Chapter 691

“That’s…!”

Even though the glare of the setting sun was blinding, Ludwig couldn’t tear his eyes away, staring intently through the thick cloud of dust.

A massive shadow approached, crossing the horizon and kicking up a dust storm.

Men clad in chainmail, armed with round shields, long-handled axes, spears, and short swords, blew horns as they marched toward the city.

An army. Not a hastily assembled rabble, but a properly equipped elite force.

“Reinforcements from Dane! If so, then Ha-shal-leur must have succeeded in subduing Edricksa!”

Ludwig’s expression brightened slightly. The appearance of the Dane army at this moment meant that their reckless and crude gamble—to take Edricksa with just three men and overthrow the king—had succeeded.

“Reinforcements! Reinforcements from Dane are here!”

“We’re saved now! Long live Sir Median!”

Like Ludwig, the officers who witnessed the approaching Dane army cheered. The army had appeared like saviors at the moment when all hope seemed lost. To the officers, it felt like rain had begun to fall in the middle of a pit of despair.

“Your Excellency. Now that reinforcements have arrived, should we halt the burning of provisions…?”

Erickson, the knight ordered to burn all provisions, spoke with a relieved expression. His tone suggested that since reinforcements had arrived, the risk of total annihilation could be set aside.

“…Hmm, it might still be too early to make that decision.”

However, Ludwig shook his head. He was a bit more rational than the others.

Unlike the officers, who were overjoyed as if a rope from heaven had descended, Ludwig knew better. The arrival of reinforcements didn’t guarantee a miraculous turnaround.

‘The size of the force is roughly eight thousand. The mix of troop types suggests they’re not a hastily assembled relief force but a defense force originally stationed near this city. They must have been retreating when they received the king’s order to cooperate with the Imperial Army and stop Ka`har. They’ll be of some help, but…’

It wasn’t enough to assure victory. The fact that they were originally stationed nearby meant that the plan to overthrow the Dane royal family had been delayed to the point where these forces were only now arriving.

What had happened in Edricksa? Ludwig couldn’t know, but one thing was certain: Ha-shal-leur would need more time to reach this place.

Realizing this, Ludwig couldn’t share in the officers’ unbridled joy. What he truly desired wasn’t eight thousand elite soldiers but the return of a superhuman who could single-handedly stop the rampaging Or-han.

======[Dane Army]======

As Ludwig had guessed, they were a combined force of retreating defense troops from abandoned cities.

Defense troops from four cities, forced to abandon their citizens and retreat despite their frustration, unable to defy King Hestein’s orders.

Hestein and Ragnar’s original plan was to station the defense troops from four cities and the main forces from the homeland behind the Empire’s border, waiting to strike after the Empire and Ka`har clashed, aiming to reap the spoils.

Thus, the defense troops from the four cities had merged into a force of eight thousand, marching toward the rear of the borderlands.

The reason these defense troops turned back to defend the city was due to a new order they had received.

“Join forces with the Imperial Army defending the city and repel Ka`har.”

The commanders who received the order were understandably confused. It completely contradicted their previous orders.

“I can’t understand His Majesty’s intentions…”

If they were to return to the city after all, why had they abandoned the citizens to plunder? And why cooperate with the Empire now after planning to stab them in the back?

“That mad king. What kind of dance does he want us to perform?”

The muttered curse from a hot-tempered holy warrior clearly reflected their bewilderment.

“Is this fake?”

“Forging His Majesty’s orders? Who would dare? If caught, not only the forger but all their relatives would be executed.”

“Someone like the Lord of the Borderlands of the Empire…”

One of the commanders hesitated to refute. The name that came up was too convincing. If it was the Lord of the Borderlands they’d heard rumors about, he was capable of anything.

“No, that can’t be. It bears King Hestein’s seal. A confidential seal used only within Dane.”

An elderly knight with a thick beard shook his head, pointing to the seal at the bottom of the order.

Unlike the official royal seal commonly used on diplomatic documents, this was a confidential seal used only for internal Dane documents.

