Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 105

105.

“Kuh-erk!”

Blood spurted from my mouth, accompanied by a ragged scream.

“Y-Your Highness!”

Duke Mike stammered, rushing toward me.

“Are you alright?”

Duke Mike asked, then immediately ordered the escorts, “Potion!”

I raised my hand to stop him.

“It’s not that serious.”

“Please, drink a potion and rest. Now that Your Highness has stopped the sorcery, the battle situation will proceed as usual.”

Duke Mike spoke, anticipating my refusal.

I nodded.

Staying at the command tower in my weakened condition would negatively impact the battle. Since Duke Mike was perfectly capable of commanding, I entrusted him with the battle and descended from the tower without worry.

I clenched my legs to keep from staggering.

Before leaving, I instructed Gale.

“If the Orc King enters the battle, make sure you engage him.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“There’s no need to attack recklessly. Focus on defense today as well.”

I was worried that others might become enraged and lose their composure because I was spitting blood and retreating.

The path from the castle walls to the barracks felt longer than ever.

I collapsed onto a chair inside the barracks and accepted a potion from the escort who had accompanied me.

“You may leave now.”

“Yes, Commander!”

The escort saluted and left.

As soon as he was gone, I completely emptied my stomach. It was a mix of blood and whatever I had eaten, and I remained hunched over for a while.

Huuu, after taking a deep breath, I sat up straight and began the Wind Breathing technique.

It was the first time I had summoned Silphelven, Ignis, and Climb simultaneously.

The summoning itself was fine, but the problem was that Silphelven and Ignis were too far away. On top of that, using an S-class skill naturally twisted the mana inside my body.

It was too much of a strain.

Forcibly supplying mana to Silphelven and Ignis was more than my body could handle.

In that state, I further strained myself by using Climb’s Earthly Roar [a powerful earth-based attack] against the rushing Orcs.

Still, I must have significantly reduced the number of Orcish shamans.

As I drew natural mana into my body with the Wind Breathing technique, I felt excruciating pain.

‘Is this internal damage?’

All my blood vessels felt twisted and torn. The mana hole [the center of one’s mana flow] was the same.

The mana hole, which was always reliable, was like a tattered rag and couldn’t hold mana. It was like pouring water into a bottomless pit; filling it with new mana through the Wind Breathing technique was useless.

I looked at the potion the escort had left.

The potion in the luxurious glass bottle had a radiant color. It was clear at a glance that it was top-quality.

Indeed, the soldiers guarding me in the command tower were the escorts who guarded me most closely.

They were not only skilled but also always carried potions to treat the commander in case of an emergency.

I swallowed the potion in one gulp.

I felt a burning sensation inside my body.

Immediately, as I used the Wind Breathing technique again, the pain was much less intense.

I could feel the twisted blood vessels returning to normal, and the mana hole was being repaired.

‘How strange.’

How much time had passed?

I seemed to have been immersed in the Wind Breathing technique for quite a while.

When I opened my eyes, the surroundings were quiet.

If the battle was still raging, the noise would be deafening, but it seemed that a lot of time had passed.

The blood and vomit I had thrown up had already been cleaned up.

It seemed that someone had cleaned it up while I was meditating.

“Is anyone outside?”

I heard a reply.

“Yes! Commander!”

The soldier guarding my barracks entered.

“How much time has passed?”

“You have been in meditation for over half a day. The moon is now high in the sky.”

“I see. What about the battle?”

“It was the same as usual.”

Fortunately, there seemed to be no major changes.

“Thank you. Please prepare a meal.”

“Yes! Commander! Also, Gale and Duke Mike asked to be notified immediately when you woke up. Shall I inform them right away?”

Although the moon was already high, I didn’t think they would be asleep.

They wouldn’t be able to sleep until they saw me recover.

I nodded.

“Yes. Tell them I have woken up safely.”

The soldier bowed and left.

I briefly went outside the barracks and waited for them to come.

I was very hungry, but I didn’t show it and breathed in the fresh air.

I felt refreshed.

‘So many soldiers must have died today… Even though we are killing far more Orcs, our soldiers are still far fewer than them.’

I tried to shake off the refreshing feeling.

We had been winning every battle.

The Orcs still couldn’t break through this castle wall.

There was no reason for the commander to mourn every soldier’s death, but there was also no rule that he should always laugh on a battlefield where soldiers die every day.

I briefly took a moment to mourn those who died today.

“Your Highness.”

The moment I raised my head, I heard Duke Mike’s voice.

“You’ve arrived, Duke!”

Duke Mike had brought the meal himself.

I quickly opened the barracks door.

Duke Mike placed the meal on the round table and took a seat.

“I deliberately prepared soft food.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

“How is your body?”

I nodded.

“Much better.”

Gale also appeared soon after.

Gale didn’t bother asking and simply bowed before sitting next to Duke Mike.

I picked up a spoon to eat the soup and asked.

“What happened to the Orc King?”

* * *

The Orc King did not participate in the battle.

“He was watching Gale and Your Highness closely.”

I put down the spoon, feeling doubtful.

“Me and Gale? The Orc King?”

The answer came from Gale.

