Return of The Martial King

Chapter 251

“Your Majesty’s anger is indeed justified. However, the distance between the Duchy of Antares and the Empire is far too great. Since the Kingdom of Crovence is allied with Antares, any punitive expedition would necessitate either making an enemy of Crovence or passing through the Vasily Kingdom. This could complicate relations with other nations.”

The Emperor furrowed his brow but refrained from unleashing his fury.

The vassal’s words were not wrong.

While dealing with Crovence was one matter, traversing the Vasily Kingdom was another challenge entirely.

The Vasily Kingdom, unlike the Duchy of Chatan or the Duchy of Lastil, was not a nation under the influence of the Holy Basutalon Empire. Marching an imperial army through their lands, declaring, “We are passing through your country to punish the Duchy of Antares!” was not an option. No sovereign nation in its right mind would permit the military of another to set foot on its territory.

“Other nations also perceive the Empire’s reaction as excessive.”

Unlike the Holy Basutalon Empire, other countries seemed to adopt a "let it slide for now" attitude. The Emperor knew exactly why this was the case.

‘Well, it’s true that the Duchy of Chatan has taken far too much advantage until now.’

Chatan, the continent’s premier mercantile state.

With the backing of the Holy Basutalon Empire, the Duchy of Chatan had reaped massive profits by acting as an intermediary for trade between various countries on the continent. And with those profits came widespread resentment.

No nation was free of anger at Chatan’s actions, which slowly drained their wealth. They refrained from overt hostility only because of the Empire standing behind Chatan.

Now, with this incident, many nations secretly felt a sense of satisfaction. It wasn’t because they favored the Duchy of Antares but because they despised the Duchy of Chatan. This led many to tacitly accept Repenhardt’s actions.

The Kingdom of Teikan, in particular, went so far as to openly express its hope for a good relationship with the Duchy of Antares, even sending diplomatic gifts as a gesture of goodwill.

This stemmed from the disgrace of the Kingdom of Teikan, Sir Lantas, the pedophilic Aura User. The man, a legendary pervert whose vile nature made even tearing him apart seem insufficient, had been granted asylum by the Duchy of Chatan instead of being handed over for punishment. This had soured relations between the two nations to their lowest point. Most of the people in the Kingdom of Teikan ground their teeth at the mere mention of the Duchy of Chatan.

Now that the Duchy of Antares had thoroughly humiliated Chatan, the Teikan Kingdom couldn’t openly praise them, but it was undoubtedly pleased.

Moreover, news had spread that Sir Lantas met his end at the hands of the Fist King, Repenhardt. Karl’s lobbying efforts had reached even such seemingly minor details. As a result, the sentiment of the people in the Kingdom of Teikan was firmly in favor of the Duchy of Antares.

“We also cannot ignore the reactions of other religious orders.”

While the Seiya Order was indeed the most flourishing across the continent, it was not the only deity humans worshiped.

There were four guardian beast gods who presided over the four cardinal directions of the continent:  

Bamet, the Divine Dragon.  

Farga, the Celestial Tiger.  

Satar, the Undying.  

Tianon, the Frozen One.  

Beyond these four, eight additional religious orders spread their doctrines across various nations.

In particular, the Redanti Order in the Kingdom of Crovence, the Aerias Order in Graim, the Zentral Order in Hallein, and the Philanence Order in Vasily held greater influence than the Seiya Order within their respective regions.

“Several priests from the Redanti and Philanence Orders reside in the Duchy of Antares. Notably, the ‘Young Saint’ holds a pivotal position in the duchy, making the Philanence Order highly attentive to developments there. Waging war without consideration of their presence risks provoking backlash from these orders.”

The phrase “Seiya, the chief god of mankind, and the twelve gods” was a common expression across the continent.  

However, this did not imply a hierarchical relationship between Seiya and the twelve gods beneath.  

Was a river subordinate to the sea?  