The emblem, combining Dane’s two national treasures, Dainsleif and Randalin, was clearly stamped at the bottom of the order.

No matter how capable the Lord of the Borderlands was, he couldn’t forge a confidential seal whose very existence was unknown. Therefore, the order had to be genuine.

“Then, this must indeed be King Hestein’s will.”

The order they were debating had actually been drafted by Knut and Hrapun, but the defense troops had no choice but to believe it was Hestein’s command.

Hrapun hadn’t informed them of the coup in Edricksa.

Thanks to the efforts of the Intelligence Department agents manipulating public opinion, the citizens of Edricksa had accepted Knut as their new king. However, Hrapun didn’t expect the defense troops stationed far from Edricksa to do the same.

To the commanders of the defense troops, it seemed as though the royal family had been massacred overnight, and a man once branded a traitor had taken the throne. Would they willingly accept and follow the new king’s orders?

Hrapun didn’t think so.

‘At best, they won’t march on Edricksa to suppress the traitor or turn into warlords declaring Dane’s downfall.’

Thus, Hrapun didn’t include the king’s name on the order sent to the defense troops, only stamping it with Dane’s confidential seal.

This way, the clueless defense commanders would believe the order came from Hestein, not Knut.

…It had taken some time to find the confidential seal after the royal palace was utterly destroyed.

Regardless, the defense commanders, unaware of the truth, had no choice but to obey the order. They turned their marching forces around and headed back the way they had come.

Considering Ka`har’s advance, the Empire’s movements, their own marching speed, and the time elapsed so far… they headed toward the third city, the most likely battlefield.

—-

And finally, they arrived at the battlefield. Just as they had expected, the third city where the Empire and Ka`har were locked in a fierce battle.

“Pick up the pace! Do you plan to just watch until the city falls?”

A holy warrior at the forefront of the Dane army pointed his sword at the city walls, urging his subordinates.

The Dane troops quickened their pace, almost breaking into a run.

Until now, they had been marching at a normal speed to conserve energy, but now they had to sprint with all their might.

The situation in the city they had finally reached was so intense and urgent that its fall seemed imminent.

The eight-thousand-strong army surged forward like a tidal wave, shaking the earth as they charged.

======[Ka`har]======

“Reinforcements! Reinforcements from Dane are coming!”

Or-han, who had stopped Joshua’s longsword with his teeth and severed his arm with a swing of his blade, paused and turned his head.

The Imperial language, loud enough to be heard by everyone in the city. Even Or-han could understand the words “reinforcements” and “Dane.”

‘So they had a trap prepared after all… Abandoning two cities to gather forces and strike us from behind?’

Or-han kicked Joshua, who was lunging at him with one arm, sending him flying toward Frederick, and frowned.

‘How ruthless.’

Sacrificing two cities and tens of thousands of lives to gather forces for a counterattack. Even by Or-han’s standards, it was an utterly cold-blooded strategy.

Of course, this was merely Or-han’s misunderstanding, as he was unaware of the presence of Ragnar, the apostle of the ancient gods entrenched in the Dane royal court.

To Or-han, the only explanation for Dane’s decision to empty the cities was that they had gathered all their forces under Ludwig’s command to unleash this strike.

Otherwise, it would mean the Dane royal family was a bunch of lunatics willing to casually sacrifice tens of thousands of their own people. Surely, that couldn’t be the case.

‘A counterattack involving the Empire and Dane, prepared at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. That means this force is the best and strongest they can muster.’

Was Ha-shal-leur among them? That was all Or-han cared about.

If Ha-shal-leur was among the Dane forces approaching the city, then everything Ludwig had said was a lie to buy time.

Conversely, if Ha-shal-leur wasn’t among this final force gathered at the cost of tens of thousands of lives—

‘Then… then Ha-shal-leur must have gone to Ordos, just as Ludwig said.’

Which was it?

Having shaken off the two heroes, Or-han kicked off the ground and soared into the sky, looking down from above at Dane’s reinforcements.