“He focused his killing intent on me. And when Your Highness retreated, he kept his eyes on you for a long time.”

It must be true since both Duke Mike and Gale said so.

‘Well, the Orc King is different from other Orcs. He may instinctively recognize the strong, but he can also gauge Gale’s and my strength.’

I told them what I was thinking.

“The Orc King will think of Gale as the most threatening existence. And I’m just a nuisance?”

Duke Mike agreed.

“Perhaps tomorrow, he will prepare specifically for Gale and Your Highness and then appear.”

I first told them about the results I had achieved with Silphelven and Ignis.

“I killed quite a few Orcish shamans. That’s why I overdid it and couldn’t defend the battlefield until the end today.”

Duke Mike nodded.

“Yes. Thanks to Your Highness, the Orcish shamans didn’t use any sorcery after that.”

Gale added.

“The King didn’t show up either, so the battle was no different than usual. Rather, there were fewer casualties today. The breach in the western gate was quickly repaired, and the Orcs retreated earlier than usual.”

I was lost in thought.

As Duke Mike said, it was clear that the Orc King would thoroughly prepare for me and Gale tomorrow.

‘First of all, it’s hard to imagine Gale losing in a one-on-one fight with the Orc King.’

The problem was, how would the Orc King prepare for me?

It was not easy to predict.

‘Or maybe Baron Hamilton will kill the Orc King tonight.’

There was no guarantee that Baron Hamilton would succeed in assassinating the Orc King, so it was better to prepare for tomorrow’s battle.

“I welcome the Orc King directly entering the battle. Gale can take care of him.”

Duke Mike agreed.

“Yes.”

“The problem is that considering the Orc King’s attention to me, I have a feeling he will also prepare for me.”

I turned my gaze to Gale.

“What do you think, Gale?”

“I think so too. The Orc King is not a simple Orc. Also, the sorcery of the Orcish shamans is much more powerful than the sorcery of the Orcish shamans I know.”

Duke Mike’s voice became gloomy.

“Perhaps the war is just beginning. The number of soldiers is decreasing, and supplies are slowly reaching their limit.”

“I will write a letter. Although Father has gone on an expedition, he has probably already gained the upper hand there.”

They answered as if it were natural.

“If His Majesty personally leads the battlefield, it will be resolved soon.”

Duke Mike smiled faintly.

Gale added a short word.

“It might already be over.”

They had spent much longer years with my father than I had, and they had directly gone to war with him.

“So, if we inform them of the situation here in detail and request additional support, we will be able to receive support without difficulty.”

Duke Mike expressed concern.

“His Majesty is not in the Imperial Palace, and Your Highness is also here, so only meritorious subjects remain. They will hold a meeting to decide on support, but they will probably be reluctant. It may take longer than expected to receive support.”

My facial muscles stiffened at Duke Mike’s words, pointing out something I hadn’t considered.

“Oh dear. I didn’t think of that. Duke Beregon and Duke Austin have gone to the battlefield with Father, so Duke Yan is now presiding over the central council.”

Duke Yan, the head of a meritorious family and one of the four great families, was an aristocratic noble.

And he opposed my appointment as commander of the West as if it were natural.

“It would be better to tell Ken to hurry.”

If Ken quickly finished negotiations with the Atlan and Riverhill families, supplies could be easily replenished immediately.

Even if the number of soldiers was insufficient, giving better equipment to each individual and having abundant military provisions would increase the overall combat power.

Duke Mike nodded.

“It can’t be helped.”

I felt sorry for the West.

Perhaps if someone else had been the commander instead of me, the supply of supplies and additional troop support would have been easier.

There were many forces in the center that were keeping me in check, and many did not understand the fact that I was becoming the commander.

Maybe if there hadn’t been my father’s order?

No matter how well I performed in the evaluation competition, I would not have become the commander of the Western Alliance.

Reading my expression, Duke Mike spoke softly.

“Don’t blame yourself, Your Highness. It’s just that those who pursue their own wealth, glory, and power rather than the safety of the country are the problem. Please, Your Highness, do not succumb to them and become a good emperor like His Majesty.”

I nodded at Duke Mike’s encouragement.

“Of course. First of all, since supplies are lacking and there is no troop support, we must conserve as much as possible.”

We had to save on what we ate and what we wore. We also had to maintain our weapons and collect used arrows without fail.

I instructed Duke Mike on that.

As the conversation roughly came to an end, Gale suggested an idea.

“If the Orc King appears on the battlefield tomorrow, I will directly step forward.”

I narrowed my eyes and asked.

“What do you mean by directly stepping forward?”

“I will break through the Orcs and have a one-on-one battle with the King.”

I smiled and replied.

“Then I’ll go with you. I think I can help you approach the Orc King more easily if I assist.”

Duke Mike immediately opposed.

“Your Highness, that is too dangerous.”

Gale agreed.

“Your Highness, I can break through the Orcs alone.”

I shook my head.

“You have to think about returning as well. Rather, if you and I focus on approaching the Orc King with all our might, the warrior Orcs will not be able to stop us easily. I’m just as fast as you are.”

Thinking about it, it was a good plan.

I made a decision.

“We’ll execute it when the Orc King appears tomorrow morning.”