissenting with the emperor’s decision was something that was not done in the empire.

Thus, twenty-seven legions and forty-two Imperial Knight Squadrons began to advance north toward Leonberg.

It was then that the Wyvern Knights of Dotrin, who have flown north, raided the supply trains and destroyed the vacated fortresses. It was natural that this action delayed the march of the imperial army. Some of the legion commanders, weak-willed men, were worried that their territories were now included under the assaults of the Wyvern Knights and turned their armies back. Still, there weren’t many like them, and the main body of the imperial army continued to head north, albeit at a slow pace. Their motivation was all because of the emperor’s dignified command that it had to be done.

The emperor wanted to punish Leonberg before Dotrin, so he issued an unconditional order for advance. The legion commanders who had circumvented the original command to return to their holdings had to turn their heads north again.

The Wyvern Knights now attacked the imperial army more heatedly.

However, as time passed and imperial legions began to unite into divisions of more than two legions, their activities were forced to lessen. No matter how courageous the airborne Wyvern Knights were, it was impossible for them to stem the advance of twenty-seven legions with just a hundred knights, even if their leader, the King of Dotrin, had transcended to a high place.

All they could do was kill the messengers that moved to and fro between each legion so that the imperial army could not move in a unified fashion.

Thanks to the knights’ great efforts, the imperial army that moved was split into three, then five separate marching groups.

Six legions reached the border of Leonberg first, the first of which was the 17th Imperial Legion.

The Imperial 41st were guarding the border and was waiting for them.

“I am Degaulle de Devisch, senior knight of the 122nd Knights, belonging to the 41st Imperial Legion. It is a great honor to meet you, Legion Commander, for your name is famous!”

At the border, a thick-boned knight guided the imperial army, tired after their long march, to the fortress.

The commander of the fortress had been waiting for the arrival of imperial forces for many days, and he greeted them with great honor.

“You are much later than expected. Did you experience trouble on your way here?”

Numerous messages have been sent to the fortress, and yet the commander behaved as if he had not received any news. The legion commanders realized that the messengers had been waylaid by Dotrin’s Wyvern Knights.

“It’s all because of those damned Wyvern Knights of Dotrin.”

“If it weren’t for them, all twenty-seven legions would’ve gathered on the border from the first.”

The commander grasped the rough situation and comforted the legion commanders who were grinding their teeth.

“No matter how many Dotrin’s Wyvern Knights may be and how lethal, they won’t be able to bother you in this place, so please relax during your stay.”

“Even if they can’t do anything here, I never got any proper sleep because of those damned flying Dotrinites.”

In actual fact, all the legion commanders looked exhausted.

As set out by the guidelines issued by the imperial family, they did not enjoy the natural benefits that they had held as legion commanders throughout the years.

Their helmets and armor, the official symbol of their stations, had to be put in chests and upon carts, while they themselves were mixed into the cavalry, dressed like regular knights. When they rested, they had to sleep in the same shabby tents as soldiers, not in the barracks of high-level commanders.

But there was no other way to it.

Some of the legion commanders had insisted upon their dignity, and so stood out, as they refused to march like the common soldier; they were killed by the Wyvern Knights. One of these unfortunate attacks took place when all the legion commanders gathered all the officers of the legion, and so the entire command structure of that force collapsed. After that, all the legion commanders gave up the benefits of their station and were even unable to convene any command meetings. For men who had enjoyed preferential treatment throughout their lives, it has been a painful experience.

Now, at least, it was over.

As the fortress commander had said, the Wyvern Knights would not be able to raid a fortress where seven legions were gathered. So, they gave their forces time to recuperate while they asked their host for information on the enemies across the border. Degaulle de Devisch, who has served as senior knight of the fortress for ten years, told them about Leonberg’s army.

“In my life, I have seen countless of these knights of the kingdom who bark like thousands of yipping dogs when faced with imperial knights but would howl like brave wolves in front of their own allied knights and soldiers.”

They are weak against the strong and strong against the weak: Degaulle poured forth severe critique against the weakness of the Leonberg army and its lack of discipline.

“These are men who will run away in fear if they see our allied forces march over the border. I bet you legion commanders will make them flee by striking a single telling blow.”

The senior knight was exaggerating a bit, but he convinced them nonetheless. Those of Leonberg wouldn’t run away at once, but the common belief was that they would at least surrender once they became frightened by the dignity and might of the imperial army.

“Hah! The Citadel of Gifted Lions. That’s an undeserved name, just words they use to feel brave.”

