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(374)
The fish-people warriors landed on a sandbank by the wide river.
“Keeeeee!”
The fish-headed monsters roared with their mouths wide open.
"iced coffee!"
“Run away!”
"father!"
The old fisherman sank to the ground, the older sister who came out with her younger brother screamed, and the young villager who ran out with a sword entered the mouth of the fish-man warrior.
Wedge!
puck!
At that moment, a harpoon flew in and struck the fishman warrior in the gills.
“Keeeek!?”
"come!"
“I’m alive now!”
A group of medium-sized ships, each about 30 meters long, were coming up the river.
At the head of the fleet stood a handsome young man with short black hair and sparkling golden eyes.
The scales of the mermaid covered in turquoise scales were larger than an adult's palm, and were hard enough to bounce off even if struck with an axe, but Belisarios' harpoon eventually slid through them and dug into the mermaid warrior's red flesh.
“Pull!”
Instead of pulling the rope connected to the harpoon himself, he passed the rope to the junior sailors behind him, and he himself picked up the next harpoon.
“Phew! Ha.”
“The yellow-eyed man from the Empire, throwing harpoons!”
“Phew! Ha.”
“Every time a foot cuts through the wind, a monster falls!”
The sailors pulled the strings and sang an impromptu song.
“Keeeeeek!”
The ropes were pulled taut and the sailors' gloves tightened as the fish-men, who were over two meters tall, struggled.
However, Alceste's sailors eventually succeeded in dragging the fish-man warrior under the ship.
“Hit!”
Pfft pfft!
Then he stabbed him with a long spear and killed him by striking him with a double-handed axe.
"next!"
Belisarios threw his harpoon again.
Wedge!
The harpoon flew at full speed and grabbed a village girl by the hair, piercing the eye of a fish-man warrior who was trying to dive into the water.
puck!
The warrior fell to the ground, and the sailors of Alceste cheered.
“Wow!”
“When a golden-eyed young man from the empire throws a harpoon~”
“You little monsters, tremble and run in all directions!”
Swords were raised to the sky and flags were waving.
Following him, warriors from the Emirate of Amir threw harpoons, drew their swords, jumped out of the boat, and some mutated their bodies and ran.
It was the moment when the last of the recently active swarm of fish-people was swept away.
Alceste stood on the deck of the 60m battleship and looked at the scene with a strange look in his eyes.
The hazel eyes trembled.
He clenched and unclenched his fist, raised the flag, and called Belisarios to his flagship.
“You’re really good at throwing harpoons.”
He wore an ornate turban, a handsome short beard, and a suit of magic-tool iron armor and a magic-tool robe with geometric patterns.
He was much larger than Belisarios in size, and his strength and power were incomparable.
“It is thanks to Your Majesty the Marshal who taught me well.”
But he always felt an inexplicable sense of deprivation in front of this half-imperial bastard who bowed to him without the slightest hesitation.
He was well-trained but slender, and wore only a thin white garment with no ornaments, and did not even wear a turban, like a boy who had not yet had a coming-of-age ceremony.
There was something about Belisarios's citrine, sometimes golden eyes that overwhelmed Alceste.
Alceste was about to say something, but he felt like whatever he said would be meaningless, so he just laughed.
"haha."
I couldn't figure out why I was thinking that way.
I wanted to stab him in the back of the neck with a dagger and throw him into the water.
What made him even more miserable was that doing so didn't seem to make him feel better.
He suppressed his urge and ordered the army to retreat.
“Go back to Mecaris!”
The expedition against the fish-people and foreign beasts ended successfully.
This was not a simple hunt, but a training exercise to coordinate with the admirals or marshals of other emirs who had navies.
It was also an essential procedure to appease the public sentiment before 'conscription'.
“Long live Marshal Alceste!”
“This is the Sultan’s sharpest sword!”
“I would appreciate it if you would avenge me! My enemy!”
Alceste rode in a magnificently decorated chariot to the Sultan's palace.
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The people of Mecharis praised him by scattering flower petals.
