Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 169

169.

With Riorden and Gail, we were two days away from the agreed-upon date to attack the capital of the Pyreon Kingdom.

I seized the southern fortress of the capital in half a day, and after a day of rest, I began my advance towards the capital of the Pyreon Kingdom.

The main force I led consisted of about 40,000 troops. As the main unit among the four divisions, it had the largest number of soldiers.

After briefly looking at the long line stretching behind, I asked Ken,

“At this marching speed, it seems we’ll be able to see the walls of the Pyreon Kingdom’s capital by evening?”

“The fortress and the capital aren’t far apart, so we should arrive around sunset.”

“We’ll set up camp and wait for the messenger then.”

Ken nodded.

“The messenger has already arrived from the east. The eastern fortress was empty, and they said they would set up camp around the walls soon.”

“They passed through the fortress faster than us since there was no battle.”

I changed the subject.

“Has the soldiers’ perception of Lilian changed much?”

“Commander Hamilton is definitely doing a good job. The rumor of her being an evil witch has been dispelled, and the word is spreading that she was forcibly detained by the Kingdom Alliance and had no choice but to work for them.”

I clicked my tongue.

I entrusted the intelligence organization to Commander Hamilton because he was specialized in assassination. Assassination requires a vast amount of information and high-quality intelligence.

‘I didn’t know he would be so good at this too.’

Ken continued,

“Commander Hamilton’s ability is one thing, but the ability Lilian showed during the battle of the southern fortress has greatly changed the soldiers’ perception. She is the scariest mage when she is an enemy, but when she is an ally, there is no mage as reliable as Lilian.”

I recalled the Meteor magic Lilian had unleashed.

An ability that was hard to believe a human could possess!

The magic that caused dozens of meteors to fall from the sky, completely destroying the walls of the southern fortress!

Of course, Lilian couldn’t use magic after that and had to rest for more than a day, but it was as good as ending the battle with a single spell.

I still click my tongue when I think of the Meteor magic, so wouldn’t the soldiers be the same?

“We were able to occupy the southern fortress easily thanks to Lilian. That’s a relief for now.”

“You will have to endure the nobles’ political attacks when you return to the Imperial City. Especially Duke Austin, who will certainly not back down easily this time.”

I replied nonchalantly to Ken’s words.

“It’s nothing.”

Ken also offered a solution.

“When we occupy the palace and capture the Pyreon royal family, we must also thoroughly examine the data on Lilian. Lilian didn’t tell you directly, but she implied that something happened with King Lepio of the Pyreon Kingdom.”

“That’s right. If we find out about that part, we can respond to the nobles’ political attacks in the Imperial City later.”

While Ken and I were discussing future events, the march continued, and the walls of the Pyreon Kingdom’s capital gradually approached.

I stopped Gail.

“It would be good to set up camp around here.”

Ken moved to convey my words to each commander.

I got off Gail and looked at the walls of the Pyreon Kingdom’s capital as if admiring them.

The walls seemed very high and sturdy, befitting the capital’s defensive walls.

Considering the characteristics of the Pyreon Kingdom, where the area near the capital was all granary land, the high walls were understandable.

A wide plain meant that the enemy could besiege the city more easily, so they had no choice but to build high walls.

From the perspective of defending the city, it was a structure that made it difficult to take advantage of the terrain.

“Commander?”

I turned my head at the voice behind me.

Lilian spoke with a slightly tired face.

“I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Lepio will probably escape with the princes and wives.”

I had fully anticipated that part.

Wasn’t that why Ken had blocked all four sides of the capital, considering King Lepio’s escape?

The idea of starving the capital itself was also an idea, but more than anything, what was important in this war was capturing or killing King Lepio.

There was no choice but to surround the entire capital to prevent him from escaping anywhere.

“There is no option to escape. The capital is going to be surrounded. It didn’t take long to destroy Kailahe Castle and break through the southern fortress, so King Lepio didn’t have time to escape. If he tries to escape without defending the capital, a rebellion will break out first, right?”

“As His Highness the Crown Prince said, the routes that can be traveled by land are blocked. But if you use the magic circle I set up, the king can move from the palace to near the northern fortress in an instant.”

Ken hardened his face and said.

“Why are you telling me that important thing now?”

* * *

Gail had expected fierce resistance from the Pyreon Kingdom’s capital defense forces, but he occupied the northern fortress much more easily than expected.

“The military discipline is very lax.”

A knight beside Gail replied to his words.

“There was not much will to resist itself. Those who were going to run away all ran away, and those who remained quickly surrendered. Even the knights did not encourage the soldiers to resist.”

Gail nodded.

“Has the fortress patrol all been completed?”

“Yes. Since it is connected to the Kingdom Alliance by the border, it felt more like a small base city than a fortress.”

There were more accommodations for merchants than military facilities in the fortress, and the entertainment district was quite large.

“Are there any special signs on the outskirts of the fortress?”

“There is one strange place, and the prisoners said it was a ruin that the magician Lilian was studying.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There was nothing special about the ruins. The prisoners also said that Lilian had abandoned it after finishing some research. Still, it was a research area given to Lilian personally, so no one was allowed to enter.”

“Still, I should take a look myself.”

