Chapter 262

#262 Episode: The Tin Knight and the Frenzied Banquet (2)

Lenart’s radical faction had the following operation planned.

Plan A.

Gather signatures within the family to put pressure on the Duke and extract a “reasonable concession” from the imperial family.

How? By threatening to declare independence if they don’t.

It’s basically extortion in polite terms, or just plain tantrums in layman’s speak, but it was still a somewhat effective strategy—if the Duke cooperated, that is.

However, the Duke flatly refused their proposal, leaving the radicals no choice but to proceed to their next operation.

Enter Plan B.

Using the Duke’s name, mobilize pro-Lenart forces spread across the empire, attack the palace to secure royalty, and create a list of “traitors” that suits them under royal authority, then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

To be honest, this was a plan that couldn’t be called thorough even in jest.

From the start, the radical faction decimated the bloodline with their own hands, and at this rate, they seemed poised to have zero influence over that imperial regiment or whatever it was, so this was a hastily concocted plan.

Despite the Duke’s assurances that creating a direct regiment wouldn’t immediately spell doom for the Lenart family, the radicals were sure it would be the end for them.

As a trump card, they had Werner von Lenart on their side, but he was showing lukewarm feelings about the whole thing, and there were quite a few in the Duke’s family who endorsed the Duke’s diplomacy or took a neutral stance.

Thus, the radicals arrived at a counterintuitive conclusion.

Currently, the Lenart family’s actions were lukewarm because, to put it bluntly, they were “still feeling full,” and if they got utterly smashed without any warning, at least the neutrals would feel a sense of crisis and wouldn’t side with the radicals.

Originally, while it’s tough to carry out a plan, it’s easy to troll, and the Duke’s family, cornered just as the radicals intended, began to voice extreme opinions.

Those who had a hand in betraying the Duke couldn’t help but stick with the radicals, and even those who moved troops thinking they were just following orders would find no one would listen to their cries of ignorance if they later claimed they didn’t know.

The Tin Knight would’ve marveled at how these guys were essentially leeching off their surroundings if he knew all the ins and outs, but indeed, coups often unfold in such a reckless manner.

After all, doing something insane generally requires either madmen or those in a corner.

Moreover, these hasty coups had their own advantages.

One was that since everything was thrown together in a rush without detailed and calm preparations, the risk of information leaking out was low.

Another was that it was easier to catch rational and reasonable folks off guard.

Put another way:

“Hmm, it seems those folks are trying to flip the table, doesn’t it?”

If they were already somewhat insane, they could indeed notice such signs.

Among the many crazy evil leaders on this continent, this particular party undeniably fit the bill for top rankings in madness.

Of course, Sophia’s grasp of the radicals’ detailed plans was limited to a mere guess that, “They might just throw it all aside and go for brute force since they messed up the selection test.”

“That kind of reckless action wouldn’t be something they’d actually do, right? I mean, who would gamble on getting 0 or 200 when they could just sit back and secure 70?”

“The Tower of Control already set a precedent for that. They have their little cliques, and why wouldn’t those guys do the same?”

“That reasoning seems weak.”

“…And that tin can said that since we’re involved, we should expect things to blow up rather than just be smoothed over.”

“…”

Dorothea, who seemed subtly enlightened, couldn’t deny Alingd’s words.

Having investigated their party’s journey thus far, she felt that pessimism was well-founded.

As a result of that conversation:

“Hurry up! Swiftness is life!”

“Find the Empress and the Crown Prince! Don’t let a single rat slip away!”

“This way! There’s a shadow of a person over here—huh?”

“…At this point, I’m beginning to suspect their very existence could be a disaster.”

What met the radical faction, who had aimed to strike key positions like the ‘Hydrangea Palace,’ was not a panicked victim from their sudden assault, but Alingd Goodwitch, with a lot to say, a fully armed court mage, and the Empress’s elite guards.

The Elder Council had hesitated, fearing that delaying would give the opponent a hint and launched a small force for a surprise attack, but that turned out to be a blunder.

No matter how brave they were, it wasn’t enough of a game-changer to turn around a situation where they had forfeited the advantage of surprise and were outnumbered.

***

At about the same time.

[“The Tin Knight rates their plans as throwaway!”]

You declared, and Dorothea sighed deeply.

“Ha, if it was going to be like this, we should have just plowed through from the start.”

To comfort her, Sophia replied.

“Well, it’s not that everything we’ve done so far is meaningless. Their forced play is evidence that we’ve effectively pressured our enemies.”

“That’s true, but…”

Dorothea, who had been twisting her hair in frustration, glanced briefly at Adel.

You too turned your gaze towards your apprentice.

“…”

Adel had been silent all along, but her expression seemed quite complex.

More accurately, it showed a struggle between whether to laugh or cry.