He realized his position as he saw jasmine flowers mixed among the rose petals.
'Yes. I am no longer a field commander, but a man who is going to marry the princess. After we are married, that woman will not be associated with Belisarios. I will send her straight to my territory and lock her up in the castle. No. Even that does not give me peace of mind.'
'I should send that Belisarios to the front lines. And… … I should go up north and catch the White Witch and the scoundrel. I should cut off the scoundrel's head and sleep with the witch, promising revenge. And I should show that to Belisarios. That should definitely kill his spirit.'
That day, Sultan Baphomre came out of the palace, praised Alceste, and announced that he would marry Nasseria after a séance.
* * *
Even though her time learning to speak was over, Naseria continued to frequent the mansion.
This was possible because both Sultan Baphomer and Marshal Alceste were busy.
She treated the clear-skinned young man with amethyst eyes like her own cat.
He brought a chair that could seat two people to his room on the third floor, and they sat shoulder to shoulder, looking out the window, chatting away.
Because Belisarios' body temperature was so high, her shoulders would sometimes turn red.
“Is this okay?”
Sometimes I was so worried that I thought he had a fever.
When asked that question, Belisarios always answered with a grin.
It was a smile that reminded me of the scent of acacia honey.
“The Imperial Family is all mixed blood. The dragon elves and ogres are all animals with higher body temperatures than humans, so that’s why. There are also families that married fire spirits, though I don’t know how. I think that’s normal, so don’t worry.”
“Isn’t it hot?”
“I’m not hot. Aren’t you hot, Princess?”
“I like it even if it’s hot.”
As she said that, she unconsciously looked out the window at the other side of the wall.
There was a long line of naked people.
The purple eyes that had been filled with a smile for a moment trembled.
"princess!"
Belisarios checked her condition briefly and asked slowly.
“Are those people the ‘volunteers’?”
Naseria nodded.
“Yeah. You said you needed volunteers for the ceremony?”
“You don’t seem like much of a volunteer.”
They shaved their heads, regardless of gender, marked their naked bodies with red and blue dyes, and wore glittering crowns.
The coffin was enchanted with the power of an ancient thing, causing severe headaches when moved beyond a certain distance from the sorcerer.
“That’s right. There’s no way he’s a volunteer. How is he a volunteer?”
“Are you citizens of this city?”
“They are all mixed up. There are criminals, poor people, nobles who were pushed out of the succession battle, and commoners. The ritual of the shaman is to sacrifice the souls of these people to open the ‘gate’, call upon the old one, and place a piece of it into the warrior’s body.”
Belisarios' face hardened.
Naseria let out a deep sigh.
“I wish someone would stop me.”
Belisarios asked hesitantly.
“Won’t there be a rebellion? I’m sorry to say this, but if we did something like this in the Empire, the city would be turned upside down. This is a city bigger than Soletaraon.”
"She's vulgar," he muttered.
“We don’t just pick people at random. We take the poor people first, and then we divide the city into districts and select people from different districts every year. Even if there is opposition from a certain district, the districts that have offered sacrifices so far will condemn the people from that district.”
“You made them fight each other.”
“Yes. Because people can never stand it when they are the only ones to suffer.”
Belisarios rose from his seat and grabbed the curtain.
“Is this why you wanted to become Sultan?”
Naseria pulled him towards her and stopped him from closing the curtains.
“Yes. There are many reasons, but this was the biggest one. We are… the protectors of our people. I don’t understand why the Sultans and Amirs, who would even use the gods for our people, sacrifice their people for the sake of their people. In the end, someone lost their child, parent, or sibling, and I hated the thought of people in other regions having to suffer because they suffered.”
Belisarios gently shook the hand away and closed the curtain.
“Don't look.”
“No. I am the Sultan’s daughter.”
Nasseria tried to draw the curtains again, and Belisarios covered her eyes from behind.
And then he whispered in my ear.
“Just don’t forget that feeling.”
* * *
That evening.
I was summoned by Sultan Baphomet.
The palace attendants rushed in like waves, so I had to quickly adjust my attire, but I was somehow able to contain the situation.
