Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 149

149.

To all appearances, Duke Beregon is the most esteemed of the four dukes.

The Atran family was considered prestigious even before the Empire’s founding, and historically produced the most Sword Masters.

Duke Beregon himself fought on many battlefields alongside his father, earning continental fame as an absolute powerhouse.

While not to the same extent as his father, the elite knight order of the Atran family, led by Duke Beregon, was a terrifying force to enemies.

It was said that they left not a single blade of grass in their wake, such was their destructive power.

It was quite unexpected to hear Duke James’s name from my father.

‘You mean if you only compete with swords, you could compete for half a day? Father excels in magic and spiritism, but his swordsmanship is the best. He’s aiming for a realm beyond Sword Master, something that has never existed in human history.’

In other words, my father believed Duke James was at a similar level to himself.

“The White family’s swordsmanship is second to none in the Empire. If the Young Lady gains more experience on the battlefield and immerses herself further in swordsmanship, she will realize the extent of Duke James’s skill.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do my best to move forward.”

Olivia bowed her head.

My father turned his gaze to me.

When our eyes met, I felt a slight chill. My fear of my father hadn’t completely disappeared.

After all, the father in my memory was synonymous with fear.

I took a breath, calmed myself, and waited for his words.

“Leave for the east tomorrow.”

I was momentarily stunned. I never imagined my father would set the date for the Eastern Expedition so soon.

“Yes?”

“The information has been leaked. Those Sword Master bastards have begun to prepare. Any further delay, and they’ll likely evacuate their families and avoid the battlefield.”

This was shocking.

Information leaked?

Only the dukes and I knew about my father’s departure.

The nobles only know that my father has assigned tasks to the dukes separately, but they don’t know the exact details.

“If we don’t root out the three Sword Master families this time, the Empire’s expansion in the east and northeast will be indefinitely delayed. Hurry up.”

My father turned away without further explanation.

Olivia and I hurriedly bowed.

As my father disappeared, I unknowingly sighed.

“Nothing is going as planned.”

Olivia responded, “If the expedition departs tomorrow, we must hurry.”

“Olivia, go back and prepare. Please tell Duke James not to worry too much. It’s her first expedition, so he must be very worried. No matter how strong a child is, they are still children in their parents’ eyes.”

Olivia smiled.

Olivia and I left the training ground.

A storm-like time had passed.

As soon as I thought about the Eastern Expedition leaving tomorrow, my head began to spin.

‘Information leaked.’

More than anything, I was disturbed that top-secret information had leaked to the United Kingdom [likely a rival kingdom or alliance].

‘I don’t know if the entire leadership of the United Kingdom knows, or just the three Sword Masters, but it’s shocking that the Empire’s top-secret information has leaked to a foreign country.’

I had to question the central power my father had seized. If he held absolute power and completely suppressed the nobles, would information still leak?

The perspective from the outside is definitely different from reality.

Anyone can see that my father seems to hold power in one hand and oppress the nobles, but in reality, a fierce power struggle between the emperor and the nobles was still taking place.

‘My mother’s death… It’s clear my father is still tracking the fact that she died from a curse, and that revenge isn’t over.’

I headed to the Crown Prince’s Palace, organizing my thoughts.

‘My father is trying to seize complete power for revenge, and the nobles are resisting fiercely because they fear their connection to my mother’s death will be revealed.’

Once he had a cause, my father’s actions were unstoppable.

Even if the nobles knew about this operation, they couldn’t easily oppose it.

‘And Duke James is more trusted by my father than I thought. My father values talented people above all else.’

I revised my evaluations of Duke James.

‘It would be good to find out more about the White family. My father’s evaluation of not only Duke James but also the White family itself was very high.’

I arrived at the Crown Prince’s Palace before I knew it.

I greeted Olivia.

“Then let’s meet at the departure ceremony tomorrow.”

Since my father had issued the order, I was scheduled to hold a departure ceremony early tomorrow morning and head straight to Kaila.

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll come early. You’ll be busy preparing for the departure ceremony. His Majesty ordered it rather suddenly.”

“We need to have a simple departure ceremony and leave quickly.”

Olivia nodded and briefly bowed before leaving the Crown Prince’s Palace.

I said to a nearby servant, “Please tell everyone to gather in the office.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The servant moved busily.

* * *

After completing the departure ceremony preparations before dawn, I, as commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Force, declared our departure in the presence of all the nobles.

Our goal was to recover Kaila, destroy the Pyreon Kingdom, which posed a major threat to the Empire’s security, and occupy their eastern granary.

Ken was riding right next to me, and I could feel his exhaustion.

“Get enough rest until we arrive in the Pyreon Kingdom. There’s plenty of time to come up with detailed plans then.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Ken didn’t refuse.

Ken had been assigned excessive work preparing for the Eastern Expedition. His mind is essential in this war, but if he’s exhausted, he’ll be slow and miss things.

I needed Ken, who was in charge of the entire army’s logistics and strategy, to be in good condition to advise me.