A river was a river, and the sea was the sea. Just because one was larger didn’t mean it was superior. It was simply that the Seiya Order was so influential that other orders often deferred to it.

Additionally, the teaching that non-humans were slaves was unique to the Seiya Order. Other orders only acknowledged it because it had become an entrenched continental custom.

From the perspectives of the Redanti and Philanence Orders, there was no reason to oppose Repenhardt. In fact, some hardliners within these orders argued that this was an opportunity to challenge the Seiya Order’s dominance and expand their own influence.

“In the current situation, it seems difficult for the Empire to directly punish the Duchy of Antares, Your Majesty.”

At these remarks from his vassals, the Emperor inwardly clicked his tongue. While he had been agitated, he was far from foolish.

‘The so-called Fist King is rumored to be an ignoramus of the highest order, yet he’s managed to orchestrate this situation. Is he simply lucky, or does he have competent subordinates?’

If the current continental dynamics were deliberately orchestrated by the Duchy of Antares, it was no small feat. Even the collaborators and sages of the Silver Age planted in other nations were responding with, “We can’t condone it, but given the situation, it’s difficult to act right now.”

‘Ugh, what on earth has Serelein been doing? She claimed she would handle it but ended up bungling the Zeppelin?’

The Emperor grumbled internally as he raised his voice to scold his subordinates.

“Does this mean we should simply turn a blind eye to their actions? How can you suggest such a thing when Seiya himself is watching? Do you truly believe this is acceptable?”

At the Emperor’s rebuke, his vassals fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances.

At that moment, a young military officer stepped forward.

“Your servant, Egilnes, wishes to address Your Majesty.”

He was the current head of the venerable Egilnes count family within the Empire. The Emperor gestured for him to speak.

“Speak.”

Count Egilnes began calmly.

“The Duchy of Antares has not waged war against the Duchy of Chatan. They merely conducted a raid.”

“Explain further.”

“The Duchy of Antares is not a vast and populous traditional power. Its strength lies in the quality of its soldiers and the number of Aura Users it commands. They were able to pull off such an act with a small, elite force.”

“And?”

“The Empire’s power is immense. If the Duchy of Antares can do it, there is no reason why the Empire cannot.”

The Emperor’s eyes gleamed with interest.

Count Egilnes smiled confidently.

“To punish them in the exact manner they carried out their actions, that, I believe, aligns with Seiya’s justice, does it not?”

*         *         *

After ten days of continuous rain, the weather finally cleared. The bright summer sky stretched out, and the once-soaked earth quickly dried under the radiant sun.

Under the rare sunny sky, the White Royal Castle of Antares bustled with activity. Housewives hung their long-overdue laundry out to dry, stable hands exercised their horses, and knights and soldiers busied themselves repairing weapons and armor to prevent mold from setting in.

About five kilometers from the White Royal Castle, on a nearby reclaimed field, Russ was training intensely, freely unleashing his Blade Aura for the first time in a while.

“Your flank, sir!”  

A blue Blade Aura sliced through the air, targeting his opponent’s side. At that moment, a golden Aura flashed, blocking the blade of light in an instant.

“Huh-up!”  

Raising his Aura Defense alone, Repenhardt easily withstood Russ’s attack. His body and aura had reached far greater levels thanks to his relentless martial arts training. Against a Blade Aura of this level, which lacked the focused power of a skill like Gigantic Blade, there was no need to use Spiral Guard.

“My turn! Straight Cannon!”

Repenhardt roared as he thrust his fist forward. A golden curtain of light rushed toward Russ, engulfing all sides. Russ threw himself to the side at full force, narrowly avoiding the onslaught. The missed Straight Cannon tore into the earth, sending a deafening roar across the field.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang!

“Hey! Using that in a one-on-one? Come on, brother! Isn’t that for fighting against multiple opponents?”  

Amidst the dust cloud, Russ raised his sword above his head, then swung it down with immense force.

