Boom—!
An ear-splitting explosion erupted along with a burst of orange flames. At the same moment, Baskan’s massive body was hurled forward. The blast had gone off right behind him.
“That’s it!”
I shouted in satisfaction and thrust Hector Punisher forward. With my body twisted to the side, I delivered a clean, powerful uppercut swing. It felt like I had become a baseball player.
Kwaaaaaang!
Baskan took the full force of the blow to the chest and went flying like a baseball. The impact must have been tremendous.
I hit him over the armor, but that shouldn’t matter much.
At that level of force, even an armadillo would have been split open. Why bring up armadillos all of a sudden? Because their shells can deflect pistol rounds.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Baskan’s scream suddenly rang out. He must have briefly lost consciousness and only regained it while flying through the air. As the long arc began to descend, I curled my lips upward.
No matter how much of a hero of the barbarians he was, he was still human in the end. Anyone would die falling from that height, especially when they couldn’t even control their body properly. He would probably plummet helplessly and meet his end right there……
Whoosh! Thud!
However, Baskan twisted his body in midair and managed to plant his feet on the ground. He immediately rolled across the dirt in an unsightly manner.
Thud! Crash!
It was a pathetic sight, yet I couldn’t close my gaping mouth.
“No way…… he survived that?”
It was an absurd scene. He had been caught off guard by the remote detonation and struck so hard in the chest that it should have caved in. His body had been sent flying dozens of meters. Any ordinary person would have had every rib shattered. The moment Hector Punisher connected, it should have been over.
Yet this guy had only rolled across the ground a few times before getting back up relatively intact. It felt like I had just clubbed a troll.
“Ah! He’s not just a person—he’s a Mandus tribesman.”
Just as Hugo Yates had once said, these people weren’t normal humans. On top of that, Baskan Magres was the Great Chieftain. Of course he would be far stronger than an average Mandus warrior.
The staggering man glared at me with blazing eyes. He seemed to be shouting something, but the surroundings were so noisy that I couldn’t make out the words.
Maybe I sent him too far.
Baskan was already outside the wall. Catching up to him would not be easy. The Mandus were already fleeing at full speed, abandoning all pride as warriors. As long as their Great Chieftain was alive, they believed they could eventually recover.
“Commander! We will pursue him!”
Alvin O’Connor, Commander of the 1st Knight Division, rode up and shouted. But I already knew it was too late. Chasing down Baskan Magres was no longer possible.
However, I had no intention of letting them escape so easily.
“We’ll keep harassing them until they reach their main camp.”
“Yes, sir!”
Commander O’Connor immediately brought over a horse—the one I had been riding before fighting Baskan. The knights had taken good care of it. I mounted at once and charged toward the broken wall.
It’s a shame we don’t have light cavalry or horse archers.
With them, we could have inflicted even greater damage. But we had been short on resources to begin with. There was no way we could have maintained useless troops. Until now, we hadn’t even been able to take a single step outside the walls, so simply having three hundred knights to operate was already something to be grateful for.
“Charge!”
“Let’s gooooo!”
The Eastern 1st Knight Division entered unknown territory. This was the nameless plain of the eastern continent—the land the imperial army had never once conquered before. Of course, we had no intention of occupying this region right now. Our only goal was to pursue the Mandus and maximize the damage.
Even so, the knights’ faces were filled with excitement.
We missed Baskan Magres, but this is still a great victory.
The soldiers were also drunk on the win, letting out cheers. Everyone was savoring the moment of joy. However, I saw things differently.
“Isn’t this basically new development land?”
I was already looking forward to what we could gain from this unknown territory.
While I was briefly lost in thought, the Eastern 1st Knight Division faithfully continued to rack up achievements. They relentlessly tore into the rear of the fleeing enemy. Their improvement in cavalry tactics was clearly visible.
A few real battles have awakened their memories.
Every imperial knight was trained in group tactics as a basic skill. Even if you gathered people from completely different units, it didn’t matter. After a few practice sessions, they would adapt quickly. I had led them in nothing but winning battles—nibbling away at the outskirts and striking decisively whenever an opening appeared. That was how you achieved maximum effect with minimum casualties.
“Th-The enemy is retreating, Commander!”
“Stop!”
At Alvin O’Connor’s shout, I raised my right hand. The knight division immediately halted their charge. This much punishment was sufficient. Going any farther would only risk getting isolated for no gain. It was better to stop here.
Once they returned to their main camp, the Mandus began their full retreat. Their distinctive tents were rapidly taken down and the remaining forces scattered. The survivors were forming new tribes among themselves. Then they disappeared beyond the eastern plains in search of a way to survive.
Why were they acting like this even though Baskan Magres was still alive?
Because his prestige has fallen after repeated defeats.
It would be extremely difficult for him to raise another army from now on. For at least ten years, there shouldn’t be any major problems. In that time, the Empire would be able to completely secure control over the eastern plains. The Mandus rising again? No, that wouldn’t happen.
“I’ll make sure to trample them all the way down to the roots.”
I stared quietly at the eastern plains for a moment before turning my horse around.
A cabinet meeting was once again being held in the Imperial Assembly.
The situation had changed far too much recently.
“We offer our congratulations on the great victory, Your Majesty!”
“This glorious achievement was made possible by Your Majesty’s grace!”
