Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 54

54.

“We are receiving continuous reports from the western lords.”

I nodded at Soris’s words.

The resurgence of the forces of evil was a major issue that could not be overemphasized.

It was only natural for the western lords to keep asking for help from the capital, and they had to keep the current situation reports up to date.

They probably wanted Father to step in personally.

To be honest, Ron Cal Leord was the most fearsome enemy when turned against, but from the perspective of an ally fighting on the battlefield together, he was the best commander and knight.

His swordsmanship, which involved standing at the forefront and slicing off the heads of enemy commanders like radishes, as well as unleashing incredible wide-area attack magic on large-scale forces to annihilate them, or summoning top-tier spirits to sweep through enemy lines, was unbelievable for a human.

I listened calmly to Soris’s report.

“The size of the Orc Legion is growing day by day. Over ten thousand Orcs are spreading from the southern Dark Forest to the western forest.”

At Soris’s words, I involuntarily clicked my tongue.

“Ten thousand?”

“Orcs are naturally fast breeders, and with the birth of a king, they seem to be increasing even faster than usual to increase their warriors.”

The scale of the Orc Legion was much larger than I had expected.

‘How on earth did Karen find the treasured sword among so many Orcs and kill Goran before he was resurrected in the Orc Legion’s base?’

It was hard to believe even though I had written it.

“The scale is enormous. The western lords alone will not be enough.”

Soris chimed in.

“Yes. The Orcs are not yet coming to the western part of the Empire, but the moment they start advancing, the west will… not have a single blade of grass left.”

Orcs were much stronger than ordinary soldiers, with one Orc capable of fighting at least ten soldiers.

In a very simple calculation, it meant that one hundred thousand soldiers were needed to kill ten thousand Orcs.

‘Of course, considering the power of knights, mages, and spiritists, that many soldiers wouldn’t be needed… but still, at least thirty thousand troops are necessary.’

I racked my brains.

The forces of the western lords that I knew could not mobilize more than thirty thousand troops.

In the first place, the west was not a place where many people lived.

There were a few large cities, but only two or three, and it was less preferred by people than the livable east.

It wasn’t barren, but due to the characteristic of being adjacent to the Dark Forest and the fact that the fairies of the western forest were not entirely friendly forces, the west had not been heavily populated for generations.

However, the soldiers in the west were stronger individually than those in the east or other regions.

Due to the regional characteristics, there were many mercenaries active, so if they mustered all their strength to conscript soldiers, they could gather up to forty thousand.

I asked Soris about that.

“What is the strength of the west?”

“Currently, there are twenty thousand allied lords and five thousand mercenaries.”

At Soris’s answer, I frowned.

“Too few. Can we mobilize more mercenaries?”

“Yes. Mercenaries active in the capital are also flocking to the west. The western lords are gathering mercenaries by emptying all their coffers, believing that the Orcs will be the end of them if they advance.”

That was a relief.

I pressed my temples for a moment and said.

“His Majesty will send at least five thousand to ten thousand soldiers as the central army. There won’t be any knight orders, though.”

A single knight was worth more than ten soldiers.

A thousand knights were much stronger than ten thousand soldiers in terms of absolute power.

But Father would not halt the conquest of the Pyreon Kingdom, and the central forces were already being organized into the Pyreon Kingdom conquest army.

“Still, won’t they draw some forces from the central nobles? The western lords’ demands are strong, so they can’t be ignored.”

“That’s a matter for His Majesty to consider and decide. We’ll have to wait and see.”

I realized it was time to start preparing and got up.

Soris did the same.

“And Your Highness, there are a few pieces of news about Knight Gail.”

I stopped walking.

“Gail?”

“The western lords seem to think Gail is dead, but some lords say they have found traces of Gail.”

“So, opinions are divided among the western lords?”

Soris nodded.

“Yes. Since there is no commander-in-chief, the lords are cooperating to command… but each has different opinions and positions.”

I sighed lightly.

“Who had the highest status in the west?”

Soris answered immediately.

“Marquis Palowan.”

“Palowan… Palowan. He has the position to take on the role of temporary commander, but he doesn’t seem to be stepping up?”

Soris didn’t seem to know about that part.

“I can’t say for sure. We are not sharing information with the Imperial Palace; we are extracting information.”

There was a limit to collecting information through servants or maids.

Nevertheless, the information Soris brought was the content that was directly reported to the Emperor, and the reliability was high.

It meant that Soris’s information gathering ability was considerable.

I said again as I left the door.

“Good. Keep looking into that part. Focus on finding out the situation in the west, now that you’ve done the decoding. Leave the Seventh Prince and Duke Austin to Ken.”

Soris nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I smiled and concluded.

“Then, shall we go? The finals are not far away now.”

* * *

On the way to the stage, people’s gazes were giving off a strange feeling, unlike before.

‘Ken must have already started working.’

There were two good things about the fact that I was known to be poisoned.

The first was, of course, that it could induce carelessness in the remaining opponents.

