Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 62

62.

“The Orcs are sending scouts.”

I furrowed my brow at Duke Mike’s words.

This was information that hadn’t been reported to the central command yet.

“Does anyone think I don’t want to protect my territory? The Orcs have been continuously sending scouts into my lands, and… the movement of the entire legion is also directed towards my territory, so I had to evacuate the people with tears in my eyes.”

Duke Mike was a man of strict adherence to the social hierarchy, but he was also a man with a strong sense of responsibility as a nobleman.

As a lord, he had sacrificed everything.

Duke Mike continued.

“The Orc scout’s path was consistent. It seems they are spreading out from my territory to the entire west.”

I nodded.

There was no reason for Duke Mike to lie.

“Since we can be sure of the path, we can use a defense strategy that fits it.”

“Yes. They will arrive soon, Your Highness.”

It was Duke Mike’s territory.

There were a lot of soldiers bustling inside.

The atmosphere inside the territory was much more lively than I had expected.

Soldiers were maintaining their weapons or training in various places.

I clicked my tongue and said.

“The morale of the soldiers is amazing.”

Duke Mike’s voice was filled with pride.

“Although we evacuated the people to the rear before the battle, the morale of the soldiers is at its highest. Combat is very familiar to the soldiers of the west.”

“Even so, the scale of the Orc legion is not insignificant, and you even evacuated the people… It seems the soldiers’ training and mental fortitude are usually good.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

My evaluation of Duke Mike wasn’t very good when I only saw him treating Ken, but when I thought about it carefully, Duke Mike was a very good example of a nobleman.

He clearly distinguished the differences in status and not only enjoyed the privileges of being a nobleman but also had a clear sense of responsibility.

As a nobleman of the empire, he was doing his best to protect his territory and his people.

Even the headquarters was built with tents.

Ken asked Duke Mike.

“Is the headquarters a temporary tent?”

Duke Mike nodded.

“A tent is enough for the headquarters. I demolished the lord’s castle and used all the materials from there to repair the walls. If ten thousand Orcs advance all at once, the existing walls will collapse in less than half a day.”

I couldn’t help but be astonished at Duke Mike’s answer.

“You demolished the lord’s castle and repaired the outer walls?”

Duke Mike smiled faintly.

“I can’t sleep soundly when my territory is in danger. What good is the castle? The current Orc legion is not just a legion with a large number of soldiers. They are elite Orcs organized under one king. Maybe… even the repaired walls won’t last long.”

Duke Mike then glanced at Ram and Thompson behind him.

“But with the elites from the two dukes’ families here, I can see a way.”

I completely revised my assessment of Duke Mike.

He was a true nobleman.

Honestly, how many of the western lords would demolish their own castle and repair the outer walls of their territory?

No, most of the current nobles would conscript everyone, including young children and the elderly, into soldiers rather than evacuate the people.

On the other hand, Duke Mike sacrificed everything for the sake of defense.

I tried to speak calmly.

“His Majesty will never forget your sacrifice, Duke.”

Duke Mike’s smile deepened.

“Thank you, Your Highness. Then let’s go inside. I will report on the war situation.”

As I entered the temporary tent, I made up my mind.

‘It’s okay to share some information with Duke Mike.’

If he shows this level of responsibility, I could entrust him with the command.

Also, since he is a high-ranking duke and has a strong reputation among the people of the west, Ram and Thompson won’t be able to nitpick everything.

The reason they ignore me and try to bring me down is fundamentally because they are in competition with their own families.

Duke Mike was different.

As a powerful local nobleman, he possessed military power that was not inferior to that of the duke’s family, and considering that the western lords voluntarily gathered under him, his reputation was also considerable.

Thinking about the worst-case scenario, a civil war could break out over the Crown Prince position, and in that case, powerful local lords like Duke Mike would be a great asset, so it was unconditionally advantageous to bring them to my side.

‘They’re not the only ones thinking that way. Duke Mike… he’s one of the people I must bring in during this expedition.’

All the western lords looked like seasoned generals with strong impressions, but they were not enough to compare with Duke Mike.

“Please sit down, Your Highness!”

Duke Mike offered me the seat of honor.

“From now on, I will use the title of Commander-in-Chief. Is that okay with you?”

Duke Mike informed me that the welcome was over and that we had now entered the battlefield.

I nodded and replied.

“Of course.”

“Then I will briefly report on the current situation of the Orcs and the situation of the Western Lords Allied Forces.”

Duke Mike turned his gaze to Ken.

“Military Advisor, please feel free to ask questions in between.”

“Yes.”

As Ken finished answering, Duke Mike spread out the map and began his report.

* * *

Since it was originally the site of a castle, quite a few tents had been set up.

Duke Mike gave me the largest and best tent among them.

Inside, there was a magic stove, and even luminous stones were attached to the ceiling.

I smiled as I watched Ken’s eyes widen.

“Why?”

“I’m just amazed. It’s as good as the bedroom of a decent castle.”

There was also a bed and a desk inside the tent.

“Still, a field is a field.”

Ken nodded.

“Because it’s war. They say they used all the large buildings in the village as materials to repair the walls. They also made quite a few obstacles around the walls.”

As soon as I arrived, I listened to the war situation report from Duke Mike and had a light dinner.

It was a brief report, but the content itself was so large that the report time itself became long.