Despite his subordinate’s words, Gail decided to go to the ruins.

“Thoroughly guard the fortress, and especially block all the main routes leading to the Kingdom Alliance.”

Gail instructed his subordinate.

“If King Lepio escapes, he will have no choice but to choose the northern route. There is nowhere to escape but the Kingdom Alliance.”

“Yes!”

After hearing his subordinate’s energetic answer, Gail left the fortress.

* * *

“I had completely forgotten. I was deceived by Lepio and spent a whopping four years looking at the ruins of the Reinhardt family, which had nothing. If there had been a result, it would have been a consolation, but because of the ruins that had nothing, I mortgaged my life to King Lepio?”

I narrowed my eyes and asked Lilian.

“If there was nothing in the ruins, wouldn’t you just go back?”

“There was a reason why I couldn’t. How old am I? Shouldn’t I raise at least a successor? I have a disciple I have raised for a long time.”

I knew that Lilian’s disciple problem was not urgent now, but I still sympathized with Lilian’s feelings and asked to understand the relationship between King Lepio and Lilian.

“Disciple?”

Lilian did not immediately explain about her disciple.

“King Lepio already knew that there were tremendous traps installed in the ruins of the Reinhardt family. Nevertheless, he lied to attract me.”

Ken interrupted.

“Did you sign a contract with the royal family without even knowing that?”

“It is the only Reinhardt family ruin on the continent. Knights like you don’t know, but that ruin is like a dream for all magicians. He said he would give me exclusive rights, so of course I was tempted.”

Lilian continued with a sigh.

“The reason why most wandering magicians stayed in the Pyreon Kingdom was because of the ruins. But most of them couldn’t even disarm the entrance magic and returned after serving the Pyreon Kingdom a lot. When the craze among magicians cooled down, King Lepio approached.”

“Did Lepio contact you first?”

Lilian nodded at my words.

“Yes. I was staying in the southern part of the Empire at the time, but he knew how to find me. He offered to give you the right to study the ruins. I was raising a disciple, but he wasn’t a genius. My disciple’s skills were stagnant, and I accepted King Lepio’s offer to give him a change of environment.”

Before I knew it, I was listening intently to Lilian’s words.

“When I arrived in the Pyreon Kingdom and actually saw the ruins, I was convinced. It is the Reinhardt family’s ruin as rumored. There will be a great treasure inside. Even the magic installed at the entrance was ancient magic that does not exist now.”

Ken raised a question.

“Are you sure it’s ancient magic?”

“Why would I lie when the truth will be revealed as soon as I occupy the capital and examine the ruins?”

Ken nodded at Lilian’s words.

“Anyway, I looked at the ruins and signed a contract with King Lepio. It took me a full year just to disarm the entrance magic.”

I was shocked that an 8-circle magician had devoted himself to disarming magic for a whole year.

“And then Lepio, that bastard’s trick is revealed. On the day I disarmed the entrance magic, my disciple in the palace was taken hostage by King Lepio.”

Anger was seething in Lilian’s voice.

“King Lepio thought from the beginning that I was the only one who could open the ruins. There are two 8-circle magicians on the continent, but one was the Duke of the Empire, so of course I was selected. They had been plotting to catch me for a long time.”

Ken guessed.

“Inviting wandering magicians in the name of ruins must have been all to spread rumors. To attract your attention.”

“Thinking about it now, that’s for sure. And the moment I disarmed the entrance magic, my disciple Eve was taken hostage by King Lepio and became an experimental subject for that trashy Marquis Daret.”

“Marquis Daret, the one King Lepio trusts the most?”

“That’s right. That necromancer.”

Lilian gritted her teeth.

The surrounding air felt cool, and Lilian’s murderous voice echoed sharply.

“That son of a bitch used Eve as a subject for bio-experiments. Not just Eve. Many of the invited magicians were reduced to Daret’s experimental subjects. Daret was a black magician specializing in curses.”

Just as I was about to open my mouth at the thought that flashed through my mind, Lilian continued.

“The position of Marquis of Pyreon was just a tool to disguise his identity. Even King Lepio doesn’t know. Marquis Daret’s real identity.”

Lilian made eye contact with me.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, King Lepio is not the problem. The moment you find out the truth I’m telling you now, you’ll fall into a deep swamp. And that’s the real reason I became your subordinate.”

“The story is getting long. The magic circle story hasn’t even started yet, but I feel like I’m hearing the secrets of the continent.”

Lilian smiled bitterly at my words.

“Yes. It’s the secret of the continent.”

The fact that Daret was a black magician specializing in curses immediately reminded me of my mother.

Maybe my father knew?

The story I shared with my father when I had dinner with him at the Empress’s palace came to mind.

‘There was no place where the traces of the curse did not reach.’

The ones who cursed my mother are not one person but an organization. The organization was so widespread that it affected the entire continent.

According to Lilian, the organization seemed to be so meticulous, thorough, and have such tremendous influence that the Marquis of the kingdom was a disguised identity.

“They were influencing the entire continent. Should I say they were running the continent according to their tastes? But suddenly, an unexpected existence popped out.”

Lilian pointed at me with her finger.

“It’s your Highness the Crown Prince’s father. The Emperor, Ron Carl Leord.”