It took a long time to leave the capital. All 30,000 troops stationed in the capital, and the remaining 40,000 or so, were scheduled to join us during the march.

By the time we arrived at the border, the troops would be properly equipped.

The Knights followed behind me.

‘The Imperial Knights are all going to the United Kingdom with my father……’

I was concerned about uniting the knights of the nobles into a cohesive force.

I naturally appointed Gail as the commander of the Knights.

Although they served different lords, they were united under the Emperor of the Empire.

‘Well, I can’t expect the same loyalty as Gail from the knights of the lords… but they are all elites, so their skills will be certain.’

Looking at Count Boopen’s knights in the center of the formation, I felt somewhat relieved.

From the 1st Knights to the 10th Knights, the 1st Knights’ honor was held by Count Boopen’s knights.

I also had a relationship with him in the West, and Count Boopen had the largest number of knights.

I led the march in silence.

Siloupen was with me, and Ignis followed from above in the sky. Elim, who had transformed into a small fairy, perched on Siloupen’s head again.

Climb was at the very rear of the formation.

Summoning spirits to accompany me wasn’t so much for training as it was to boost the soldiers’ morale.

“Certainly, the presence of spirits seems to reassure the soldiers.”

Ken said, then turned his head and covered his mouth as if yawning.

I smiled and replied, “Spirits are rarely seen. Moreover, high-ranking spirits are now synonymous with His Majesty, aren’t they?”

Olivia, on my left, said, “One of His Majesty’s trademarks is to knock down knights with Aura Blades [a technique using magical energy] at the forefront of the battlefield and launch wide-ranging attacks with huge spirits. I’ve heard they are a terrifying sight for the enemy and a reassuring one for allies.”

“That’s right. Most of the soldiers participating in the expedition have experienced war and fought alongside His Majesty. They’ll naturally think of him when they see the Commander’s spirits, and unconsciously believe in their victory.”

Ken added, “There has never been a defeat on a battlefield where His Majesty has led. It not only boosts morale, but courage is strengthened when they don’t doubt victory.”

I glanced at Siloupen and said, “To be honest, we are outnumbered in terms of elite forces. The other side has all the knights of the Pyreon Kingdom and the knights led by three Sword Masters, while we are mostly missing the Imperial Knights and the knights of the Dukes.”

Duke Beregon, Yan, and James each dispatched about one knight order.

Of course, that was my father’s order.

In particular, Duke Austin included five magic corps in this expedition.

‘Lilian… Did Duke Austin want to compete with her, or did he think it would be beneficial to kill her even by sacrificing five of his family’s magic corps?’

Duke Austin dispatched more magic corps than my father ordered.

All seven of the Riverhill family’s elite magic corps were sent, five of them.

They dispatched the best Riverhill magic corps, the ones that directly escorted the head of the family.

As magicians, Austin and Lilian are similarly rated, but Lilian was slightly more dominant.

The fact that she was from the prestigious Riverhill family and a magician of the Empire lowered Austin’s evaluation.

Lilian was a wandering magician.

Unlike Austin, who was born into a prestigious family and received systematic education and tremendous support from an early age, Lilian rose to her current position through her own efforts.

That was a big reason why Lilian was rated higher.

Originally, in my memory, she didn’t live long.

‘She loses her life to my father’s sword.’

But the future has changed, and I, not my father, have taken charge of the Eastern Expedition.

‘Austin plays a minor role in the plan to destroy the three Sword Master families.’

My father didn’t strongly object to Austin investing so many elites.

Lilian would be a difficult opponent, and he thought it would be good if Austin’s magic corps could catch her, or at least keep her in check.

I was thinking of preparing for her with the magic corps and the knights, excluding Gail.

“Call Gail.”

David moved immediately.

Gail is the commander of the Knights, but when the battle begins, he will face one of the enemy Sword Masters.

We needed someone to actually lead the Knights.

David and Riorden’s reputations were still insufficient to entrust them with that role.

They weren’t lacking in skill, but reputation is important to control the high-nosed knights.

Gail came to me right away.

I stroked the mane of his Gale Wind [likely the name of his horse] and said, “When Gail is fighting the Sword Master, we need a vice-commander to lead the Knights and face Lilian with the magic corps.”

Gail already knew my concerns.

“I will screen suitable people and report back.”

Now that Gail had come, I checked the parts I hadn’t been able to fully check.

“Lilian is an 8-circle magician [a very powerful mage]. Can we really tie her up with just the Knights and the magic corps?”

Magicians are different from knights.

Sword Masters can massacre soldiers on the battlefield, but one big magic from an 8-circle magician can change the course of the war itself.

Tying up Lilian was as important as dealing with the three Sword Masters.

Ken opened his mouth slightly. He looked tired, but his eyes shone sharply.

“After seeking advice from the magicians of the magic corps, dispatch Hamilton.”

“Hamilton?”

Ken explained the first operation.

“Assassination is the beginning of the operation.”