Although I was showing more skill than expected, they couldn’t help but relax a little since I was poisoned.

The second was that my evaluation went up a lot.

Chen poisoned me.

But I beat Chen and even defeated Riorden in that state.

Chen was famous among the princes for his talent, second only to Ted.

His maternal family was Riverhill, and he had learned the magic of Riverhill, which had long been in the ranks of prestigious families on the continent, from a young age.

Chen, who had heard quite a lot of genius talk, cowardly tried to poison me, and not only failed but even had his arm cut off.

My evaluation went up, and at the same time, it was like smearing Chen’s face with poop.

I tried not to be conscious of the gazes around me and headed to the stage.

The match was already underway on the stage.

For a while, I calmly watched the matches of others.

Even if the participants who made it to the round of 32 were defeated, they were not immediately sent back. Some of the dropouts could receive offers to join Father’s direct organization.

The fact that they made it to the round of 32 itself meant that they were outstanding talents.

This tournament was a bit special, so all the participants who made it to the round of 32 were scheduled to be dispatched to the west.

‘Directly to the winner’s direct organization. It’s an opportunity to fill my own armed organization with talent.’

I had no intention of missing the opportunity to win.

I glanced at the VIP seats.

As always, Father was watching the tournament with an indifferent expression.

Many other nobles were also visible.

Nobles were very interested in me, to the point where I could feel everyone’s gaze.

And I accidentally made eye contact with Duke Austin.

It was quite a distance, but this distance was not a big problem for me or Duke Austin.

I smiled intentionally.

Duke Austin also responded with a faint smile.

It was just a simple eye contact, but it felt like we had a long conversation.

I read an undisguisable murderous intent in Duke Austin’s smile. It was like the eyes of a snake preying on its prey.

‘The Riverhill family has finally become a complete enemy. Well, from the moment I became the Crown Prince, no… from the moment I was born, the dukes were already my enemies.’

Would it have been different if the dukes had not married their daughter to Father?

Soon, the Iron Blood Knight Commander called my name.

“Arun Cal Leord.”

Then the opponent’s name was called.

I observed my opponent as I went up on the stage.

He was using a rather unique sword and exuded an unusual aura.

‘The fact that he came this far means that he is not an ordinary person.’

Soon, the Iron Blood Knight Commander signaled.

The opponent, named Paulutu, rushed in at the same time as the signal.

I was quite embarrassed, but I didn’t show it and immediately rode the flow of wind and earth [utilized wind and earth magic].

Naturally, Sylph and Gnome were summoned, making me avoid Paulutu’s sword.

‘Win using only about 30% of my mana.’

He was by no means an easy opponent, but I was known to be poisoned.

If the power of the skills became stronger than before, or if I used skills with high mana consumption in succession, the rumor that I was poisoned could be doubted.

‘It’s a difficult mission.’

I immediately summoned Sylphere.

It was to intentionally show it to Paulutu.

To make him realize that it was dangerous if he didn’t win in a short time, I summoned Undine at the same time.

The presence of the intermediate spirit did not put pressure on Paulutu.

The sword, moving like lightning, came in sharply.

“Undine.”

Undine created a water barrier, blocking Paulutu’s sword.

Clang-!

Certainly, Paulutu did not give the feeling of being as strong as Riorden.

But his speed seemed to surpass Riorden.

I couldn’t find a chance to counterattack Paulutu, and I was increasingly pushed into a defensive position.

Before I knew it, I was driven to the end of the stage, so I quickly summoned Salamander and spread a fire barrier.

Gooooooo-!

Paulutu briefly stepped back at the fire barrier that suddenly blocked his view.

At the same time, I asked Gnome for the Roar of the Earth [a spell that shakes the ground].

Ggggg-!

The entire stage shook, momentarily grabbing Paulutu’s feet.

Without hesitation, I instinctively shouted.

“Sylphere!”

The chain of wind that Sylphere unfolds was sharper than anything else.

Supplying a considerable amount of mana, and even in my consciousness, it was conveyed that this skill was a winning move, so the color was different from usual.

Usually, it was a transparent white color close to white, but today it was slightly bluish.

Paulutu felt wary and immediately raised his sword.

Chaeaeeng-!

“Cough!”

A short scream leaked from Paulutu’s mouth.

I immediately launched Undine.

Undine became a storm.

The power of the water storm was stronger than the chain of wind that Sylphere unfolds.

At that moment, Paulutu swung his sword greatly.

Kwaaaaaang-!

As if he knew it, Paulutu fended off Undine.

‘I’ve been read.’

Paulutu knew exactly that I was distracting him with lower spirits and putting a winning move with Sylphere, while hiding the water barrier until the last moment, and he dealt with it accurately.

If the winning move is blocked, you will face a strong counterattack.

I was no different.

Paulutu’s figure, rushing like light, split into two.

It was so fast that an afterimage remained.

I hurriedly called Undine.

The water storm scattered water droplets everywhere and turned into a water barrier.

And Paulutu’s sword was already touching my uvula.