Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 217

217.

Late at night, just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard a servant’s voice outside my door.

“Your Highness.”

I sat up abruptly.

“What is it?”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Olivia also stirred and sat up.

Olivia and I quickly left the bedroom.

The servant’s voice was still trembling with anxiety.

“His Majesty has arrived.”

“Where is he now?”

“H-He is waiting for Your Highness in the office.”

Olivia and I immediately made our way to the office.

Reaching the office, I knocked, and my father’s voice called from within.

“Come in.”

Olivia and I entered.

My father seemed surprised to see Olivia, who had rushed over as well. He spoke with a slightly apologetic tone.

“Sorry for coming so late.”

I shook my head.

“It’s alright.”

“Empress, you should go and rest.”

Olivia offered a respectful greeting to my father and carefully stepped back, giving us space.

My father turned his attention to me.

“Sit down.”

I took a seat on the sofa in the office.

“I apologize for not being properly presentable; I came in a hurry.”

“It’s my fault for arriving so suddenly so late. And what does attire matter between a father and son?”

My father continued in a low voice.

“You’ve heard about Ted, I presume?”

“Yes.”

“You’re well aware that the Empire’s situation is dire, I assume.”

I nodded in agreement.

“I understand that the possibility of war breaking out on all fronts is increasing.”

“We are facing the greatest crisis since the founding of the Empire.”

My father opened a wine bottle, which he seemed to have brought with him, and continued speaking.

“I plan to entrust Ted to Duke Beregon. He will be able to save him.”

“Yes.”

“Are you confident about the Kingdom Alliance?”

“I am confident. Although their forces are vast and they have many strong individuals, the power of the direct territories [lands directly controlled by the crown] is not to be underestimated.”

“The Pyreon Kingdom has been under the rule of the Kingdom Alliance for a long time. The soldiers probably think they are staging a rebellion, not fighting a war.”

My father filled a glass with wine.

He handed me a glass and said.

“Their morale and skills are likely low. On the other hand, the Kingdom Alliance is full of elite soldiers.”

“There is still time, and I have many strong individuals as well. I will stand at the forefront of the battlefield and defeat the enemies.”

I met my father’s eyes and added with conviction.

“Isn’t standing at the forefront of the battlefield a characteristic of Leord?”

My father always led from the front in any battle, breaking the enemy’s morale and securing victory.

His strength, which seemed to defy human limits, made him an almost mythical figure.

The soldiers who followed my father fought with unmatched fervor, as if they believed they were fighting alongside a god.

The driving force behind building a vast empire from a small rural family was the fact that he always fought at the forefront of every battlefield.

Even after becoming emperor, my father didn’t change his approach during the conquest wars.

He was still at the forefront, leading the charge.

And now, as the Crown Prince, I was determined not to tarnish the legend my father had created.

I, too, resolved to stand at the forefront of the battlefield and engage in the fiercest battles.

“A characteristic of Leord! Well, perhaps it is.”

My father took a sip of wine and continued.

“Then I will entrust the Kingdom Alliance to you without worry.”

“Yes, Father.”

“As for the west… I have spoken to the lords under my command, but the situation doesn’t seem promising.”

As I cautiously brought up the impending fairy invasion, my father replied tersely.

“I plan to go to the west myself.”

My father’s voice lowered, taking on a dangerous edge.

“Those who should be living peacefully in the forest are trying to crawl out and cause trouble, so I have to teach them a lesson. Show them how much humans have changed while they were secluded in the forest.”

“Yes.”

I hesitated for a moment, debating whether to share what Duke Beregon had told me.

I figured my father would find out eventually.

So, I recounted everything I had discussed with Duke Beregon, without embellishment or omission.

My father’s expression shifted subtly as he listened to my account.

When I finished, he uttered a single, chilling sentence.

“Austin is determined to end the Riverhill family line in his generation.”

Wasn’t that essentially a death sentence?

“You can’t trust everything Beregon says. I have been investigating Iriel’s death for a long time.”

“Yes.”

“It’s clearly the work of the Purifying Flame Order… but it hasn’t been easy to catch their tail. However, recently, signs of the Purifying Flame Order have been discovered here and there.”

The Purifying Flame Order, which had been operating in the shadows for decades, perhaps even longer, was gradually emerging into the light.

‘It’s more likely that they are revealing themselves rather than me uncovering them.’

My father continued.

“Duke Beregon must have only recently discovered traces of the Purifying Flame Order within the Riverhill family.”

“Probably so.”

“Let’s set aside Yan and Austin for now. The two dukes know me better than anyone else. They won’t move rashly.”

Soon, my father’s voice turned cold and hard.

“They must have considered using Iriel as a hostage because they know me so well.”

My father stood up, his eyes blazing with suppressed fury.

“The reason I came today is to tell you that I am entrusting the Kingdom Alliance to you. Don’t concern yourself with anything else.”

My father placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip firm.

“Just keep Beregon on his toes. I was planning to clean up the duke families eventually… the time will come soon enough. Right now, the external enemy is the priority.”

“Yes, Father.”

My father refilled my glass and concluded the meeting.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

I nodded in acknowledgment of my father’s words.

“Yes, Father.”

* * *

I didn’t have any particularly profound conversation with my father yesterday, but I gained tremendous strength from it.