“Gigantic Blade!”

A Blade Aura of an entirely different magnitude slammed directly into Repenhardt’s chest. Yet, Repenhardt did not deploy Spiral Guard.  

“Don’t worry, Russ! I wasn’t trying to hit you with that technique!”  

From within the dust cloud, Repenhardt shifted his body slightly to the side. The massive blade of light from Gigantic Blade missed him, gouging into the earth with another thunderous explosion.  

Boom!  

Russ clicked his tongue.  

“Damn, it was just for restricting my vision.”  

No matter how well one could sense their opponent’s presence through their aura, precise control of distance still required vision.

Dodging the Gigantic Blade, Repenhardt immediately launched a counterattack.  

“Chain Strike Blast!”  

He swung both fists repeatedly, firing dozens of golden Aura bullets in rapid succession. Russ deflected each incoming projectile with his sword. The deflected Chain Strike Blasts hit the ground, detonating with tremendous force.  

Bang! Bang! Kwa-kwa-bang!  

The duel between the two Aura Users had already turned the surrounding area into a wasteland. Both Russ and Repenhardt wore satisfied expressions.

“Ah, it feels good to loosen up after so long, brother.”  

“I feel refreshed too. It’s been a while.”  

During the long days of rain, the Aura Users of the White Royal Castle had been prohibited from sparring. The reason? Tilla, who managed the castle’s affairs, had been nagging nonstop.

“Ugh, stop showing off your strength and breaking walls! Just behave yourselves, will you?!”

The destructive power of an Aura User was so immense that even indoor training halls couldn’t withstand it. While building a training hall took considerable time, destroying it could be done in an instant. Thus, wastefulness...  

To prevent unnecessary damage, the use of Aura had to be prohibited during indoor sparring sessions.

Russ and Tassid even contemplated training outside in the rain instead. Both were born warriors, and being idle all day made their bodies itch with restlessness.

But even that idea was quickly shut down by Tilla, whose sense of duty burned brightly.

“You two, don’t go running around in the rain! Your clothes will get ruined! Do you think laundry does itself?”

Originally, Karl had managed all the administrative tasks within the White Royal Castle. However, as the workload grew heavier, Tilla began assisting him little by little. Over time, this naturally turned into a full handover of duties. Call it the harmony of a husband and wife. Now that the Duchy had grown so significantly, Tilla had become the de facto steward of the White Royal Castle.

Recalling Tilla, Russ clicked his tongue.

“Tilla really is frugal to a fault…”

“Can’t argue with that,” Repenhardt agreed as he glanced around at the area left in ruins by their Aura.

The place where they were sparring wasn’t inside the White Royal Castle but a nearby clearing. Littered with rocks and shrubs, it was unsuitable for farmland.

The reason they had come to this location instead of their usual sparring grounds was, of course, Tilla.

“Isn’t it such a waste to just throw all that energy into the air? Can’t you use it for something practical?”

Sparring between Aura Users was a massive nuisance. Just the stray Blade Aura attacks could easily destroy a building or two. On top of that, the ripples created when Auras clashed were powerful enough to shatter boulders and topple massive trees.

Tilla, influenced by Karl’s pragmatic mindset, found it unbearable to see all this energy wasted. She made a serious request to Repenhardt: if they were going to spar with their Auras anyway, why not do it in the nearby clearing?

After all, if they plowed through that area with their sparring, wouldn’t it become excellent farmland?

“Instead of just saying wasteland, wasteland, why don’t you actually make it into a field for once?”

The idea of using Aura Users as plow oxen left even Repenhardt momentarily dumbfounded. If Aura Users from other nations had heard this, they might have considered it an outrageous insult and flown into a rage.

However, non-human Aura Users lacked such rigid notions of pride. They found the idea practical and even applauded it. As a result, it became a trend for Aura Users to choose the clearings near the White Royal Castle as their sparring grounds.