Ken’s many questions also helped to lengthen the time.

“The Duke seems like a pretty good person.”

“Yes. There are hardly any nobles like that. Ordinary nobles justify greed because they are nobles, but Duke Mike seems to value his responsibility as a nobleman more.”

I agreed with Ken’s words.

“That’s right. So I’m thinking of sharing some information with Duke Mike.”

“Are you going to persuade him directly?”

“Yes. While I’m gone, I want you to assist Duke Mike well and defend. I’m planning to rescue Gale and return as soon as possible.”

Ken smiled bitterly.

“Just come back safely.”

A voice was heard from outside the tent.

“Commander-in-Chief, this is Mike.”

“Come in.”

I turned my gaze to Ken.

“Go and rest. You must be tired from traveling. And from tomorrow, we have to start preparing for defense without a break.”

The moment Ken bowed to me, Duke Mike appeared.

Soon after Ken left, I offered Duke Mike a seat.

“Sit over there, Duke. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Thank you.”

Duke Mike didn’t refuse and sat down, waiting for me to brew the tea.

When the tea was brewed properly, I took two cups and sat down on the opposite side of Duke Mike.

“The west is warmer than the capital, but it’s still quite cold.”

The capital of the Calpheon Empire is located in the north when looking at the map.

Winter came earlier than in the west, and the temperature was also lower.

The west was warmer because the Forest of Darkness and the Western Forest filtered the wind first, and it was south of the capital.

Still, winter was winter.

The sound of the winter wind blowing outside the tent could be heard.

I even summoned Salamander and let it play on the magic stove.

Salamander made the flames bigger.

‘It seems a little lacking.’

It seemed to take time for the temperature to rise because it was a tent, not a castle.

I summoned Phoenix while watching Duke Mike drink tea.

Phoenix crouched in one corner of the tent as if it was annoying.

The tent quickly became warm.

“Is the tea okay?”

Duke Mike smiled at my words.

“Yes. It warmed me up.”

“The reason I called you separately today is to share several stories.”

I didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

“I have to find Gale.”

Duke Mike had no change in expression.

“Gale’s body has not been found yet. I want to believe he is alive.”

Duke Mike seemed to know Gale.

“He was a great knight. He was also a rare genius. I haven’t made any progress in this realm for decades… but Gale was a knight who could break through the wall.”

Duke Mike’s voice was filled with regret for losing a talented person from the empire.

But one thing was certain.

Duke Mike believed Gale was dead.

I said strongly.

“Gale is not dead. The Orc King is just a subordinate.”

Duke Mike raised his head.

The eyes looking at me were unwavering.

‘Does he know?’

I quietly waited for Duke Mike’s words.

Duke Mike sighed lightly.

“My territory is adjacent to the Forest of Darkness. I had been sensing their numbers increasing to some extent even before the Orc Legion was formed.”

As I was surprised, Duke Mike’s voice lowered.

“I couldn’t touch them rashly. The west is an unstable place. Now that a common enemy has emerged, we have united, but at the time, no one cared about the Orcs.”

I roughly grasped the situation and involuntarily tasted bitterness.

“Are you saying you didn’t have the leeway to withdraw troops from your territory?”

Duke Mike nodded heavily.

“As it was difficult to catch the tails of the groups suspected of being bandits and the damage caused by them accumulated, the western lords requested help from the central government rather than releasing their soldiers. They asked for a great order of knights to be sent.”

The whole story was slowly beginning to unfold.

‘This is information I don’t know at all. I only focused on Karen’s focus on Goran’s resurrection, so… I don’t know about the western lords either.’

I listened to Duke Mike’s words.

“Everyone knew that they were Orcs who had been invaded by the power of darkness, but they only reported them as bandits.”

I unknowingly jumped up.

“Good heavens, Mike!”

It was such a big deal that I called his name without honorifics, which I had been using all along.

“I’m sorry. I had no choice but to represent the west in order to protect its power. I couldn’t afford to cut my flesh in the face of a huge enemy.”

“So, the Duke noticed the existence of the Orc Legion in a situation where the western lords were checking each other.”

I took a breath and continued.

“You are saying that if you took the lead, there was a high possibility that another greedy lord would invade your territory, so you disguised the Orcs who had been invaded by the power of darkness as bandits and reported them to the central government?”

“That’s right. I thought that if the Order of Knights was dispatched from the central government, the western lords would not be able to act rashly, and the central government would also recognize the existence of the Orc Legion.”

I gritted my teeth and shouted.

“Thanks to that, Gale went missing. Innocent knights died. If you hadn’t coveted each other’s territories and checked each other, you could have responded to the Orcs in unison from the beginning.”

Duke Mike said calmly.

“Your Highness, the Empire is a newly built country. There are still many local lords who want to protect their territory and property more than their loyalty to His Majesty.”

Duke Mike also called me Your Highness instead of Commander-in-Chief and continued.

“That’s why I wanted His Majesty to come in person. The west knows less about His Majesty than the eastern lords. This place was out of the conquest war… and the lords were not fighting the conquest war but the Forest of Darkness.”

Duke Mike’s eyes shone.

“Because they don’t know the horror of His Majesty well. Gale is dead. Thanks to that, the western lords have united and laid the groundwork for defending the Orc Legion.”

I laughed without realizing it.

“Duke, Gale is not dead.”