The 17th Legion Commander and the others had not originally been inclined to belittle their enemies, but when they heard all the officers of the fortress make such comments, they truly came to believe that the Leonberg army was weak. After all, the words of those who have been in contact with the kingdom’s army through their long years of service in the fortress could be trusted.

When the 17th Legion Commander heard about the projected power of the Leonberg army, he conferred with the other legion commanders.

“His Majesty wants to punish those blasphemers as soon as possible.”

So, they decided that, instead of waiting for the other legions, they would capture the enemy’s fortress and strike the first major blow in the invasion.

In a kingdom full of rat-tailed men, how long can a single fortress hold out? How long can the enemy’s resolve hold? The commander of the 17th said that if they destroyed a few border fortifications, then the war could end without a major investment of manpower, so the time for taking the initiative was now.

The other legion commanders agreed with his words. It was a foregone conclusion that a small country on the edges of the continent with nothing much going for it would collapse, and so it was necessary to move quickly, get what was needed from the conquest of the rat-tailed kingdom, and return in triumph.

And these commanders were now in the advantageous position, for they had arrived at the border before anyone else. So, they decided to use their already superior force to their advantage.

“We will stay here for four days more to unwind, and then we will attack the Gifted Lion Citadel.”

The commander of the fortress said that he supported their decision and that he would suborn to them knights and troops who knew the geography of the border territories and the circumstances in Leonberg.

The legion commanders weren’t very pleased with the fortress commander, but they accepted his offer nonetheless. They figured that if they had someone familiar with the local situation with them, they could place their banners upon the walls of the kingdom’s capital, and not merely upon those of some obscure border fortress.

And so they advanced upon the border fortress of the Leonberg kingdom with the aid of two companies of the 41st Legion and twenty knights who had been stationed in the fortress.

“The Gifted Lion Citadel will not hold out for even a few days.”

The high-ranking knights attached from the fortress constantly talked about the path of flowers that will unfold itself on the road ahead of the legion commanders.

The legion commanders appreciated such sweet feelings directed toward them and inadvertently imagined themselves erecting their banners atop Leonberg’s royal palace. Perhaps one of their numbers would be appointed governor if the newly-conquered Leonberg, instead of the ambassador Montpellier, who had not properly reigned in the kingdom.

As they began to think about it in that manner, the people and soldiers of Leonberg began to seem like the people they had to support. They were now willing to show them mercy, ignoring the mainland’s guidelines that Leonberg had to be thoroughly trampled underfoot.

And as they reached the fortress, the commander of the 17th Legion disregarded the warning of the knights and stepped forward. Indeed, it was as the senior knight had said: The army of Leonberg was weak. They were terrified upon seeing the large imperial army, having locked their gates firmly. Now and then, one of them would stick their heads over the wall with wide eyes.

What sin have they committed? It is just that the lord of the land into which they were born, in which they grew up, has made the wrong decision, thought the commander of the 17th Legion.

“Poor soldiers of the Leonberg Kingdom! Your master has made the wrong choice, and His Majesty the Emperor has decided to decimate this land thoroughly! He said that we are to trample over you so that your foolishness will come to an end in the eyes of the heavens!” the legion commander cried out to the soldiers of the Gifted Lion Citadel in a gentle yet dignified voice.

“But know this! Not only is his Majesty a wrathful emperor, but also a merciful emperor! I have no doubt that his Majesty will welcome you with open arms if you truly repent and turn away from the blasphemous Leonbergers!” The legion commander was now drunk on his own words as he spoke of the emperor.

“Do what is right! Open the gates and greet us politely! Then you shall all live, and everything that you hold dear will remain in a state of perfection!”

No one in the citadel stood up and answered the commander’s pleas. Once more, the legion commander cleared his voice and advised them to surrender.

“Regardless of how easy or hard it may be to change flags, serving in the armed forces, following those who have made the wrong choices is a greater shame-“

‘Shhk!’

The commander had been talking for a while when a puncturing sound suddenly entered his ears.

‘Kwakud~’

And a strange sensation was felt in his heart.

“Uh?” the legion commander looked at his chest, and an arrow with bands of gold around its shaft was embedded in his chest.

“How can you, if I come to talk about peace…” the legion commander looked at the wall as he started retching blood – and he saw the old man standing upon the wall with a large bow in his hand. The old man seemed somewhat too weak to be called a knight and far too noble to be called a mere nobleman.

Before realizing the archer’s identity, the 17th Legion Commander’s eyes rolled back into their sockets.

“Legion Commander, sir!” he heard someone shouting from beyond the screaming knights.

“…the King Of Leonberg!”

And then, he could hear no more.