You approached your apprentice and ruffled her hair.

It was a pity that you couldn’t feel the soft texture of hair, perhaps because you had recently awoken to your sense of taste, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

[“The Tin Knight asks if you’re disappointed!”]

At your words, Adel hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

During the clash with the Lion Duke’s bloodline, she had been unable to hide a feeling of emptiness.

Seeing the enemies underperform continually made her happy about the ease of revenge, yet simultaneously frustrated that beloved people had suffered at the hands of such weaklings.

[“The Tin Knight suggests focusing on your growth rather than the enemies’ pitiful performance!”]

“Growth, huh?”

[“The Tin Knight points out you’re currently at ease because you struck back before they could even put a proper plan into action!”]

[“The Tin Knight warns that if their plan had worked and the royal family were captured, it would be the Tower of Control season 2!”]

A chaotic battlefield with many troops writhing around and the entire empire in flux, catching fire—this wasn’t merely hypothetical but one of the many plausible futures.

At that point, you’d have to engage in guerrilla warfare against the Tower of Control without even a moment to feel empty, like you’d done before.

If you’d faced the Lion Duke’s bloodline and imperial troops charging from all directions, there was a good chance they wouldn’t have looked so laughable.

[“The Tin Knight argues that if we’d dealt with the Duke’s family in the empire before moving to the Magical Kingdom, we could have used this incident as a lesson to rapidly suppress the situation before Olin got caught!”]

If that had been the case, the Magical Kingdom incident would have wrapped up much more swiftly than it actually did.

Even the formidable Mombi wouldn’t have stirred, Olin would still be on your side, and the image of the three towers unitedly knocking on the door would have made it inevitable.

[“The Tin Knight believes that having experience at the Tower of Control provides a special route to swiftly suppressing this chaos, suggesting it’s time to celebrate your growth!”]

[“The Tin Knight states that after causing such a ruckus in the Magical Kingdom, it would be absurd to have a similar situation unfold here!”]

[“The Tin Knight asserts that having done it once in the Magical Kingdom means this time we can nail it perfectly!”]

At your continuous messages, a smile finally returned to your apprentice’s face.

It was more of a wry smile than a bright, cheerful one, but still, a smile was a smile.

“Yeah, that’s true. After all, we only managed to resolve things in the Magical Kingdom by causing a ton of damage, so we should do better this time.”

[“The Tin Knight says that’s right!”]

Confirming Adel’s renewed enthusiasm, Dorothea shrugged her shoulders.

“Anyway, everything’s ready, right? Then let’s get started.”

With a sweep of her hand clad in Hyden’s gloves, enormous golem horses and wagons, along with heaps of bones, materialized in the air.

As Dorothea struck the ground with her staff and recited a spell, the heaps of bones morphed into armor, covering the surface of the golem horse and wagon.

Thanks to the elaborate alterations made during the Magical Kingdom incident, it looked nothing short of extraordinary, and by donning bone armor, it wouldn’t be surprising if one mistook it for the chariot of some grim reaper, rather than a noble hero’s.

Dorothea nodded approvingly.

“Hmm. Not bad.”

You couldn’t help but look at your precious contractor with great concern.

Ever since she gained notoriety for her mass use of necromancy in the Magical Kingdom, it seemed like she was progressively desensitizing herself to the outside world, and that made you fearful.

You had to ensure Dorothea maintained a sensible and rational position, so you could roam free.

Resolving to poke her a bit regarding attire or reputation once this task was completed, you hopped onto the driver’s seat.

Dorothea and Sophia moved inside, while Adel took her position behind a cannon mounted on the roof, looking quite reminiscent of a machine gun nest.

Despite the toxic aura emanating from the exterior of the wagon, thanks to Sophia constantly raising divine power from inside, Adel looked perfectly fine.

Confirming that preparations were complete, you signaled the golem horse.

-■■■■■■!

The golem horse’s already imposing roar, enhanced by its demonic armor, sounded eerily reminiscent of a death-cry.

The wagon charged forward at high speed.

As you approached the enemy’s stronghold, many foes attempted to block your path, but that was a pointless endeavor.

KABOOM!

KABAM!

KABOOM!

Before long, the adorned Adel once again donned her mask, blasting enemies in her path with the cannon mounted on the wagon.

Since it wasn’t gunpowder, the rate of fire was astonishing.

Dorothea’s special skeleton bombs lacked formidable power in terms of direct physical assault, yet their essence of emitting toxins and malice around the impact zone more than compensated.

Though some attempted to obstruct your way, you bulldozed right through.

You collided with wagons blocking the road.

You smashed through makeshift barriers.

You dodged people, but if their hair color was blonde, you just plowed through.

[“The Tin Knight says it’s a good day for some Lion roadkill!”]

Both you and your companions preferred the chaotic brawl over a dignified duel.