Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 218

218.

Following Olivia’s advice, I requested a meeting with Duke James.

Duke James, accompanied by the elite of the White family, was dedicated to guarding the border, demonstrating his commitment to this war.

In a small office within the fortress, Duke James removed his helmet and bowed to me.

“You’ve arrived? Please, have a seat over there.”

I offered Duke James a seat and prepared some cool tea.

“Last time, I attacked the Sword Master family of the Union with His Majesty, but I didn’t feel like it was war at the time.”

Duke James took a sip of tea and continued.

“It felt more like punishing those who had displeased His Majesty rather than a battle. On the other hand, this time, it feels like I’m on the battlefield for the first time in a long while.”

I smiled and said.

“Well, I don’t have the overwhelming power of my father.”

Duke James quickly waved his hand.

“It’s not that the Commander is lacking compared to His Majesty. It’s just that we moved with only the elite with His Majesty, and now we are preparing for a full-scale war between nations, so the scale itself is different, and the feeling is different.”

I nodded.

“The Kingdom Union is conducting large-scale conscription and constantly targeting the border, so we have no choice but to prepare accordingly. I think it might be the largest war since the founding of the Empire.”

Duke James agreed with me.

“Indeed.”

I got straight to the point.

“The enemies’ provocations are unusual. Small battles are happening every day at the border.”

Due to the constant provocations of the Kingdom Union, our soldiers were accumulating fatigue, and their morale was dropping significantly.

This was because they had not won as many victories as expected in the frequent battles.

“Yesterday, we beheaded the knights of the Kingdom Union who provoked us and displayed their heads, and we captured prisoners and locked them in the fortress.”

Duke James nodded at my words.

“That’s a good choice. It’s natural for frequent local battles to occur before a full-scale war. If we continue to win in those local battles, the soldiers’ morale will rise.”

“I have offered rewards to the soldiers.”

“Rewards, you say?”

“Yes. I plan to appropriately reward the soldiers each time they kill knights and soldiers of the Union.”

Duke James’s eyebrows twitched.

“It’s not good to run an army as if you’re operating mercenaries.”

“Of course, I have thought of that too, but take a look at the situation in the fortress right now.”

I opened the office window.

“There are more soldiers repairing the fortress and the walls than soldiers defending the border. The reason is simple: the soldiers participating in the repair work are not at the level to be sent to the front lines.”

Duke James’s expression became serious.

“This is not the Empire. The Empire’s soldiers, not just the knights, are strong soldiers due to numerous wars.”

Since the founding, my father had started numerous wars.

Even before the founding, those who lived in the Imperial territory had all participated in the war with my father.

Founding War, Conquest War, Unification War, etc.—the names were different, but they were all wars.

If they were dragged in while farming in the beginning, they would learn how to survive in battle in the second war.

The third war, the fourth war, and so on; as they continued to become accustomed to battle, they would become strong soldiers, even if they couldn’t become as strong as knights.

Such strong soldiers could defeat three or four untrained soldiers!

Most of the Empire’s soldiers were such strong soldiers, and that was why my father could win every war he fought.

My father’s strength was strength, but the knights and soldiers who supported him were all strong, so he had no choice but to win every war he fought.

The Empire’s strong soldiers are not here.

“The Pieron Kingdom has not fought a war for a long time, and it was practically a vassal state of the Kingdom Union, so it did not invest resources in military training.”

Duke James immediately understood what I was trying to say.

“You mean the soldiers’ level is very low?”

“Yes. They need a motive for war first. The Empire’s strong soldiers are well-trained enough to unite under my father’s cause, but the soldiers of the direct territory are different.”

Duke James smiled bitterly at my words.

I accurately conveyed the reality.

“They had no loyalty to the Pieron Kingdom either. Furthermore, it is too difficult to put them into war with loyalty to the Empire.”

“So you decided on rewards?”

“Yes. It is to create a reason for the soldiers to fight on their own first. It’s fortunate that the Pieron Kingdom was devastated in times like these.”

It’s an absurd reality.

Because the Pieron Kingdom was devastated, the reward policy will work for the soldiers.

If they were full and comfortable, the reward policy would not have worked at all.

“A lot of funds are needed. Vikan will bear the burden primarily, but since the number of soldiers is so large, Vikan alone cannot handle it.”

“The White family’s support will be needed too.”

I forced a smile at Duke James’s words.

“I’m sorry for putting the burden on you.”

“No, Commander. As an Imperial Duke family, we should naturally help in a war that the fate of the nation depends on.”

“If the White family steps up, we can also establish a justification for pressuring other Duke families.”

The Yan family and the Riverhill family are enemies to be eliminated in the future, but I plan to exhaust their family’s strength as much as possible until the end.

“Are you thinking of asking other families for support?”

“I’m going to issue an order. After all, I am the commander of this war, and I have the authority I received from my father, so I plan to make full use of it.”

Duke James agreed.

“If that is His Highness’s will, I will go to the Imperial Palace for a while and exert political influence.”