The nobles all spoke in unison, praising the Emperor. However, Karon’s expression remained indifferent. Still, everyone quickly realized the truth— the Iron-Blood Emperor was in an exceptionally good mood. Unlike usual, there was no murderous aura radiating from him. This alone made the cabinet meeting feel like a warm spring day.
“Why would any of this be my achievement? It was the Commander and the Eastern Allied Army who accomplished it on their own.”
His curt reply came, yet the officials’ expressions remained calm. They had served the Emperor for so long that something like this no longer flustered them.
“However, it was Your Majesty who recommended them.”
“That’s right! The ability to recognize and employ talent is the greatest virtue of a ruler, is it not?”
“The greatest credit belongs to Your Majesty for placing the right person in the right position.”
The senators continued with their flattery. At times like this, even the nobles who represented the noble factions looked no different from sycophants. Duke Sierre, Duke Giovanni, and Marquis Gilmore all chimed in with their praises as if they were close colleagues.
“Weren’t you the ones complaining that my cousin was making too much money?”
“H-Haha! Th-That was…… well, that was related to economic matters, wasn’t it? I believe it’s somewhat different from the matter of winning a war.”
“Puhuhu.”
Emperor Karon let out a dry laugh. He could see right through the nobles’ intentions. Then his expression suddenly hardened.
“Enough with the flattery. Present the agenda.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Chancellor Gilmore stepped onto the platform with a stack of documents. His serious voice soon echoed through the hall.
“Count Mascoup and forty-five other senators have given their consent. The agenda concerns the redeployment of the Eastern Allied Army and the ownership of the new territory.”
A strange tension filled the air.
It was a well-known truth that once the hunting season ended, the hunting dogs were boiled and eaten. Now that the Mandus had been subdued, there was no longer any need to maintain such a massive army. Armies were money-devouring monsters by nature. The same applied even if they conquered other regions. Extracting profit from those lands could take years. Moreover, they had only taken control of the empty eastern plains so far. Considering the defense costs spent until now, the agenda seemed reasonable on the surface.
But there was something suspicious about it.
“Ownership? Why is that suddenly being brought up?”
At the Emperor’s question, Duke Sierre rose from his seat.
“I will explain that, Your Majesty!”
“Go ahead.”
“The eastern plains are extremely far away and vast. If the imperial army were to station forces there to defend it, military expenditures would increase exponentially.”
“Hmm.”
It was a statement that naturally made one nod. The homeland itself didn’t dispatch central troops everywhere either. Instead, they entrusted border regions to capable organizations or individuals. Delriat in the west and the Yates Earldom in the east were perfect examples of that.
Duke Sierre’s opinion was simple. Because the land was so distant, the feudal system was most appropriate, just as it had always been done. On the surface, the logic was flawless.
The Emperor swept his dry gaze across the room.
“So who exactly is planning to divide and eat up that land? Don’t tell me it’s all of you?”
“Well, in order to rule over such chaotic land, one would naturally need the proper qualifications and financial resources.”
As expected, it was exactly as he thought. From the moment the topic of ownership came up, the Emperor had already sensed it. They wanted to get their hands on it no matter what. When territory increased, so did the output. Normally, the Emperor wouldn’t have cared much who tore apart the eastern plains. He could have just divided it roughly among the noble factions and bureaucrats. If he made rival factions share borders, they would naturally exhaust each other’s strength.
But this time was different.
The Emperor spoke with a meaningful smile.
“Let me ask you something. Is the eastern plain really that far away?”
“It is. It takes a full six months by land, does it not? And that’s only if nothing goes wrong along the way.”
“Aren’t we using the waterway my cousin built now? Even if you take it slow, it only takes a month. I don’t understand what you mean by ‘far.’”
“Ah……!”
“Furthermore, the travel time has been shortened even more recently. At that distance, a deputy lord could travel back and forth without issue, couldn’t he?”
For a moment, Duke Sierre was at a loss for words. He had been so focused on Abel Carius that he had overlooked the supply route. As a result, there was a flaw in his logic from the very beginning.
While he was fumbling, the Emperor continued.
“In that case, there’s no need to insist on the feudal system. Besides, isn’t there a law that applies in situations like this? The Imperial Territory Law.”
It was a clause that had occupied the very first page of the legal code for hundreds of years. If the owner of a territory was unclear, it belonged to the Imperial Family. The same article had appeared during the disputes over the Titus and Brayden territories.
The nobles could say nothing and only exchanged glances. They wanted to get involved somehow, but their argument had been completely dismantled. What justification could they possibly use to claim the eastern plains now?
Just then, Marquis Gilmore suddenly stood up.
“Then how about establishing a Governorate, Your Majesty? Since the land is so vast, it would be best to dispatch a large number of officials.”
“Oh! That’s an excellent suggestion.”
The senators quickly voiced their agreement. If a Governorate was established, they could still stick their straws into the eastern plains as much as they wanted. It was the perfect way to gain benefits while appearing to agree with the Emperor’s logic.
However, the Emperor’s next words froze everyone in place.
“Good. Then I’ll appoint my cousin as Governor. He performed excellently in Delriat, so I should entrust him with this as well.”
“Hahaha! Now this is true talent recognition, isn’t it?”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty. You are absolutely right.”
The atmosphere in the room turned gloomy. Regardless, Emperor Karon burst into triumphant laughter.