The fact that my father trusts me implicitly.

Just knowing that fact alone was an invaluable gain.

Of course, my father had always shown me his trust, but hearing it directly from him, in person, was a completely different experience.

I felt a surge of pride, knowing that I had become a reliable figure, both as the Crown Prince and as my father’s eldest son.

“You look well.”

I shrugged at Olivia’s observation.

“I feel like I’m finally coming into my own lately.”

“Yes.”

Olivia and I conducted a patrol of the fortress and then headed towards the border walls.

The border walls were considered a dangerous area, so not only Olivia and I, but also a contingent of knights accompanied us as guards.

‘It’s a bit odd that a Sword Master and a High-Level Spirit Master need guards… but it would also be strange for the commander-in-chief to only take one guard with them.’

I was in charge as the commander-in-chief in this war.

It was a natural appointment, given the circumstances.

Because the war was unfolding within my direct territory.

When we arrived at the border walls, Gail was already there to greet us.

“Gail!”

“Commander! You’ve arrived.”

My subordinates had begun addressing me as Commander after the transition to a wartime footing.

“The walls are undergoing repairs.”

“Yes. Some sections of the walls have completely collapsed and are no longer serving their purpose. Under the protection of the border guards, soldiers are working to rebuild the damaged sections.”

I nodded in acknowledgment.

“Have there been any provocations from the enemy?”

“They occasionally launch small-scale ambushes, but nothing significant. We also have scouts operating beyond the border, so we are not easily caught off guard.”

“That’s a relief.”

I ascended the wall with Gail.

The wall wasn’t particularly high.

In the first place, the Pyreon Kingdom was essentially a vassal state of the Kingdom Alliance, so there was little incentive to construct formidable walls along the border.

It was a wall that offered little in the way of defense.

Nevertheless, the repair work was intended to delay the enemy, even if only for a short time.

Suddenly, a loud alarm blared, shattering the relative calm.

Gail said urgently.

“Enemies!”

I sprinted towards the source of the alarm with Gail at my heels.

Olivia followed closely behind.

Following the alarm that originated from the east, we found hundreds of Kingdom Alliance soldiers engaged in combat with our own troops.

“Sylphid!”

At my summons, Sylphid materialized.

Sylphid immediately soared onto the battlefield, unleashing blades of wind that struck the necks of the enemies.

Swoosh-!

Clang-!

Some of the wind blades were deflected or blocked.

The ones who managed to defend against the High-Level Spirit’s skill were the enemy knights.

I narrowed my eyes, assessing the situation, and issued an order.

“Capture them alive if possible.”

Olivia and Gail responded simultaneously to my command.

“Yes.”

Our soldiers’ morale surged as I, Gail, and Olivia joined the fray.

The enemy knights attempted to retreat, wheeling their horses around, but Noahs swiftly blocked their path.

The High-Level Earth Spirit shook the ground with tremendous force, causing fissures to appear.

The knights who managed to leap over the cracked earth found themselves intercepted by Sylphid, who seized them by the napes of their necks.

Bang-!

The battle concluded swiftly.

The Kingdom Alliance had not committed a significant number of knights to the ambush.

“It seems they were merely trying to provoke us and then retreat, as usual.”

I nodded in agreement with Gail’s assessment.

The knights who had fallen into the cracks created by Noahs and the soldiers whose swords had been shattered by Olivia and Gail were now looking at me with fear-stricken faces.

“Take them to the fortress.”

It was unlikely that they possessed any valuable information.

“Execute all the knights and display their heads outside the walls.”

Gail looked at me with a surprised expression at my sudden order.

But he quickly drew his sword and carried out the command without hesitation.

Slash-!

The soldiers trembled as they watched the knights die without even having the chance to beg for their lives.

I continued coldly, my voice devoid of emotion.

“From now on, behead all enemies who dare to provoke us and hang their heads on the walls. Especially kill the knights without fail.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“We need to clearly demonstrate to the enemies the price they will pay for invading this land.”

I turned my gaze towards the prisoners, my eyes like chips of ice.

“S-Save me!”

“We’re just following orders!”

“Take them and return to the fortress.”

I said to Gail.

“Rotate the border guards and provide those who participated in this battle with additional alcohol and meat. The direct territory will reward them based on the number of enemy heads they collect.”

My voice grew louder, projecting across the battlefield.

My gaze was fixed on Gail, and while it seemed like I was giving him orders, it was also a message to our soldiers who were watching and to the enemies who were spying from afar.

“If you risk your lives to protect the direct territory, you will be rewarded accordingly. Every soldier, every knight, will be recognized for their bravery and dedication in defending the direct territory.”

“Yes, Commander!”

I nodded with satisfaction as the soldiers responded in unison, their voices filled with renewed determination.

“Let’s go.”

I moved away from the wall with Gail.

I addressed one of the escorting knights.

“When we return to the fortress, send a messenger to summon Bican to the fortress.”

“Yes.”

Olivia asked slyly, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Is it because of the compensation issue?”

“That’s right. Frankly, our morale is lower than the enemies’. The number of soldiers we can conscript is probably also limited.”

If that was the case, it was crucial to provide the direct territory soldiers with a greater incentive to fight.

And the most significant motivation for the soldiers of this era was the issue of livelihood.