“I understand that you are a man of that era, but calling prostitutes into the mansion is prohibited.”
“I’m sorry. I made eye contact with the woman coming from the harem…….”
I said this, bowing my head several times.
Depending on the person, it could be interpreted as, 'Do you, who run a red-light district that locks up brothers in the palace, have the right to say such things?'
The attendant must have interpreted it that way, as he narrowed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“I have nothing to say. Okay. I’ll let you pass this time. Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
She dressed as neatly as possible, doused herself with perfume and fragrant oil, and then entered the Sultan's palace.
This time, instead of going through the ornate corridors, we entered the depths of the palace through an ordinary hallway.
“This is it.”
Knock knock.
As I opened the door and went in, I saw two guards who looked powerful at first glance, along with Sultan Baphomet.
It was a room where tactical meetings were held, and there were detailed maps and words spread out on a large round table.
I knelt on one knee toward the Sultan.
“You are the guardian of the pantheon.”
“It was done.”
He cut me off, his wrinkled purple eyes flashing.
“Please sit down first.”
“Can I sit at the round table?”
“Until a few years ago, you were a Grand Duke. A high-ranking member of the royal family within the 30th place in the line of succession. And since I am the one who should claim that you deserve it, you may naturally sit down.”
I slowly got up and sat down at an appropriate distance from Baphomer.
And then I looked at him with renewed vigor.
He had healthy brown skin and purple eyes, typical of a Southern Continent nobleman.
Although he had a long beard and wrinkles all over his body, he had the dignity of the strongest man in the Southern Continent, unlike the warm-hearted grandfather Cesar in the neighborhood, until he picked up a sword.
Especially when I saw the fire and passion blazing in his eyes, I thought I knew why he was Naseria's father.
Even though he was past middle age and entering old age, his ambition to conquer Soletaras felt natural.
He began his story by pointing to a dot on the map.
It was the largest port in the southern part of the empire, a port at the tip.
“The Empire was thinking of using the Edge Port to invade or defend us, but it didn’t seem to work out well.”
“Valencian is a man who is both over-worried and arrogant. He thinks he can defeat all his known enemies, and overestimates the unknown, leading him to carry out a purge. It seems that his bad habits have come out again this time.”
“So, Alceste’s forces advancing by sea will easily take control of the seas around the area, and they can also advance inland along the river.”
“It looks like it will be like that to me.”
“The problem is the land route.”
He moved his hand to the left, pointing to the area where the northern part of the Emirate of Amir and the southern part of the empire met by land.
There was a handful of fortress-shaped horses on the map.
These were fortresses built in recent years by the great lords of the southern part of the empire, including Caesar.
Although I had originally permitted the construction of these castles, I have lost track of how many were actually built.
If you order her to break through that, even Helena will be terrified and run away.
“An army that has broken through the desert cannot pass through here. There is a growing opinion that the entire army should be transported by sea. What do you think as the imperial family?”
I looked at the map carefully.
To the northwest of the Emirate was the fortress of Cesar, to the north was a mountain range, and to the northeast was the sea.
“How about marching right up to the sea?”
“In the sea?”
“After we gain control of the seas, there is no problem of our backs being broken by the landing operation of the Cheonchang Fleet. Even if the march route becomes longer, there is no problem, right?”
"hmm."
“Since it’s by the sea, the slope will be gentle, so it’ll be easy to use a cart. And as a foreigner, I know it’s a bit odd to say this, but… now that you’ve announced your marriage, there’s no need to keep an eye on the maritime emirs.”
Baphomer nodded.
He checked the map again, checked the horses within the emirate, the canals and rivers within the emirate, and soon smiled in satisfaction.
“After the war, I will give you an officer’s position. I am merciful to those who surrender. I will let you see the White Witch burn to death and the scoundrel’s head be cut off.”
"……thank you."
“Is there anything else you wish for?”
I asked, taking a deep breath.
“Can you show me the immersion ritual up close?”
The Sultan nodded as if that was nothing.