“The Empire is in trouble on all sides, so all families must step up. It would be nice if we could face the Kingdom Union with the power of the direct territory alone… but we cannot avoid receiving the Empire’s support at all.”

“There will be opposition, but Duke Yan, Duke Beregon, and Duke Austin cannot simply turn a blind eye to the direct territory.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

“It’s only natural.”

Having received Duke James’s promise, I felt relieved.

I don’t have high expectations for the three Dukes, but I plan to get even a small amount of support.

* * *

It didn’t take long for rumors about the rewards to spread among the soldiers.

Some soldiers were full of enthusiasm.

“Damn it, I haven’t learned anything, but if I’m good at stabbing and slashing, my family can make a living, right?”

Other young men nodded at the words of the young man who was repairing the castle walls.

“Even if I do this repair work, I can barely feed myself, and my children at home are still starving.”

“Yeah, let’s volunteer as border guards instead.”

“Yeah! I heard that strong knights from the Empire came in droves? If we roll under the knights [fight alongside them], we might be lucky enough to kill a soldier from the Kingdom Union!”

I listened to the soldiers and asked Ken.

“Is the atmosphere like that for everyone?”

“No. Only some of them are. There are still more soldiers who are afraid of battle. Most of the soldiers who are so active have wives and children or are taking care of sick, old mothers… they have typical stories.”

“I see.”

I watched the young soldiers stop repairing and rush to the knight who was commanding the border guards.

Ken continued.

“Still, they have the will, so if we train them a little, they will be able to do their part. Conscription is not going well, so what can’t we do if we can gather even one more soldier.”

The number of strong people is greater on our side.

Gayle, Olivia, Lillian, and even me.

Duke James has also arrived, so there are three Sword Masters right now.

The Kingdom Union also has three Sword Masters—Jane, Eric, and Karen—but there was no absolute powerhouse to face me and Lillian.

At first glance, it seems advantageous to us.

“More than 100,000 soldiers have gathered at the Kingdom Union border. And they continue to gather.”

I clicked my tongue.

“That’s a huge number.”

“We must assume that there are at least 300,000 enemy troops.”

Even if a high-ranking mage like Lillian exerts absolute power against a large number, the difference in numbers was too great.

“How many have we gathered?”

“About 10,000 have gathered.”

I bit my lip.

“What about the nobles from Ivid and the Pieron Kingdom?”

“They promised to cooperate.”

I left the disposition of Ivid to Ken, and it seemed to have been resolved well.

Honestly, my authority was already too high to handle even the processing of nobles from the Pieron Kingdom.

It was not something that the Crown Prince, the head of the direct territory, and the commander of the army should be doing one by one.

Ken’s disposition of the nobles was completed at his level, and I only received the results.

“They will maintain their titles and leave only a certain amount of their existing assets, and then donate everything to the headquarters of the direct territory. It has been decided that all private soldiers will be sent to conscription without exception.”

“They wouldn’t have accepted it easily.”

Ken chuckled.

“They would have resisted if they wanted to die. But they also have eyes and ears and know what kind of war this is, so they have no choice but to cooperate.”

Ken added grimly.

“The situation is not good enough to consider those who have no loyalty or dignity as nobles, so I told them about their situation.”

It seemed that he had solved it with force.

I didn’t particularly criticize Ken’s method.

Right now, we have to squeeze the nobles from the Pieron Kingdom to gather supplies and soldiers.

I was walking on the wall with Ken, discussing the operation while patrolling, when Lillian suddenly appeared in the sky.

“Crown Prince.”

Lillian’s appearance, which suddenly appeared, was somehow different.

Her eyes were deeper, and her original blonde hair now had more white streaks.

Not wanting her to become a white-haired witch, I asked Lillian.

“What’s wrong? And… are you okay?”

Lillian obtained the Wrath of Magma from the Reinhardt family ruins.

I guessed that she would become even stronger.

She had been confined to her quarters for a while, and she showed up today, but I was worried.

“Aren’t you overdoing it too suddenly? You don’t look good.”

“I overdid it. It’s difficult to break through the 8th circle and reach the 9th circle with a human body. So I want to ask the Crown Prince for one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Attach Gayle, Olivia, and Duke James as escorts.”

“Escorts?”

I opened my eyes wide when she asked me to attach all three Sword Masters as escorts.

“Well, it’s not a difficult thing, but why?”

“We’ve only been provoked so far, so we have to provoke too. I can finally use one 9th circle magic, and I want to test it out.”

I couldn’t help but tremble at the shocking words.

“9th circle magic?”

“It’s one of the magics in the Wrath of Magma.”

Lillian continued.

“The internal mana is unstable right now, but using this magic will solve it to some extent. It will take a long time to explain the details, and it will be difficult for the Crown Prince to understand because he is not a wizard.”

“Y-yes.”

“It will be difficult to move for a while after using this magic. That’s why I need an escort… I’m thinking of burning down the Jane family, so shouldn’t I take three Sword Masters as escorts to come back alive?”

I turned my gaze to Ken.

“What do you think?”

Ken smiled.

“Instead of the Jane family, let’s go with the Eric family.”